The New 52s: One Year Later – Batman and Robin

This is how comics should be, DC launched 52 titles in September of 2011, thus far Batman and Robin is the predominant work coming out of the relaunch.   Peter Tomasi a veteran writer of DC usually writing on the B and C list titles finally given the shot to helm a premier book conceived for all intents and purposes by Grant Morrison through his “Batman & Son” story line Tomasi has excelled and written up to the level of Morrison.  Is Tomasi are great writer in hiding or has Morrison set up a story that almost anyone can write?  I think a bit of both.  Tomasi has talent, you don’t write a book like this without it, but Morrison has also weaved a tale that many writers can step into and succeed because the story has so much potential for direction he has made it almost too easy for new writers.

If there was any complaint with Batman and Robin it could only be the artwork.  Not because the artwork is bad, but it is just not at the quality of the writing,

The New 52s: One Year Later – Detective Comics

For years Detective Comics was always my go-to Batman title.  I am not sure why it was my love, maybe it was the usually present side story which focused on the deeper story of a side character, or that it was the more noir title of the Batman Family focusing on the “detective” side of the Dark Knight.

The first issue stayed true to the role of quality you would expect from their flagship Bat title.  The Dollmaker story was dark, mysterious and full of curiosity.

• Who was the new criminal?
• Is Gorgon dead?
• Why and how did he take Joker’s face?
• Is the Joker hiding behind a new face?

Like a good Batman story they answered what they had to and left more out there for our curiosity to build and develop.  Unfortunately our curiosity built over two very poor follow-up stories that really did the Detective Comic title an injustice.  The Casino/Penguin story to the mismatched timeline jump to the Owls and then the return to timeline disaster of the Poison Gas character who was a blatant rip off of the Joker’s Red Hood character.  A story that just made to feel like it was intended for one of the less quality Bat titles like Legends of the Dark Knight or Shadows of the Bat.  A place where poorly written Batman tales went to die, but made a few bucks on the way out.  Now they seem to have slipped through quality control and made it into the premiere title.

The New 52s: One Year Later – Action Comics

If you asked me a year ago what is the worst thing comics have ever done I would have told you something along the lines of DC ruining Superman.  One year and 24 issues (12 Superman and 12 Action) later and I am coming off that statement a bit.  In fact I really enjoy the Superman title I think George Perez started a good book and Jurgens has continued and improved the title.  Grant Morrison, not so much.  Morrison is a great writer and maybe that is the problem, he is talented and he is creative and he is trying to make Superman his own.  Superman belongs to the people, not Grant Morrison.

I despised Issue #1 of Action Comics more than I have ever disliked anything in print before.  Mostly because I love Superman so much, to watch it be torn apart I felt like the South Park kids after they seen Indian Jones and the Crystal Skull and brought George Lucas And Steven Spielberg up on criminal charges.  Issue #2 was not any better.  Superman’s early attitude and cockiness is something I can not warm up to or get use to in this title.  Society’s distrust and reluctance to welcome Superman is something I found irritating at first but have accepted as not only part of the story, but an interesting change from perfection and happiness that I have read for the past 30 years.

Beyond a rough start I think issues #5 and #6 just got plain confusing, in the middle of a cross issue story line they just up and dropped into a new story set in a different timeline of the DC Universe with characters we don’t know.  Looking back on this another year from now it will probably make some sense, DC has a way of back telling a tale and having it make sense in a Momento sort of progression,