DCNu Month 2 Week 1

An additional book that, I feel slightly conned by falls into my shopping bag this month but is very unlikely to make it to Month #3.

The Huntress #1 It's my fault of course, I bought this after glancing at DC Comic's All Access the "publicity page" at back of Action #2 (see below), which read quickly made me think that not only is an Earth-2 JSA book on the way, yay! but that the Huntress was back to her daughter of E-2 Batman and Catwoman origin. [This may have been my misreading]. I say may have been because The Huntress in TH#1 is so nondescript and her background so-real world dull, that its impossible to tell if this is E-1 or E-2 or [save one mention of Batman] DCnu at all.

Annoying extra at the back of this month's DC comics a couple of pages of
"Batman Noel" a graphic novel juxtaposing Christmas Carol and Batman in what looks to be a gruntingly macho and stupid way.

I also see in an interview with the writer (Sterling Gates) and artist (Rob Liefield) of Hawk and Dove, that Sterling thinks "when people read issue #3 they'll be crazy shocked". Hm. I'll be crazy shocked *if* people read issue #3. I certainly won't be. I didn't even get to #2.

Action Comics #2 : Best of today's. But some problems are becoming apparent.
Is it viable to make Lois's father, essentially a war criminal? Would Lex Luthor believe that obvious animal was a tool user, even a shape-shifting one? [And what does it mean to say that a shape-shifter even 'has' a natural form.] If Corben's the new mentallo in waiting is it too incestuous if he's Lois's ex? That said, it does what its name promises - it delivers "Action"! and Superman himself remains great! 8/10

Animal Man #2 Creepy art and set up. Ties in nicely with Swamp Thing #2 also out today with which its joint second place. Animal Man
fractionally ahead for not pulling an 'all you know is a lie' approach to past Swamp Thing stories. (7/10 and 6.5/10)

Batgirl : one of my month 1, week 1 successes not available today to me locally. May be out later in month.

Stormwatch #2 Sagging under its own weight of believability against a background of having to be in the DCnu. Is it likely that the Justice league are such saps as to run off after the first supervillain set up to take the blame as per here? Are we supposed to applaud a Martian Manhunter who - in Stormwatch - takes part in lying to his JLA colleagues? And someone who's aged backwards from the big bang...hm...breathing what during the leptonic era... There's "grand operatic" and there's ludicrous and its a traditionally fine line. 5/10

However its not Stormwatch that topples face first into stupidity, but Batman: Detective, which looks like it might not justify a third issue.
Having had the joker lose face in issue #1, he's now out of Arkham but no where in sight (unless he's the gimp in the jester costume in which case he's playing an out of character second-fiddle role), instead we watch as The Dollmaker sets up Batman and procedes to apparently either (a) capture Commissioner Gordon cut off his face and sew bits of other peoples faces back on, or (b) make a Commissioner Gordon alike from bits of other people.
The problems with this are (i) partly the mindless sadism, which worked when the Joker was having it done to himself, (ii) the sheer timing which doesn't work if it's (a) as Gordon's okay on page 19, after Batman left him to go at full speed into [the trap], the Dollmaker has to get Gordon, cross town, perform surgery during the three pages while Batman fights his 'children/underlings' and then reveal his handywork. It just collapses
into internal inconsistancy. Even if its (b) he still has to get Gordon's clothes across town and onto his pre-prepared 'Gordon'. This title also loses points for introducing another Wayne romance, some co-ordination between titles would help here, and since when are business executives all buff-indoor climbing wall he-men. 3/10

Simon BJ