DC Comics The New 52 Week 4: Part 1

Well, the wait is finally over!  The New DCU is upon us, and whether you're ready or not, this week sees the release of 13 all new series.  It's strange, exciting, and truly a great time to be a fan of the medium of comics.  Now, on the review side, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible with these reviews, mainly due to the fact that experiencing them yourself is paramount.  I'm also going to try to do full reviews for a lot of these new series, though time constraints and my current sanity level will prevent me from doing all of them.  That said, in these The New 52 Articles, I'll give you a quick rundown of what was good, what was not so good, and what are the books to seek out.  So without further ado, TO THE BOOKS!

Wonder Woman #1

Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Company: DC Comics

Always considered to be one of the major three players of the DC Universe, Wonder Woman more often plays the role of red headed step-child, you know, without the red hair. People love her. Her visage and iconic symbol sell countless amounts of merchandise to young kids. She's iconic. And yet, her comic has really had a hard time finding its niche. People such as Gail Simone, Allan Heinberg, and novelist Jodi Picoult have all had a stab at it and come up empty. The last time that I can remember having a solid, imaginative outing was when George Perez relaunched her back in the 80's. Enter Brian Azzarello. Azzarello is not the first person that you would think of to relaunch this title. His stories, things like 100 Bullets and Flashpoint: Batman Knight

Catwoman #1

Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Guillem March
Company: DC Comics

Sex. Boobs. Sex. Boobs. It's almost as if you elude to these things in any way, shape, or form in a superhero comic, the internet implodes upon itself and a news cycle is created. Really though, sex sells, and while I know the gender debate is raging right along with the question of with things like this, is DC bringing in new female readers, I think a question is being lost among all of the hubbub.  That question is this: Is the comic even any good? And the answer to that is yes. Winick and March bring their A games with this one and provide an over the top, rip roaring good time that caters to fans of both good story and great art. Is it the creme de la creme? No, like many other books it does

DC Comics The New 52 Week 3: Part 2

Well, the wait is finally over!  The New DCU is upon us, and whether you're ready or not, this week sees the release of 13 all new series.  It's strange, exciting, and truly a great time to be a fan of the medium of comics.  Now, on the review side, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible with these reviews, mainly due to the fact that experiencing them yourself is paramount.  I'm also going to try to do full reviews for a lot of these new series, though time constraints and my current sanity level will prevent me from doing all of them.  That said, in these The New 52 Articles, I'll give you a quick rundown of what was good, what was not so good, and what are the books to seek out.  So without further ado, TO THE BOOKS!

DC Comics The New 52 Week 3: Part 1

Well, the wait is finally over!  The New DCU is upon us, and whether you're ready or not, this week sees the release of 13 all new series.  It's strange, exciting, and truly a great time to be a fan of the medium of comics.  Now, on the review side, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible with these reviews, mainly due to the fact that experiencing them yourself is paramount.  I'm also going to try to do full reviews for a lot of these new series, though time constraints and my current sanity level will prevent me from doing all of them.  That said, in these The New 52 Articles, I'll give you a quick rundown of what was good, what was not so good, and what are the books to seek out.  So without further ado, TO THE BOOKS!

Week in Review 9/16/11

Fear Itself #6
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Company: Marvel Comics

Summer Event. These two words usually are synonymous with stories that feature action, adventure, grand ideas, all mixed up with a bit of sashaying fun that gets your noggin in the game. For all of the problems that I ended up having with things like Civil War, Secret Invasion, and World War Hulk, they had those crucial things. That and they got people talking about comics on a very positive note. Fear Itself feels like the awkward step child that is standing alone in a crowded room that no one wants to talk to. Why? It's boring. Plain and simple. It's drawn out, features strange characterizations (Angry Odin, Milita Making

Wednesday Number Ones 9/14/11

Wednesday Number Ones is a weekly feature here at Top 5 Comics. We take the books that are premiering a first issue from that week and give a quick opinion on them. From time to time we may also include more than issue number ones in this feature. If a noteworthy one-shot or the first issue of a new story arc is released, we may talk about it in this feature as well.

This week, we will cover:  Buffy the Vampires Slayers Season 9 #1, Pigs #1, and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1.

DC Comics The New 52 Week 2: Part 2

Well, the wait is finally over!  The New DCU is upon us, and whether you're ready or not, this week sees the release of 13 all new series.  It's strange, exciting, and truly a great time to be a fan of the medium of comics.  Now, on the review side, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible with these reviews, mainly due to the fact that experiencing them yourself is paramount.  I'm also going to try to do full reviews for a lot of these new series, though time constraints and my current sanity level will prevent me from doing all of them.  That said, in these The New 52 Articles, I'll give you a quick rundown of what was good, what was not so good, and what are the books to seek out.  So without further ado, TO THE BOOKS!

DC Comics The New 52 Week 2: Part 1

Well, the wait is finally over!  The New DCU is upon us, and whether you're ready or not, this week sees the release of 13 all new series.  It's strange, exciting, and truly a great time to be a fan of the medium of comics.  Now, on the review side, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible with these reviews, mainly due to the fact that experiencing them yourself is paramount.  I'm also going to try to do full reviews for a lot of these new series, though time constraints and my current sanity level will prevent me from doing all of them.  That said, in these The New 52 Articles, I'll give you a quick rundown of what was good, what was not so good, and what are the books to seek out.  So without further ado, TO THE BOOKS!

DC Comics The New 52: Week 1

Well, the wait is finally over!  The New DCU is upon us, and whether you're ready or not, this week sees the release of 13 all new series.  It's strange, exciting, and truly a great time to be a fan of the medium of comics.  Now, on the review side, I'm trying to be as spoiler free as possible with these reviews, mainly due to the fact that experiencing them yourself is paramount.  I'm also going to try to do full reviews for a lot of these new series, though time constraints and my current sanity level will prevent me from doing all of them.  That said, in these The New 52 Articles, I'll give you a quick rundown of what was good, what was not so good, and what are the books to seek out.  So without further ado, TO THE BOOKS!

Action Comics #1

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Rags Morales
Company: DC Comics

It's probably fairly apparent that when it comes to Grant Morrison, I've got a bit of a soft spot.  The ingenuity and approach that he has to comics as a medium of storytelling always amaze me.  Even when some of the stories falter, and that does happen, there's always something about the issue or graphic novel or story that is being told that finds a way of getting under my skin and ensorcelling my senses.  A few years ago, Morrison brought to life one of the the, if not the best, Superman story in the pages of All-Star Superman.  He captured the hope, spirit, and the magic with that story in ways that I didn't think we're possible, and he made Superman come alive.  Without a doubt, when it was announced that Morrison was the

Stormwatch #1

Writer: Paul Cornell
Artist: Miguel Sepulveda
Company: DC Comics

One of the bigger revelations that has come with the new DC Relaunch is the inclusion of the characters from the Wildstorm Universe.  It's a strange move, one that instantly makes your brain go, "What?"  These characters, at least some of them, are powerful and weird, so unlike anything that you would typically find roaming the regular haunts of say Star or Opal City.  So yes, Stormwatch was one of the books that held a dozen or so questions on top of the, "Would it be good?"  That Paul (Captain Britain and MI:13) Cornell was the man at the helm of this cross-dimensional brouhaha helped though.  He's a talented story teller, one who channels a bit of Warren Ellis with clever ideas, but forgoes the bitterness and hatred of

Green Arrow #1

Writer: J.T. Krul
Artist: Dan Jurgens
Company: DC Comics

Well, I guess we should get the really important thing out of the way first.  Oliver Queen no longer has facial hair.  Well, he sort of does, if a permanent 5 o'clock shadow counts as facial hair.  It's a weird thing to really worry about, but the internet is a strange place, and I've seen more references to things like this than I ever figured we would.  It really shouldn't matter.  What should matter is what's on the inside of the book.  It's been awhile since we've had a Green Arrow title that registered on my radar.  Part of that has to do with the stories of late, mainly having to do with a crazed Oliver Queen who lives in a forest and has cut himself off from the rest of the world.  That and him having outright murdered Prometheus.  Since then, I really couldn't get into the character anymore.

Batgirl #1

Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Adrian Syaf
Company: DC Comics

Batgirl and Gail Simone.  The two go together like jam and toast.  Like peanut butter and bananas.  For years, Simone's characterization of Barbara Gordon in the Birds of Prey title has enamored people and made her one of those characters to always root for.  She was the glue that held the team together, the one who never forgot that she was a hero, even when the chips were down.  She suffered for that at the hands of the Joker.  She was strong and always in control and never stopped.  Now, with the DC relaunch we get to see Barbara in a new light.  No longer is she behind the computer, fighting crime in her own unique and awesome way, she is back on the streets and swinging from rooftops, cracking heads and taking names.

O.M.A.C. #1

Writers: Dan Didio & Keith Giffen
Artists: Keith Giffen
Company: DC Comics

As unbelievable as it sounds, and it is a bit unbelievable, if you were a fan of Jack Kirby's run on OMAC, a trippy spiral into a sci-fi world and setting that dealt with crazy creations and concepts such as the Global Peace Agency and Pseudo-People Factory, this book will send you on a time travel trip composed of pure Silver Age entertainment and awesomeness.  Kirby's book, unfinished though it was, was at the latter end of his career with DC but still fit the bill of being high entertainment while dishing out a bit of social commentary as well.  There were also a lot of similarities with his other works Kamandi and his New Gods opus, that same grand feel of newness and vibrance, that made the story even better.  The tag

Animal Man #1

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Travel Foreman
Company: DC Comics

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure how this book was going to go.  Animal Man, used in the more recent 52 storyline, peaked a few decades ago when Grant Morrison was doing his run for Vertigo.  That run made the character something more than your average and ordinary hero, and it created a world that was unique to its cast and was insanely fun to explore.  With Lemire, I wasn't sure what we were going to get in this version of Animal Man.  Sweet Tooth never quite caught my interest due to its dark and depressing nature, and his Frankenstein Flashpoint series, while good, felt a little abbreviated with only a mere three issues with which to tell a story that could have easily fit five or six.  So yes, there was trepidation for this specific title.

Amazing Spider-Man #668

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Company: Marvel Comics

The whole Spider-Island plot, kicking off in Amazing Spider-Man #666, started off fairly well.  It seemed to be that the "fun" was finally returning to the title and that Dan Slott, known for his off the beaten path humor and crazy stories, was finally returning to form after a bit of a hiatus.  It also proved to be a good jumping on point for anyone.  The characters, their motivations, the setting...All of it was laid out in a methodical and creative way.  It was extremely well done, I would say.  There were a few missteps though, most notable being the ties to the Clone Saga and some of the more notorious 90's characters and stories.  It was a bold move, but one that set my spider-sense a' tingling.

Blast From the Past: Superman Secret Identity

Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Stuart Immonen
Company: DC Comics

It's no secret that Superman is one of the hardest characters to write.  He's a god, the brightest and best example of what man hopes and can hope to be.  Trying to hit on that in a story and make it memorable while at the same time making it approachable is a Herculean feat.  Hence the reason that a good Superman story, one that stands the test of time and has been branded into your mind, doesn't happen as often as you'd think.  It's strange then that Secret Identity, a book that really isn't a story starring the Superman that we all know and love, is one of the all-time best.  There's a lot of reasons for that, but mainly its due to two very gifted individuals:  Kurt Busiek and Stuart Immonen.