And then we shall make it a game of sport!
Starting today, with Justice League #1, a new era begins for DC Comics, and whether you’re down with the big changes or not, if you’re a comics fan, you have a stake in this race. Lines at midnight? National news coverage? Is it good for comics shops, publishers, and the direct market? Then you should care.
In that spirit, we decided we’d like to do a little bit of figuring and check out the stats in this race. Did we just call it a race? Yes, we did. Every week, we need you to to make your pulls, read, rate, comment on, and write reviews of the new DC titles. The following Monday we’ll be tallying up all the relevant stats we can find from our little microcosm of the comics market and sharing them with you.
Which title had the most pulls? The highest rating? The lowest rating? The most reviews? The most comments? And so on.
Then at the end of the month, when all 52 titles have reached your hot little hands, and you’re spent and exhausted, we’ll take them all, and figure out where the big winners and losers are in the grand scheme of things.
Make your voice and opinions heard, and your vote count, mostly by doing what you were already doing.
To get things started, we’re insanely excited to share with you that both Ron and Conor were invited to a secret meeting at DC Comics HQ in New York City last week and got to read the first week’s batch and about half of the second week’s worth of books, about 20 of the 52 in total.. They were sworn to secrecy, but since we’re so close to the relaunch, we thought we’d share some of their thoughts from the first batch of books here. We won’t reveal any spoilers, nor will we unveil plot details, but rather our general impressions of the books:
- These are truly “First Issues” – every comic felt like a first issue, and there was very little carryover from the past (with 2 exceptions – see below in the specific comment area).
- All in all, the majority of the books were good, if not very good. There were very few “bad” books.
- That said, there were only a few REALLY good books.
- The best book of the batch so far will surprise you.
- It is very clear that the majority of the creators brought their “A” game to their work.
- Unfortunately the “bad” books are really bad. But luckily there are very few “bad” books.
- The worst book of them all surprised us.
- Some of the books we had high expectations for absolutely delivered, while others fell just a little short.
- There will be specific things that may surprise and upset long time DC Comics fans, but ultimately they’re interesting/thought provoking changes.
- As someone who ordered every Number 1 issue of the 52, Ron was extremely satisfied with the amount of quality he got from the batch of books he read.
- You don’t need to read Supergods by Grant Morrison to enjoy Action Comics #1, but it sure does help.
- Worried about Batgirl? Don’t. As DC said at numerous panels at cons this summer, they address all of your concerns about The Killing Joke and Barbara being in and out of the wheelchair. Will you like how they handle? Well, that’s up to you to decide.
- Ron was pleasantly surprised by one of the Batman books (and you know he’s not a big Batman fan).
- When they said not much was changing in the Batman books or the Green Lantern books, they meant it.
- Green Lantern #1 was the best Green Lantern book we’ve read in years.
- The “Dark” line of books is delivering on our speculation that it would be the best batch of books in the bunch. From Animal Man to Swamp Thing to Frankenstein, these are the books to watch.
- Grifter #1 was not what we were expecting at all, and we liked it.
- You like Jack Kirby style art? Then do yourself a favor and pick up O.M.A.C. #1. It really impressed.
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Awesome. I’m excited about the next few weeks.
I can’t wait to see the data you guys share with us.
Of course that’s what the economist says.
I really want to hear what books were thought to be good and weren’t and what books were thought to be ‘bad’ and were good. I can only imagine that Hawkman and Detective weren’t all that spectacular.
Oh, you teases. Back after the titles were announced, I was only up for 4 of the 52. But add in a summer full of great coverage here and preview art all over the web, I’m at least going to be buying 12 new number ones.
Grifter was one of my “we’ll see how it looks in the store”, but hearing that it’s a little unexpected has me totally pumped.
As a non-DC fan who’s interested in the relaunch what comics should I jump into?
Well, that’s really up to what kind of comics you like – but for a non-DC fan, Justice League, Action Comics and Batman are probably the mainstays…
Thanks Ron. As a fellow old school X-Men fan I’ll take you’re word for it.
As a Marvel guy, I think JL has potential, but I’m mostly interested in Action, Batman and GL. We’ll see about the rest. I was a little underwhelmed by JL, I think it still has the ability to ‘Wow’ me at some point.
What were your thoughts on suicide squad or the new guardian or aquaman or all three 🙂 i was impressed with JL #1
We didn’t get to read Aquaman or the New Guardians. I did get to flip through Suicide Squad (but not read it)..and…there are some things that are different than how they used to be in the DC U, but it looked interesting…
All very intriguing stuff. Do you think it will be clear to the general community (or, specifically, the iFanboy community,) what the “best” and “worst” book will be? That is to say, are they miles above/below the others on offer, in your opinion?
Most of the second section made me very happy – definitely looking forward to some of those ‘dark’ books.
I think the gap between the best and worst books will be noticable/agreed upon by the general community, but who am I to predict what everyone thinks? we’re all comics fans after all – what I might not like, you might love….
We will also talk about them all on the audio show when they come out so you’ll know which ones we thought were best and worst each week.
Excellent, thank you both.
Was there a feeling in the Bat books you read of the Bat-Crew as “new” to the vigilante game? Are they more “green” then they have been”
I didn’t get a sense of a new-ness in the Bat books – they felt very much the same as pre-relaunch
There was more of that sense with Batgirl.
I see on Comics Alliance that they thought Demon Knights was one of the very best of the bunch but I’m still on the fence about it. What did you guys think – in a non-spoilery way, of course?
And thanks for doing this, guys!
I really enjoyed Demon Knights and I would put it in the grouping of one of the better books.
Cool, thanks Ron. I was on the fence about that one, and I think I’ll grab it now.
I have 100ish pages to read a night for school, so I have no time to read all of Super Gods. (yet. I’m very excited for it and can’t wait to get to it.) Are there specific chapters I should read to augment Action Comics?
Mainly the ones related to Superman and Siegel and Shuster
I loved SUPERGODS and do think that knowing Morrison’s thoughts on Superman will enhance the comic book reading experience, but I don’t think it’s in any way required to enjoy ACTION COMICS #1.
Men of War by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick. I want to love a book about soldiers, I dug the hell out of The Losers and Queen & Country. Big fan of military/action/espionage stories in all media. It’s a week one book but I can’t find any preview art, so YEA or NAY?
Men of War was not one of my favorite books unfortunately But you should check it out as maybe it’s up your alley
From all I’ve seen, heard and read, the more that we actually see and read the books and move away from speculation, the happier everyone seems to be. I’m not really looking forward to Justice League that much, but there are a heap of books I can’t wait for.
people standing in line for a midnight release of a comic book. Lets all think about that for a minute. Now lets all get really excited….when has a single issue of a comicbook ever been able to pull of the Madden, Harry Potter, (insert band here) midnight release thing? Its a good thing.
Its very cool you guys are doing this. Can’t wait to see what happens when the dust settles. Lucky Ducks that you got the top secret scoop on things.
It’s encouraging to hear that three of he books that I’m really excited about delivered (OMAC, Frankenstein, and Grifter).
If Stormwatch and Demon Knights hold up, I’ll be a very happy reader.
I’ll always have a Superman and Batman title to read, but it’s the fringe stuff that really has me exceed for the new 52.
Exciting times, exciting times!
I will refrain from the “what about this book, or that book” talk, as my personal tastes will really make that judgement for myself. But I will say that I’m glad the “Dark” line is delivering. I want those books in my life, NOW.
I feel like I’m the only comics fan that doesn’t really care too much about the DC Relaunch. Am I alone here?
Nope, I really don’t care either. I want it to work out for them, because the industry can’t handle it being a bust, but other than that, there’s really not much I am interested in.
Not alone, I’m just hoping it’s successful. It’ll be bad for everyone if this failed.
So excited for the new 52 can’t believe I’m getting 33 of the new titles after only buying 15 DC titles for so long can’t wait for Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
Challenge accepted!
Man!, o Man! do those bullets make me want to speculate like it’s 1849.
Wondering what you guys thought of Red Lanterns? On the fence about it and i havn’t seem much about it.
I flipped through Red Lanterns and if you liked the Rage Kitty, you’ll be happy
I don’t know if there’s a great way to quantify this, but I’ll be curious as the game/month proceeds to see if “52 fatigue” sets in. In other words, will the last five books that come out get as much enthusiasm (in the form of pulls, reviews, etc.) as the first five, or will the novelty have worn off already?
also the “empty piggybank” factor….even if you only bought new 52 books, thats a big pull list every week. Combined with the other stuff…might be too much for some. I’m already overwhelmed by it all.
that 52 fatigue thing you speak of…its interesting considering the 24hour newscycle world we live in. Things become old news instantly. hope you’re wrong though.
Just pulled up my DC Comics app and…. nothing. No JL #1 for sale, or a ‘coming soon’, or nary a mention. This is to be the start of my virtual pull-list era, and I’m still waiting. Come get my $3, DC. I got another $3 for OMAC #1.
yeah, i noticed that too. Seems to me like they are totally screwing up the digital day and date thing out the gate.14 hour delay + zero enthusiasm….Maybe they are trying to figure out how to polybag a download?
Especially when CBR reports that 3000+ people have been torrenting this thing since 11pm last night, i don’t know who DC is trying to protect by holding back the official digital release until 2pm.
I believe DC stated that the book would be available Digitally in the afternoon ET to allow comic book stores to open up first.
I understood that the digital stuff would “go live” at 2 PM
the reasoning makes no sense to me. if you were going to buy it digitally you already had no interest in going to the shop.
I decided to buy these digitally when they were announced and it seems that others were the same way. I don’t think DC understands the market or its customer base on this one.
not to mention they totally squandered any buzz from the MSM that casual lookie lou’s might have had. Everyone who saw news/facebook/media coverage of the midnight releases and picked up their iPad to impulse buy the book had a big let down by the”come back in 14 hours” thing. Digital culture=immediacy.
It’s the same for digital video games. I bought Deus Ex on Steam and pre-loaded it before it released. On the day of release I had to wait until 1 pm EST to unlock and play the game, yet if you go to a store and buy it at 9 that morning you could be home and playing it hours earlier than someone who had it pre-bought and pre-loaded digitally (Pre-loaded means I already downloaded everything (gigs worth, these are big games) and it just needs to be unlocked by Steam).
Not that I really care. I got shit to do and can’t be playing games at 9 in the morning or 1 in the afternoon, but it’s still interesting how they’ve structured these digital releases.
Interesting stuff. Anxious to get it all underway. I’m getting a butt load of books so I’m really hoping the quality is there.
I am very excited but a little discouraged about having to wait until 1pm CST to get JLA.
I wish there was a way to find out how many are buying digitally compared to standard format. From my perspective that would be a fascinating stat. Aside from the quality of many of the books, isn’t that really the big question with this? Isn’t that the aspect that will or will not become the game changer for the industry?
did you get a chance to look at or read Teen Titans? and how was the Wonder Women book?
I did not get to see Teen Titans. I didn’t get to see Wonder Woman…finished – but in San Diego Cliff Chiang showed us the entire first issue’s art and it looked AMAZING
We only got a look at week one and two and TEEN TITANS is week four and WONDER WOMAN is week three. But as Ron said, we got a look at the unlettered art for WW in San Diego and it was GORGEOUS.
Did anything from one of the relative unknown creators blow you guys away?
Really good question – there wasn’t one specific creator that blew me away, rather it was apparent that everyone was doing their absolute best. Let me think more on this and let you know if there was a specific creator
Cool. No sleep ’til you do!
was detective comics one of the better bat-books or a lackluster one? Curious to see if this holds up to the recent snyder run on detective. it would be disappointing to see the book that should be batman’s headliner be a flop.
Detective Comics was very impressive.
This is very surprising considering the general reaction to Tony Daniel’s previous runs (Which I thought were okay, even though I didn’t follow the whole run, but I feel like I’m in the minority).
I was very surprised about how much I enjoyed DETECTIVE COMICS.
I am really curious about Stormwatch. It is one of the titles I am really looking forward to but also one that has me worried about its quality. Ron, you had this on your list, did it deliver for you?
Like Grifter, it wasn’t what I was expecting, so on one level, it didn’t deliver – but I was surprised by it and enjoyed it and I’m happy to say I’ll be reading this series ongoing
To what extent, if any, are the events of Flashpoint referenced in the #1 books? If I buy Justice League #1 digitally this afternoon before I go to my comic shop this evening to pick up Flashpoint #5, will I be spoiling anything for myself other than the obvious (“the world got rebooted”)?
There is no sense/carry over from Flashpoint in the books we read. At least I didn’t pick up on any – these are all tried and true first issues
Tthat is disapointing, i was hoping there would be an element of carry over from flashpoint
Did any of the creators involved who are best known for their work in the 90’s (Liefeld, Lee, Lobdell, Capullo) demonstrate meaningful growth over the years, or did their work feel very much like their 90’s work?
Did any of the artists-turned-writers particularly impress or disappoint?
How does the integration of the Wildstorm universe into the DCU come across? Forced? Natural? Do the universes feel integrated?
I think that the art of those 90s creators definitely showed growth – they’re better at their craft now.
I was not particularly disappointed by any specific artist turned writers, but I didn’t get to read the majority of the titles I’m curious abou tin that degree
The Wildstorm integration felt perfectly natural.
This is Jim Lee’s best work in years. I am not fan of Liefeld’s art and HAWK AND DOVE did nothing to change that opinion.
The one day I can’t get to my LCS, one of the biggest relaunches in comics happens. Damn.
there has been lots of discussion about how this new 52 thing came out of nowhwere and creators were working double time to meet the short turnarounds….did anything in terms of art or writing feel rushed?
I didn’t get a huge sense of things being rushed, but I’ve heard that as well and guess we’ll see that in issue 2 or 3…
The opposite, actually. But as Ron said, the real test will come in a few months.
Thanks you, Ron, for taking the time to answer all these questions. I wasn’t going to pick up Detective Comics, but I think you’ve convinced me.
Cool – let everyone know what you think!
A big thank you to Conor, too, for sharing his thoughts. After reading Justice League, I’m pumped for the next 51.
im still on the down side about detective comics. When Daniel was on Batman he didn’t do a very good jod and that’s sort of making me want to not read it. Oh and how did you get to read all those books today?
Up top…”Ron and Conor were invited to a secret meeting at DC Comics HQ in New York City last week and got to read the first week’s batch and about half of the second week’s worth of books, about 20 of the 52 in total.”
So when I read all the news about the New 52, people seem to most excited about Superman and all the Dark series. I am planning on pulling a lot from the Dark group of comics but I am a die hard Batman fan. It seems like they are not changing much about Batman and the buzz on all the Batman comics seems kind of quiet. Are Batman fans going to be excited about this epic relaunch?
I can’t speak for Batman fans, but from what I’ve seen from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo on Batman #1, they should be…
Batman fans have a lot to be excited about. The books had, for the most part, been quite good before the relaunch and they aren’t really mucking with them as much as the other books. Scott Snyder seems to be directing the line and the main book, BATMAN, should continue on with the same level of quality that you saw before from his work.
I think that the reason there hasn’t been a ton of Batman buzz is that not a lot is changing. With the new DCU the buzz usually centers around the changes to the characters and which Bat character has had the most buzz? The one with the most changes: Batgirl.
How awesome was Demon Knights?
Also, Batman & Robin, is it still going to do the 3-issue arc thing?
Demon Knights was very good – it didn’t cross over to “awesome” for me yet, but I see the potential for it to.
Not sure about the arc lengths of Batman and Robin
Ron/Conor, are there any plans to do some type of “quick hits” review article on Wednesday’s in the upcoming month, basically to give us a sense of what’s worth checking out (in your opinions)?
Of course!
We will be reviewing each #1 issue on the podcast and Paul will be posting quick reviews on the Thursday of each week!
I’m only getting a few of the dark books (Demon Knights, Justice League Dark, Swamp Thing, Animal Man) but I’ve been wanting to check out Resurrection Man also. Was it good and is it worth reading?
Resurrection Man was IN MY HANDS and I ran out of time so I didn’t get to read it – but it looked really good – I’m going to be anxiously anticipating reading it.
So far from the young justice line i’m only getting teen titans and blue beetle. Are static shock and hawk and dove worth checking out or were they bad?
I’m not a fan of Static Shock, so I didn’t enjoy it – but you might. I enjoyed Hawk and Dove – I’m a Liefeld fan
I didn’t get to STATIC SHOCK and I was not a fan of HAWK AND DOVE – but I’m not a Liefeld fan.
Thanks, Ron for answering our questions.
Which comic are you most looking forward to the iFanboy community reading in terms of commenting and “buzzability” [wink wink]?
i.e. I can’t wait to hear what people say when they see this…
I honestly don’t know what book discussion will be Buzzable. I think Action Comics and Batgirl have buzz potential – maybe Green Lantern too…the best part of it is we’ll find out as it goes! Exciting!
ANIMAL MAN.
Thanks Ron much love
Hey Ron/Conor.
So here’s the thing. The big name books have the best shot of enticing old fans and bringing on board new ones, but let’s spare a thought for some of the unknowns. Odds are most people are not going to get all 52 books. It would be sad to see some promising stories lost just because they were overshadowed by the big guns.
Can you guys recommended some surprises that fans should gamble some change on? (apart from animal man, which seems like a no-brainer). Also, forget genres or tastes, just straight up, ‘these are great and you should read em’ recommendations
Sure:
in addition to Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Stormwatch, Grifter, OMAC, Frankentstein
Of the ones that I read, I’ll echo Ron: Other than ANIMAL MAN I would say SWAMP THING, FRANKENSTEIN, GRIFTER and STORMWATCH.
I didn’t get to read DEMON KNIGHTS, which I’m bummed about.
Ron, I’m curious, did DC put you and Connor in a room with all the books and say: “You have 30 minutes to read as many as you can/want. Your time starts…NOW!” And were there other comic book “online celebrities” like yourselves coming in after you to get their turn. The logistics of it kind of fascinates me, especially after your comment above about having the “Resurrection Man” comic in your hand but running out of time.
Thanks for answering everyone’s questions.
The details of our meetings aren’t very interesting – there wasn’t a timer mind you – but we had to go get dinner, so it was more our own time schedule. There weren’t any other comics media there, but we’re not the only ones who got this sort of sneak peek
I prefer to picture it as you and Conor sitting in a fluorescent-lit room that contained only two chairs facing a giant two-way mirror where you both sat and read comics uncomfortably while being observed by men and women in DC-blue lab coats taking notes. Don’t ruin that image for me.
Yeah, I agree with MaxPower.
I was also hoping for a huge vault door that took at least two people to swing open just so you could enter that same room to read the comics.
Awesome thanks alot guys!! I got two questions If you can answer please , first did u read detective comics and if so was it good or not in your opinions? I’m not a dc reader in recent years and heard alot of bad things abou Tony Daniels writing so I’m on the fence about grabbing this title. And also despite not alot changing and the green lantern title being so good for a person who has never read green lantern be able to enjoy it?? Thanks!!
Sorry just read that you liked detective above Ron so ignore that question
Ron, you are awesome. A big thank you to all the ifanboys for the amazing coverage, great thought provoking and discussion starting articles (Josh’s especially) and all around community building that’s happened since the relaunch was announced lo those many monhs ago. It’s been exciting and still is an exciting time to be a comic fan. You guys deserve a long vacation, but then it’s back to the acid mines for you (i.e. continued awesome content of the DC new 52 as they come out.) Thanks again. Huzzah for comics!
Thank YOU for enjoying what we do.
Thanks!
I’m oddly interested in Grifter because of the creative team, but have zero experience with Wildstorm outside of Sleeper. Is this truly a #1 issue? Is it as good as the preview art makes it look?
It is truly a #1 issue and yes, the art is fantastic
There’s a fantastic Grifter story to be found in POINT BLANK which ties in to SLEEPER (I think it goes between the 2 volumes). Check it out, it’s by Brubaker and can give you a sense of the character in a relatively show arc
So Red Hood and the Outlaws looks just incredibly terrible. Any chance it will surprise or is it going to live up to one of the worst solicits I’ve ever read?
That may be a personal preference – I’m a big fan of Rocafort, who admittedly isn’t a traditional style – it may just not be your cup o’ tea
How good were green arrow and jli?
JLI was a ton of fun – straight up super hero team that you would expect from the JLI.
Unfortunately, Green Arrow fell short of expectations in my opinion
Oh thank god JLI was good for you. It’ll be on my pull list either ways
I liked JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL much more than I thought I would. It was actually one of the better–and more fun–reads.
GREEN ARROW on the other hand…
I was really hoping that the main thing that hurt Krul’s Green Arrow run recently was all of the Brightest Day stuff. I guess its really just Krul’s writing. Ollie is one of my favorite characters, and I’ve been yearning for a great GA book since when Winick left it (loved his run on it.)
I really enjoyed krul’s recent run on green arrow, I thought it was great, and with the relaunch i got even more excited about all the high tech toys that green arrow will be bringing together with his green arrow team ive been reading about, but there were so many other books that overshadowed GA for the relaunch. I’ll still hope that issue 2 or 3 would be great so it’ll change my mind about not getting it.
Thank you for doing this.This is why iFanboy is my favorite comic book website!
Did you read Blackhawks and Men of War? Are they worth reading?
I did not get to read Blackhawks. I did read Men of War and it wasn’t really my thing, but that could just be me..
I really wanted to read both of these and didn’t get a chance to. I only flipped through MEN OF WAR. It APPEARED to be a straight up war comic. I’m looking forward to it.
in terms of art i understand that omac is directed towards kirby fans. But how was it in a story and writing stand-point?
story in OMAC was better than I expected
Please, don’t let JLI be crap. Please, don’t let JLI be crap. Please, don’t let JLI be crap. Please, don’t let JLI be crap.
Also, thank you Ron for going to extra mile today and looking at so many comments ans soothing our concerns.
JLI isn’t crap (at least I didn’t think so, nor did Conor)
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL was tons of fun. I was surprised about how much I enjoyed it.
Hey Ron, how is Superboy, I dropped it outta pull list and replaced it with WW. Should I put superboy back? Also, I was really considering deathstroke but I replaced it with grifter. Did I make a mistake?
I can’t tell you whats a mistake or not for you – but I was actually pleasantly surprised by Superboy – I had low expectations and it exceeded them.
Thats another 2.99 outta my pocket then. I just wasn;t feeling the art compared to red hood and tt, but oh wells thanks, guess I won’t be trying out deathstroke anyways. I’ve already got 17 comics in sept :S
Sorry for being a bit greedy on the questions but where the coloured lanterns and the events of blackest night/ brightest day prominet in the green lantern books? And in the books you have read any of them contain Bane or martian manhunter do you think any will? Love the show hope you know you have a strong fanbase in the UK 🙂
no need to apologize – as far as I could tell the Green Lantern books are continuing in the direction the line was before the relaunch – not much change as far as I could see.
Martian Manhunter is in Stormwatch – I didn’t see Bane.
thanks!
Ron, thanks for all the input. You’ve sold me on a couple things I was on the fence about, such as Demon Knights and JLI. I’ve seen you recommend the ‘Dark” books to people who wanted to take a gamble on something, but I am in the position where those were some of the only books I was interested in to begin with. I’ve never been too keen on DC superheroes not named Batman, Green Arrow, or Booster Gold. There anything you can recommend to myself and others of similar interest? I’m kind of hoping this reboot brings the return of Ralph Dibney! I am disappointed that you said Green Arrow wasn’t so hot, but I was also expecting result that from JT Krul. Definitely going to be picking up some of those “dark” books, All Star Western, and maybe now even Stormwatch.
which book do you think will be the best for the new 52? I Have high hopes for Action Comics.
We’re going to hold revealing that until next week 🙂
Will you guys be covering the Digital Distribution aspect very much? I’m thinking about going 100% digital when possible and I’m curious as to what your take will be on it.
Not sure what else there is to cover – they’re available digitally, we’ve been outspoken about our support of digital releases – not much more to talk about that beyond that
I guess I was thinking about a discussion on the business impact of day & date digital releases. Of course that type of analysis is best done several months down the road. I guess time will tell. Thanks for the response.
With all due respect Ron there’s a lot more to cover on the digital distro than- “they are available digitally”
With all the commentary on the industry and how is works from your colleagues in their usual style.
Many people have posted comments asking for ifanboys in depth take on the the business and cultural ramifications
of someone finally going for the digital spinner rack.
Will it give DC an edge in sales- will it change the format of storytelling will super compressed stories take a back seat
will the two page spread be obsolete?
Will a lower digital price point eventually be set?
And on and on the creative team changes and character stuff is super interesting the Game changer is the digital business move and out side of JIm’s recent article I haven’t seen a lot of theories floated in discussion by the main iFanboy crew.
I think that is why people keep asking you for it.
Yes anything is just a theory at this point – but iFanboy postulates theories all the time why should this be any different unless there is a conflict with being owned by Graphic.ly
So Far I’ll be getting seven books week one: Action Comics, Animal Man, Batgirl, Detective Comics,OMAC, Swamp Thing, and Stormwatch
Did you read Batwing? What did you think? I’m glad to see you answer our questions directly. Thank you, Ron.
I did read Batwing – it was good, story was cool, but I didn’t love the art – but that’s a personal preference
I, on the other hand, really liked the art.
I’m really looking forward to checking out Batwing. Glad to hear that the story is solid at least.
Cool, I’ll check it out. Thanks.
I’m curious if there were stand out books where you and Conor had polar opposite opinions on or did you generally agree on everything?
aside from Hawk & Dove, I think we generally agreed on most of them 😉
@Ron: And the art in BATWING.
you were scaring me when you mentioned the bad books. but then you gave back my hope for praising the books i want most: animal man, swamp thing, frankenstein. all i need.
If I had one question for @Ron it would be this: If you had to make a prediction using the books that you have read as a barometer, do you think that DC made the right choice?
Just another quick thing, did anybody else hear that the Digital versions of the book are only your’s for 6 months or was this dis-information from my LCS goon?
That’s disinformation.
my apologies, disinformation. No edit button 😉
I don’t mean the spelling, i mean it’s actually disinformation. It’s not true that you only own them for 6 months.
Thanks for the info Guys
So as fantastic as Green Lantern is, would you say that its still a good jumping on point guys? Ive never read even an issue of it before… and im worried about understand whats going on if they havent changed much
I’d say so. I haven’t read the Green Lantern books since BLACKEST NIGHT, basically, and I understood it just fine.
You guys should have a DCNU Fantasy Draft.
I don’t know what DCNU means 😉
Funnily enough I most excited about the non super hero stuff. Specifically Sgt. Rock, Blackhawks, Demon Knights, Voodo, I Vampire, etc… Anything cool or noteworthy about those books guys?
VOODOO and I, VAMPIRE come out in week four. We only got a look at week one and two. The other three books I didn’t get a chance to read.
You lucky ducks. I am incredibly jealous and can’t wait until the end of the month for my DCBS shipment of all 52.
Glad to hear everyone is bringing their A game and I’m especially glad to hear that Green Lantern is great again! 🙂
I’m really curious about Green Arrow. It’s still JT Krul, so I’m not expecting much, but Green Arrow will always be one of my favourite comic characters. Any opinions on that?
We’ve mentioned it higher up in the comments but our opinions are not good.
in my opinion this book hasnt been good since winick left. I would kill for diggle and jock to take over and bring back the magic of year 1
ok i got one more question for you guys
What did you honestly think of Deathstroke if that was one of the books you guys read or looked at?? Almost pre-ordered this book a few times now but kept picking up different titles in its place in fear of it sucking
That was one I didn’t get a chance to look at.
Ok peeps, so what was the worst title you read and why. I want you to hep me save some money 🙂
The answer to your first question should be easy to figure out based on the comments we’ve already made.
I’ve got it narrowed down to these:
Batgirl
Green Arrow
Hawk and Dove (Conor)
Men of War (Ron)
Static Shock
Batman and Robin?
Batwoman?
Legion Lost?
Mister Terrific?
Superboy?
I would guess Green Arrow. They have had something positive to say about most. But not Green Arrow.
i did get the feelingno one was taken with green arrow. That helps
let’s say (hypothetically) that you’re completely new to the non-Vertigo side of DC and everything you know you’ve gleaned from your friends’ twitter feeds and looking at the pretty “best of” art panels on ifanboy and following every artist under the sun on tumblr (hypothetically). You did not read Flashpoint.
You’ve gone through the list of 52 and you’ve picked out the titles you’re interested in reading. Is there a specific #1 you might also want to pick up to get the lay of the land in general, or does that not even make any sense? (no, i still haven’t read @Jimski’s article from Monday yet)
The entire line is designed to welcome new readers and just about every book I read was written that way so in a general sense you should be fine picking up anything.
You do not have to have read FLASHPOINT to enjoy any of these books.
I don’t know that there is a general “lay of the land” book, other than JUSTICE LEAGUE which is always sort of that kind of book for the DCU.
Thanks. I was looking at something that suggested that Action Comics was “where it all begins”, but maybe they just meant historically, not relaunchally.
Well, in terms of the timeline in the New DC Universe, ACTION COMICS #1 does take place first. But it’s not really an introduction to the universe.
I’ve got to know. Does Batman kick the Joker in the groin in Detective Comics #1? What I wouldn’t give for that to actually happen.
Would you recommend getting OMAC OR Justice League International on the first week?
They already did in the comments above.
Ok guys, care to hazard a guess at which of the 52 books will…..
1. Be canceled
2. Be chronicly late
3. Become the best selling comic of the launch
4. Be iFanboys pick of the month for September
1. Hard to say.
2. Also hard to say. They may use fill-in artists on a schedule for the guys who can’t go monthly.
3. JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 is already announced as the top seller.
4. We don’t do Picks of the Month. DO you mean the best single issue we read from the New DCU? I know my favorite from the first two weeks but I wouldn’t pick one out not having read the other two weeks of books.
Would love to see who will be the pick of the month / top winners for sept. After all 52 books have been released.
What were the books that you didn’t like?
Of those I read? HAWK AND DOVE and GREEN ARROW stand out.
The villains have been absent from most the the re-launch announcements? Any new bad guys or surprises there?
How about Batman Inc., is that mentioned in any of the Bat-titles? And did you get to Batwoman; is it as good as the last Rucka/JHWIII run on Detective?
Also, any sign of the multiverse?
There were definitely some new villains. The most surprising/shocking scene that I read (it made Ron gasp) involved an old villain and it was in a Batbook.
I don’t really remember a mention of Batman Inc. outside of BATWING. We did read BATWOMAN and it was excellent.
No sign of the multiverse that I remember.
I forgot where i read it but I think that there will be a new Justice Society book and that it would take place on a different Earth.
What was the best batbook you read so far?
BATWOMAN.
The article says that the change in Batgirl is explained and not just out of nowhere. And that it’s going to be up to us how we like how they handled it. So how did you guys think it was handled, Ron & Con?
That’s a bit too specific than what we’re going into here. We’ll talk about it on the show.
Totally. No way to say ‘yay or ‘nay’ in the mean time? 😉
Honestly? I’m not sure I can boil it down to a ‘yay’ or ‘nay’. I need to read it again.
I will apologize in advance because I don’t know exactly which books you guys read, but I was curious about the interior art on Mr. Terrific. I will be buying that title based on the concept I read in the solicits and i liked the cover art a lot, but have no clue what the interiors look like. did you happen to catch a glimpse of it?
I didn’t get a chance to get to MR. TERRIFIC.
Thanks for all the answers, guys. I have to admit that after being initially skeptical of the big relaunch, now that it’s here I’m a lot more stoked. At least for this first month when everything is new and exciting. This site’s coverage has really helped in that regard. Nice job, fellas.
Thanks for the coverage guys!
How long did you all have to read books? Did the DC people ask opinions on your readings at the meeting? I guess what I’m wondering is whether it was similar to a focus group or if they simply invited comic media members in to read the books and get online talk going?
Why no love for Josh? His Vertigo carrying card should’ve gotten him in the door.
Josh lives out in the wilderness now, if I’m not mistaken.
We were at the DC office for about 4 hours – but that included meetings etc. Yes, they asked our opinions during the meetings and we discussed many of the titles at length – but in an informal manner – it wasn’t a focus group or anything like that, it was that we were invited and they were excited to share the books with us.
Josh was not in NYC for the meeting.
what was the book with the worst art?
I’m going to abstain from this one for now. Stay tuned until next week.
Wow this is really great guys. Giving us a lot of info on the new DCU without spoiling any of it. Great job!
Let me ask one or two things for you guys:
1) In a non-spoilery answer, how was DCU Presents? I like the idea of Brave and the Bold continuing in some fashion but I know Paul Jenkins hasn’t done wonders for you guys in ages.
2) The one book that surprised me that I was picking up was ‘Birds of Prey’. It could be the most underrated title in my opinion if it works out. How was it in your eyes?
I think both of those might be from week 3, which the guys didn’t get to read.
But, personally, as far as DCU Presents and Jenkins goes, while I’m not the biggest fan of him, his ability to do character pieces makes the book a good bet in my mind.
Glad you liked it.
1) We did not get to check out DCU Presents. I’m excited for some Deadman though
2) We didn’t get to read BoP either
We only got to read about 20 books from week #1 and week #2
I don’t remember when it comes out but to contrast Detective Comics by Daniels: How was Savage Hawkman?
Can’t (win) lose with that combo of Tony Daniel and Phillip Tan….
We didn’t get to read Hawkman either. Sorry.
SAVAGE HAWKMAN is week four.
I love this thread.
This thread loves you.
Finally.
Any chance these new DCU titles will be coming to Graphicly?
DC Comics are not available on Graphicly. If you would like them to be, write to DC and tell them how you feel.
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I have a question, since you liked the green lantern book so much can someone tell me if I can just pick up the issue and understand everything without having read Blackest knight and all that stuff?
Basically is it new reader friendly?
Thanks in advance guys 😉
Yes, you’ll be fine. It’s new reader friendly. It does build off of past stories but it is presented in a way that you don’t need to have read them. All the information you really need is there. I haven’t read GREEN LANTERN in a while and I was fine.
Superman. I’m actually very interested in Superman. Not Action Comics for some reason… but Superman.
Didn’t get to read it. That’s week four.
I feel the same, I am getting it regardless of reviews. I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE Superman fan!
My current pull list with DC is almost 20 comics, my wife is gonna KILL me!
This is REALLY REALLY great stuff guys. I’m was excited for the new 52 after finishing Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 but I’m definitely more excited now and am glad I’ve subscribed for all the #1s at my LCS. Thanks for sharing the info!
Really looking forward to the Batwoman book!
Are any of you going digital instead of physical?
For this first month of books, I pre-ordered issues from my Local Comic Book store – haven’t decided which books I’m going to stay subscribed to, much less in what format. But I’ll likely stick with issues, because despite my day job, I also enjoy collecting comics still.
@Ron I’m in the same boat but with a variation. I will get digital books but the books that really blow me away are the ones I’ll buy in hard copy. To scratch my archiving itch. 🙂
Thanks for this guys. My question is when DC put out the books for you to read which book did you read first?
I read ACTION COMICS #1 first.
That’s the book I can’t decide on. I’ve never liked Superman but really wondering how Grant is going to handle it.
I read Justice League #1 first.
Guys this is really a great conversation thanks so much for doing this. I am picturing conor and Ron hunched over typewriters wearing vests and fedoras frantically typing and smoking lucky strikes this whole time.
Anyway, would you say you got a sense of a connected universe as you read the books or did they feel more like each family had a feel or completely stand alone.
thanks guys
the buzz around animal man has me really excited
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The book I’m interested in the most is Green Lantern and would like to know a couple things. First, is Sinestro still Sinestro? By which I mean; do you get a sense that the ring made him more heroic/humble or is he generally still the same arrogant fascist that we know and love. Secondly, did this issue give you the feeling that Johns is back. I know that a lot of people(myself included) felt that he lost something post Blackest Night, and would like to know if you thought this was a return to form.
Thank You
We are not answering story specific questions but I will say that it was the best issue of GREEN LANTERN that I have read in forever.
I’m buying all the first issues to give them a try–been reading comics over 40 years and haven’t felt this excited for books to come out since post-Crisis with Legends, Justice League, Byrne’s Superman, Perez’s WW, Suicide Squad and Batman Year One.
I hope some of the titles that have always had a loyal audience grows: Legion, Resurrection Man, and Suicide Squad come to mind.
Thank You, that’s encouraging. Sorry, if I was a bit too specific.
i’m assuming that the September sales for the 52 titles will be good, but the real test is what happens in the coming weeks/months.
i already hear murmurs of people saying they’ll give some titles a pass if they don’t cut the mustard in issue 1. How much can be accomplished by this?
It’s got me wondering… have DC painted themselves into a corner before they even start?
Also, lagging sales are as much about about delivery and pricing as they are about content. This day and date manoeuvre isn’t a radical enough move. They’re putting their creative balls on the block to shake up the industry, they should have done the same from the publishing side?
day and date is a token gesture in my eyes, it’s still delayed and it still costs too much. Desperate times require radical measures, and half-measures mean you will just lose more slowly.
Word. Netflix style. Streaming comics… Add the option to buy print copies of new issues via mail order. Users can rate/review issues. Creators interact with fans via interviews and tweet-ups.
No more Wednesday comics. New comics every day.
I picked up JL #1 today and I loved it. I’m very excited about the relaunch and I want in on lots of it. Fortunately, I’m at a great place in my comic reading now where I am balancing old love for superheroes (first book I read was Uncanny X-Men #97, you toddlers) but thanks to iFanboy Ive expanded in the last few years and grown into Walking Dead, Locke & Key, Irredeemable, Morning Glories. A shit ton of non-traditional iconic superhero stuff. So I feel like I can grab from this 52 and find gems that are both pop–really want that Wonder Woman!–and more off center like, I hope, Mr. Terrific and Frankenstein. But so much looks good! That Catwoman cover is sweet! And Reis on Aquaman! Yeeesss!
Not a big DC fan (except for the great XBOX360 games) but if this is good for the comic book industry, I support it. Good luck!
Any sign of Power Girl? Or should I just hope and pray she’ll be in Robinson’s recently announced Earth-2 JSA?
She’s supposedly a supporting character in MISTER TERRIFIC, but I wasn’t able to read that one.
If that’s true, I’m even more excited for that book now!
Thank you, Conor! That’s a relief, seeing as Mr Terrific is one I took a chance on and added to my Pull List!
Pardon the dumb question, but where can I find a list of what books are being released which week? I thought it my be in the Definitive DC Relaunch post, but no go. Do I just need to scour Previews and the interwebz or is it posted on iFanboy somewhere?
They have been in every DC book for a while. You can also find them here:
http://dccomics.com/dcu/comics/
Thanks Conor! I only read current comics digitally, so haven’t held a floppy in a while to see the listing.
so I’ve read the top 5, but what are the really bad books you guys would recommend staying away from?
We’ve listed a few in the comments already.
Thanks again for all the great coverage of the relaunch since the news first broke. I was very glad to hear good impressions of JLI. It hasn’t seemed to have gotten as much attention as other books, but it has been on my for sure list since they first annouced it (for more Booster Gold, if nothing else). Also, intrigued to read the opinion that Batwoman was the best Batbook you’ve seen so far. I’ve been on the fence about this one. I like the character, but thought that Williams’ Detective run mixed. Basically, I’m a little tired of the whole Religion of Crime thing, which I never found that interesting in the first place. Hopefully, Ms. Kane will discover some new enemies soon. Regardless, I’ll most likely be picking up this title now . . .
One question: I was wondering if the Frankestein book had a similar set-up/feel to the Flashpoint title, or whether this is a whole different approach? I’m currently taking a wait and see attitude towards this title. I’m definately getting Animal Man, and figure that if I like that one, perhaps giving a try to Frankenstein. And honestly, not sure how many more titles, my budget will let me pile on at this point . . .
I’d say it’s similar, yes. Not exactly the same, but similar.
Thanks, Conor; I know hat you can’t say much yet . . .
Did any of you get a chance to check out Resurrection Man? Out of all the titles I’m most excited for this one because I never thought in a million years it would be back. It was a favorite of mine when it first hit and I always felt it never got the attention it deserved.
You are the tastemakers. Your opinions will be guiding any additional purchases I make.
Thanks for all this.
Ok here are my questions:
Is the storytelling in OMAC as good as the art? If not as good as the art, is it at least fun and entertaining?
OMAC was a very fun read both in art and story
Awesome! Good to hear. Thanks Ron!
what was the best book fr each of you?
saving that for next week’s podcast/reviews 😉
How were the Jeff Lemire books? Frankenstein, Animal Man…
Look up in the comments, we’ve mentioned both books a lot.
Hey iFanboy,
How was Batman and Robin?
Damian is possibly my favorite DC character and I haven’t seen much about it in the comments above.
Also which book had your favorite new villain?
Thanks!
I didn’t get to this one in the stack. I actually wasn’t in a hurry to read it because it was the same creative team. I was more interested in checking out the new stuff.
This thread has been great. If the reasoning besides DC giving you guys a sneak peak was to drum up excitement, they have done a great job. Been loving all the questions and comments here!
So as the only #1 that has been released yet has been Justice League, and that’s the only one the vast majority of us can use as a benchmark yet….of the first couple weeks of comics you got to read, how did Justice League stack up against the rest? One of the best? Just average?
Anyone have a link to purchase this via download?
Thank for the hints (and outright saying, in some cases) about the good and bad books. I’m one of those long-time DC readers who’s actually been looking forward to this, and it sounds like many of the books on my pull list are set to deliver.
And thanks for taking the time to share your impressions. It always carries so much more weight hearing from fans who have read the books. And fans who are willing to criticise as well as praise.
@Conor I know Ron didn’t like the new Sgt Rock, I think it’s called Men of War? What did you think of it?
I didn’t get a chance to read it; I was only able to flip through it.
get a chance to look at nightwing?
That’s a week three book.
Hi,
So I’ve read the last Flashpoint and other than showing us that the new DcU is another universe or something, what other correlation is there between Flashpoint and the new 52? I could see no obvious ones in Justice League.
By the way, I really enjoyed Flashpoint all the way through, much more than I thought I would, so if there is no correlation I don’t really care. I think it acted as a nice send of to the way things were, moving on to the way things are now. I’m just curious to know if anything from it is mentioned or seen in these 52 #1s.
Thanks.
This was awesome. Thank you.
I’m getting Batgirl (week 1), Batwoman (week 2), Catwoman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman (all three week 3), and Voodoo (week 4). Glad to hear that you guys liked how Batgirl handled Oracle’s handicap/impairment/injury, that you thought Batwoman was the best of the Bat-books (that you saw) and that the Wonder Woman art by Chiang looked good.
Any comments on how female solo leads are being handled in general?
It sounds like so far they are being done pretty well, and show at least as much quality as the team books and male solo lead titles. It doesn’t sound like you got a chance to preview Catwoman, Supergirl or Voodoo, but from what you’ve said about Batgirl, Batwoman and Wonder Woman so far, I have strong hopes for high quality.
Thanks for taking the time to respond to so many specific posts, guys. Cheers.
Just curious, did you guys notice the mystery hooded woman in any of the titles you read?
I’m guessing that Justice League will probably end up with the most pulls, followed by Action and Batman. After those big superstar books, though, it’ll be interesting to see which title comes in next . . .
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/4132-Continanity-Rebooted
Some pretty good points in that.
Any direction to push Nightwing in terms of being positive or negative?
Just saw above question on this title. Disregard. Sorry.
Thank you guys so much for doing this! I absolutely love Josh, Ron, and Conor. Ya’ll have really expanded my mind and comic book tastes to new heights. You have replaced my anxiety about jumping in with the New 52 with excitement! I am pulling JLI, Stormwatch, and may be persuaded to check out Animal Man. Can’t wait to hear ya’ll weigh in on the New 52!
Scott in Wylie, TX
http://www.comical-musings.blogspot.com
Conor and Ron – Of the DC books you got to read early, which of them did you re-buy today? Which ones were so good that you just felt you had to own, even though you’d already read them? Any of them? None?
BTW connor, I decided to go against your advice and gotten hawk and dove. I can’t say I love the art but I dont hate it, but woah, I think the story itself is fantastic, it really made me wanna check out hawk and dove 2
I’m planning on buying two books next week and then waiting until next month when the price drops to pick up two more of the #1’s that come out next week. Here are the four series I’m looking at: Green Lantern, Demon Knights, Batwoman and Frankenstein. Which two should I pick up first?
As a pretentious prick I highly recommend Animal Man #1 as well. So rest assured that it’s not skimping out on the quality.