DC Comics: The New 52 Round-up

Chris Kirby and I have spent the past month digging into a lot of comics here for the Fandom Post and for good reason as September was the first month of DC’s new comics initiative, the New 52. 52 different series have all had their #1 issues released, and while opinions on the results are widely varied across the Internet….we’re not the Internet. We’re The Fandom Post! But how do we feel overall about the New 52? What comics did we love, like, or hate?

Well, here are the answers to those burning questions! Plus, as an added bonus, all titles reviewed on the site will be linked to. Now you don’t have to search the site for the various reviews, now you know just what the best of the best is without Eric Roberts coming in and ruining your day, and now you know what books to flat out avoid.

Chris Beveridge:

Total Comics Read: 24/52
Total Comics Reviewed: 24/52

Pull List (Titles that will be bought without fail every month):
This is actually easy; it’ll more than likely be all of them. The kicker comes in what’s below really due to the way DC Comics is handling this. In the lead-up to the relaunch, I went to multiple local comic shops to find the best deal. The majority of them offered zero discounts for a pull list. One had 10% and one had 15%, which with tax, either negated it or made it almost no difference in the end. Locally, I was going to end up paying near cover price anyway, plus driving, weather, time and actual physical storage. So I opted to go with the Comixology releases instead. What they have there is full price on release day, but a month later they drop in price ($3.99 titles to $2.99 and $2.99 titles to $1.99). So if I wait a month on most titles, I can get a 33% discount before tax. So what books are same day purchases is what’s key, as the other titles will be +1 month titles.

Day and Date (Titles that are worth picking up on release day, if you have the extra pennies):

1. All Star Western
2. Batgirl
3. Catwoman
4. Demon Knights
5. Justice League
6. Justice League Dark
7. Red Lanterns
8. Resurrection Man
9. Stormwatch
10. Swamp Thing
11. Voodoo

So out of the 52, DC Comics has me on the hook for 11 monthly titles – which is 11 more than that monthly same-day books I was buying before. But in addition to that, they have me set for an additional 41 titles a month later which I can get at $2 a pop instead of $3 a pop. That leaves me room to buy more comics and to give titles a chance to grow and explore what they can do.

Chris Kirby:

Total Comics Read: 47/52
Total Comics Reviewed: 23/52

Overall Thoughts:
Overall I think the relaunch was a success. It’s a success in that it made a shit ton of money for DC but it’s also a success in the number of successful and worthwhile titles. While some of the writers might not have gotten the memo that these titles should be completely accessible to new and old readers alike, that ratio is small and easily overlooked in the grand scheme. Far more titles were good and/or good enough than there were complete passes and those are odds I’m sure everyone can live with!

I’ll stop boring you with general thoughts on the relaunch and give you what you came for….rankings!

Pull List (Titles that will be bought without fail every month):

1. Action Comics
2. Aquaman
3. Batman
4. Detective Comics
5. The Flash
6. Green Lantern
7. Green Lantern Corps
8. Green Lantern: New Guardians
9. Justice League
10. Justice League Dark
11. Supergirl
12. Superman
13. Teen Titans
14. Wonder Woman

Day and Date (Titles that are worth picking up on release day, if you have the extra pennies):

1. Batgirl
2. Demon Knights
3. The Fury of Firestorm
4. Red Lanterns
5. Static Shock
6. Stormwatch

Comixology +1 (Titles worth getting but can wait for the digital price drop):

1. Blue Beetle
2. DC Universe Presents
3. Green Arrow
4. Grifter
5. Hawk & Dove
6. Resurrection Man
7. Superboy
8. Swamp Thing

Good and worth your attention; but, just not for me:

1. All Star Western
2. Batman: The Dark Knight
3. Batwoman
4. The Savage Hawkman

Titles I really shouldn’t continue but will anyway because I believe in the power of Booster Gold:

1. Justice League International

One arc time filler (Titles that aren’t bad but aren’t worth any real investment):

1. Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
2. O.M.A.C.

Leave on the shelf:

1. Birds of Prey
2. Black Hawks
3. Captain Atom
4. Catwoman
5. I, Vampire
6. Voodoo
7. Legion of Super-Heroes
8. Legion Lost
9. Men of War
10. Mister Terrific
11. Suicide Squad

Of course these choices are completely arbitrary based on personal taste, except for a few that are just bad. Take ‘em as they are and check out the reviews for CONTEXT!

Chris Beveridge

http://www.fandompost.com

Chris has been writing about anime, manga, movies and comics for well on twenty years now. He began AnimeOnDVD.com back in 1998 and has covered nearly every anime release that’s come out in the US ever since.

He likes to write a lot, as you can see.

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