Where we're at: Part 1

I guess I should write this now before all of the craziness at DC starts. Honestly, most DC books are nothing to write about just now (in spite of the DC editorial staff's attempt to get people to care about the pre-new 52 events - rofl). Marvel is pretty busy though w Fear Itself and Schism going on. I have also been majorly behind in the Ultimate line (DoSM) and X-line (I hadn't even read Age of X as of my last post).

I'm going to try and be comprehensive but do this from memory. I read a huge stack of comics when I returned home from summer work, so this is pretty fresh in my mind:

1. Action Comics -- The best run on this book since they introduced Superman I'd guess. I love Paul Cornell. His addition to the new 52 is, imo, the most promising part of the whole re-launch. It will be a step down to add Grant Morrison to this book in Sept. There, I said it. You know if you have been reading this book, you agree.

2. Astonishing Thor -- I really liked it. I should have read it all in one setting, but this is one of the better Thor stories I can think of. Top 5 probably. Of course, around 500 issues of Thor are unreadable. That may be generous, really.

3. Astonishing X-Men -- Another one of the Marvel cautionary tales. This title has been mismanaged. I assume Ellis left them in the lurch here, but you don't let a flagship, industry best title flounder like this. Rotating stories on a semi-weekly basis is not good direction. Also, both stories suck. Weak.

4. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine -- The least impressive Jason Aaron work around. Kubert looks good though. A sort of 90's-ish premise didn't create a real impressive narrative though. I guess it was written a bit better than average, but plotted poorly.

5. Avengers & New Avengers -- Love it. Only grouped because both are doing the highlights of Fear Itself issues right now, so there is some unity to the stories. I like that Bendis is featuring the female characters. The upgrade for Mockingbird is nice. I was an old West Coast fan, so I always liked her and she has floundered a bit since coming back. The upcoming showdown w Spiderwoman over Hawkeye should be fun. Oh Hawkeye, will you ever learn. Victoria Hand -- great character. Best new Marvel invention in a while.

6. Batman -- Tony Daniel is not really killing it here. This is a mediocre effort I'd say. It's not bad, but it's not good. B-

7. Batman and Robin -- Is solid but not hitting home runs. I think I've previously been pretty clear about how I feel about what Morrison has done w the Bat. It's not my favorite. The new rogues haven't really done much for me. The best thing about this book, and the whole bat-family right now, is Damien.

8. Batman Inc. -- This book is decent because ever issue is new and fresh with some special international bat nerd involved. I don't hate Morrison, and some of these stories are quite good, it's just my general feeling that Batman can be better and should.

9. Detective comics -- The best of the Bat books. The Scott Snyder and Jock story -- about Gordon's son nonetheless -- is one of the better recent Bat plots. I really enjoyed it. This is promising given that this team will be retaining control through the transition to the new 52.

10. Dark Knight -- Not terrible like you'd think. It's probably slightly better than Batman Inc. Written by an artist is usually a sign a book will be unreadable. David Finch is a serviceable storyteller, I'd say. It looks great too. I'm not a big Etrigan fan really, but the first arc is ok, which is a shock I'd think.

11. Black Panther -- Meh, close to losing me. If I didn't like the art so much, I'd prolly have dropped this book. I do enjoy that pulp style though, so I'll give Liss a bit longer to get a handle on the narrative. We shall see. Worth it for the visuals imo.

12. Captain America -- Anything by Brubaker is special. The new books are both great. The newest arc of Cap (as opposed to Cap and Bucky) is really special. This new villain (frenemy?) is awesome, creative, and potentially uber. I know I go all fangirl and squeal every time that Brubaker writes something, but he is just so f'ing good. Tee-hee. The pencils on both books are strong.

13. Chew -- A very solid piece of work. We're on, what, the fifth arc now? It's solid. Funny stuff, always love the backgrounding in the art, creative premises. It will be interesting to see how he weaves the on-going elements about vamps into the story over time. Overall, top level work.

14. Daredevil -- I haven't been this excited about a new artist in a long time. Paolo Rivera is the real deal. His paneling reminds me of Steranko; it's incredibly creative. You heard it hear first: he is the next big thing. If he can deal w the demands of a regular monthly book, he will have a long, strong future in comics. Waid is also the right guy to reintegrate DD into the regular Marvel U after a pretty long hiatus. Love this book.

15. FF -- Hickman. Nuff said! The newest boss of comics. He is above all of them today imo: even Bru and Bendis. FF is a tour de force. For the first time in a long time, it's the greatest superhero comic book in the world (only bc Secret Warriors, also by Hickman, just ended). Spidey, new costumes, a big family, Dragon Man, etc. Gah, I'm just going to gush. Read it.

16. Fables -- Powering on into the future. This book is the energizer bunny of comics. Willingham is no spring chicken, but he continually produces one of the highest quality books and pushes the mood and content of the book to new heights. Deserves to be read.

17. Fear Itself -- Solid work all around. No spoilers, but the big moments are huge and the details are a good payoff for long-time fans. I remember sitting around reading an Iron Fist book and saying to myself "this guy is the truth". Matt Fraction is now in the big time and deservedly so. A massive Thor cross-over is not one of those things you'd have expected just a few years ago. Now we've had two. Nice. I'm only reading the X-Force spin-off, but it's solid so far.

18. Flash -- The book Geoff Johns was born to write. If he leaves this book again, it will be a tragedy. He should write it for 40 yrs or so. Strong pencils too, like the Scott Kollins days. I enjoy this book immensely.

19. Flashpoint -- Ok, I'm gonna try not to alarm people here. Flashpoint is a solid idea. The main book itself is done well. Johns and Kubert, what could really go wrong? Well, there you have it: a smooth marketing trick by DC. Editorial demands. And now we will have a new 52 that, I'll be honest, I have some real concerns about. A number of these creative teams are uninspired. A lot of the spinoffs, while not helmed by the folks who'll be writing the main books, are terrible, frankly. I'm not sure I like this new universe much. A whole year of this could be a real disaster. To be fair, for some of the major DC books, the status quo is terrible so there is not much to lose, but in some instances, there is a real risk that everything gets worse. Ron Marz? Really? That's your creative solution to things. Nicieza? I don't think so. Of course, Aquaman and Wonder Woman couldn't give a book away today, so anything new can only help them. JLA and JSA have been run into the ground. But, what about the Lantern books? Action Comics? Flash itself? I have some concerns about the loss of continuity for some of the better DC titles. That said, the continuity for the Bat books is the right move and should stabilize things. The Azarello Risso Batman mini was great. Cornell is doing more stuff after the new 52 launch, and that's more than positive imo. Stormwatch is coming home to the main DCU, which should be cool. Grifter too. All in all, I don't expect this to "fix" things for DC, but a shot in the arm may be just what they need to start trending up as opposed to down. Over time, though, DC has a systemic problem that they don't have the quality in writing that they need to sustain a whole company, and I think they're underutilizing some of their people (or at a minimum mismanaging them) and overutilizing some others (like Johns, who has to be stressed out like crazy). Ok, well, that was a diatribe. Had to be said.

20. Herc -- Sweet. Always good. Pak is excellent. I really like how this book has developed over the years. Who'd have thought? Great character, accurately depicted, series but not heavy -- good use of humor and levity. I really like Herc.

21. Heroes for Hire -- Guilty pleasure book every month. It's a Bronze Age throwback. Lots of 70's characters, but with writing. Abnett and Lanning are a really proficient team. This book is always tight.

22. Hulk -- I dropped Incredible. I'll read the new Aaron book, but otherwise have little interest in Banner today. But, Thunderbolt RULK is so awesome. Such a stupid idea, so well executed. Jeff Parker is on the short list. 6th best writer in comics? And in a time when comics are pretty well-written too. He should be very proud of what he's doing here. I love the pencils too. It's like Hulk, but red and stuck in the world of Criminal.

23. Green Arrow -- I just realized my Flashpoint rant made me skip an entire letter. Ha. Anyhow, Green Arrow is going away. I'm torn. I thought Krul did a good job with cleaning up after Brightest Day was dropped into Ollie's lap. I actually think he is a promising young writer for DC, comparable to Norman's own Sterling Gates. However, the book floundered after the big Swamp Thing reveal (wow -- still reeling from the implications, and the reintroduction of Constantine into DCU proper). I love Ollie. I'd like to see him make it back soon and done well.

24. Green Lanterns -- Eh, these books are solid. Lots of internal GL politics. All of the Lanterns trying to work together, get along with the Corps, the Guardians, the DCU. I like it pretty well. I have a certain sense that where it goes next is not entirely set. I think the book could use some lightening up. It's been awfully dark for a long time. I'd like to see some superheroism that isn't against pure evil, but maybe some just normal ole bad guys. It's a solid book though.

That's it for now. More soon.