Review: Aquaman #1

The general public perception of comic book characters is typically very different than the perception of actual comic book readers.

"They wear their underwear on the outside." "Those are just for kids." "BAM! POW! Holy rusted metal Batman!"

The intricacies and depth of characters is often highly simplistic or in many cases considered non-existent by those who've never thought to look deeper.

No single character is likely more maligned by this than Aquaman. Everyone knows who Batman and Superman are and what they can do. The recent movie boom will ensure that the general public knows a few more than that, but everyone knows Aquaman, and no one seems to like him. "The fish guy? Yeah, great power there." Aquaman has become to superheroes what airline food is to comedians: A cliché that is almost instantly referenced for a cheap laugh.

This is really a shame because he's a great character with a lot of (pun imminent!) depth. I loved how he always whispered in Justice League Year One because sound travels better under water than through air, or how utterly badass he was as a war general in Flashpoint.

Pictured: An Aquaman you do not #)@* with.

For me he became a definitive character in Morrison & Porter's seminal run on JLA. Minus a hand and orange shirt this Aquaman was on par with Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter in strength and fighting, held a ruthlessness close to Batman in battle, and had an aloof and entitled attitude because he's King of 2/3 of the planet!

Shirts? Who needs shirts?

Still, how is Geoff Johns going to talk your non-comic book reader into picking up a book starring "The fish guy"? In the way that I think only Geoff Johns can, by very nearly becoming meta, Johns not only acknowledges all the misconceptions the public has about Aquaman, but gives those same misconceptions to the public in the DCU!

The bank robbers we open on think he's a joke, the police are embarrassed by his presence,

What do you think, Bob? Lunch; sushi? What?

and everyone else reacts pretty much how you'd expect them to:

I don't know, how do you think this wicked Trident feels?

This is great for a number of reasons. First, it's just damn funny to see this play out in the actual comic. Second, it actually works great to give us an insight into Aquaman's psyche, persona, and demeanor. Clearly he's a lot younger, like everyone else in the new 52, but he's also a regular guy. Clearly a guy who can jump city blocks, communicate telepathically with fish, breath underwater, flip a speeding van with his trident (and it's a badass trident), and is basically bullet proof isn't regular, but that's really the sense you get.

He stops the bank robbery because he was nearby and heard the sirens. He goes to a restaurant for lunch because he's hungry and it reminds him of his Dad. He decides to relinquish his throne and live on land because he feels out of place and full of responsibility he never asked for. Well, that and to get it on with the apparently human (it's kind of unclear) Mera.

Johns treats him more like a celebrity constantly berated with idiotic questions and has Aquaman react pretty reasonably to what would almost certainly push a lot more people to start introducing Mr. Fist, or Mr. Kickass Trident, to Mr. Idiot public's face.

Your mother, on the other hand...

Yeah, I just flipped a getaway truck and did your job for you, a glass of water is clearly the
 appropriate form of gratitude.

Through all this we still get a pretty good, if quick, introduction to his past. Raised by his Dad ‘til 13, taken back to Atlantis, made King, doesn't really fit; he wants a new life. Nothing earth shaking here, but it's a nice FYI for new readers.

I really like this take on the character. I think Johns has set him up with a lot of possibilities. I'm really looking forward to those moments when the general public starts to realize that he's not a joke.

While I love the story I'm, torn with the art. I think Ivan Reis draws a fantastic Aquaman, but I'm not really sold on the rest. The other characters seem uninspired and almost flat. I can see wanting to make Aquaman stand out (it is his book after all), but I think everyone else ended up being too toned down.

Certainly a high point is the bright color work of Rod Reis. Given the nature of Aquaman's costume he makes the bright colors seem fitting in a way that works in the comic book world. I love the dichotomy represented between darkness and almost singular color scheme of the monsters in the ocean depths and the brightness and color variety of the surface. It works as subtle metaphor of the frightening unknown of Aquaman's sea life (he was kidnapped after all) and the hope and promise of the new path he's planning to take. I also think his action scenes worked well and the new deep sea monsters he created are probably going to haunt my dreams.

Screw Jaws. THIS is now why I'm never going in the ocean.

Really this is what Johns does best, showcase charaters in their day-to-day lives. I think he falters sometimes in the 'Epic battle, end of the world' stories, but I love every time he works with a character in their element. I think this is one of the most interesting, honest, and unique new takes on a character in the new 52 and cannot wait to read more. And, if nothing else, how insanely awesome is that trident!?

VERY insanely awesome!

By Kephus with 2 comments

Scott Snyder Talks Batman, His Writing Process, and More.

Earlier this evening, Batman and Swamp thing scribe Scott Snyder offered to answer the craft and writing questions of his Twitter followers. He gives some great and encouraging advice here, and I recommend any aspiring comic writers give it a read. Since going back and reading old Twitter posts isn't easy, I figured I'd compile it here so that as many people as possible could enjoy it.

Okay - so if the question is: how much of a story do you need to know before hand - my answer is this: Everyone has their own process, and the important thing is to write enough - frequently enough - that you come to understand yours. For example, I have a friend who CANNOT write a story if he knows the ending. It's just too boring for him. And he's one of my favorite writers out there. For me, though, I need to know a few important aspects of a story in order to begin. 1st, above all, I need to know what it's about for me, personally.

Like on TEC, that was about the idea that Gotham challenges its heroes by generating villains and challenges that soeak to their worst fears about themselves. For Dick, that meant the city was constantly trying to prove to him that his compassion and his empathy - his lack the pathological drive that Bruce has - constituted am insurmountable flaw in him. Once I know that - the core idea and engine of the story - what it's about for me, personally, and it always has to be about something I find troubling and exciting to me, personally, I have my compass. Then I try to figure out the best way to start - how to create an opener that hints at that idea and everything to come. Then I try to figure out an ending that embodies what I really think about that idea. And once I know those things - the core idea, the beginning and the end, I'm ready to start and I like to leave the middle somewhat open to exploration and personal freedom and surprise.

For me, so long as I know what the story is about though - and that that idea is in every issue in some for or another, building steam - I'm okay with leaving wiggle room for plot. Again though - that's MY process - yours might be different. The key is to write every day, or as much as possible, so you can figure yours out with confidence. Like playing a sport - you practice enough, you learn your strengths and weaknesses.

Another good question - how often do you write? I write every work day of the week for the better part of the day. Sometimes that includes editing or lettering, but mostly, it's writing writing. And I'll say this: the best advice I can give to aspiring writers comes down to two suggestions:

1. Write the story that you, personally, would like to pick up and read more than ANY other at that moment.

Meaning, write the BATMAN story that speaks to everything you love about Batman. Not what you think is the darkest or most twisted or high-concept or anything. Not the best, Not the smartest. Not anything except the one that would be your personal favorite, corny as that sounds. It's the golden rule of the class I teach - I don't care what the story is you;re writing - funny dark, political - so long as it;s your favorite right now.

2. The thing that stops most people from becoming writers, in my opinion, is the dear of writing- sorry - fear of writing something shitty. Meaning, they wait til they're inspired and only then do they write, on rare occasion. If you do that, you'll never ever finish anything. You have to be able to sit down every fay and write like a job. Even when you know - you KNOW! - what you write will be shitty. I promise that is true. Lots of people have great ideas, and I don't think it's even THAT hard to learn how to write well enough to do this professionally for most people in the world. For example, if i wanted to be a lawyer, and i was determined enough, i could probably be one, despite the fact that i have very little fucking aptitude for it at all. But if I was a pitbull about it, I could likely do it to competency and have a career and that would make me happy, if it was my dream to be a lawyer. In my opinion - and maybe I'm totally wrong - it's the same with writing.

Some people have a natural aptitude for it (I likely was NOT one of those people) and it's easy for them, and they can be great, the greatest.... Other people don't have an aptitude for it, but if they try hard enough, they can learn it to competency and have a great life doing what they love, even if they're not the greatest or whatever. But I promise, as a teacher, I've seen people with tons of natural talent fade away and never write anything b/c they wrote sporadically and people with (what I thought was) very little natural talent write great books for having taken years to work on those books while working crap jobs to give them time to write - I could tell you stories, believe me - so what it boils down to at the end of the day for me, is this: You have to love your stories in your head enough to be happy if they never make it big, but you're able to just write them for a tiny audience. And you have to work on them like they are your real job, even if you have a real job :) Ok, I'll shut up!

On getting companies to look at your work and how he broke into comics:

You have to just get your stuff out there however possible - meaning, do your own comic and sell it through your lcs on commission, literally do whatever you can to put your story on the shelves somewhere - no matter how small, b&w, xeroxed. Get the thing into the world b/c comic companies are looking for good people all the time. Here's how they found me.

I wrote a short story -prose - for an anthology in which lit. writers made up original superheroes called Who Can Save Us Now. I wrote one about a teenager in the 1940's who's exposed to the explosions in the Bikini Atoll tests and comes back with these strange dark abilities. And two comic editors -one from Marvel - and one from DC - came to the reading/launch for the book and asked me if I was a real comic fan and I had comics in my bag that night. I told them I was a lifelong comic fan and how until college I'd wanted to be a comic artist and the Marvel editor, the great Jeanine Schaeffer invited me to pitch for some one shots, and I pitched my head off and got a Human Torch one-shot. That led to pitching for IRON MAN: NOIR and that led to pitching to Vertigo. But each stage was a LOT of going back to the drawing board. Anyway, my point id this: they found me from a short story - a prose short story, not even a comic. So put your comic out there - they're looking for good writing.

But again, I came to comics with a strong sense of what I like to write about from prose (I went to grad school for writing and wrote a book of stories called Voodoo Heart) and I think that's part of it, too - you have to come to it with something you love writing about. Be it your political issues, your personal issues or interests... You have to have a voice by the time you start at a big company b/c there's a lot of pressure when you're using iconic characters, you know?

If you're interested in hearing more of what Scott Snyder has to say, follow @Ssnyder1835 on Twitter.

By Marceline with 3 comments

Review: Justice League Dark #1

I've always loved the magic side of the DC universe, and as might be expected, I was pretty excited when Justice League Dark was announced. It didn't hurt that the book's line-up was awesome. Zatanna! Constantine! Shade the Changing Man! But with high levels of excitement come high expectations, and every once in a while, I'd get worried that this book wouldn't live up to the hype. It didn't help that this was one of the last numbers ones to be released, and by the time I had this book in hand, I was feeling pretty nervous. But by the time I was a few pages in, I knew I'd had nothing to worry about.

Writer Peter Milligan does a great job establishing most of the main cast. Even John Constantine, whose appearance in the book was unfortunately brief, was established enough to give readers a feel for his personality and his history with a certain backwards talking girl. Although it's Madame Xanadu's creepy and foreboding narration that guides us through the issue, it was Zatanna who was the standout for me. She comes across as witty, brave, and clever enough to get past Batman himself. Fans of Shade will be happy to know that Milligan still has a strong handle on the character, and seems interested in incorporating elements of his Vertigo series in this new title.

Artist Mikel Janin is a relative newcomer to comics, but he makes it clear that he was the perfect choice for this book. He's able to bring softness and sweetness to characters like Dawn Granger and June Moone, but where he really shines is during the book's more horrifying moments. His Enchantress is twisted and inhuman, and he finds ways to make even simple moments feel a little more terrifying. There's some fantastic background work that really made a few scenes for me, like the little royal guard bear we see when Constantine crash lands into a pile of souvenirs, or the beautiful stained glass window behind Madame Xanadu. Janin's style feels very modern, but Ulises Arreola's colors help give it more of a 90's Vertigo feel that suits the book well.

While I think this title is fairly accessible to new readers, I don't know that they'll appreciate it on the same level long time fans of these characters will. You don't need to know who June Moone or Kathy are to follow the book, but certain scenes will be much more powerful if you do, and there occasionally seems to be an assumption that the reader knows certain details. On the other hand, I was a little annoyed to see Superman seemingly unaware of his weakness to magic, but I think it was an important thing to establish for those less familiar with the DC universe. It highlights the need for the Justice League Dark, and what makes this crew of characters so special.

The story Milligan is spinning here feels really ambitious, and I can't wait to see it come together. There are elements of things like Morrison's Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing here, and I'm excited to see where some of the weirder concepts in this book go. He seems to be bursting with ideas, from cows birthing meat slicers to envelopes that can compress time. The descriptions in Madame Xanadu's narrations are both creative and unsettling, and really set the tone for this book. In the line of titles like Justice League and Demon Knights, this is a "building the team" book, but there's enough going on in this issue that the book doesn't feel overly compressed. The issue's conclusion is fairly dramatic, and is going to make it hard to wait a month for the next issue.

I'd recommend this to Vertigo readers, fans of magic based characters, and to anyone looking for a less conventional team book. There are some very funny moments, but I'd advise against this one if you're looking for a more lighthearted read. There's some pretty disturbing imagery, and Milligan seems to be holding true to his promise of keeping the book emotionally dark. There was the occasional clunky moment, but overall, this is an intriguing first issue, and I think it's only going to get better once the set-up is out of the way. There's a vast selection of magical characters to use in this title, and Milligan clearly has the imagination to create compelling new ones. I'm looking forward to seeing what his twisted mind comes up with next.

By Marceline with 3 comments

Review: I, Vampire #1

A vampire story isn't the easiest sell to comic readers right now. The popularity of things like Twilight have left many non-fans hostile to the very idea of vampires. This isn't helped by the complete oversaturation of vampires in the current market. From the Twilight films to television shows like The Vampire Diaries and True Blood, vampires are everywhere, and many DC fans were dismayed to hear they'd be a part of their comics as well. The comic itself is based on the J.M. DeMatteis House of Mystery story of the same name, and the choice to resurrect the property was interpreted by many as an attempt by DC to ride the vampire popularity train while they still had the chance.

My own opinions on the title started out as negative, but started to change somewhere around San Diego Comic-Con. DC shared a few beautiful preview pages, and writer Joshua Fialkov seemed truly passionate about his vision for the series. I began to see some real promise in this book, and hoped it could win over many of the naysayers. After reading the first issue, I think some of that a little of that promise was realized, but that there isn't enough here to turn the early negative reaction around.

There are aspects of the book that really work for me. In spite of being burnt out on vampires, I'm intrigued by some of the concepts introduced. Creatures like vampires sharing a world with metahumans is rife with possibilities if done right. I'm a huge fan of non-linear narratives, and I think the skips back and forth in time were employed well here, slowly building tension as readers get closer to the final page. And most importantly, I think vampires are being done right here. They have interesting powers and mythology, and they genuinely feel like monsters- the biggest thing most modern vampire stories don't seem to get.

But in spite of all that, I just wasn't able to connect with this story. I felt like I was supposed to feel sympathy for both Andrew and Mary, but I didn't feel invested enough in either of them to care about their problems. While the two of them are supposed to have had a centuries long romance, I didn't feel any real chemistry between the two characters. There's lots of potential for great gothic horror here, but in order to tell a true horror story, the audience needs to be attached to at least some of the cast. Fialkov has done great character work on books like Tumor and Echoes, and I think it's very likely that he's doing a slow build here. I'm just not sure that's the right approach for a book readers will be approaching with so much skepticism.

Artist Andrea Sorrentino's work on this issue is pitch perfect. His art style is more static than I usually like, but it completely works for me here, largely because of his skill in creating atmosphere with each page. This kind of work wouldn't be right for an action packed superhero title, but it's perfect for a slow, suspenseful horror tale. His thick, heavy inks look gorgeous and give each page a cool, creepy style. His page layouts are wonderfully effective, especially one that places wide screen panels of dialogue across a long vertical panel filled with looming horror. The backgrounds are sometimes simplistic, but occasionally feature some beautiful details, especially when it comes to buildings.

Marcelo Maiolo, who also worked on this month's Demon Knights, does a fantastic job coloring these pages.  He uses both light and shadow beautifully, and gives many of the book's starker scenes a washed out look, while using lovely tranquil blues for the book's sweeter moments. He really understands how colors can change the mood of a page, and his style compliments Sorrentino's work beautifully. With the wrong artistic team, I think this book could've really gone off the rails, and I'm thankful that the chosen team highlights the best aspects of the story.

If you're not interested in reading anything about vampires, this title probably isn't going to change their mind. There's some good stuff here, but not enough to win over reluctant readers. By the same token, I don't know that this will appeal to vampire fans who are used to reading about neutered monsters. Even Andrew, who sees humans as more than livestock, has his moments of brutality, and the heavy horror aspects of the book might lose them. I do recommend this book to fans of dark, gothic horror, fans of Bram Stoker style vampire stories, and to anyone who's sucked in by the book's beautiful art. I'm not sold on this title yet, but I will be sticking with it, and I hope I'm able to feel for the characters more in the issues to come. I'm not that big on vampire romance, but I love a good horror tale, and this book has the potential to be just that.

By Marceline with 2 comments

Review: Green Lantern - New Guardians #1

Here at the 52 Review, all of our writers work together. We're like a family. Albeit one of those creepy families you see on day time talk shows, but still. And one of the things we do is say what book we're going to go over. And before this site even started moving and I was just talking to my friend about it, there was one book I was more excited to review than any other book coming out, this one. I must have reminded the entire group that I called dibs on it once every few days.

See, since I was a kid, I've loved Green Lantern. Especially when Kyle Rayner came around. I was an "artist" so to speak and I loved the idea of another guy who liked to draw getting the ring and throwing around ridiculously detailed and creative constructs. Years later, I swooned when they added the other rings into the mix. Especially the Blue Lanterns. Sure, will power was awesome but I didn't relate to it. If I understood thing one about will power my belly wouldn't look like I was smuggling a sea turtle under my shirt. But hope? Man, I have hope in abundance.

Then this book got announced. A team of all seven rings. And, Rayner, my favorite Lantern, and had Saints Walker, my favorite Blue Lantern. It was like DC had read my non-existent diary. Anyways, let's open this proverbial can of worms up shall we?

Right off the bat, I'm going to admit to this, I have NO IDEA when this book takes place. In Justice League and the Green Lantern books there are other Lanterns running about and we have our normal swarm of little blue Guardians. But at the beginning of THIS book, we join them right as the lot of them have been wiped out. All but Ganthet, which is cool because I would fist bump the hell out of that lovable so-and-so. This is also odd because not only is none of this explained, but later in the book Kyle says there's a ton of Green Lanterns. The only clue that there has been some sort of time progression is there's a scene when they cut to a Yellow Lantern after Kyle's trained a bit and it says "Present Day". And, to be honest, I did NOT notice that on my first read through.

Ignoring that, the main story of the book comes after Kyle gets his ring and learns to use it. He gets very comfortable with being a Green Lantern and seems to love it. Meanwhile, we cut to various Lanterns of different shades around the galaxy as, for some unexplained reason, their rings decide to leave them without warning, leaving the previous owners ringless, which, for the majority of them, is really not a good time for that to happen. Especially if you know your Red Lantern science.

(Spoiler: This guy is screwed)

They all seem to make their way across the galaxy to Kyle Rayner who, for some reason, each ring has chosen to be it's host. Just as the rings swarm about him, a representative from each Corp, from the angry Reds, to the loving Sapphires to the confusing-as-all-get-out Indigo Tribe, show up and blame Kyle for stealing one of their rings.

Not a lot gets explained in this issue, but you can tell it WILL be explained. What the issue does instead of explanations, however, is build a fantastic foundation.

First off, the book paints the people's impression of superheroes in this new world fantastically. There's a scene in which a construction worker is just talking on his phone about seeing Green Lantern flying by while his friend prefers Superman. It's not important to the plot but it really helps get the feel for people. And when a little kid makes fun of Kyle's costume for being different than the other Green Lantern's costumes it really makes you understand how much these characters are celebrities in this new world. In the background you can always see someone calling people excitedly or taking pictures on their phones. It makes you feel like a place you've lived within minutes.

Another well painted brick in this story is the main character, Kyle Rayner. In my opinion, I do not remember a time when this character was so well explained and developed so excellently. He's such a regular guy, he's not an alpha male, he's not big on testosterone, he's cheesy when it comes to girls and he likes the occasional drink. He is exceptionally average and I've never seen that done so well in a book. Even when he encounters Ganthet for the first time (see left) he looks at it like you or I would look at something like that. Like it's something silly. Like someone's pulling our leg. And it's not like a Spider-Man average either, he's likable without having to make constant quips.

Another thing they showed off with Kyle is something I've always loved about this character, his constructs. Hal Jordon has always had stream lined constructs; boxing gloves, heavy weights, things like that. Guy Gardener usually just fired away with green beams of light. And Jon Stewart will always have some sort of clever machine he designed himself. Buy Kyle's preferred construct? Absolutely anything he can come up with. If a bunch of people are falling from something, expect flying monkeys, one per person. Giant mech suits, dragons, ninjas, Pokemon-esque creatures, it's all about huge and off the cuff. For example, in this issue a crane breaks down. Where as Hal Jordan would have a large hand pick it up, Kyle throws this out instead...

Just the scale of that is insane. And you REALLY get a feel for the scale when you finally notice Kyle in the panel. This picture is also a great time to mention the art. While I feel Tony Bedard did a great job with the dialogue and story telling, Tyler Kirkham totally nailed the art style a Lantern book should have. The scope of things happening in single panels would make Perez blush. Everything is clean, clear and not a short cut is taken. While you have artists like Liefeld over on Hawk and Dove that fill every panel with solid color backgrounds, Kirkham fills each backdrop with life. Again, look at the above picture. That crane isn't just falling down. It's falling down in front of an arcade while a billboard over looks the action. Look back at the rings swarming around Kyle. Look what each person in the crowd is doing. That's insane and I love it.

All in all, I think that this book was great. It has a great foundation to really pick up and do a lot and I'm super excited to see a book not try to flood the reader with exposition to get the intro out of the way as soon as possible (Superboy I'm looking at you) and actually move at a comfortable place. Not only that but I think this book introduced a fantastic array of characters that could, potentially, create one of the most creative team dynamics the DC will be privy too. So, definitely snag this book, unless they do something horrible with it in the future this team seems to have willed a fantastic book into being.

P.S.: Speaking of fantastic characters. Let me be one of the first to welcome back one of my favorite Lantern supporting characters. In the original universe you had such a strong start and then were swept to the side where you eventually lost a hand and an ear and then was never talked about again. So, on behalf of the readers, may I not only say "welcome back Fatality", but also point out that the new look is gorgeous.

By Electric Nerd with No comments

Review: The Flash #1

Before I begin this review, I need to be honest about something: I was going to enjoy this comic no matter what. Francis Manapul is one of my absolute favorite comic book artists, and I knew going in that even if every word bubble was filled with Wingdings, his art would be enough to make me happy. But in spite of that, I wanted something more for this book. There are so many things about The Flash that I love. Speed powers are fantastic taken alone, but with the Flash, they're at a whole other level. His rogue's gallery is second only to Batman's. And maybe more than anything else, I wanted a reason to love Barry Allen.

To me, Wally West is the Flash. Barry Allen died before I was old enough to read, and I've never really warmed up to his return. It's not that he's a bad character; it's more that he felt weighed down by all his past heroism. Nothing was going to top his sacrifice during Crisis on Infinite Earths, and I felt reminded of that all the time. He needed some kind of clean break, some sort of fresh start. And with The Flash #1, he has that.

In the grand scheme of things, not that much about Barry has changed. Despite that, he manages to feel like a brand new character here. Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato were unknown quantities as writers going into this, but they've now proven they know how to write a real #1 issue. When I got to the splash page with Barry's origin condensed into a single paragraph, I wanted to cheer. It had such a throwback vibe that I could the old school narration style in my head, but Manapul's incredible stylization skills made it feel really modern and different. And it makes perfect sense. Of course he'd speed through his backstory. He's the Flash.

Manapul is always fantastic, but this is truly some of the best work of his career. In speedster comics, the art takes on a whole new level of importance. Things can never feel static. There always has to be a sense of motion for readers to really grasp how different the world is for someone with these powers. Manapul's been doing an excellent job of drawing Barry for a while now, but in this issue, the character feels fast in a way he never had before. There's plenty of energy in the scenes with Barry as himself, but once he completes his tokusatsu hero style transformation into the Flash, it's like we've entered a whole new world. It reminds me of how artist Paolo Rivera has strived to show the reader how Matt Murdock experiences the world in Daredevil.

Onomatopoeia isn't always used well in comics, but here, it's rendered brilliantly. The splashes and kapows feel like the move as much as the Flash himself does, and they really added to the excitement of this comic. In sharp contrast, the intricately drawn backgrounds feel peaceful, making it all the more powerful when our hero interacts with them. Manapul takes full advantage of the freedom being a writer/artist allows him, and plays with the way Barry moves from panel to panel and across the page in an interesting way that remains easy for a newer reader to follow. While this issue is absolutely readable via Comixology, I'd recommend using the guided view feature. This comic is better taken one page at a time.

Colorist and co-writer Brian Buccellato frequently collaborates with Manapul, and I'm really grateful that he's a part of this book. There are lots of little details in Manapul's work that could be lost in the coloring process, but Buccellato really understands how to highlight the best aspects of his art. There were several times reading this when I was struck by the textures of various objects, and that they stand out is largely due to Buccellato's work. Sometimes his colors look more like a standard superhero book, and other times they look like they're part of a painting, but he always seems to understand what's right for each panel.

Little things like this are why I love comics.

The plot itself is a little lightweight, but I'm fine with that. Lightening up on the angst is a good thing for a Flash comic, especially when the series is getting a new start. I genuinely liked all the characters we spent time with here, from Barry to Patty to the mysterious Manuel. The dialogue felt natural, and was sometimes pretty witty, and was occasionally highlighted by a nice bit of lettering. There's a lot more to the issue than it feels like at first read through. We're not the Flash- sometimes it takes us a little longer to catch up.

This is one of those titles I recommend everyone check out. Even if you're sick of Barry, even if you've never been that into The Flash, give this issue a shot. It's one of the best introductory issues I've seen in the new 52, and it does a great job of selling the concept of the Flash as well as Barry Allen as a character. I've had faith in the aesthetic appeal of this comic since it was first announced, but now I'm genuinely excited to see where this book is going to go. If Manapul and Buccellato could sell me on Barry so easily, just think of what they could do with Wally and the Speed Force.

By Marceline with 1 comment

Panels Of The Week - Week Of 9/21/11

Between titles like Batman, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, and Supergirl, this week had some of the best art of the new 52. Great art doesn't always make for a good panel, but it definitely played a role in the panels chosen for this week. So before we welcome this week's new comics, here's one final glance at some of the panels that made this week great. Here they are, DC's top 5 panels of the week!

5. Green Lantern Corps

I'm a huge Guy Gardner fan, and panels like this are part of the reason why. He may not have the imagination of Kyle or the design skills of John, but he still finds plenty of interesting uses for his ring. The first thing I thought when I read this was "Guy would call himself a chucklehead". That tiny construct version of Guy is a great image.

4. Red Hood and the Outlaws

There were aspects of Red Hood and the Outlaws that didn't work for me, but this panel isn't one of them. It's got that goofy, buddy comedy meets action movie vibe I was really hoping the book would have, and it highlights a lot of what's great about Kenneth Rocafort's art. The smoke outside of the actual panel is a nice touch.

3. Nightwing

Even without the text, this panel highlights the differences between Batman and Nightwing beautifully. The crumpled costume and books on the floor, the bowl of cereal that is most definitely not being served to him by a butler. His TV's a little bigger than mine, but his loft is the sort of place I can see myself living in. His line about living in the best part of the town seems very true to the character.

2. Wonder Woman

For me, one of the best things about Wonder Woman was its panel to panel storytelling, but I still had no trouble finding a single panel to spotlight. This was a great way of giving readers a feel for the character without doing one of the "this is who I am" monologues we've seen in a lot of relaunch books. Both that shield and helmet are absolutely gorgeous, and I'm really hoping we get to see them in action soon.

1. Batman

I knew as soon as I saw this that it was going to be my favorite panel of the week. It takes some incredible talent to draw tilted panels like the ones on this page, and the simple back to back shadows behind them add to the feeling of movement and energy of the page. The Joker's facial expression is brilliant. I like the slight sense of playfulness Bruce has here. He really feels like he's grown through out the comic, and this is one fun way to show it.

By Marceline with No comments

Top 10 Comic Book Quotes- Week Of 9/21/11

A new week of comics has already begun, and as always, it's time to take one last lingering look at the best comics of last week. From the nature of Gotham to some clever bits of wordplay, there were plenty of characters this week that had something interesting to say. So before you dive into your new pile of comics, check out what we here at the 52 Review think are the top 10 comic book quotes of the week.

10. "If t is i th end, at l st I died d ng me g od or on e." -- Captain Atom, Captain Atom

9. "As much as I'd like to believe that there's some covert ops team lead by a bunch of supercriminal hotties, I still need this teeny little thing journalists like to call...facts." -- Charlie Keen, Birds of Prey

8. "Because at the end of the day, my past isn't my biggest weakness, it's my biggest strength- it's what makes me who I am. And no matter what Gotham throws at me, that's something it can never take away." -- Dick Grayson, Nightwing

7. "I can take that key right out of your hand. But I'd prefer if you gave it to me willingly." -- Diana, Wonder Woman

6. "Okay...giant metal creatures...falling from the sky...speaking in clicks and beeps...Father would love this dream." -- Kara Zor-El, Supergirl

5. "Never subscribed to any of the religons that value martyrdom highly. A lifetime should be weighed, not simply the moment of death." -- Braniac 5, Legion of Superheroes

4. "You do actually practice brooding. I always suspected." -- Dick Grayson, Batman

3. "I guess you could say I'm the sun of a king." -- Apollo, Wonder Woman

2. "If we survive this thing, I swear, first order of business...I'm going to recruit another me." -- Black Canary, Birds of Prey

1. "My view is, when it comes to Gotham, you don't know it, brother. It knows you. And the moment you think otherwise, the moment you get too comfortable, that's when it stabs you right in the back. Because above everything, Gotham is...a mystery." -- Harvey Bullock, Batman

By Marceline with No comments

Review: Wonder Woman #1

YES! FINALLY! 

This is seriously what I have been waiting for this entire reboot. 

This comic has what I’ve been looking for in all the first issues I’ve read. It’s engaging, yet simple enough for any reader to jump in. The comic opens up with three women on a rooftop suite of a hotel with a man whose eyes glow, yet they seem to not be bothered by it. Before the scene changes to a woman with a scythe chopping off horse heads (I thought of the Godfather too), it seems as if he kills the girls by throwing them off the rooftop. And this, ladies and gentlemen is what sets the tone for the rest of the book.  A woman named Zola is visited by Hermes, and is suddenly attacked by centaurs. Hermes pushes her out of the way and takes an arrow in the chest for her, and gives her a key to teleport her away to save her.

The key teleports Zola to London and into the room of none other than our heroine Diana aka Wonder Woman. Zola explains the situation and they teleport back to Zola’s home. What follows is one of the best scenes I’ve read in comics lately. Wonder Woman fights the centaurs while some dialogue exchanges are occurring between characters that are elsewhere. The dialogue has nothing to do with the images, and yet they completely relate by the end of the book, and it is just so beautifully laid out.  I will leave out what happens after Diana kills the centaurs, since I don’t want to spoil it, but just know that it ties everything that happened in the issue together so perfectly that it warrants a rereading just to see it all again. 

I can’t get over how awesome this book is. I’ve always been a huge fan of Greek mythology and this iteration of Wonder Woman does not disappoint. While only one god is specifically named, subtle visual and textual clues point out who’s who, and it’s a treat to decode and realize who seems to be setting stuff in motion. That’s not to say though that anyone unfamiliar with Greek mythology can’t read and enjoy this issue; far from it, actually.  It’s not necessary to understand what’s going on; it just adds an extra layer to the comic, like rewatching a show and catching jokes/events in the background you didn’t see the first time.

Like I mentioned above, the writing is superb all throughout the book. There’s no long winded exposition, yet there’s enough backstory revealed to whet our appetites. Likewise, the art is excellent. The colors are bright and vivid, but don’t overpower, and the actual drawings themselves are simple and understated, yet portray everything clearly. 

The issue was so good in fact that the only issue I had was that I wished they had kept Wonder Woman’s previous costume, with the pants, and this issue is SUPER minor. The new costume looks just fine.

I will most definitely be back next month for Wonder Woman #2.

(Please excuse the lack of pictures. It was hard finding some that kept out spoilers.)

By Phoenix with 1 comment

Review: Birds of Prey #1

When I heard that all this series was going to get cancelled and restarted again, I was a little hesitant about it. It had just recently restarted, so restarting it again seemed a little unnecessary.

The issue was a little complicated to follow. While it’s a brand new story, it seems to carry strands from the previous series. Dinah (the Black Canary) makes a reference to Barbra Gordon being able to walk again, and Dinah is still a fugitive. It made me wonder if the characters were aware their lives got altered. It was just very confusing and certainly not that easy for people to jump right into. 

Other than that though, the first issue was a pretty fun read. The Birds have been followed by a reporter at the behest of an anonymous tipper, who is using the reporter to lure out the girls, who in turn knew they were being followed and used the reporter to lure out the bad guys. It’s the sort of fun spy game that I can totally get behind. 

There’re only two girls on the team so far: Black Canary and someone named Starling. However, if the cover is any indication, we’ll be getting at least two more members and one will be none other than the awesome Poison Ivy! It’ll be super interesting to see how the villain dynamic is explored and how she’ll mesh into the group of heroes. 

I loved the story telling of the book. It relied predominantly on flashbacks to tell the story, and it worked. The art is superb and the flashbacks are handled expertly. They use the same pose from the previous panel to transition and it is excellent. It feels like a movie or a TV show. 

The one thing I don’t like though is Black Canary’s new costume. I miss the trench coat. It was just iconic. The yellow accents don’t do much for me either. 

I’m a little sad that storylines from the previous iteration won’t be able to be told (the giant shears wielding Junior was incredibly creepy) but if this version is connected to the past one, then I’m hoping they’ll have a chance.  This, coupled with the ending of this issue (pretty good cliffhanger), will have me coming back next month to see what happens next.

By Phoenix with 3 comments

Review: Captain Atom #1

Captain Atom was one of the bigger surprises of the new 52. The character isn't what I'd call obscure- he's appeared in several DC animated shows and was a part of recently popular maxi-series Generation Lost- but I don't feel he was a character that many were clamoring to see get his own monthly book. Personally, I think that his power set is better suited to either miniseries or team books, and I was curious to see how writer J.T. Krul would make this work for a long term book. I still can't say that I get how this title is going to work on the long term, but I can say that I went into this issue with fairly low expectations, and came out pleasantly surprised.

Those familiar with the character from the cartoons may be surprised at what they see here. Gone is the military persona, and in its place is a character that feels a little more like Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan. Doctor Manhattan was directly inspired by Captain Atom, and I think it's cool to see a little of that influence coming back. Makes me wonder what The Question (who inspired Rorschach) will be like when they make their grand return. While Captain Atom has usually had a strong personality, I didn't come away with this issue with a clear sense of who he was. However, given certain events of the book, I suspect this may be intentional, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how Krul builds the character back up. I'm a huge fan of "reconstructionist" storytelling, and I'd love to see a little of it here.

Much like this week's installment of DC Universe presents, I sometimes felt this book got a little too wordy. There were a few moments when I wished Krul explained things a little less and just let his story stand on its own. In spite of that, I think there are some really cool ideas here, and I'm intrigued by both of the supporting characters this issue introduced. The book's final page is probably my favorite ending hook of the week. It left me with no clear idea as to what was coming next, incredibly excited about the prospects to come, and with a quote that I've been wanting to repeat all over the place. It's one of those titles that I like the more I think about. It's stuck in my head since I read it, and I'm excited to see where it goes next.

Freddie Williams II has completely changed his art style for this comic, and it absolutely blew me in the way. In the past, I haven't been a big fan of his. His art was good, but much too static for my personal tastes. This though, is something completely new. Just to illustrate this for those unfamiliar with Williams:

This is what his art used to look like.

This is what it looks like now.

He seems to have been influenced by Francis Manapul, one of my favorite artists, but there are elements here that really feel fresh and original too. It's so fluid, and Jose Villarubia's colors almost make it feel like a watercolor painting. The pages appear to be un-inked, creating a really cool visual effect. It doesn't work for every panel, especially some featuring background characters, but when it does work, it's magic. Williams' Captain Atom is surprisingly expressive, and he's going on my list as another man who needs more excuses to draw monsters.

J.T. Krul recently announced that he was leaving Green Arrow to focus on this title, and I think that it was the right call. This book works on all the levels that Green Arrow didn't for me. It really feels like something different from all the other titles out there. It's full of so many ideas that I want to see realized, and most importantly, I feel like it has some real heart. The book isn't perfect, and it still has some cheesy one-liners, but this Captain Atom felt both selfless and human. There are some concepts here that have been played with in Captain Atom stories past, but I feel like Krul is really trying to make them feel new, and so far, he's succeeding.

Overall, Captain Atom is one of this week's middle of the pack titles, but the concepts and art are both so interesting that for me, the title ranks a little higher. I don't think everyone is going to dig this, but I suspect a lot of people will like it who weren't expecting to. I'd recommend this to fans of Watchmen who are mostly unfamiliar with the DCU, fans of Williams' new art style, and to anyone willing to take a chance on a book. After that ending, I'll definitely be sticking with this one, and I'm really excited to see where the book will go in the months to come.

By Marceline with 1 comment