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I haven't read all of the #1's from the last two weeks. I'm waiting for my DCBS shipment but I did buy some of them at my LCS (just couldn't wait).

Detective Comics - Tony Daniel has improved a lot as a writer. Yeah, he's heavily influenced by Frank Miller and it shows, but that's nothing new in art, be it music, movies, comics, etc. (bands are still writing Beatles' songs in 2011) His artwork has improved too from when he was drawing Morrison's stories. Overall, a good, fast-paced comic with an ending that doesn't make it another typical Joker story. The last page had shock value, but it also made me excited for the next issue, which is all you can ask.

Action Comics - This is a Superman that interests me (it's been a while) and I loved the artwork. The new status quo with Clark, Lois, Jimmy is really interesting too. I also loved this Luthor.

Swamp Thing - I've always liked Paquette, but he's just amazing on this. Excellent writing, some legitimately creepy scenes, and I love how this is set in the superhero universe but has its own identity.

Animal Man - Another legitimately creepy comic (hard to do in this medium, IMO) and excellent writing. I love the voice Lemire gives Buddy and all of the creative ways that he used his powers. There's been some controversy over the art, but I like it and think it goes perfectly with this book. Another ending where I can't wait for the next issue.

Batgirl - I knew going in I would enjoy this and I did. The "miracle"? I have enough confidence in Simone that it will be explained. I liked that Babs is a little unsure of herself after a long layoff and I enjoyed the new roommate (always like a good supporting cast). The villain really intrigues me.

Batwing - Strong 1st issue. Effective job of getting me interested in this relatively new character and world (particularly liked the stuff that involved the police), solid artwork, and great final page.

Justice League International - Not as good as I had hoped, but I'll stick with it. It won't be the JLI we knew, but I see potential for it to develop into something that can replace it. Some of the interaction between the the characters was good while it felt forced at other times. Nice artwork.

Green Arrow - The stuff with Ollie and his company interested me. I liked his new support staff and how they differ from each other (some interesting ethical issues). But the story itself was rather generic, the villains were just annoying, and I can't get into Dan Jurgans' artwork in 2011.

Batman and Robin - Strong first issue. I don't think not knowing where Damian came from hurts the interesting relationship between the father and son. I really enjoy Damian and have since the beginning, so this title is a natural for me.

Mr Terrific - Another really effective 1st issue in introducing the character and his story. Intriguing ending. The art is a little rough in spots, but otherwise, I really enjoyed this.

I finished reading the 2nd week of the new DC 52

Batwoman was my favorite book of the week. It is a Bat book, but it is different in terms of both story and art. It does focus on the supernatural element of Gotham City. The art is, of course, amazing.

Besides Batman/ Robin and Green Lantern, the books I really liked this week were Demon Knights and Frankenstein. These were two books that really stood out from the rest of the new 52, as well as, majority of comics out there. If you like Game of Thrones, you have to read Demon Knights.

Other books I enjoyed were:
Grifter - This is a new take on the character but it works within the new 52.
Red Lanterns - A lot of fun. Great story and art.
Deathstroke - A good first issue. Not great, but interesting enough where I will be back next issue.
Superboy - The surprise of the week for me. I wasn't really expecting much, but it was really good.

Books that I thought were good but I am on fence on were: Resurrection Man, Suicide Squad, and Mister Terrific. These books were good, but didn't blow me away. Resurrection Man I had high hopes on but was not excited for the book after reading the first issue.

The worst book of the week and so far is Legion Lost. I was so confused about what was going on in the book. The storytelling was very confusing. The only thing that saved the book was the art.

HassanT wrote:
Superboy - The surprise of the week for me. I wasn't really expecting much, but it was really good.

Agreed. Superboy was one of the books that I thought might not make the cut for me. I've never been a big fan of the character and I don't want to read all 52 books past #3. But man, this was good. Really good. Lobdell took the concept and made it better. I loved his use of some other existing characters. Plus as a result of reading Superboy, I'm more excited about another one of the new 52 now too.

stardog wrote:

HassanT wrote:
Superboy - The surprise of the week for me. I wasn't really expecting much, but it was really good.

Agreed. Superboy was one of the books that I thought might not make the cut for me. I've never been a big fan of the character and I don't want to read all 52 books past #3. But man, this was good. Lobdell took the concept and made it better. I loved the use of some existing characters. Plus, I'm more excited about another one of the new 52 now too.

Due to Lobdell's work on both Superboy and Fathom; Teen Titans and Red Hood have jumped to the top of my "must look at list"

Superboy has definitely been one of the most impressive of DC's new titles so far for me (much to my surprise), and I'm glad to see almost everyone's digging it.

Mister Terrific A good concept with painfully average art. A character like this needs to have something extra to stand out. The writing is fine, but the art is so forgettable it is really a shame.

Stormwatch I am fan of the original Stormwatch series, and I enjoyed the last run of The Authority. This book gave more of the same stuff I was getting earlier so I am happy. I will say the art was also very average.

BobBretall wrote:I did really good on these, 4 of the 5 have earned slots on my "pull list": Batwoman, Demon Knights, Green Lantern, & Resurrection Man. So, I've already equaled the # of books from the week of 9/7 that made it onto my pull list.

Then there was Suicide Squad which was OK, but not good enough to earn an automatic slot on my pull. I'll give it another couple of issues & see where we get to.

Got my DCBS box & read the other books. I did REALLY good on the ones I picked off the rack, far less so on the others I read today.

1 additional book made it onto my "pull list": Superboy.

I was a bit on the fence about Batman & Robin. Damian was acting more jerky than pre-Flashpoint, or maybe just jerky in a way that was not as "cute" or something, he really was getting on my nerves in this issue.

Then there were a bunch I really didn't like at all, for various reasons:
Deathstroke: First, I'm not a big fan of a title starring a guy who's an assassin. I didn't like the personality they gave him, and the art was really not doing it for me, but certainly not my least favorite art of the week.
Frankenstein: I don't know exactly what it was but it was really rubbing me the wrong way. I liked Ray Palmer in it, but most of the rest of the story just wasn't working for me. Weird, because I think it's the first thing written by Lemire that I've not liked.
Grifter: My least favorite art of the week. Has Cafu changed his art style? Maybe this is what he does when he's rushed to hit a deadline, but it was not as appealing to me as the work he did on Vixen & THUNDER Agents. There were some really glaring problems with scale, proportion, and perspective that made me scratch my head. I wasn't really feeling the story either. I think getting him into the mask before the last page & giving some kind of rationale for it would have been a good idea for a #1 issue.
Legion Lost: Another issue where the art was not working for me. I quite liked his art on his run in Action Comics, but this was really not doing it for me. Runner up for least favorite art of the week. I was not feeling it for Nicieza's story either.
Mister Terrific: There were pieces of dialogue in this issue that I actively disliked. A lot of times, writing won't appeal to me, but here, I was reading dialogue, wincing, then re-reading it to see if I had actually just read those words being put into someone's mouth.....
"Actually, a simple 'Thanks Black Guy, for saving us from a homicidal lunatic wearing weaponized body armor' will do." yikes.
Red Lanterns: I really can't get into a story starring these avatars of rage/hate. Bleez's dialogue was painful to read.

HassanT wrote:Frankenstein.
Grifter - This is a new take on the character but it works within the new 52.
Red Lanterns - A lot of fun. Great story and art.
Deathstroke - A good first issue. Not great, but interesting enough where I will be back next issue.

I think we drifted apart this week, Hassan! Although I'm right there with you on Superboy & Legion Lost.

Penny for Your Soul: False Prophet #1 - I think the 1st series told enough of this particular story/concept for me.....this continuation did nothing to grab me, I wish they'd have let this stand alone with the 1st series. To me it did, I'm skipping the follow-on.

The following titles from DC are ranked from most liked to least liked, however they are all green and I am continuing with all of them. (For Example I liked OMAC the best and Legion Lost the least)


OMAC
Batgirl
Resurrection Man
Batwoman
Animal Man
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
Green Lantern
Detective Comics
Men of War
Suicide Squad
Superboy
Stormwatch
Swamp Thing
Action Comics
Red Lanterns
Demon Knights
Justice League International
Mister Terrific
Grifter
Justice League
Hawk and Dove
Batwing
Green Arrow
Batman and Robin
Deathstroke
Static Shock
Legion Lost

comicm wrote:The following titles from DC are ranked from most liked to least liked, however they are all green and I am continuing with all of them. (For Example I liked OMAC the best and Legion Lost the least)

You are HARD CORE, Mike.....

I guess it goes with the territory when you do the "DC Noise" podcast......

BobBretall wrote:

comicm wrote:The following titles from DC are ranked from most liked to least liked, however they are all green and I am continuing with all of them. (For Example I liked OMAC the best and Legion Lost the least)

You are HARD CORE, Mike.....

I guess it goes with the territory when you do the "DC Noise" podcast......

Really does not have anything to do with DC Noise because we don't even talk about half of the books. I really am enjoying the new Universe and I am like a 80% story 20% art guy unless it is Jack Kirby art then 80% art 20% story. The top six books were 5/5 for me and the bottom 4 were 3/5.

I am still working on the exercise of trimming my monthly intake of comics so I can read them all. Marvel has taken the biggest hit and I am approaching 20 titles from that company which used to be above 60.

Another new number 1 that I loves was

Mystery Men #1 (from Marvel) - Awesome pulp action that takes place during the depression. If you are a fan of Rocketeer you will enjoy this series.

Still working my way through the first two weeks of books...

Batwoman - I was a little nervous about this book as a big Greg Rucka fan, but the first issue delivered and then some. Cool story, some interesting (potential) subplots, and a final page that definitely made me want to come back for more. And the best artwork in comics. Like the Detective Batwoman arc, I'll probably double dip (something I almost never do) when the hardcover comes out.

Suicide Squad - It's probably not fair, but I couldn't help but compare this to Secret Six. Nothing about this really stood out and I've certainly enjoyed Deadshot and Harley a lot more in other books. That said, this wasn't bad by any means and the final page made me want to see what happens in the next issue. And I like this type of comic (so I'll give it some time). I really want my Secret Six back, though...

Red Lanterns - On one hand this could be an interesting concept, but on the other hand I could see myself not caring in 3 or 4 issues. Is there someone to care about in this book? My longterm thought is that a little Red Lanterns goes a long way (keep them appearing in the other GL books instead of getting their own book), but this book did keep me interested.

Hawk & Dove - I didn't hate the artwork, but I also won't be upset when Liefeld is gone. The overall story was just okay, but the Hawk & Dove relationship could keep me coming back. On its own merits I probably wouldn't continue with this book, but I have enjoyed Sterling Gates' work in the past (his Supergirl was one of the best books on the stands), and I became a big Dove fan because of Brightest Day and to a lesser extent, Birds of Prey. So I'll give this a chance.

Legion Lost - While being dropped into a story can be a lot of fun, this just didn't work for me. I don't have to know everything, but give me something to grab on to. Something exciting. And the art... what happened to Pete Woods?? I always liked his stuff and thought he took it to a whole new level on Action Comics, but this didn't look good. I could see his work in there but something was off. I'm not really technical when it comes to art, so I can't say what it is, but I didn't like it. As it is, I'm not a huge LOSH fan, so sticking to one book will be fine.

And I already mentioned in another post what I thought about Superboy. A great surprise and one of the better New 52 titles so far.

Legion Lost My only real exposure to LOS was the cartoon, and ironically Legion Lost from Abnett And Lanning. I just read the Hardcover for that story a few months ago. I thought the issue was good, but it did strike me as odd that they did not explain who the Legion was. There was enough in the story for me to stick around.

I liked the art in this issue. I thought the issue could have used a splash page to break up the flow.

stardog wrote:
Suicide Squad - It's probably not fair, but I couldn't help but compare this to Secret Six. Nothing about this really stood out and I've certainly enjoyed Deadshot and Harley a lot more in other books. That said, this wasn't bad by any means and the final page made me want to see what happens in the next issue. And I like this type of comic (so I'll give it some time). I really want my Secret Six back, though...

inversely, I never bought Secret Six (except for the Ostrander Issues) because it wasn't Suicide Squad.