I was mighty sceptic when DC announced that they were rebooting all their comics. The loss of some of my favourite characters came as a bit of a blow, after all where was Wally in this new universe? Where where the Justice Society? How does Azrael fit into the new timeline? So after a little dread I eventually scooped up all 52 of the new comics, and have to admit that whilst some of the low points are REALLY low, the high points are spectacular. I'm not sold on the changes to Superman yet, and Justice League is a fun read whilst not being amazing considering it was touted as the flagship title of the new series, but there are several comics I really would recommend that perhaps people wouldn't have brought before for fear of jumping in on too much character history. For the sake of argument I will only list five - with the last one being my star recommendation.
5 - Demon Knights
Essentially 'Justice League Medievil' in all but name, it's an excellent historical take on the DC universe with more magic-based characters grouping together to defy an army that is sweeping across the land. The demon Etrigan is kind of the unofficial star, but he's backed up by an amazing cast of co-heroes including Savage, the DC immortal who is a refined bad-guy and master plot maker in the current continuity, here shown at an earlier point of his life as a life-gripping barbarian hero. His cry of delight when somebody launches magical dinosaurs at the team is excellent, as if his following comment 'I've not eaten one of those in ages!'. The comic does keep up a dark and violent edge, but the interaction between characters keeps it flowing wonderfully, especially that of the Amazon and the knight, who everybody believes is a girl due to his femanine features. If you're going to read any team-book this year be sure to pick this one up.
4 - Justice League International
Booster Gold is a fantastic hero - they are even talking about SyFy (still a dumb name!) giving him his own show or special some time soon. He built up a massive amount of credability in series such as 52, Generation Lost and his own comic title, but most people will always remember him as he was in the original Justice League International run - a wacky ego-driven clown of a hero with a heart of gold. I was worried when this title was launched that it'd be a step back for him, but to my pleasure he's at the top of his game leading this super-team. It's an international rosta that includes characters from all nations tackling global threats as the government tries to put together its own version of the Justice League for PR reasons. Everybody has a clear voice in the team (though some are just stereotypes for their country at the moment) and have begun to be fleshed out as the series takes shape. Batman and Guy Gardener's version of Green Lantern are popping in-out of the book without joining YET, and there's great dynamic between Booster in the role of 'crap I'm team leader!' and Batman's cool and collected 'You're capable, make the call' attitude towards him. It's fluffy stuff and reads like a Silver Age classic comic. This is the most out and out 'Super' super team on the rosta and embodies everything people think about when they imagine a team comic. No dark and gritty here!
3 - Batman
Be sure you check the name when you look for this one because there are four titles on the shelves based on the character at the moment. This one is just titled 'Batman' and is written by the man who handled Dick Grayson's run as the man in the cowl so well this past year or so. He's writing Wayne now and it's an excellent story that puts the enthesis on making Gotham city itself into a character. Bruce has never been better or more at the top of his game, but just as he's getting back into the swing of things the mysterious 'Court of Owls' begins to make itself felt in Gotham, and the realisation that they've ALWAYS been there and have simply been letting him play around up until this point gives real weight to their credability as a secret society and threat to the Bat family. There's a very 'Order of St. Dumas' feel to them so far that reminds me of the 'Sword of Azrael' run, which isn't a bad thing but it does make me feel a little nostalgic for Azrael (the Court has an enforcer called the Talon, the Order had Azrael, both are secret societies with big stakes in running things, etc) but I am a long-time fan and new readers will appreciate the excellent writing that really does go above and beyond the call of duty.
2 - Aquaman
He's probably a joke to you, but in the DC universe Aquaman has always been a heavy-hitter. Founding member of the Justice League? Check. Capable of giving Superman a run for his money in a fight? Check. Interesting and deep back story? Check. So why do people see him as a joke? The old 'Super Friends' cartoon has a lot to do with it, they put him across as 'the fish guy' and it's stuck in the public conciousness. It's an unfair wrap, but this comic does an amazing job of saying 'yep, you think that' then proving it wrong. Aquaman is written ion such a way that the average people of the DC universe thing the SAME THING about him, even police officers in the opening issue make jokes about how they'll never live down being saved by Aquaman. One scene in a fish restaurant has a customer ask him if he is allowed to eat fish 'because you talk to them', which is laugh outloud funny. The thing is, Aquaman spending most of his time underwater policing and ruling the oceans means he had no idea the surface world took him as a joke, and he starts going about setting that straight. The villains are interesting too, deep sea monsters that glow because they come from so far down there's no light, and eat anything - with their eyes set on the surface world. It's an excellent reads and well worth picking up. You won't laugh at Aquaman again.
1 - Wonder Woman
With the relaunch of Wonder Woman the writers have taken it back to basics. We're re-learning what we thought we knew from a new light and re-visiting the Greek Gods to see their new interpritations. Some, such as Apollo live in man's world and are modernised. Others, such as Hera see no need to leave Olympus and remain semi-classic in appearance. All appear to be bastards and what stands between them and us is Diana, princess of the Amazons and commonly known in our world as Wonder Woman. Of late pre-reboot the comic hadn't been hitting it's high points, a recent stint trying to re-design and reboot the character was a flop and she'd not done much of note in her own title for years. Whilst she was iconic her comics were nothing special. Not a great fate for the third member of DC's tinity of characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman). NOW she's top of the pile. Her books have a current and contemporary feel, there's an almost Percy Jackson-like feel to the way Gods are intergrated into the setting (I know that they modernised the Gods way back in the old title, but in that rendition they were all modernised. This mix between fable and modern they've struck now comes off better and does indeed have a PJ feel to it - and by that I mean the BOOKS and not the film adaption!). The book opens with monsters coming for a young woman in her home one night, a chicken-footed greek character tries to defend her but is injured in the process and with no other way to save her he uses magic to send her to the one person he knows can protect her, Wonder Woman. The stranger is the messenger of the Gods, the girl is carrying a baby that just might be the first demi-god since Hercules . . . it's all excellent stuff. Wonder Woman is well written, if lacking in compassion at the moment, and her own background gets a shaking too. The idea that there's a thin layer of protection between us and the Greek Gods does make her place in the new universe feel VERY important and she's dealing with this problem solo, sword in hand. It's very gripping stuff, well drawn and a great read. When the trade paperback comes out I expect it to zip to the top of the charts at once. Please give it a look, you'll enjoy it.
So there are the top 5 DC pics for me at the moment. And for that part of me that misses the old continuity and characters? DC Universe just went free to download and play on the PS3 and PC! Hell YES. If you're playing look out for 'Knave' or drop me a hello email on the games message server. It's an excellent MMORPG with a price that just cannot be beaten. Truly the most immersive sense of 'world' in an mmo I've ever felt - I'm a guy who quit Warcraft and gave up on City of Heroes - and there's something to be said about battling Brother Blood as part of a 4-man teamup of Doctor Fate, Zatanna and Raven. This game just feels . . . epic. And it's FREE!! There's no reaon that anyone with a PS3 shouldn't have it on their harddrive!