8, going on 9, years ago, DC did something radical. No, not in the slang 90s way but in the major, seismic shift sort of way. They took their entire line of comics, cancelled every single one of them, and rebooted their entire universe. Not only did they reboot it, they reset it, making a pseudo-Ultimate Universe where heroes were near the start of their careers, without decades of story baggage. The Wildstorm and Vertigo universes were folded back into the main DCU and an overarching threat was teased during the final pages of “Flashpoint,” the event that birthed the New 52. It was a promise of more interconnected titles, a greater coherence within the universe and 52(!) titles to start, with more on the way in subsequent waves.
Gone were the JSA. Gone were all but one of the Robins (not really). Teams that once had hundreds of members and rotating casts were reduced to their core membership. The Teen Titans existed, but didn’t. It was a weird time.
It was a bold move and while, in theory, it could have worked, the practicalities and execution fell flat on its face and gave us nearly a decade of material to shake our collective heads at and ask: what the hell happened?
Well, that’s not what we’re here for! To celebrate the end of the decade, we here at Multiversity thought it’d be a neat idea to go back to the start of the New 52 with fresh eyes to see if things were better, if things were worse, and how well these books have stood the test of time. Over the next two weeks, we’ll be covering every single title of Wave 1 of the New 52, divided up by the “imprints” they spearheaded, an idea I, Elias, genuinely wish they had kept.
These titles were meant to be an entry into a simplified universe — let’s see if these #1s accomplished that goal. Yesterday, we covered ‘Superman’ and gave a first glimpse into the world of the New 52. Today, we invite you to join us as we travel deep into ‘The Dark.’
Animal Man #1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Penciled by Travel Foreman
Inked by Travel Foreman and Dan Green
Colored by Lovern Kindzierski
Lettered by Jared K. Fletcher
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
For all the utter garbage that came of the New 52 and its impossible to understand timeline, “Animal Man” was one of the success stories. This first issue acts as a redefinition of the character within the mainstream superhero community, carving out a niche for him and, in one issue, creating the sense that we’ve dropped into Buddy’s life at an inflection point rather than at ground zero or in the middle of some other story, all without losing its horror edge.
Opening on a full page of text, an exposition dump of epic proportions, is a bold move, especially for this era of comics, and it works swimmingly. It sets up Buddy’s internal conflicts, the tensions in his family, and provides a thread that can be picked up on later. I don’t always love Foreman’s artwork. It can oftentimes be underinked, with the coloring not picking up on the contours to make people or objects look right. Like, their torsos are stretched and puffed, yet flattened by the solid color scheme.
But, that aesthetic also benefits the book. It hearkens back to the Vertigo series and crafts an atmosphere of unease. The paneling, too, is simple but effective, getting out of the way of the visuals. Control of time, the space between panels, is Foreman’s, well, forte. Events flow effortlessly, slow and fast, producing a reading experience that just feels right. Moreover, when he moves away from the real into the unreal, the art really shines in the grotesqueries.
It’s a haunting book for that alone, mix in the family drama at the center and Buddy’s own insecurities about being Animal Man, and you’ve got yourself the recipe for a book well worth your time.
Final Verdict: 8.4 Of all of Lemire’s mainline DC work, this is by far his best and it all started here, with a family drama with reanimated animal corpses.
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Demon Knights #1
Written by Paul Cornell
Penciled by Diogenes Neves
Inked by Oclair Albert
Colored by Marcelo Maiolo
Lettered by Jared K. Fletcher
Reviewed by Christa Harader
I have two words for you: Vandal. Savage.
Need I say more? Jason Blood, Madame Xanadu, Vandal Savage, Shining Knight, Al Jabr, Exorsistos, The Horsewomen and Lucifer. For starters.
“Demon Knights” is a delightful book that eventually goes off the rails, but not before we get a good first arc. Issue #1 sets up the main antagonist and the time period: the Dark Ages, after Merlin’s gone and jammed Etrigan inside the more sedate Jason Blood, Camelot’s fallen and Xanadu took a dip to try to get a sword back. Cornell eschews the rhyming, which works well, and gives Savage an absolutely bonkers twist on his usually huge personality that means we’re treated to dinosaur fights, door smashing and a whole lot of other BS in the midst of some of the more serious plot points. The art’s enjoyable, with good anatomy and detailed action, and the color palette ranges from technicolor setpieces to moody tavern interiors, stone lairs and dusty battlefields. Fletcher picks a font for Etrigan that’s actually readable, and the rest of the dialogue’s placed pretty well page to page.
This book is fun, and we all need some fun in our lives. Revisiting it was well worth my time, and if you’ve never read it, what the heck are you waiting for?
Final Verdict: 8.5 – “Demon Knights” #1 is the disaster team-up book you never knew you wanted, and it’s still good almost a decade later.
Frankestein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.#1
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli
Colored by Jose Villarrubia
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
The sheer amount of information and set up that Jeff Lemire establishes in the early pages of “Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.” is astounding, and yet the book rarely feels too dense to enjoy. The device of ‘S.H.A.D.E.net’ allows a fair amount of dry information to be revealed at once, and doesn’t bog down characters in (too much) exposition. The book, which incorporates some of Grant Morrison’s “Seven Soldiers” and some of the longstanding DC science characters, felt like a truly exciting and new type of book when it launched.
The book was also one of the more blatant Marvel homages, between the S.H.I.E.L.D./S.H.A.D.E. connection and the Howling vs Creature Commandos. However, visually, Alberto Ponticelli does nothing that would be considered Marvel house-style. With his heavy line and sketchy style, Ponticelli’s approach for the book leans more horror than science. While that decision makes sense, it does somewhat hurt all the S.H.A.D.E. tech that we see, rendering it without as much detail and design as another artist may have.
But in terms of action and character design, Ponticelli’s work is second to none. The book feels grimy and scary, nailing its ‘dark’ tone without trouble. While the issue does feel a little dense in its first half, it establishes itself in this issue, and really didn’t deviate too much going forward, at least in Lemire’s run. It is a concept that is due for a return, but one that likely will stay in the background for the foreseeable future.
Final Verdict: 7.2 – A strong start to one of the more unique New 52 series.
I, Vampire #1
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino
Colored by Marcelo Maiolo
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
I remember liking this much more the first time I read it.
There is a dingy, smokey quality to the story, like it’s being told as a half-remembered dream under the influence of some particularly strong inhalable. This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I’m intrigued and want to know more. Who is this guy? Why’s his ex evil? Is she really or was he a controlling asshole and the protagonist and thus sees her as the villain? (The answers are, Andrew Bennett, Uhhhhhh, reasons that are maybe vampire supremacy?, and both.) On the other hand, I have no idea what’s going on, this feels like issue four of a six issue arc, and it’s not a pleasant read. Why is Bennett our main character? He’s pretty dull thus far and has a pretty high opinion of himself that has yet to be born out.
Continued belowThen again, the confusion works to the comics’ advantage. I want to know more about how we got to this point and what’s up with Mary and Andrew’s dance of death. I want to see where the story goes next, even if I could do without the dull characters. And, most of all, while I don’t love Sorrentino’s muddy figures or the palette of dirt browns and dusky greys, the atmosphere it creates is perfect for the oppressive, dingy, ancient yet post-apocalyptic tone of the book.
It’s a shame that “I, Vampire” doesn’t start off on a more solid foot and, perhaps, that is why it did not last past three volumes, though three volumes is nothing to sneeze at. This first issue falls flat on a number of levels but most of them due to intentional choices rather than a failure to execute the basic elements of the book. The disorientation is intentional as all the requisite information to understand the situation is in this issue. The visuals are intentionally dark and rough and murky because bright and colorful and clear would damage the story being told. The characters suck because Andrew and Mary suck as people, no pun intended.
It’s a book with lofty goals and a story that is waiting in the smoke and shadows, if only we’ll seek it out. It’s taking a risk and, while it may not be succeeding in its inaugural issue, that alone makes me want to keep reading just to see where it’s going and how the hell the rest of the DCU deals with so many f@#*&!g vampires.
Final Verdict: 4.8. Who knew vampires could be so dang boring?
Justice League Dark #1
Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated by Mikel Janin
Colored by Ulises Arreola
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Reviewed by Erik Hyska
“Justice League Dark” was a comic book that felt like it was always in the background of the ‘New 52,’ yet didn’t have a substantial impact on the DC Universe. Peter Milligan (who was writing the end of “Hellblazer” at the time) stayed on the comic for eight issues to bring the team together and introduce the concept of a Justice League team built to handle mystical and magical problems and to go where the regular Justice League could not. During that time, “Justice League Dark” had a short crossover with “I, Vampire” and Milligan would then hand off the series to “Sweet Tooth” and “Animal Man” writer Jeff Lemire. Later, “Justice League Dark” would get caught in crossover hell with the storylines ‘Trinity War’ and ‘Forever Evil: Blight.’ While the series had an interesting concept on the surface, the first issue in Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin’s “Justice League Dark” doesn’t offer a substantive attempt that captures the full potential of this idea.
“Justice League Dark” #1 begins with Madame Xanadu being haunted by glimpses of the future and predicting the emergence of a new team of Vertigo staples. The rest of the issue then introduces the majority of the cast that will make up Milligan’s Justice League Dark team. At the center of the book is June Moon, the Enchantress, who is losing her sanity and causes duplicates of herself to appear and cause general madness in the world. As the regular Justice League team investigates and is defeated by the dark magic of Enchantress, Zatanna watches with Batman and suggests forming a new team of magic-users to address the threat. We also see glimpses of Deadman, Dove, John Constantine, and Rac Shade as they are positioned on the board to meet and form the ad hoc team.
The story feels basic and familiar for anyone who has read a superhero “assemble the team” issue. I suppose it’s sort of necessary, but reading an issue like this with its cast and supernatural elements shouldn’t be so bland. The movement from scene to scene is stilted with characters talking at one another while laboriously pushing the plot forward. However, there are moments of Vertigo-esque horror (which Milligan and DC editorial are clearly trying to evoke) when readers see how the madness affects everyday citizens and are given blocks of prose in captions with grisly descriptions of what is happening in the scenes ala “Sandman” or “Shade, the Changing Man.”
Continued belowWhere the writing is influenced heavily by Vertigo golden years, Janin’s work feels more traditional and something readers may find in standard cape comics. This makes Janin a really odd choice for this book. For example, Rac Shade, who Milligan has characterized as a bohemian “mad” poet during his five year run with the character, looks like a model for a GQ advertisement. While Janin is technically correct in the portrayal of his characters he does little to establish a tone for the series.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – “Justice League Dark” #1 is the beginning of a tumultuous series that never capitalized on its strong cast and couldn’t escape the paint-by-number structure of its story. Milligan, whose Vertigo bona fides is incomparable, does little to establish a strong voice for this issue. Janin’s work also falls into the same trap.
Resurrection Man #1
Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Illustrated by Fernando Dagnino
Colored by Santi Arcas
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Reviewed by Elias Rosner
These kinds of weird, obscure titles are my jam. Give me a conceit that is off the wall bonkers and I am happy. Man dies, comes back to life, has a new power and a mission hardwired into his brain? That’s the kind of weird sci-fi bullshit I’m into. I especially love when it’s the return of an underused concept (see my love of New 52s “Dial H.”) So. . .why didn’t this title connect as well as it should have?
At first blush, it does everything right. It succinctly introduces us to Mitch, the titular Resurrection Man, his whole deal, and throws us into the deep end. There’s a mystery as to why he’s being hunted, one that, by the end, we know more about than he does. The art supports the horror-adjacent tone with a darker palette and copious amounts of cross-hatching and inked shadows. The way the rain is drawn and colored, intense and torrential, really helps set the scene. It’s tense, moody, and the hero is actually acting like a hero without sacrificing the rougher edges.
Where it falls is in the overuse of narration and the stylistic choices harming the art. . .oh, and the copious amount of Escher girls. With the heavy shading sometimes making characters appear older or distorted, the aesthetic can in the way of the story and that’s when the muted character expressions start to become a problem, exacerbated by being told instead of shown via Mitch’s ongoing internal monologue. Also, as you probably gathered, almost all the women in the comic are drawn to be sexy first, characters second.
Sue’s got it the worst, with her first appearance having her lean against the airplane seat in front of her, twisting around so we can see both her *ahem* assets and her *ahem* ass-et and the way she’s bent makes it seem like the top half of her body and the bottom are from two different people and it’s a very ill fitting costume connected at the waist.
Plus, she’s not wearing a shirt under her deep-cut red pant-suit jacket and, when placed above a panel that’s a close up of her upper-body, with a more regular looking jacket line, I genuinely thought there was an art mistake in the intro panel that was done just to make sure we could get some tasteful sideboob. But no, that’s just her outfit.
Now, maybe there is a reason for Sue to be introduced cleavage and ass first while Mitch’s own ass-et and dick were cleverly covered by shadows and maybe the two demons from the end of the issue being in sexy outfits serves an in-story purpose. But from what’s been established, there’s clearly a disconnect between the art and the story in these designs and in their presentation that makes it all feel gratuitous and distracts from what would otherwise be a great first issue.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – While the story has me very intrigued, there are too many artistic choices that don’t gel and, yes, we get it Mitch, everything was metal and now its pain. Can your next one be silence?
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Swamp Thing #1
Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Yanick Paquette
Colored by Nathan Fairbairn
Lettered by John J. Hill
Reviewed by Chris Egan
If you had told me nine years ago that “Swamp Thing” would become one of my favorite comic book series of all time, I probably would have looked at you funny. For being such a big fan of horror, it was one comic that I had read sporadically from various decades, but never really latched onto. With the New 52 reboot, I was immediately hooked and even with the end of that era of DC comics, I still sing its praises to any interested (and non-interested) ears.
During one of the biggest hot streaks in recent comics, writer Scott Snyder decided to take on another project. It wasn’t something that would be as widely recognized as jumping onto a series like “Batman,” but it would become one his best works from the early 2010s.
“Swamp Thing” #1 is a lot of things all at once. It is a reboot, a continuation, a re-introduction of and love letter to one of the greatest horror/fantasy characters to come out of comic books. It also reads like a “Justice League” issue. When a horrifying mass death of various animal species occurs at the same time in various locations across the United States, the Justice League are at a loss for an explanation. Looking for answers, Superman seeks out the assistance of Dr. Alec Holland, the one time environmental scientist and Avatar-of-the-Green, Swamp Thing.
Alive and human once again, Holland is living a different kind of life and just wants to be left alone, but his past will never loose him from its vine-wrapped clutches. We get a lot of information in this first issue, but it is all presented in a clear, streamlined manner. Snyder gives us some incredible additions to the Swamp Thing lore and kicks off what would become one of the best mainstream horror comics that would feature some of the most unnerving plot lines and imagery to ever grace the pages of superhero adjacent series.
Having Yanick Paquette draw this series was one of the best decisions they could have made. He gives us his gorgeous designs for the famed Leaguers, a bright and perfectly executed DC universe that any fan can appreciate. And when the story takes its first dark turn, he flips like a switch to give us all the terror needed to set up what would come in future issues. The first time you read through this issue – and series, there is a moment where readers will feel that sick feeling in the pit of their stomach when you realize that there are real horrors on the horizon and you better buckle up. Fairbairn’s colors, like Paquette’s pencils are both stunningly gorgeous and creepy. His palettes capture the classic DC superhero tone and the deeply scary vibes that are both an undercurrent, and blatant horrors of the entire issue.
This is a series that continued to get better by growing, expanding, and changing, but none of what would come would have been possible without such a strong opening from a great writer. Even if it has nearly no Swamp Thing in it, the issue is partially narrated by Alec Holland and ol’ Swampy’s presence is felt throughout.
Final Verdict: 9.0. A reluctant hero gets pulled back into a nightmarish existence for the greater good.
