For some reason I didn't include these four titles in my previous column. I wish I'd dispersed them a little more evenly so there was something positive to say in this post. That's not the case though; these are all negative reviews. If you don't want to deal with that then feel free to read one of the previous columns... or read the pull list posts that we've put up over the last two days.
I'm glad to be done reviewing every book DC is putting on the shelves, frankly. It's fun but also frustrating and I had to pour through some lousy books on my way to the finish line. Seriously, who has the money to afford this many new books every month?
For more of my thoughts on the relaunch and how I believe it all panned out, again, consult my pull list article or any of the past review posts. I'm looking forward to writing about some non-DC stuff finally. For now, here's my final reviews of the New 52... and hopefully, very soon I'll be able to quit typing the words "New 52" "relaunch" and "reboot"...
Teen Titans #1: My experience with the Teen Titans is relegated to Geoff Johns stint on the title. While I loved that run, the Teen Titans concept has just never interested me all that much. Why is that? you ask. Is it my intense dislike for teens? Perhaps my hatred of the movie Remember the Titans? Whatever the reason, this book (and it's creative team) was going to have their work cut out in winning me over.
...and they obviously didn't try because I'm not won over. I'm actually kind of appalled by this book The art by Bret Booth reminds me of something I'd find in an Image title circa 1994, and I don't mean that as a positive. It's an ugly book. On the other hand Scott Lobdell writes cliched dialogue and a dull first issue in general. I like some of these characters but as written here I have no interest in reading more about them.
Superman #1: This book is hands down the biggest disappointment out of the New 52. I love George Perez as a penciller. I tend to buy anything he draws, and overspend on massive, slip-cased hard covers that are displayed prominently on my shelves. However, George Perez doesn't pencil this issue. He writes it. I wish I could say he does so superbly or even adequately but he doesn't. Instead, we're left with a book written by a man who seemingly missed the memo that less is more. Or show don't tell.
I barely finished reading Superman #1. It took multiple attempts and self-imposed abbreviations of wordy panels for me to work through it. I find it so sad that Superman, DC's (arguably) second marque character behind Batman, gets a self-titled book that is written so poorly. Artist Jesus Merino does a fine job on the issue, as near as I can tell. His panels are so obscured by word balloons and pointless text that it was hard to really see.
I'm surprised DC dropped the ball on this book. Hiring a penciller who hasn't had much writing experience since the 80's to handle one of their biggest characters was a giant misstep and one that I find hard to blame on the writer himself.
Savage Hawkman #1: This book was originally supposed to be written by James Robinson. While Robinson's work of late hasn't been very strong I have doubts it would have been as boring as the issue that Tony Daniel has turned in here. I failed to review this issue in the week it actually came out. It was left off my pull stack by accident. In retrospect it was probably God's way of telling me not to waste my time. The book isn't terrible but it's so... there. That's it. It exists.
Phillip Tan changed up his art style for this book but it didn't do him any favors. I'm not a huge fan of his prior work but I didn't hate it. What he's drawn here is muddled and ugly and the coloring doesn't help it at all. Hopefully some day Hawkman will be given a book worthy of him. This isn't it.
Voodoo #1: I have next to nothing to say about this book. It's so introductory that I can barely find anything to write about it beyond that it's a book written by Ron Marz. The pencils by Sami Basri are good, aside from some stiffness and the occasional lifeless expression. Again, I've got nothing bad or good to say about the book. More so than any issue, this was brief, and included very little in the way of story or character development. However, it didn't do anything to capture my interest enough to pick up another issue.
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