One of my favorite titles to come out of DC Comics New 52 was Batman #1. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo managed to create something that felt like a real first issue, but wasn’t, not really. I hadn’t read any of Snyder’s work of Detective Comics so he was a new name to me. I have been a fan of Capullo since his days working on X-Force, way to many years ago, but who knew he could draw such a great Batman?

Now, many times second issues fail to live up to the potential laid down by the first. Most times they are a disappointment (I’m looking at you Red Lanterns #2). Thankfully, Batman #2 not only was just as good as #1, it was even better in some places.

Snyder seems to have a great handle of the character of Batman. He writes him as less of the antihero he has been over the last few years and more human. Bruce Wayne seems like a real person now, not just a character that you almost never see. Plus he has softened the dynamic between Batman and the various members of the Robin Intern Program (or R.I.P.). Add in the mystery of the Court of Owls and Batman hasn’t been this much fun to read in a long time.

Then there is Capullo. My God can the man draw. Personally, I compare every Batman artist to the standard, Jim Aparo. Most fail to meet up to that lofty goal but he is coming very, very close. In some panels, you would swear you are looking at pages from The Dark Knight Returns, while in others the storytelling is just amazing. I just hope he can maintain the deadlines and we don’t end up with a bunch of inferior looking fill-in issues.

It has been quite a while since I have been this excited to read Batman. While I have enjoyed some of the Morrison material, these first two issues have been leaps and bounds better. Read it and see for yourself.

For my money, one of the best new series to come out this year has been Fly. The story of addiction to a drug that gives users the ability to fly has been daring, fun and an awesome trip (pardon the pun). Raven Gregory is mining his own personal experience to deliver a great, satisfying comic book that is something decidedly different than the normal stories being put out by Marvel and DC. Artist Eric J. has pulled off quite a feat himself by using two different art styles in one comic, one for sections taking place in The Now and one for sequences from The Then. Together they have turned Fly into a must read comic each month it comes out.

And now volume one comes to it’s conclusion as we see the final confrontation between Eddie and Danielle. Gregory gives us a story of a man at the end of his rope that is willing to take drastic steps in order to try to get his life back. It’s all the more intense since we have watched the early days of the Eddie/Danielle romance in the flashback portions of the book. We still don’t know all the details about what happened between these two but Gregory has managed to make us care about them, despite what they each became.

The art by Eric J. has been stellar to say the least. Easily one of the best looking Zenescope books on the stands each month, each issue he has gotten better and better. I would love to know how he managed to create and use two totally different styles on the book. It made The Now and The Then really stand out as separate, yet unified stories. From the ad in the back of the book, a new artist will be joining Gregory for volume two. I hope he knows the size of the shoes he is going to be trying to fill.

Raven Gregory has created a very deep, multilayered mythology with Fly in only five issues. My hope is that we will be getting new volumes of this series for years to come. I can’t wait for the trade paperback and Fly gets my highest recommendation. Go read this series.

Now that the new comic smell is starting to wear off DC Comic’s New 52, I’m starting to ween out which titles I’ll continue reading and which are falling by the wayside. One book that has kept my attention and I’m still enjoying the hell out of is Justice League International. The book has a great old school vibe and top notch art that makes me really look forward to each issue.

Issue #3 continues the Signal Masters storyline as the League splits up into teams to try to learn more about the four giants that have popped up across the globe. Dan Jurgens uses the opportunity to help the reader and team members try to get to know each other a bit better. It works wonderfully as nothing feels forced and it really reads like part of the story. The old school feeling I mentioned before continues and, for me, is a really big selling point for the series. They literally don’t make comics like this anymore. Everyone feels the need to make comics feel dark, grim and/or so serious I find them depressing. Thankfully I don’t get any of that when reading JLI. All I get is that same sense of fun I used to get from reading comics when I was younger and a large part of the credit for that goes to Jurgens.

Aaron Lopresti is quickly becoming a favorite artist of mine. I knew he was good from the work he did on Marvel’s second Excalibur series, but here he is really being given room to show his stuff. You never have to wonder what is going on in a scene or what panel to read next. His characters look consistent and he also draws a hell of a Booster Gold. I fervently hope he will be sticking around on the book for an extended stay.

Justice League International has flown a bit under the radar thanks to its big brother, Justice League. That’s a shame because for my money this is the far superior series and overall, a much more entertaining read. It’s the kind of comic that will make you believe that a comic book can actually be fun again. And that is worth its weight in gold to me.

Of all the titles to come out of DC’s New 52, I don’t think any came with as much baggage as Batgirl. Before the first issue even hit the stands, fans were bemoaning the loss of Oracle and the return of Barbara Gordon’s ability to walk (even though Professor X has lost and gained the use of his legs more times than I can count). The book was one of the bestsellers of September, but would the book be able to keep the readers it had? Well, I don’t know how anyone else feels, but to me Batgirl has done nothing but get better with each issue.

For issue #3, Batgirl’s battle with Mirror continues and we get also some background on this Post-Flashpoint version of Babs and her relationship with Nightwing, a.k.a. Dick Grayson. It’s a nice change of pace from the intensity of the first two issues and Gail Simone puts the Babs/Dick rapport in a new and slightly different light.

I’ve seen on the internet that some readers are having a problem with the internal dialogue Batgirl has throughout the series. I don’t quite understand why, since it is one of the best parts of the book. It is what makes Batgirl different from Batman or Nightwing. Simone has a nice ear for dialogue and it adds something of a lighthearted touch to a series that could easily become maudlin or too heavy.

Ardian Syaf has been turning in some outstanding artwork on this series and issue #3 is no exception. Batgirl and her supporting cast look great, the backgrounds are rich and detailed and, unlike a lot of other DC artists, he is making an effort to make the characters look younger, which was one of the goals of the New 52. It might seem like a little thing, but it goes a long way to giving the title a fresh and new look.

Of the Batman family of titles, the only ones I am reading right now are Batman and Batgirl. If the rest of the books had this level of quality though, it could easily be more. Simone and Syaf are doing some great work on this book and I hope more people stick around to see where it all goes.

I have never been a huge Wonder Woman fan. The first issues I ever read were the post-Crisis George Perez series and then some of the John Byrne run years later. While I always thought the character and concept had tons of potential, I just never thought anyone came close to realizing it (except maybe for Phil Jimenez’s brilliant run. It’s just a stack of one incredible comic book after another). Now Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang have given Wonder Woman a makeover thanks to DC Comics New 52. And after just three issues, I am totally and completely hooked.

This book flat out rocks. Azzarello has taken everything about Wonder Woman, kept what he liked, discarded what he didn’t and what we are left with is a horror story about vengeful Gods and the consequences of their actions. It’s certainly a different approach to the character and maybe just what was needed.

In issue #3, Azzarello begins making some major changes to Wonder Woman and her world, and I mean major. This a status quo altering comic and possibly one of the biggest changes wrought by the New 52. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you’re a fan you need this comic book in your collection. Azzarello’s reinterpretation of Wonder Woman’s supporting cast is also a big plus here. Hippolyta is more in charge, the Amazons are complete badasses and the Gods are just nuts.

Complimenting Azzarello on the artwork is Chiang. His Wonder Woman in strong, feminine and totally in charge. Most artists have a hard time with the character, either making her too girly or too butch. Chiang has found a nice balance that works and fills the rest of the issue with gorgeous backgrounds and fully developed characters.

Wonder Woman, along with Swamp Thing and Animal Man, has been one of the biggest surprises of the New 52. I’m really looking forward to every issue and honestly have no clue what’s going to happen next. It’s been way too long since I felt that way about a comic book series and I like it.

When I first heard that Spider-Man was getting a second regular title, I was incredibly unmoved. With the main book shipping twice a month, how much more Spidey was there to go around? But then I read the first issue and quickly realized it was a bait and switch. It may look like a new Spider-Man title, but in reality it was the return of one of my favorite books from when I was a youth, Marvel Team-Up.

Issue #2 continues Spider-Man and the Red Hulk’s adventure in the realm of the Mole Man and it’s like the first issue never ended. This is a roller coaster of a series, not taking many breaks and giving the reader page after page of big screen action. Zeb Wells is smartly leaving the interpersonal stuff to Amazing and Dan Slott and instead has ramped up the action and excitement. This was always the best part of Marvel Team-Up anyway so it’s fitting for this new version to follow the same pattern.

But what really made this a worthy purchase is the Joe Madureira artwork. This could be some of his best stuff since Battle Chasers. Each panel and page is just packed with the kind of detail I thought artists today forgot about. The character designs are just incredible, if a bit reminiscent of Darksiders, and his Red Hulk is a thing of beauty. The man really needs to find the time to draw more comics, because if more of them looked like this, there may be more comic book readers.

My heart breaks that Joe Mad will only be on for three issues before taking a break, but with art this good, I’ll take what I can get. Plus, if Wells can keep the stories this fun and entertaining, it won’t be much of a problem.

Like I said before, Avenging Spider-Man is all about the action. The book has little substance and was a ridiculously quick read. That being said, it was still one of better comics I purchased this week. Sometime a book doesn’t have to be deep to be good; it just has to be fun. Avenging Spider-Man fits that description perfectly.

For as long as I have been reading comic books, it seems I have been reading an Avengers title. One of the first comics I remember buying was Avengers #219 and ever since, whether Avengers, West Coast Avengers, Dark Avengers or Avengers: The Initiative, I’ve been buying a book with Avengers in the title. Right now my current favorite is New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, which has everything I love about the concept between its two covers.

First, unlike Bendis’s other Avengers book, this one is way more fun. The interaction and dialogue between the large cast, which includes Dr. Strange, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man, is one of the best parts of this series. Bendis has one of the best ears for banter ever and makes the most of it here. The exchange between Squirrel Girl and Daredevil is priceless and the interaction between the other heroes is lighthearted and entertaining.

And second, he can write some great villains. As the machinations of Norman Osborn and his new team of Dark Avengers begin to become clearer, they really come across as sinister and dangerous. It seems Bendis is beginning to move into the next phase of his Dark Avengers storyline and I, for one, am very thankful. I don’t really have a problem with Bendis and his decompressed style of writing, but this was getting a bit ridiculous.

As for the art, Deodato has been doing a great job. His work here reminds me more of his run on Wonder Woman than his more recent work on Spider-Man and the original Dark Avengers title. Rain Beredo is using a much brighter color pallet and as a result Deodato’s art looks richer and has a more finished look.

Other than a fairly deceptive cover image (which is something most Marvel titles have been guilty of lately) this is an terrific Avengers comic. With the movie on the way and next years Avengers vs. X-men event on the horizon, you would be well advised to jump in now and not be left behind when the Avengers bandwagon begins to roll.

Matt Fraction is a writer that… confuses me. Why is it that I can’t stand his work on Invincible Iron Man and just don’t get what people see in that book, yet I loved Fear Itself and have really enjoyed his writing on the new Mighty Thor title. Maybe it’s me, I don’t know…

Anyway, I honestly haven’t enjoyed a Thor comic this much since the heyday of the Walter Simonson era. Fraction is doing the same thing that legendary writer/artist did and is making The Mighty Thor a book about all of Asgard and not just Thor. Sure, the focus will always be on the Thunder God, but by allowing the rest of the cast to shine (especially Loki), we get a more fully fleshed out reading experience.

With issue #9, Fraction continues the dense, multilayered storyline he started in issue #8. The All-Mother continues to transform Asgard into the new republic Asgardia, Tanarus hangs out with the Avengers, Loki tries to understand why he is the only one who remembers his brother and, oh yeah, Thor shows up for a couple pages. Like I said, dense. There is a lot going on in this issue and keeping track of it all can be a problem, but a good kind of problem. In a day and age when most comics can be read in minutes, I can really appreciate Fraction wanting to do a Machiavellian political thriller that a reader might have to reread a couple times in order to get the complete story.

On the art side regular penciller Pasqual Ferry is teamed up with Pepe Larraz. While I’m not familiar with Larraz, their styles are compatible enough that it doesn’t affect the flow of the book in the least. A couple panels could use some more backgrounds (the Avengers sequence in particular) but on the whole the art works and Ferry’s pencils are gorgeous as always.

As I said above, this is a multifaceted, complex story that Fraction is telling here. If you have some patience and pay attention, there is a lot to like in The Mighty Thor. Give it a read and see if I’m right.

When it was first announced that the characters that made up Vertigo (Shade, Swamp Thing, John Constantine) would be reintegrated into the DC Universe as part of the New 52, I was not a fan. How would somebody like John Constantine function in a Superman or Green Lantern comic? Or could you picture Swamp Thing costarring in Wonder Woman? I know I couldn’t.

Then I fell in love with Scott Snyder and his work on Batman. I was talking about this to my local comic shop guy when he told me Snyder was also writing Swamp Thing, a book I hadn’t read since the underappreciated Mark Millar/Phil Hester run. So of course I pick up a second print of issue one and boom, I fell in love all over again.

With issue #5, Snyder continues The Rot storyline as Alec Holland and Abigail Arcane face off against her brother and his undead killing machines. It also marks the return of Yanick Paquette to the art duties after a one issue break.

While Batman has been my favorite New 52 title since issue #1, Swamp Thing has been more of a slow burn. Hell, we haven’t actually seen the actual Swamp Thing since issue #1. Snyder has let the story slowly build and build, ratcheting up the tension as we go. Seeing Alec use the power of the Green to save Abby is a great moment and gives the reader the payoff they deserve. And the funny part is that this really does feel like a Vertigo comic. With fellow Vertigo alumni Animal Man, the two titles have cornered the market on creepy and scary in the New 52.

Paquette’s art is a perfect fit for a comic like Swamp Thing. He gives the visuals the weight they need while using some unconventional panel layouts to keep things interesting. Not all artists can do horror, but Paquette is proving he is more than capable. Plus his covers are just gorgeous. I really hope DC includes them in any future collected edition.

Swamp Thing should be on everybody’s pull list, no question. It’s a smart, scary read that any Vertigo fan will fall in love with.

When I was growing up, you were either a G.I.Joe fan or a Transformers fan. I mean, you could read and collect from both franchises, but when it came down to brass tacks, you had to pick one or the other. I always fell on the G.I.Joe side of the discussion and still do to this day. A large part of the reason for that was, and is, the G.I.Joe comic books. The television ads for the comics were just so cool, how could you not want to run out and buy them? Plus, Larry Hama created not just a toy tie-in comic with the series, but a military soap opera with plotlines that went on for years and years. That and Storm Shadow is the shit, hands down. I would take him against Batman and Wolverine any day.

So when IDW relaunced the Marvel continuity Hama at the wheel, my inner 12 year old squealed with delight and I was reading G.I.Joe comic books again, something I never thought would happen.

Issue #175 is another fine example of why Hama is such a mastermind with these characters. The issue spotlights Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow as they go after the Blue Ninja Clan which is responsible for the killing of Cobra Commander’s son Billy (If you’re completely lost by that statement, read the trades. You will not be sorry). It’s a fun, action filled issue that shows why the two ninjas work so well together and are by far the most popular characters in the series.

When S.L. Gallant first came on board as penciller, I was lukewarm to him at best. His style just didn’t seem to fit the personality of the book. However, over time he has really come to get a grip on the cast and has improved with each issue. Now I honestly can’t picture anyone else drawing the book. His Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow look great and he does a fine job with all the military high tech equipment.

IDW’s current G.I.Joe books may have more splash and get the lion’s share of the attention, but for old school fanboys like me, the original is the only way to go. If you are over the age of 30, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Let the countdown to G.I.Joe #200 begin!