Summary of the first month of the "DCNU"

Updated on December 10, 2021

Looks like the first month of the “DCNU” (DC Comics reboot) is over, and saleswise, it seems to be a hit. In terms of individual stories, it’s the usual mixed bag of course.

For me, it was definitely a (very) mixed bag. While some of the DCNU changes addressed what was wrong before (a few extra genres have been introduced, along with no mega-crossovers so far), a lot of the same faults still linger. Part of this might be the same writers/editors as before the reboot, leading to a lot of the “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” feel to this reboot.

The books I’ve read (and reviewed) out of the reboot:

Out of eight books (of the 52) read, I enjoyed (with few reservations) one of them (“Superman”), enjoyed (*with* reservations) three of them (“Mister Terrific,” “Static Shock,” “Action Comics”), and didn’t like four of them (“Justice League,” “Catwoman,” “Red Hood and the Outlaws,” “Aquaman”). I’m not surprised by the results, especially for the issues I wasn’t planning to buy, but only read out of hearing much hype about them online (“Catwoman,” “Red Hood” and “Aquaman”).

Thus, for the foreseeable future (or at least the next several-plus months), I’ll be buying “Superman,” “Mister Terrific,” “Action Comics,” “Static Shock,” and *maybe* “Justice League” (though its decompressed storytelling makes it fail at being an “introduction to the new 52”). And even *these* books I might end up ditching. With Perez leaving “Superman,” Morrison probably not staying on “Action” forever, and me being wary of the remaining two books not being axed and/or avoiding DC’s trademark violence (per what happened to Static at the end of his first issue), I suspect by this time next year I’ll be back to where I was before the DCNU started—reading back issues, non-canonical spin-offs, and Johnny DC titles as my only “DC Comics input.”