New 52: What's worth buying?

rraacchh2

I'm currently reading Batwoman and Nightwing and I plan to get the first volumes of Batgirl and Batman when they come out in paperback, but I'm having trouble deciding what else I should read. There's just so many to choose from, you know? :P

These are the ones that interest me:
Action Comics
All-Star Western
Animal Man
Aquaman
Batman and Robin
Batman: The Dark Knight
Detective Comics
Earth 2
Flash
Justice League
Swamp Thing
Suicide Squad
Super Boy
Super Girl
Superman
Teen Titans
Voodoo
Wonder Woman

I was also considering Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws, but I heard from multiple people that they're no good. I'm also open to other suggestions. I can probably only afford about 6-8 though (10 max. if I keep getting a lot of babysitting jobs) I'd like a nice variety too. What would your recommend?

Chuck_Melville

Action Comics, Aquaman, Earth 2, I Vampire, Frankenstein, Dial H, and Worlds' Finest are the ones I most recommend.

peedmyself

I'd go All-Star Western, Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman. On Chuck's list, I'd also agree on Aquaman and Dial H. The rest I either haven't touched or wrote off early on.

SigurdJarlson

Batman is one of the, if not the best book right now

Chuck_Melville

I wouldn't recommend Batman, but I would recommend Batman, Inc. I'd also put All-Star Western on the list; don't know how I overlooked it.

SigurdJarlson

Chuck_Melville said:

I wouldn't recommend Batman, but I would recommend Batman, Inc. I'd also put All-Star Western on the list; don't know how I overlooked it.

May I ask why you wouldn't recommend Batman?

And yes Batman Inc is great too, pick up the trades for the first volume to get a bit more out of the story.

luke52

For a good mixture I'd recommend Batman (loved this HC and trust me, you'll be back for vol2, I'm hooked by this book now), Animal Man, Swamp Thing (you should definitely get book AN and ST for an amazing reading experience), Aquaman, Earth 2, All Star Western, Demon Knights (d&d type stuff, really different from all the other early stuff in the new 52, great book), Frankenstein, Justice League.

Even though they were both cancelled I'd also recommend Resurection Man and Omac.

I've either dropped or haven't read the others.

Hellsfire

I really like Catwoman and Voodoo. But I have a thing for femme fatale comics. Catwoman's cool because it's about a thief and it deals in the world of Batman without Batman, although he does pop up quite a bit. I enjoyed Voodoo because it had aliens, conspiracy, cloning, and prophecy. Shame, that series never really had a chance.

WetRats

I'm down to
Wonder Woman
Flash
Legion
Demon Knights
All-Star Western
World's Finest
Earth-2
and the mercifully-soon-to-end Legion Lost

Chuck_Melville

SigurdJarlson said:

Chuck_Melville said:

I wouldn't recommend Batman, but I would recommend Batman, Inc. I'd also put All-Star Western on the list; don't know how I overlooked it.

May I ask why you wouldn't recommend Batman?

And yes Batman Inc is great too, pick up the trades for the first volume to get a bit more out of the story.

I've been pretty vocal in other threads about my dislike for the current Batman books. For one thing, the New52 era has issued in a new era for Batman as well, which I have been referring to as the Creepy Batman era. (As opposed to earlier era when we had Detective Batman, Avenger Batman, Superhero Batman, Sci-Fi Batman, Manhunter Batman, etc). Stories are much darker and villains are far more psychopathic than ever before, and the art goes to depicting visuals that I am no longer comfortable looking at. (Joker's face being cut off; Batman holding up a set of bloody, chattering teeth in front of his own face to produce a truly visceral and grotesque image) The story arcs (like so many others in the New52) run on and on, smelling more of filler than actual story... and I particularly disliked the entire Court Of Owls arc, making me just about the only one in a crowd of millions who did -- I thought it was overblown, stretched too thin, and, frankly, boring. I haven't enjoyed any of the Batman stories in any of the Bat-books (except for Batman, Inc and one ancillary title, Batwing), and that's literally the first time in decades that I'm able to say that. And for the first time in decades, I'm no longer reading Batman or any of the other Bat-books, except, as mentioned, Batman, Inc, Batwing, and the futuristic Batman Beyond Unlimited. (Which has Norm Breyfogle doing the art; hasn't anybody noticed?) (Actually, Batman & Robin hasn't been quite as bad as the other books, but I dropped it for the duration of the Death In The Family crossover, and am debating as to whether it's worth the bother to pick up again afterwards.)

That's why I wouldn't recommend Batman.

Torchsong

Solely from your list here's the titles I'm reading:

All-Star Western
Aquaman - somehow they made him awesome again
Batman: The Dark Knight - many regard this as the weakest of the Bat-titles, but I've really enjoyed both the story and the artwork.
Detective Comics
Justice League
Super Girl - I love this take on Kara.
Teen Titans - Haven't enjoyed reading the Titans this much since Wolfman/Perez
Wonder Woman - My favorite of the lot

Other books I heartily recommend:
Batman - I enjoy this take on him. Snyder's a great writer and you can't go wrong with the artwork. The whole Court of Owls idea is really intriguing.
Batgirl - I was pissed that we sacrificed Stephanie Brown just so we could put Babs back in the suit again, but Gail Simone's doing a great job with the character regardless.
Batwoman - Loved the Llorona storyline.
Demon Knights - LOVE this title. My favorite of the New 52. I buy it each month digitally then double-dip for trades.
Legion - I've learned to love the Legion over the past few years.

SigurdJarlson

Chuck_Melville said:

SigurdJarlson said:

Chuck_Melville said:

I wouldn't recommend Batman, but I would recommend Batman, Inc. I'd also put All-Star Western on the list; don't know how I overlooked it.

May I ask why you wouldn't recommend Batman?

And yes Batman Inc is great too, pick up the trades for the first volume to get a bit more out of the story.

I've been pretty vocal in other threads about my dislike for the current Batman books. For one thing, the New52 era has issued in a new era for Batman as well, which I have been referring to as the Creepy Batman era. (As opposed to earlier era when we had Detective Batman, Avenger Batman, Superhero Batman, Sci-Fi Batman, Manhunter Batman, etc). Stories are much darker and villains are far more psychopathic than ever before, and the art goes to depicting visuals that I am no longer comfortable looking at. (Joker's face being cut off; Batman holding up a set of bloody, chattering teeth in front of his own face to produce a truly visceral and grotesque image) The story arcs (like so many others in the New52) run on and on, smelling more of filler than actual story... and I particularly disliked the entire Court Of Owls arc, making me just about the only one in a crowd of millions who did -- I thought it was overblown, stretched too thin, and, frankly, boring. I haven't enjoyed any of the Batman stories in any of the Bat-books (except for Batman, Inc and one ancillary title, Batwing), and that's literally the first time in decades that I'm able to say that. And for the first time in decades, I'm no longer reading Batman or any of the other Bat-books, except, as mentioned, Batman, Inc, Batwing, and the futuristic Batman Beyond Unlimited. (Which has Norm Breyfogle doing the art; hasn't anybody noticed?) (Actually, Batman & Robin hasn't been quite as bad as the other books, but I dropped it for the duration of the Death In The Family crossover, and am debating as to whether it's worth the bother to pick up again afterwards.)

That's why I wouldn't recommend Batman.

I see your point, I'm not a fan of blood, gore, or creepiness as well, though there hasn't been too much in the main Batman title, I sometimes look throughout the other books and it makes me put the book back down. I only read the main Batman title and Inc. and recently jumped on Detective with Layman because I'm just not interested in the others.

And though I liked the Court of Owls, I too thought it was stretched out too long.

ctowner1

I read, and enjoy the following, in approximate order of enjoyment:

Batman
Batwoman (but only when JHWIII does art, otherwise drop a few notches)
Batman and Robin
Flash
Earth 2
Justice League
JL Dark
Action Comics (but will quit when Morrison leaves)
Animal Man (on the bubble for dropping)
Swamp Thing (on the bubble for dropping)

e
L nny

Mr_Cosmic

What I'm buying now:

ACTION COMICS
ANIMAL MAN
AQUAMAN
BATGIRL
BATMAN
EARTH 2
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
SWAMP THING
WORLDS FINEST

((bubble)):

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS (depends on the story)
JUSTICE LEAGUE (sometimes ok, but mostly "meh")

The first few issues of STORMWATCH and FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE were very good too.

David_D

Hellsfire said:

Catwoman's cool because it's about a thief and it deals in the world of Batman without Batman, although he does pop up quite a bit.

Is that what the kids call it these days?

WetRats

David_D said:

Hellsfire said:

Catwoman's cool because it's about a thief and it deals in the world of Batman without Batman, although he does pop up quite a bit.

Is that what the kids call it these days?

=)) Naughty, David!

CaptShazam

The following are ones that I enjoy:
Batman
Batgirl
World's Finest
Wonder Woman

I also found Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Aquaman, and Supergirl good for a while but i dropped them for one reason or another.

nweathington

I'm down to:

Aquaman (I was able to get the ultra-cheap subscription through Tanga a while back)
Batman, Inc.
Batwoman

I'm giving Talon a try. I really like Guillem March’s artwork, and the #0 issue was pretty good. I didn’t read any of the “Court of Owls” storyline, but had no trouble figuring out what was going on.

John_Steed

I'm down to ZERO single issues - but will pick up the occasional trade/HC

I still miss O.M.A.C. though.....

luke52

John_Steed said:

I still miss O.M.A.C. though.....

Totally agree. Really enjoyed that book.

luke52

John_Steed said:

I'm down to ZERO single issues - but will pick up the occasional trade/HC

That's one of my main gripes with DC new 52... The way they bring out their trades. They're taking so long to get them out in trade form that it pretty much means no one can jump on to books after reading a vol 1. I would've jumped in with Aquaman after reading that HC. But it means also trying to find another 6 or 7 single issues before I'm caught up.

I understand that they can't bring them out all at once, bringing out 52 trades every 6 or so months just wouldn't work. But surely there must be a better way of releasing them???

Chuck_Melville

How else would you release trades? You can't publish one until you have a six-issue arc completed. Or am I misunderstanding the problem?

luke52

Chuck_Melville said:

How else would you release trades? You can't publish one until you have a six-issue arc completed. Or am I misunderstanding the problem?

My problem is the release schedule. The fact that books like Aquaman, Flash, Blue Beetle etc... Are only just being released in trade form now. These are only collecting 7, 8 issues at most. While we are currently on #14 in single issues. My real issue is its hard to jump onto single issues when trades are coming out so late.

Image are doing it right at the moment for me, on the trade front. Manhattan Projects, Death Club etc... Are being released as trades at a time where it's easy for me to jump on single issues after reading the trade, if I want to too.

WetRats

luke52 said:

John_Steed said:

I still miss O.M.A.C. though.....

Totally agree. Really enjoyed that book.

Me, too. :((

Chuck_Melville

I think the problem is simply that all 52 series started at the same time. As a result, all 52 are going to be ready to go to trade at the same time. But they can't do that because 52 trade releases would be murder -- to the printer who has to set up and schedule time for printing them all, to the retailer who has to order and find shelf space for them all, to the fan who is going to be overwhelmed by fifty-two trade releases the same month. Even if he only buys a quarter of them, that's still a load: thirteen trades @ $15 apiece? If they're not coming out as soon as you like, it's likely because they're trying to pace them out so as not to overwhelm the market channels. They simply can't all be released at once. Some are just simply going to come out later.

At any rate, it's just not a problem for me: there's nothing in the New52 that I'd want as a trade. The floppies are good enough for me.

luke52

Chuck_Melville said:

I think the problem is simply that all 52 series started at the same time. As a result, all 52 are going to be ready to go to trade at the same time. But they can't do that because 52 trade releases would be murder -- to the printer who has to set up and schedule time for printing them all, to the retailer who has to order and find shelf space for them all, to the fan who is going to be overwhelmed by fifty-two trade releases the same month. Even if he only buys a quarter of them, that's still a load: thirteen trades @ $15 apiece? If they're not coming out as soon as you like, it's likely because they're trying to pace them out so as not to overwhelm the market channels. They simply can't all be released at once. Some are just simply going to come out later.

At any rate, it's just not a problem for me: there's nothing in the New52 that I'd want as a trade. The floppies are good enough for me.

Oh yeah, like i said previously, I totally understand that DC couldn't release 52 trades every 6 months. I just wish there was some other way if staggering the releases to get them out a little sooner.

NickSD

Among the (admittedly scarce) DC Comics books I've been able to read, I really recommend the Gates of Gotham trade, incredible Batman art. Amazing.
The only other DC books I've read and can fully recommend are:
Animal Man vol 1 trade
Batwing (any of it)
Aquaman vol 1 trade
Batman (I really liked some of the stories)
negative recommendation on Detective Comics #1, hated the story AND the art (which is exceedingly rare for me)

I hear great things about Wonder Woman, but haven't been able to get ahold of it yet.

Nick

CaptShazam

luke52 said:

Chuck_Melville said:

I think the problem is simply that all 52 series started at the same time. As a result, all 52 are going to be ready to go to trade at the same time. But they can't do that because 52 trade releases would be murder -- to the printer who has to set up and schedule time for printing them all, to the retailer who has to order and find shelf space for them all, to the fan who is going to be overwhelmed by fifty-two trade releases the same month. Even if he only buys a quarter of them, that's still a load: thirteen trades @ $15 apiece? If they're not coming out as soon as you like, it's likely because they're trying to pace them out so as not to overwhelm the market channels. They simply can't all be released at once. Some are just simply going to come out later.

At any rate, it's just not a problem for me: there's nothing in the New52 that I'd want as a trade. The floppies are good enough for me.

Oh yeah, like i said previously, I totally understand that DC couldn't release 52 trades every 6 months. I just wish there was some other way if staggering the releases to get them out a little sooner.

While I understand the desire to get as much money out of a title as possible across mutilple publishing formats, do all of the new 52 titles even deserve to be republished in a trade?

Chuck_Melville

CaptShazam said:

luke52 said:

Chuck_Melville said:

I think the problem is simply that all 52 series started at the same time. As a result, all 52 are going to be ready to go to trade at the same time. But they can't do that because 52 trade releases would be murder -- to the printer who has to set up and schedule time for printing them all, to the retailer who has to order and find shelf space for them all, to the fan who is going to be overwhelmed by fifty-two trade releases the same month. Even if he only buys a quarter of them, that's still a load: thirteen trades @ $15 apiece? If they're not coming out as soon as you like, it's likely because they're trying to pace them out so as not to overwhelm the market channels. They simply can't all be released at once. Some are just simply going to come out later.

At any rate, it's just not a problem for me: there's nothing in the New52 that I'd want as a trade. The floppies are good enough for me.

Oh yeah, like i said previously, I totally understand that DC couldn't release 52 trades every 6 months. I just wish there was some other way if staggering the releases to get them out a little sooner.

While I understand the desire to get as much money out of a title as possible across mutilple publishing formats, do all of the new 52 titles even deserve to be republished in a trade?

No. But why would that stop anyone?

CaptShazam

Chuck_Melville said:

CaptShazam said:

luke52 said:

Chuck_Melville said:

I think the problem is simply that all 52 series started at the same time. As a result, all 52 are going to be ready to go to trade at the same time. But they can't do that because 52 trade releases would be murder -- to the printer who has to set up and schedule time for printing them all, to the retailer who has to order and find shelf space for them all, to the fan who is going to be overwhelmed by fifty-two trade releases the same month. Even if he only buys a quarter of them, that's still a load: thirteen trades @ $15 apiece? If they're not coming out as soon as you like, it's likely because they're trying to pace them out so as not to overwhelm the market channels. They simply can't all be released at once. Some are just simply going to come out later.

At any rate, it's just not a problem for me: there's nothing in the New52 that I'd want as a trade. The floppies are good enough for me.

Oh yeah, like i said previously, I totally understand that DC couldn't release 52 trades every 6 months. I just wish there was some other way if staggering the releases to get them out a little sooner.

While I understand the desire to get as much money out of a title as possible across mutilple publishing formats, do all of the new 52 titles even deserve to be republished in a trade?

No. But why would that stop anyone?

You would think business wise, it would make sense for titles like OMAC that only lasted a few issues for it to go from floppies straight to digital. I do not know what the numbers are but did DC make that much profit from trade sales from OMAC (and similar titles) to justify the time and printing costs?

jaydee74

Here are the books I read and really enjoy:

Batman
Batman & Robin
Batgirl
Nightwing
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern: The New Guardians

Books I have skimmed and feel are worth checking out

Wonder Woman
Aquaman
Superman (Start with #0)

LibraryBoy

I'm getting Aquaman, Supergirl, Batman Incorporated, and Worlds' Finest. Though with Aquaman and Supergirl both approaching multi-month crossovers with books I don't read and don't want to buy, I'm curious to find out just how much longer I'll be following them. If they don't stay readable on their own merits, they're gone.

NickSD

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. I really like. It has lots of potential, and I'm hoping that DC Comics will keep it going long enough to reach its full potential.

Chuck_Melville

NickSD said:

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. I really like. It has lots of potential, and I'm hoping that DC Comics will keep it going long enough to reach its full potential.

I'm afraid it's already got the axe; #16 will be the last issue.

Torchsong

I'm with the idea that not all books need to be traded. We didn't need a Hawk & Dove trade collection, or Blackhawks for that matter. Both books were kind of lackluster and I can't imagine they'd enjoy a large sale in trade format.

Anything with "Bat" on the title? Sure. No brainer. License to print money. OMAC? Not so much.