DC new 52 reviews

Hey there! been a few months since I posted anything here or did any comic art, working on getting back into things. To warm up, here's what I've been reading. I tried out a bunch of DC comics' new 52 releases last year, which are now being collected into hardcover formats. DC's new 52 initiative was a complete re-launching and welcome re-imagining of aspects of their well-known characters.

I confess, this is the 1st Aquaman book I've ever willfully bought in 30 years of comics. With good reason. Let's face it, Aquaman is no one's favorite super-hero. His status as a joke in the real world is well-played upon throughout this story. Just after the 1st issue, I have a respect for this character. An outsider who's easily in the same class as Superman (at least this new 52 version), finding his place in the surface world. Stunning art by Ivan Reis, and always down-to-earth characterization by Geoff Johns.

As a cover quote says, the 1st issue of Action Comics #1 is the best Superman story I've ever read. True. I did lose interest the further I got through this book, though. I think the story would have been better suited to keeping it simple for a while, rather than throwing a bunch of the Superman mythos at us right away. Steel, Luthor, Brainiac, Mettalo, Kandor, The Legion, and Krypton all within 6 issues made things feel too busy for me. The good was all in the 1st issue, and the short back-up stories at the end were nice. This is not the Superman we've come to know over the past 50+ years. He's young, bold, and not quite as boy-scout like as he dishes out social justice (for example, throwing a wife-beater across town into the river). More accurate with the non-flying early appearances of the character, this is a grounded Superman we could use today.

Never been a regular WW reader, but this has all the best elements I always liked about her world. A more harder-edged warrior princess lassoed in tightly with Greek mythology. I like the simpler, but attractive art by Cliff Chaing. Good stuff.