DCU Reboot - Week 1

As my last post explained in great detail, there have been some changes at DC Comics.

Detective Comics #1

DC is in the midst of relaunching its comics line with 52 new number 1 issues, the first 13 of which came out last Wednesday.

What follows are some thoughts on a a few of those first 13 titles to come out.

DETECTIVE COMICS
Tony S. Daniel began his Batman work as the artist for Grant Morrison's "Batman, R.I.P." run... which... was pretty awesome. After "Batman, R.I.P." came "Battle For The Cowl" which Daniel both wrote and drew. The news that he'd be taking over Detective Comics as a title from Scott Snyder didn't have me as excited as the fact that Snyder was still staying on as the writer for DC's Batman title. I liked "Battle For The Cowl" alright and everything, but it just didn't have the same heft as Snyder's recent work on Detective Comics. Maybe a lot of that has to do with the fact that "Battle For The Cowl" was a bridge between two points and so Daniel was a little limited in the story he had to to tell.

This first issue of the new Detective Comics shows a much different Daniel than I remember from those "Battle For The Cowl" books he wrote. He knocks it out of the park here. I thought I'd be sick of reading joker stories after everything Grant Morrison's done in recent years and the Batman/Joker imposters which was in Detective Comics and the movies and all the canonical Joker stuff and blah blah blah. But I was wrong. This first issue of the new Detective Comics is a serious success.

BATGIRL

Batgirl #1

Barbara Gordon is back in the Batgirl costume. And she's walking! And, honestly, for all the pre-release blah blah blahing everyone did about taking Barbara Gordon out of the wheel chair and putting her back in the Batgirl costume (and even though I understand those thoughts and concerns)... this turned out alright. And why wouldn't it? It's got Gail Simone writing it. And that's an Adam Fucking Hughes cover, which, as long as the quality of this first issue continues (cover and story-wise. I realize Hughes isn't the inside artist.)... I'm on board as a regular reader.

I thought there'd be more of an explanation as to why Barbara's walking again, but I really like that Simone sort of sidestepped the issue. Maybe I have to go back and re-read the book, but it seemed like this is taking place on an alternate timeline separate from the path she'd been on in recent years in the DCU. This is three years after the shooting and apparently the wound wasn't so bad that a little time and physical therapy couldn't get her up and walking. Unless I'm missing something. She obviously spent years in the wheel chair, but this first issue finds Barbara moving out from living with her father and into a new single life -- which holds some promise of conflict, such as keeping her quirky new roomate from finding out she's Batgirl. Plus there's the seeds of a lot of unresolved issues she's still yet to deal with as a result of the Joker shooting from "The Killing Joke." Maybe most of all, the thing I loved about this first issue is the little nod Gail Simone threw in to the fact that this is an adult Barbara Gordon reprising her "Bat-girl" role. The opening scene where she's saving a married couple from killers and the woman says: "Thank you Batwoman!" That was priceless.

BATWING

Batwing #1

This first issue of Batwing was better than I thought it would be. Of course maybe that's just because, with all the many thing's DC's had to promote of late, the Batwing character and this new title really hasn't been on my rader all that much. Here's a character who has roots in Grant Morrison's "Batman, Inc." idea, but really wasn't a major player in that comic at all (from what I remember). So, going in, I really didn't have any expectations for Batwing #1, which is maybe why it seemed exceptional to me. More than likely though it was equal parts that and Judd Winick.

This first issue offers an easy introduction to the character as well as an interesting and compelling first storyline. Winick not only expertly crafts an easy-to-get-into first issue introducing us to this new character, but also gives us a flavor of his world, introduces us to his supporting cast members and creeps us out with an original new villain. Batwing's world feels both familiar and new, coming across as essentially an African continent version of Gotham City. A lot of the familiar elements present in Gotham are here in Batwing's world, the names and faces are just different -- the game's still the same.

If I had one criticism of Batwing, it would be Batman's presence throughout this first book. Of course, if Batman were absent entirely, I'd surely be making the opposite argument.