DC Relaunch: Top 5 Books Paul is Looking Forward To

It all starts today! Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League #1 marks the beginning of the new DCU. We’re looking down the barrel at 52 #1 issues, all of which I’ll be reviewing here on iFanboy each Thursday morning in September as they’re released. Because I’m an insane person.

Earlier this week Conor and Ron listed their top 5 most anticipated books in the relaunch. Now it’s my turn.

The Top 5 DC Relaunch Books That I’m Looking Forward To


Action Comics

1. Action Comics – Superman remains my favorite superhero, though his exploits haven’t been terribly super of late. While my enthusiasm for the counterpart Superman title is tempered by some truly regrettable editorial decisions, this particular reboot looks refreshing and downright necessary. Morrison is taking us back to basics for the first time since the 30s. Which seems odd for a character with so many storied relaunches. But even the best iterations of the origins seem to skimp on this street level chapter of the planet’s mightiest champion. This is an exciting new piece to the puzzle.

2. Swamp Thing – While I’m thrilled that Snyder is continuing his tenure as the new show runner in Gotham, I’m even more anxious to see where he takes the Swamp Thing mythos. Along with Lemire and Milligan, he has a real opportunity to pioneer a significant portion of DC’s darkest frontiers. The publisher seems to have invested a considerable amount of talent and prominence to these horror titles, and with inventive world-builders like Snyder in the lead, this is the section to watch.

3. Animal Man – Based on comments from the creators, I’m looking at Swamp Thing and Animal Man as a packaged set. Animal Man isn’t traditionally a horror book, but Morrison set the tone for Buddy Baker as both a versatile character rife for reinvention and as something of an everyman among titans. Lemire is capitalizing on that and ushering in a much darker reality for the Baker family, moving that generational story forward with what appears to be a terrifying coming-of-age tale. If you’ve read Sweet Tooth, you know Lemire will deliver on the supernatural horrors, but more importantly the heart.

4. Wonder Woman – I know a lot of comic readers want to be Wonder Woman fans with concrete, empirical evidence for the character’s prominence. We try each new iteration, hoping that Diana will finally get a win. I’m optimistic about this wildcard creative team, with Azzarello ushering in a more dynamic, Greek pantheon-oriented spin on the character with Chiang offering up some undeniably tremendous art. As with Conor, I would love to see this garner conversation and anticipation month-in and month-out.

5. Justice League Dark – Combining some of my favorite DC characters–most especially Zatanna and Deadman–Justice League Dark is simply a slam dunk concept. John Constantine aside, these characters probably can’t sustain their own title for a very long time. Even John is pushing it, given the numbers. But together they make for a fascinating team. They can’t be relegated to token magic characters as they’ve often been utilized in other team books or events, because this time they’re all magic characters. Real potential for growth here.

6-10. Birds of Prey, Blackhawks, All-Star Western, Demon Knights, Supergirl

Comments

  1. definitely looking forward to all these titles. Most excited for Action Comics, Animal Man, Swamp thing, and WW but still not quite sure about JLDark. Still looks promising though.

  2. I agree with your first three, I think they are going to be great. My other two would be Justice League and Redhood and The Outlaws. Justice League #1 was great, can’t wait to see where they go with it.

  3. VERY excited for JL Dark. The re-“whatever” is giving me the perfect opportunity to jump on to Justice League as well. I’m stoked for Swamp Thing, but I’ll actually be trade-waiting it, I’m still reading Moore’s classic run on the title. I’ll be picking up Action and Superman monthly and I’m pretty anxious about it.

  4. I’m going to be extremely disappointed if Action Comics isn’t stellar. I have extremely high expectations for that book and it would probably be at the top of my list (if I were to create one).

    For some reason Supergirl doesn’t interest me.

    I’ve notice that All-Star Western is commonly in the 6-10 list. I think it’s in my top 5. I can imagine it being a ton of fun.

  5. I really want to read all the new books already.

  6. I am also looking forward to these books, I would have featured Blackhawks as well though and made the post about six books, because I think that book is going to be a huge, but under a lot of peoples radars.

  7. I think that the Dark series of comics is going to be producing the best quality work. I have Swamp Thing, Animal Man and Justice League Dark on my pull. Of those I think I am most excited about Justice League Dark because I love the concept of it and it has many characters I love.

  8. I’m with you 100% Paul. All of these titles have me VERY EXCITED!

  9. This is why we get along so well, Paul. 😉

  10. BTW, I think Lemire’s interpretation of Animal Man is really, really interesting. He’s probably one of the few people (like me!) who read Animal Man’s post-Morrison foray into Vertigo territory with Hellblazer’s Jamie Delano. The stuff I’ve seen thus far in previews seems to be a blend of the everyman/family man from Morrison’s run with some of the darker sensibilities from that later Animal Man stuff. I think it’s gonna go really well with Swamp Thing.

  11. I’m glad to see that someone is with me about Justice League. I’m sure it’ll be good but not my top ten.

  12. Love that list. Spot on. Mine I’m looking forward to and buying is Action, Animal Man, Batman, Batwoman, Justice League Dark, and Swamp Thing.

  13. Superman never was a “street level character”
    If this is going to Morrison’s version of the Blurr, I for one am going to pass.
    I also think if any other writer were proposing this critics would be rolling their eyes.
    If that is how he is going to be portrayed here- crime better be at an absolute zero.
    B/c how wouldn’t it be?

    JLA Dark on the other hand sounds like a chance for these characters to really shine in a way they haven’t in a long time- if ever.

    • If rumbling with slum lords in the early issues of Action Comics back in the 30s isn’t street level, i’m not sure what is.

    • There have been countless instances of Superman flying down to the street to stop bank robbers, muggers, etc. Happened all the time for 70 years. Superman is great because he can fit in any “level.”