DC — The New 52 (5)

By: Joshua Glenn
October 11, 2011

On August 31st, DC Comics launched a “historic renumbering” of its entire line of comic books with 52 first issues. DC sent me all 52 first issues, and I handed them over to Max, a superhero comics fan of my acquaintance — who turned 11 on October 7th. Here is the fifth installment in a series of Max’s reviews.

THE DARK

Justice League Dark #1: It was confusing. And there was a pile of dead bodies, which was gross. Three people from the JLA were coming to fight the Enchantress, and she shoots teeth at them — that was so weird. I’d be OK with not reading #2.

Swamp Thing #1: Interesting. I liked the graphics except one gross part — I won’t go into it, because talking about will give me nightmares. I was really intrigued by the idea that plants are violent — nature is violent. A good comic.

Animal Man #1: I hear Annie Nocenti likes this one! So I want to like it, too. It had interesting graphics. It was kind of about family life — Animal Man is half-retired, he wants to give up being a superhero. It was a little bit gross in a couple of places. Like a lot of these new 52 comics, they expect you to know a lot about the characters already. For me, that made it more difficult to enjoy.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1: Wacky drawings — in a good way. Good plot, good amount of backstory. Not a ton of gore. I love the idea of Frankenstein as an agent. And it’s great how his boss gets a new body all the time.

I, Vampire #1: Pretty gory. Scary. Not a ton of background. A little confusing, and weird, and twisted. Strange graphics. I didn’t really like it.

Resurrection Man #1: Once again, interestingly wacky and good graphics. I thought it was a tiny bit twisted, the whole idea of him dying again and again. But it’s cool how he gets new powers. A little mysterious. But good.

Demon Knights #1: It felt like it had more pages than the other comics. It was like a Dungeons & Dragons story. Seems like an epic fight that’s going to happen in the next issue. I definitely want to read the second issue.

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