Holy crap, I might actually pull this off.  Almost a month later I am still in the game, going through the process of reading and reviewing all 52 of DC Comics “New 52”, 52 #1 Issues designed to bring new fans, lapsed fans and non DC fans into the comic reading fold.

Thus far I’ve read 27 comics, over half of the run, and with ELEVEN more books released yesterday, by the end of this article, I’ll be in the home stretch and having had read 38 issues of this unique undertaking by the #2 Comics Giant.  This week brings such highlights as Greg Capullo’s debut on a Batman series after years of being the artist for Spawn and the latest relaunch of the Wonder Woman franchise.  It also brings such low lights as ANOTHER Legion of Superheroes book and whatever the heck they’re doing with Nightwing now.  But enough jibber jabbah. It’s time to review the books! Let’s check it out!

Batman #1 Written by Scott Snyder, Art by Greg Capullo

Pros: Holy crap this book is good! If you’re a current Batman fan, a lapsed one, a fan of The Dark Knight, what have you, this is THE Batman book to be reading, and I really enjoyed Detective Comics a few weeks back.  Greg Capullo proves that he should have been drawing Batman for YEARS, and the story by Scott Snyder provides an awesome opening action sequence, sets our characters properly, and even gives Bruce Wayne a few strong moments.  Add a great hook for the next mystery which will undoubtably take the first trade, and I am game for whatever this book has to dish out.

Cons: Honestly, not too much. I’m bummed to see Gordon smoking again, and the way that Capullo draws Bruce, Dick, Tim and Damien is a LITTLE too similar, ditto the new Gotham mayorial candidate, but for the most part, I was both surprised and pleased with this book. Awesome work, all!

Would I Continue Reading It?: Right now, this is the 4th book I’d start collecting alongside Animal Man, Action Comics and Frankenstein. Shut up and take my money, DC.

Birds of Prey #1 Written by Duane Sweirczynski, Art by Jesus Siaz

Pros: Siaz comes out with strong art and Sweirczynski plots a solid tale involving 2 members of our potential Birds of Prey team (Black Canary and Starling) and the reporter that’s been following them.  The book is a lengthy action sequence, tossing readers exactly into what Starling and Canary can do, juxtaposed with a number of flashback showing us how we got here…

Cons: …but ultimately the story didn’t engage me.  The book felt a lot like Justice League #1 back in Week One, you have a team book where things aren’t in motion yet.  Yes, there were strong character moments, but I never really got into who the characters were or what they were doing.  Also, is Starling’s “Suicide Girl” look a new thing to “extreme” it up?

Would I Continue Reading It?: I’m sure this book will have its fans, and make them very happy, but for me, it’s just lost in the sound of other books. In turn, I wouldn’t pick it up.

Blue Beetle #1 Written by Tony Bedard, Art by IG Guara

Pros: Blue Beetle takes an interesting approach to the heroes seen so far - this is a book about the man, well, boy behind the mask more than the hero and his adventures, but that isn’t to say that it doesn’t ramp up more.  Ostensibly one of the least DCU connected series released so far, Beetle stands on its own, giving us the tale of high schooler Jaime Reyes eventually intersecting with a magical space scarab.  What I really liked about this though? The book has it’s own unique rogues gallery! The villain who looked like a walking Day of the Dead decoration (while a little on the nose) might be one of my favorite character designs so far.

Cons: If you’re in for Beetle action, you don’t get much here, as this is HEAVY on the setup.  Also, was this version of Blue Beetle always almost symbiotic? I could make the Peter Parker comparisons with Jaime, but the Venom-esq nature of the scarab is a little too obvious.  Also, did we really need the shoehorned in Green Lantern? Felt unnecessary.

Would I Continue Reading It?: This would definitely be in my maybe pile.  If the book kept up and the Blue Beetle action was great, I’d be game.

Captain Atom #1 Written by JT Krul, Art by Freddie Williams II

Pros: This is really a strong idea for a book! One of DC’s underrated characters, Captain Atom is almost God-like with his abilities and skills (he reminds me a lot of Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan), but the book never portrays him as above the reader, which is very key.  The idea of such a powerful character losing control over his VERY powerful abilities is one that is intriguing and I’d like to see play out. Also, the new look for Captain Atom and the almost etherial way he is depicted in the book is really cool. The coloring team did a great job making him stand out amongst the rest of the book.

Cons: The rest of the art, however, feels rushed and ugly. I’m not sure if this is an intentional decision to make Atom stand out, but it was kind of jarring to see him rendered so well, and the rest of the world around him look so bad.  Also, this is another book that I wonder how the story will be able to play out over 6 issues, let alone an ongoing series - it feels like the writers forgot how to pace themselves these days.

Would I Continue Reading It?: I feel like this book is good for A trade and that’s about it. If the rest ended up good, I’d consider it, but it’d be one of my lower priority pickups.

Catwoman #1 Written by Judd Winnick, Art by Guillem March

Pros: Oh boy. Yeah. I can see where this got some anger. Let’s get the nice out first, right? Gillem March was BORN to draw a Catwoman book. He draws dynamic action sequences, he has a great mixture of awesome expressions (check the cats in the first few pages) and cheesecake, and overall, he just makes the book feel like a fun romp.

Cons: That said, what the hell was up with the writing? You have a setup for an interesting storyline between Selena and the Russian mob, a heist of awesome art and then SHE AND BATMAN BANG FOR 3 PAGES OUTTA NOWHERE. When did this become fan fiction, Judd? Ugh. You had me, and then you just sexed it up out of the blue. I’m far from a prude, but this was just unnecessary.

Would I Continue Reading It?: Nah, I’m good. If this is any indication, the book will be 60% story derailed by 40% superhero banging. What the hell, dudes.

DC Universe Presents #1 Written by Paul Jenkins, Art by Bernard Chang

Pros: Wow. This one will stick with me.  The DC Presents series is designed to showcase limited run series of different characters who cannot otherwise support an ongoing series, and if they do for others what they did for Deadman here, this could be one hell of a book. Jenkins puts together a very dark, depressing but enthralling read here, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.  Bernard Chang’s art is really great, strong, clean renders helped with solid inks and great color work.

Cons: Another book where I’m struggling to say something bad.  I suppose the mystical side of Deadman’s character is played a little thick (I think I’d like him just forced into new people’s lives Quantum Leap style), but really, this is great.

Would I Continue Reading It?: For the Deadman run, at least. I don’t know if Jenkins and Chang are on for the series following Deadman, but if so, I’d love to see what they do with more C and D list characters. Recommended for sure.

Green Lantern Corps #1 Written by Peter J. Tomasi, Art by Fernando Pasarin

Pros: I didn’t know I wanted it, but a Guy Gardner/John Stewart buddy cop book makes for a great read! Tomasi does a wonderful job having these characters play off each other, and seeing them try to get real world jobs for when being a GL is slow makes for a fun conceit to the reader.  Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give props to the Ravens and Orioles shout outs.  The idea of these guys and other GL’s fighting through the galaxy while dealing with “real” things on Earth sounds like a book I could get into, and it worked well here.

Cons: Did anyone else find this issue unnecessarily graphically violent? Like, I was just sorta jarred by how brutal some of the violence in the book was from the mysterious villain (to be revealed by the end of issue 2, I’d assume). Oh, and “Triumph of the Will” as the story title? Yikes.

Would I Continue Reading It?: If the banter remained fun, the art remained solid, and the stories enthralling, this might be the better of the GL books on the stands. We’ll see.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 Written by Paul Levitz, Art by Francis Portela

Pros: Uh. Well. The art is nice? And they do a really great job identifying each member of the GIANT cast in this book.

Cons: I wondered this with Legion Lost…I think I just cannot give a shit about the Legion of Super-Heroes, at all. Future space action? Normally, I’d be down, but there’s something about how it’s presented here that I don’t really care. There were 22 pages, things occurred, and I just couldn’t get into it.  Maybe it’s a great Legion book, maybe I’m wrong, but I just was indifferent to every page.  Not the worst book of the New 52, but definitely toward the bottom for me.

Would I Continue Reading It?: I’m good, thanks.

Nightwing #1 Written by Kyle Higgins, Art by Eddy Barrows

Pros: This is one of the books that really gets the issue one idea down pat. You setup the universe, show us what makes the characters tick, add some solid action sequences and setup intrigue for the next issue.  Barrows draws a great Nightwing, and just as great acrobatic sequences (key for this book), and Higgins does a very good job at showing us just how different from Bruce Wayne that Dick Grayson is.

Cons: I don’t really like the new red look of the Nightwing costume (I preferred him in black and blue), and honestly, I was a big fan of Dick taking the Batman cape and cowl, so I’m going to have a bit of a bias no matter what.  Also, did it strike anyone else that the design of the new big bad seems to be stolen directly from Wanted?

Would I Continue Reading It?: If money were no object? Sure.  But as it stands, I’d really only recommend this to the big Nightwing fans. It’s a well put together comic, but it’s not a must have.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 Written by Scott Lobdell, Art by Kenneth Rocafort

Pros: Well, I really enjoyed the first half of the book.  The banter between Red Hood and Speedy was really enjoyable, as was the prison break sequence.  Rocafort’s artwork is grimy in a good way, adding a street level feel to the book, which is necessary.  For the first half of this book, I could already see a really awesome Smokin' Aces esq movie for Jason Todd and the gang.  And then the second half hit.

Cons: Does the writing pool of DC Comics REALLY NEED TO GET LAID?! That’s now (so far) two overtly sexualized females this week, and with the 2 other big female lead books still to be reviewed by me (this is written chronologically, GASP!), I’m getting worried. Starfire as nothing more than an alien sexpot is just poor writing. You should be ashamed, Lobdell. This really left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book, which is a shame as I loved the first half.

Would I Continue Reading It?: Maybe if Lobdell were replaced and Rocafort stayed. Shame, as this went from a book I didn’t care, to one I wanted more of, to one I was turned off by…all in one read. Oh well.

Supergirl #1 Written by Michael Green & Mike Johnson, Art by Mahmud Asrar

Pros:  I can’t say they didn’t give us action in this one! 22 pages of Supergirl wrecking a team of dudes in robot suits. If that’s your bag, this book delivered in spades to you.  Also, I like the Kara-El has no idea what Earth is or how she got there idea.  If we’re gonna reboot Supergirl AGAIN, might as well wipe her totally clean.

Cons: Another book where we as readers aren’t given much and are expected to stick around for the mystery.  Also, what’s with her weird cut out thigh boots? Just reeks of bad 90’s Image Comic-style design choices.

Would I Continue Reading It?: Supergirl isn’t a character I’ve been particularly into, and this comic gave me no reason to jump on board. Not a bad book by any means, but it’s another that shifted toward the middle.  Enjoyed the pages I read, not going to be sad to move on from it.

Wonder Woman #1 Written by Brian Azzarello, Art by Cliff Chiang

Pros: Goddamn is Cliff Chiang’s art great, and his women are just fantastic. Not too cheesecakey, they look strong, powerful, in control and realistic. He was BORN to draw a Wonder Woman book. Also, the integration of Greek mythology into a real world scenario is handled well - it kind of reminds me how Dogma worked Christian theology into a real world scenario (and given the immaculate conception hinted at here, the analogy isn’t entirely off - thankfully, no shit monsters). As someone who’s never liked Wonder Woman, this actually had me interested, so consider the experiment having paid off here.

Cons: I’m a little confused by the captioning/internal monologuing(?) during the books main action sequence - I assume it will make more sense later on, but I wasn’t entirely getting it, and it just felt put upon as a reader.

Would I Continue Reading It?: Perhaps. Diana, Hermes and the woman carrying Zeus’s child fighting for their lives in the woods isn’t how I figured this new Wonder Woman book would start, and I’d like to see how it all eventually comes together.  Not one of my must haves from the New 52 so far, but I think it worked, something that WW fans should be happy about, given how regularly she’s been relaunched/rebooted.

Wow, that’s 11 more down, and we have JUST ONE MORE WEEK TO GO! What will we see in the final week of The New 52?!

Here’s the lineup.

All Star Western #1 Aquaman #1 Batman: The Dark Knight #1 Blackhawks #1 The Flash #1 The Fury of Firestorm #1 Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 I, Vampire #1 Justice League Dark #1 The Savage Hawkman #1 Superman #1 Teen Titans #1 Voodoo #1