A Less New World

As you've probably already heard, the axe has fallen upon the New 52 and six books have been cut. And although I predicted it would be the first book cut well before this debacle began, I'm still pretty upset that OMAC was cancelled. It ended up being a really cool homage to the really old Kirby monster stories along with the really weird Fourth World stuff he was doing in the early 70's. I think I read somewhere that OMAC's story was going to continue in Justice League International (which makes sense. It's written by Giffen's recent writing partner Dan Jurgens), I didn't really care too much about the story of Kevin Kho. I liked the retro style monster fights. If you missed it check it out in a few months when it gets reprinted in one volume. If you need more Kirbyesque stuff check out the American Barbarian webcomic by Godland artist Tom Scioli. It's really cool. I've skimmed through it but plan on waiting for it to be released in book form next month.

In related news, OMAC co-writer Dan DiDio (along with Jerry Ordway on pencils) is scripting another story featuring Kirby characters. The current arc of the anthology series DC Universe Presents features a Challengers of the Unknown tale. I picked this up, and it's a lot of fun. I'm starting to really enjoy DiDio as a writer. Nothing incredibly groundbreaking but he's producing some really solid enjoyable comics.

One more DC recapping note. I got the New 52 HC for Christmas. It's 1200 pages with every single number one issue. I'm slowly making my way through it and have to mention that it turned me on to the new Flash series which I was not interested in at all. The story is solid and action packed, but the artwork is amazing with some of the most creative layouts in comics. And they just re-introduced Captain Cold!

And finally on to the new titles. As sad as I am to see OMAC go, it looks like DC is keeping up on the quality side of things. They have some pretty top-notch creators attached. Most of these look pretty interesting, and I'll probably try all of them out. But what I'm really excited for is Dial H by China Mieville with Brian Bolland covers.

One odd thing is that we're only half a year into the new paradigm, and there are already a lot of creators leaving and swapping books. Sometimes for unspecified reasons. I don't know. Maybe it will keep the books fresh, but it doesn't seem like a good sign. But I guess we'll see. It's been pretty good so far.

A Whole New World

So this is the big week. The first real wave of new 52 books. The first Sunday as opposed to the Thursday night football game tonight if you will. This is what I got:

Action Comics
Action focuses on a young Superman who's kind of dumb and violent. Kind of like the new Star Trek, it's modernizes something that isn't really popular with the younger generation. I guess it could go either way. It could be interesting to see Superman grow into the iconic hero that he is, or it could be a Spider-man ripoff which is the tone the first issue set. He's a single young kid (drawn like a teenager actually) living alone in Metropolis trying to working for a newspaper. It's a decent first issue that introduces all the main characters. Not sure if I'll be back next month. It is Grant Morrison, so I may give him a couple more issues.

OMAC
This was my favorite book that I read all week. It's Giffen penciling Kirby-era weirdness with all-new OMAC Kevin Kho.This issue's pretty light on story and character. There's maybe two pages of setup. The bulk of the book is action and some really crazy fucking things. Then maybe another two pages of exposition and a setup for the series. Not necessarily bad for a first issue. What I'm hoping for in subsequent issues: (a) a little more story and character development if its quality or (b) stories focusing around batshit action. Could that get boring? Maybe. But probably not for me. I'm a sucker for any Kirby-styled retro.

Swamp Thing
This series brings Alec Holland back into the DC universe proper. This issue is very character-based and shows where Alec Holland stands in the new status quo. This is not a reboot and takes place after all Vertigo series. There's a conversation with Superman that reminds us that even though this is a horror book, it takes place in the DC universe. The B story is where the real horror lies, and Yanick Paquette's art really shines on these pages. I will definitely pick up the next issue.