We had a lot of fun the first go-round, so we’re back with the Dawn of DC Report Card Part 2! Regular CXF DC columnists Tony Thornley, Armaan Babu and Matt Lazorwitz return to take a look at and grade the Dawn of DC’s month two releases!
Noting again, we are grading the new series launches. That means existing series taking up the Dawn of DC branding, like Action Comics and Batman, won’t count. With that, let’s get to it!
Green Lantern
Hal Jordan main story by Jeremy Adams & Xermanico, Romulo Fajardo Jr., & Dave Sharpe with John Stewart back ups by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Montos, Adriano Lucas & Sharpe.
Tony Thornley: I really enjoyed this relaunch but man I could have gone without the timeline back and forth. I’m more of a Jess or Kyle fan, but writer Jeremy Adams does give Hal a lot of charm (with some clear Ryan Reynolds influence). The issue I ran into was the timeline back and forth being a bit jarring. I think telling the story of Hal getting his ring back in its entirety before moving on to rebuilding would have been more effective, especially knowing that “Knight Terrors” is putting a pause on the series in July.
Xermanico’s art is pretty great though and it’s far from being bad.
The John Stewart back-up is much more interesting though, and I wish we were getting the John series teased here immediately, like originally announced, instead of September.
Tony’s Grade: B-
Armaan Babu: This book loses a grade immediately just for starring Hal Jordan, my least favourite Green Lantern. Is that an unfair bias? Maybe. But despite everything a Green Lantern can be, a story needs to have a character I care about at the center of it — and DC’s never yet given me a reason to care about him. As of Green Lantern #1, they still haven’t.
The back-and-forth wasn’t fun, either, but I will say, overall — there was fun to be had here. I like the tone of the comic. Hal feels lonely here, and, if not at rock bottom, at least in clear sight of it. This feels like a book that’s out in search of fun, and I think it’s going to be finding it.
Armaan’s Grade: C+
Matt Lazorwitz:: Yeah, so we have three reviewers here who aren’t big on Hal Jordan. Give me Jo Mullein, Kyle Rayner or Jessica Cruz any day. There’s an interesting idea here: the hero coming home from time away and finding he doesn’t have a life anymore. And the mystery behind it, the question of why Earth has been quarantined from the rest of the galaxy by the Guardians, is a good hook. But I can’t bring myself to care about Hal Jordan.
The John Stewart back-up makes for an interesting contrast, as that also has the hero coming home, but here he’s content with the simple life. I also like John more as a character, so that helps…
Matt’s Grade: C+
Titans
By Tom Taylor, Nicola Scott, Annette Kwok & Wes Abbott.
Tony: On its own, I really liked this launch. Writer Tom Taylor has a gift for soap opera superheroes, which the Titans at their best really are. He gets the character personalities, the interpersonal dynamics, the banter between lifelong friends. The action is really great too, both from the writing and the art side. It feels like a grown up version of the Wolfman/Perez classic, which was already grown up.
Where it falls short is in the concept of the Titans being the new Justice League. That scope is just not here in this first issue. Titano is a big threat, sure, but he doesn’t feel world-threatening. The time-travel/Wally West mystery is a great hook, but doesn’t feel grand.
Overall, really liked it, but it definitely loses points for not fulfilling the stated mission.
Tony’s Grade: B
Armaan: Yeah — I will admit, I keep forgetting that they’re supposed to be essentially replacing the Justice League now, and this book does very little to make it feel like they have.
That being said, if you do ignore that part, this is actually a really fun Titans book all on its own. Taylor doesn’t just get soap opera…when he gets to playing around, he has some really fun ideas, and quick back and forth, which shines with younger characters. Nicola Scott’s art is, of course, always a delight.
Definitely a book I am looking forward to more of.
Armaan’s Grade: A-
Matt: This book has basically been running in Nightwing for the past few months, so I had a feeling for what it was going to be going in, and I was looking forward to it from that. I was not expecting to see Wally West, my poor darling boy, once again suffering on page 1, but hey, it’s a Flash hook, so I have no doubt there will be time travel shenanigans to make sure he isn’t really dead. Taylor has the rapport and relationships of these characters down cold, and that’s an important part of any Titans comics. Add in Nicola Scott’s absolutely gorgeous art, and you have a winner.
Matt’s Grade: B+
Batman The Brave & The Bold
With Batman/Joker by Tom King, Mitch Gerads, & Clayton Cowles, Stormwatch by Ed Brission, Jeff Spokes, & Saida Temofonte, Superman by Christopher Cantwell, Javier Rodriguez, & Simon Bowland, and Batman Black & White by Dan Mora & Tom Napolitano.
Tony: Not going to lie, I’m a little disappointed this isn’t a team-up book, but I am game for an all A-list version of Urban Legends, as this appears to be. King and Mitch Gerads makes the Joker introduction story that’s been told at least 4 different times more of a horror story. I like that, and it doesn’t lean as hard into formalism as many King books do. Still not great though.
The Stormwatch story didn’t hook me, but I liked seeing Ravager getting a front and center role (Dear DC: try to get her more into a flagship series).
LOVED the Superman story. Clark Kent as Indiana Jones? Yes please. I kind of would rather see Christopher Cantwell and Javier Rodriguez leading the Superman line based on just this.
Weird “Batman: Black and White” stories are always a blast, especially from Dan Mora-level talent. Overall, a win.
Tony’s Grade: B+
Armaan: An anthology book! I love anthology books. A space for creators to really mess around with their comic book storytelling, and I feel like this is exactly what’s being done here. We’re getting stories that necessarily fit into the other books that are here. The King/Gerads story didn’t entirely grab me, but their unique synergy always makes for an interesting reading experience, at least.
The other stories though? I absolutely loved them. They feel weird, but comfortably weird. Anthology books give stories like this some breathing room to just be themselves, and so far, I’m really enjoying what this book has on offer.
Armaan’s Grade: A-
Matt: You can see what I have to say about this one over on BatChat, and get some Will Nevin to boot!
Matt’s Grade: B
Cyborg
By Morgan Hampton, Tom Raney, Michael Atiyeh and Rob Leigh
Armaan: Tom Raney’s art is a huge barrier towards enjoying this book. Warped, misshapen art that is entirely unappealing, and I’ve never quite gotten used to it. Added to that is a story that doesn’t quite hook me. Every time I try to read a new Cyborg story, it’s one that’s exploring his issues with his father, and without an interesting twist to the tale, it’s a story that’s grown tiresome. This book certainly offers quite a twist — but nothing that, so far, is especially compelling.
Armaan’s Grade: D
Matt: I don’t think DC has known what to do with Cyborg since the New 52. They promoted him to the big leagues, and then it stalled. Now here, we’re trying to retcon that, maintaining his origin with the Justice League while also reinserting his far more interesting background with the Titans. Writer Morgan Hampton is trying, but as Armaan said, if I read another story about Vic trying to make peace with his father, it would be too soon.
Also, this issue uses one of my least favorite tropes: the webcast with scrolling comments on the side. It’s a personal pet peeve, but one which always turns me off. But on the positive, Vic’s voice is strong, and adding a rival from his younger days makes for a good foil/villain.
Matt’s Grade: C-
Spirit World
Alyssa Wong, Haining, Sebastien Cheng and Janice Chiang
Tony: I kinda think of the three AAPI focused series, this one launched the best. It’s easily the one that I said right away “I’m picking it up month to month” rather than, “I’ll check out the trade.” You have Wong giving us a fully-formed protagonist in Xanthe. The art from Haining and Cheng is just stunning, with heavy Asian comics influences. The plot is interesting, with a great mix of Americanized cosmic horror and Chinese mythology. Even better, using fan-favorites like Constantine (love the cats, Johnny) and Cass Cain give readers a strong window into this world. Their involvement interested me, and the execution overall kept me on board.
Tony’s Grade: A
Armaan: This is a perfect mix of cool and cute, of soulful and fun, to get me to buy into this new character, and the story we’re following here. Pulling in guest stars doesn’t quite hurt either, but I am really enjoying Xanthe’s unique powers,and the world of spirits they interact with. Like the mythology of the Monkey Prince, I think this is a rich addition to the DC Universe, a corner of the world I hope to see more people play with.
Armaan’s Grade: A
Matt: Of the three “We Are Heroes” initiative books that launched out of “Lazarus Planet“, this was the one that I felt had the strongest prequel story during that event, and is also the one that is probably most made for me: you put in Cassandra Cain and John Constantine as your supporting characters, and I’m an easy mark.
Plus, the first issue didn’t miss the mark. The characters are fun and on point. The plot maintains both the drama from the prequel (how are we going to save Cassandra from the spirit world?), fleshes out Xanthe and adds a mystery (who exactly are they?). The mixture of mythology and superheroes, the strong character work and some very nice art makes this one of the best launches so far.
Matt’s Grade: A
City Boy
by Greg Pak, Minkyu Jung, Sunny Gho, and Wes Abbott
Armaan: The art here is a little bland for me, but what I do like about it is the charm it gives to the characters. I also just really like the concept of a kid whose powers are a connection to his city. Grek Pak consistently does a great job of creating characters whose journey I want to follow simply because, one comic at a time, his characters are so much fun to hang around. City Boy is no exception.
Armaan’s Grade: B+
Matt: Greg Pak is a writer who writes great characters. I’m not saying his plots aren’t strong too, but you’re reading a Greg Pak comic to follow the character’s journey. Cameron Kim is a great, flawed, but at heart, good protagonist in the Pak model.
City Boy #1 does a really solid job introducing him and giving us a feel for who he is. Add in a great villain hook (I won’t spoil the last page reveal), and I’m sold. Also, I like that this is set in Metropolis. It would be so easy to set a book like this in Gotham, the DC Universe city with the most well-established personality. Starting off in Metropolis is a nice change of pace. Although I would be curious to see Cameron travel the DCU and see how each city has a different feel with his powers. I hope the book lasts long enough we can see that.
Matt’s Grade: B+
The Vigil
by Ram V, Lalit Kumar Sharma, Rain Beredo, and Dave Sharpe
Armaan: I do not know what to make of this comic, quite yet. Ram V as writer earns a lot of instant trust, however, and what I can say about The Vigil #1 is that it is fun, chaotic, and just the right amount of mysterious. There are things in the works here, and an overall tone that’s just unfamiliar enough that it’s going to take a while to unspool. I have a feeling that I might not enjoy this as a short, quickly-canceled series…but that I would love it as a longer one. Here’s hoping.
Armaan’s Grade: B+
Matt: Armaan hit the nail on the head for me as well, when he said Ram V earns instant trust. I have never read a Ram V comic I haven’t enjoyed, and with these characters having appeared briefly during his run on Detective Comics gave me an instant buy-in. And The Vigil #1 is by no means bad.
But I didn’t feel the instant connection to these characters I felt for some of the others. The “mysterious heroes trying to fight a broken system” is a tried and true plot, but I don’t know what sets the Vigil apart from The Movement or Doom Patrol yet. I’m definitely coming back for more, but it will take some time to make me confident that this book has legs.
Matt’s Grade: B
Armaan is obsessed with the way stories are told. From video games to theater, TTRPGs to comics, he has written for, and about, them all. He will not stop, actually; believe us, we've tried.
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
