DC's New 52 Rankings - The Halfway Mark

Here are my rankings of DC's "New 52" books at the relaunch's halfway mark. I'll be using the following key:


All In - I'm hooked indefinitely. Or at least until they change the creative team.

Probation - This book's good enough to buy through the first story arc, based on this issue, but not good enough to give it an "All In". Yet.

Double Secret Probation - This book didn't do it for me overall, but there's just enough going for it (i.e. strong art or a writer with a great past history) to give it one or maybe two more issues before dumping it.

Drop It Like It's Hot - This book is now dead to me. You couldn't get me to buy this at gunpoint.

Look Closer - I may not have given this book a fair shot. I'll check it out again next week. Maybe.



Here are my rankings of the comics that have come out so far:


Action#1 - I'll be honest with you. Reintroducing the "Urban Vigilante/Throws Crooks Out Windows" Superman reminded me why they ditched that model in the first place. It's like Bill Gates reintroducing his Windows software with all the original system bugs intact. Sure, Supes saved lives this issue, but he also endangered a lot of 'em, too. Leading the cops on a high-speed car chase through the busy city streets? Kind of a dick move! That said, this issue still had a lot to recommend. Rags Morales' art did everything Morrison required. Morrison also threw some bones to Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age fans. (Clark's job here is at The Daily Star and his landlady's last name is "Nyxly", for example.) Best of all, Morrison writes a phenomenal Lex Luthor, no matter which version (All-star, Pre-Reboot, Post-Reboot) of Lex it is.
Probation.


Animal Man#1 - HOLY SHIT! Looks like Jeff Lemire is stepping up the horror aspect, and the Travel Foreman/Dan Green art cranked the creepiness up to eleven. In a good way!
All In


Batgirl#1 - DC erased Oracle and Steph Brown Batgirl for THIS? Only Gail Simone's past track record's keeping me around. For now.
Double Secret Probation


Batman & Robin#1 - A solid issue showcasing the new Bruce-Damian dynamic. MUCH better than Detective's first issue.
Probation


Batwing#1 - Judd Winick + Bland Photorealistic Art + Gratuitously Gory Ending =
Drop It Like It's Hot


Batwoman#1 - Seriously? Have you taken a look at this thing? What else can I give it but....
All In


Deathstroke#1 - Other than a brief fixation on the phrase "Slade's Hypo's", I haven't liked Deathstroke in decades.
Drop It Like It's Hot


Demon Knights#1 - This kind of looks to be a supernatural Dark Ages version of Secret Six. And yes, that is a good thing.
All In


Detective Comics#1 - This was like a Batman story with all the fun sucked out of it. The only reason for picking this book up was to get a first look at a post-Flushpoint Batman solo comic. That plummeting sound you'll hear in October will be the steep dropoff in this book's readership.
Drop It Like It's Hot


Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.#1 - The art was a little shaky, but I'd recommend this book on the concepts and the characters alone. Ray Palmer has refined his shrinking tech since his "everything but me blows the fuck up after 2 minutes" days. Lemire hits his second post-reboot home run.
All In


Green Arrow#1 - DC's pitch for this series must have consisted of only the words "Fuck it! Let's just use the Justin Hartley Smallville version!". The art team is Dan Jurgens and George Perez, so the book looks really good. But the villains were kind of generic. And nothing else really grabbed me.
Double Secret Probation


Green Lantern#1 - I was reading this book regularly before the reboot, and the only visible sign in this book that the reboot even occurred is the issue numbering. Doug Mahnke in particular has really stepped it up on the art.
All In


Grifter#1 - This actually got me interested. I'm curious how the new "ROM-like" elements of the status quo will work. Cafu's art was really clean here.
Probation


Hawk And Dove#1 - Liefeld. Feeling dizzy...book spinning. I just can't.
Drop It Like It's Hot


Justice League#1 - Meh.
Double Secret Probation


Justice League International#1 - Had a "been there, done that" feel, and the Lopresti art was solid but not spectacular. Still, Jurgens writes a strong Booster and Batman. I'm curoius to see what's still standing post-reboot.
Probation


Legion Lost#1 - You know who else is lost? ME!
Drop It Like It's Hot


Men Of War#1 - I used to like Tom Derenick's art when he started out on the Superman books. He reminded me of Ron Lim. Then he amped up the cartooniness factor and gave his characters slack-jawed expressions that made them look like Amy Adams in Smallville's "Craving" episode. His stuff in Men Of War#1? Dull as dishwater. The story was the same.
Drop It Like It's Hot


Mister Terrific#1 - Smart lead character. Stupid storyline.
Drop It Like It's Hot


O.M.A.C.#1 - I didn't pick it up initially, but I may not have given it a fair chance.
Look Closer


Red Lanterns#1 - Spend money on this? Are you KIDDING ME? Ed Benes art? "HUUUURRRRGGGKKKHHH!" as the catchphrase? Dex-Starr alone just isn't enough, folks!
Drop It Like It's Hot


Resurrection Man#1 - Abnett and Lanning have not only picke up where they left off in the 90's, but they also have added an intriguing new wrinkle. Dagnino's art, while not quite as good as Jackson Guice's, is still impressive enough.
All In


Static Shock#1 - Good setup. I especially liked that Virgil's working with Hardware. McDaniel's art is an acquired taste, though, and I'm concerned that Rozum just left.
Probation


Stormwatch#1 -  Intrigued by the idea of Jack Hawksmoor and J'onn J'onzz teaming up, as well as the idea of the moon attacking with really big sharp claws. Sepulvera seemed to be going with a "Mike McKone meets John Cassaday" look with the art and didn't quite measure up to either master. And what I hate about reboots is having to watch the reinvention of the wheel. Apollo and Midnighter are just meeting? Really?
Probation


Suicide Squad#1 - Between the torture-porn and the newly-sexed-up Amanda Waller, the only way this book could have been a bigger "fuck you" to John Ostrander is if the book were actually titled "Fuck You, John Ostrander!".
Drop It Like It's Hot


Superboy#1 - Kon-El has seen better days (the Johns/Manapul Adventure Comics run, PAD's Young Justice, and, of course, the "Kesel run"). Scott Lobdell's origin story was average. RB Silva's art, on the other hand, was pretty sweet and sufficient reason to give it another chance.  Even Silva can't make those DCnU Teen Titans costumes not suck, however.
Double Secret Probation


Swamp Thing#1 - I haven't read a Swamp Thing comic with any regularity since Rick Veitch left. Any Swamp Thing book has big shoes to fill. Those shoes are named Len Wein, Berni Wrightson, Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totelben (who now has his own hotel chain post-reboot, apparently).  Snyder and Paquette weren't quite up to that level, but they were good enough for me to give this book a few issues.
Probation