Flash #1 – Written by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato and Art by Francis Manapul. So the Flash history has been rewritten a tad, but nothing earth breaking. He isn’t with Iris, but she is involved in the story. There’s plenty of excitement going on in this issue as well and a mystery wrapping into it all. Is Flash responsible for a murder of his own friend? And then at the end everything goes crazy, but in a fun way. The art is well done as is most things done by Manapul. I was a bit worried when I heard Manapul would be drawing AND writing. Sometimes that can be a very bad thing. I’m still worried about how many delays we’ll have on issues if he keeps doing that, but so far the results are darned good. My only complaint isn’t Manapul’s fault, it’s that Jim Lee redesigned the costume and put some unnecessary kneepads and lines that kind of annoyed me. It isn’t as bad as Superman’s costume, but that’s another issue altogether. Overall, very good issue that should lead to more fun in the future. Definitely worth picking up and checking out!
Superman #1 – Written by George Perez and Art by Jesus Merino. The Daily Planet has been bought out and now the Globe has taken over. They’re forming a giant news network type deal. That makes sense, but I have no idea how they were able to buy the company out AND make a giant new skyscraper. Apparently, newspapers still sell well in the DC Universe. I’m guessing EVERYONE in the US is buying them if they’re able to afford all of this stuff, but anyway, Jesus makes the new version of Superman look palatable, even though I’m not fond of the new design. Does Superman really need something with built in kneepads? No, but thanks Jim Lee. I guess it could have been worse, Liefeld could have redesigned every character to have pouches. Superman has to witness the old Planet being razed and then has to fight an evil alien fire demon or something like that. It was all fine stuff, however, here’s more controversy. We have Lois Lane selling herself out and then celebrating by having sex with some random guy. For the sake of taking the same old story and spinning it on it’s head, it was one of those moments of “holy crap” as Clark found out. At that point, you say it’s very different. Jimmy Olsen, however, is very non-distinguishable and appears to be a television camera man. Perez does his best to keep this story interesting and different and I appreciate that effort. It isn’t as good as what Morrison did with his take, but it still seems to be a solid effort and was pretty enjoyable. Worth checking out and seeing if you like the new Supes, but beware of slightly lame costume!
Aquaman #1 – Written by Geoff Johns, Penciled by Ivan Reis and Inked by Joe Prado. With Aquaman comics you never know what you’re going to get. Really, nobody has had much love for him since Peter David. However, Flashpoint showed that he could be a real bad ass. Now he’s got his own series and it looks like Geoff Johns is going to put a lot of energy into this one. I did like how apparently everyone in the DC Universe views him as kind of a joke. But he shows off he’s not just a B list character anymore. Some of the origin story from Flashpoint has carried over into this one. I liked Reis’ artwork and just thought it was a pretty good first issue. The diner scene was a great part of the issue and really helped you get to know the character and enjoy him. I particularly liked the bad guys he’ll be dealing with, they seemed to be an interesting challenge for Aquaman. Just a really enjoyable first issue in most regards, nothing too outstanding, but very good effort all around!
Voodoo #1 – Written by Ron Marz and Art by Sam Basri. Right off the bat, I really think this should be a mature title. At least for the first issue as the entire thing deals with “Voodoo” who is apparently moonlighting as a popular stripper. Now, DC is getting all sorts of flack for the way they’ve been displaying female characters as little more than cheap sexual objects. Add on the fact that they’ve got even less female writers than before and it creates a bit of controversy. Well, I’m sure this issue will have some issues for numerous people. This is not a title you’ll want any kids or probably even teens to be reading. As far as the story goes, two people are investigating this “Voodoo” trying to find out more about her for the government and that’s about all we really learn. But there are some interesting things going on here. Ron Marz does a good job of making it all seem fairly realistic (as far as conversation goes) and the artwork is excellent. So we get a bit of a reveal towards the end that was interesting, but we aren’t real sure where this is going. However, I’m sure that Marz will take us down an interesting path. I thought that it was a very good first issue, but it certainly will not be for everybody and some will probably downright hate it.
Teen Titans #1 – Written by Scott Lobdell, Penciled by Brett Booth and Inked by Norm Rapmund. Oh Scott Lobdell, if only you could write. Sorry, but I really don’t like any of Lobdell’s work. I thought his Red Hood and The Outsiders was the most asinine comic of the year and deserves to be listed as top of the crap pile. So, compared to that issue, this one is amazing. However, it isn’t good. We have Red Robin putting together a team of super powered teens (go figure right?). And there’s somebody else out to get them before he does. And Kid Flash is a royal mess up. We meet Wonder Girl as well and she hates being called that. I really liked Red Robin’s new outfit, I thought that was great. However, the overall issue just came across as mediocre. Which is good for Lobdell! And he made Cassie really sassy, so I’m not sure if I like that yet or not. The artwork is very good, but Rapmund is one of my favorite inkers and he really adds to the pencils. Overall, just an average first issue, one that you can definitely skip for this week!
Justice League Dark #1 – Written by Peter Milligan and Art by Mikel Janin. So we have Madame Xanadu proving she can be in multiple titles at once now, Zatanna who wasn’t that distinguishable without her old magician outfit, Shade the Changing Man, plus tons of guest appearances. Deadman looks to be a part of this group and that could prove interesting as well. I was impressed that they went straight to Enchantress as a main villian and they set it up nicely. They made sure to show us that this was something on a different level than what Superman can deal with since he’s vulnerable to magic. There’s a brilliant scene where the regular Justice League is attacked by magical teeth that are swirling about. What a fantastic visual in this! Mikel really gives us a great deal of beautiful and detailed artwork. I thought this was a fantastic start to the new series and I hope they keep it up. This is much better than Milligan’s attempt at Red Lanterns. A lot of good stuff here that is worth checking out, very highly recommended!Technorati Tags: flash,francis manapul,brian buccellato,superman,george perez,jesus merino,aquaman,geoff johns,ivan reis,joe prado,voodoo,ron marz,sam basri,teen titans,scott lobdell,brett booth,norm rapmund,red robin,kid flash,wonder girl,justice league dark,peter milligan,mikel janin,madame xanadu,zatanna,enchantress,batman,deadman,shade the changing man
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