In no particular order:
1- Animal Man
2- Swamp Thing
Both of these two I expected to like from day one, but I was totally surprised but just howmuch I ended up liking them. I never really read much of either of them back in the day- just Brian K Vaughn's Swamp Thing (which I loved btw), and maybe the first 12 issues of Morrison's Animal Man run. I did my research on them years ago, of course, just never read much of their respective books.
These two books perfectly do the humanization that's required to make horror work. The stakes are high for world of course, but when it gets right down to it I'm worried about Alex and Abby. I don't want Maxine to get corrupted by The Rot, not just because I like her but because it would destroy Buddy.
It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch all of these characters burn to the ground.
Both of these two I expected to like from day one, but I was totally surprised but just howmuch I ended up liking them. I never really read much of either of them back in the day- just Brian K Vaughn's Swamp Thing (which I loved btw), and maybe the first 12 issues of Morrison's Animal Man run. I did my research on them years ago, of course, just never read much of their respective books.
These two books perfectly do the humanization that's required to make horror work. The stakes are high for world of course, but when it gets right down to it I'm worried about Alex and Abby. I don't want Maxine to get corrupted by The Rot, not just because I like her but because it would destroy Buddy.
It's going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch all of these characters burn to the ground.
3- Batman
4- Batman and Robin
Though you probably wouldn't guess it if you listened to me on a day to day basis- I'm not a huge Batman fan. Yes, I like him. No, he's not on my top five favorite super hero list. Hell, he may not even be on my top ten.
Regardless of that, his supporting cast kept bringing me back to the Bat titles over and over again. I love Alfred. I love Dick. I live Tim. Hell, I even love Damian. (And yes, I even have a soft spot in my heart for Jason). A couple of years ago, Morrison started his run, and I finally I started to love Batman
Then Scott Synder came along and now I want Bruce's lovechild (in a totally hetro way).
Synder's been able to strip Batman down to a Year One mentality, and yet somehow still keep the long sense of history. Bruce isn't new at this gig... but there is shit that he doesn't know. Under Synder's pen, Gotham has become a living character, darker and deeper then Batman had ever realized. Gotham City is diseased and hateful and It doesn't care if Bruce lives or dies.
4- Batman and Robin
Though you probably wouldn't guess it if you listened to me on a day to day basis- I'm not a huge Batman fan. Yes, I like him. No, he's not on my top five favorite super hero list. Hell, he may not even be on my top ten.
Regardless of that, his supporting cast kept bringing me back to the Bat titles over and over again. I love Alfred. I love Dick. I live Tim. Hell, I even love Damian. (And yes, I even have a soft spot in my heart for Jason). A couple of years ago, Morrison started his run, and I finally I started to love Batman
Then Scott Synder came along and now I want Bruce's lovechild (in a totally hetro way).
Synder's been able to strip Batman down to a Year One mentality, and yet somehow still keep the long sense of history. Bruce isn't new at this gig... but there is shit that he doesn't know. Under Synder's pen, Gotham has become a living character, darker and deeper then Batman had ever realized. Gotham City is diseased and hateful and It doesn't care if Bruce lives or dies.
As for Batman and Robin:
Damian- "You can't just build a boat and hope darkness magically sails away with it."
Bruce- "Why not? It's my boat."
One of Morrison's stated goals for his Batman run was to make Bats a little less... prickish. A little more happy. Peter J. Tomasi has taken that ball and ran with it. From issue one, we see Bruce loosening up and letting go- just a little- of some of the pain he's been carrying around since that night in Crime Alley.
Little Damian isn't making it easy on him though.
Tomasi handles Damian wonderfully. He's not some little smart-mouthed little punk kid. You get a sense of just how young and scared he is, and how his covering so much of it with some false bravado.
But only just some. He is the son of Batman, after all.
Speaking of which, the father/son aspect is one of the things I love about this book. You can see how Bruce is hurt in Damian's bad decisions and especially in Damian's disappoint in his father.
In those times, Batman is the most human he's ever been.
Damian- "You can't just build a boat and hope darkness magically sails away with it."
Bruce- "Why not? It's my boat."
One of Morrison's stated goals for his Batman run was to make Bats a little less... prickish. A little more happy. Peter J. Tomasi has taken that ball and ran with it. From issue one, we see Bruce loosening up and letting go- just a little- of some of the pain he's been carrying around since that night in Crime Alley.
Little Damian isn't making it easy on him though.
Tomasi handles Damian wonderfully. He's not some little smart-mouthed little punk kid. You get a sense of just how young and scared he is, and how his covering so much of it with some false bravado.
But only just some. He is the son of Batman, after all.
Speaking of which, the father/son aspect is one of the things I love about this book. You can see how Bruce is hurt in Damian's bad decisions and especially in Damian's disappoint in his father.
In those times, Batman is the most human he's ever been.
5- Stormwatch
Paul Cornell has been able to take a decidedly Wildstorm book, and not just integrate into the DCU, but make it a vital, if hidden, linchpin.
To Stormwatch's eyes, the Justice League are just these naive little children who have no idea what type of sandbox they're playing in. If they had tried this in the old DC Universe, it would have fallen flat on it's face.
With the relaunch however, it not only works, it works brilliantly. As dysfunctional as the team is, I feel like they've had a long and ugly history together. They haven't even been able to deal with the threat from the first issue because the team has been too busy imploding. If these guys are the experts, what chance does the JL have? The fact that they can't seem to get their shit together adds a level of uncertainty to the DCU.
Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Martian Manhunter has been one of may favorite character's for years and I love how he's been handled in the New 52.
Paul Cornell has been able to take a decidedly Wildstorm book, and not just integrate into the DCU, but make it a vital, if hidden, linchpin.
To Stormwatch's eyes, the Justice League are just these naive little children who have no idea what type of sandbox they're playing in. If they had tried this in the old DC Universe, it would have fallen flat on it's face.
With the relaunch however, it not only works, it works brilliantly. As dysfunctional as the team is, I feel like they've had a long and ugly history together. They haven't even been able to deal with the threat from the first issue because the team has been too busy imploding. If these guys are the experts, what chance does the JL have? The fact that they can't seem to get their shit together adds a level of uncertainty to the DCU.
Oh, and it's worth mentioning that Martian Manhunter has been one of may favorite character's for years and I love how he's been handled in the New 52.
