DC Comics: The New 52 - week 5

Wrapping up the rest of the #1s! Here's my favorite clip of the week:

From Aquaman #1

Reviews of the internet were much more favorable to this weeks books than I was. A large number I didn't like, and even more are just barely hanging on. But let's get to the good stuff: the book of the week is...

All-Star Western #1

It seems to be the theme of this reboot... three of the four full weeks, my favorite book ended up being one that I had no expectations of liking. I had never finished a single Jonah Hex book in my life. Set in 1880's Gotham, Hex is working with Amadeus Arkham, of Arkham Asylum fame, to find a serial killer. A couple of other familiar names pop up over the course of the book. This was one of those reads I wanted to slow down and savor. I like the idea of getting to know Arkham and hopefully we end up seeing the early days of the asylum.

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #1

Other really good books
Aquaman #1 - I always liked Aquaman in the Justice League. Not so much in his own titles, because the Atlantis-based stories never appealed to me. Here, Aquaman's decided to abandon his claim to the throne and live on land. And the book's not afraid to have fun with the character, addressing talking to fish, villains and law enforcement being unimpressed when they realize it's just Aquaman. If they keep playing up the "nobody's favorite hero" bit, it's the kind of thing that could set him apart, ironically, put him on a few favorite lists.

Teen Titans #1 - A very marginal choice for the "really good" list; it was just simply a solid read. Apparently teenage metahumans are just starting to explode on the scene, and a group called N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is kidnapping them. When the baddie said that "N.O.W.H.E.R.E. is global," I wonder if the irony was intentional. Red Robin declares war on them, and we're setting the groundwork for the new team at this point. Love the new Red Robin costume a lot better than the old one.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 - So we get a re-hash of Kyle Rayner's origin, and then see across the universe different colored rings all abandoning their owners and heading to Kyle. Oh, and the owners are following too, a little pissed. This is a hard book to judge, because there's really not much here at this point. But I'm predisposed to like anything Green Lantern.

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1

Not bad, I may ride with these for awhile
Voodoo #1 - Voodoo is a stripper, and a couple of people are interested in her. The book centers around her stripping, and at the end we get a glimpse of why the mysterious people are interested in her, and why they're kind of interesting themselves. It was a weak issue, but there's potential here and I like to support new characters, so I'll give it time.

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 - GOTHAM overload. As I was reading this, I was thinking that if there was one Batman title to skip, it would be this one. It's not bad, it's just... how much Batman do you want to read in a a month? But the last page revealed what could be the reinvention of an old Batman villain. I'm at least going to read one more issue to find out more

Justice League Dark #1 - When the might of the Justice League fails against Enchantress gone insane, the forces of magic begin to gather to take up the fight. Not wowed, but it's worth a shot. Plus, "Hellblazer" John Constantine has been imported from another DC line, and I'm a little curious. But maybe I should just go read those Hellblazer books instead.

The Flash #1 - As a character, Flash has always been one of my favorite concepts, but the book has always been hit-or-miss, and then they brought Barry Allen back and he just plain sucked... his character was stuck in the 80's. The character is actually a little fresher here, the de-aging seems to help. But this book just falls short for me. I'm more interested in Kid Flash over in Titans at this point.

The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #1 - Jason is Firestorm. Ronnie is Firestorm. The two Firestorms merge to become an entity with a mind of its own called Fury. What I liked while both guys hate each other equally, the rivalry started when the geek was being an ass to the jock, rather than Ronnie playing fully to the stereotype. In the end, it's hard to particularly like one more than the other, and I'm feeling serious misgivings about the Fury entity. I fear this one won't be on my reading list long.

The Savage Hawkman #1

I just don't care
Superman #1 - While Action Comics #1 was all kinds of awesome, this was all kinds of boring. It seems the Daily Planet is no longer relevant in the digital age, and Clark is clinging to the past. Invites comparison on a couple different levels, but it wasn't a Superman I wanted to read.

The Savage Hawkman #1 - I don't like Hawkman, period. Which is a shame, because this was a pretty good story. I actually recommend it to anyone who appreciates Hawkman.

Blackhawks #1 - My eyes just kept glazing over. I'm not even sure what I read.

I, Vampire #1 - In contrast to Blackhawks, I was intently reading, seeing elements that I liked on individual pages, but I just couldn't follow what the heck was going on. Maybe I'm just an idiot; this book needed some Stan Lee narration or something. Exelsior!