DC REBIRTH Month 1

ACTION COMICS #957: Jimmy Olsen, Captain Maggie Sawyer, and the Metropolis Special Crimes are at Geneticron with a hostage situation going on. Lex Luthor arrives, wearing his Battle Armor, and takes out the hostages while claiming to the television cameras that he is the new Superman. Upstate in their new home, Clark, Lois and Jon see this on the news and that leads to Clark shaving his beard and donning his classic Superman outfit…well, not quite classic, as his underwear is on the inside. While Luthor and Superman battle, Clark Kent arrives on the scene to hang with Jimmy and watch the fight. The thieves steal a large package from Geneticron that breaks loose during the chaos. Surprise: it’s Doomsday. All this happens while a mysterious figure watches it all on multiple television screens. Could this be Ozymandias?

So here comes the first new issue with the old numbering. For those doing the math, the #957 takes into account 53 issues during the NEW 52(52 issues and a Zero issue). Dan Jurgens is at the helm with Patrick Zircher which means you’re getting a nice Nineties feel to this book  I fund this book to be awesome, but then again, I was a huge fan of Jurgens work on the LOIS AND CLARK title. Hey-it’s OUR Superman, with OUR Lois and a super-powered son who will be part of a great WORLD’S FINEST type title later in the year. If this is the start of the new era, count me in!

ACTION COMICS #958: Superman and SuperLex  are battling it out with Doomsday while Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen observe. At the same time, Lois and Jon are watching Superman as is a mysterious stranger who watches on a bank of many television sets. Distraught, Jon flies off to help his father. Meanwhile, Doomsday continues to wreak havoc and Lex decides to take him on one on one. Not a good idea!

Thank you Dan Jurgens and Patrick Zircher for giving us another killer issue filled with wall to wall action and just enough plot to make things interesting! Bravo!

AQUAMAN REBIRTH #1: Mera and Arthur’s closest friends and advisors are aboard the Spindrift Station Embassy when a group of oceanic terrorists called The Deluge attack, planning to blow up an East Coast city. Aquaman engages them, while we are treated to images that alternately display him as a hero, a villain or a pop culture joke. He defeats The Deluge, which then gives him time to sit in a local seafood restaurant with Mera, sip clam chowder and discuss why the surface world is so important to him. Meanwhile, the book’s narrator, who turns out to be Black Manta, watches him and plots revenge for killing his father. That means killing Mera, destroying the Embassy and the peace between land and sea people.

Dan Abnett, along with Scot Eaton and Oscar Jimenez, combine to bring us the next chapter in the saga of the sea king. Right off the bat, the book looks amazing! I haven’t been this excited about the look since Paul Pelletier was on it. From first page to the last (you only get 20 pages now for $2.99…just so you know), this book screams beauty! On to Abnett’s story: fun, great, and exciting. This is the perfect set-up for what is to come. Of course, we all know that the classic Black Manta was responsible for killing Aquababy, so maybe it’s possible for him to take out Mera and send a nice twist to that story. We shall see. All I know is I’m ready for the ride!

AQUAMAN #1: It’s an exciting day in Massachusetts as Aquamna is allowing surface creatures into the Spindrift Station. Among them are Lieutenant Joanna Stubbs of the British Royal Navy and Ray Delane of the Daily Planet. As folks tour the station , they also get to eat the fancy buffet, including sea slug, which makes Delane ill. When Captain Sark goes to check on him, Delane kills him and transforms into Black Manta, who sets off an explosion that begins to flood the facility. Attacking and injuring Mera, he sets his sights on Aquaman and stabs him in the chest.

This series could be over before it has truly begun! Great writing and action from Dan Abnett with fantastic art from David Walker. This book is out of the gate like a rocket and needs to be on your pull list!

BATMAN REBIRTH #1: We begin with Alfred gardening and Duke Thomas saying he is up for the offer. This leads us to Batman battling the Calendar Man. Thanks to Alfred’s help, Batman takes him down. Next we see Lucius Fox informing Bruce that he has managed to get his company and his fortune back from the government. With Bruce and Duke working together, Bruce explains that Calendar Man ages and is reborn with the seasons. But he has managed to make the seasons speed up so that three seasons have elapsed in three days. Bruce presents Duke with a gold colored Batsuit and insists he wants to try something new and that he’s not training Duke to be another Robin. Batman finds a weather machine that is causing the seasonal changes and manages to disrupt it. Even still, Julian Day gets to be reborn as a new person.  In the end, Batman and Duke continue their training while Alfred feeds the bats in the cave.

Scott Snyder and Tom King set things up for the new era in BATMAN with this story that centers on rebirths. Julian Day is reborn, Bruce gets his company and riches back and Duke Thomas, despite still having parents driven insane, is poised to be Batman’s new sidekick, as the various Robins in his life continue on their own paths. Mikel Janin’s art is his usual amazing work, even though it seems softer than normal, which I have to attribute to his inking it himself. My only complaint is that Duke, who was a teenager during all the appearances thus far, looks far older than we have seen him before now. He appears more as a young adult. But let’s face it: anyone who has been reading the Batman titles up until now KNEW that Duke would end up under Bruce’s wing. From here, it’s King solo. Based on his other recent work including VISION and SHERIFF OF BABYLON, I expect great things.

BATMAN #1: A commercial jet is approaching Gotham and preparing for landing and gets shot at by a stolen surface to air missile. Alfred fills in the details and Duke Thomas does the calculations. The plane is going to crash in Gotham Square unless something can be done. Oh yeah: the Justice League is unavailable. Launching the Batmobile at just the right time and then ejecting himself onto the plane’s exterior, Batman rides and steers the plane towards the Gulf. The correct angle of impact will save the plane but the force of the explosion will kill him. As a mysterious figure, who has apparently killed the Kobra agent that may or may not have fired that missile says “observe the clock”, Batman asks if his parents would be proud and plans for his death. But the plane gently hits the water and Batman is saved by the superhero team of Gotham and Gotham Girl.

Tom King brings us the moment we have been waiting for: the next step in the evolution of The Dark Knight, complete with his new partner in crime-fighting, Duke Thomas. It’s what we all crave-edge of your seat excitement with a cast we know and love! And David Finch’ art is stunning! And, because of the inking of Matt Banning, there are moments when his style looks incredibly like that of the legendary Neal Adams. We get a new pair of heroes, who we first glimpsed in DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH and maybe even a Watchman. As a first issue, this is a winner! Here is hoping the quality continues throughout the twice a month run to come.

DETECTIVE COMICS #934: We begin with Azrael battling “Batman” before being electrocuted in a church by mysterious stranger watching a series of video monitors. When the real Batman arrives and asks him who did this, he replies that it was Batman. Switching gears, Batman intrudes on Kate Kane’s privacy, tells her about the incident and shows off a Bat drone that was not of his making. He also talks her into helping him get the next generation of heroes ready and reveals his identity to her, which she admits she has known for over 18 months. They proceed to bring Spoiler, Red Robin, the new Orphan (Cassandra Cain) and even Clayface into the fold, before having them begin their training. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure stands ready with his well-armed army, prepared to mix it up with this next generation when the time comes.

So, there are a ton of questions here, not the least of which is who are all these mysterious figures? Well, guessers among us, who see a potential conflict brewing between the Watchmen and the DC Universe, think it could be Ozymandias and Nite Owl, although I though those two guys hated each other. James Tynion IV writes a compelling and complicated tale with more questions than answers while Eddy Barrows delivers some amazing art!

DETECTIVE COMICS #935: We begin with our trainees fighting an army of Jokers, which turns out ot be a great big simulation they are running. Batwoman tells them they need to work better as she shows off the fully functional downtown Gotham Batcave known as The Belfrey. Tim isn’t happy the way things are being run, so he goes to visit Batman who takes him to Jean-Paul Valley’s bedside.  Azrael wakes up and calls the bad guys Colony. later, Tim and Stephanie get a little cuddle time while Kate goes to visit with her father, where he complains about the Kanes versus the Waynes. In the end, Batman is crusing the city and Colony finds him and attacks.
So…does EVERYONE KNOW Bruce is Batman? Because now Kate’s father does too! Anyway, James Tynion IV gives us a fun story that even allows Clayface to be human for a while. And Eddy Barrows’ art is totally dynamite! But, if you have seen his other work during the NEW 52, you knew that already.

THE FLASH REBIRTH #1: Barry is at the scene of a crime very similar to the way his mother died when he has a vision of Zoom. With a flashback to Barry’s origin before he runs into Wally, in a scene directly out of DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH. He explains that all of this is not Barry’s fault and that they are being watched. Barry is in a hurry to go tell Iris, but Wally backs him off as he already has seen his wife, who doesn’t know him, and he can’t bear having that happen with his Aunt Iris. Wally heads off to meet up with his former Teen Titans team while Barry goes to visit with Batman, who is analyzing The Comedian's smiley face button. In the end, the police reveal that the husband at crime scene confessed and it just goes to prove that Barry sometimes makes mistakes. All that happens while Zoom observes.

Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico present the first act in a new era for The Flash. Wally West, the REAL Wally West, has made it through to this Universe and is trying to get Barry’s mind back on the right track. Zoom is here, floating around the background and Batman shows up so the boys can investigate the letter from Flashpoint and The Comedian’s button. Die hard WATCHMAN fans are going to lose their minds over this and I’m sure Alan Moore is pissed he’s not getting any credit for this. But this is going to be a wild ride. The fact that these books have been selling out across the country means that there is a ton of interest and DC needs to keep that energy high!

THE FLASH #1: We begin by showing us the accident that gave Barry his powers. Then, after recapping that there has been a 10 year gap in their memories, he races as barry Allen to a crime scene where he works with August Heart, who was with Barry on the night he got his powers. Later, he meets up with Iris and her nephew Wally, this world’s Wally, to help him with a school project, which he already completed. While Barry becomes the Flash and races off to save people from a burning building, August is up against The Black Hole, who may have been responsible for his brother’s murder many years ago. Flash races to the scene to save his friend but the lightning gets there first. Another person affected by the Speed Force?

Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico continue to pave the new road out of the NEW 52 and into the REBIRTH era. While I found it a bit too long and wordy in spots, I loved the introduction of fanboy August Heart and how it looks like he will become another speedster in this new world. Cool stuff!

GREEN ARROW REBIRTH #1: Oliver ruins his dinner date with a Senator's daughter but then gives money to a little kid and his mom. Right after, mom is dragged into the sewers below and becomes one of 17 missing person’s cases. A cloaked individual is then seen with the boy, leading to Oliver intervening and fighting with...Black Canary. They all end up back at his place, where the boy gets cleaned up and Ollie shaves his beard, going back to his classic goatee look. The three head to a place called The Jungle where she criticizes him about how he has neglected the poor people of Seattle as much as he neglected his former “heroin-addicted partner”. His response is to criticize her rock star lifestyle. The boy finds his father among the people in The Jungle but then the Underground Men attack them all. They are told that they have been capturing people for The Auction, where they are being sold for whatever the buyer wants. Green Arrow and Black Canary shut the operation down, but it seems like this is just the beginning. In the end, tomorrow is another day and it looks like this might be the start of a beautiful friendship between them.

Here’s the things that count about this one shot: Ollie has his old look back. Dinah is away from the band and hanging in Seattle now. They both seem prepared to take on social injustice. And it looks like sparks may fly between them-in a good way. This is the return we have all wanted: Ollie and Dinah as a couple. Ben Percy and Otto Schmidt do a great job in bringing us that opening story and taking these two from their former New 52 lives. The bold and brash Oliver Queen, formerly infected but now cured, is ready to be a giving head of industry. And Dinah Lance, former rock star, is now ready to be a true superhero again. Ben Percy and Otto Schmidt are the creators here and are also the creative team for the regular title. Here’s hoping Percy follows the play book that Geoff Johns has written and follows it to the letter. It could be a return to greatness for these two.

GREEN ARROW #1: Green Arrow, Black Canary and Emiko are at the Seattle Docks to take down the Underground Men. After the fight, Ollie pays off the cops and a dock worker, ensuring they will give him information when needed. Next morning, it’s Ollie and Dinah in bed before they get up and Emiko gushes over the famous rock star in their house. Then it’s off for Ollie to Queen Industries, where things are not so kosher right now and will probably come back to haunt him, especially after a visit with Cyurus. That means someone has been sent to take him out and that someone is…Shado and Emiko.

Yeah…that last bit was a shocker! Wait to go, Ben Percy and Otto Schmidt. This issue set up multiple storylines, introduced some major villains for the future, and gave us the return of Shado! Not to mention, if you were lucky enough to score one, a great variant cover by Neal Adams and Kevin Nowlan. Yeah…this title is truly poised for major greatness in the new era!

GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1: It seems there is still a Guardian who has been hiding out and creating a new power that he has hidden in a box. As he flees, he opens the box and releases the entire spectrum of colors. Back on Earth, Simon Baz is being hassled because he has missed a check in with the FBI. Luckily, the FBI agent has a heart and helps to clean the foul graffiti branding him a terrorist off his garage. He gets called to duty and at the same time, in Portland, Jessica Cruz gets called to duty too. They both end up in Arizona and are forced to work together to fight a Manhunter. Unfortunately, they don’t do a very good job. Luckily Hal Jordan arrives and calls off the simulation that they both managed to fail. Hal explains he needs to go back into space and that they will be the Lanterns of this sector. At that point, Hal combines their two individual Lanterns into one and send s them up to train with the Justice League. Meanwhile, Atrocitus and the Red lanterns are preparing to unleash "The Red Dawn" upon the Universe.

There were good things and bad about this issue. Geoff Johns and Sam Humphries wrote it and you can almost see where Johns left off and Humphries took over. Humphries is the regular writer with the new series and that scares me because his work is uneven. I also have an issue with the art as Ethan Van Sciver and Ed Benes are the listed artists but it seems like Benes has done far more pages, as you can also see where he stopped and Van Sciver took over. The good of the book is how this intergalactic “Odd Couple” doesn’t like he each and are going to have to work together to defend our sector. Oh yeah: Red Lanterns!

GREEN LANTERNS #1: Our Green Lantern are at a farmhouse where they are having a major shootout with an unauthorized alien who is really a meth addict with a shotgun. After subduing him, they find the alien and a mass grave. Apparently this all has something to do with the Red Lanterns and Hell Tower, as the family of the victims all get that red glow in their eyes and demand justice. The Tower emerges full on from the bar just as Waller and ARGUS show up to take control of the situation. In the end, the Red Lanterns are dying and Atrocitus needs a Rage Seed so Red Dawn will arrive. At the same time, Simon gets Emerald Sight that presents premonitions of the future. One Lantern will serve Atrocitus and the other will die.

I was amazed at how good this issue turned out to be, considering that Sam Humphries writing is usually hit or miss…and unfortunately a lot of miss. The pace was good and the story sets up a lot of future plots. Topping it off was the art by Robson Rocha. Not much more I can same about that except when he is on fire, he is one fire!

SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1: The Pre-Flashpoint Superman is at the grave of the New 52 Superman when he discovers Lana Lang breaking into the crypt underneath the memorial so she can take his body. Lana had promised to take his body and bury it next to his parents in Smallville. Superman planned to take it back to the Fortress and use the Regeneration Matrix that had brought him back after dying at Doomsday’s hands to resurrect this Superman. Arriving at his Fortress, where they discover that this Superman didn’t have a Regeneration Matrix. Pre-Flashpoint Superman takes Lana back to  Smallville, where Lana proceeds to bury her friend. Superman goes back to the Fortress and builds a statue of the New 52 Superman between the statues of the Kents. 

Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason blew me away with this wonderful story! While a good chunk of the book retells the death and resurrection of the Pre-Flashpoint Superman, it does set the groundwork for that Superman replacing the New 52 Superman. Doug Mahnke’s art looks great, as expected. From here, the story continues in ACTION COMICS under the pen of Dan Jurgens and also in SUPERMAN, where Tomasi and Gleason weave their own brand of magic. I expect great things from all of this, especially once our boy shaves and takes his son Jon under his wing to go on missions as…Superboy?

SUPERMAN #1: After visiting this world’s Superman’s grave, where he leaves a bright blue glowing hand print behind. Back at the White Farm, Clark saves a bunch of animals from his burning barn and later makes Jon promise not to use his powers. A hawk grabs his cat Goldie and flies away., causing Jon to give chase and accidentally use his heat vision, which fries Goldie in the process. Not only is Jon upset, the neighbor girl from across the field that saw it is a bit wigged out by it. She shows up at the White home and introduces herself, leading Jon to become extremely paranoid that she might tell. In the end, Jon witnesses Wonder Woman and Batman at the house talking with his father. They see Jon watching, then leave, which results in his father coming to his room and asking him to quickly, and quietly come with him.

I don’t know the full significance of that cliffhanger, but what a moment! Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason do for this title what they did for ROBIN SON OF BATMAN-they blow it away. The writing is strong and so is the art, with inks from Mick Gray. This title is roaring from issue #1 and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next!

TITANS REBIRTH #1: The once lost Wally West arrives at an apartment the Titans once shared when Nightwing catches him in the act. Dick doesn’t know him but soon a spark flies from Wally’s finger and strikes Dick, making his memories of Wally come back. Soon, Donna, Roy, Garth and Lilith show up and the same thing happens to them, as they all get hit with individual, specific memory flashes. He explains the 10-year gap, which they attributed to Mister Twister. He feels it wasn’t him and believes it will happen again, so they need to be ready for it.

While it seems like Dan Abnett is writing EVERYTHING these days, he’s not. But what he IS writing is dynamite stuff! Add in Brett Booth’s art and you have a true winner. Abnett was responsible for the original Titans coming back into the fold and now he is just running with them. I cannot wait to see what he does with these characters.

WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1: Diana is filled with memories of a life she may or may not have had. Was she crafted from clay to rise up and be the leader of the Amazons or is she the daughter of Zeus and have a twin brother? In her anger, she crushes the helmet of  War, which she should not have to be able to do. She exposes herself to the lasso of truth and discovers that she has been lied to, explaining the multiple origins throughout her history. She goes to Olympus to get some answers and finds that it is just as much a lie as her life, as she encounters constructed automatones.

So how much of Wonder Woman’s past will get merged into her present? THAT is the question. Greg Rucks jumps in with both feet as he tries to work with all the different pieces that have made up Diana’s history. Matthew Clark is responsible for the first 14 pages while Liam Sharp takes over on the last six pages. From here out, that will be two alternating stories. “The Lies” begin in WONDER WOMAN #1, by Rucka and Clark while WONDER WOMAN #2 brings us “Year One” from Rucka and Sharp. It’s a good time to be a Wonder Woman fan!

WONDER WOMAN #1: Diana arrives in the Banakane Rainforest seeking answers to the questions involving the lies about her. In the meantime, Commander Etta Candy is monitoring a situation in the same Rainforest where Steve Trevor and his team are looking to take out a warlord named Cadulo who has not only been terrorizing the area, but has also taken all of the daughters of a village as his captives. Etta questions Steve about Diana being in the area, as she believes he may have compromised the operation. He explains that he hasn’t seen her in some time. In the end, and after a battle with the Hyena-Men, Diana comes face to face with Cheetah and begs her to help to find Themyscira.

Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp do a killer job on this issue! Rucka has dropped in all sorts of goodies that are leaving me wondering. Etta Candy is black? And she is Steve’s boss? And Steve is a jungle fighter with a beard? Wasn’t he recently being controlled during the Darkseid War? Anyway…questions. And Sharp just nails every single panel on every single page. This is a joy to read and to look at. Now…just to be more confusing, next issue begins YEAR ONE and then issue #3 goes back to this story.