DC Comics: The New 52

The New 52 Event Omnibuses

by Geoff Johns, Dan DiDio (Editor), Eric Wallace

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThis September, DC Entertainment is making history by launching 52 #1 DC Comics issues starring the World’s Greatest Super-Heroes. To commemorate this milestone occasion, DC Entertainment will be releasing DC COMICS: THE NEW 52, a massive hardcover collection that collects every single one of these debut issues. Hitting stores just in time for the holiday season, this 1,216-page compilation will include such issues as:

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee
ACTION COMICS #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales
BATMAN #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo
GREEN LANTERN #1 by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
SWAMP THING #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette
STORMWATCH #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda
TEEN TITANS #1 by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth
And 45 more!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

1216 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2011

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oof. 1216 pages of comic books.
"In September 2011, DC Comics exploded with 52 new #1 issues! The entire line of comic books was renumbered, with new, innovative storylines featuring our most iconic characters helmed by some of the most creative artists in the industry."
Yep, and this is ALL 52 of the issues.

I am overwhelmed. I am underwhelmed. If it is possible to be just "whelmed", I may also be that... to the point that this is a hard review to write.

The Good: I felt the art was consistently in keeping with modern comic's quality - bold, well-colored, and generally clearly illustrating the action but having plenty of attention to detail. The writing quality was not as consistent, with moments of great plotting and great characterization, a lot in the range of "very-good" to average, but also several "?!?" moments. The titles are organized into 6 groups - Justice League, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, "The Dark", "The Edge", and "Young Justice"; readers can pick and choose by character and genre.

The Bad: There are too many main characters. Assume a hero, a villain and 2 supporting characters per title, and round down because there is cross-over, we still have 200+ cast-members. The backstory is a mystery. There is no telling what Flashpoint changed in the history of the DC Universe, or why. The authors are playing their cards close to the vest, and sometimes they are bluffing about what they know. There is too much emphasis on the multi-story arc. On several occasions, I felt we had just finished the Introductory Action and Obligatory Villainous Monologue, when the Tune In Next Month sign appeared. Alternately too much backstory and not enough backstory. But props to DC for trying - It would be hard to please everyone in this respect. To get to 52 titles, there are lots of titles that will have a very small fan-base. Maybe it's just me, but I was unimpressed by almost everything from the start of Green Lantern until the end of the book -- that's the last 26 titles.

The UglyOther Stuff: Here's what you get:
11 Justice League titles: Justice League; Justice League International; Aquaman; Wonder Woman; The Flash; Captain Atom; The Fury of Firestorm; Green Arrow; The Savage Hawkman; Mister Terriffic; and "DC Universe Presents" (which initially features Deadman).
4 Superman titles: Action Comics; Superman; Superboy; Supergirl
11 Batman titles: Batman; Detective Comics; Batwoman; Batman: The Dark Knight; Batman and Robin; Batgirl; Batwing; Batman: Dance the Batusi; Catwoman; Nightwing; Birds of Prey; and Red Hood and the Outlaws.
4 Green Lantern titles: Green Lantern; Green Lantern Corps; Green Lantern: New Guardians; and Red Lanterns
7 "The Dark" titles: Justice League Dark; Swamp Thing; Animal Man; Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.; I, Vampire; Resurrection Man; and Demon Knights
9 "The Edge" titles: Stormwatch; Grifter; Voodoo; Deathstroke; Suicide Squad; O.M.A.C.; All-Star Western; Blackhawks; and Men of War
6 "Young Justice" titles: Teen Titans; Static Shock; Hawk and Dove; Blue Beetle; Legion Lost; and Legion of Super-Heroes

I have my favorites, of course.
>> I'm always impressed by the Justice League team books, and my lifelong friends The Flash and Green Arrow.
>> I'm trying to read _all_ Batman, and will extend that to the Batman "Family" core books, but probably not BatwingNo
>> Add Stormwatch (even though it makes me cry to see The Authority reduced to a secret DC "team"), and Teen Titans (until the team shuffles out the core team yet again).
>> If you have read this far, did you spot the red herring fifty-third title above? When you do, you can send me a PM and I'll put you down for my version of a No Prize. Now a fake closing line to hide my little contest here, and on to the real conclusion.

DC, I am not entirely impressed. Was "The New 52" an attempt to make DC more solid with the readers, or to maintain sales in difficult market? No telling, but I hope it works for you.

Updated 04 February 2017: Here are the titles I plan to read in collected form, at least up until the "Rebirth" story-line starts:
>> Justice League; Justice League International; The Flash; Green Arrow;
>> MAYBE Action Comics & Superman;
>> ALL Batman titles: (Batman; Detective Comics; Batwoman; Batman: The Dark Knight; Batman and Robin; Batgirl; Batwing; Batman: Dance the Batusi; Catwoman; Nightwing; Birds of Prey; and Red Hood and the Outlaws.)
>> Justice League Dark; maybe Demon Knights
>> Stormwatch; Voodoo; Deathstroke; Suicide Squad; maybe All-Star Western;
>> Teen Titans; Blue Beetle
And that thing I said above about that thing that wasn't that could still get you a no-thing. It's still a thing.

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read this ENTIRE volume.

Let me first review it as an object:

This thing weighs almost eight pounds. That doesn't sound that heavy, but believe me, it makes reading on the dumper almost impossible. 8 pounds would be a large-ish baby. Imagine taking a baby, cracking it in half, then holding one half in each hand for a half hour. You'd get tired.

It was also so thick, it was unreadable at places because the crease was just so deep. Penis joke/vagina joke.

Okay, so now onto the comics. What I decided to to was Tweet reviews because that would keep them short. Even a mere 100 words on each would be...100...500...many, many words beyond the interest level of any human. So here, reproduced are all 52 Tweets. But before we get to that, I do want to say that the one disappointing thing to me was that this whole thing was about DC relaunching everything from #1. I thought, Finally, I can maybe understand what's going on in DC. But this isn't true. They did relaunch SOME books, but the Batman books and Green Lantern books, which were selling alright before the relaunch, were clearly in media res (Latin for, Impenetrable to Peter). That pissed me off just a bit. It doesn't show a lot of faith in the project of a relaunch to say, Let's relaunch ALL of our titles...except the few good ones. Also, I feel obligated to point out that the Bat books and GL books account for somewhere around 20% of the universe? Subtract books that take place in alternate time periods or that have no involvement with the larger universe, and it's a little bit of a pathetic total relaunch.

Okay, enough bitching. Now onto short-form bitching:

I feel like I suddenly know too much about catwoman's bra preferences #dc52

Justice league: a batman/greenlantern teamup feels like a teamup between a ninja version muhammad ali and merlin. #dc52

Justice league international: how is the worldwide version always inferior to the america version? #dc52

You know what I always hated about aquaman? He let's everyone give him shit for being a nobody even though HE'S aquaman #dc52

Why is wonder woman always taking time off from being a powerful, beautiful amazon to be a...powerful, beautiful amazon of business? #dc52

Flash actually seems to be going somewhere with this detective-y angle. Don't tell batman #dc52

At first I thought I wouldn't care about a hero with inexplicable science powers. I'd like to thank captain atom for confirming this #dc52

There's a white firestorm and a black one? How will they get along? I mean, the being engulfed in flames negates skin color, but still #dc52

I've yet to understand why Green Arrow gets gigs while Purple Two Handguns is still out of work #dc52

Hawkman is so self-involved. Not sure if that's a hawk thing or a man thing. But it's definitely an annoying thing #dc52

Mister terrific has the words Fair Play tattooed on his arms. Or maybe it's Play Fair. He might be a lefty. #dc52

I don't know what's going on with Deadman. Or why he's dressed like Freddy Mercury without hair, facial or head #dc52

Classic cop mistake in Action Comics: quit trying to use electric nets to trap superman. You gave it your best, it don't work, move on #dc52

Clark Kent and Larry David: same glasses #dc52

Why does every scientist make a clone and then completely 180 and want to kill it? Maybe wait a day, see what happens #superboy #dc52

The best thing about supergirl being fiction is we don't have to hear a million Behar jokes involving thigh comparison on the View #dc52

Batman was good. Although relaunched with three robins, one of whom is his son. When I "relaunch" at 41 my son will be in the dust #dc52

I guess I thought Detective Comics were about detectives, not FOR them #dc52

Single panel in Batwoman: werewolf, plane crash, octopus man choking a bald woman, and an insane lady shooting guns. Uh. #dc52

Dark Knight is the second of three Batman titles involving Bruce Wayne giving a speech at a fancy dinner event. What the fuck. #dc52

So in Batman and Robin there is a cadre of Batmen? Being dipped in acid? Is it too late to sign on for Batmen International? #dc52

How did Batgirl get unparalyzed? "Then a miracle happened." Phew. For a second I thought we were written into a corner. #dc52

Batwing stabbed in the chest? Fine. Not that I dislike AfricaBatman. I just hate the aesthetics of machine guns mounted in a truck bed #dc52

Can nightwing stop pining over the circus already? The food sucks and clowns only make balloon animals to trick children into fondles #dc52

Red Hood and the Outlaws: awesome band name. Nobody steal that. I stole it first. Hence the outlaw thing. #dc52

Green Lantern starts off pretty good. I mean, not really a reboot, but at least killing Ganthet means his ponytail also dies #dc52

If Green Lantern Corps poses that Guy Gardner can't even get a h.s. football coach job, what the hell is going to do with that haircut?#dc52

I'm glad GreenLanternNewGuardians has such a long name. It limits my ability to tweeticize it #dc52

Am I the lone soul who thinks an all-white Justice League Dark is a missed opportunity to embrace the current blaxploitation revival? #dc52

I liked Swamp Thing better when he was an action figure with extending arm powers as opposed to nightmare sequence powers #dc52

Animal Man and Jeff Lemire equals about time. And zombie kitties. #dc52

Frankenstein, a mummy, a vampire, a werewolf, and a fishwoman walk into a fight. And that's a comic book you can buy #dc52

Before I, Vampire I didn't see how badly I longed for Kris Kristofferson to explain all the vampire shit in that crusty way of his #dc52

Killing Resurrection Man is sort of like building a fort from couch cushions to thwart Couch Fort Pusher-Downer Man #dc52

At least Demon Knights had the grossest possessed baby ever #dc52



Haha, wait that's my...oh never mind #dc52


Should have been Birds of PrAy. Capture the jesus people that way. Or at least someone. #dc52

Red Lanterns: blood cat in space #dc52

Grifter blocking knives with an airline food tray teaches that full meals exist on planes and that the spilled food wouldn't burn flesh #dc52

How long can Deathstroke go before someone ends an issue by holding up a picture OF him, TO him and says, I need you to kill this man #dc52

Suicide Squad is like mission impossible 2: I know it's stupid, but not so stupid that I'm proud of how much I enjoyed it #dc52

Voodoo perpetuates bad stereotypes about strippers. Mainly that they are aliens who felt this was the best way to learn #dc52

The fact that OMAC stands for Office Management Amidst Chaos has blown 78 of my 92 emotions. Not all, but definitely most #dc52

Jonah hex is awesome, even if he's a stars n bars guy #dc52

Blackhawks has taught me something: in comics, redheads like guys with glasses. Peterparker/maryjane. Cyclops/jeangray. It goes on #dc52

After Men of War I'd like a chart of army ranks with a line across it. Above line, ranks we hate. Below, cigar chomping badasses. #dc52

Kid flash is always so irresponsible. Why can't he ever be fast AND diligent? #dc52

Did anyone inform Static Shock that there's already a black Spider-man type guy? We've been calling him Spider-Man. #dc52

Blue Beetle's battle cry of Khaji-Kai sounds a lot like Queen Latifah's character name from the 90's hit (in my home) Living Single #dc52

If I were in Legion, my power would be getting sick of Legion Lost almost immediately #dc52

Ah, shit. Legion not lost is almost as repulsive as Legion Lost #dc52

So Hawk & Dove are gods of war, and they are inseparable, and Dove is dating Deadman somehow? But mainly they punch? #dc52

[John Yelverton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really gave it a shot, and I must say, it was absolute garbage.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy howdy, that was long. And good. But mostly long. Strap in for a long discussion about why DC's rebooting all over again.

Rebooting for DC was a great idea. I'm a fairly new reader, I was ecstatic about having a point to start on. The New 52 line-up promised to be innovative and "entry level friendly" and for the most part, the second level is delivered on. (Well, except Legion Lost #1 and Legion of Super-Heroes was way too messy to be friendly). The first, however, has already been commented on. While some titles do get cool, modern twists, and you see some sprinkling attempts of more racial diversity, innovation didn't exactly happen as far as representation goes. Of course, DC didn't promise to do any of that, which is precisely why it's readership for New 52 didn't change all that much, and DC's trying for another reboot this year: DC YOU, starting new titles (Black Canary and her punk girl image), reclaiming others at the #17, mostly at the #40 mark.

Why it failed is pretty obvious. 52 titles, and a whole lot of white men, some aliens, and barely-clothed women. (Is anyone surprised that surveys showed DC readership for New 52 was 92% male/8% female, but no data on racial diversity??). The one title that should have given its female readership anything should have been Wonder Woman, but I've already talked about how it totally sucked elsewhere. Catwoman will always be a sexualized character (and that's actually fine, because she's a sex-positive person), but when every single female superhero has large breasts and/or boob windows while her teammates get full body armor, there is a big issue at hand. And can someone please give me context to Voodoo #1 and how the only WOC (but actually alien? shape-shifter??) performs both a strip-tease and a lap-dance?? Should I even mention Starfire's sexdoll appearance in Red Hood and the Outlaws?

And, look, the reason why people have spoken out about all this is because it's so heart-breaking to see nearly every woman in the DCU either be a stock back-ground character or hyper-sexualized crazed fighter, when DC writes incredibly complex storylines otherwise. Does it have anything to do with not bringing on female writers? With all that said, Batgirl stands out the most as being a genuinely good written character, personally. Aquaman's Mera has also been promising from what I read.

Anyways.

Then you've got DC making such a big deal about making one of their Green Lanterns a LGBTQA+ representative/gay a few years back, but virtually no discussion happened regarding Alan Scott in this reboot. So much for that. And while Batwoman's been confirmed as bisexual since 2006, and Catwoman this year, the best I've seen happen with LGBTQA+ representation was making Batgirl's roommate trans* (which just barely qualifies as representing! And was almost immediately overturned after Gail Simone's run ended.) (Okay, and there's also a nod to "slash fiction" in Stormwatch #1, but I'm iffy whether that means what I think it does.) And remember, this reboot was supposed to bring the DCU into this century, so where is the gay community??

Now, let's talk about race. You've got Static Shock (a favorite), Mister Terrific (who da hell?), Cyborg (the star player!), Batwing (he's in Africa too!) We even had a character call out another for the underlying racism going on in The Fury of Firestorm (seriously, why haven't I heard more on this title?!). As far as black women are represented, I think you have Vixen from Justice League International and Voodoo from SexShow #1. For the latino/latina population Justice League International hosts Beatrix Bonilla de Costa/Fire and we've got the Blue Beetle with his own title. Annnd that's about it. Baring in mind of course that we're talking about 52 titles and hundreds of characters. I think there's some generally good things going on, but a whole lot more needs to happen here. (Dare I dream one day of meeting a black lesbian superhero?)

I say that representation is a large part of the reboot and talk so much on it, because the storytelling throughout New 52 is actually really, really good. I can't stress this enough. I seriously dropped this book to go out and find half of these titles at the library and read (so far) Justice League, Aquaman, and Batgirl. On my next trip, I'm going to fight everything to get my hands on Swamp Thing and all the Green Lantern and Batman-related titles. My savings are going to be depleted entirely. I almost want to give up my love for Marvel from how good these have been. (Almost). I mean, this line alone has me wanting to read Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.: "Typical? We've only been a team for about ten minutes... Quit your whining and START KILLING!"

But being progressive and winning me over? DC, you've got a lot of work to do.

The 52 Titles:
Justice League, Justice League International, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Captain Atom, The Fury of Firestorm, Green Arrow, The Savage Hawkman, Mister Terrific, Deadman, Action Comics, Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Batman, Detective Comics, Batwoman, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Batwing, Catwoman, Nightwing, Birds of Prey, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Red Lanterns, Justice League Dark, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.; I, Vampire; Resurrection Man, Demon Knights, Stormwatch, Grifter, Voodoo, Deathstroke, Suicide Squad, O.M.A.C., All-Star Western, Blackhawks, Men of War, Teen Titans, Static Shock, Hawk and Dove, Blue Beetle, Legion Lost, Legion of Superheroes.

(Yes, I read them all.)

[Koen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, first off: it looks nice this omnibus, definitely to have them all on my shelf... But it sure ways a ton!!
And reading it isn't easy either.. it's not like you can take it on the bus/train/...
Not.. practical.. whatsoever!!

Contents wise: pretty good! There still were some very uninteresting stories for me (either the story or the characters were bland.. Just to name a few:
- almost the entire teen section was a bust: only Legion of Superheroes and Hawk&Dove are worth mentioning. TT and BB are terrible!
- Hmm, The Edge is half and half...Grifter, Voodoo, Deathstroke of course, Suicide Squad and OMAC all passed with flying colours, but All star Western , blackhawks and Men of War didn't manage to win me over.. Don't know why this is a part of DC... Just not my cup of tea perhaps...
- In the Batman department they could also have parted with a couple of them in my opinion.. But still they all read very good and had interesting developments in their #1 issue..
- Well.. the Justice League and Justice League Dark ... Those were the best parts in the omnibus for me I guess... Can't wait to get my hands on more of this ;)

So, a solid 3, perhaps even 3,5, but can't go for the 4 stars, because of all the stuff you just read..
Okay, final omnibus (Villians).. I'm taking you out of the closet.. Get ready! :)

[Nguyễn Minh Hiếu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khởi nguyên của một vũ trụ mới của DC Comic, hệ thống hoá dễ hiểu hơn.

[Mike McDevitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave 24 thumbs up to:
Justice League International- You had me at Booster Gold. Then you added the super buddies.
Justice League Dark- Surprising how much I liked it. That's a terrible title.
Aquaman- Good art. Who'd disrespect Arthur in a world where HE EXISTS and can punch you?
Firestorm- Cool set-up. Sorry to hear Gail Simone's not still writing this.
Mr. Terrific- Literally terrific. Glad this admirable guy got his own series. Nice one!
Superman- Great art, Supes battles evil, it does what's on the tin.
Batman- Not so bad at all. Wouldn't buy it, of course. But it's good Batman.
Batwoman- Really wild stuff. Don't know what's going on, but it looks good doing it.
Batgirl- Bought it. Never looked back. Best new title, well, new to me. Thanks Gail!
Batman & Robin- Preferable to Morrison's drug addled version. A Hopeful Batman? How novel.
Birds of Prey- Action-packed but still interesting. Good work.
Green Lantern Corps- This is exactly my thing, what I wish Green Lantern still was.
Green Lantern New Guardians- My loyalty to Kyle Rayner leaves me thumbs up. Barely.
Swamp Thing- Intriguing mystery. Superman is sort of acting, I dunno, like a superhero.
Animal Man- Creepy, effectively weird and nightmarish. Colour me intrigued.
Frankenstien: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.- If you like BPRD, keep reading that. But this is also good,
Resurrection Man- A dip in the visual pool of Marvel '70's horror comics. Didn't expect to like it. Did.
Demon Knight- better than any single episode of Game of Thrones. Fantasy fans take note.
Storm Watch- Slick, fascinating. I don't know the history, but it stands out in a good way.
OMAC- Nice one, Giffen. Very Kirby in the best possible way, loved the big-mouthed goblins.
All-Star Western- This is splendidly done. Good horror western and deserves recognition.
Static Shock- Seems to be taking its inspiration from Spidey in a good way.
Blue Beetle- Didn't read his previous title, but if it was better than this, I hope to one day.
Legion of Super Heroes- I can't stay mad at you, Levitz. Hate every Legion trainee.
Legion Lost- I WAS SO ANGRY when Gates and Yera exploded. I didn't stop buying it. They got better.

28 thumbs down to:
Justice League- WHAT league? I see Bats and GL. Justice cops and helicopters, maybe.
Wonder Woman- Azarello is good. Like the mythic monsters. Wish Diana was not one herself.
Flash- Not interested in Barry, hard to start now.
Captain Atom- Its a big WTF in a shady covert lab. Truly deeply meh.
Green Arrow- Like the art, wanted to like story better.
Savage Hawkman- Awful on any level.
Deadman- Gun to my head, I don't want a gun to my head.
Action Comics- Good art and action. Cannot long stomach a Superman throwback out for vengeance.
Superboy- Just like starting over. Unnecessary. Gen13 and Superboy itself covered this decades ago.
Supergirl- This starting over, too? We JUST did all this. Shoot at the amnesiac alien girl, fine.
Detective Comics- Repellant violence on every page. Who asked for 11 Bat titles anyway?
Batman The Dark Knight- "You can call me One-Face now." Roid rage didn't fix your face, Dent.
Batwing- Buckets o'blood, not really my thing.
Catwoman- Not as terrible as I heard. Still, pretty terrible.
Nightwing- Competent. Wouldn't buy this.
Red Hood and the Outlaws- When did Starfire become a dead-eyed sperm reclamation facility?
Green Lantern- Don't like Hal, and like him less on Earth. Or is Sinestro who I'm supposed to like?
Red Lantern- Rage isn't working! Must have less Rage! But our fuel is RAGE! (Vomits blood.)
I- Vampire- Jae Lee-style art making me feel entirely unwelcome in a blood-soaked tomb world.
Grifter- You had me at... nothing. This does nothing for me.
Voodoo- Strippers, strippers everywhere. And no erotic appeal.
Death Stroke- You had me at Grifter. No, wait, I don't care.
Suicide Squad- I can watch villains being tortured on the NEWS. Who gives a crap.
Black Hawks- Might be the best of the covert ops batch. Maybe I should try again later.
Men of War- While I'm glad on behalf of war comics fans, it's not for me.
Teen Titans- Sigh. Read Tiny Titans instead.
Hawk & Dove- To quote Hawk "Can't all be winners." Human hands aren't knives!

First, the overall mandate and tone is not to my taste. It's vile, grisly, sexist, and pandering. But it's got plenty of bad points too. Like over half the writing. Hawkman was emblematically wrong-headed. If an amnesiac immortal with metal claws tearing out of his flesh sold comics... oh, I get it now. I just wish they'd put "Wolverine" on the cover so I could ignore it more.

Who wants Jason Todd alive, let alone a lead character? How come all organizations with more than ten people are covert, evil, and practice torture? Where should I send the anthrax for ending the marriages of Clark & Lois, or Barry & Iris?

Second, major praise to the artists, these people serve their material well.

Finally, the format. Who would buy this? It's 176 bucks. It's a brick. Too big to cart around, too heavy for a standard nerd to hold up to his sunken eyes. It's only good for smashing windows and editors. It'll still be single issues, light trades, and weightless digital comics for me, I'm afraid.

"The New 52" makes me weep for the future. But there are two dozen issues I didn't dislike. A handful I'm even buying. I want the superhero comic to stay alive and thrive. So... I'll do my best to buy what I respect.

And if losing Lois and Iris stings, Mr. Terrific seems to be schtupping Power Girl, so it's not all bad.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so I'm not going to finish this, why you ask? Well I'll tell you.

A) I have read some of the graphic novels in this collection already and have enjoyed them.
B) I didn't not realize it was collection of singles and not a full graphic novel of each series.
C) I'm planing on requesting from the library all the graphic novels that they have in this collection anyways..


So I'm going to dnf this massive tome with a 3 star rating for the stuff I have read and enjoyed.

Plus side it was a great weight to use when I was doing lower ab, glutes, and thigh exercises. :P

[Norman Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think DC’s relaunch was largely successful. Their sales numbers certainly reflect a large influx of new readers, with Month 3 of the reboot still beating Marvel’s sales numbers. I haven’t read individual monthly comics in many years and I was enticed to try all 52 titles. I don’t see myself reading any of them consistently on an ongoing basis—it took me 6-7 weeks to read 52 issues, about 1200 pages, and I don’t have that kind of time to read comics on a regular basis—but I can easily see getting several of these when the trade compilations come out. Moreover, modern comic book writing relies heavily on long story arcs that are often best read in chunks.

I applaud DC for realizing that comic books are a medium, not a genre. Although heavily dominated by superheroes, this new line-up includes supernatural, horror, mystery, science fiction, western, and war stories. I hope that these find eager audiences willing to take a chance on something different.

There were a surprising number of variations on covert paramilitary operations. Men of War, Blackhawks, Suicide Squad, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Stormwatch, and perhaps to a lesser extent Birds of Prey, Red Hood and the Outlaws, Justice League Dark, and maybe even one or two others, were formatted almost identically except for the milieu they were in. After a while it became hard to differentiate them all.

It is obvious that DC is catering to an older audience, with lots of gore and sexual titillation throughout the line, not to mention the $2.99 cover price precluding unemployed kids from buying too many. DC is also trying to have their cake and eat it, too, by relying heavily on established continuity to assuage the wrath of long-time fans, yet claiming to be wiping the slate clean for brand new readers. I would rather have 52 really well told stories, even if it means setting aside years of continuity, than try to artificially shoehorn often-contradictory backstories into every title.

DC is also to be lauded for including so many female characters in lead roles. I don't think Marvel has any solo-character books starring females. DC has Batgirl, Batwoman, Birds of Prey, Catwoman, (half of) Hawk and Dove, Supergirl, Voodoo, and Wonder Woman. Now, let's see more female writers and artists to create these stories!

Some people have complained about the perceived sexism in titles like Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws, and there is certainly a strong case to be made for those criticisms. (Yet, at the same time, there was little or no outcry towards something like I, Vampire’s nearly naked cover art.) What I found most troublesome about some of these titles was the incomprehensible storytelling. These, and many of the other 52, seemed more like Issues #12, or even #50, than #1.

I had fun with the “Where’s Waldo?” hunt for the mysterious hooded figure from Flashpoint #5. There were a few books that took me several tries to find her. Did anyone else note her freakishly long fingers in her appearance in Resurrection Man?

What were my favorites? All Star Western, Animal Man, Batwoman, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Justice League, Mister Terrific, and Superboy, with guilty pleasures Captain Atom and Red Lanterns. A number of others have the potential to become favorites, depending on how well they continue—for example, Action Comics, Batman, Batman and Robin, Demon Knights, and Wonder Woman. I suspect there will be other breakout hits as they settle into their strides—and certainly some of what looks good initially will falter along the way.

There were some real duds, too: Aquaman, Green Arrow, Red Hood and the Outlaws, and The Savage Hawkman, coming to mind. But I wouldn't count these out, either, as time may show improvement.

I'm sure we can expect to see a mega-crossover event next summer as sales begin to flag, to recharge interest, reveal the hooded figure's identity and purpose, and make some final calibrations on the characters in the new DC universe.

I look forward to enjoying many more tales from the creative folks at DC. For my detailed thoughts on each New-52 title, please visit my blog, http://axolotlburg.wordpress.com

[Mark Lattman · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a wasted opportunity. And how oddly squandered. How you do a major reboot and end up with comics that, except for the much better and much bolder inking/artwork and more explicit adult content, mostly feel like the stuff from the 70’s that had gotten so tired till the industry was saved by the truly innovative work we got in the 80’s and 90’s that revitalized it with writing and story lines so much better than what’s here. I know everything can’t be Watchmen, the (original) Death of Superman, the (original) Dark Knight, The Killing Joke, Bane/Knightfall, Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing, the Vertigo line, the Black Spiderman Suit and the Venom saga etc. But I don’t buy that the level of those works, mostly from DC ironically, can’t at least be approximated today by someone with a love of the art form, its history, an understanding of modern culture and an imagination. I mean, almost nothing in the genre is advanced here, which is just stunning. No World-Building, no gradual (re)introductions, no initial Origin Stories; mostly it was confusing, sexist, and silly. And by still requiring a lot of previous knowledge about the DC Universe it’s all way too much in all the wrong ways for someone hoping for a clean entry point into DC comics. Huge Fail. 60/100

[Prof. Purple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rebooting the Gods: A Review of The New 52 Omnibus

The superhero genre, for all its spandex-clad bombast and four-color escapism, is ultimately a genre of reinvention. These characters—mythic figures rendered in modern form—are perpetually in flux, constantly reshaped to suit the times, reimagined for new audiences, and occasionally, when things get too convoluted, wiped clean entirely.

And so it was, in 2011, that DC Comics, suffering from continuity bloat and declining sales, did what it had done before in 1956, 1986, and 1994:

It reset the board.

The New 52 Omnibus—a doorstopper of a collection that serves as both a historical document and a grand experiment—is a testament to DC’s boldest, most controversial modern relaunch. It represents a seismic shift in comic book storytelling, an ambitious (if deeply flawed) attempt to modernize, streamline, and reinvigorate its pantheon of heroes.

What follows is an examination of what worked, what didn’t, and what it all meant for the long-term trajectory of DC Comics.

Because superhero history, like history itself, does not move in straight lines—it lurches, stumbles, and occasionally reboots itself when the contradictions become too much to bear.
The Need for a Reboot: Cleaning House or Setting Fire to It?

By 2011, the DC Universe was suffering from narrative entropy.

The post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity (1986) had, over 25 years, become as tangled as the very multiverse it was designed to simplify.
Characters had undergone multiple contradictory origins, leading to a labyrinthine continuity accessible only to the most dedicated readers.
Sales were stagnating, with DC lagging behind Marvel in market share.
The success of Marvel’s cinematic universe made DC’s heroes feel increasingly like relics, trapped in stories too cumbersome for a new generation to access.

The solution?

A complete reset—52 brand-new #1 issues, a fresh start for every major character, and a mandate to modernize the mythology while preserving the core essence of each hero.

Did it work?

Yes. And no.
The Art: A Visual Renaissance or an Exercise in Sameness?

One thing that cannot be disputed: The New 52 was a visually striking era.

With some of the industry’s best artists given the keys to DC’s biggest properties, the books were slick, cinematic, and filled with kinetic energy.
What Worked

Jim Lee’s redesigns—aesthetic choices that, while controversial, succeeded in making the Justice League look like a unified force rather than a disparate group of 1940s and 1960s creations.
Greg Capullo’s Batman—a tour de force of shadow and atmosphere, turning Gotham City into a gothic horror landscape where every alleyway felt like a descent into madness.
Francis Manapul’s Flash—an exercise in fluid motion, where the Speed Force felt like a living, breathing entity surrounding Barry Allen.
Ivan Reis’ Green Lantern—a book that retained the space opera grandeur of Geoff Johns’ legendary run, making every cosmic battle feel like an event unto itself.

What Didn’t Work

A uniform “house style” that made many books feel artistically interchangeable.
Overuse of digital effects, particularly in coloring, which often made characters look like plastic action figures rather than flesh-and-blood people.
A tendency toward darkness for darkness’ sake, resulting in books that were visually striking but emotionally cold.

The takeaway?

The New 52 was undeniably stylish, but at times, it felt more concerned with looking modern than feeling timeless.
The Writing: Bold New Directions or Misguided Misfires?

A reboot is only as good as the stories it tells.

And here, The New 52 was a study in contradictions.
The High Points: Triumphs of the Reboot

Scott Snyder’s Batman (The Court of Owls, Death of the Family)—a modern classic, proving that Gotham’s mythology could still evolve in new and terrifying ways.
Geoff Johns’ Aquaman—the definitive reclamation of Aquaman as a legitimate A-list hero, washing away decades of ridicule with sheer storytelling force.
Grant Morrison’s Action Comics—an ambitious, if occasionally disjointed, reinvention of Superman’s early years as a brash, Golden Age-style champion of the oppressed.
Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman—a mythological horror story wrapped in superhero garb, redefining Diana’s origins with a bold, dark twist.
Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man—one of the few books that embraced horror, existential dread, and deeply personal storytelling, making Buddy Baker’s journey feel as tragic as it was thrilling.

The Low Points: Where It All Went Wrong

Superman’s Personality Reset—Gone was the seasoned, compassionate Superman of the post-Crisis era. In his place? A younger, angrier, more alienated version who, for many fans, felt like a stranger wearing the “S” rather than its true heir.
The Erasure of the Classic Titans—One of the most baffling editorial choices, cutting out decades of character history and emotional weight that had made the Teen Titans a cornerstone of DC Comics.
The Overreliance on Grimdark Storytelling—While darkness suited Batman and Justice League Dark, it felt jarring and unnecessary in books like Superman, Green Arrow, and The Flash.
Constant Creative Team Shake-Ups—Books would launch with a bold vision, only for writers and artists to be swapped out mid-storyline, creating a jarring, inconsistent tone.

The result?

The New 52 had moments of brilliance, but for every book that soared, there was another that crashed under the weight of editorial mandates, rushed storytelling, or misguided character changes.
The Legacy: A Bold Experiment That Couldn’t Sustain Itself

By 2016, after five years of The New 52, DC pulled the plug.

The launch of DC Rebirth effectively undid much of what The New 52 had built, reintroducing elements of classic continuity, character relationships, and optimism that had been lost.

So what did The New 52 leave behind?

It modernized DC’s brand and brought in new readers.
It revitalized certain characters (Aquaman, Batman, Wonder Woman) while sidelining others (Superman, the Teen Titans, the JSA).
It proved that bold reboots can work—but only if they respect the emotional core of the characters they’re reinventing.

Final Verdict: A Reboot That Ran Faster Than It Could Think

The New 52 Omnibus is not merely a collection of comics—it is a case study in how superhero universes succeed or fail based on the delicate balance between innovation and tradition.

Some of its books stand among the greatest superhero stories of their era.

Others are best left in the rearview mirror.

But as an experiment?

It was undeniably fascinating.

Because some heroes move forward.

But others?

They need to look back before they can truly run.

As well they should.

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be writing a longer, more formal review for PopMatters in the next couple of weeks, but for now let me say: this is garbage. There are a couple of good comics in here, but otherwise this is bad art, bad writing and a bad time for the reader. It reeks of the bad ol' days of the early 90s when Image and hash marks dominated everything. Many of the key players of the era are involved: Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza, Scott Lobdell.

These stories are more like pitches for mid-winter action movies than comics, lots of "Moscow, 15 minutes ago" captions and hokey dialogue. The big titles--Superman, Batman--are a little more competent, but there's nothing new or exciting about them. Apparently slapping a #1 on the books is enough. Put some embossed foil on them and the 90s will really be back.

Wonder Woman and Animal were good. Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE and Swamp Thing were both decent. And that's it. It's a bad time for DC fans. Have you seen their new logos? Good god.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every first issue from each new run in the New 52 by DC Comics. Be warned that means 52 cliffhangers. The book is also 3" thick and weighs about 10 pounds so it's a bit unwieldy.

I liked some stories more than others but overall it leans more towards horror than I care for. It's a lot of gore when compiled this way.

I've been reading most of the books with female lead characters (not that many out of the 52): Wonder Woman, Batgirl (my fave thus far), Batwoman, Catwoman. You can see my thoughts on those in reviews of their volume collections.

I've also read and rated the first volumes of Green Arrow and Green Lantern. Might be a couple others as well.

Comics that caught my eye from this collection: Blackhawks, Teen Titans, Nightwing, and Batman.

[Julius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huh. This comic book was a great look at how the Justice League could have met and turned out. Superman isn't exactly the completely incurruptable do-gooder we're all familiar with, Wonder Woman doesn't hate the world of men, Green Lantern's an idiot (really, he is), and so on and so forth. The different spin on the characters made this comic quite good. The adventure itself isn't all that original, but it's really the actions of the familiar yet so very different characters that makes it a page turner. Also, Jim Lee did the art, and Jim Lee and Michael Lane Turner are my two favorite comic book artists.
This comic is well worth your time and buck.

[P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not even half-read. I just wanted to read Wonder Woman #1.

I like the idea of collecting all the issues... but it's just a good idea, not a practical idea. Having a giant book WITHOUT PAGE NUMBERS is stupid, and having a giant book of comics period is stupid because so much is getting lost in the massive gutters.

[Michael Melilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a universe wide reset that was supposed to clean up continuity, the New 52 just seems to leave things as muddled as before.

For example, the DC heroes have only been around for 5 years but Batman is on his 4th Robin? Not that he was the best surrogate father but you'd think Alfred would have cut him after 3.

[Samuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Por 4 o 5 colecciones interesantes (Action Comics, Batman, Swamp Thing...) no merece la pena todo el relanzamiento de DC.

[Thaddaeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I'd known this book was so enormous before I checked it out of the library.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2011 the entire DC Universe rebooted in an event called the New 52 and this massive tome collects all the first issues of each and every fifty-two titles that were launched that summer. DC Comics: The New 52 is an anthology of first issues comics edited by Dan DiDio and is separated into seven general sections or families: Justice League, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Young Justice, The Edge, and The Dark.

While reading through this gargantuan omnibus, I have to constantly remind myself to keep my visceral reaction on check and that this is a new universe and I should go into this series with that attitude and treat it as such – it was difficult, but hopefully I managed to write a thoughtful review.

One of my problems was that I disagreed or rather disliked some of the directions the writers had made to established characters backstory, origins, and where they were headed, which is the reason I had to keep reminding myself that this is a new universe and that characters while looking the same and having the same names are totally different.

Secondly, I had some chronological and continuity issues. For the first generation of superheroes (i.e., Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.) they have been fighting crime for about five years, which made it difficult to figure out what happen when and in which order. I just wished that the editors put more thought on it to make the universe more cohesive.

With scores of writers, graphic artists and colorist it is extremely difficult to rate this massive anthology. With fifty-two series, I was surprised of some of the series that DC Comics decided to launch with. There were the popular and well known series like Action Comics, Batman, Detective Comics, Justice League, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the like, but there were some esoteric choice too like Legion Lost, Blackhawks, Grifter, Men of War, O.M.A.C., Voodoo, and the like.

These fifty-two series are grouped into seven different families:

Justice League: "Aquaman", "Captain Atom", "DC Universe Presents", "The Flash", "The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men", "Green Arrow", "Justice League", "Justice League International", "Mister Terrific", "The Savage Hawkman", and "Wonder Woman".

Batman: "Batgirl", "Batman", "Batman: The Dark Knight", "Batman and Robin", "Batwing", "Batwoman", "Birds of Prey", "Catwoman", "Detective Comics", "Nightwing", and "Red Hood and the Outlaws".

Superman: "Action Comics", "Superboy", "Supergirl", and "Superman.

Green Lantern: "Green Lantern", "Green Lantern Corps", "Green Lantern: New Guardians", and "Red Lanterns".

Young Justice: "Blue Beetle", "Hawk & Dove", "Legion Lost", "Legion of Super-Heroes", "Static Shock", and "Teen Titans".

The Edge: "All-Star Western", "Blackhawks", "Deathstroke", "Grifter", "Men of War", "O.M.A.C.", "Stormwarch", "Suicide Squad", and "Voodoo".

The Dark: "Animal Man", "Demon Knights", "Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.", "I, Vampire", "Justice League Dark", "Resurrection Man", and "Swamp Thing".

For the most part, I'm pretty much evenly divided on how I like this omnibus, skewing slightly toward the positive. I really enjoyed reading about a third of the issues (bold), about a third is mediocre, but mostly likable (italics) and another third that was much to be desired (no effect).

All in all, I think DC Comics: The New 52 is a somewhat collection of first issue comics, although I wouldn't recommend purchasing this book, unless you're a die-hard comic book fanatic. It works far better as a reference book and a good way to determine which series one should continue or start with, because there is a little something for everyone.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rereading for the 10th Anniversary of this relaunch. The New 52 was an ambitious but flawed initiative. I truly applaud it's efforts to diversify its comics, as well as stray a little bit more outside of superhero works. However, editorial oversight and reliance on a "house style" really dampened by enthusiasm. I get the desire to reintergrate the Wildstorm and Vertigo universes into the DCU proper, but it effectively neutered their tones.

I like the meta aspect of this overarching story with the Pandora and Dr. Manhattan, but the idea of the DC Universe starting "now/five years ago" robbed the publisher of their legacy (JSA) and their future (the Legion of Superheroes). The Wild Storm does this much more effectively, because this is too many books too fast if this is "birth of the superhero".

Justice League (11)
Justice League: The flagship book that led to the Forever War and Darkseid.
Justice League International: This felt like a relic of the 80s.
Aquaman: "Got his balls back" although I do prefer the later arcs by Jeff Parker/Paul Pelletier.
Wonder Woman: One of the best of the relaunch. Mythic and creepy.
The Flash: The art is fantastic, and the return of Barry Allen.
Captain Atom: I didn't care for it.
The Fury of Firestorm: Didn't grab me (art was good)
Green Arrow: I didn't care for it.
The Savage Hawkman: Didn't grab me (although the art was good)
Mister Terrific: During another time/place this would have worked better.
DC Universe Presents: A book that I really wanted to love. I appreciate the concept.

Batman Universe (11)
Batman-The start of the Snyder/Capullo Era
Detective Comics-I liked the ending, but this just felt like a filler book.
Batwoman-A genuine standout out.
The Dark Knight
Batman and Robin-Carries the fun and flamboyantness of the "Batman Inc" era
Batgirl
Batwing-Great idea of exploring the Batman Inc. but fell prey to there being too many Batboks.
Catwoman-Risque and kind of sexy?
Nightwing
Birds of Prey
Red Hood and the Outlaws

The Green Lantern Universe (4)
Green Lantern: Geoff's John's epic
Green Lantern Corps: Peter Tomasi is a good pal to John's Run with John Stewart as the head.
Green Lantern: New Guardians-A fun idea with Kyle being a White Lantern (eventually)
Red Lanterns: Too one-note for my tastes. This felt very uncessary.

The Dark (7)--Vertigo Lite
Justice League Dark--Possibly the best teambook.
Swamp Thing--One of the best books of the new 52.
Animal Man--One of the best books of the new 52.
Frankenstein
I, Vampire
Resurrection Man
Demon Knights--A fun idea that was tied to Stormwatch.

The Edge (9)--Essentially Wildstorm with a western, war books and a Kirby reference.
Stormwatch
Grifter
Voodoo
Deathstroke
Suicide Squad
OMAC
All-Star Western
Blackhawks
Men of War: A book I really wanted to like (a war story set in a superhero universe, but it was a tad...boring).

Young Justice (6)
Teen Titans
Static Shock: An editorial mess. Milestone fumbled poorly in this reboot.
Hawk and Dove: Rob Liefeld should be a has been.
Blue Beetle: Next
Legion Lost
Legion of Superheroes

So, ultimately I would say I liked Wonder Woman #1, DC Universe Present #1, Batman #1, Batwoman #1, Action Comics #1, Green Lantern #1, Justice League Dark #1, Swamp Thing #1, Animal Man #1, Frankenstein #1, I Vampire #1, Resurrection Man #1, Demon Knights #1, Stormwatch #1 and All-Star Western #1.

A few that I thought had potential were OMAC, Mister Terrifics, Voodoo and Men of War.

That's 19 out of 52. Not a GREAT batting record.

The second wave (not covered here); includes Dial H, Batman Inc., Earth 2/World's Finest,

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars
Review of Total Book:
This is a really awesome book if you're looking for more DC comic series to pick up. Honestly that's why I started reading it, because I had already enjoyed Batman, Teen Titans, and Wonder Woman (just to name a few). Overall I found 26 series, consisting of ones I had already liked/read or ones that I'm going to definitely read in the future. I'd say that's pretty good out of the 52 that are in the book. I know that's exactly 50% and why'd I give it 4 1/2 stars? Those other 26 comics that I won't continue reading are just because of my personal preference on the separate comics and not the book as a whole. This book is just to introduce you to the other options out there, and I think it did a really great job of doing so.

Individual Comics:

Justice League #1 **** 1/2 Will definitely be reading more of the Justice League line! I'm intrigued about those weird aliens.

Justice League International #1 ** 1/2 Eh it was okay, I will not be reading more of the Justice League International. I don't really understand why they stuck Batman into the story, because they're supposed to be separate from the Justice League. But then again I know why...to get people to read this series.

Aquaman #1 *** 1/2 Was pretty interesting, I feel bad for Aquaman now...I'm sure he's a really great superhero! I will be reading this, because I want to know if people actually start to accept him as a good superhero.

Wonder Woman #1 ***** I've already started to read Wonder Woman, and I'm in love! [link to review of Vol. 1: Blood]

The Flash #1 **** 1/2 This has also grabbed my attention. The Flash will be next on my list as well!

Captain Atom #1 ** 1/2 Was okay, wasn't great enough to make me want to read more though. I think it's just the obscure character.

The Fury of Firestorm #1 *** Kind of interesting, but not enough to make me want to read anymore.

Green Arrow #1 ** 1/2 Was okay, I've never really liked Green Arrow though, so that is why I won't be reading on.

The Savage Hawkman #1 *** This was pretty good, but I'm not really much into Hawkman so I won't be reading more. The aliens are interesting though, and I'd like to find out what is going on with the NTH metal.

Mister Terrific #1 ** 1/2 Meh, I don't think this comic is very terrific.

DC Universe Presents: Deadman #1 ** 1/2 It was okay, I've never really read much on Deadman/Boston Brand, and this didn't catch my attention enough to want to read more about him.

Action Comics #1 *** It was pretty cool to see Superman in more civilian clothes for his outfit. I'm guessing that this series is about when he first becomes a hero. I most likely will not be reading any more, just because I'm not a huge Superman fan.

Superman #1 **** Pretty good actually, I was surprised. But just like the comic before, I won't be reading on since I'm not all that interested in Superman.

Superboy #1 *** Superboy is pretty interesting, I wonder where the human part of his DNA came from? The only reason why I would read on is to find out that question, and the fact that he is connected to the Teen Titans.

Supergirl #1 **** Wow this seems really interesting! I really want to know what happened to Kara, and I will definitely be reading more of Supergirl.

Batman #1 ***** I've read all of the Batman series so far, just waiting for the 9th volume. This was really great! [link to review Vol. 1: Court of Owls]

Detective Comics #1 ***** Man! I am definitely going to read more of this series! I had no clue that this included the Joker, and that twist at the end! I knew it happened, but not how or in what comic.

Batwoman #1 *** Eh, not bad but I don't think it's great enough to keep reading. I just don't really like Batwoman's personality.

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 **** Very interested to read more! It seems really good and I love stuff that has to do with Arkham.

Batman and Robin #1 ***** I've read all of the Batman and Robin series, and I really enjoyed Damian! [link to review Vol. 1: Born to Kill]

Batgirl #1 ***** This was really great, and I'll have to read the other's by Gail Simone. I've read all of the current volumes of Cameron Stewart's Batgirl and loved those.

Batwing #1 ** 1/2 Was slightly interesting, but I'm not really interested in reading about Batwing. Plus I really didn't like the art style of this comic. It was off-putting to me.

Catwoman #1 **** Will probably read more of this, it seems really interesting. I'd like to see more of Batman and Catwoman's relationship too. It's great to see a character who is so muddled between a villain and a hero.

Nightwing #1 **** I definitely want to read more Nightwing! This was really great.

Birds of Prey #1 ***** I definitely want to read more of the Birds of Prey too! That really, really interested me. I want to know what happens!

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 ***** I really want to read more Red Hood as well! But I will have to say that Starfire's character made me slightly uncomfortable, since she was so overly sexualized.

Green Lantern #1 **** I haven't really like Green Lantern before, but surprisingly this one has kind of got me interested in reading more. Maybe.

Green Lantern Corps #1 *** See, eh, not bad but I don't think it's great enough to keep reading.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 *** Hmm, I'm just interested in finding out why all those rings when missing...

Red Lanterns #1 *** Okay, I've got to read more because there is a Red Lantern cat! It's kind of cool seeing these "villains", I guess?

Justice League Dark #1 **** Will definitely be reading more of this! It's a really great concept!

Swamp Thing #1 *** Hmm, Swamp Thing seems pretty interesting too. I might have to read it!

Animal Man #1 ** 1/2 Didn't like the art style at all, it was very ugly to me. The story did not seem interesting, and his superpower is kind of lame. I will say I liked the kid's mullet though.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 **** A comic about Frankenstein and a bunch of other "monsters" fighting real monsters? Heck yes!

I, Vampire #1 ** 1/2 Kind of interesting, but I don't think I'll be reading more. I didn't particularly like the art style.

Resurrection Man #1 *** Interesting, but like the one before, I don't think I'll be reading more of this.

Demon Knights #1 *** Eh it's okay, just not completely sure if I would read more or not. The setting is kind of cool because it's medieval, but I think it's slightly strange for a DC Comic.

Stormwatch #1 * 1/2 Meh.

Grifter #1 * That was just really weird.

Voodoo #1 *** Hmm, this was pretty interesting, I didn't really predict the end, and I'm curious to see what happens next!

Deathstroke #1 **** Brutal! I'd like to read some more about Deathstroke, he's a really cool character.

Suicide Squad #1 ***** I liked the other Suicide Squad series, but this one seems just as good!

D.M.A.C. #1 * This is a big no. It was slightly weird, and not very interesting.

All-Star Western #1 *** This is a Jonah Hex comic. It was pretty good, and interesting to see Gotham back in the 1800s. I want to find out who is doing all of the murdering!

Blackhawks #1 ** 1/2 Mehhhhhhhhhhh.

Men of War #1 * DNF

Teen Titans #1 *** I've already read most of the Teen Titans, but in my opinion it was pretty good! [link to review Vol. 1:It's Our Right to Fight]

Static Shock #1 ** 1/2 This was okay, but not interesting enough to make me want to read more. So many obscure characters!

Hawk and Dove #1 *** It wasn't bad, it was kind of interesting. But not enough to convince me to read more. I think it's because of the characters, I don't really like them all that much.

Blue Beetle #1 *** I think I could read more of this, it was pretty interesting!

Legion Lost #1 * Meh.

Legion of Super-Heroes #1 * DNF

[Adrian Montanez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a mixed bag of stuff, but it had more good than it did bad. This was the initiative that brought me into DC as a kid. Getting to read all of this helps put into perspective how much stuff changed with this new rebranding, but also makes me appreciate how approachable they made getting into DC comics with The New 52. That said some of these creators definitely didn't get the memo that it's a reboot and wrote this as a continuation of older storylines, that new readers would find confusing. Overall it was an interesting read.

[Zaheer Siddiqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all the 111 DC New 52 Comic books in the year 2017, this seemed liked the best way to have it saved. This introduced me back to my favorite characters and showed a way how stories can be good in any medium.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love super hero books so of course i like this book

[Elliott Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to finish the collected New 52. This period of DC continuity is just too banal and arcane for me to become invested in any of the characters.

[James Burky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire collection can be a lot to get through but Black Adam's arc is worth the commitment.

[James Reid]

Reviews based on first issue (number denotes last issue read)

Best


Aquaman - Aquaman is aware of how uncool everyone thinks he is. 1
Wonder Woman - A more myth focused take, which I'm a sucker for. 1
Batwoman - Beautiful art, interesting story, a standout. 1
Nightwing - Batman sidekick goes it alone. Really liked. 1

Good

Green Lantern - Villan becomes hero. Nice start. 1
Justice League Dark - Team up of the magic characters. 1
Swamp Thing - Not Alan Moores, but interesting. 1
Animal Man - Takes a lame superhero and goes more towards horror. Works well. 1
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. - Team of monsters fights other monsters, ie Hellboy dc style. 1
Demon Knights - Semi-comic medievel fantasy. 1
OMAC - Gonzo superhero action. 1
Stormwatch - Like the addition of the martian man hunter. The idea of the team who sorts out real problems while the justice league showboats is cool. 1
The Flash - Guy runs fast. Good introduction. 1
Birds of Prey - Good first issue, would prefer oracle in team. 1
Batman - Nice introduction to all the robins. 1
Batman and Robin - Another solid batman story. 1
Batgirl - Liked more than I expected, particularly her fragility. Still prefer her as oracle. 1
Superboy - Very interesting idea, ties into Teen Titans (really need to read both it seems).

Ok, and continuing

Resurrection Man - Dude fight angels and adapts to what ever killed him last, Ok. 1
DC Universe Presents - Deadman, quantum leap I guess. 1
All-Star Western - Jonah Hex in old arkham. Has potential, but feels incomplete. 1
Justice League - Not sure I liked, makes protagonists tools. 1
Supergirl - Basically a fight scene. But a good fight scene. 1
Action Comics - Working class hero superman is cool idea, otherwise mediocre. 1
Captain Atom - Um, not very good story about the character Dr Manhattan was based on. Still interested though.
Blue Beetle - Hispanic superhero. Not good, but will give a second issue a go in the hope of something better.
Deathstroke - Deadpool without the humor (ie the good part). Give it one more issue but...
Superman - Lex luthor vs superman. Hope it gets better.
Teen Titans - Superhero teens targeted, former robin saving them. Bordering on good, but auto read due to superboy tie in.
Green Lantern Corps - I liked pretty much all the GL titles, this is the team up book.
Green Lantern: New Guardians - Interesting set up with the other colours. Could get to good if it fleshes them out.
Red Lanterns - See above with the red lanterns.
Detective Comics - Darker take on batman, focusing on his crime solving. Didn't like the execution at all, but will try again to see if it lives up to the core idea.

Ok, but not continuing

I, Vampire - Much better than some I'm going to keep reading, vampire civil war.
Men of War - Again, Good, just not my scene. Special forces soldiers in a world of superheroes.
Batman: The Dark Knight - Unbelievably pretentious. Too many better batman books.
Batwing - Batman in africa. Not bad, but don't like the photo realistic art style.
Justice League International - UN sponsered supers. Didn't really get a feeling for any of the characters except Batman and a green lantern, who aren't in the team. Pretty much the only venue for booster gold fans though.
The Savage Hawkman - Liked the crypto-zoology angle, not the superheroics.
Static Shock - dull and generic super story with electric powers.
Legion Lost - future superheroes lost in the present. Just didn't capture me.


Bad


Mister Terrific - Ugh, techno James bond with bad art.
Blackhawks - UN military superheroes.
Catwoman - Terrible, which is saying something for a story about a superhero blackhat thief who bangs batman.
The Fury of Firestorm - Villans, superscience, highschool students, boredom.
Green Arrow - I'm like a younger version of batman (rich, white, priviledged), but with a bow and super arrows instead of bat gadgets, and lame.
Red Hood and the Outlaws - Former robin and another bow weilding guy shag their superhero alien girlfriend while fighting injustice. Trying too hard to be cool.
Suicide Squad - Didn't finish. Terrible. Batman animated Harly is one of my favourite characters, so this was already on dangerous ground, but just don't bother.
Voodoo - Alien shapeshifter stripper. Stupid story, stupid plot, stupid characters - the some of the stupidity is greater than the sum of its parts though.
Hawk and Dove - Team up between mismatched supers (a bruiser and a flyer) who work for the government: almost as bad as suicide squad. That's saying a lot.

[Chris Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Green Lantern, one of my favorite superheroes.

[TJ Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I thought that maybe I'd like half of these. Honestly, aside from the two Legion titles I would totally read the TPB's when they come out from all of these.

Special note: Red Hood & Outlaws, Frankenstein, I Vampire and All-Star Western. I expected very little out of those and they were pleasant surprises.

1. Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee

2. Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti

3. Teen Titans #1 by Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund

4. Suicide Squad #1 by Adam Glass and Marco Rudy

5. Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales

6. Superman #1 by George Pérez and Jesus Merino

7. Superboy #1 by Scott Lobdell and R.B. Silva and Rob Lean

8. Supergirl #1 by Michael Green, Mike Johnson and Mahmud A. Asrar

9. Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

10. Detective Comics #1 by Tony Daniel

11. Batman: The Dark Knight #1 by David Finch

12. Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes

13. Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder

14. Catwoman #1 by Judd Winick and Guillem March

15. Red Hood And The Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort

16. Batwing #1 by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver

17. Nightwing #1 by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows

18. Batman And Robin #1 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

19. Birds Of Prey #1 by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz

20. Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy

21. Green Lantern Corps #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna

22. Green Lanterns: New Guardians #1 by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham and Batt

23. Red Lanterns #1 by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes and Rob Hunter

24. Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

25. Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang

26. Flash #1 by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul

27. Green Arrow #1 by JT Krul and Dan Jurgens

28. DC Universe Presents #1 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang

29. Savage Hawkman #1 by Tony Daniel and Philip Tan

30. Blue Beetle #1 by Tony Bedard and Ig Guara

31. Fury Of Firestorm #1 by Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver and Yildiray Cinar

32. Mr Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson

33. Captain Atom #1 by JT Krul and Freddie Williams II

34. OMAC #1 by Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish

35. Static Shock #1 by Felicia Henderson, John Rozum, Scott McDaniel and Jonathan Glapion

36. Hawk And Dove #1 by Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld

37. Deathstroke #1 by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett and Art Thibert

38. Legion of Superheroes by Paul Levitz and Francis Portela

39. Legion Lost #1 by Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods

40. Grifter #1 by Nathan Edmondson, CAFU and BIT

41. Voodoo #1 by Ron Marz and Sami Basri

42. Stormwatch #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda

43. Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman and Dan Green

44. Swamp Thing #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette

45. Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin

46. Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert

47. Frankenstein: Agent Of SHADE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli

48. Resurrection Man #1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Fernando Dagnino

49. I, Vampire #1 by Josh Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino

50. Blackhawks #1 by Mike Costa and Ken Lashley

51. Sgt Rock And The Men Of War #1 by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick

52. All-Star Western #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Grey and Meridat

[Nicole Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

DC did a complete reboot of EVERYTHING. Now, when I heard they were doing this I admit I was not a happy fan. I'm already mentally and emotionally invested in long-running storylines. I was unhappy with the idea of an almost complete throw-out of all that comic-history that was going to be wiped away. A tiny part of my brain whispered to me: what if? What if its amazing? A lot of the different series have gone through so much in just the recent years - where could they take it...except to erase it? What if?

Then...I read one. then, another one. Another. Another. And I was blown away. I read every first issue of each of the new 52 different series. Even the obscure ones that I normally wouldn't have even glanced at. Every issue was well-written. Every issue left me with wanting to read more. Every issue jumped right into detailed captivating characters and circumstances. The tiny whisper in my brain became a shout. DC - you are amazing.