DC Comics: The New 52

The upcoming DC Comics relaunch is just weeks away! What titles are we most excited for?

1. Action Comics

Superman will be receiving a huge make-over come September, and in terms of continuity, the Superman books are definitely more on the reboot side of the fence. No longer able to fly, no longer married to Lois Lane, Action Comics will star a much younger Superman in a world that is fairly new to superheroes in general. The Superman books have been pretty weak in terms of stories as of late, and a reboot is definitely what Superman needs. Not to mention Grant Morrison will be writing, so it’ll definitely be worth a try.

2. Green Lantern

Fortunately for current GL and Geoff Johns fans, this series will continue where it left off pre-Flashpoint. After killing the evil guardian Krona, Hal Jordan was immediately stripped of his Power Ring, where it surprisingly chose arch-nemesis Sinestro (!!!) as the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814. How will the Green Lantern Corps greatest enemy be accepted back as one of their own? And what will happen with the Sinestro Corps?

3. Batman

Similar to Green Lantern, the Batman books will not be largely affected by the relaunch. After a successful run with Detective Comics (and the “departure” of Grant Morrison to Action Comics), acclaimed American Vampire writer Scott Snyder will be taking over the helm of the lead Batman book in September. It’ll be Snyder’s first take on Bruce Wayne, but since he got the Dick Grayson Batman part so we’re eager to see how different his Bruce Wayne Batman will be. Also, Greg Capullo of Spawn fame will be penciling.

3. The Flash

Francis Manapul is one of my favorite artists, and his recent work on the latest run (no pun intended) of The Flash with DC honcho Geoff Johns made for a fun read. (Check it out! Recommended!) In September, he’ll remain on The Flash but as both writer and artist. It’ll be his FIRST stint as a writer, so let’s hope Mr. Manapul handles the double duties well!

4. Batman & Robin

With Dick Grayson returning to his role as Nightwing, there will be a new Batman and Robin patrolling Gotham City. It’ll be interesting to see how Bruce Wayne and son Damian will work together. We got a glimpse of their teamwork earlier this year in the Batman: The Return one-shot, and the father & son team clearly have to work on it. Unlike Dick Grayson or even Tim Drake, Damian has been a much darker Robin, similar to Jason Todd. And we all know how he ended up…

5. Justice League

The world’s greatest superheroes! This book sees the return of Jim Lee as a regular artist. ‘Nuff said. (Oh yeah, and Geoff Johns is writing.) Let’s just cross our fingers there’s no delays. And for all you Hal Jordan fans, apparently in this title he’s still the Green Lantern of our sector…

6. Batgirl

Of all the DC titles relaunching in September, Batgirl has received the most criticism and question. Any fan of comic books knows that Barbara Gordon was left paralyzed by the Joker in The Killing Joke. After 23 years she will be returning to the role that she made famous. Thankfully, DC has assured fans the events of The Killing Joke is still in continuity, so it’ll be exciting to see how the DC creative teams handle the transition from her fan favorite role as Oracle, and, hopefully, make it work.

Written By Jose A.


Images copyright DC Comics