The DC relaunch is here and its so far been mildly successful, in that the reviews have been more positive then negative and sales for September were good. So back in July I looked over some of the new DC books and wrote a short blog post about what books I was likely going to pick up. With one exception I have picked up all of those books. So did they live up to expectations? Let's see.
1) Action Comics
I think Action Comics succeeds for the same reason the original Action Comics succeeded, by having Superman fight for the everyman, in a time period when the everyman has very little, and no one standing up for them.
Action Comics is good and is on the 'pull list'. With the second issue out I do not see that changing any time soon. I can not encourage people to try it more. After issue 6 it is supposedly jumping forward to 'modern time', I don't know how well the formula will hold out but so far its great. The Art is also brilliant (if not a little inconsistent, sometimes Supes looks 17, other times 38) and we get a Superman who looks scary when he wants to and understands how to intimidate and have fun. Some people felt he has been a little to rough, but honestly I am not going to shed any tears over a fictional man who roughs up his own wife (who Supes threw out a window into a river off panel) and a millionaire who endangered the lives of hundreds for a few more dirty bucks.
2) Batwoman
Batwoman was not the most 'new reader' accessible book, but it introduces a great mystery and it is so damn stylish that if nothing happened in it then it would still be a joy to read. Not to much to say about this title yet, other than it looks great and I am going to keep reading. Check it out.
3) Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle was an interesting book, however I honestly feel it disappointed. We are introduced to the background of the scarab right away, with all traces of Infinite Crisis and the previous Blue Beetle's gone. There is a lot of Spanish in this book, which I expected in names, familial terms etc. But I feel it might of gotten a little thick for an English language book in parts. There where a few places where it took me out of the story a bit, but not to bad and I am sure anyone with more then a passing familiarity with the language won't have any trouble.
Other then that it's hard to comment on, only one issue is out so far and we have only seen Jamie as the Blue Beetle for a single panel. Overall It didn't have much of a hook (a problem with a lot of these books) and I am not sure if I will be back for issue #2.
4) Teen Titans
The Teen Titans is another book that is going to take several issues to get a feel for. In issue one we are introduced to Tim Drake as "Red Robin" and the new Wonder Girl. We also see Kid Flash who may be Bart, or may be Wally. He acts rather reckless in the opening scenes, and we are informed there is something of a back lash against teen meta humans. I don't know how I feel about the new Wonder Girl yet. And I am rather unclear on whether she is a hero or a villain. This is definitely going to be a 6 issue arc before the team is together.
One of the things being talked about is the new character Bunker. Bunker is described as being gay, but unlike other gay heroes he will be more flamboyant. So yeah... this could be bad. Don't get me wrong in theory it makes sense. Some gay people are flamboyant so lets include a flamboyant gay character. However in practice... it could get very offensive very quick. However hes not really in issue 1 so we do not know yet.
I am effeminately going to stick around for more Teen Titans
5) The Flash
I don't know what to say about this one, I didn't read it. I don't know why. Maybe it was the way Flashpoint ended? maybe it was the generic cover? And there has been very little buzz about it. (Sold well though)
Now that said there were other books I really liked.
Animal Man - Read Animal Man
Superboy - Looks like it ties in closely with the Teen Titans, interesting book so far.
Supergirl - Not to much happened in issue 1, but I want to stick around and see where it goes.
Men of War - This is a very interesting book, very different, If you haven't read it I recommend you give it a try. It might not be up to their taste but its worth the look.
Aquaman - This will probably be a good title, the first issue was well received, but to me the whole thing was one running gag, which is "People think Aquaman sucks." as such I didn't find it as funny as others. But he is sure a badass in it.
Batgirl - An okay title with an interesting villain.
That is all for now.
I agree with your opinions on most of the books you mentioned, though I did pick up The Flash and was impressed by both the art and story. It didn't get a lot of press, but I think that's because it's not too controversial, has no apparent "playback" to Flashpoint, and maybe DC higher-ups weren't sure how Manapul & Buccellato would do as writers.....sold well, was well received, Newsarama Reviewers stated in their post that it's the best (in their opinion) of the New 52.
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