The Flash #1

Barry Allen is the one and only Flash in the DCnU courtesy of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato.  We see the world through Barry Allen's eyes as he tries to solve a mysterious crime and help an old friend with a secret.  This rejuvenated version of Barry is just what we needed to see with urgency; his final incarnation before the relaunch did not seem to fit with the rest of his world.  This new Flash comes without all the baggage, and dare I say without his own ghost haunting him and the readers.  It is clear that Francis Manapul enjoyed his time during the Flash run he shared with Geoff Johns, but now he is the man in charge and is truly letting his imagination soar.  His art is beautiful; the pencil-like finishes take the art to a whole new level.  Buccellato's colors give the story this "old comic" feeling I just love.  I am very excited about this title and I can't wait for what comes next.

Aquaman #1

Part one of "The Trench" written by Geoff Johns, pencils by Ivan Reis, and inks by Je Prado.  An excellent introduction for Aquaman to the new continuity.  Geoff Johns did an awesome job in taking what many people in "our world" perceive of the character and translating it into what people in "Earth-1" think of the Superhero.  As time passes, I can guarantee that people -in both the real and comic world- will see what a badass Aquaman really is.  Ivan Reis' art, as always, is nothing short of outstanding; he truly brings "regal" to Aquaman, and the new tweaks made to his uniform make him look even better -although most of them had been carried over from Brightest day.  Another plus in this issue is Rod Reis' coloring; from the shine in Aquaman's scales to the flashback panels, this is another Reis in the rising.

Action Comics #1



Cover Art by Rags Morales

 

Nothing marks the beginning of an era like an "Action Comics #1".  Grant Morrison and Rags Morales present the first chapter of a new origin for the Man of Steel.  Set five years in the past -about six months prior to Justice League #1- Superman makes his debut in a world that has never heard the term "super hero" and aliens are basically non existent; he is the first in both cases.

The book has a "retro" feel to it, despite its obvious placement in relative recent times.  We meet Clark, Lois, Jimmy, Luthor, and General Lane, the main cast; Superman's powers are at an early stage and have not reached the maturity we are familiar with, so this arc may follow him as he learns to use them and discover new ones.  Here he is young... very young; he actually looks like a Superboy, so I am not sure how this plays out with the Justice League book which is supposed to

Variant Cover by Jim Lee

take place just about six months later and where seems fully grown; it could be just an artist's rendition.  On a side note I wonder how this affects the origin for the Legion of Super Heroes as it doesn't look like Superman met them in his youth.

I am not an avid fan of Superman -or of Grant Morrison for that matter- but this is a landmark issue and I think it is imporatant to have it, if only for what it represents.  "Superman versus the city of tomorrow" is a collector's item in itself, and if one day it means half as much as that other "Action Comics #1", then it would have been worth getting it.  Fans of Rags Morales are in for a treat thanks to his intricate and detailed art and Brad Aderson's colors are amazing... that red and blue just stand out on every planel.

Wonder Woman #1

The amazon warrior gets a new #1 courtesy of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.  I must confess that when the announcement was first made I told myself "there is no way I am getting that title"; the cover art for the solicitation completely alienated me, but now I admit: "I was wrong"

Cover Art by Cliff Chiang

This new take on Wonder Woman has a darker and more depressing tone, and although it is too soon to jump to conclusions, it seems like this version of Diana lives in the U.K. rather than America (a residue from Flashpoint?), there is no magical spinning transformation, and powers such as flight are not being displayed by the amazon.

This launch also offers a new take on the gods.  These are not the toga-wearing divinities we are more familiar with; these new versions look more like creatures, which is not bad, is just different.  I wish  the first arc had not involved the gods, though; this has been done over and over again in Wonder Woman, so Azzarello will really have to show us what is better about his vision vs. all the previous ones.

Going back to my opening statement, I owe Cliff Chiang an apolgy; his art goes so well with the tone of the book, and his pencils are so dynamic and fluid -rarely artists are able to get away with a fight sequence like the one with the centaur- without looking cartoonish.

One more thing I liked about this book was the coloring by Matthew Wilson.  It's like blue has been banned from the book and replaced with a dark indigo that goes just perfect with the art.  There's something I must clarify though:  I bought this book in its digital version and that's where the colors look their best;  I looked at the paper copy in my local comic book store and they were not even close to be as vivid as they do on a screen; that's not always the case.

"The Visitation" was a surprise as I did not expect it to have the great art or the dark theme it had.  My personal recommendation is to buy it digital as the art is more enjoyable.  I am not still 100% bought on the story, but it has called my attention enough to give issue #2 a shot.

Red Lanterns #1

The Corps of Rage receive their own monthly title in the DCnU courtesy of writer Peter Milligan and penciller supreme Ed Benes.  This one is dear to my heart, because it was one of those things you dream of, but don't actually expect them to come true, as I had mentioned ages ago in one of my old posts.  Even with all that, the Red Lanterns are here, and they are here to stay.



Cover Art by Ed Benes



New readers will find this issue friendly and accessible, as they learn of Atrocitus' motivaion for being the way he is, while old readers get extra pieces to put together and that date back to "Green Lantern: Secret Origin".

Favorites Bleeze and Dex-Starr make prominent appearances in the book, along with the creepy cadaver of Krona -the story picks up where "War of the Green Lanterns" left off,- and somewhere in there, the introduction of a potential new Red Lantern from Earth.

Peter Milligan sets a new path for Atrocitus; a path of bloody justice that puts him technically on the side of the angels but with the methods of the evilest of demons, and the first step of his new mission is to convince his followers to come with him... good luck with that!

I just love Ed Benes; from way back when I first saw his art in "Artemis: Requiem" I became a fan.  His style is so clean and crisp, and with Rob Hunter's inks, and Nathan Eyring's colors, the art just comes to life.  I particulary liked the flashback panels with that "cloudy" feeling to them.  Pretty cool.

"With Blood and Rage" is a great story that sets the stage for a new brand of Justice that will clearly bring Atrocitus and his Corps in a collision course with good guys and bad guys alike, and I cannot wait to see it.  You shouldn't either!

X-Men Legacy #255

Intergalactic adventure awaits Rogue's squad in the second part of "Five Miles South of the Universe", a story written by Mike Carey and pencilled by Steve Kurth. 



Cover Art by Mico Suayan



In an attempt to find her missing fellow X-Men Polaris, Havok, and Marvel Girl, the southern belle teleported herself, Magneto, Gambit, and Frenzy to the most distant and remote corner of a distant and remote galaxy in Shi'ar space.

The best part of this issue was the beautiful cover by Mico Sayan; other than that, I cannot say I liked much else.  After years of being in comic limbo, the promise of Havok, Polaris, and Marvel Girl returning to the pages of X-Men had me very excited.  So far, this return has been a disappointment.  Last issue they were only in one panel; in this issue, they get more screen time; however, it seems they are being manipulated by the Grad Nan Holt.  Seriously? How much longer will we have to suffer a brainwashed Polaris?

In the meantime, Rogue is also having to put up with the comical relief brought by Sovel Redhand and his pirate crew.  I cannot emphasize enough how much I don't like humor -especially when it looks forced- in this type of stories; so that whole sequence was a no-no for me.

The artist in this story should be doing filler issues, not a high profile arc; his Magneto looks particularly awkward, and the Shi'ar look like coneheads.  I have to say that Brian Reber's colors did a lot to make the art tolerable, but that's about it.

It is a shame that such a promising story is not upholding to prior "X-Men in Space" arcs, which I have always enjoyed.  Let's hope to finally see the Magneto vs. Polaris fight in issue 256, but even if we do, we already know it will not count as the mistress of magnetism is not herself right now.  Once this arc is finished, I am quitting the X-Men anyway, as I am not interested in "Regenesis".

Batwoman #1

Batwoman finally debuts in her solo series with "Hydrology", co-written by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman, and with the former on art duty, this long-awaited this title did not disappoint. From the very beginning we get to see the horror theme of the book, just like its creators had promised, and they did a fantastic job with it.



Cover Art by J.H. Williams III



The issue has lots of Batwoman in it, lots of Kate Kane and her personal relationships with Det. Sawyer, her father Col. Kane, and her cousin Bette.  Speaking of Bette, I am glad she got a lot of attention in this first issue, but I felt Kate was being a little too harsh on her, which did not seem fair to me, seeing how Flamebird has proven herself a hero; nonetheless it was great knowing she has not been forgotten.

The Weeping Woman is Batwoman's first villain in this series, and her premise is one I am familiar with, since in my country we have also heard the story of La Llorona. Williams' pencils are a perfect match for the horror theme of this book, yet, in the Kate and the non-Batwoman sequences, it is as if a different artist had been featured, which proves how talented he is.

Lots of double spreads, which I usually don't like; they make me feel robbed; however, the creators here fill their pages with dialog, flashbacks, and other small panels, so it's not a waste of space as I have seen in other books, and they look more like mini-posters in their own right.

"Leaching", the inaugural issue of Batwoman is a definitive must, for those who appreciate fine art, suspense stories, and character development. An immediate success, this issue has already been ordered for a second printing.

Green Lantern #1

Straight from "The War of the Green Lantenrs" and the old universe, comes Green Lantern and "Sinestro" written by Geoff Johns and pencilled by Doug Mahnke.  One of the very few books whose background history did not get changed with Flashpoint or the relaunch, Green Lantern picks up right where it left two months ago.

Cover Art by Ivan Reis

It could be that I am already suffering of Green Lantern overexposure, but I did not find this book that interesting at all.  In many ways it is as if we were starting all over again: we have this reckless guy Hal Jordan at a very low point in his life, messing up and being stupid, when suddenly an alien cop comes offering him a power ring, end of the issue.  That's one way of seeing it.

Another interpretation for this issue is that we get to see what happened after War of the Green Lanterns, but is being told as if the loss of the ring caused Hal Jordan to go broke, have poor credit, no money, getting evicted, and acting like a loser.  How did exactly losing the ring cause any of this?  Ring or no, he was going to have poor credit anyway, so why is it being painted as if the ring is the reason?  This issue is not particularly friendly to new readers either, as you have to know a lot of what has happened before to understand why things are the way they are in issue #1.

The writing was weak and there was dialog missing from a lot of pages; this left a lot of the responsibility on Mahnke's hands, and maybe it is just my whining doing the talking -you know what I mean,- but he did not deliver as he had prior to the relaunch.  If with the other titles launched this month we say solely by their first issue that they look promising and a success, then it would be fair to judge Green Lantern the same way, only that it would not fare that well.  So for all the great stores this title has given us in the past five or six years, I will say I'll give it a shot for the next two issues, but if they are as this first installment, then it won't be long before the GL hype goes away.

Hawk and Dove #1

Directly from the pages of "Brightest Day" and now in their own monthly series under the "Young Justice" line, come the avatars of War and Peace:  Hawk and Dove.  Written by Sterling Gates and pencilled by Rob Liefeld.

Cover by Rob Liefeld

I know very little about these two characters, except whatever was discussed during "Brightest Day".  I saw Dove for the first time in the pages of JSA's "Princes of Darkness", and it was an instant crush.  Of Hawk, I recall some mentions in "Zero Hour" but it sounded too convoluted to look further into the character; so I am aproaching this series through the eyes of a new reader for the most part.

With that said, I got to learn the origin of Hawk and the first Dove, and what their powers are -it was pretty cool seeing Dawn lifting that airplane.  There is also action, zombies, and a mystery.  Dove is keeping secrets from Hawk... secrets that could split them forever.  In the end, readers also find out that apparently there is more than just the avatars of War and Peace.

Now the art.  Over the years I have noticed that Rob Liefeld has gotten lots of hate from readers; but it doesn't seem to me that his art is bad at all -I do remember the hot mess that was "Heroes Reborn" but that was not just his art, it was the whole thing.  In Hawk and Dove his pencils are very nice and clean, with just enough backgrounds, and rich in panels.  Matt Yackey's colors also bring lots of life and dynamism to the story.

"First Strikes", the debut issue of Hawk and Dove, is a reader friendly issue; newcomers won't get lost, and old fans will get enough to get them to come back.  The story was good enough to get me interested and wanting to pick up the second issue.  With nice art and the potential for a great story, it is a title not to miss.  To the skepticals, I suggest you give it a chance, and you will not regret it.