I don’t know if you guys heard, but this past week was the first full week of the DCnU – the new status quo that finds 52 new DC books being launched in September (well, including August’s Justice League launch).
Every week on Monday, we’ll be looking at all of the books and giving readers a look at what the opinions of not just us but of the community of comic book critics and reviewers out there are on EACH of the DCnU books. Like movie site Rotten Tomatoes, we’ll take the total positive reviews and divide that by the total reviews to create a “Buy %” to say what percentage of reviewers recommended the book as a purchase. Additionally, each book will have its average grade (on a 10 point scale) included, as well as a breakdown of what the consensus opinion is.
This will give readers as close to a consensus grade on books like Action Comics, Animal Man, and, perhaps most importantly, Hawk & Dove, you’ll find on the internet. You can find all of that after the jump, and they’ll be in order from highest average grade to lowest.
1. Swamp Thing #1
Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Yanick Paquette
Buy %: 100% – Buy
Average Grade: 9.2 out of 10
Consensus: Writing and art, story and design, characters and well…anything you can think of. This book was great. Reviewers complimented writer Scott Snyder’s ability to make this book engaging to both new and long-time readers, while artist Yanick Paquette earned raves for his page design and beautiful compositions. This book only had three grades out of 13 below 9 out of 10. From a critical standpoint, this book was the tops for week one.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, Comic Book Revolution, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, ScienceFiction.com, MTV Geek, Comic Vine, Bleeding Cool, iFanboy, Comic Booked, Crave Online
2. Animal Man #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Travel Foreman
Buy %: 100% – Buy
Average Grade: 8.7 out of 10
Consensus: The number two book on this list will soon tie in to number one, but for now, everyone loves Jeff Lemire’s scripting and plotting (with many giving shouts out to the open of the book that came in the form of an interview with the lead character Buddy Baker with The Believer). The only less than glowing reviews mentioned problems with artist Travel Foreman’s opening, real-world art, but his nightmarish work in the latter half earned dazzling praise. Earned a near perfect rating from us.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, MTV Geek, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Entertainment Weekly, Too Dangerous for a Girl, Badass Digest, ScienceFiction.com, Bleeding Cool, iFanboy, Comic Booked, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
3. Action Comics #1
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Rags Morales
Buy %: 100% – Buy
Average Grade: 8.6 out of 10
Consensus: Predictably, the book with the crown “most likely to be great” was in fact that. Reviewers complimented the fresh take on Superman, as writer Grant Morrison gives us a new version of the character that feels more modern and golden age at the same time somehow. This “Socialist Superman” was a man of the people, as far as reviewers were concerned, save a couple who lamented the lack of internal perspective. Rags Morales earned a healthy amount of praise as well, although people still complain about the jeans and combat boots look.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, Comic Book Revolution, IGN, Newsarama, Entertainment Weekly, A Comic Book Blog, Too Dangerous for a Girl, Comic Vine, Badass Digest, ScienceFiction.com, Ain’t It Cool News, Savage Critics, Bleeding Cool, MTV Geek, iFanboy, Comic Booked, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
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4. Batgirl #1
Written by Gail Simone
Illustrated by Ardian Syaf
Buy %: 88% – Buy
Average Grade: 7.6 out of 10
Consensus: Earning mostly raves, this book brought in praise for Gail Simone’s script and reverent take on the character, as well as Ardian Syaf’s Jim Lee-esque art. Somewhat predictably given the controversial nature of the book, a couple prominent reviews killed the book, including our own review and Comics Alliance, whose Chris Sims said “the best you can say about it is that it had the right number of pages and the staples held it together.” Ouch.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, iFanboy, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Entertainment Weekly, A Comic Book Blog, Comic Vine, Too Dangerous for a Girl, ScienceFiction.com, Ain’t It Cool News, Bleeding Cool, Comic Booked, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
5. Batwing #1
Written by Judd Winick
Illustrated by Ben Oliver
Buy %: 92% – Buy
Average Grade: 7.3 out of 10
Consensus: While many responded to this book’s quality with surprise, everyone had nothing but praise for artist Ben Oliver’s painterly style. His work gave the book a solid base to build off of, and while some scoffed at Winick’s inability to develop a sense of place or his characters, most thought of the writing as a solid enough intro to the book.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Too Dangerous for a Girl, ScienceFiction.com, Comic Vine, iFanboy, Bleeding Cool, Comic Booked, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
6. Detective Comics #1
Written and Illustrated by Tony Daniel
Buy %: 87% – Buy
Average Grade: 7.2 out of 10
Consensus: This book had an interesting split in reviews – three sites killed it, the rest had it between 7.5 and 8.5. Many praised Daniel’s take on the Dark Knight, enjoying his back-to-basics and younger take on the character while also noting the benefit the budding influence of Frank Miller has taken on Daniel’s art. Those who didn’t claimed the book was a pale impersonation of previous takes, especially Miller’s on the character.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, MTV Geek, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, Entertainment Weekly, A Comic Book Blog, Comic Vine, Badass Digest, ScienceFiction.com, Bleeding Cool, iFanboy, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
7. OMAC #1
Written by Dan Didio and Keith Giffen
Illustrated by Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish
Buy %: 82% – Buy
Average Grade: 7 out of 10
Consensus: O.M.A.C. is one massively amusing comic. Seriously. While some say that this book is lacking because it is essentially a 20 page fight sequence with limited-to-no character development, others praise the book for its entertaining and exciting take on all things Kirby. Sure, it’s not a deep read, but it was easily one of the best times from week one.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Too Dangerous for a Girl, Comic Vine, MTV Geek, Bleeding Cool, iFanboy, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
8. Static Shock #1
Written by John Rozum and Scott McDaniel
Illustrated by Scott McDaniel
Buy %: 91% – Buy
Average Grade: 6.7 out of 10
Consensus: Most found this book to be a decent book that fit into the range of 6 to 7 out of 10, stating that Rozum and McDaniel craft an entertaining story and do well with the lead, while McDaniel’s art is kinetic and exciting. This book was one of the most consistently liked, but very few loved it.
Continued belowReviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, iFanboy, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, ScienceFiction.com, Bleeding Cool, Comic Booked, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
9. Justice League International #1
Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Aaron Lopresti
Buy %: 63% – Buy
Average Grade: 6.5 out of 10
Consensus: This new iteration of JLI was met with a mixed reception, with many praising Aaron Lopresti’s art but most calling this a poor man’s version of Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis’ initial offering (and even Judd Winick’s Generation Lost version), with Dan Jurgens’ script earning praise for his ability to introduce the whole team in one issue but little else. Too much trying to be funny, not enough actual funny.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, Comic Book Revolution, IGN, Comic Book Resources, A Comic Book Blog, Too Dangerous for a Girl, ScienceFiction.com, Comic Vine, Badass Digest, MTV Geek, Bleeding Cool, Comic Booked, Crave Online, iFanboy, Major Spoilers
10. Stormwatch #1
Written by Paul Cornell
Illustrated by Miguel Sepulveda
Buy %: 62% – Buy
Average Grade: 6.1 out of 10
Consensus: While Paul Cornell’s script ranged from “innovative and ambitious” to not “actually giving readers a reason to care about this book,” Miguel Sepulveda’s art is considered lacking across the board, especially when it comes to character work. While most suggest that the book is likely to improve from here, the consensus on this book is it is decidedly average at best.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, iFanboy, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, A Comic Book Blog, Too Dangerous for a Girl, ScienceFiction.com, Comic Booked, Bleeding Cool, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
11. Men of War #1
Written by Ivan Brandon and Jonathan Vankin
Illustrated by Tom Derenick and Phil Winslade
Buy %: 60% – Buy
Average Grade: 5.8 out of 10
Consensus: This book had an interesting divide amongst reviewers, as the strongly negative ones came from reviewers who outright said they generally did not like war stories of this sort, while the rest were mostly positive. Amongst the positive, Tom Derenick and Phil Winslade’s art received high marks, while Ivan Brandon’s atmosphere was met well (but many complained about his dry lead character). Jonathan Vankin’s script on the back-up was mostly poorly received, with most reviews stating that it was overwritten and too heavy on military lingo.
Personally though, I thought it was pretty solid.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, IGN, iFanboy, Bleeding Cool, Comic Booked, Read/Rant, Weekly Comic Book Review, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
12. Green Arrow #1
Written by JT Krul
Illustrated by Dan Jurgens (with George Perez!)
Buy %: 33% – Pass
Average Grade: 5.2 out of 10
Consensus: Green Arrow had the unique distinction of having the lowest Buy % of any book, with only 1/3rd of the reviews coming out positive. While even the negative reviews typically praised the art from Dan Jurgens (with inks from George Perez!), most claimed that JT Krul’s script felt archaic, derivative and under drawn, and the new version of Ollie Queen an awkward retake on the Smallville version.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, Comic Book Resources, IGN, Too Dangerous for a Girl, ScienceFiction.com, MTV Geek, Bleeding Cool, iFanboy, Comic Booked, Crave Online, Major Spoilers
Hawk and Dove #1
Written by Sterling Gates
Illustrated by Rob Liefeld
Buy %: 46% – Pass
Average Grade: 4 out of 10
Consensus: While no one at all was surprised that Rob Liefeld’s art was…Rob Liefeld’s art, most reviewers were surprised by Sterling Gates’ writing. Some praised his attempt to tailor a script specifically for Liefeld (which was admirable), but most called the script dull and lacking in personality. This book received a higher Buy % than Green Arrow, but overall it had easily the lowest average grade of all of the week one books.
Reviews from: Comics Alliance, Multiversity Comics, IGN, Comic Book Resources, Entertainment Weekly, Too Dangerous for a Girl, ScienceFiction.com, MTV Geek, Bleeding Cool, iFanboy, Crave Online
