DC You Month 1 Review

So here we are.  After almost 4 years The New 52 brand is over.  Convergence has been and gone, showing us that our old heroes still live somewhere out in the DC multiverse and last month saw DC big rebranding - DC You!  Promising a book for everyone DC certainly delivered a much more diverse line up than they have since, well for as long as I can remember honestly and, judging by the reactions I've been reading online, it seems to have paid off!

Personally, I used it as a chance to cut back a little.  This had nothing to do with the quality of the books on offer, just reading the free "Divergence" previews DC offered in May I could easily have increased my pull list, but before Convergence I was probably 5 months behind in my comic reading and realised I was reading some books just because I'd always read them.  If anything the previews showed me that there were other books I'd rather be reading!  So I decided to cut my monthlies right back to just a few core titles and eventually get the trades of some of the previews I really enjoyed.

My five titles were Justice League, Action Comics, Batman, Detective Comics and Superman.  So for me this month wasn't really so much about new titles as it was new directions.

The first title I picked up continued right where The New 52 left off.  Geoff Johns' Justice League was the flagship book of The New 52 and that looks set to continue as The Darkseid War begins.  Justice League has been a consistently good book from the beginning but after Forever Evil it really began improving every month to become one of the best titles DC was putting out.  With the opening chapter of The Darkseid War that looks set to continue as Johns starts to pull together all of the plots he's been building since the title began.  At $4.99 it's one of the most expensive titles DC put out last month but at 40 story pages it's fantastic value.  The extra page count allows Johns to spend a bit more time laying the foundations for what looks to be an epic story.  His character work in this issue is superb and it's the little touches (like Shazam admitting he's never seen a dead body before and Superman challenging Lex Luthor to save a life) that really show just how well he can get inside the League's heads and understands what makes them tick.  And under Jason Fabok's pen (and Brad Anderson's colouring) the League has never looked better.  From a domestic crime scene to the arrival of the Anti-Monitor Fabok just nails it.  This book is gorgeous.  There's so much detail in the art that I spent a long time reading this book, slowly digesting every panel.  I don't know if Fabok's staying on the book after The Darkseid War but I really hope he does!  I'd love this team to stay on this book for years.  I don't say this a lot, but I would happily keep this book at $4.99 for this page count and this quality of story every month.  This story has been building for years and I can't wait to see it finally come to a head over the next few months!  An amazing start for what will hopefully be the biggest epic in comics this summer.

Next up for me was Action Comics #41 by Greg Pak and Aaron Kuder (with colours by Tomeu Morey and Hi-Fi).  Picking up straight where the Divergence preview left off this issue begins with Clark almost powerless and trying to make his way home after the Fortress took the last pieces of his Kryptonian heritage from him.  With Superman telling the story of how Clark's secret was revealed Action Comics is free to get straight to exploring the new status quo in Hard Truth.  If there's one thing Pak does well it's get in Clark's head and it's a joy to read how he feels about his new power level, about being more human.  The man knows what makes Superman tick and continues to cement his status as one of the best Superman writers in recent memory.  After seeing the sadly realistic scene of the men who wanted to beat Superman up because he's weak now and an alien it was great to see Kentville and people standing with him too.  And it was great to see Superman still leaping into action to save the day despite his recent power loss.  The issue is a fast paced and enjoyable read with just a hint of mystery (like who is Dawn Command and how does it link to the shadow creatures?).  Just as Pak continues to show himself to be a great Superman writer, Kuder's art has gone from strength to strength recently.  I may not be the fondest of Superman's new look (I really miss the cape and don't like the shorter hair) but Kuder makes it look good and I think his style really suits Superman.  Overall a very strong start to Superman's new status quo and I can't wait to read the next issue.

Whilst Action Comics explores Clark's new status quo Superman #41 begins to tell the story of how we got there in Before Truth.  I was a little disappointed when it was announced that Geoff Johns was leaving Superman.  I loved his run on Action Comics way back in 2006-2009 and really hoped that he'd stay for a longer run on the title this time.  That said, if this issue is anything to go by then I'm extremely happy with his replacement.  Gene Luen Yang gets off to a great start as he brings the focus of the book squarely back on to Clark, Lois and Jimmy.  It's a good move as the Daily Planet and Clark's supporting cast have played relatively minor roles since The New 52 reboot.  His characterisation is extremely strong and it was nice to see the reporter side of Clark getting some attention.  The anonymous source blackmailing Clark raises some intriguing story potential.  How far, morally, should Clark go to protect his secret?  We already know that the secret will come out and that Lois is the one to reveal the truth but does she do it to try and protect Clark from his mysterious opponent's bribery or is she herself being blackmailed?  John Romita Jr.'s art (with Klaus Janson's inks and Dean White's colours) may not be my favourite style but there's no denying his story telling ability.  I'm loving the whole Truth crossover so far but I have to admit I'm now extremely excited to see what Yang can do when he's not tied to an event.  A brilliant start to what will hopefully be a long run.

I'm still not totally sold on the idea of James Gordon as Batman but Batman #41 was a solid start from Scott Snyder and Gregg Capullo (with Danny Miki's inks and Fco Plascencia's colors).  And let's be honest, Scott Snyder has earned my trust so I'm more than happy to go along for the ride and see how this plays out.  After the frantic battle against the Joker in Endgame, this issue returned to a slightly slower pace, switching between present day and recent past to explore Gordon's reasons for becoming a new type of Batman.  I loved that Snyder had Gordon echo fan's complaints about the new robotic batsuit and whilst I'm not the fondest of it, it makes sense for the story being told.  James Gordon is not Bruce Wayne or Dick Grayson.  Even with his military background he doesn't have the training to be Batman.  He needs the suit if he's to do the job.  The scenes with Bullock were probably my favourite in the issue.  I know that Harvey's busy over in Detective Comics but after this issue I would love to see Snyder write him more.  Capullo's art is simply fantastic.  I don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said before, the man has earned his place as one of the best Batman artists of all time and continues to amaze me every month.  Superheavy Part 1 may not be the best issue of Snyder's run (to be fair that does set the bar exceedingly high) but it is a strong start and you can already see seeds being planted for what promises to be another great story arc from one of DC's best creative teams.

Detective Comics has had a few ups and downs since The New 52 re-launch but I've really been enjoying Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's run.  In fact I thought their 8 page preview was one of the best DC put out and I actually preferred it to the Batman preview!  This first issue didn't quite live up to the amazing preview but it was still a great read.  The preview hit the ground running with Harvey Bullock asking Gordon's Batman to help him kill his partner and appearing to actually go through with the act.  This issue takes a step back and begins to lay the ground work for those events.  It's a solid first issue and whilst I miss Manapul's art (I seriously need to check out The Flash run by these guys!) Fernando Blanco does a fine job.  Manapul and Buccellato's work developing Harvey Bullock has been the highlight of their run for me so I was happy to see that continue here and I love the direction they seem to be taking the character in with this arc, the lone cop in the city still searching for the real Batman.  I was saddened by this week's announcement that this is their final arc on Detective Comics but it looks like this will be a great story to go out on.

As for the rest, well based on the previews I will definitely be checking out Batgirl, Grayson and Starfire when the trade paperbacks come out and I'll probably check out Batman Beyond if the reviews are good (I'm still uneasy with it not being Terry but if it's good I'm more than willing to try).  A friend of mine recommended Robin: Son of Batman and the preview was good fun so I'll probably give that a try too.  The Flash looks like it could be good and I've been meaning to try the title since I loved the first season of the TV series but I'll definitely be checking out the Manapul/Buccellato run first.  And finally I really must check out Harley Quinn at some point too!  All things considered it's a good job I've cut back on the monthlies as I think I'll be reading a lot more trades in the future!