Twenty-one new series launched in one month. All reviewed and graded on a curve. Are YOU ready?

All Star Section Eight #1

By Garth Ennis, John McCrea and John Kalisz

Grade: A

Did you like Hitman, the best series DC Comics ever published? Well, good news! It's back ... kinda. The Hitman creative team reunites for this miniseries starring the few surviving members of the title.

The premise is that Sixpack, the delusional alcoholic leader of the most dysfunctional superhero team ever created returns from the dead (i.e. being sober) to combat a threat that only Section Eight can stop. Because most of Section Eight is dead, he needs to put together a new team, and he can only come up with seven, so he needs to recruit one more hero. Like Batman, maybe.

Batman doesn't bite, of course, but Ennis and McCrea have come up with a premise that allows them to make fun of the DC Universe, continue the story of a handful of their characters without having to reconcile continuity differences on either side of Flashpoint, or worry about taking away from the tale they so completely and perfectly told in the pages of Hitman.

Batman Beyond #1

By Dan Jurgens, Bernanrd Chang and Marcelo Maidolo

Grade: C+

This is a strange one. Despite the title and the familiar character design, this new volume of Batman Beyond doesn't star Terry McGinnis from the cartoon show of the same name. Rather, it features a near-future version of Tim Drake in the now-dead McGinnis’ costume, stuck in a far-future setting that's a mishmash of the TV show and Futures End. How interesting that is depends on a certain degree of affection for one or both of those things, however, and there’s little other than Chang’s fine art to recommend the book to those who aren't fans of Batman Beyond and Futures End.



Bat-Mite #1

By Dan Jurgens, Corin Howell, Andres Ponce and Mike Atiyeh

Grade: B

Batman’s rarely seen extra-dimensional arch-pest Bat-Mite gets his very own series … at least for six issues. Writer Dan Jurgens imagines the imp banished from his home dimension to the modern DC Universe, where he stumbles into a villainous plot while trying to help Batman fight crime. Along the way, he decides to use his own special skills to help reform other heroes less popular than his favorite, starting with Hawkman. The premise is a solid one, and should prove sufficient for a six-issue engagement. Artist Corin Howell finds a perfect balance of styles between superhero and comedy.

Bizarro #1

By Heath Corson, Gustavo Duarte and Pete Pantazis

Grade: A-

Writer Corson and artist Duarte’s six-issue miniseries, meanwhile, more aggressively embraces the comedy genre, eschewing most of the trappings of superhero comics. Jimmy Olsen and Bizarro take a road trip to Canada at the suggestion of Clark Kent, and their first stop is Smallville, where they encounter newly empowered used-car salesman King Tut. Nonsense ensues, with Duarte’s caricature-derived artwork making the title look more like what one might find in the funny pages than in your average superhero comic. It may not be the polar opposite of everything else DC publishes, but it sure is different from everything else DC publishes -- even the other comedies, of which you’ll find about a half-dozen being launched this month.



Black Canary #1

By Brenden Fletcher, Annie Wu and Lee Loughridge

Grade: A-

Black Canary has been a partner to Green Arrow and a member of a handful of superhero teams, but one thing she’s never been – at least, not for long – is the star of her own series. That changes with this issue, courtesy the co-writer of Gotham Academy and Batgirl and the artist of the Kate Bishop issues of Hawkeye.

This reads a lot like what the resume of those creators suggests. Taking advantage of the reboot to do something with a character that would have been impossible otherwise, they re-cast Black Canary as the lead singer of a band named Black Canary (she herself goes by the name D.D.), which is under attack at almost every show by mysterious forces.

Well-drawn, well-colored, well-written and doing something fresh and new with a 70-some-year-old character, Black Canary is one of the more promising of the new ongoing monthlies.

Constantine: The Hellblazer #1

By Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV, Riley Rossmo and Ivan Plascensia

Grade: A-

John Constantine's transition from the Vertigo imprint has often been uncomfortable to watch, as the character has been thrust front and center in a lot of the DCU's superhero events (even playing a starring role in DC Universe Vs. Masters of the Universe, of all things).

Well, based on this first issue of his renamed and relaunched solo title, they seem to have gotten it right this time ... or at least, way righter. This looks and feels like the old John Constantine, from the old Vertigo Hellblazer, but slightly redesigned by artist Riley Rossmo to look more modern, more fashionable and more sexy.

Co-writers Ming Doyle and James Tynion IV do a lot of character introduction and setup here, allowing us to get to know Constantine better than the 25 or so issues of his previous series allowed for, and setting up an imaginative, compelling conflict, involving the murder of ghosts.

There's a bravura sequence on pages 13 and 14 that's worth the price of admission alone. This is probably the best first issue of a comic about Constantine I've seen since ... 1988, I guess?



Doctor Fate #1

By Paul Levitz, Sonny Liew and Lee Loughridge

Grade: B-

This issue gets off to a rather clunky start, as it picks up where the eight-page preview left off (I'm assuming it will read fine in trade, though), with our protagonist Khalid (no relation to the Doctor Fate in Earth 2, also an Egyptian-American named Khalid), being presented with the helmet of Fate.

He's reluctant to take it, but when he finds himself, his family and his city caught in a battle between Egyptian gods, he dons the helmet and becomes the title character.

Writer Paul Levitz's story beats are all very familiar, but artist Sonny Liew's art is so different from everything else in the DC Universe (and superhero comics in general), it's safe to say that there isn't another super-book that looks anything like this ... and not many comic books in general that do.

Doomed #1

By Scott Lobdell, Javier Fernandez and Ulises Arreola

Grade: B-

"Not as bad as it looks" may be damning with faint praise, as is "A lot better than I expected," but there you have it. This is a comic by a writer with an extremely sketchy track record over the course of the New 52, about a brand-new character that's supposedly infected with the New 52 version of '90s Superman villain Doomsday ... although that's not really apparent from the script of the first issue, or the art. Doomed, as protagonist Reiser is going to go by ("Doomsday" is a little more marketable, no?), doesn't look anything at all like Doomsday.

Reiser is an intern at a STAR Labs facility in Metropolis – look for the panel of a Tyrannosaur in a straight jacket during the tour sequence – who accidentally breathes in something that turns him red, gives him energy powers and makes him speak and narrate in a loud and growly looking font.

With little to recommend it until you actually buy it and read it, I imagine the title is more prophetic than DC would like, but trust me, it's not as bad as it looks.



Earth 2: Society #1

By Daniel H. Wilson, Jorge Jimenez and John Rauch

Grade: C

A TV show about survivors of the doomed Earth finding a new world called Earth 2 debuted in 1994. DC’s original Earth-2 concept, an alternate dimension where their Golden Age heroes existed, was far older, and got its designation simply because it was the second Earth discovered by the inhabitants of the main DC Earth (Earth-1, naturally).

This series is more inspired by the TV show, however, as the survivors of the destroyed Earth-2 find a new, second Earth in their universe, and start over, rebuilding the world. It’s a direct sequel to Convergence, which followed up on the events of Earth 2: World’s End, which followed up on the series Earth 2. It reads like it.

Jimenez’s art is excellent, all exciting angles, dynamic movement and slightly warped faces and anatomy, but the story is somewhere between a collection of tired clichés (if you’ve been following the saga of the New 52 Earth 2 from the beginning) and gobbledygook (if this is your first exposure).

The characters are all bad copies of originals (Johnny Sorrow makes his New 52 debut here, for example), or bad copies of bad copies of bad copies of bad copies (Earth-2 Batman III also debuts here).



Green Lantern: Lost Army #1

By Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz

Grade: C+

As with sister title Green Lantern, this book begins in media res, and with a new status quo so different from what came before that a new reader might wonder if they missed something important in a previous Green Lantern title, or if the writer will be getting around to explaining things later.

John Stewart, Kilowog, Arisa and three other Lanterns are lost in space, cut off from the Corps, with Krona in tow. Halfway through, they meet Guy Gardner, who has shaved off his mustache and has another, particularly goofy-looking costume.

Saiz's art, which he apparently colors himself here, is as great as one would expect, but if you didn't like the last several years of Green Lantern adventures in space, dealing with elements of the Emotional Spectrum, well, you're not going to like this one either.

Harley Quinn and Power Girl #1

By Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Stephane Roux and Paul Mounts

Grade: C+

Apparently set during a recent Harley Quinn story arc, in which Harley convinced an amnesiac Power Girl that she was her sidekick, this blends the writing teams of both Harley Quinn (Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti) with that of the 2009-2011 Power Girl series (Palmiotti and Justin Gray). Story, however, isn't terribly important here, as it's an out-and-out, rather aggressive comedy series, with jokes piling up atop one another.

As with the Harley Quinn monthly, what those jokes lack in quality, they attempt to make up for in quantity. Set in outer space, the comic engages in weird pop-culture parody (like a randy, Yoda send-up who makes lewd remarks) as well as the usual juvenile sex gags. Power Girl here is disappointingly one-note in her characterization, but people sure do love that Harley Quinn book.



Justice League of America #1

By Bryan Hitch, Daniel Henriques, Wade von Grawbadger, Andrew Currie, Alex Sinclair and Jeromy Cox

Grade: B+

Bryan Hitch makes a very unexpected but rather welcome return to the Justice League after his troubled 12-issue run on JLA in 2000-2001. Here he’s writing and penciling, with three inkers and two colorists finishing his art. That may seem like a lot, but his debut issue is a monster: 48 pages of comics, priced at $5.99.

Apparently targeted at readers nostalgic for the Justice League as it existed in late 2011/early 2012, it features the original lineup from the start of the New 52, and seems to be set well before any changes to any of their status quos.

That said, Hitch writes a relatively “classic” Justice League centerpiece to the issue, with six of the Leaguers teaming up to take on and take down the Parasite, each getting an opportunity to perform a role that only they could, demonstrating their powers and weaknesses in the course of the fight.

It’s only part of a plot that involves mysterious people contacting Superman and Aquaman for strange, portentous reasons and, in the cliffhanger, a visit from the Kryptonian god Rao (he of “Great Rao!” fame).

The writing could be tighter and the splash pages fewer to make for a more economical first issue, but then, Hitch is writing this, and most of the readers are probably reading it to see him tackle the Justice League in wide, cinematic panels of action, so who am I to argue with his desire to have plenty of room to breathe?



Justice League 3001

By Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Howard Porter and Hi-Fi

Grade: C+

This is a "first" issue that is actually just the next issue of an existing series (Justice League 3000, obviously). It picks up right where that series left off, with minimal attention paid to introducing new readers to the characters, setting or premise.

On the other hand, this is a Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis Justice League comic, and that pair has been doing this very thing for DC since about the time I learned to read, so there should be a sizable audience that knows what to expect from the pair, and be please to get it.

The book is so rooted in their bwahaha-era writing that it even has many of the same cast, who either appear in this issue (Guy Gardner, L-Ron, Fire, Ice) or get mentioned (Blue Beetle and Booster Gold). Hell, the dialogue even refers to particular story arcs from the pair's late-'80s/early-'90s Justice League comics.

In the next millennium, DC's greatest heroes will possibly be resurrected by injecting new people with their DNA (is that how it works?), although that mainly just means they'll have familiar names and powers and, in the case of Guy, who is a woman, personality (the discussion of this Guy's true gender seems timely, but also extremely retrograde ... especially considering it's taking place like 10 centuries in the future).

Howard Porter is a pretty poor fit for this style, as his greatest weakness is facial expressions, resulting in a comic book that reads like a sitcom with good writers and terrible actors. The designs are hard to read, too; I had trouble even making sense of Fire and Ice.

Martian Manhunter #1

By Rob Williams, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira and Gabe Eltaeb

Grade: B

Few characters lost out more in the post-Flashpoint New 52-boot than poor J'onn J'onnz. Divorced from the Justice League – whose entire continuity was wiped out – J'onn lost everything but his name and powers, having never had much of an identity or supporting cast outside of the Justice League books.

This surprisingly strong first issue goes a long ways toward making it up to the big green guy. Side-stepping his complicated New 52 backstory, it starts with the Martian Manhunter just trying to superhero on an Earth that prefers it's powerful alien protectors from doomed worlds look more like Kansas strongmen, and finding a full-scale alien invasion of Earth under way. Planet of origin? Mars, of course.

It's the kind of story that couldn't be done in the old universe, and writer Rob Williams has an interesting premise -- What if all those horrible, inhuman things human beings seem to do to each other were actually done by inhuman beings? -- and a strange, evocative scene featuring a character named Mr. Biscuits.

I've never been a fan of penciler Eddy Barrows' work, but he's certainly upped his game: This is head and shoulders above anything I've ever seen of his.



Midnighter #1

By Steve Orlando, Aco, Hugo Petrus and Romulo Fajaroo Jr.

Grade: A

This proved to be one of the nicest surprises of the month, in large part because it was a book I had next to no hope for. The lead character’s apogee of popularity was probably around 1999 or so, and a previous Midnighter series launched in 2007 by Garth Ennis and Chris Sprouse only lasted 20 issues. It was hard to imagine another try working any better, especially given WildStorm-born characters’ track record in the New 52. (What issue are Grifter, Voodoo, Stormwatch and Team 7 on now? Oh, right.)

Writer Steve Orlando does a fine job of taking the exotic, high-tech trappings of Warren Ellis’ original Stormwatch and Authority comics and their matter-of-fact presentation, and applying them here. His Midnighter has the same “powers” as before, but he seems to have a new attitude. Not merely a Batman analogue, he’s super-cocky, even a bit of a show-off. While technically a meta-human, he’s actually more human than Batman now, at least in personality and presentation.

We hang out with him on a couple of dates, watch him destroy some opponents, and then get a cliffhanger plotline to drive future issues. Aco’s art threatens to betray clarity for style in a scene or two where he tries to make the layouts reflect the way Midnighter perceives the world around him, but like the character himself, the pages are all powerful, assured and more unique than one might expect.

Omega Men #1

By Tom King, Barnaby Bagenda and Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Grade: A-

Perhaps the most ambitious of the month’s new ongoings, Omega Men resurrects the patchwork space-faring characters of Marv Wolfman and Joe Staton’s 1980s series, introducing each of them from the outside perspective of the other, non-title characters.

Artist Barnaby Bagenda contains most of the story in a tight, Watchmen-like nine-panel grid, breaking it only to emphasize action or big moments (or, on two pages, to allow for Nick Lachey to make a pitch for Twix). A great deal of the dialogue is in untranslated alien languages, some of the panels are dark, and our “heroes” are all supposed terrorists and bad guys, doing things that seem to reinforce that supposition in the few scenes in which we see them.

Aside from the tight, cinematic visual approach to the storytelling, the book is also notable for the way its designs and colors evoke the 2004 Adam Strange miniseries, which also used some of the Omega Men characters.

New readers may find themselves having a hard time making up their minds whether this book is for them or not, mostly because King plays the plot coy and mysterious. It’s intriguing though, and there are few ways to feel after finishing the first issue of a new super-comic that are better than intrigued.



Prez #1

By Mark Russell, Ben Caldwell, Mark MOrales and Jeremy Lawson

Grade: B+

Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti's 1973 creation Prez is the most unlikely and weirdest of June's new books, but you can't fault the timing. When better to launch a series featuring a new version of America's "First Teen President" than at the beginning of the 2016 presidential campaign?

There are a few obvious differences between this Prez and the original, including the gender of that teenage president and the setting; this is a near-future, mildly science fiction-y 2036. It's worth noting that all of writer Mark Russell's future stuff is extrapolative of the sorts of things they are at least talking about today, from taco drones to voting via Twitter, and in that regard the book feels more realistic than the fairy tale-like original Prez comics (or Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred's retelling of the Prez story in The Sandman).

It's difficult to tell where this is going just 20 pages in, but Russell seems to be going for an Idiocracy-like criticism of American politics and society in general, with vague, safe attempts at political statements (The media is dumb, money in politics is bad, if corporations are people they're jerks, etc). Ben Caldwell's artwork is lovely as ever, and I'm not entirely sure it's intentional, but I like the fact that Walmart is apparently going to be the villain of the series (I guess it's Walmart's fault for picking that smiley face logo, which Simon and Grandenetti used as the basis for Boss Smiley).

Red Hood/Arsenal #1

By Scott Lobdell, Denis Medri and Tanya Horrie

Grade: C+

Red Hood and The Outlaws minus Starfire, featuring a new artist and slightly different costumes. The result? A buddy-cop comic, only instead of cops, the buddies are costumed vigilantes. I liked Denis Medri's artwork pretty well, although the title characters' costumes still look like they're in the wrong decade.



Robin: Son of Batman #1

By Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray and John Kalisz

Grade: B

Batman and Robin artist Patrick Gleason becomes one more DC creator to both write and draw a book with this kinda-sorta spinoff series, starring Damian Wayne and Goliath, a big, red, shaggy, bat-winged monster that does not appreciate being referred to as a “Man-Bat.”

I confess ignorance as to what’s been going on in the pages of Batman and Robin (I read it in trade), and if Goliath or the oft-cited “Year of Blood” are things I would know something about had I been following the previous book monthly. In that respect, there’s a bit of a steep learning curve to this issue.

Gleason and inker Gray draw the hell out of everything, though: a new costume from Robin that doesn’t stray too far from his previous one, the exotic pets of a Bialyaian ruler, the aforementioned monster, Damian’s pets in the Batcave and a dream sequence featuring Dick, Alfred and Bruce Wayne.

Great art and an interesting story festooned with question marks based around a great character, Robin has a lot going for it, even if I can’t shake the feeling the book and this story exist mainly to give Damian something to do while Batman Bruce Wayne is temporarily dead in the pages of Batman and Detective.

Starfire #1

By Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy and Hi-Fi

Grade: B+

Like Doctor Fate, the beginning of this issue is a little awkward, as it literally picks up right where the eight-page preview ended, with Starfire sitting in the office of Key West Sheriff Stella Gomez, explaining her origin.

There's a lot of blatant setup here, but writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti do a fine job of capturing the pleasant, fish-out-of-water aspect of Starfire. That's the thing that makes her cartoon iteration so fun and funny ... and what's completely missing from her comics iteration (this then is an extremely rare case where DC looked to the success of the animated versions of its characters for inspiration).

Kori has maybe her best costume ever in this new design, although I kind of hate her hair, which is usually quite short (for Starfire), and always on fire, whether she's flying or using her powers or not. Except when she's in the shower, and needs a few more feet of hair to cover herself up.

Like Conner and Palmiotti's Harley Quinn, their script balances humor, cheesecake and superhero business, but, due in large part to the differences in the characters, the humor is much more pleasant here. Emanuela Lupacchino and Ray McCarthy's interior art is fairly excellent, but – also as with Harley Quinn – it's not Conner's, which means there's a twinge of disappointment when one opens the cover.

It's a promising start for a book starring character I didn't think there was much hope for after the New 52-boot.



We Are Robin #1

By Lee Bermejo, Jorge Corona, Rob Haynes and Trish Mulvihill

Grade: B-

My first reaction when I heard of this title was to want to reread the "Faith" arc of Legends of the Dark Knight, in which Mark W. Barr and Bart Sears imagine a Batman-inspired youth gang. My second was to wonder why DC was creating an army of Robins when they already had a good half-dozen Robins and even more potential Robins running around.

And then I read it, and I was pleasantly surprised. It stars one of those potential Robins, Duke Thomas (introduced in the Batman arc "Zero Year," and shown as Batman's adult Robin in a few Futures End one-shots), who is looking for his parents after the events of "Endgame." He's being recruited by a gang of Robins, who come to his rescue at the end of the first issue, saving him from a threat that seems a little too familiar. And a mysterious player with a bat-spy robot and a closet full of a Robin costumes looks on.

Artist turned writer/artist turned just writer Lee Bermejo does a solid job re-introducing the older, more cynical Duke, and he's a fine POV character. As with a few of the other first issues, there's just not enough here to tell where this series is going, but it's off to a good start.

The art team's style looks absolutely nothing like Bermejo's. He handles the cover, which is a bit unfortunate, as it doesn't sell the interior art well. If you like his photorealistic style, you may not like the cartoonier, more kinetic art inside. If you prefer Corona's style (like I do), you might pass this book up without even seeing what it looks like inside.

Another strike against the book may be the price point. Like Robin: Son of Batman and Harley Quinn and Power Girl, this is a $3.99/22-page comic, and if you want to try a new DC comic this month, there are 17 of 'em that launched at DC's more standard $2.99/20-page price point.