DC New52 - Animal Man #0 (Inappropriate Ride-Alongs)

So Animal Man is kinda interesting.  Didn't think I'd like it, but I did.  I know it's a Morrison creation, so I'm already prepared to have some crazy meta-physical exposition (and lack thereof) when I started this.  I was totally not expecting the level it was taken, however.  Even when I'm aware of it, Morrison, you ass, I'm still left at jaw-dropping unexpectedness from a superhero comic.  Do skinless talking cats and demonic cloaked goats belong in superhero comics?  If you're reading Animal Man, they do.

Basically this guy is given powers to emulate animals by these beings that sorta look like Pan's Labyrinth creatures looking out for their best interests.

The thing is: Buddy Baker isn't supposed to be anything but a temporary host for the 'red' powers after their previous "avatar" dies.  They abduct him and do some really REALLY gruesome surgery on him.  

They actually say they're going to put their seed in him... sexy...

Then BOOM! he can channel animal's powers.  He goes home and kinda... Um... Hugs?  his kid...

Oh man... Animal Man... WTF, dude.  WTF....

DC New52 - Deathstroke #0 (...it's the one that says bad mofo!)

Here, we get the origin story of Deathstroke.  He's a mercenary that got his own comic book.

Gotta say, artwork here was hit-or-miss.  Some panels, were drawn with beautiful angles... others, not so much.  The story was pretty generic with no real big twists or turns.  DeathStroke aka Slade Wilson got enhancements and sent on killing missions.  He estranged his family all for the mission.  I guess a twist would be toward the end where you see his son and his wife plotting against him now.  Sorry if that spoiled it for you, but to me (even without being a huge Deathstroke fan) it was kinda a, "that's kinda neat" moment, followed by a yawn.

I'm not trying to poo-poo all over this book.  If you like Deathstroke, this is a definitive New52 origin.  That's cool because from what I've seen, there's been only bits & pieces of his origin throughout the years.  I'm going to look at a few Deathstroke issues after this (maybe 1-3 or so) and decide then to drop or continue if it's art and story entice me.  If it's a villain of the week with a merc that takes them out, I honestly can throw a penny into the pool of Image, Maxx and independent comics and find this.  Kudos to DC for going the extra mile and showing some blood and killshots in their main line.  Approved by the comics code, this is not!

DC New52 - StormWatch #0 (aka SpoilerWatch)

Okay so I'm pretty sure that there were a few DC headquarters that didn't get the memo... These are ZERO issues.  They are meant to introduce or tell flash-backs or something to entice new readers and give veteran readers insights into the current runs of the series.  Introduce a new villain that we're about to see in the current run.  Show something that ties into what's currently going on with the character.  Have a character remembering something important to the current story, while telling something from their past!'

Anything other than just using this as a current book in the run.  And that's exactly what StormWatch did.  I'm giving it a normal read, not understanding anything that's really going on, but thinking they'll do a flashback or something.  Nope.  The third or forth page I get this:

I'm okay with some spoilers; having Green Lantern Kyle Rayner and Star Saphire talking about something I haven't caught up with yet in another Green Lantern book is okay.  I know that very soon, it'll be a reveal in that book... and it's usually not that major.  Kyle says, "Yeah, Hal took off to do that one thing... Hope it's going well."  Boom!  no crazy earth-shattering spoiler.  But man, when I read that above, it totally turned me off from continuing this book... maybe even the series.  When three or four pages in, you get a "This character was killed in a book you haven't read yet!" note from the editor, it really leaves a sour taste in a new reader's mouth.  Furthermore, this isn't a Superman book.  This isn't Justice League.  This is a NEW team book, consisting of some characters I don't even know.  It's supposed to be about time-travel, or dimensional travel and such, and I was totally willing to give it a shot.  An illuminati of alternate realities or time-watchers?  Oh yeah!  But then this... "It is you.  Adam One!"  You were killed in Stormwatch #5...

arg... wtf DC editor guy?

DC New52 - Justice League Dark #0 (Constantine will eff your girl!)

So this book is strictly an origin story of Constantine.  I know the Justice League Dark in the New52 is all about dem magic folk, and I wasn't particularly interested, but this story was actually well written and engaging, and I can see myself checking out a few more issues of JL Dark.

The story is Constantine trying to learn more magic.  Why?  Dunno.  Magic is power, power is cool, etc... So Constantine travels to America cause we got like, the BESTEST MAGICIANS HERE! and appeals to Nick Necro to help train him... Oh, and Zatanna is Nick's girlfriend.

So they let Constantine travel along and use their magic to fight crime sorta? and Constantine learns under their tutelage.  That's about it.  Oh wait, almost forgot... Constantine f*cks Zatanna!  Yeah, take that Nick!

So, they leave Nick and Nick Necro becomes a (duhn dun duuuuuuuhn) villain!

Anyway, I'm going to read JL Dark at some point, because this issue, for whatever reason, held my attention, even though i'm not a fan of magic in comics or the DCU.  Let's see if (once the whole team is assembled), this continues to capture my attention.

DC New52 - Team 7 #0 (Flashback City!)

Okay, so I pretty much found this entire issue completely boring.  I like DeathStroke, Grifter and such, but man I suffered through this one for some reason.  It's a throw-back book to show a team as they were before the characters split & went their separate ways.  I don't know how many issues there are of this, but I'm definitely putting this one on the back-burner.  (The Way Way Way Back-Burner).  The writing wasn't terrible, nor was the art work, but when you don't care about these characters & there's nothing really revolutionary that happens within the book, it make it really difficult to devote the time to wade into these waters.  Especially when the aforementioned characters (Grifter and DeathStroke) both have their own solo series.

I don't think DC is continuing with this title.  I haven't seen it in stores in 2015, so I'm thinking it was a limited run and one of those long-shot stories they throw out there to see if we'll bite.  Maybe I'm wrong, but with Suicide Squad, Justice League (even JL Dark), the Others & the Outlaws out there, it's really hard to be excited about a merc team from the past.

DC New52 - Green Lantern #1-6 (With this Ring, I thee wed...)

At the end of the pre52verse, Hal was stripped of his ring & Sinestro actually recieved a Green ring.  I remember the book ending with Jordon being slung back to earth and kinda crying on a road in the middle of nowhere.  After reading the zero issues of Green Lantern, New Gaurdians, & GL Corps and not seeing Hal Jordon, I thought DC was going to throw in the towel on the character again.  After all, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and even Guy Gardner gained in popularity on Hal's previous hiatus as the Spectre, so why not only bring him back with major crossovers or Crises?

But here, Sinestro comes to earth after a few months of Hal Jordan just being Hal and offers him a way to get his ring back.  Now before I get into the story, I wanted to mention this small montage that it touches upon and what I'm sure alot of people didn't give much thought of, given that it was simply a setup of what was to come... Basically Hal's life sucks.  And this is where it gets interesting, if you think a bit meta on the subject:  Hal was a bonified super hero, having saved the world, the galaxy, our very existence itself a few times over...  Yet, he has to come back to 1) not getting the girl 2) not having a job/not being able to return to his old job 3) a world that very quickly forgets all he's sacrificed for the greater good.  I think it's a really interesting concept: a hero that gives up everything returns to nothing after their fall-from-grace.  Wouldn't this be a great setup for a new villainous Hal arc?

Nope.  Doesn't happen.  It's just a setup to see why Hal would accept Sinestro's proposal: In exchange for his Green Lantern ring returned, he must help Sinestro destroy his Sinestro Corps & free Karugar from their oppression.  Hal agrees (not as reluctantly as I believe he should), and we're off to the races with this story arc!

The thing I loved about this story were the few throwbacks to the 'way things used to be' wherein Hal is being taught new ways to use his ring that nobody in the Corps every taught him.  Again, proof Sinestro was their best and brightest.  There were wonderful moments in this that hearkened back to the original core story of Hal Jordan being thrust into the Corps and having to learn from a condescending Sinestro.  There's wonderful verbal jousting that goes on here.

Furthermore, there are several times Sinestro is appointed a "hero" by the local populace.  This is great because you actually see an internal struggle within Sinestro, where, even though he may not acknowledge it, the title feels good.  He, of course, shrugs it off and abruptly makes sure everyone knows he's not a good guy, but there's still that moment of hesitation that reminds us all Sinestro does what he thinks is just.

There is an obvious lead-up of all Green Lantern comics to an event forthcoming, but I'm glad to see that with DC's new52 reboot, there wasn't crazy retconning and changing of origins.  This said, I did see that after the first major Green Lantern event comes and goes, it looks like the new guy from issue #0 steps up in the Green Lantern series.  Sad thing, too, because I'm really digging Sinestro wielding green & Hal having to be the obedient dog-on-a-leash.  There's one more run with these two from #6-12, before the 3rd Army arc begins, and I'm looking forward to reading them!