There’s been a lot of hype with DC’s New 52, and I guess I’m not immune to all of the publicity.  I’ve decided to give all 52 relaunches a try and see which is worth reading on a continuing basis.  So far I’ve read 18 of the 27 titles that have come out, all released up to September 7th and four titles released last week.  By far the strongest ones I’ve read are Justice League, Detective Comics, Action Comics, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Batman and Robin, and Batwoman.  Some of the titles that were interesting but haven’t yet won me over completely were Justice League International, Green Arrow, Batgirl, and Men of War.  (I was particularly disappointed that the latter didn’t capture my attention immediately, especially since I was a gigantic Sgt. Rock fan when I was growing up in the 1970s.  In fact, Sgt. Rock and the Our Army at War series was some of my favorites.)  Some of the so-so comics–tolerable, but nothing to really grab me–were Batwing, OMAC, and Deathstroke. And the titles that really fell flat for me–definitely won’t be reading anymore of those issues–were Demon Knights (the fact that Etrigan doesn’t rhyme anymore is reason alone to not read further), Hawk and Dove, Stormwatch, and Static Shock (why the hell is the latter even part of this?).  So I guess that so far, it’s been a mixed bag for me.  I’ll get to Green Lantern, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Grifter, Legion Lost, Mister Terrific, Red Lanterns, Resurrection Man, Superboy, and Suicide Squad in the next couple of days.  By that time there’ll be the new batch coming out.

Standouts worth noting: I thought that the new Grant Morrison Action Comics would be the highlight for me–big BIG Morrison fan–but even though I liked that first issue quite a bit, it didn’t stand out like the Batman titles have…especially the first issue of Detective Comics.  Then again, I’m partial to the Batman family and like most of that stuff.  And I’m very impressed with what Jeff Lemire has done with Animal Man.  Buddy Baker is another favorite of mine, so perhaps I was predisposed to appreciate that one.  Then again, and as I said, Sgt. Rock was one of my favorites growing up, and although I should have been predisposed to like that one, I wasn’t really impressed with this first outing of Men of War.

On a side note: sorry that the latest volume of House of Mystery is ending.  I loved the self-reflexiveness of that comic, the fact that it was all about storytelling.  That’s another Vertigo series I read avidly, along with Jack of Fables, to recently end.  All good things….