Another week has come and gone, leaving me with another stack of new DC titles to read and enjoy. So far,  my general opinion still hasn’t been changed by what I’m reading. I become more and more convinced each week that DC should have done a hard reboot right from the beginning. They should have set all of their characters back to Square One. None of this crap where some characters have been fully rebooted and some haven’t been touched at all.

I think the fans would accept a full reboot.

Just look at the evidence in sales so far this month. Justice League sold over 200,000 copies and is going back for its fourth reprint. (To you non-comic fans, that’s a big deal). Even books like Hawk and Dove have sold out and are going back for a reprint. People are buying these new DC titles in droves!

"Hey Marvel! Come at us, bro!"

So clearly DC’s strategy of getting people excited for just their revamp/soft reboot has worked. They did a great job over the summer preparing people for the changes. Comic book fans were ready and willing to accept the new continuity. Yes, there have been some grumblers (like me!) who have complained about some of the changes. But we’re still buying the comics. Which leads me to believe that we’d all still be buying the comics if DC had gone for a full reboot. They’re already retelling the origins of Superman and the Justice League in their respective books. But with the second story of each, they’re going to jump ahead five years. It’s a weird storytelling strategy.

They should have done a full Ultimate DC.

Just not this Ultimate DC

Why not retell all the origins of the characters with exciting new twists and focus? Look at the success of Ultimate Spider-Man. Have DC’s best writers plot out the birth of a new DC Universe. Weave characters together from the ground up into the Justice League and into the Teen Titans. Get rid of characters you don’t want anymore. Give new origins to some characters. Do whatever you want, but do it with some consistency.

But this would never work. I don’t know if comic book fans would have the patience to sit through everything again already knowing what’s to come. While I’d be happy with Dick Grayson back as Robin, with DC retelling his origin, I’d constantly be looking ahead for Jason Todd, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne. Plus some comic fans would definitely be bitter about losing all the continuity. I don’t know if they’d be pacified by the idea that all of that was still around and they could reread it whenever they like. Just DC is going forward with some new ideas.

Oh well. What do I know? This is probably why DC hasn’t given me a job yet. Click the jump for my reviews of DC’s Week Three, including Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Batman and Nightwing.

You can find last week’s reviews here. My initial post about DC half-assing their reboot here. And my thoughts on the overuse of nudity and sex in the new DC here. But right now you can read this weeks’ new capsule reviews:

Batman #1

Batman: Awesome comic, but then I knew it would be. Writer Scott Snyder was doing great work on  Detective Comics before this relaunch. DC just decided to move him over to Batman instead of Detective. The narration boxes are great, the new mystery is fascinating and twisty and the characters are top notch. We get a full dose of Bruce Wayne, Batman, super-villains, sidekicks and Gotham City in this one, with some Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock thrown in for fun. This is a prime example for why Batman is so popular. We get a taste of nearly every facet of Batman’s life in what amounts to a perfect #1 issue.

Granted, the Batman books have not been rebooted at all. So we might as well stick to the old numbering. This is just more Batman business as usual. But it feels fresh. There doesn’t feel like there’s too much baggage, even if the issue opens with a prisoner riot at Arkham Asylum. The art is great. Shadows are everywhere, with Batman looked particularly menacing and dark, but still human. Faces and people are clearly drawn and don’t simply look like the same face over and over again. And the Batcave is awesome!

So the T-Rex made it through the reboot! Awesome.

Batman is investigating a crooked guard at Arkham, but in order to cover his tracks, the guard has let all of the prisoners out. So Batman dispatches them with a little help from…the Joker!? Nah, not really. It’s Dick Grayson in disguise, having gone undercover in Arkham to help ferret out the crooked guard. Batman and Dick kick major ass, all while Bruce narrates a bit about Gotham City. Like I said, the narration is brilliant. First it introduces us to Gotham City…then its revealed later that all this narration was actually a speech Bruce Wayne was giving at a banquet later in the issue. He wants to invest some money in building new skyscrapers. Cool beans.

The issue also features a fun scene with Bruce and his former Robins, fully integrating everyone into the new revamp. Dick, Tim and Damian all attend the banquet. That was a nice treat. I do love Robin.

Bruce is a collector

The mystery kicks off towards the end of the issue with a rather curious murder. The final page cliffhanger, the DNA match to the killer, is an exciting twist! But we’ll talk about that more in Nightwing #1.

Catwoman #1

Catwoman: Despite my concerns about the overuse of sex to sell this book, Catwoman #1 is actually a pretty good read. I might consider sticking around to follow the rest of the series. I’m a big fan of writer Judd Winick from his Exiles days at Marvel. He tells a fun, action-packed story for Catwoman, one that’s very personal for her – though we don’t know how personal just yet. There are hints at some past trauma, but no real revelations just yet. I think Winick writes a good Catwoman. She could definitely make for a good protagonist, someone I want to revisit month after month. Catwoman’s personality is fun, her style energetic and her priorities firmly in place.

Gotta save the kitties!

The art is also very good. It’s clear, colorful and actually rather quirky. There is far too many shots of Catwoman in just a bra, but as I wrote before, that appears to be a mandate from DC comics to have as much sex and nudity as possible. Still, that doesn’t keep the art from being full of personality. Check out this close up shot of Catwoman’s face:

What's that smell, Mr. Kitty?

There is a lot of character in that face. And in that cat. So the art does a great job with Catwoman and her lithe, acrobatic movements. Winick also sets up a fun supporting character in Lola the showgirl, creating a woman who isn’t rail-thin and super modelish. And he creates some backstory for Catwoman. The issue opens with her apartment being blown up for mysterious reasons. She crashes with Lola and picks up a new thief gig trying to steal from the Russians. Catwoman then goes undercover to get more info, only to see some guy she knows from some traumatic past. The guy is supposed to be in prison, but since he’s out, Catwoman pays him a visit and hurts him – a lot.

The issue ends with Batman paying Catwoman a visit. Then they have sex.

Batman has his priorities straight too!

I am not in favor of this. I can handle sex in my comic books, but Batman and Catwoman having sex in her very first issue completely negates everything that has made their flirtation so worthwhile over the years. Batman and Catwoman have always relied on their sexual tension to tell good stories. The ‘will they/won’t they’ factor is very strong. But rather than explore that storyline and have some fun with it, Winick goes straight for ‘they will’. I realize this is a new take on the couple, but it’s sacrificing everything else in favor of cheap thrills. There’s no more sexual tension if Batman and Catwoman are already having sex. Just ask countless TV writers who don’t know what to do with two characters in their show once they’ve finally hooked up.

Not to mention the fact that Frank Miller already wrote about sex with the costumes still on in an issue of All-Star Batman and Robin only a few years ago. Plus Spider-Man and Black Cat have already had sex without knowing each others identities over at Marvel. So the idea isn’t even original.

GLC #1

Green Lantern Corps: Just like Batman, the Green Lantern corner of the DC Universe is unchanged in this reboot. We still have four human Green Lanterns, and DC made sure to give each one of them their own book. Sort of. Green Lantern Corps has now become the book for Guy Gardner and Jon Stewart. This is unfortunate, because when the spin-off first came out, it starred a more varied group of alien GLs. I loved this book when it first started. But DC has decided that it only cares about the human GLs. The alien GLs tend to just be canon fodder.

Which is how we start this issue. Once again some alien GLs get killed, prompting the human GLs to get involved in solving the case. There’s some mysterious new killer out there who is pissed off at the GLC. So much so that he wipes out an entire race of aliens on some aquatic planet. Oh noes! Not dead aliens!

Aaaanyway. The issue is OK. Nothing spectacular. We’re just back to business as usual with the Green Lantern Corps. Give them a spacey, alieny thing to deal with and boom, you have a Green Lantern story. A few pages are dedicated to introducing us to Guy Gardner and John Stewart by having them try to get normal, human jobs on Earth. But neither attempt goes as planned, and they decided they might as well cruise around space and just dedicate their time to being Green Lanterns. Human concerns like money, taxes, rent, and whatnot just don’t matter as much to a GL. A good idea to make a story out of, unless it’s dropped and immediately replace with some spacey stuff.

Solid relaunch, though nothing too captivating.

Nightwing #1

Nightwing: Another great book from the bat-family of titles. Nightwing #1 picks up right where we last left off, with Dick Grayson stepping down as Batman so that Bruce Wayne could return to Gotham City. Grant Morrison’s epic Batman: Incorporated still seems to be going on, but DC clearly wants Bruce back in Gotham, so Dick Grayson’s time as the Bat is at an end. But with brilliance, writer Kyle Higgins uses the past year as a stepping stone for his new Nightwing. Dick is glad to be back in his own heroic identity, but he reflects in narration boxes how he learned a lot from his time as Batman.

The art is good, with clear and realistically drawn characters. Nightwing is an acrobat, and artist Eddy Barrows does a fine job of showing the hero swinging and swooping over the city. He does great action shots. And nice people shots as well. The main thrust of the issue is that Haley’s Circus has returned to the Gotham City for the first time since Dick’s parents were murdered. I assume most people know the origin of the first Robin. He was a circus acrobat until criminals sabotaged his parents’ trapeze, sending them plunging to their deaths. The orphan boy is taken in by Bruce Wayne, eventually becoming his sidekick.

Now you're talking to a city, Dick. Maybe you should see someone about that.

So right away, this new issue is going to use Dick Grayson’s history to tell a new story. Comic book fans like myself love it when new stories use the background wisely and effectively. Dick Grayson is a real character with a real history. So it should be fun to see some action at Haley’s Circus in this story. There’s even a cute redhead.

The issue ends with a tie-in to the Batman arc. If you remember my review earlier, I said the cliffhanger at the end of Batman #1 was quite twisty! The DNA match from the killer in Batman #1 turned out to be Dick Grayson! Picking up on that idea, we meet a new hired killer who attacks Dick Grayson on the streets of Gotham. Dick is able to sneak away and change into Nightwing, starting a fight with this mysterious man. The guy says Dick Grayson is “…the fiercest killer in all of Gotham. And he doesn’t even know it.”

So it looks like Batman and Nightwing are going to be telling parallel stories about someone framing Dick Grayson for murder. Sounds awesome!

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1

Red Hood and the Outlaws: It must suck to be a Starfire fan right now. The reboot is not kind to her. I’ll explain more in a minute, but this issue has been making headlines all over the Internet about how her character has been tarnished. And believe me, it has. This book deserves all the scorn it can get. The concept is pretty cool, the characters have potential but writer Scott Lobdell just gets too raunchy and too scummy to make a good book. And he gets way too complicated when it comes to the overall storyline.

I like all of the characters in this series. Red Hood is Jason Todd, a former Robin who was just too hardcore and eventually parted ways with Batman. Now he’s a killer with a conscience, an anti-hero doing…something. Roy Harper is Arsenal, former sidekick to Green Arrow who is as much a mercenary now as Jason. He too has split with his former boss, though we have no indication yet how Roy Harper lines up with the new Green Arrow series coming out. Finally there’s Starfire, an alien princess who was raised in slavery who has found refuge on Earth. Again, more on her in a minute.

This issue sees Jason and Starfire busting Roy out of a foreign prison…I guess just to have him on their team. I’m not entirely sure if the comic explained what they were teaming up for. But it seems Jason has some stuff going on on the side involving some annoyingly vague secret agencies. There’s some group called The Untitled and some group called the All Caste, of which Jason used to be a member. When he found time to be a member, what with being Batman’s sidekick and all, isn’t explained just yet. But a mysterious witch known as Essence – who actually seems like a cool character – gives Jason the news that The Untitled have killed the All Caste.

Jason goes to investigate, leaving Roy and Starfire to have sex.

And so the hearts of thousands of Starfire fans wepts

And so there it is, the insult that’s burning up the Internet. Starfire has been turned into a dopey, mindless bimbo who’s only real interest is in showing off her bright orange body and shagging anything with a penis. Jason spends a great deal of time bragging how he’s slept with her, and then Starfire just straight out of the blue asks Roy to go have sex. She also makes sure to point out there is no ‘love’ involved. They’re just fucking. Best Roy and the reader understand that right now.

This is why it must suck to be a Starfire fan. Yes, her sexuality was always at the forefront of her characters back before the reboot. She wasn’t modest about her body, and enjoyed nudity. But she also cared about her friendships and relationships, and she loved deeply. Writer Lobdell has instead decided she’ll spread her legs on a whim for nearly anyone. You can see how this might upset her fans. And women in general.

And that’s the problem with this series. Starfire, Jason and Roy are all just scumbags. The two guys spend plenty of time bragging about fucking the naive alien princess. Or they banter about how they were terrible sidekicks and now are just mercenaries. The idea of this trio setting out as a team of mercs fighting evil is a cool idea, but I feel kind of dirty after reading this comic. There are almost no redeeming qualities to this comic.

Supergirl #1

Supergirl: There’s just not much to this issue. Supergirl crashes to Earth in Siberia and some vague agency with access to giant robots goes to investigate and try and bring her in. Supergirl, dressed in full costume, emerges from her meteor and starts defending herself. That’s the entire issue. She fights these men in mech suits for the whole issue, all while trying to make sense of this strange new world and her strange new powers. I’ll admit to being vaguely curious about what DC is going to do with her (since Supergirl has been completely rebooted), but that’s about it. I’ve never been a fan of the character, and just picked this title up on a whim.

The art is good, as it has been fr most of the titles I’ve read in this relaunch. There are also hints at the fate of Krypton. Supergirl says that she was just hanging out with her friends a moment ago, and now she’s waking up on this strange place. There are whispers of something called the “Visitor Protocols”, so this book may play an important role in establishing some of the anti-superhero feelings of the new DC Universe. This issue takes place in the ‘present day’, so Superman and company have been around for about five years before Supergirl crashes. Perhaps issue #2 will show us more about her world, her supporting cast and what might actually happen in this comic. But issue #1 is just an extended fight scene.

Though there is one cool moment where her super-hearing kicks in and she can hear dialogue from across the planet and other comics. The line about Dick Grayson being “the fiercest killer in all of Gotham” is heard, so this issue takes place at the same time that Dick Grayson is defending himself from that killer in Nightwing #1. That’s sort of neat.

Wonder Woman #1

Wonder Woman: I loved this first issue. Writer Brian Azzarello kicks off the new Wonder Woman saga with a healthy blend of mythology and ass-kickery. Wonder Woman has always been about the Greek pantheon of gods, so Azzarello’s going to use that as a foundation for building her new character in the new DC. It’s hard to tell how much of Wonder Woman has been rebooted. Her series prior to the revamp is a complete mess so I won’t confuse you with the details. Suffice to say, DC is not carrying over everything from those stories into this new one. But the basic premise of Wonder Woman seems untouched. She’s an Amazon who fights the bad guys. That works nicely.

I don’t know much about Wonder Woman other than that she’s an ass-kicker. Online comic critic Linkara has had some great essays about Wonder Woman’s position as the embodiment of Truth. I don’t know enough about her to know if that’s true or not. So if she’s not true to her former character in this issue, I just don’t know or particularly care. It’s an exciting read starring a Wonder Woman stripped of too much confusing continuity (and stripped of her clothes for a few pages!). And the art is fantastic. It’s simple yet full of life. And it’s brutal when it needs to be.

Bracelets of Bad-Assery!

I love the basic premise of the story: King of the Gods, Zeus, has once again gone down to Earth and knocked up some poor human woman. The child will be a demigod, like Hercules, so the rest of the Greek pantheon is pretty pissed. Hera sends some centaur assassins to kill the girl, while Hermes (who looks marvelously creepy) arrives to protect her. He sends the girl out to get Wonder Woman for help, who’s living in London, it seems. But once she hooks up with Wonder Woman, the girl brings the Amazon back to Hermes and the assassins. So Wonder Woman has to kick their horse-butts and save the girl!

Exciting stuff. I’m definitely on board for more.