Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

It seems all the rage lately is to restart books over with number one. There is obviously the whole reboot of the DC Universe in September, but Marvel has also been doing it a lot lately. While they have not been as drastic as what DC is doing, they are coming close with new number ones of FF, Captain America, Daredevil, Moon Knight, Ghost Rider and more and soon to be new number ones of Uncanny X-Men, Hulk, Defenders and I am sure others that have not yet been announced. Plus there are new publishers popping up reviving characters from the past of comics such as the Atlas Comics of the Seventies and the soon to be reborn Valiant Comics from the nineties.

While there is little question all of these reboots, restarts, revivals and whatever else you want to call them are due to publishers trying to find ways to revive their declining sales and the comic market in general, ove all I am not sold on the idea that this is the way to revive the dying beast. I do not think these ideas address the core problems of the comic market which are both external issues such as the economy, technology, and a changing audience, but also internal problems such as the way the direct comic market is structured, the publishers goals of exploiting the book trade, and formulating publishing plans accordingly and taking their fan base for granted. All of the problems and the solutions for the comic book market are a subject for another day and likely another place. But I do want to look at some of these new number ones that have been popping up or will be coming soon.

Just this past week DC Comics issued a comic called DC Comics: The New 52 #1 and it was free. This is a great way to get someone to try DC’s new comics. (Even though I must be honest, working in the retail store, there are a number of fans who have said no thank you; they do not want this free book, which makes little sense to me.) While this is not really a comic as much as a sales tool and a preview/sampler of the new lin,e DC is promoting it is a good way to look at some of what they are planning on doing. I am not going to go over every book and I am going to try and not be too critical as my thoughts on this whole plan have been made very clear over my last few columns. These are just some short and casual thoughts on the different aspects of the new 52. So let’s look at what they have planned in September.

Justice League

It opens with the Justice League group of titles; I think there is little doubt that Justice League #1 will be a huge seller and most likely the bestselling book of the whole line. You have two of DC top executives writing and drawing their flagship book. (Now, I also have a number of issues with executives doing creative work and DC and Marvel are both guilty of this. I am of the belief that if you are going to be a creator, then that should be your priority. If you are going to be an executive, then that is what you should do. Both are full time jobs. A special here and there yes, but regular monthly books, no). But let’s be honest, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee are two of the biggest creators DC has. Anyway, this book looks fantastic. The art is stunning, as you would expect from Jim Lee, and the little bit of the story they show is interesting. Also in the Justice League section of the DC Universe you have Justice League International, written by Dan Jurgens, who I consider one of the most underrated writers around. His Booster Gold series has been fun and one of the best superhero books in recent years, so this book may be entertaining. There is also Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Firestorm, Green Arrow, Savage Hawkman, and Mr. Terrific. Having read the synopsis of all of these, I can honestly say none of them interest me. They may be very good and some of the creative teams look interesting, but almost every description is the same, “new villain” and “as you have never seen before”. The only title that really excited me DC Universe Presents and that is only because that features Deadman, one of my favorite characters and has art by Bernard Chang. As an aside, if you want some great Deadman stories, get the recent trade DC put out, Deadman Vol. 1 by Neal Adams and others.

Action Comics

Next in line are the Superman titles. Here DC has a problem. Superman has been around for 70 years and the character has been fairly limited in what you can do with him due to his powers. Also, he is a cultural icon that most people know and his story is part of pop culture. And it is a money maker in liecening due to the iconic red S. Why DC is mucking with the big red S is open to discussion, and I have been told everything from the character is stale to legal issues with the estate of Superman creators. My guess is it is a mix of a lot of things. Over the years, DC has tried a number of different tweaks to this character, but this is the biggest they have ever done. Action is being written by Grant Morrison and it focuses on Superman’s early years, complete with jeans and a t-shirt. I am not a big fan of Grant Morrison’s superhero work. I have long complained about his Final Crisis and Batman work, so I cannot say I am looking forward to this book, especially when DC brags “The Man of Steel unlike you’ve ever read”. They also have Superman written by George Perez and art by Jesus Merino. This is closer to the traditional Superman but he has a new costume and is ten years younger. There are also new interpretations of Supergirl and Superboy and I will let the promo material speak for itself.

Batman

Then there is Batman. Considering how disappointed I have been with recent Bat titles, I do not think these relaunches will be that bad. Scott Synder, who has been writing the best Batman title (Detective), is moving over to Batman proper and long-time Haunt and Spawn artist Greg Capullo is joining him. Tony Daniel is moving from Batman to Detective. Batwoman is finally coming out after a number of false starts. Based on what JH Williams has already done, this may be the best Bat book of the bunch. Batman: The Dark Knight gets a new number one, after five issues and missing almost every deadline for shipping, and it has had to have a fill in artist after three issues. Well, they have added a writer so DC claims this book will now ship on time. I hope so. it is a beautiful book to look at and not a bad read. There are new takes on Catwoman, Nightwing, Birds of Prey and the Red Hood. None of these excite me very much and let’s not even discuss the whole Barbara Gordon/Batgirl situation.

I have rattled on too long this time out so I will leave you with a classic comic book cliché…to be continued. Next time I will look at the rest of the DC line as well as Marvel’s #1 and maybe even some of these revivals of failed comic lines from the past.

Marvel Masterworks: Captain America

On a positive note, I would like to recommend the Captain America: The First Avenger movie. It is very good and much better than I expected (and I do hope I will be able to say the same about the DC line in October after I have read all of them). And if you enjoyed the movie there are a number of trades with Cap I would recommend, a few of them would be Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 1 SC, Captain America Vs. the Red Skull, Legacy of Captain America, Captain America by Dan Jurgens Vol. 1, and for a more modern take on the good Captain, there is the Death of Captain America and the Winter Soldier collections. As always, everything written here is my opinion and does not reflect the thoughts of Westfield or my co-workers (some of whom I know strongly disagree with me). Comments and criticism are welcome at MFBWAY@aol.com. And as always, thank you for your time.