52 shakedown

So last month I was all over DC’s New 52, then this month happened and pfffft. I’ve been reading, just haven’t had time to post on any of the books. SO. I thought I’d do some 1-month-in reactions, now that I’ve read #2 in most of the series and started figuring out what I’m dropping and keeping and loving and tolerating.

It’s a lot of books, so there won’t be a lot of words on each one. I’m going to do them alphabetically I guess, but if you want to just skip to what I think is the best book of the New 52, you’ll find it under W.

After the jump…

ACTION COMICS Solid. I like Lex. (You know, as a character and bad guy, not as a person-I-would-want-to-hang-with.) I have a few minor quibbles, but overall I’m enjoying angry-hipster Superman.

BATGIRL Loving this. A complex story, dark and exciting. Introduces an enticing new (to me?) major baddie, and deals head-on with Barbara’s former disability. Gail Simone FTW.

BATMAN I am enjoying this but it isn’t among my faves. It’s a bit… gruesome? And the art’s pretty ordinary. But I’m subscribing for now.

BATWOMAN Gorgeous. Gorgeouuuuuus. I cannot fully express how beautiful this book is. And the story continues to grip. Hardcore subscription.

BIRDS OF PREY Love this sort of thing, a bunch of girls kicking ass. Dinah’s a good POV character, and though Starling veers between cool and annoying I like her. Katana was introduced this week and so far I love her brand of crazy. The plot is a little bit ordinary, but overall I like this one and will keep my sub.

BLUE BEETLE I didn’t like the first issue so much, it was very much the opener of a by-the-rules teen movie. But the second issue starts getting to the meat of the story and I’m tentatively hooked.

CATWOMAN You can see my thoughts on Catwoman #1 in this post. Horrible. I even, for shits and giggles, picked up #2 this week and leafed through it in the store. Abysmal. The first two pages made me want to hurl. (Who knew having sex was like a bar fight?) My own damn fault for picking it up.

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS: DEADMAN Didn’t like this one. Very monologuey. The character sounds interesting, but not in this series.

THE FLASH Francis Manapul has done it: he’s written a non-Wally Flash that I really want to read. Not going to be switching to Team Barry anytime soon, but I like this book. Beautiful and compelling.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Sigh. The second issue was definitely better than the first, not the least because The Flash showed up and even if it’s not Wally, The Flash improves any situation. And some of GL’s quips were actually funny this week. But I’m still just eh. They haven’t done anything fuckawful yet, so I’ll wait for them to get over the “assembling the team” story hump and see how it shakes out.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL A good ensemble and an interesting background to the team (they’re basically a PR tool). Kind of a mid-list easy-on-the-brain series. I’ll keep it for now.

MR. TERRIFIC #1 was eh, #2 spiraled into a big fat mess. Dropped.

STATIC SHOCK I like Virgil. He’s just so human. And the story’s catchy. This series I feel like would have the coolest soundtrack of all the DCU. (What? You don’t think about these things?)

SUPERGIRL Enjoying this. Taking a bit of a while to rev up, but it feels fresh. (Granted, I haven’t read a lot of Supergirl.) I liked the first issue better since the second issue seemed like one long temper tantrum, but I’m still reading.

WONDER WOMAN This is the book that I finish reading and then flip to the front to start again. This is the book that I’m already planning to buy in trade so that it will withstand my re-readings. This is the book that I’m recommending to anyone who stands still long enough and seems vaguely interested in my opinion. It’s absolutely stunningly beautiful, and it’s the kind of Greek-myth-warrior-woman Wonder Woman that I would want to write.

Ta-da! That’s my DC lineup at the moment. So I guess I’m subscribed to… 12 books? Oi. Keeping DC in busines ladida.