Being primarily a fan of more mainstream comics like Marvel and DC superheroes, it sometimes takes me a while to hear about and get into comics of other genres and companies. But I had heard about Image's series The Walking Dead from several people and wanted to check it out. So, earlier this year, I started reading the collected graphic novels from the beginning, and I was quickly hooked. I flew through all the volumes that were out at the time (1 through 15) in about a month. And I can safely say now that The Walking Dead is not quite like any other comic book series I have ever read.

In case you're unfamiliar, the book is about the zombie apocalypse and the adventures of Officer Rick Grimes and others as they struggle to survive in a world ruled by the dead. But it's also more than that. It's also about Rick and the other characters as people, as individuals, and how their traumatic circumstances strain their lives and characters and relationships. It causes them to rethink everything they thought they knew about life and humanity and morality, and thereby poses thought-provoking questions and dilemmas to the reader as well. In the introduction to the first volume of the series, author Robert Kirkman stated that he wanted The Walking Dead to be more than the shock value of zombies jumping out from behind corners and scaring people; he wanted it to be a realistic and poignant character progression as well. Having now followed all the characters on their journeys up through issue #100, which was just released earlier this month, I can assert confidently that Kirkman has achieved this goal well.

Like I said, this comic is not like most comics I have read. It features zombies instead of superheroes; the protagonists don't wear colorful costumes or have extraordinary powers, and they don't always even act heroically. The story is set in a grim, gritty, mostly realistic world (except for the obvious fact of the zombies) in which danger and death are very real. When a character dies, even a main character, they can't just come back to life a few issues later due to a clone or a retcon and act like nothing has changed; they are dead, truly dead. The only way they can come back is as a zombie which has to be re-killed, and the other characters all feel the weight of death hanging over them. It can be a rather sobering story.

The Walking Dead is a good, exciting story with well-developed characters, but of course it isn't for everyone. Aside from the subject matter and the realistic setting, another thing that makes it different from most mainstream comics is its content. As a zombie narrative, The Walking Dead contains a lot of violence and gore, as well as strong language and some sexual content. Even though the illustrations are all in black and white instead of living color, this much dark content might be enough to have a desensitizing effect on some readers instead of a sobering one. Readers, especially Christian readers, should use discretion when considering reading The Walking Dead. Although there are some benefits that can be possibly gleaned from the story, it may be necessary for some readers to forgo this series if it's too disturbing or offensive to them, and there is absolutely no shame in following such a conviction.

But, you may ask, what benefits could possibly be gleaned from reading such a dark, violent comic? For one thing, as I have said, the character development is great. The reader gets to see people from all walks of life unite together under a common threat. Throughout the course of the series, we get to know Rick and his wife and son, his best friend and fellow police officer, a simple farmer and his family, some prison inmates, a wandering woman with a sword, and lots of other characters. Their interactions and relationships with each other are usually portrayed believably and enjoyably. There are even some religious characters who I believe have been portrayed fairly and accurately, despite the secular content of much of the series. The farmer, Hershel Greene, retains his strong faith in God despite the tragedy he has endured, and reads from 1 Corinthians 13 when his daughter Maggie gets married to Glenn. Later in the series, a minister named Gabriel struggles with guilt over not trying to save more people when the zombie attacks first occurred. Kirkman introduces a variety of different characters with very different backgrounds and personalities, but develops them all well and depicts them all fairly.

A new character has also been recently introduced who, while not necessarily religious himself, may still be acting as a religious symbol of some sort. In issue #91, the reader sees a man from another community besides Rick's. The man has long, dark hair and a beard, and when he eventually introduces himself to Rick, he says that his name is Paul Monroe, but his friends have given him the nickname of Jesus. After all the hardships they've been through and enemies they've had to fight off, Rick and his group are initially distrusting of Jesus and tie him up for a while. However, Jesus just wants to introduce Rick's group to his own community of survivors, hoping that they can be mutually beneficial to each other. Although he has only appeared in a few issues so far, this Jesus character has not shown the reader any indication that he is deceitful or treacherous in any way, and Rick's son Carl affirmed that he thought Jesus was a good guy. Maybe this character is Kirkman's way of trying to bring a symbol of hope and genuine goodness into the dark, broken world he has created. I'll be interested to see more of this character and where Rick's interactions with him will take them in the future.

In addition to all the well-developed characters and the entertainment purposes for those who can tolerate it, I believe that one of the chief benefits of The Walking Dead is simply that it reflects truth. It shows us truth about humanity, namely the truth that we are broken and depraved and incapable of saving ourselves from destruction.

You see, the interesting thing about this series is that, even though it features zombies, the zombies are not really the villains. The zombies are mindless creatures acting only on natural impulses, incapable of putting together any elaborate, villainous scheme; they're more like a force of nature, a mere established fact of the way things work in this fictional universe. The real villains who oppose the humans are, in fact, other humans. Sadly, the breakdown of society as we know it does not see all the survivors working together for the greater good; instead, it brings out the worst in humanity and shows what people are really like when driven to madness by tragedy and not constricted by society's laws. Human survivors fight each other, betray each other, torture and rape and kill each other, often senselessly and needlessly, sometimes for fun, or sometimes just to gain power or survival in this depraved new world. In addition to protecting themselves from zombies, Rick and his allies have to deal with conflicts within their own groups, and with other groups of humans who want only to steal, kill, and destroy. Sometimes, when reading through the issues, I would get so enthralled in the human vs. human conflict and the character development it brought about that I almost forgot the story was about zombies. In short, it is not the case in this story that the humans are the “good guys” and the zombies are the “bad guys.” Despite the black-and-white drawings, the characters' moral standing is much more complex and multifaceted, and humans cause just as much death and destruction as anyone else.

The Walking Dead reminds me of a quote from the famed twentieth century American author Flannery O'Connor, who was a devout Catholic. She once said that sometimes the author of a story or literary work can, without necessarily pointing overtly or directly to God as the solution to our fallen nature, still show the truth that we are lost and fallen. She writes, “[the author] may find in the end that instead of reflecting the image at the heart of things, he has only reflected our broken condition and, through it, the face of the devil we are possessed by. This is a modest achievement, but perhaps a necessary one." I don't know what Robert Kirkman's personal beliefs are, and given the content of his work, I somehow doubt that he's a Christian. But, based on some characters he's written, he seems to be at least somewhat interested in and open to Christianity, and at the very least, whether or not he was trying to, I believe he has used The Walking Dead to illustrate poignantly and believably that mankind is twisted, depraved, and in need of salvation.

However, even I, after reading the series for so long, still sometimes have to wonder how much dark content I'm willing to tolerate and at what point it becomes less of a criticism on humanity's flaws and more of a reveling in violence and gore. There have been some excellent storylines and character moments over the course of the series, and I hate to say it, but after 100 issues, it almost seems like the book is getting a bit redundant. Similar plot lines continue to develop; Rick and his group will meet a community of allies who they can benefit from, or a group of enemies who they must overcome. People always die along the way, and sooner or later, any form of good civilization they could have is ultimately overrun by the zombies or by one man's evil to another. The current villain, Negan, seems very similar to the earlier and better-known villain, the Governor, in terms of his mercilessness and needless brutality; so far, I haven't seen much development that would make him a distinct character of his own. And this most recent issue, #100, featured an extremely violent act by Negan against a protagonist who had been in the story for a very long time, and for whatever reason, this act seemed to disturb me more than all the other violent ones I had seen so far.

The Walking Dead has indeed been good for showing us our broken condition and the devil we are possessed by, but if it's already shown us that time and time again, then is it still necessary to keep doing so? I don't know, and I'm hoping The Walking Dead hasn't reached that point yet, but I'm starting to fear that it might have. Part of me wants to keep reading the series, and I probably will read at least a few more issues, to see what happens next and if the storyline takes any new and interesting turns and if anything edifying or profound is done with the character called Jesus. But if the series begins to repeat itself over and over without doing anything new or different or more uplifting, then I may stop reading it soon.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that The Walking Dead is a well-written, truthful story that can be good for those who are mature and discerning enough to appreciate it--but each individual reader must decide how much they're willing to tolerate and how long they want to stick with the series. There is no verse in the Bible that says, "Thou shalt read this comic book because it only hath some violence, but not that comic book because it hath a lot more violence," so Christians must rely on their own conscience and convictions in deciding what to read, and not read anything that would tempt them into sin or desensitize them to the darkness of the world. Optimistically, I'm hoping to be able to enjoy and learn from The Walking Dead for a good while more to come--but only time will tell what the future of this series will bring, whether it will continue to reveal truthful insight into the nature of humanity, or just more unnecessary death and destruction. 

(Note: I originally posted this on my blog. You can see the original post here.)

I feel like I should write something about Batman–both the recent movie itself (but this post does not contain spoilers) and the horrible tragedy that accompanied it. Both are topics close to my heart, and people have asked me to write about them, so I’m going to try. But I know that much has been said on this topic already, even in the short time since it occurred, and I’m somewhat still sorting through my own thoughts and feelings as well. So please forgive me if this seems at all incoherent or redundant or like a rehash of my last post on superheroes and their real-life implications.

As I stood in line at the theater late on Thursday night in my Batman costume, next to my brother Jared dressed as Robinand his friend Michael dressed as Bane, I was expecting to watch a completely epic, awesome movie.I fully expected to see Batman sacrifice his life in a heroic move to save the people of Gotham from Bane, and to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s character  take over as the new Batman. In the comics, Bane is the villain who is famous for breaking Batman’s back so that someone else had to wear the cape and cowl for a while until Bruce Wayne was well enough to return to his role. But in this darker, more gritty, more realistic trilogy, I expected that Bruce would not recover, which had been a prediction of many fans before the movie, and that his victory this time would come at a very high price indeed.

I won’t tell you whether or not my predictions came true–partially because I don’t want to reveal spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, and partially because I’m not entirely sure what happened myself. As the film concluded and I walked out of the theater, I thought I knew what had happened in the movie, but since then, others have pointed out details that made me question that conclusion. Just like Christopher Nolan‘s last film, Inception, the ending of The Dark Knight Rises was perhaps a bit ambiguous. Just like all Nolan films that I’ve seen so far, the plot was laced with so many complex intricacies that I’m going to have to watch it at least one more time, and probably more, in order to understand them all, and doing so may possibly change my opinion on the outcome of the film. I enjoyed the film greatly and will say that I thought it was indeed an epic conclusion to the trilogy, but I have heard from those who thought it was lacking or subpar compared to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Since there are parts that I’m still unclear on, since watching it between midnight and 3 AM may have made it even more difficult for me to notice and think clearly about some details, I will refrain from commenting much here on the overall quality of the film and its story. Suffice it to say for now that, beforehand, I fully expected and wanted Batman to become the ultimate, noble, selfless hero by giving up his life to save the people of Gotham City.

What I certainly was not expecting was to hear, when I got online after sleeping late the next morning, that, in another part of the country, tragedy had befallen the midnight showing and some depraved, horrible person had taken it upon himself to emulate Batman’s enemies and cause panic at the theater by shooting, gassing, killing, and injuring many of the moviegoers. I didn’t know what to say or do. I don’t know how to respond to or make sense of this tragedy other than to continue praying for the victims and their loved ones, and to look again to the God of mercy and goodness for peace and solace in this fallen, broken world.

But this is just the sort of senseless violence that, in most versions of the story, drives Bruce Wayne to dedicate his life to fighting crime and protecting people as Batman. This is just the kind of tragedy that makes me wish (as I always have) that superheroes were real and that I could somehow be one. I was dressed as the heroic Batman that night, but there was and is little I can do here in Lynchburg, Virginia for the hurting people of Aurora, Colorado. This may sound strange and is almost certainly illogical, but a small part of me even wished that I could have been there to try to stop the murderer. I know that this is real life and not a comic book; I know that if I actually had been there, I would have wished to be anywhere else on the planet instead, and just because I was wearing a Batman costume doesn’t mean I would have been any good at all in a fight against an armed murderer. But I have always desired and striven to be a hero to others, and when I see heroes, real and fictional, who are willing to sacrifice their lives for others and for causes greater than themselves, it inspires me with a longing to do the same. I’m not suicidal; I enjoy and cherish life and do not long for death, and I most likely will never be in a situation that requires me to give up my literal, physical life to save someone else’s. But I hope and pray that, if for some reason I ever am in such a situation, I will have the courage and ability to do just that.

Of course, giving up one’s life isn’t the only way to be a hero. In our disagreements about the ending of the film, some friends have pointed out to me that dying for others is certainly dramatic, but usually not necessary in real life day-to-day circumstances, which is a truth that I’m trying to accept, both in regards to the film and to my own heroic pursuits. Besides, someone much more righteous and capable than myself (and even than Batman) already did it about two thousand years ago. Instead, one can be a hero by offering an encouraging word to those who need it, by showing legitimate care and concern for others through one’s actions, by living out love instead of hate, peace instead of terror. Having only watched it once, I forget the exact line, but at one point in this movie, Batman commented that even something as small as putting a coat on the shoulders of a troubled, hurting young boy can be a heroic act.

There’s a line in the movie that is one of my favorites and was even before the movie came out, because I heard it inthe trailer. It’s when Catwoman says to Batman, “You don’t owe these people anymore. You’ve given them everything,” and Batman responds with, “Not everything. Not yet.” This attitude of being willing to give everything of oneself for the good of others is one that I want to emulate with my life as well. Similarly inspiring to me are Jesus’ words that, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). But laying down one’s life doesn’t have to mean literally dying. It can mean just being selfless toward others, denying our own lives and desires to serve those around us and a cause greater than ourselves.  That’s what Jesus did, that’s what Batman does, and it’s what I want to do too. So let’s do it. Let’s lay down our lives in whatever ways are necessary to be heroes and show love to our fellow man. That may include dying, but more likely it’ll be something far less dramatic, but which could still mean the world to someone else and have an overwhelmingly positive influence in their lives. And in a dark, twisted world where someone would be sick enough to kill a bunch of innocent people at a movie, this world needs all the positive influence, self-sacrificing heroes, and genuine love it can get.

Now that you've seen The Avengers, how would you like to get a bunch of their gadgets and powers and become a hero yourself? No, you probably can't divert a missile safely into another dimension, or smash the god of mischief with your bare hands, but you could do the next best thing: own a custom-made, one-of-a-kind Avengers desk, and help needy children and families along the way!

But how is that possible, you ask? Here's how: Mark Hall, the lead singer of the award-winning Christian contemporary rock band Casting Crowns, is auctioning off his Marvel Superhero Desk and giving the proceeds to charity! 

Hall, who is a collector of movie memorabilia in addition to being a great musical talent, previously did a similar auction with a Han Solo Carbonite desk, and is now doing the same with this Avengers one! The desk was custom-created by a company called Tom Spina Designs, and comes with a replica of Iron Man's helmet, a light-up arc reactor just like Tony Stark's, Thor's mighty hammer Mjolnir, a Captain America shield, a gamma vault, and Sgt. Nick Fury's gun, I.D., and badge. With all of its awesome, authentic accessories, this desk would be an amazing addition to the collection of any Avengers fan! The bidding for the desk has already begun and will continue through next Friday, July 13^th—so if you want to be the owner of the desk with all these Avengers artifacts, you'd better act quickly! You can place your bid here!

The proceeds from the sale will go to World Vision's WASH program, which provides clean water to families in poverty. The money will be used to build wells with clean water, piping systems for watering crops, rainwater storage containers, purification equipment, and stations for protection of clean water for these families to help alleviate their suffering and sickness. Thousands of children in poverty die each day from diseases related to lack of clean water, but WASH and its resources aim to prevent that, which they will do with the proceeds from the Avengers desk. For more information on WASH, visit their website!

Just because you're not a master spy, a hulking powerhouse, a super-soldier, a thunder god, or a genius billionaire inventor doesn't mean you can't still be a hero. There are lots of important things you can do to make a difference. You can pray for the children and families affected by disease and in need of clean water. You can donate time or money to WASH and other charitable causes. And you can place a bid on a unique, fully equipped Avengers desk that any collector would love to have!

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…

Batman: The Dark Knight #1

Writer: Paul Jenkins

Penciler: David Finch

Review by Samuel N. Harris

Batman: The Dark
Knight #1 contains a decent story. It starts off with a few pages of Batman
ominously patrolling the night. It goes into a stint with him as Bruce Wayne,
addressing the public of Gotham at an elegant social function of some sort.
Bruce meets a few interesting characters, such as a bold, attractive woman, and
a Lieutenant who is not too happy about Bruce’s involvement with Batman, Inc.
(something which Bruce made publicly known recently before the reboot
happened). Later, there’s a breakout at Arkham Asylum, and Bruce changes back
into Batman to contain it, going up against familiar villains such as Mr.
Freeze and Clayface. The comic’s cliffhanger ending has Batman encounter a
stronger, more twisted, and more depraved version of one of his classic foes
(whose identity I will refrain from indicating so as not to spoil the
cliffhanger). It’s an interesting and entertaining story—just not a
particularly original or amazing one.

Don’t get me wrong. I have no major complaints with this
particular issue, because it’s really not bad as a whole. But perhaps I do have
a minor complaint about how much money and popularity DC keeps trying to milk
out of Batman, who is clearly their biggest character as of now. Sure, I love
Batman as much as the next guy, but when he’s already starring in Detective Comics, Batman, and Batman and Robin,
as well as being part of both Justice League and Justice League
International, a title like Batman:
The Dark Knight seems just a little bit redundant and unnecessary to me. I
wouldn’t mind it so much if the plot was something original or new or daring,
but this one doesn’t seem to be any of those things. In fact, it doesn’t seem
to be a whole lot different from Batman #1, which also featured Bruce Wayne addressing the public of Gotham at an
elegant social gathering, and also featured Batman trying to contain a breakout
at Arkham. It seems to me like DC decided to add another Batman title to the
line-up of the New 52 just so they could make more money off of Batman, but
they did it at the cost of original storytelling or particularly high quality
content.

On the other hand, I am somewhat interested by the
cliffhanger ending I mentioned above, and I’d be interested to find out exactly
how this villain at the end came to be in his new, twisted condition, and how
Batman will manage to defeat him this time around. I’m sure those questions
will be addressed in subsequent issues of Batman:
The Dark Knight. Maybe it will actually turn out to be a fresh and original
take on this particular villain, or maybe it will just be another temporary
gimmick to sell more comics—but it’s too early to tell with just the first
issue. This first issue doesn’t give us a whole lot to go on, and the shocker
cliffhanger ending is the only thing close to an incentive to come back and
read the next one.

Batman: The Dark
Knight #1 is entertaining and enjoyable enough, but it’s nothing to write
home about. In my opinion, it was a slightly subpar imitation of Batman #1—although, since they came out
around the same time, maybe both comics are just imitating classic Batman
stories and not coming up with anything extremely original. Read this comic if
you really, really love Batman and will never get tired of reading his stories,
even when they do get a bit repetitive. Otherwise, you won’t miss much by just
sticking with Batman, Batman and Robin, and Detective Comics.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity? After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So, without further ado…

Batman and Robin #1

Writer: Peter Tomasi

Penciler: Patrick Gleason

Review by Samuel N. Harris

Before we dive into the newest adventure of DC’s dynamic duo, let’s start with a little background information to make sure we’re all on the same page:

First of all, if you still think that Robin’s secret identity is Dick Grayson, then you’ve probably been away from comics for quite a long time. In fact, the same is true if you think that Robin is Jason Todd, Tim Drake, or even Stephanie Brown. The previous Robins have all grown past being Batman’s sidekick and forged identities of their own, and the current Robin is none other than Batman’s own son, Damian Wayne, who was born to him by Talia al Ghul and was introduced in the “Batman and Son” storyline in 2006. When Batman “died” in Final Crisis in 2009, a great battle ensued and Dick Grayson became his replacement as Batman. Damian then became Robin, and he and Dick had several adventures together as Batman and Robin before the return of Bruce Wayne as Batman. Now that the original Batman is back and the universe has been rebooted, the dynamic duo is off to a fresh new start.

Because of all the complicated drama and identity switching that I described in the last paragraph, this issue was the first time that Bruce and Damian, father and son, have ever been together as Batman and Robin. As such, it gives us a new perspective on an old duo, a new combination of personalities, and a new relationship dynamic to consider. Batman’s grim and methodical seriousness sometimes clashes with Robin’s impulsiveness and rebellious ten-year-old nature. Whereas Bruce is compelled to do things a certain way because he is always haunted by the murder of his parents, Damian has little respect for the traditions that his father holds dear and sacred. Damian is also a very troubled character because he was raised among assassins and trained to kill from a young age, so his way of doing things often conflicts with Batman’s. It seems ironic to see Robin as darker and more violent than Batman, but it makes for good character development and an interesting twist on the traditional roles of Batman and Robin. Of course, Batman clashed with all the previous Robins at time or another, but none of them were his biological sons, so it is interesting to see in this issue how that relationship affects the dynamic duo, and how they can still put aside their differences to succeed together in their battles with crime when it really matters.

This issue pits Batman and Robin against a few Batman copycats with similar bat-influenced costumes, but tendencies towards big weapons and violent murders. The action and mystery are exciting as Bruce and Damian try to figure things out and bring the villains to justice. But this issue also pits Batman against the ever-haunting memory of his parents’ death, and he confronts it here in a way he never has before. Whereas Bruce always used to bring flowers to his parents’ graves to commemorate the day of their deaths, he decides in this issue to begin commemorating their wedding anniversary instead, because he wants to celebrate the way they lived rather than mourn the way they died. This conscious decision is a stroke of good character development for this issue and for the Batman story as a whole. It is one step closer to Bruce letting go of his traumatic past (even though he will probably never let go completely), and it is a way for him to teach his disrespectful son by example the value of strong family relationships and of learning to heal from a violent, troubled past.

Batman and Robin #1 is an enjoyable read that looks at familiar characters from a new and intriguing perspective. My only minor complaint with this issue is that new readers who haven’t been following Batman comics for the past few years may be confused to learn that Batman has a son who is the current Robin. Still, if readers can accept that fact, then this issue is a great place to jump on without necessarily knowing all the details of the previous backstory, because it introduces the characters in a different, daring way that is new to everyone, however long they’ve been reading comics. This comic features great characters, a good story, and pleasing artwork as well. I look forward to reading more about Batman and Robin, the duo who truly is dynamic—ever-changing and always exciting.

In an effort to make its

stories more accessible to new

readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles

and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major

characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers

actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles

be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?

After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over

the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let

potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,

without further ado…

Green Arrow #1

Writer: J.T. Krul

Penciler: Dan Jurgens

Review by Samuel N. Harris 

Who’s a wealthy industrialist playboy by day and a
crimefighter with combat skills and an array of gadgets by night? If you
answered “Batman,” then you probably aren’t quite as familiar with Green Arrow—the
other DC hero who fits that same description. Somehow, Oliver Queen manages to
run a global company and shoot arrows at supervillains all at the same time,
while still maintaining some semblance of a personal life as well. But what
will his life be like in the newly revamped DC universe?

Honestly, not a whole lot different—at least, not as far as
I can tell. I’ve never followed Green Arrow particularly closely, so I may be
oblivious to any more subtle differences if there are any, but as far as I can
tell, he’s the same old character—a fairly young and cocky guy who happens to
be good with a high-tech bow and arrows, and, motivated by personal tragedy,
uses those to make the city he lives in a better, safer place.

That’s pretty much what this issue is like. Early on, the
higher-ups at Queen Industries are speaking over the phone to Oliver Queen
himself—who just happens to be out patrolling the streets as Green Arrow at the
time. Within the first few pages, Green Arrow takes on some villains who I don’t
recognize—including a guy who can shoot electricity and a freaky-looking woman
with two heads and four arms—and proceeds to beat them up for most of the comic
book.  He shoots arrows at the villains,
taunts them and exchanges witty banter, and even works in a few extra-special
arrows and other gadgets that do more than meets the eye, such as accessing a
computer system or turning water into ice. Green Arrow beats the bad guys and
spends a few pages as Oliver Queen again, talking to his business colleagues
and his few confidants about the superhero/alter ego business. He makes a
statement about how he has a responsibility to fight crime because of the
people he has failed to save in the past—which may be true, but is also fairly common
and clichéd as a motivation for a superhero. Then at the end, some more
villains who I don’t recognize show up, presumably to be fought by Green Arrow
in the next issue.

That’s it. That’s about all that happens in this issue. No
epic, overarching storyline that’s visible yet, and no fresh, new, dramatic
take on the character that I can notice. Just Green Arrow beating up some bad
guys and being a fairly typical superhero alter ego with a motivation of guilt
and a civilian life to try to maintain. This issue doesn’t seem to contain
anything much deeper or more original than that. I have nothing against Green
Arrow as a character, and I’ve seen versions of him that have been complex and
well-developed, but this issue is not one of them. It seems mediocre and unoriginal to me in that
respect—and most other respects as well. I have no major complaints with the
issue, nothing that was done particularly poorly, but no major compliments
about it either, nothing that was done particularly well. It’s another average, everyday superhero story that I could
just as easily go with as without.

In an effort to make its
stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…

Aquaman #1

Writer: Geoff Johns

Penciler: Ivan Reis

Review by Samuel N. Harris 

Some comics fans may be
aware of some stereotypes and negative opinions that have often existed against
Aquaman’s character. Maybe it’s due to his portrayal on the ridiculously corny Super Friends cartoon series of the ‘70s, or based on the idea that his powers are only useful around water or
the ocean. Maybe a guy who talks to fish and rules a fantastical, undersea
kingdom is just a bit too far-fetched, not very believable or relatable to the
modern readers of today. Whatever the reason, Aquaman, the half-breed son of a
human lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, has often been seen by fans as
a silly, weak, or even useless character. That is, until the New 52. Because
the newly rebooted Aquaman #1 shows
us a different side of Aquaman—one that is anything but silly, weak, or
useless.

One thing I enjoyed about
this issue was that it specifically addressed the negative stereotypes about
Aquaman, showing that even the characters in the DC universe see him as weak
and useless—but then it deliberately tried to refute those stereotypes, and, in
my opinion, succeeded. We first see Aquaman in this issue in the middle of a
busy city street, trying to stop an armed robbery. There is no water or ocean
anywhere nearby, so the police and the crooks both wonder aloud what Aquaman
could possibly do to help the situation. So does he summon the waves from far
away, or telepathically convince a giant whale to help him out? Nope. Instead,
he just rams his golden trident into the front of the criminals’ getaway truck
and, with his super strength, flips the truck upside-down. Then he stands by
nonchalantly as the desperate crooks’ bullets bounce harmlessly off of his
super-tough skin. With the thieves clearly defeated, a police officer offers
Aquaman a glass of water—which he declines—and then, after Aquaman has sped
away, says, “I can’t believe we just got upstaged by Aquaman.” A fellow officer
comments, “The boys at the station are never gonna let us hear the end of this.”

After his brief bout with
crime, Aquaman heads over to a local seafood restaurant. Now, I know what you’re
probably thinking: What could Aquaman possibly want with a seafood restaurant?
When I first read this issue, I thought the only possible answer could be that
he would forcefully order the place to shut down, or even destroy the building
himself, because he can’t bear the thought of humans mistreating and eating his
fishy friends. Nope. Instead, he just sits down peacefully and orders the fish
and chips—to the great surprise of me and the surrounding customers within the
story. When one man points out that Aquaman can’t eat fish because he talks to
fish, Aquaman explains that he does not actually talk to fish because fish don’t
talk. In his own words, “Their brains are too primitive to carry on a conversation.
I reach into their midbrains and telepathically push them to help me out.” In
other words, Aquaman doesn’t just spend all day hanging out in the ocean with
his fishy friends. He recognizes that fish are lower beings than himself, so he
uses them to help him when he needs to, but he’s not opposed to eating them
either. Aquaman also says that he chose this particular seafood restaurant
because he has fond memories of his father, the human lighthouse keeper,
bringing him there when he was younger.

One man at the restaurant
asks to interview Aquaman for his blog, but continuously patronizes him along
the way. He mocks Aquaman’s belief that Atlantis even exists, and asks him, “How’s
it feel to be nobody’s favorite superhero?” Instead of lashing out in anger at
such insults (like Namor, the Marvel universe’s hot-tempered ruler of Atlantis,
would probably do), Aquaman, to his credit, gets up and walks away, choosing
not to put up with a public who doesn’t appreciate him—but not before he tosses
a couple gold coins from his undersea stash of treasure to his financially
struggling waitress. By this point in the issue, Aquaman has exemplified
usefulness in battle and crimefighting, moral resolve and strength of
character, generosity and compassion for people in need, and the ability to
partake in normal human activities such as going to a seafood restaurant. Doesn’t
sound like such a bad superhero to me.

Later we see Aquaman with
his wife, Mera, and theirs is apparently one of the few superhero marriages
that has not been retconned by the New 52. Aquaman tells her that he wants to
leave behind all of his troubles in the kingdom of Atlantis and embark on a new
life with her, to which she agrees. I, for one, was pleased to see Aquaman in
this happy relationship for a few pages-because I like it when superheroes are
allowed to be happy for once in a while in their tragedy-filled lives, and I
like seeing Aquaman as a relatable person with troubles behind him, a woman he
loves in front of him, and realistic human desires about the whole situation.

This issue also gives us
a few glimpses of some scary-looking sea-monsters who eat fishermen and who
appear to be Aquaman’s next big villain. They’re not explored much in this
first issue, and Aquaman hasn’t even met or fought them yet, but we’ll probably
be seeing more of them in the issues to come. However, I’m okay with the fact
that we didn’t get to see a whole lot of superhero action in this first issue,
because it means that more time was spent on Aquaman’s character development
and on reestablishing him as a relevant and powerful character.

I’ll admit that Aquaman
was never one of my favorite superheroes. I never quite hated him or thought
him useless like some people seem to, but he was never at the top of my list of
favorites either; I guess I always considered him a B-list character compared
to the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern. But this issue with this
new portrayal of him is beginning to change my perceptions. I’m beginning to
see Aquaman as a better and more complex character than I ever had before. I
think it’s clever and well-done how Geoff Johns worked real-life fans’ negative
opinions about Aquaman into the characters in this issue, and how he purposely
took steps to prove those negative opinions wrong. The newly revamped Aquaman
in this issue is strong and assertive, but without becoming an arrogant jerk
like certain other revamped characters I could mention. Aquaman is a bold hero
who does the right thing, helps people out, has a relatable human side, and can
still do plenty of good in situations that don’t directly involve water or
fish. This was a great first issue and I’m looking forward to reading more of this version of Aquaman.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…

Wonder Woman #1

Writer: Brian Azzarello

Penciler: Cliff Chiang

Review by Samuel N. Harris 

What will the greatest and most iconic super-heroine of all
time be like in DC’s newly rebooted universe? Will she be greater and more
iconic, or a little less than wondrous? Honestly, it’s hard for me to tell so
far. So let’s take a look at a few different aspects of this comic to see what
we can figure out.

For one thing, Wonder Woman’s costume has changed—again.
Most readers familiar with Wonder Woman recognize her in the traditional,
star-spangled, metal-encrusted leotard that she has worn since her first issue
back in the 1940s. However, with the release of  Wonder Woman #601 in 2010, she got a new costume, one that was
controversial among fans because it was more modern and less iconic than her
classic one. This latest reboot finds her in yet another costume (seen on the cover above), one that is more
similar to her traditional costume, but with some different color schemes and
slight modifications. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the new costume Wonder
Woman wore from 2010 until this reboot—not because it was bad in and of itself,
but because it looked more like the young, modern Wonder Girl than like the
iconic, larger-than life Wonder Woman. However, I approve of this current
costume in the reboot and am glad for the change.

The plot of Wonder
Woman #1, however, doesn’t get quite as high of an approval rating from me.
It feels incomplete and disjointed for several reasons. Wonder Woman, being a
warrior princess of the Amazons, has often fought against mythological or
supernatural villains beyond the comprehension of normal humans, but this issue
seems to lump several such villains together without much apparent connection.
From the beginning we see three different scenes, each involving some
apparently supernatural figure or event, but none of them with much explanation
as to what is going on or much relation to other parts of the story. These
scenes are confusing and uninteresting, since we don’t know what’s going on
yet, and they also distract from the main focus of the story, as it’s not until
about ten pages into the comic that we first catch a glimpse of Wonder Woman
herself. We see a dark man with glowing eyes killing some unsuspecting girls,
then a green-robed figure with a scythe killing a horse, then a few
blue-skinned figures and some centaurs breaking into a young woman’s home. It
is only once the young woman manages to grab a magical key from one of the
blue-skinned figures that she is transported for protection to Wonder Woman’s
residence—or at least somewhere Wonder Woman is temporarily staying, in London
of all places. Granted, most comic books these days contain complex, multi-part
stories that unfold over the course of several issues, so I’m sure that these
events will be explained in future issues and that everything will make some
semblance of sense by the end of the story arc. However, none of it makes much
sense to me yet, and it seems to me like an odd way to begin a comic that’s
supposed to appeal to new readers rather than confusing them.

The content of this issue deserves a note as well, and a
caution for readers. The issue is not particularly gory or violent (the most
gruesome scene is of the horse’s severed and bloody head and a new creature
that seems to arise mysteriously from out of the horse’s insides). The greater concern
in this issue is the sexual content. The young woman who Wonder Woman protects spends
the entire issue in a skimpy top and pink underwear, leaving her midriff and
legs always revealed. Also, the first time we see Wonder Woman, she is covered
in nothing but a bed sheet, and as she dresses into her full costume, we get a
few tantalizing glimpses of as many parts of her naked body as can be shown
without it technically being
considered pornography. Now, of course I object to this sexual content from a
Christian and moral perspective, but I also consider it to be bad storytelling
and bad art quality. I believe that showing near-nudity when the story does not
require it, when it serves no purpose for the character or the plot, is just a way
for the creators to pander shamelessly to the basest desires of male readers—a way
to make money and keep people interested rather than to produce good, quality
art. Comic books, as a male-dominated industry with a predominantly male
audience, have often been accused of such pandering, and of treating women
characters as sex objects rather than as truly independent female personalities. Of
course, not every comic book does these things to its female characters, and
one would think that if any comic treated women as independent people and not
as objects, it would be Wonder Woman,
a comic about a strong and powerful female superhero. Unfortunately, though, Wonder Woman #1 does not do much to
break or disprove those too-often-too-true accusations against the comics
industry.

Wonder Woman may be the most iconic female superhero, and
she may have a new and improved costume in this rebooted DC universe, but her
first new issue is definitely subpar. Since we don’t even see her for almost
halfway through the comic, she doesn’t even seem to do a whole lot in this
issue, other than fight centaurs for a few pages and protect that young woman
who goes teleporting around the world in her underwear. The quality of a decent
(but still not super-special) fight scene between Wonder Woman and the centaurs
is lost among the confusing, disjointed, and seemingly random different scenes
of the story, and the needless sexualization and objectification of the female
characters doesn’t help either. If you’re looking to get into the new DC
universe and trying to read through the New 52, do yourself a favor and just pass
over Wonder Woman #1. 

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new

readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles

and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major

characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers

actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles

be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?

After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over

the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let

potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,

without further ado…

The Flash #1

Writer: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato

Penciler: Francis Manapul

Review by Samuel N. Harris 

The
reboot of The Flash finds Barry Allen, the classic Flash from the Silver
Age, fighting crime again as the Scarlet Speedster. Though Barry had previously
“died” during Crisis on Infinite Earths, he returned just a couple years
ago in The Flash: Rebirth, and had gotten a new series last year—only to
have it cancelled in order to make room for the new reboot. In a sense it was
the Flash who caused the reboot to happen during the Flashpoint
crossover. Now, with a new lease on life and the universe, Barry Allen is back
on the scene as a crime scene investigator in Central City, and his alter ego,
the crimefighting Flash, the fastest man alive.

As seems to be the trend with superheroes these days, the
Flash’s previous marriage to Iris West has been retconned in this new universe.
This issue does show us a professional friendship between Barry and Iris, who
is a reporter and often runs into Barry—or the Flash—at crime scenes. However,
as the issue opens, Barry is on a date not with Iris, but with a coworker named
Patty. Even before this reboot, the Flash was not a character who I followed
very thoroughly, so I never got to know him or Iris very well, and I wasn’t too
broken up by the decision to retcon their marriage—but some more faithful
readers than I might be. But either way, the decision fits with the trend of undoing
previous continuity to appeal to new readers (and disappoint old ones), which
is, on principle, generally something I’m not a fan of.

Of course, Barry and Patty’s date doesn’t last long before a
crisis moves the Flash into action. Their evening is interrupted by some
high-tech thugs trying to steal some important piece of technology called the
portable genome re-coder (also known as the common comic book plot device that
can do some crazy science-fiction-y thing, and will probably be end up being used
by some supervillain to try to take over the world). When the Flash speeds into
action to stop the thugs, one of them apparently dies in the battle. When the
thug is unmasked, he is revealed to be Manuel, an old troublemaking friend of
Barry’s from his college days. Barry doesn’t know how or why Manuel got
involved with stealing important technology—and he also doesn’t know how it is
possible for Manuel to resurface again, fully alive and well, later in the
issue. The Flash gets an even greater surprise on the final page of the issue—but
I won’t give away the cliffhanger ending so you can be surprised by it as well.
All that is known is that there is a big mystery and some sort of sinister plot
that involves one of Barry’s old friends, and Barry as the Flash will have to
get to the bottom of things somehow in the issues to come.

Honestly, I can’t think of a whole lot to say about this
issue, either positive or negative. I have no major criticisms of it, but I don’t
have any major praises either. It seems to be an average, run–of-the-mill
superhero story with a fairly predictable formula. Maybe things will get deeper
or more original as the story progresses into future issues, but the first
issue doesn’t give us much indication of that. Get this issue if the Flash
happens to be one of your favorite superheroes, or if you just want some fun,
superficial escapism for a little while. Otherwise, it’s not a bad comic, but
it’s nothing special either.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new

readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles

and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major

characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers

actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles

be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?

After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over

the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let

potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,

without further ado…

Green Lantern #1

Writer: Geoff Johns

Penciler: Doug Mahnke

Review by Samuel N. Harris 

Technically, there seem to have been few, if any, continuity
changes to Green Lantern’s universe in this new reboot—but that’s because there
were some pretty major changes made to Green Lantern right before the reboot. The War of the Green Lanterns story arc earlier this year saw some rather drastic
changes in the status quo: Hal Jordan was discharged from the Green Lantern
Corps for rebelling against the Guardians of the Universe, and in his place,
the green ring chose Sinestro, formerly the Green Lanterns’ greatest enemy, to
become a Lantern again like he was before turning evil. This is what things are
like when the new Green Lantern #1
picks up.

Fans of the recent Green Lantern movie will recognize some of the same characters in this comic—most
notably Hal, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, and the Guardians—just not quite in the
same way, as Hal is no longer a Green Lantern in this issue, and Sinestro has
become one again after a long period of fighting against them. Before this
reboot I had been somewhat behind on my DC reading, so I actually still have
not yet read War of the Green Lanterns
(and I don’t know much about the story other than that, apparently, there is
some sort of war among the Green Lanterns). However, once I dove into this
issue and read up a little bit on what came before it, I was eager to learn
more, both about the details that had led to those events, but also about what
would happen in Hal’s and Sinestro’s lives now that their roles have been
somewhat reversed. It’s an intriguing idea for a story that had me curious to
find out what would happen, and this issue did not disappoint in beginning to
satiate that curiosity.

So what do you do when you are forced to return to a group
that you were once part of, but have since been fighting against? For Sinestro,
the answer involves questioning why he was chosen to become a Green Lantern
again, but reluctantly trying to fill that role. We see him arguing with the
Guardians of the Universe about the matter, but also fighting fiercely against
members of the Sinestro Corps, which he had previously led, who fight with the
evil power of fear. Sinestro does appear to be willing, if still reluctant, to
fight against the evil that he was once a part of. The Guardians suggest that
perhaps the ring chose him to give him a chance at redemption. It was nice to
see that chance explored in this issue, and it will be interesting to see
whether or not the future really does hold redemption for the Green Lanterns’ former
greatest enemy.

And what do you do when you get kicked out of an interplanetary
peacekeeping organization and suddenly sent back to Earth? For Hal Jordan, the
answer involves trying to put the pieces of his life back together—and failing
miserably. True to his frequent portrayal as an irresponsible hotshot, he’s got
no job, no money, no car, bills overdue, and relationship problems with Carol.
We see Hal struggling to make ends meet financially and trying to patch things
up with Carol, but carelessly saying the wrong thing to her in a comical but poignant
moment. He also tries to be a hero and stop a crime at one point—without his
Green Lantern ring or anything to make him more powerful than the average human—but
he ends up messing up in that situation as well. But despite his insensitiveness at
times, Hal is portrayed here as a likeable, sympathetic, down-on-his-luck
character, and he is an easy hero to root for as he faces all the roadblocks of
his new life.

Green Lantern #1
is great because it takes already familiar characters (at least, familiar to
those who have read or watched Green
Lantern before) and puts them in a new situation with an unexpected twist,
giving them room to grow and develop as characters even more. My only minor
criticism of it is that it may not be the best place for new readers to jump on—which
is what I thought DC was trying to do with this new reboot—because it relies
directly on events that have happened previously and character relationships
that have been established already, and it puts the characters in atypical
situations for them that are not the status quo. However, I still understood
and enjoyed the comic well enough without having read or known all the details
of War of the Green Lanterns, so I’m
going to go out on a limb and say that this comic is a great read for anyone
who is remotely familiar with the Green Lantern characters.

What will happen next in this new Green Lantern status quo?
Will Hal Jordan become a Green Lantern again? Will Sinestro become a villain
again? I think the answer to both questions is probably “Yes, eventually,” but
I could be wrong—you never know with comics. Sometimes things don’t always go
back to the way they were, and even when they do, it sometimes takes a while to
happen. It looks like Sinestro will be a Green Lantern and Hal a struggling bum
for at least a little while longer, and I personally am interested and curious
to see how that story plays out, and how (or if) they get back to the way they
were before. Green Lantern #1 is a
great comic with a fun story and a new twist on old characters. I look forward
to reading more.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…

Batman #1

Writer: Scott Snyder

Penciler: Greg Capullo

Review by Samuel N. Harris

Batman is probably DC’s most popular character these
days, and the source of most of their current success. Fans and readers love
seeing the Dark Knight using his resources and his fists to fight against the
forces of injustice and evil in Gotham City. Since the Batman franchise was
doing so well already, it’s not surprising that this reboot doesn’t seem to
have affected him much. He’s still billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne by day and a
dark crusader of justice by night. His continuity has remained the same in that
he still has strong trusting relationships in this issue with former sidekicks
Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, and with the current Robin, his son Damian Wayne. And
his stories still carry enough action, suspense, and mystery to keep a reader
entertained. Batman #1 is a great
issue that hardly seems rebooted at all, because it’s just another chapter in
the life of a Batman I'm already familiar with.

This comic opens up with a scene of Batman at Arkham
Asylum, trying to contain a break-out. We get an enjoyable, action-packed fight
as Batman goes up against familiar faces such as the Riddler, Two-Face, the
Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and some more obscure characters. The story
is fun to read and contains a few interesting surprises along the way.

This issue sees Batman, as usual, exchanging help and
information with his trusted ally on the Gotham Police Force, Commissioner Jim
Gordon. Later, we see Bruce and the boys (Dick, Tim, and Damian…and Bruce’s
butler Alfred) at a fancy party where Bruce announces a new set of renovations
for Gotham City that he plans to fund with his company. Reporter Vicki Vale is
also present and gets in a few words with Bruce about his plans. At the end of
the issue, as Batman again, he goes with Detective Harvey Bullock to
investigate yet another violent and mysterious murder. In short, the familiar
cast of characters and recurring crises are all there to help make this issue
great.

At the end of the comic, Batman is called upon to
investigate a murder victim, and he discovers a mysterious hidden threat
against the life of Bruce Wayne, right before the issue ends with a surprise
revelation and a cliffhanger. I won’t reveal the details of the revelation at
the end, but I will say that it left me wanting to find out what would happen
next. It also seems to tie into information that was revealed in Nightwing #1, so it would appear that some sort
of big plot is forming among multiple Bat-titles, and it’s nice to see some
continuity among the titles of the new DC universe.

Some readers may also be pleased to know that this
particular issue contains less violent or disturbing content than other Batman
titles might. I cautioned readers about the content in my review of Detective Comics #1, also featuring Batman, but this issue is
not nearly as extreme as that one. The depraved, psychopathic Joker is (technically)
not in this issue, and we don’t see any villains torturing victims this time
around. The worst of it is one single image of the murder victim at the end,
whose body has been stripped almost bare and stabbed full of knives. If you can handle that, then this issue shouldn't present many problems to you as far as moral or objectionable content. 

Overall, there is not a lot for me to say about this
issue—not because it lacks anything, but, quite the opposite, because it has
everything it should. It’s a good comic and so there is not much for me to
criticize. The story is enjoyable, the characters are as they should be, the
art is pleasing to look at, and I look forward to reading more.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…

Superman #1

Writer: George Pérez

Penciler: Jesus Merino

Review by Samuel N. Harris
“Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No…it’s
Superman!”

The opening pages of the newly relaunched Superman #1 do indeed show us Superman
up in the sky, hovering over Metropolis and looking down unpleasantly as the Daily Planet building is demolished to
make way for another company, the Planet Global Network. It’s a new era for the
citizens of Metropolis and the characters in Superman’s world, and it’s a new
era for the Man of Steel himself and his readers as well.

This issue pits Superman against all sorts of foes and
problems, including relationship problems with Lois, the fact that big business
is taking away the Daily Planet, a couple of masked terrorists trying to steal
hazardous materials, and an inexplicable fire creature who seems connected to a
mysterious alien entity. The action starts off small with Lois and Clark and
others in their civilian identities; their marriage having been retconned by
the universal reboot, Clark’s and Lois’s relationship is in rocky territory, as
Clark is angry at her for selling out the Daily Planet and supporting the move
to the larger global news network. They get into an argument in the midst of a
big public announcement about the new changes (made by Morgan Edge, a name
which longtime readers may recognize), and the relationship problems and
disappointments help to add at least some element of relatable human drama to
the life of Superman, who the creators keep trying to make relevant again.

Things start to pick up a little more in this issue when
Superman encounters a couple of criminals hijacking a truck full of explosive
and hazardous chemical materials. Superman’s apprehension of the criminals is
an enjoyable enough action sequence for a couple of pages, but I’ve got a
couple of criticisms with it. First, a somewhat minor one, is the fact that the
criminals are wearing clown masks reminiscent of the Joker’s face. There’s
nothing inherently wrong with this, but it seems to me that DC is trying to
make a lot of their characters—or maybe just the
underappreciated-in-modern-times Superman—more like Batman to capitalize more on
the success of Batman comics and The Dark Knight. On a related note, if you read my rant—I mean, my completely fair and
unbiased critical review—of Action Comics#1, then you’ll know that I object to Superman being made more like the darker
Batman instead of like his own iconic self. This scene also includes more of
that, as Superman taunts the criminals cockily when they’re at his mercy, and,
worse, defeats them by throwing their truck up in the air, causing the
chemicals to explode and presumably killing the two men. Killing criminals is a
line that even the dark Batman isn’t willing to cross in most versions of his
story, but apparently this newly revamped Superman has no problems with it. Superman’s
arrogant attitude is perhaps not quite as apparent in this issue as it was in Action, but his methods and the lengths
he is willing to go are even more brutal. This is not a version of Superman with
which I am very familiar, or very comfortable.

The explosion from the chemicals inexplicably turns into Superman’s
next foe: a sentient fire monster that speaks in an alien language and seems to
be saying something about Superman’s home planet, Krypton. We aren’t yet told
where this being came from or why, but it probably has something to do with a
mysterious, horn-blowing alien creature who was shown for about a page earlier
in the issue—which, according to the editor’s footnote, has to do with Stormwatch, another of DC’s new titles,
about the watch for something alien approaching our universe. There appears to
be a complex, interwoven plot going on here, and I like the fact that it’s
tying into another new DC title to lend some continuity to the new universe.
However, this issue doesn’t give us all (or any) of the answers to this big
plot, so the alien and the fire monster may seem underdeveloped, confusing, or
just plain random and uninteresting to some. Superman’s fight with the fire
monster is an enjoyable action scene, but it doesn’t seem like anything huge or
spectacular just yet. Maybe it will once the whole plot unfolds, but it’s too
soon to say based on just this one issue.

Speaking of continuity and large plots, it’s still
unclear to me how this Superman title
corresponds with the other one, Action Comics (an aspect I also
mentioned in my review of Action).
Superman’s costume in Action is only
a blue T-shirt, jeans, and a cape, but his costume in this issue (and in Justice League #1) is mostly similar to
his classic, more iconic-looking one (minus the red underwear on the outside). I
actually prefer the costume in this issue, so I’m not complaining, just
wondering how the two fit together, or if they even do at all. I’ve heard that Action #1 may take place ten years
before Superman #1, when Superman’s
crimefighting career was just beginning, but I haven’t seen official
confirmation of this from DC or in either of the two new Superman issues, so
the question of continuity remains a mystery to me.

Superman #1
is decent enough if you just want a fun, escapist adventure, but it’s got a few
problems on some deeper levels. For one thing, the continuity and some
plotlines are unclear and underdeveloped, and more importantly, Superman’s
portrayal is fundamentally different from that of the iconic, unquestionably
good hero who he always was before. Maybe things will get better or clearer as
the series progresses, and maybe I’ll read some of the subsequent issues
eventually, but I probably won’t be eagerly rushing out to buy them over the
course of the next few months.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity? After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So, without further ado…

Detective Comics #1

Writer: Tony S. Daniel

Penciler: Ryan Winn

Review by Samuel N. Harris

With last month’s release of Detective Comics #1, DC’s “flagship” title and the longest-running superhero title still around was relaunched for the first time ever since 1937. Add to that the fact that Detective Comics was the series that first introduced Batman back in 1939, and that the title still features Batman, probably DC’s most popular character, to this day. Considering all of this, Detective Comics #1 had quite a lot of expectations to live up to—and there were certainly quite a lot of fans eager to see exactly how well it would do. On the day that Detective Comics #1 came out, I got to my local comic shop within two hours after it opened and they were already sold out of Detective. I had to order my copy from an online dealer a couple of weeks later, when the price had already climbed up to $12, four times the cover price of $2.99. But I knew that if there was such high demand for this new milestone Batman comic, then I would definitely want to get a copy before waiting any longer (and while it was still relatively affordable). So I did. Now, how well did it live up to all those high expectations?

Quite well, actually. The DC reboot doesn’t seem to have changed Batman’s continuity or status quo in any significant, earth-shattering ways, and in my opinion, the new Detective Comics #1 was everything a good Batman comic of any continuity should be: a fast-paced, action-packed adventure that pits Batman against one of his many psychologically complex foes, complete with plenty of suspense as Batman tries to get inside the criminal’s warped mind to figure out where he will strike next and how to stop him. This particular story features the Joker, and focuses on Batman trying to track him down, rescue the Joker’s victims, and put a stop to his longtime killing spree. We see Batman, a misunderstood vigilante, also being hunted by the police until Commissioner Gordon, the one officer who seems to trust Batman, intervenes. We see Batman’s crimefighting ways putting a strain on the life of his alter ego of Bruce Wayne, as he sits in the Batcave missing Bruce’s appointments and puzzling over the Joker’s methods instead. And we see an action-packed, no-holds-barred fight between Batman and the Joker that leads into a shocking cliffhanger ending that left me wanting more. The story of this comic may not seem like anything particularly significant, and may not be much different from some of Batman’s other encounters with the Joker (but, granted, it’s hard to develop a particularly significant story in only the first issue when the full story has not yet been told), but nonetheless it was a great, enjoyable, and entertaining read overall.

One aspect of this comic that does deserve some criticism—or perhaps not even a criticism so much as a caution—is its content. It’s no secret these days that Batman is a very dark character, and the Joker is even darker with his twisted, amoral ways and the sick happiness he gets out of hurting and killing others. After the huge success of the 2008 film The Dark Knight, most Batman comics can be expected to be anything but tame or mild in emulating the film’s style—and this comic is no exception. The reader sees the Joker torturing his victims with a blade, blowing up a building full of people, and stabbing Batman during their fight. Throughout the comic we see some blood and torn off flesh. Although it is not fully shown, the Joker is said to be naked while he was torturing his victims. The final cliffhanger scene of the comic also contains a particularly gruesome image (check the Spoiler Warning below if you don’t mind knowing the details). In short, this comic is extremely violent and is not for the faint of heart. If that sort of thing bothers you, then I would not recommend reading it. But if you’re able to tune out or not be affected by the more disturbing parts, then the comic is still a great read that is about as mature and dark as one would expect a Batman comic these days would need to be.

SPOILER WARNING: After Batman subdues the Joker at the end of their fight, the Joker is sent to Arkham Asylum to be treated physically and mentally by a doctor. However, the doctor turns out to be someone called the Dollmaker (a new villain, probably) who appears to have a secret previous arrangement with the Joker. The final page of the comic is a picture of what appears to be the severed skin of the Joker’s face, removed from his body, dripping blood, and tacked up on a wall. Possibly the Dollmaker is giving him plastic surgery to disguise his identity, but I expect this will be explored more in Detective Comics #2.

END SPOILER.

Although this comic is indeed very dark and violent, it contains just about everything that I would expect and want from a typical Batman comic, and it still shows the reader how one man with an unyielding commitment to morality can take a stand against the darkness. I think this issue was a great start to the relaunch of one of DC’s longest-running, most definitive titles (it was definitely much better than the relaunch of Action Comics, DC’s other longest-running, definitive title). Now that I’ve finally read this issue, I can see why it was in such high demand from the moment it came out, and why it was worth paying four times the cover price. I recommend this issue and this title to anyone who can handle the violent content and who is lucky enough to be able to get their hands on a copy.

In
an effort to make its stories more accessible to new

readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles

and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major

characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers

actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles

be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?

After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over

the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let

potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,

without further ado…

Action Comics #1

Writer:
Grant Morrison

Penciler:
Rags Morales

Review
by Samuel N. Harris

In the year
1938, a new era was born. Action Comics #1 was published, featuring the
first-ever appearance of a character called Superman, the very first in a new
breed of action heroes and cultural icons who came to be known as superheroes.
People loved Superman for many reasons—he was larger than life, he always did
the right thing, and he always saved the day in the end. He was a hope and an
inspiration to many fans and readers. But as the decades wore on, times changed
and grew more complicated, and so did people’s views of the world and their
opinions of what a hero should be. It sometimes seemed like Superman’s iconic
do-gooder quality was old-fashioned and outdated and was being replaced by
darker, more modern heroes. Therefore, the people who wrote and drew Superman
stories had to come up with new ways to make Superman seem new and fresh and
exciting—and they’re still trying to come up with such new ways today. Enter
the new Action Comics #1, part of DC’s recent universal reboot, and the
company’s latest attempt to make Superman relevant and appealing to a new generation
of readers.

Within the first
few pages of Action Comics #1, we get to see Superman in action, and it’s
already a very different Superman than many readers may be used to. We see him
taunting and insulting criminals, defying police orders, and holding and
dropping criminals from far above the ground (although flying down to catch
them before they land) in order to scare a confession out of them. From the
beginning it is clear that this is not the same old Superman who has always
been an upright crusader for justice. This is a Superman who seems to relish
and enjoy the power he holds over criminals, is not afraid to use some very
forceful tactics to get what he wants out of them, and cockily yells “Catch me if
you can!” as he runs away from the police officers who try to arrest him for
his vigilante ways. Whereas the old Superman was always a model citizen and a
moral example in almost every area, this one has no qualms about placing
himself above the law that he claims to uphold or disrespecting those who do enforce
it legally. To be fair, I have heard some praise for this violent champion-of-social-justice
persona on the basis that it is closer to some of Superman’s original
appearances back in the Golden Age (from Superman’s first appearance up through
the late ‘40s or early ‘50s). This may be true, but I’m not familiar enough
with the Golden Age comics to testify either for or against that. All I know is
that it’s not a Superman I’m familiar with, and, quite frankly, it’s not one
that I’m very comfortable with either.

But let’s forget about Superman for a moment and
think about another important element of his story—his alter ego, Clark Kent. Midway
through the comic, the high-and-mighty Superman graciously decides to humble
himself enough to don the plain, loose-fitting clothes of mild-mannered Clark
Kent, a freelance newspaper reporter struggling to pay the rent in his modest
apartment, making friendly conversation with the gray-haired landlady about
this mysterious Superman character and how he recently threw an abusive husband
out a window and into a river. Yes, in this rebooted DC continuity, Clark Kent
and Lois Lane are inexplicably no longer married, leaving Clark as a young
bachelor again. We do get to see Lois for a couple of pages—she and Jimmy Olsen
are working on a story and are employed by a rival newspaper than the one Clark
works for. But gone is the decades-long relationship of Clark and Lois that
eventually led to a beautiful marriage. In its place is a newer, younger Clark
Kent who readers are supposed to be able to relate to more.

Call me old-fashioned if you must, but I’m really
not a fan of how Superman is portrayed in this comic—and, apparently, in the
new DC universe as a whole. Within the pages of the comic he goes from being a
brutal, arrogant vigilante to an unassuming, down-on-his-luck young bachelor,
very much in the vein of classic Peter Parker character. Not only is it not the
Superman I know, but the two different sides of his personality don’t seem
consistent with each other either (although I realize that he does have to act
lowly and unimposing as Clark Kent so people won’t suspect his alter ego). I
feel like the creators can’t decide whether they want Superman to be more like
Batman or Spider-Man. I say, why can’t we just let him be Superman? Is that
really too much to ask?

I’d also like to complain about another, albeit more
minor, aspect of this comic: Superman’s costume. Instead of Superman’s
traditional full blue costume, this issue features him in a short-sleeved
T-shirt with the Superman logo on it—and a regular pair of blue jeans and
sneakers. It’s the sort of costume that I would expect to see on a younger
character like Superboy, but not on the classic, imposing, larger-than-life
figure of Superman. Not only does the costume take away from the iconic nature
of the character, but it’s inconsistent from the costume Superman wears in
other newly rebooted DC comics such as Justice League and Superman. Is this an
oversight on DC’s part, or is there some reason for this inconsistency? I have
heard rumors that Action Comics #1
actually takes place ten years in the past of the new timeline—putting it five
years before Justice League #1—when Clark
Kent was just starting out as Superman and the world was just beginning to
learn about him. This would be one possible explanation, and I guess it would
mean that Superman started out in plainer clothes ten years ago, then
eventually donned a more ideal costume by the time of Justice League and into the present. But I haven’t heard this rumor
officially concerned by DC, and nowhere in Action
Comics #1 does it say that the story takes place in the past. Superman’s
new costume—and this comic’s place in the new DC continuity—continue to baffle
me.

In all fairness, not everything about this comic is
bad. I have no problems with the plot itself, and the story is at least somewhat
interesting. It features Superman trying to stop criminals and other crises
while Lois and Jimmy try to learn more about him, and while Lex Luthor and
General Sam Lane (Lois’s father) work with the government to try to bring
Superman down. It was fun and entertaining to see Superman in action while
other forces work behind the scenes. But “fun and entertaining” is about the
highest praise I’d be willing to give this comic; it’s not anything much deeper
than that. The plot of the comic isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly amazing
either, and for me, it doesn’t replace the fact that Superman’s character is
portrayed so differently than he ever has been before.

Before DC’s new reboot, Action Comics was one of the longest-running comic books still
around today, and it had the highest number of issues of any other superhero
book. It began in 1938 and continued until this year, when it became the first
superhero comic ever to reach issue #900. Personally, before I knew about the
DC reboot, I was looking forward to seeing Action
Comics #1000 hit the stands in a few more years—I didn’t know what they
would’ve done for such a milestone, just that it would have had to be something
huge and spectacular. But then the New 52 happened, the numbering of the issues
started over at #1, and a long, rich tradition of comics was casually swept
under the rug. I was disappointed to learn that DC's long-running titles, such as Action Comics and Detective Comics, were being restarted and re-numbered after so many continuous issues. I might be okay with that if the new Action Comics series lived up to or even surpassed the quality of its
predecessor—but based on what I can see from #1, it doesn’t. I realize that it’s
important to change characters and storylines sometimes, to make them more
complex and multifaceted, to let them grow and mature with the times—but I don’t
think that this is the way to do it. In my opinion, Action Comics #1 has taken away from Superman everything that
really made him Superman—not the superhuman powers, but the iconic, imposing
appearance, the larger-than-life heroics, and the uncompromising morality. It
doesn’t seem like Superman to me, and it doesn’t make me very eager to read Action Comics #2, or any of the other
issues after that.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new
readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles
and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major
characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So,
without further ado…

Justice League #1

Writer: Geoff Johns

Penciler: Jim Lee

Review by Samuel N. Harris

Justice
League #1 is the very first comic book of the New 52—readers’
first introduction to the newly rebooted DC universe after the events of Flashpoint. The story is set five years
in the past, at a time when, according to the narrator, “the world didn’t call
them its greatest superheroes . . . the world didn’t even know what a superhero
was.” This story shows us the beginning of the Justice League—or, at least, the
League as we are meant to understand it today—and of a new age of DC
superheroes.

First of all, if we’re being completely accurate, this
comic book is actually not about the Justice League—at least, not yet. It’s
about the superheroes who will become the Justice League just starting to come
together. Although the cover contains a pretty full roster—Superman, Batman,
Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg—this issue mostly
just features Batman and Green Lantern (conveniently two of DC’s most popular
characters currently, due to their recent movies), with a brief glimpse of
Cyborg and a quick cameo of Superman at the end. This is the story of the
Justice League’s origin, but it is not a complete story—it will be continued in
subsequent issues, so the readers can see just how DC’s central super team came
to be in the new continuity (and so DC can sell more comics).

This issue wasn’t bad, but it was a little disappointing
for me. As a longtime fan of comics, it hurts me a little bit to see the
characters who I know and love being reinvented in ways that ignore their
previous continuity. When I see Batman and Green Lantern meeting for “the first
time,” with Green Lantern being surprised to find that Batman is even real, and
Batman saying that he’s never even seen Superman before, I hurt for the years of
friendship and camaraderie for these characters that are now being swept under
the rug. At least they’re saying that this happened five years ago and not in
the present day—a detail which I carelessly overlooked my first time through
the issue, and so I initially thought that DC was telling its readers that its
heroes were just now coming together for the first time, which wouldn’t quite
fit with the stories being told in some of the other New 52 issues. But still,
to be told that the Justice League has only been around for five years, when in
fact I know that it’s been around since the 1960s and that Superman and Batman
have had team-ups even before that, is a little jarring for me.

Another minor criticism I have with this issue is
Superman’s costume as portrayed in his cameo at the end of the issue—not
because there is anything inherently wrong with the costume, but because it’s
completely different from the one that he wears in the new Action Comics #1 (although it appears to be the same as the one he wears in Superman #1). This newly revamped DC universe seems to be
inconsistent with how it wants its major characters to be portrayed from one
title to another—but more on that when I write my reviews of the new Superman
titles themselves. 

One thing that I do
like about this  issue—and apparently
this whole new Justice League
series—is that Cyborg, who had been a member of the Teen Titans in previous
incarnations, is now going to be part of the Justice League instead. I like
Cyborg’s character, and I think it’ll be nice to see him getting to hang with
the heavy hitters in the Justice League now instead of with the sidekicks (no
offense to the other members of the Teen Titans). Cyborg was included in the version of the Justice League that appeared on the TV series Smallville, so it will be interesting to
see that team membership transferred into a comic book instead. Though Cyborg
only gets a few pages’ worth of attention in the first issue—and that in the
form of his alter ego before he even becomes Cyborg—hopefully we’ll be seeing
more good stuff from him in the issues to come.

Like I said, this is not a bad issue. It features Batman
and Green Lantern teaming up to investigate a mysterious alien threat, and it’s
an enjoyable read. It’s not bad at all—but it’s nothing particularly special
either. With the gimmicky new continuity changes hanging over the reader, and
the fact that this issue is only a bit of a slow start to a larger story, it
was hard for me to really appreciate this story or to be extremely impressed by
it. Maybe things will get better with issues #2 and on—but somehow I expect
that those will follow a fairly predictable pattern as well, something along
the lines of all the heroes meeting each other, teaming up to stop the alien
threat from Darkseid, and then deciding to work as an official team before the
narration flashes back to the present and shows what the League is like once
they’ve been around for five years. I’m sure it’ll be an entertaining read, and
I may catch up on it eventually, but I for one probably won’t shell out any
more money to buy these issues as soon as they come out each month. The Justice
League will have to do better than this to really make me excited about reading
their new series.

Image Comics has recently partnered with Graphicly,
an online digital comics reader, in order to bring its comics to readers in a
more convenient digital format by making them available online.

Image Comics is one of the largest comic book
publishers in America, and the largest creator-owned one. They publish titles
such as Invincible, the ongoing
adventures of a young superhero who inherited his father’s powers, and The Walking Dead, the zombie-filled
comic that has now been adapted into a successful television series. Graphicly
had already partnered with quite a few other publishers, including Marvel
Comics and Archie Comics, to make comic books available to be read online. Now
Image’s major titles will be readily available for readers online through Graphicly’s website as well.

Due to their partnership with Graphicly, Image
comics will also be available on Barnes & Noble’s NOOKcolor, Amazon’s
Kindle Fire, and through Facebook as well, as Graphicly is the only comic
reader currently available as a Facebook application. Users will be able to
browse, purchase, read, and share comics directly from Image’s Facebook page,
making comics more easily accessible than ever.

Another great benefit of this new partnership is that
Image’s comics will be made available on Graphicly the same day that they are
also released in print. Although other comics publishers have delved into
digital comics before, such as Marvel with their large collection of digital
comics on their website, it has often taken several months for comics to be
transferred into digital format after being released in print. With Image
Comics on Graphicly, though, the print and digital copies will be released at
the same time, so readers who prefer the digital format will not have to miss
an issue or get behind on their reading.

Thanks to the technological wonders of the digital
age, comic books are becoming more and more accessible online instead of just
through print. So if you’re a fan of great comics, take advantage of the
situation and check out some of Image’s newly available comics on Graphicly.

In an effort to make its stories more accessible to new readers, DC recently launched The New 52, cancelling all of its existing titles and starting 52 new series with revamped and rebooted versions of its major characters. But how will the New 52 affect the DC universe? Will new readers
actually be attracted? Will old fans still be interested? Will the new titles
be fresh and new, or disappointing and unfaithful to the original continuity?
After buying and reading all but a few of the 52 new #1s that DC released over
the course of a month, I have set out to review some of the major ones and let
potential readers know which new titles are and are not worth reading. So, without further
ado…

Flashpoint #5

Writer: Geoff Johns

Penciler: Andy Kubert

Review by Samuel N. Harris

Okay, so, technically, Flashpoint #5 is not part of The New 52—but it did lead into the whole thing. If you’re not familiar with what happened, then allow me to explain.

This most recent reboot is certainly not the first time—or even the second—that DC has decided to revamp their whole universe as an attempt to bring on new readers and make their characters seem fresh and
original again. It began with the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths back in the mid-80s, and happened again (although to a
somewhat lesser degree) with the similarly named Infinite Crisis in 2005. And what better way could there be to revamp and entire universe full of years of continuity than to create some sort
of infinite crisis—a crisis that spanned all of space and time and multiple
different alternate realities and happened to end with some of those realities
and timelines getting drastically changed?

It may sound epic and dramatic on paper, but longtime comics fans who have seen this kind of thing before often have another word for it: gimmicky. And, as far as I can tell, that’s what Flashpoint also was: a huge, reality-spanning crossover event that may have seemed epic, but was only concocted as an in-story excuse for the
creators to reboot the whole universe and pick and choose with no restrictions
what they did and didn’t want to keep in continuity or in the status quo of the
new DC universe.

Now, in all fairness, I could be wrong about Flashpoint. I will admit that, before this reboot, I had been a little behind on following DC comics, and so I hadn’t actually read the entire Flashpoint series or any of the tie-ins to the event in other series. In fact, the only Flashpoint
issue I got or read was #5, the final one of the 5-issue miniseries, because it
was the only other in-continuity DC comic that came out on the same week as the
newly rebooted Justice League #1. I
had decided I wanted to see what the reboot would be like and would try
(keyword: try) to reserve judgment
about the whole ordeal until after I had actually read the new issues. And so I
figured, even though I hadn’t read the beginning or middle of the Flashpoint story, it wouldn’t hurt to
buy the end and see exactly how it led into the beginning of the new universe.

Well, it turned out that I was right. It didn’t hurt to read the ending of Flashpoint without having read the beginning, because the ending was a lot like other
reality-spanning crises I’ve read in comics: a whole bunch of different heroes
and villains fighting for a while, appearing and disappearing seemingly at
random, and sometimes even meeting alternate versions of each other, while a
few of the heroes desperately try to put reality back together before it all
falls apart. Again, maybe it’s my own fault for reading the end without the
beginning, but the story of Flashpoint
#5 really didn’t grab or impress me too much, especially since I already knew
exactly where the ending was headed: towards a fresh and new DC universe where
everything that happened before may or may not be canon anymore. Since I
already knew that the end of the story would potentially negate everything that
had come before it, specific plot details and characters involved in this story
didn’t really seem terribly important to me.

However, one aspect of Flashpoint did indeed confuse me: the very ending, in which, for the last few pages of the comic, the Flash and Batman are hanging out in the Batcave together, reflecting on the crisis they’ve just been through and
remembering the different alternate realities they’ve just seen. This scene
confused me because it was my understanding that it wasn’t supposed to be
possible in light of the universe being rebooted. I thought the superheroes’
stories were more or less starting anew with no regards to previous
continuity—so how do Batman and the Flash still know each other, and how do
they remember everything that’s just happened? How does the story end on a
peaceful note, as if nothing had changed, when in fact all of reality was
supposed to have changed? And how does this last scene fit in with the newly
rebooted DC universe as it is supposed to be after the events of Flashpoint? I don’t have the answers to
any of these questions. But since the whole universe has been rebooted anyway
and the continuity may or may not be the same anymore, I’m guessing it doesn’t
really matter a whole lot and won’t have any bearing on the rest of the DC universe from here on out.

So, here’s my advice. If you want to get into DC comics, then skip Flashpoint and just jump into any of the newly rebooted series—which seems to be what DC wanted people
to do anyway. Maybe Flashpoint would
make more sense if you read the whole series, but knowing what I know of previous
huge, reality-spanning comic book crossovers that lead into universe-wide
reboots, I’m guessing that I wasn’t missing a whole lot and that the real focus
was supposed to be on the newly rebooted comics coming out afterward. Sure, the
whole thing may be a big marketing gimmick to attempt to boost sales and bring
on new readers, but if you’re still interested in reading after this, then
don’t confuse yourself with Flashpoint.
You’re better off just starting with one or more of the new series—which I
shall proceed to review next.

Arizona, 1873. The open plains of the wild west stretch across America, a country that has begun to prosper again after putting itself back together in the wake of the Civil War. Cowboys and other townspeople seek to make a good life for themselves in the land of opportunity, but they face other challenges such as local bullies, criminal gangs, Indian tribes...and alien invasions.

Yes, that's right. Alien invasions. From outer space. In the middle of the wild west.

Welcome to Cowboys and Aliens, the latest of this summer's sci-fi/action films based on comic books or graphic novels. Cowboys and Aliens is an intense but enjoyable adventure that follows a couple of rough, tough wild west heroes as they defend their homes and loved ones from an advanced race of hostile aliens. So hold on to your hats, your horses, and your lasers when you go to the theater, because you'll be in for a wild ride.

Cowboys and Aliens is based on a 2006 Platinum Studios graphic novel written by Fred Van Lente (author of several prominent Marvel titles today) and Andrew Foley. I had never heard of the graphic novel before the movie was made, but being a longtime comics fan and something of a stickler for source material, I wanted to read the graphic novel once I learned that it existed. So on the opening weekend of the movie, I avoided the crowds at the theaters and went instead to my local bookstore to peruse a copy of the graphic novel--and then I made it over to the theater to see the film version a few days later. I was not disappointed with either one.

Both the graphic novel and the movie of Cowboys and Aliens feature humans from the wild west battling off an alien invasion from space--and that is where most of the similarities between the two end. The graphic novel followed the adventures of gunslingers Zeke Jackson and Verity Jones, but the movie has a completely different cast of characters with different names, lives, personalities, and stories. The movie's prominent characters leaves out Zeke and Verity, but does include Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig), a loner with an unknown past, Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), a wealthy cattle rancher, a mysterious woman named Ella Swanson (Olivia Wilde), a saloon owner called Doc (Sam Rockwell), and Meacham (Clancy Brown), the local preacher. Those who have read the graphic novel will still be able to appreciate the movie, as it is almost a completely different story, neither loyal nor disloyal to the source material. Those who have never read the graphic novel should be able to enjoy the movie as well, because they will be in just the right position to meet new characters and be plunged for the first time into this adventure where worlds will collide.

The plot of the Cowboys and Aliens movie follows the adventures of Jake Lonergan, starting when he wakes up in a field with no memory of who he is or where he came from, and with a mysterious alien weapon strapped to his wrist. Jake wanders to the nearest town, Absolution, where the sheriff identifies Jake as a criminal wanted for theft and murder. Jake also runs into the wealthy and powerful Col. Dolarhyde, who is angry at Jake for having stolen some of his money. But when alien invaders ravage the town and abduct several citizens, Jake and Dolarhyde, along with a ragtag band of other townsfolk, begin to put their differences aside and set out together to track down the aliens in search of answers and their missing loved ones. Jake is able to use the weapon on his wrist against the aliens, and throughout his journey, flashbacks of being taken aboard their ship begin to fill in the gaps in his memory. The heroes' mission takes them through the plains of the wild west, across the paths of old gangs and Indian tribes, and even onto the aliens' ship, complete with plenty of intense action sequences along the way. Younger viewers should be warned that the violence in the film covers everything from fistfights to gunfights to laser battles, complete with plenty of explosions and some occasional blood. However, for those able to stomach the content, the film also contains a good story with dynamic characters and some relevant moral and spiritual themes for any era.

One of the story's prominent themes is that of equality, unity, and tolerance among humans. In the graphic novel version, the aliens' invasion of Earth was analogous to the cowboys' own attempts to take over Indian lands; both scenarios involved a new people group trying to conquer or drive out an old one. The point was made that having better weapons technology--guns over bows and arrows or lasers over guns--does not give someone the right to take others' lives and land, and the cowboys began to realize this once the aliens put them on the receiving end of such hostile treatment. Realizing their error and needing to fight for survivial, the cowboys made peace with the Indians, and both groups united to fight off the threat of the aliens. This theme of unity is downplayed but still present in the film, which also features cowboys and Indians joining forces against aliens, and shows us Jake and Dolarhyde turning from enemies to allies by fighting for a common cause. Both versions of the Cowboys and Aliens story send good messages about the need for unity, peace, and love amongst people, rather than dissention and hatred.

Redemption from past sins is also an important theme in the film, especially in the character of Jake. He has led a life as a dangerous criminal, but by the time we meet him, he has no memories of who he was before, and no apparent desire to be that person again, making him a blank slate with the chance to set things right. I think it is no coincidence that the town Jake comes to find himself in is called Absolution. While there, Jake stands up to a local bully (who just happens to be Col. Dolarhyde's son Percy) and defends the innocent townspeople, especially once the aliens strike and Jake is given the chance to be a hero by setting out to stop them. The preacher tells Jake that whether he goes to Heaven or Hell is his own decision, and that "God don't care who you were, only who you are." Later on, we see Col. Dolarhyde begin to be reconciled with his wayward son, and we see characters who have lost faith and hope start to find it again. Cowboys and Aliens tells us that sins, mistakes, and obstacles in life can be overcome by someone who is willing to change and make a difference.  

There is a definite difference of focus between the graphic novel and the film. The graphic novel does not explore character development very deeply, focusing instead on conveying its theme of peace and unity through the story. While this theme is not as prominent in the movie, the movie gives more attention to characters and their personal journeys, allowing for other important messages about redemption and choosing to do the right thing. Whether you watch the movie or read the graphic novel, Cowboys and Aliens is an enjoyable action adventure about peace, war, loss, and redemption--and, of course, cowboys and aliens (and Indians) shooting each other and blowing each other up for two hours. Though the film's deeper themes and moral messages do take something of a backseat to the raging action, they are still present and can be appreciated by viewers who know to look for them. If this sounds like your kind of movie, then head over to the theater right away and get ready for the exciting and action-packed adventure that is Cowboys and Aliens.

It's 1942. World War II rages across the globe. Hitler rules Nazi Germany and tries to extend his reach even further. American troops are fighting overseas and civilians on the home front are struggling to keep up morale. The various countries at war are all trying to get ahead of each other with new forms of advanced technology that will grant them a decisive victory. You probably know the story: in real life, the war was ended by America's use of the atomic bomb. But in the Marvel universe, the technology that changed the course of the war came in the form of the super soldier serum, a chemical formula that turns the scrawny Steve Rogers into a super-strong fighting machine of physical perfection. Enter Captain America: The First Avenger, the story of the one man whose enhanced muscles, strong morality, and unwavering determination made him the ultimate American hero. It's a story full of action, romance, bravery, self-sacrifice, and inspiration for all of us.

Captain America should be an enjoyable experience for new and old fans alike. Yes, it is a superhero film, and longtime comics fans will be glad to know that the film contains an exciting story and, for the most part, shows great respect for its source material. But it is also a period piece, a war movie, a journey into history and American patriotism. The film's visuals and sets make it truly feel like the 1940s, and the title character's unquenchable idealism is reminiscent of an older, simpler, and possibly happier time in American history. In many ways, Captain America embodies the American dream itself; he starts out as a poor, weak, young man but is able to make something great of himself in the land of freedom and opportunity, and still holds true to his ideals along the way, no matter what challenges he faces. The action scenes may be a bit intense at times (it is a war film, after all), but overall the film shows us a brighter, more hopeful era than the one we usually see in movies today. The film can certainly be appreciated by comics fans, but probably also by action movie fans, history fans, soldiers and veterans, and Americans of all backgrounds and interests. 

Comics fans will appreciate the film's portrayal of familiar characters. I confess that when I first heard that Chris Evans had been cast as Captain America, I was skeptical because he was already the Human Torch, a very different superhero role, in the less-than-superb Fantastic Four movies. However, Evans proved my doubts wrong with his performance of Captain America. He not only looked the part of Steve Rogers, the Captain's alter ego, but he breathed life and personality into the character and made me want to believe that such a true and noble hero really could exist. 

Other familiar characters from the comics include Cap's wartime sweetheart Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Cap's friend and partner Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), fellow soldiers Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough), Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), and Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), the scientist in charge of the super-soldier project, and industrialist Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), the father of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Since Captain America leads into next summer's The Avengers, we also get a cameo from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), leader of the top-secret organization S.H.I.E.L.D., who appeared in the Iron Man films and Thor as well.

Naturally, no superhero film is complete without a supervillain, and Hugo Weaving offers a compelling portrayal of the Red Skull, Captain America's nemesis and Hitler's right-hand man. The Red Skull is the head of HYDRA, a terrorist organization prominent in the comics, and said in this film to be the Nazis' science division. Also present is Arnim Zola (Toby Jones), a scientist working for the Red Skull and HYDRA, though this film does not see him transformed into the monstrous human/robotic hybrid that he was in the comics. When the Red Skull gets his hands on the Cosmic Cube, a powerful weapon that was seen in the comics and also in the post-credits scene of Thor, it is up to Captain America to stop him from using its power to conquer the whole world.

In my opinion, the film's strongest impression on audiences comes in the form of Captain America himself and his boldly unyielding moral character. In the midst of modern comic book and movie characters growing progressively darker and grittier and blurring the line between good and evil, Captain America shines a beacon of light and hope as a traditional iconic hero with a definite sense of right and wrong. Steve Rogers clearly has the heart of a hero long before the super soldier serum transforms his body. Despite his initially puny physique, he is eager to enlist in the army and fight for what he knows is right. He stands up to a bully who disrespects the war effort and Steve patiently endures quite a beating at the bully's hands. He is smart and resourceful, not relying on physical strength (or lack thereof) alone. He is respectful of women (if a bit tongue-tied and underconfident around them) and says that he has been waiting for the right partner. He bravely endures the process that transforms him into a super soldier, even though it is painful and others want to turn it off. When things in life aren't going his way, he patiently waits for his situation to improve. He is reluctant to kill an enemy (but able to do so when necessary in the time of war). On multiple occasions, both before and after becoming Captain America, he shows willingness to put himself in harm's way and to sacrifice his own life to protect his fellow soldiers. He never shows signs of giving up, even when the odds are stacked against him. Though he does disobey orders at one point to go on a rescue mission (in which he ends up saving the lives of nearly 400 soldiers), he willingly submits himself for disciplinary action upon returning to the military base. SPOILER WARNING: Captain America's heroism and self-sacrifice stay strong through the film's climax, in which he hijacks an enemy plane loaded with a missile headed for America and plunges it into the ocean, knowing full well that the only way to save millions of Americans is by sinking the plane and sacrificing his own life.

Captain America teaches us a very important lesson: that anyone can be a hero as long as they are willing to serve others and determined to do what is right. In the beginning of the film when Dr. Erskine is looking for the right test subject for his super soldier serum, he chooses Steve despite the boy's frail figure, because Steve is "not a perfect soldier, but a good man." Erskine recognizes the potential moral strength of the underdog, whether that underdog is a physically weak young man or, like Erskine himself, a Jewish refugee from the tyrannical leadership of Nazi Germany. His philosophy is somewhat similar to the Christian ideals of finding strength in weakness (II Corinthians 12:10) and of God using the weak things of the world to put to shame the strong (I Corinthians 1:27). Viewers of all shapes and sizes can be encouraged by Captain America's inspirational example.

I am a fan of most superhero movies, and I remember how excited I was a few months ago that so many that I wanted to see would be coming out this summer. But now that I have seen the four major ones of the summer (Thor, X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern, and Captain America: The First Avenger), I can give my honest and heartfelt opinion that Captain America tops them all. I enjoyed the visuals, the action scenes, and the accurate treatment of both history and the comic books. I laughed at some of the dialogue. I felt the sincerity of the romance between Steve and Peggy. I got a little teary-eyed at the movie's tragic twist of an ending, even though I already knew to some extent what would happen from reading the comics. I clapped and cheered for Captain America's heroic moments (and for the post-credits scene--make sure you stay for it). Throughout the entire film, I felt inspired and encouraged by Captain America's strong and uncompromising moral example. Captain America: The First Avenger is an enjoyable, brilliant, and powerful film which I highly recommend. Go see it for yourself and learn what it truly means to be a hero.

Imagine a world that is populated by mutants--people with certain genetic codes that allow them to do amazing things. If you're a fan of superheroes and their movies, then you've probably already seen some or all of the X-Men films, making a world like that pretty easy to imagine. Now imagine that world fifty years ago, during the wild and tumultuous 1960s, when the world was first beginning to learn of the existence of mutants and was living with the threat of nuclear war looming over them. Welcome to X-Men: First Class, the tale of how it all began, and of how two men with common interests gradually went from being allies to enemies. If you haven't yet seen First Class and are unsure of how it will compare to the comics or the previous films, read on to find out.

Diehard sticklers for comics continuity should be warned about X-Men: First Class. If you're looking for a movie that adheres to the story and character details in the comics in every aspect, then First Class is not the film for you. In fact, if you're looking for a movie that completely fits in with the continuity of the previous X-Men films, then First Class is also not the movie for you. But if you're looking for a good summer movie that combines intense sci-fi action with complex characters, strong actors to back them, and intriguing questions about life and morality, then head over to the nearest movie theater and watch X-Men: First Class right now, because you will not be disappointed.

The film focuses on a much younger Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) when they were friends working together, before they became the elderly arch-rivals that they have always been in the comics and other movies. Professor Charles Xavier begins recruiting a team of mutants to fight the Hellfire Club, a secret group of evil mutants. However, Erik, who eventually becomes the villain Magneto, believes that the real enemy is humanity and that mutants would one day rise up to conquer them all. Both McAvoy and Fassbender give life to their characters with strong acting and perform in such a way that truly captures the essential conflict of the film. 

Xavier's recruits come from all different eras of the X-Men comics and include some lesser-known characters; his initial team consists of himself, Magneto, Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Havok (Lucas Till), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Tempest (Zoë Kravitz; called Angel in the movie), and Darwin (Edi Gathegi). The line-up is quite different from the one in the earliest X-Men comics (and from the one in the comic series X-Men: First Class), and some of the minor characters seem like odd choices and are underdeveloped in the film; others, however, are explored more deeply and showcase some poignant, powerful moments of emotion and character development.

Comics fans will also recognize other familiar names and faces, such as Xavier's ally and lover Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), the villainous Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), leader of the Hellfire Club, his righthand woman, Emma Frost (January Jones), a villain called Riptide (Álex González), and the demon-like Azazel (Jason Flemyng), who was the father of Nightcrawler in the comics. 

Like the other X-Men films, First Class deals with a group of people who are looked down upon and even persecuted just for being different, and in doing so explores some important moral and spiritual themes as well. Christian audiences and younger viewers should use discretion when watching First Class; it contains some strong language, more than a few shots of scantily clad women, and about as much action violence as one would expect from a typical modern superhero movie. However, for discerning viewers who are able to handle the surface content and analyze the deeper themes underneath, First Class should be a rewarding experience.

We see in many mutant characters a natural desire for love and acceptance which they have rarely, if ever, received in life. This desire presents itself in Hank McCoy, a young boy with enormous feet (who later undergoes some other changes as well), and in Raven (a.k.a. Mystique), a shapeshifting girl whose true form is blue and scaly. However, the reaction against prejudice and persecution is most prominent in Erik, the master of magnetism, who grew up as a Jew in Nazi Germany and has been a victim of hatred and violence all his life. Erik believes strongly in mutants embracing their true identities and flaunting their power for all the world to see. 

Raven longs to feel beautiful and loved for who she is, but she is self-conscious about her true blue form and doubts her own self-worth. Sadly, her teammate Hank does not make things any better for her when he tries to develop a formula to normalize the appearance of mutants, telling Raven that the mutants' unique physical qualities will never be considered beautiful by the world. Erik, however, is more accepting. He makes Raven feel beautiful and encourages her not to hide who she truly is. SPOILER WARNING: It is no surprise, then, that at the end of the movie, when Charles and Erik go their separate ways and the other mutants are forced to choose sides, Raven chooses to go with Erik, who showed her kindness and acceptance. Having sided with the evil Magneto, Raven later goes on to become the villainous Mystique as she was seen in the previous X-Men films.

Unfortunately for the heroes of the film (but fortunately for the quality of the story), Erik's kindness and acceptance to Raven show only one side of his multifaceted personality, and much of what he does is driven not by love but by bitterness and revenge. Though he may be kind and accepting of other mutants, he hates and fears all normal humans just as many humans hate and fear mutants. Being a lifelong victim of hatred and persecution, he responds in the only way he seems to know how: by seeking revenge on those who have hurt him and violently retaliating against humanity with the same kind of prejudice that he has always experienced. Erik is a sharp contrast to Charles Xavier, who desires peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants and tries to make Erik see the error of his ways. While Erik believes that his mutant powers make him inherently better than normal humans, Xavier stresses that mutatns, though hated and persecuted, should strive to be the better men by showing morality, respect, and love, even to their enemies. 

Xavier's model is a good one for Christians to follow, as we are also a peculiar people (I Peter 2:9) in a world that has all but abandoned faith and looks down upon those who still cling to it. Some calling themselves Christians try to fight back against the world, preaching hatred and judgment upon sinners and exclusive rights reserved only for God's holy people. However, this tragic version of Christianity--if it can even be called that--only confirms the negative stereotypes that the world has toward religion, and does not bring peace or satisfaction to either side. Instead, we as Christians should follow the examples of Charles Xavier and of Jesus Christ Himself, both of whom led with gentleness, kindness, acceptance, and love. Instead of being the angry bigots who the world often sees us as, we should be the kind of people who others want to turn to for love and acceptance. If the Ravens of this world have to look to the bitter, angry Eriks to find some semblance of love and self-worth, then Christians are not doing their jobs correctly.

Despite its flaws and inconsistencies in the bigger picture of Marvel continuity, X-Men: First Class is an enjoyable and thought-provoking film that some have called the best in the entire X-Men franchise to date. It gives us a deeper look into the shaping of characters we already know, and challenges us to think about relevant social and moral issues that divide the real world as well as the comic book one. So if you think you can handle it, go watch X-Men: First Class and judge it for yourself. Feel free to evaluate the story, the acting, and the character choices. But more importantly, evaluate your own life in light of the lessons that First Class can potentially teach you. Decide whether you as a Christian will shun others and seek only power and glory for yourself, or whether you will reach out with kindness to a dying world yearning for peace and love, despite whatever differences may separate you and them. Decide whether you will be a Magneto or a Professor X--a bitter hypocrite or a truly loving follower of Christ.