The New DC 52
I haven't actually read all 52 titles in DC's new 52, nor did I plan on doing so. I've actually read Red Lanterns, Teen Titans, and Suicide Squad. I thought all three were decent but they were mostly just there to set things up and introduce us to the new status quo of things. To get a little bit more in-depth on things.
Red Lanterns: This is my first foray into regular reading of a GL-related title. I think this was a good introduction to things. It's weird because some corners of the DCU got a really hard reboot while other corners didn't. This issue just deals with the fallout from War of the Green Lanterns but from the point of view of Atrocitus. It's going to be interesting to see how he keeps his corps under control considering that he has a potential coup on his hands. I'd like to see where this book goes so for now I'll keep reading.
Suicide Squad: I think Harley Quinn turns into a much better character without the Joker around and she's perfect for this book. Unfortunately, this book is written by someone not named Gail Simone. Harley and Deadshot are the only characters that interest me. I didn't even really know who most of the others were aside from King Shark and Black Spider. Probably not going to follow this book unless something amazing happens.
Teen Titans: Scott Lobdell's signature is all over this book and it's in big, red ink. I'm going to assume that the Kid Flash in this is Bart Allen but if that's true then where does that leave Wally? Regardless, I liked the characterization of both Kid Flash and Red Robin in this issue. It's weird seeing Cassie behaving so differently but I'm willing to give it a go. If Lobdell starts writing this like he wrote Generation X then expect lots of interactions and drama between the team members once the team gets formed. Also expect tons of quirkiness if he decides to go the GenX route. I'm on board for the moment but I'm waiting to see how this goes.
Aside from those three books, the rest of what I've heard about the 52 is from other people. So far, Green Lantern seems to be the best of the books. Like I said, the Lantern corner of the DCU didn't really get a reboot at all and this issue seems to pick up right where the previous one left off. The Batverse is another corner of the DCU that got kinda softballed with the reboot. They definitely changed some stuff around like Barbara being Batgirl again but it doesn't really feel like a reboot for them aside from a couple major changes. I heard Detective Comics and Nightwing were both good (I think it was Detective Comics, it was whichever one crosses over with the Nightwing issue) so that's nice. I took a pass on Red Hood and the Outlaws but I've heard lots of stuff about it (mostly about Starfire and mostly negative). I admit that it's nice to see Roy back to his old self again. The bionic arm and all that crap just didn't do anything good for him. I might pick up Aquaman and give it a try since I have a friend who's a huge Aquaman fan. Honestly though, I don't see myself reading much of these new DC books. Part of that is due to my disinterest in the whole thing and part of it is because I have a feeling some of these books won't be around by this time next year.
So yeah, there was all this big hype for the new 52 but I haven't heard anything beyond that. For one month, DC outsold Marvel by a wide margin. Was it worth it? Only time will tell but I don't think it was. I don't think it was worth screwing up your whole universe's continuity just so you could get an article in USA Today and all the crazy press coverage that this gimmick got. Yes, it was a gimmick. Let's be honest with ourselves and realize that. DC came up with a gimmick that they thought would help them sell more comics and it worked . . . for a month. Now the true test is whether or not they can keep that momentum going for the next month and the month after that and so on and so forth. Frankly, with the current crop of titles I can't really see that working and there are still lots of wrinkles in the continuity that they need to address. For example, I'm not pleased that there are characters who have existed for the past 10+ years that now probably don't exist. So for me, the jury is still out on this whole grand experiment. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.
Red Lanterns: This is my first foray into regular reading of a GL-related title. I think this was a good introduction to things. It's weird because some corners of the DCU got a really hard reboot while other corners didn't. This issue just deals with the fallout from War of the Green Lanterns but from the point of view of Atrocitus. It's going to be interesting to see how he keeps his corps under control considering that he has a potential coup on his hands. I'd like to see where this book goes so for now I'll keep reading.
Suicide Squad: I think Harley Quinn turns into a much better character without the Joker around and she's perfect for this book. Unfortunately, this book is written by someone not named Gail Simone. Harley and Deadshot are the only characters that interest me. I didn't even really know who most of the others were aside from King Shark and Black Spider. Probably not going to follow this book unless something amazing happens.
Teen Titans: Scott Lobdell's signature is all over this book and it's in big, red ink. I'm going to assume that the Kid Flash in this is Bart Allen but if that's true then where does that leave Wally? Regardless, I liked the characterization of both Kid Flash and Red Robin in this issue. It's weird seeing Cassie behaving so differently but I'm willing to give it a go. If Lobdell starts writing this like he wrote Generation X then expect lots of interactions and drama between the team members once the team gets formed. Also expect tons of quirkiness if he decides to go the GenX route. I'm on board for the moment but I'm waiting to see how this goes.
Aside from those three books, the rest of what I've heard about the 52 is from other people. So far, Green Lantern seems to be the best of the books. Like I said, the Lantern corner of the DCU didn't really get a reboot at all and this issue seems to pick up right where the previous one left off. The Batverse is another corner of the DCU that got kinda softballed with the reboot. They definitely changed some stuff around like Barbara being Batgirl again but it doesn't really feel like a reboot for them aside from a couple major changes. I heard Detective Comics and Nightwing were both good (I think it was Detective Comics, it was whichever one crosses over with the Nightwing issue) so that's nice. I took a pass on Red Hood and the Outlaws but I've heard lots of stuff about it (mostly about Starfire and mostly negative). I admit that it's nice to see Roy back to his old self again. The bionic arm and all that crap just didn't do anything good for him. I might pick up Aquaman and give it a try since I have a friend who's a huge Aquaman fan. Honestly though, I don't see myself reading much of these new DC books. Part of that is due to my disinterest in the whole thing and part of it is because I have a feeling some of these books won't be around by this time next year.
So yeah, there was all this big hype for the new 52 but I haven't heard anything beyond that. For one month, DC outsold Marvel by a wide margin. Was it worth it? Only time will tell but I don't think it was. I don't think it was worth screwing up your whole universe's continuity just so you could get an article in USA Today and all the crazy press coverage that this gimmick got. Yes, it was a gimmick. Let's be honest with ourselves and realize that. DC came up with a gimmick that they thought would help them sell more comics and it worked . . . for a month. Now the true test is whether or not they can keep that momentum going for the next month and the month after that and so on and so forth. Frankly, with the current crop of titles I can't really see that working and there are still lots of wrinkles in the continuity that they need to address. For example, I'm not pleased that there are characters who have existed for the past 10+ years that now probably don't exist. So for me, the jury is still out on this whole grand experiment. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.