Comics Reader Special: 52 Pickup

As everybody should know by now, DC is rebooting its entire line in September. Longtime readers will find this somewhat familiar (Zero Month following ZERO HOUR, naturally), but the observation that a lot of people seem to be missing, or maybe I’m just not reading closely enough, is that the biggest news here is that the lineup won’t necessarily be interconnected anymore. Some of these series are continuing from titles and characters as you might have known them in August, where others are clearly going with a fresh start. That’s a fair bit more radical than the reboot itself, given that DC, even with frequent company-wide crossovers that’ve sometimes led to reintroductions (with MAN OF STEEL being the most famous example) has pretty much stayed with the same basic status quo since the dawn of the Silver Age (with various explanations eventually adopting the Golden Age into that mix from an otherwise clean break that allowed Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to continue leading the charge). DC hasn’t exactly been Marvel, which has more or less maintained every one of its stories from the introductions of all its characters to remain in continuity, but with one Crisis or another, great pains have been taken in the past to explain how everything fits neatly together.

Well, not anymore! How this actually works in reality versus how it reads now, not to mention whatever impact the conclusion of FLASHPOINT has, won’t really be known until September. This is no Heroes Reborn, though. Every single series is starting from scratch.

Of course, for readers of any particular series, all that’s almost beside the point. Most readers will never read every title; never have, never will. DC’s ambition is to give every potential reader something interesting to discover, and with a selection this wide, it’s a good bet that the success rate will be pretty okay. Every series seems to have a fairly substantial premise, which is a good thing, either an established legacy or some unique hook, rather than multiples and duplicates of a given theme seeking to dominate through numbers and popular trends. Yes, there are a lot of Batman titles. Green Lantern is represented widely, and so is the name “Justice League.” (One of the biggest losers of the reboot is the Justice Society, and then maybe Tim Drake.)

For me, I found the mix of creators to be pretty interesting, almost exactly as intriguing as the titles and characters involved. Without further adieu, a ranked listing, from the series I’m salivating to read, to those I probably could do without…

1. ACTION COMICS
This is the no-brainer winner for me, Superman written by Grant Morrison. Actually, any title written by Morrison would have found itself in this spot, but the Man of Steel and Morrison have done well by each other (ALL STAR SUPERMAN, FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND) in the past. Superman hasn’t been written with consistency since Geoff Johns was on this title. He’s due for the flagship position again.

2. MISTER TERRIFIC
When you’re at the threshold of a fresh start, you always want to find that one title that captures all the potential of this creative surge. Mister Terrific (who has at least one classic story behind him, “The Fourth Reich” from the pages of JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA) is exactly the kind of character poised to capitalize on this opportunity. He’s been around for about a decade, but he’s been a kind of buried secret for most of that, and as a more cerebral character than superheroes are usually known for being, and with almost exactly only that going for him, he’s got a lot to prove, just like the whole reboot. I don’t have a lot of history with writer Eric Wallace, but artist Roger Robinson has been a favorite for years, and I’ve been waiting for him to find that one project that finally puts him into the spotlight. DC has J.G. Jones on covers, so you know right there that I’m not the only one with expectations.

3. GREEN LANTERN
This is seems to be the one title DC is holding close to the vest. Other than the creative team (Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke), there is very little known about the plans for this one. Given that it’s Geoff Johns, though, and the wave of momentum that he and the property, despite the relative failure of the movie, are still riding, it’s a can’t-miss.

4. STATIC SHOCK
I didn’t really read Milestone back in the day, and I’ve never seen the cartoon series that really put this character on the map. I’m excited for this one because of Scott McDaniel, a creator I’ve been following for more than a decade, and who I’m glad has stuck with DC long enough to perhaps have found his next great project.

5. SUPERBOY
No offense to Geoff Johns and other creators who’ve worked on this character in the past decade, but Superboy never worked better than in his earliest days, when he was a vibrant new concept, a knockoff Superman who eventually realized that he wasn’t even close to being Superman, and so settled into being himself. Scott Lobdell is mounting a big comeback in the DC reboot, and this is probably going to be his best bet for success.

6. RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS
I shouldn’t speak too soon! He’s also working on this one, which was easily the most pleasant surprise. I’m been clamoring for a Jason Todd book since last summer, when the Judd Winick LOST DAYS book came out along with the UNDER THE RED HOOD animated movie. Comics fans have a complicated relationship with resurrected characters, but regardless of the impact to “A Death in the Family,” which after all is now a generation or two in the past, bringing back Jason was one of the most brilliant moves possible, considering how much more he’s worth alive than dead, all the potential and implications of “Batman’s failure” being in play again. He’s been used so sparingly since, it’s only enhanced that potential. This is exactly the book those who’ve been waiting have been waiting for, especially the additions of Starfire and Arsenal into the mix. Wounded souls, outlaws, superheroes. This book has the chance to be revolutionary.

7. GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS
The Green Lantern books, like the Batman books, receive something of a shuffle, with Tony Bedard shifting into the “C” book (not in terms of quality, but so far as spin-off weight). I think the concept for this one, replacing the more generic EMERALD WARRIORS, works beautifully with the momentum Geoff Johns brought to the franchise, and just as well with Bedard’s mythology-rich approach.

8. WONDER WOMAN
I haven’t actually read a whole lot of Brian Azzarello, so this is more in testament to my faith in the concept, which weds the “Odyssey” arc with an actual reboot, which the title probably needed to begin with. Few writers seem to appreciate just how special Wonder Woman is, how strong the concept is, and what exactly to do with it. This one seems to understand all of it. If Azzarello nails it, the story of the reboot rests here.

9. BATWING
DC has done surprisingly well with international concepts, even if its readers rarely seem to notice. Judd Winick, another underrated element of this book, is returning to the Batman family with another left field contribution.

10. JUSTICE LEAGUE
Technically speaking, the flagship of the relaunch. It’s not that I don’t have faith in Geoff Johns or Jim Lee, both of whom are legends in the comics field, but that I can’t help but wonder how long either one will stick around, and how quickly all their work will come to naught. That’s the real tradition of the Justice League, as Grant Morrison and Brad Meltzer can attest. Johns stuck around the Justice Society for years, though. There’s a good chance he’ll repeat that here. If he does, we’ll at least have a really good book for a fair number of years.

11. GREEN LANTERN CORPS
Peter J. Tomasi somehow became one of DC’s elite writers without hardly anyone even realizing it, and the GL Corps is one of his signature projects.

12. BLUE BEETLE
I could’ve cared less for Blue Beetle as a member of the Teen Titans, or to a lesser extent, his role in JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST. Jaime Reyes is a strong standalone character with almost as strong as sense of the legacy he continues, which he’s broadly extended . Now he’ll be written by Tony Bedard. Happy to see this one as part of the lineup.

13. LEGION LOST
Written by Fabian Nicieza, who’s been doing some terrific work for DC, with art by Pete Woods, one of the least likely superstars in comics, based on a cult favorite story from the Legion’s past. This one’s a sleeper, but hopefully destined to be one of the best surprises of the reboot.

14. STORMWATCH
Paul Cornell takes something of a step back with the relaunch, but he’s still fairly prominent with this new take on a classic Wildstorm concept, with Martian Manhunter along for the ride. Should be interesting.

15. DETECTIVE COMICS
I don’t really know why Tony Daniel and Scott Snyder flopped books, but my allegiance remains with Daniel, who’s quietly establishing his own iconic take on the Dark Knight.

16. BATMAN AND ROBIN
Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason are one of the classic creative teams at this point. It seems right that they get a chance to reboot their run on this book with a revamped pairing, rather than having to try and live up to Grant Morrison’s iconic original concept. Actually says a lot about them that they’ll get to handle to handle the reunion between father and son.

17. SAVAGE HAWKMAN
Hawkman’s had a number of series, but this feels like it’s the first one that attempts to follow the character in his most basic and appealing context. Happens to be written by Tony Daniel.

18. DEMON KNIGHTS
I have high hope that Paul Cornell will be able to unleash his full potential on a book like this, just completely cut loose.

19. BLACKHAWKS
Writer Mike Costa is half of the team that brought us the brilliant G.I. JOE: COBRA series, which eventually forced IDW to shape its whole Joe line around it. Seems like he’s going to be kicking it DC style this time.

20. NIGHTWING
Hate the art I’ve seen for the cover (sorry, Eddy Barrows!), but I have to stick by Dick Grayson, especially when the series seems to be taking a character approach, which is always good for this character. Still, he’s Nightwing again…?

21. THE FLASH
Even if he apprenticed under Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul essentially has the same problem Johns has on JUSTICE LEAGUE: history. This book did not need a reboot so soon, and it really did not need to lose Johns so quickly. I expect either unexpected awesomeness, or another Flash book lost to deferred momentum.

22. FURY OF FIRESTORM
Love Firestorm almost as much as Blue Beetle, but I wonder if the magic will be with this series as much as the last one.

23. SUPEGIRL
I’ve been in awe of Michael Green since “Lovers and Madmen” from BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL, but he hasn’t really had a chance to shine since. This Supergirl reboot is kind of like the Superboy and Wonder Woman ones I’ve already written about, digging back into the core concept and seeing how vibrant it can really be. Sterling Gates wrote the character pretty well, but Supergirl probably shouldn’t be that identifiable, as least as reintroduced by Jeph Loeb (kinda wish he were involved in the reboot).

24. RED LANTERNS
Long-announced, still a big question. Will these guys really make for an interesting series?

25. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
Paul Levitz is the master of the Legion. That much is pretty undeniable at this point. He was the Chris Claremont of the Legion before Claremont was the Claremont of the X-Men. Here he seems to be working with an even more clear break from previous continuities than before.

26. BATWOMAN
Kept getting delayed so long, DC finally figured out that this was the best possible opportunity to finally start publishing this book. Kate Kane and J.H. Williams III will always be worth the wait.

27. JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
Less quirky than previous attempts at this kind of a team, and that will probably work in this book’s favor. The most Vertigo of the post-Vertigo projects. Might be another sleeper.

28. ANIMAL MAN
It’s surprising that with all the things DC has done with Animal Man in recent years, this is the first time he’s actually gotten another series. Sounds like Jeff Lemire got the concept right.

29. BATMAN
A lot of the appeal for Scott Snyder’s Batman was that he was using Dick Grayson. Will it work as well with Bruce Wayne?

30. SUPERMAN
Two Superman books, neither featuring a classic interpretation (making Geoff Johns pretty much the last writer to do so). George Perez has an uphill battle. Never-ending?

31. AQUAMAN
The most obvious spin-off from BRIGHTEST DAY is a tall challenge, but Geoff Johns is the most likely writer to figure out how to make this character compelling. If he can pull it off, he’ll have revolutionized DC all over again.

32. JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
On the one hand, Booster Gold lost his own book. On the other, he’s the leader of the team! I’m glad Dan Jurgens is still in the mix, but I’m most excited to see just how August General in Iron (THE GREAT TEN) gets used, almost as excited that he’s being used at all!

33. GREEN ARROW
Another character with a bad track record (J.T. Krul, however, seems to have figured everything out already). Assuming his momentum isn’t totally lost in this reboot, could stand a shot at redemption.

34. CAPTAIN ATOM
Will he be able to sustain a compelling series? J.T. Krul will find out.

35. TEEN TITANS
A team and a book that has faded into irrelevance, and shockingly, Tim Drake’s only appearance in the reboot, the first time he hasn’t had his own book since 1993. Scott Lobdell has his greatest challenge with this one, but he could pull it off.

36. O.M.A.C.
Jack Kirby’s legacy makes it into the reboot, and it’s not with the New Gods! Dan Didio and Keith Giffen have their work cut out for them, with the unenviable task of finally making that whole OMAC thing DC’s been working on finally stick.

37. VOODOO
You can almost see “Witchblade” written on this one, given that Ron Marz has spent most of his recent comics past with that franchise. Could be awesome. Total mystery otherwise. A true “Zero Month” prospect.

38. RESURRECTION MAN
There’s a cult of readers who salivated over this one like I did for Morrison and Superman. One of the best surprises of the relaunch. Not many characters like this receive a second chance, even one who has a hard time staying dead. (Hmm. Apparently quite literally.)

39. SWAMP THING
I know Alan Moore created his legacy with this character, but I’m still not all that convinced, having not read much of even that legendary run, that Swamp Thing makes a compelling character to follow.

40. DEATHSTROKE
This is a character who had a long-running series back in the 1990s, but that’s practically a lifetime ago. This might be awesome. Or it might be a huge mistake.

41. BATGIRL
I kind of hate to say it, but I think I prefer Babs as Oracle. This feels unnecessary.

42. FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.
I loved Grant Morrison’s Frankenstein in SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY. But I’m not convinced he’s as awesome otherwise.

43. BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT
I’m still not convinced I should care about David Finch’s Batman.

44. I, VAMPIRE
Could be really interesting. Could be a huge waste of my time. These books tend to be cancelled on me far ahead of their time.

45. SUICIDE SQUAD
DC’s A-Team/Thunderbolts/Give-Me-a-More-Compelling-Set-up.

46. GRIFTER
Dropping Grifter into this seems to be a little premature.

47. CATWOMAN
I don’t know. I loved Catwoman in Paul Dini’s Hush stories. But at least Judd Winick is doing this one. Could be more entertaining than I’m giving it credit for.

48. BIRDS OF PREY
Black Canary paired with a new character has possibilities. The onus is on Starling to be interesting.

49. HAWK AND DOVE
BRIGHTEST DAY gives and it takes. Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld were not given the most posh assignment of the group. Hank Hall is a great character, but he’s a better villain than he is a hero. Unless this book quickly makes that transition, it’s kind of pointless.

50. ALL-STAR WESTERN
Maybe this will be the western that makes westerns interesting. But I never really bothered with Jonah Hex before, either.

51. MEN OF WAR
Kind of superfluous, after BLACKHAWKS.

52. DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS
I have nothing against this one, except the tradition of these anthology books falling apart after a time. Still, glad that Deadman gets to open the series. Should’ve gotten his own book, though…

All this translates to my gut instincts about the books I would absolutely want to read sight unseen, to those I wonder about, whether I would be interested upon seeing them, or if they have a realistic chance of remaining published in a year’s time. I’m no prognosticator, though, and clearly some of the ranks are based on my interests as they are now alone. One way or another, this is a list of fifty-two books, and has ambition written all over it. I applaud DC just for having the guts to do it.