Collected Editions Guide to the DC Comics New 52 Vol. 1

Collected Editions Guide to the DC Comics New 52, Volume 1

By Collected Editions

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Collected Editions

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Contents

Introduction

Review: Flashpoint

Review: Justice League Vol. 1: Origin

Review: Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt

Review: Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls

Review: Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro

Review: Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood

Review: Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Mias Touch

Review: Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters

Review: Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side

Review: Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game

Review: Mr. Terrific Vol. 1: Mind Games

Review: Static Shock Vol. 1: Supercharged

Review: Batman -- Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death

Review: Batwoman Vol. 1: Hydrology

Review: Red Lanterns Vol. 1: Blood and Rage

Review: Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE Vol. 1: War of the Monsters

Review: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: When Evil Calls

Review: Men of War Vol. 1: Uneasy Company

Review: Batwing Vol. 1: The Lost Kingdom

Review: Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection

Review: Grifter Vol. 1: Most Wanted

Review: Demon Knights Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark

Review: Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench

Review: Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Born to Kill

Review: OMAC Vol. 1: Omactivate

Review: Hawk and Dove Vol. 1: First Strikes

Review: Deathstroke Vol. 1: Legacy

Review: Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 1: Knight Terrors

Review: Superman -- Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel

Review: Resurrection Man Vol. 1: Dead Again

Review: Superboy Vol. 1: Incubation

Review: Teen Titans Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight

Review: Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward

Review: Legion Lost Vol. 1: Run from Tomorrow

Review: Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind

Review: Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath

Review: Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome

Review: Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man Vol. 1: God Particle

Review: Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1: The Ring Bearer

Review: Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark

Review: I, Vampire Vol. 1: Tainted Love

Review: Savage Hawkman Vol. 1: Darkness Rising

Review: Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes

Review: Supergirl Vol. 1: Last Daughter of Krypton

Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: Redemption

Review: Captain Atom Vol. 1: Evolution

Review: Blue Beetle Vol. 1: Metamorphosis

Review: Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones

Review: Blackhawks Vol. 1: The Great Leap Forward

Review: DC Universe Presents Vol. 1: Deadman and Challengers of the Unknown

Review: Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow?

Review: Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Kicked in the Teeth

Review: All Star Western Vol. 1: Guns and Gotham

Reviews by Title

Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt

Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench

Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection

Batman -- Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death

Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Born to Kill

Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls

Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 1: Knight Terrors

Batwing Vol. 1: The Lost Kingdom

Batwoman Vol. 1: Hydrology

Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind

Blackhawks Vol. 1: The Great Leap Forward

Blue Beetle Vol. 1: Metamorphosis

Captain Atom Vol. 1: Evolution

Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game

DC Universe Presents Vol. 1: Deadman and Challengers of the Unknown

Deathstroke Vol. 1: Legacy

Demon Knights Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark

Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward

Flashpoint

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE Vol. 1: War of the Monsters

Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man Vol. 1: God Particle

Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Midas Touch

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome

Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro

Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1: The Ring Bearer

Grifter Vol. 1: Most Wanted

Hawk and Dove Vol. 1: First Strikes

I, Vampire Vol. 1: Tainted Love

Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark

Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters

Justice League Vol. 1: Origin

Legion Lost Vol. 1: Run from Tomorrow

Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: When Evil Calls

Men of War Vol. 1: Uneasy Company

Mr. Terrific Vol. 1: Mind Games

Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes

OMAC Vol. 1: Omactivate

Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: Redemption

Red Lanterns Vol. 1: Blood and Rage

Resurrection Man Vol. 1: Dead Again

Savage Hawkman Vol. 1: Darkness Rising

Static Shock Vol. 1: Supercharged

Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side

Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Kicked in the Teeth

Superboy Vol. 1: Incubation

Supergirl Vol. 1: Last Daughter of Krypton

Superman -- Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel

Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow?

Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones

Teen Titans Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight

Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath

Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood

Reviews by Family

Batman

Batgirl Vol. 1: The Darkest Reflection

Batman -- Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death

Batman and Robin Vol. 1: Born to Kill

Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls

Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 1: Knight Terrors

Batwing Vol. 1: The Lost Kingdom

Batwoman Vol. 1: Hydrology

Birds of Prey Vol. 1: Trouble in Mind

Catwoman Vol. 1: The Game

Nightwing Vol. 1: Traps and Trapezes

Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: Redemption

Dark

Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt

Demon Knights Vol. 1: Seven Against the Dark

Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE Vol. 1: War of the Monsters

I, Vampire Vol. 1: Tainted Love

Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark

Resurrection Man Vol. 1: Dead Again

Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones

Edge

All Star Western Vol. 1: Guns and Gotham

Blackhawks Vol. 1: The Great Leap Forward

Deathstroke Vol. 1: Legacy

Grifter Vol. 1: Most Wanted

Men of War Vol. 1: Uneasy Company

OMAC Vol. 1: Omactivate

Stormwatch Vol. 1: The Dark Side

Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Kicked in the Teeth

Voodoo Vol. 1: What Lies Beneath

Green Lantern

Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: Fearsome

Green Lantern Vol. 1: Sinestro

Green Lantern: New Guardians Vol. 1: The Ring Bearer

Red Lanterns Vol. 1: Blood and Rage

Justice League

Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench

Captain Atom Vol. 1: Evolution

DC Universe Presents Vol. 1: Deadman and Challengers of the Unknown

Flash Vol. 1: Move Forward

Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Man Vol. 1: God Particle

Green Arrow Vol. 1: The Midas Touch

Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters

Justice League Vol. 1: Origin

Mr. Terrific Vol. 1: Mind Games

Savage Hawkman Vol. 1: Darkness Rising

Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood

Superman

Superboy Vol. 1: Incubation

Supergirl Vol. 1: Last Daughter of Krypton

Superman -- Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel

Superman Vol. 1: What Price Tomorrow?

Young Justice

Blue Beetle Vol. 1: Metamorphosis

Hawk and Dove Vol. 1: First Strikes

Legion Lost Vol. 1: Run from Tomorrow

Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 1: When Evil Calls

Static Shock Vol. 1: Supercharged

Teen Titans Vol. 1: It's Our Right to Fight

Introduction

This volume collects fifty-one reviews originally published on the Collected Editions website — making it, in essence, the first collected edition of Collected Editions — plus two unpublished reviews, all focused on the first volumes of DC Comics’s New 52 series.

It wasn’t long after DC announced their collection plan for the New 52 — fifty-two collections each labeled Volume 1, with the promise of Volume 2s to follow — that I conceived the idea to collect the reviews into an ebook. Though I mourned with everyone else the loss of the high numbering on titles like Action Comics, there was something exciting about getting in on the ground floor of a new DC Comics universe, and also about collecting fifty-two shiny new number one volumes. We’ve been down this road before, most recently with a spate of newly numbered volumes around DC’s Infinite Crisis and One Year Later events; that numbering, like all good things, came to an end, but not before we had fifteen numbered Teen Titans volumes, for instance. If, some years down the road, we can point to fifteen Action Comics volumes whose origin we can trace to the present Volume 1, that’s a heady thing for a fan.

I’m not interested solely in how fifty-two number one volumes or fifteen numbered volumes of the same series might look on my shelf (though I don’t belittle the thrill inherit in that, either); rather one of the aspects of DC’s New 52 initiative that excited me most was the possibility of organization. Previously, to read the collected adventures of Superman, for instance, was to need a guide (or, forgive the plug, something like the Collected Editions DC Trade Paperback Timeline). A half-dozen or so Superman: The Man of Steel volumes come first, then some combination of Superman: Exile, Superman in the Eighties, Superman: Eradication, issues collected in the Lois and Clark tribute trade, and on and on. How much better — for readers and for comics shops trying to advise customers where to start — if DC’s collections, newly restarted with the New 52, were as simple as Action Comics Vol. 1, Action Comics Vol. 2, and so on?

DC’s disparate collections prior to the New 52 signify the evolution of the trade collected format up to this point. Collections used to be reserved for special events or miniseries; a character’s regular monthly series was perhaps the last thing a reader might expect to be collected. The real shift didn’t begin until about the mid-1990s, when we began to see regular collections of James Robinson’s Starman series, and Chuck Dixon’s Nightwing (most notable was when DC went back to collect a number of Starman’s Times Past one-shot issues, thus collecting the fully complete Starman series in trades instead of the trades just serving as a sampler). By the mid-2000s and the run-up to Infinite Crisis, new series like Teen Titans saw (almost) all of their issues collected as a matter of course, and by One Year Later, there was nearly no monthly DC series not also being regularly collected in trade.

Something like the New 52 was therefore not only necessary but perhaps inevitable in terms of the evolution of DC’s trade program — a new beginning that would not only anchor DC’s collections with specific starting points, but also anchor them together; Superman Vol. 1, Batman Vol. 1, Wonder Woman Vol. 1, and so on can all be assumed by the reader to be of the same general era. This organization will lessen as time goes on — Earth 2 #1 corresponds to the first wave of titles' ninth issues, and the Earth 2 Vol. 1 collection emerges among most other titles' volume two — but those volume fifteens and such will eventually be strong indications of a long-running title's resilience.

If, of course, it all lasts that long. I neither predict nor would I encourage, necessarily, a rollback of the New 52, but the difficulty of starting over with fifty-two new #1s is that, if the intention is that a #1 might be more attractive to a new reader than a #900, success means that #1 will become a #2, a #3, and some seventy years later, another #900. At some point, DC will have to decide to let high numbers rule again, or else another reboot may be one day again on the horizon. In the meantime, I’m happy to watch those collection volume numbers go up, and up, and up.

I sympathize, to be sure, with the ardent Stephanie Brown or Wally West fans, who’ve seen their favorite characters exiled to limbo with the New 52. At the same time, I can’t help but look on some of these forced retirements as a mercy. I watched Wally West grow under Mark Waid’s pen from The Return of Barry Allen to Terminal Velocity, through Wally’s marriage to Linda Park and then, when we wondered who out there could ever write Wally as well as Waid, a relative unknown named Geoff Johns came along and gave us a bunch more volumes that were just as good. But Wally was now married, with children; Barry Allen was back; and Wally had entered semi-retirement. Waid returned to write Wally and his family’s adventures one more time (after the too-sensational death of Kid Flash, nee Impulse, Bart Allen), but the title lacked the verve of the older stories; DC ultimately didn’t even collect all of Waid’s new stories.

I had a sense, at that time, that all the Wally stories had been told. In the same way, the sparkling new, almost Big 7 Justice League that emerged after Infinite Crisis had long since been abandoned, to the point that now the League consisted mainly of grown-up Teen Titans, having long-since outgrown their mentors. Superman had spent a year or more outside his Clark Kent identity, living on a New Krypton that inevitably, predictably, met a tragic end. Members of the Justice Society considered retirement as the Society title, between creative teams, struggled for direction. Green Arrow and Black Canary married, only to see Arrow’s former sidekick Red Arrow maimed, Green Arrow turned murderer, and the marriage essentially annulled.

Even before DC announced the New 52, I had begun to think that a tipping point had been reached. Any title can be turned around with the right creative team, but there seemed perhaps so much wear on these characters, some much damage done — in the perverse plagues visited on the Arrow family, especially, including the death of Red Arrow’s young daughter Lian — that the slate needed to be wiped clean. The Batman titles, especially the new Batman, Inc., still surprised, and Johns had spent years on Green Lantern shoring up a new mythology that had taken on a life of its own, but Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Justice League, and others sorely needed to start from scratch. That Wally West, Donna Troy, Stephanie Brown, Lian Harper, and others exist now only in back issues may not be such a bad thing; their good adventures remain even as they’re protected for the time being from future indignities.

It wasn’t unusual for a DC hero in the late pre-Flashpoint era to go months without a challenge to their secret identities. Lois Lane had known husband Clark’s secret for years (even Jimmy Olsen knew recently, for a time); also Superboy and Supergirl knew, and the Justice League. Batman was surrounded — Alfred, Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, Batgirl, Oracle, and so on knew, plus again the Justice League. Green Lantern’s identity was known to friends Carol Ferris and Tom Kalmaku; his new girlfriend figured it out within a year or so, and it never really mattered to the rest of the Corps.

To me, the very basics of superhero comics can be found in those old Charles Atlas advertisements — the bully kicks sand in a skinny guy’s face, the guy leaves and bulks up a bit, he comes back and knocks the bully to the beach. This is the Clark Kent/Superman dynamic — Clark Kent is the everyman who has to take the abuse life throws at him (as do the rest of us), and Superman is the revenge fantasy, the guy with the power to stand up for himself. Of course, as good as that revenge feels, the great tragedy is that Clark-as-Superman won’t ever truly be happy, because the love of his life Lois Lane only has eyes for Superman, not Clark.

That Lois and Clark were engaged, that Lois learned Clark’s secret, and that the two eventually married in the most recent era of DC Comics, was good and important; it continued the re-imagining of Clark Kent begun with John Byrne’s Man of Steel in which Clark was no longer the one-note milquetoast of earlier incarnations, but rather a generally likable guy (even if Lois still thought he was a weasel) that readers would want to follow.

But, with Clark’s marriage came a certain loss. Married characters can certainly make for good fiction — Nick and Nora Charles are a classic example, and surely the adventures of Animal Man Buddy Baker wouldn’t be the same without his wife Ellen and family, either — but for Superman, I think it cut certain story avenues off. Foremost, from that point forward Superman couldn’t have any other romantic foils — no mermaids, no alien princesses, no romantic threads that, done well, could enhance any number of stories. And when writers tried to go down these routes inasmuch as possible, it never worked — under lesser pens, Lois would come off as shrewish and jealous, afraid the Man of Steel would leave her when the reader knew, of course, that the marriage was as irreversible and indestructible as Superman itself.

In getting Clark and Lois together within fifty or