DC Relaunch: Top 5 Books Josh is Looking Forward To

Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for. With my (dare I say) unexpected Pick of the Week for Justice League #1, you can probably tell that I have, at the very least, a healthy respect for this whole party DC is throwing. What I do know is that I’m excited for the energy being expended on these comics, and the idea of getting out of the years long ruts a lot of titles have been in, is extremely appealing. The creators are pumped. The publisher is pumped, and a hell of a lot of fans are pumped.

You’ve read Conor, Ron, and Paul‘s picks for their five most anticipated titles. Here are mine.

The Top 5 DC Relaunch Books That Iā€™m Looking Forward To

1. Swamp Thing – No one has gotten Swamp Thing right in a very long time. Many big, big names have tried, and all were felled by the mighty shadow of Alan Moore himself. By all accounts, I really don’t have a special affinity for the character, however, I love the challenge of it. Scott Snyder’s enthusiasm and his skill are both plain to see. He’s got an exceptional art team (as usual) and this is right in his sweet spot. It’s a blank canvas, while at the same time, it’s steeped in tradition. This is no easy task, but to hear the writer talk about his work, it’s impossible not to be jazzed.

2. Demon Knights – I love Etrigan. I don’t think it comes up very often on the site. I don’t seek him out, and when he’s written badly, it’s about as bad as it gets. But when Etrigan be written well, mine own creative juices do surely swell. But this is Etrigan in medieval times, as written by Paul Cornell. That’s all you had to say. I’m 100% behind this title, and the possibility of fun here is sort of off the charts.

3. Stormwatch – Paul Cornell shows up on the list yet again, and this time he’s got some of my favorite modern characters. I love the relationship between Apollo and Midnighter. It’s one of my favorites in comics, and in the hands of the right creative team, these exceptionally interesting characters shine very brightly indeed. But just what is J’onn J’onzz doing there. I don’t know, but that seems like one hell of a match. There are so many great concepts birthed from the Stormwatch/Authority era, and I was thrilled that they’re not being left to languish. Look out Superman…

4. Blackhawks – Mike Costa showed us all what could be done with a G.I. Joe title, of all things, with his Cobra series. Take this relic of a military team from the dusty corners of DC Comics, and put them in his hands, and I’m first in line. One of the best things about the whole relaunch is that other genres are finally being given the chance to take center stage. I pray that the readership supports some genre diversity, and if Costa brings the same kind of energy we’ve seen from him in the past, this could be a critical darling at the very least.

5. Justice League Dark – I just can’t pin Peter Milligan down. There are things he’s written that I just hated. Yet his recent history on Hellblazer has been frighteningly consistent and excellent. I’ve been with John Constantine for a long time, and I can’t help but be intrigued by how he’ll be integrated into the world of superheroes (again). I want this to skirt the edge of “too much” and really earn the last word of the title. But I also want it to be done with some charm, style, and panache, exactly like the great mage himself would do.

6-10. Batwoman; Grifter; All-Star Western; Batman; I, Vampire

Comments

  1. Great to see Grifter getting some much love from you guys. I’m with “Mainstream Josh”, Swamp Thing looks amazing. šŸ˜‰

  2. I actually really liked, and recommend, Brian K. Vaughn’s early 2000s Swamp Thing, though it was really more Daughter of Swamp Thing. I can support the idea that nobody’s written a good series about Old Man Swampy since Moore, though.

    Nice picks, good to see some of the fringe titles getting some love!

  3. Josh, I am right there with you on Justice League Dark and Stormwatch as you continue to be the voice on ifanboy that best reflects my interests. I, however, am a huge “prude” as you guys would say on the POTW podcast and the fact that the AWESOME characters from The Authority are going to be playing by Dc’s rules has me more excited than anything. Finally, I can read Jack Hawksmoor doing whatever his powers do again! I also think that Justice League Dark should be real weird and might pull off a BPRD vibe. Should be cool. One book that I really want to read that I don’t think any of ya’ll did is JLI. August General In Iron is the MAN!

    Scott in Wylie
    http://www.comical-musings.blogspot.com

  4. I’ve never read Swamp Thing but everyone on iFanboy seems to be really excited about it. I think I’m going to give it a shot. What the hell, right? It doesn’t hurt that I’ve loved everything Snyder has written as of late either.

    After I finished JL #1 last night I started thinking about all the new titles coming out and I realized how many of them I’m actually picking up. I’m excited for new books but my bank account wants to kill me!!!! This next month is going to be rough as I try out new books.

  5. This list looks really good to me. My initial reaction was to play safe on the mainstays and pass on the “2nd tier” books. But i’ve been so burnt out and bored lately with the same old superhero stuff. I think i have to shift that strategy

    Everything on this list is something i’d like to check out. Might pass on a Batman, Superman, GL title and go for some of these.

    Swamp Thing and Justice League Dark were already there. Stormwatch is intriguing and Demon Knights and Blackhawks seem like really cool concepts.

  6. I’m somewhat surprised to see I, Vampire on the list. Almost as surprised as I was to see it on the list when DC announced it.

    I’m not sure what to expect from it, but I may give it a shot purely out of curiosity.

  7. I just finished that first G.I. Joe Cobra trade. CANT WAIT for Blackhawks.

  8. Since I submitted my revised pull list to my comic shop a couple of months back, I’ve been tempted again and again to add more to my list…

    Swamp Thing is a prime candidate. I read most of the other Vertigo takes and thought, like you, “okay, but not in the same league as Moore’s run”… Snyder though has me intrigued… His impromptu pitch on Twitter seemed like a new idea and having heard an interview with Yanick Paquette on another podcast recently, this *could* be awesome…

    Ultimately, I think it’s going to go on my list of “One month later, digitally” comics… and if it’s good, either added to my pull list, or bought in trade…

  9. no animal man… interesting : )

  10. Very excited for all these titles as well, especially if Costa can recreate even a fraction of GI Joe Cobra with Blackhawks I’ll be all in for his entire run. No Animal Man interest Josh? I just read the first two trades of Sweet Tooth and Lemire has vaulted to the top of my “buy this creator’s work” list.

  11. I’m gonna buy Animal Man. It’s just not on this list.

    This is probably because so far Lemire has been a guy who’s non-DC stuff I have loved, and his DC stuff wasn’t my favorite. Also, Animal Man was done, and done well, and I’m a little reticent to revisit.

  12. So far my list is definitely closest to Josh’s. I am mostly looking forward to the “Edge” and “Dark” books, plus a few of the Bat-books.

  13. Swamp Thing and Demon Knights definitely. The others I’ll look at on the shelves and see. I wasn’t that impressed with how these mystic characters were handled in Flashpoint (or Brightest Day: Search for Swamp Thing for that matter). Like others, I’m surprised that Animal Man wasn’t at number 2 or 3 on this list, Josh. Especially when people who’ve seen it are claiming it – and Frankenstein – is very good.

  14. I’m most psyched about Batman and Swamp Thing because of Snyder. I am really hoping he does exactly what he has been doing in Detective and steers clear of the tone of Justice League #1, which I really did not like at all- it felt like I was a kid watching Superfriends, and NOT in a good way.

  15. anytime Josh posts about his juices swelling, you know it’s gonna be a good article

  16. The Etrigan Problem: Only British writers have been able to make his rhyming speech convincing or non-cringe-inducing and that is what makes or breaks a story featuring the Demon. Gaiman’s Sandman and Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing (maybe) featured some of the best portrayals of Etrigan in my memory.

    The Aquaman & Etrigan Brave and the Bold issue was great despite the slightly hackneyed dialogue from JMS but it succeeded in telling a Lovecraftian tale starring a badass Aquaman so it gets a pass. Peter J Tomasi, another American with a successful Etrigan story, skirted the issue by having Deadman possess Jason Blood (the Demon’s alter ego) and just giving him regular non-poetic speech.

    To have Cornell–who I am only familiar with by way of an episode of Dr Who and through excellent reviews of Action Comics–take on the Demon makes me excited that a Brit will return him to his awesome demonic rhyme scheme.

  17. I cannot wait for Stormwatch. One of the things I’m looking forward to is the story of Apollo and Midnighter meeting for the first time and falling in love. But I’m also looking forward to the fact THAT THEY’RE FIGHTING THE FREAKING MOON.

  18. Costas run on the G.I. Joes comics is amazing

  19. Josh fights back to reclaim his title as “King of the Fringe” the day after making JLA #1 POW. šŸ˜‰

  20. This has been fun, my top 5 (10):
    1. Batman
    2. JL Dark
    3. Action
    4. Animal Man
    5. Batwoman

    Swamp Thing, Resurrection Man, DCU Presents, WW, Aquaman

  21. im with josh on everything but blackhawks. i never really read any of the old blackhawk comics and the whole millitary pilot thing doesnt really do it for me much. but the real truth is that i really just need to cut some of the comics of my list for financial reasons and this one seems like one of the cuts.