We are now less than a week away from DC Comics’ much hyped linewide relaunch. This radical – and controversial in some circles – plan involves bringing the current ongoing publishing line of the DCU to a close, and launching with 52 new #1s, and in many cases altered or even rebooted continuity, in an effort to make the comics more accessible to newcomers and jaded fans alike. Whether you’re in favor of this move or not, you can’t deny that it’s got people talking. In spite of Marvel’s best efforts, DC has dominated the news sites since June, and the retailer order numbers are reportedly very high, with Justice League #1 apparently topping 200,000 buys. But the big test will be next week and onwards. You might be able to get people’s attention, but can you keep it?
I have had some reservations, but overall I’m very excited about the DC relaunch. I’ve been trying to think what I can do to participate, beyond buying the books that take my fancy and recommending books to others. One thing I can contribute is reviews of the comics I read, which gave me an idea. Everyone who has a blog, or who writes reviews for a comic site, why not let DC know what you think?
I’m gonna set up a #New52Review hashtag on Twitter, which I’m going to use to link to my reviews of the new titles here. But I don’t want to be the only one. Anyone out there who has a blog, or who writes reviews for comic sites, write about the titles you buy. DC have reached out to us, so we should try reaching out to them in return. Let them know what books we like and why, or even what books we don’t like so much and how they can improve. It could be a good way of showing the creators our appreciation, as well as promoting the comics that are worth reading.
I don’t expect to be picking up this many titles come October, but for this first month at least, I’ll be trying 18 #1s from the New 52:
- Justice League #1
- Action Comics #1
- Batman #1
- Batgirl #1
- Batwoman #1
- Catwoman #1
- Wonder Woman #1
- Green Lantern #1
- The Flash #1
- Aquaman #1
- The Fury of Firestorm #1
- Stormwatch #1
- Justice League Dark #1
- Swamp Thing #1
- Animal Man #1
- Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1
- Demon Knights #1
- I, Vampire #1
I’ll be posting up reviews of as many of these books as I can each week. The reviews might not be quite as in-depth as my reviews usually are, since I’ll be trying to write so many reviews, but I’ll be offering up something. And I’ll be linking to the reviews using #New52Review. I hope you guys will do the same. Here’s to exciting times ahead in the comics world!
John Lees Comics 