DC Relaunch: 52 Words on 52 Titles (Part 2)

Continuing our look at DC Comics's fifty-two titles to be relaunched in September, with no more than fifty-two words (sometimes less!) on each title. Check out part one of this post at the link.

Which titles look good to you?

27) Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette & Francesco Francavilla
I’m not very familiar with Swamp Thing, but file him under “characters I’ve always wanted to learn more about.” I’m pretty excited about the entire new “Dark” area of the DC Universe; Scott Snyder’s Detective is getting good reviews, so I’m optimistic for this.

28) Animal Man by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman & Dan Green
This one also seems like a “can’t miss.” Though I’m not sure Travel Foreman’s solicitation cover was the right choice by DC to attract new readers, Jeff Lemire’s also getting rave reviews on Superboy, and in interviews he’s talking up the “family” aspects of Animal Man. High hopes here, too.

29) Justice League Dark by Peter Milligan & Mikel Janin
Peter Milligan wrote the well-regarded Shade, the Changing Man for Vertigo and currently writes Hellblazer; there’s no more authentic “horror” voice you could get to write the same characters in the DC Universe. List this among the DC relaunch books I’m most looking forward to.

30) Demon Knights by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves & Oclair Albert
A book set in the past and not affecting the DC Universe isn’t to my particular tastes, but writer Paul Cornell has hinted there’s a twist or two that might rectify that. Add to it the overall coolness of a new series for the Demon, and I’ll be giving this a look.

31) Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE by Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli
By far Frankenstein was my favorite of the Seven Soldiers, and I’m thrilled he’s getting a series of his own. I’m not familiar with Alberto Ponticelli’s work; my first choice would have been to see Doug Mahnke as the artist, but I’m happy to give Ponticelli a shot.

32) Resurrection Man by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino
I loved Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Legion, but their previous Resurrection Man series never grabbed my attention. I’ll check this out partially because I think it’s funny DC is trying the series again; maybe with better integration into the “Dark” corner, this will hold my interest more.

33) I, Vampire by Josh Fialkov & Andrea Sorrentino
I’m less interested in this; in contrast to Justice League Dark, this looks too far out on its own. About the only thing that would bring me in would be vampires actually attacking DCU heroes (or, Josh Fialkov cameoing DC’s vampire-based Scarlett character).

34) Voodoo by Ron Marz & Sami Basri
I’m glad DC’s taking on a supernatural comic with a kind of CrossGen ethos (judging by first glance) and by Ron Marz, to boot. That said, like I, Vampire this just seems too “off on its own” for me, and I might skip it unless I hear really good things.

35) Legion Lost by Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods
I have found Fabian Nicieza’s writing a tad light, but his work on young Red Robin should lend itself to Legion. Pete Woods is a great choice here though, reminiscent of Legionnaires’s Jeff Moy; overall I’m excited for this (especially the inclusion of Gates!).

36) Legion of Superheroes by Paul Levitz & Francis Portela
One of my greatest concerns for the DC Relaunch was whether Paul Levitz would keep writing Legion or if we’d have yet another Legion reboot. Levitz’s continuation did a lot to make me feel better about the DC Relaunch; I’ll pick this up most certainly.

37) Teen Titans by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth, & Norm Rapmund
Everything’s controversial about this one, from characters to costumes to writer. To be sure, however, Teen Titans hasn’t had the luster of the original Geoff Johns launch in a good long time, and I’ll be giving this book a chance with high hopes for a return to greatness.

38) Static Shock by John Rozum, Scott McDaniel & Jonathan Glapion
It’s a great relief to find one of the original Milestone writers, John Rozum, writing this new iteration of Static -- just a shame they’re still calling it Static Shock! Scott McDaniel’s art has been hit-or-miss for me lately as well, but I’m excited for what looks like Static done right.

39) Hawk & Dove by Sterling Gates & Rob Liefeld
Yes, Rob Liefeld’s role gives some people pause, but the fact that he helped create the characters makes this feel rather right to me. Not to mention, like Gail Simone on Batgirl, if anyone can make this work, it’s Sterling Gates. I’ll give this a chance.

40) Stormwatch by Paul Cornell & Miguel Sepulveda
This is one of the books that brought me around to the DC Relaunch. Stormwatch (read: the Authority), Martian Manhunter, and Paul Cornell. After Superman: The Black Ring, I have no question Cornell can pull off a thought-provoking series, and Martian Manhunter in a superhero intrigue title? I’m sold.

41) Blackhawks by Mike Costa & Ken Lashley
As strong as DC’s Stormwatch solicitation is, the Blackhawk solicitation is too vague to move me. What I’m hoping for here of course is something in line with Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann’s Checkmate, but so far I’m on the fence about this one.

42) Sgt. Rock and the Men of War by Ivan Brandon & Tom Derenick
Again, as excited as I am for Stormwatch, I’m uncertain about Men of War. I didn’t like Tom Derenick’s art on Shadowpact, and Ivan Brandon’s Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape was brilliant or absurd depending on your perspective. I’ll wait for the reviews here.

43) All-Star Western by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray & Moritat
I’ve heard good things about Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray’s Jonah Hex, and I’m glad it’s continuing into All-Star Western. There’s enough else out there that I probably won’t pick this up, but I’m glad DC is giving it a second launch.

44) Deathstroke by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett, & Art Thibert
If this Deathstroke series follows in the footsteps of Marv Wolfman’s early Deathstroke series, I’ll be along for the ride, though I think that’s a big “if.” I’m glad to see Joe Bennett on a new series, however; I loved his art on Checkmate and elsewhere.

45) Grifter by Nathan Edmundson, Cafu, & Bit
I don’t have a real attachment to the Grifter character nor to this creative team. I’m curious about how the Wildstorm Universe will be folded into the DC Universe, however, and I’ll probably pick this up to see how the combination works.

46) Omac by Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen, & Scott Koblish
Dan DiDio’s Outsiders has been at times interesting and at times downright unreadable. What sells me here is the sense that this is not just an OMAC title, but a title encompassing all the DC Universe’s Jack Kirby concepts. With Keith Giffen assisting, I’d like to see this work.

47) Blue Beetle by Tony Bedard, Ig Guara & Ruy Jose
I’m glad to see Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes getting his own title again, though admittedly I’d have liked to see John Rogers as writer. I’m skeptical Tony Bedard can bring something new to the title -- I predict cancellation, actually -- but I’d be more than pleased to see this book succeed.

48) Suicide Squad by Adam Glass & Marco Rudy
Solicitation-wise, this is my biggest disappointment. I’m a fan of John Ostrander’s espionage team, and this funny-looking Harley Quinn team seems a far cry from that. In deference to this title’s legacy, I hope for good things, but I’m on the fence about picking this one up.

49) Action Comics by Grant Morrison, Rags Morales
I’m unsure about Superman’s new costume, but Grant Morrison proved with All Star Superman that he can do great things with the Man of Steel (not to mention Morrison’s astronomical success of late with Batman). The Superman titles have flagged of late; things can only get better, right?

50) Superman by George Perez, Jesus Merino
Further, I’m not sure if I really dislike Superman’s new costume, or if it’s just that George Perez’s new Superman resembles Superboy Prime here; granted Perez is drawing the covers only. I’m also worried whether Perez can bring a modern voice to Superman; I have more concerns about this than Action Comics.

51) Superboy by Scott Lobdell, RB Silva, Rob Lean
That Scott Lobdell is writing Superboy and Teen Titans should at least bring some continuity between the titles. Superboy’s new origin seems an unnecessary revision, but I’m willing to give this a shot and see how it goes.

52) Supergirl by Michael Green, Mike Johnson, Mahmud Asrar
I absolutely loved Michael Green and Mike Johnson’s Superman/Batman: Search for Kryptonite, but an “angsty” Supergirl seems an unnecessary regression for the character. I’ll give this a chance, but this could be the title I have the most concerns about.

Tomorrow, the next in Zach King's series on The Invisibles. See you then!