Last month, DC Comics kicked off the start of its Rebirth initiative. After a wave of criticism surrounding the way they have treated their characters’ rich histories since 2011’s New 52 relaunch, DC has decided to rebrand. They hope that by restoring their characters’ pasts, they will restore readers’ faith in them as well.  Do they succeed?  That’s what the Comics Beat managing editor Alex Lu and entertainment editor Kyle Pinion are here to discuss.  Book by book. Panel by panel.

Welcome to month two of DC Reborn!

Previous Reviews:

Week One— BATMAN:REBIRTH, GREEN ARROW: REBIRTH, SUPERMAN: REBIRTH, and GREEN LANTERNS: REBIRTH

Week Two— ACTION COMICS #957, AQUAMAN: REBIRTH, DETECTIVE COMICS #934, FLASH: REBIRTH, WONDER WOMAN: REBIRTH

Week ThreeBATMAN #1, GREEN ARROW #1, GREEN LANTERNS #1, SUPERMAN #1, TITANS: REBIRTH

Week Four– ACTION COMICS #958, AQUAMAN #1, DETECTIVE COMICS #935, THE FLASH #1, WONDER WOMAN #1

Note: the reviews below contain **spoilers**. If you want quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendations, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdicts.


The Reviews

Click an image to visit the book’s review page!

Aquaman #2
Batman #2
Green Arrow #2

Green Lanterns #2
Justice League #2
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Superman #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Buy/Pass Guide

Buy: Batman #2Green Arrow #2Superman #2

Pass: Green Lanterns #2Justice League: RebirthAquaman #2


Ranking the Rebirth Books

With the first month of DC Comics Rebirth books in the rear view mirror, we can start to gauge how they compare to one another. Kyle and Alex each ranked the DC series that had books released in the month of June from favorite to least favorite and then averaged their lists together to assemble a (non)definitive list of rankings!

  1. Green Arrow
  2. Batman
  3. Superman
  4. Wonder Woman
  5. Flash
  6. Detective Comics
  7. Action Comics
  8. Titans
  9. Aquaman
  10. Justice League
  11. Green Lanterns

Alex Lu: No huge surprises on my part. Kyle, we differed most on Detective Comics, which I ranked fourth and you ranked ninth.  Clearly, the pleasures of good guy Clayface have not rubbed off on you..yet.

Honestly, despite the connotations of these power rankings, I don’t think there are any clear stinkers in this lineup.  I was a little shocked to see Aquaman end up so low, given that we both like the series to some extent. In addition, while I expected Green Lanterns to end up at the bottom, I still don’t think the book is irredeemable!  Good job this month, DC.  Let’s hope you can keep up the great work this month.

Kyle: After about number 5 on that list, things start to feel a little more hit and miss. But to a certain extent, I’ve found elements to enjoy in just about every series they’ve put out so far in this “first wave” of titles, which is a win. I think what I remain most excited about is just how the publisher has been able to replenish their bench a bit and create a nice core of newer talent alongside a number of vets, and no surprise here, but the books scripted by the experienced prose writers like King, Percy and Rucka remain my favorites.

I’m looking forward to seeing how titles like Nightwing,  Batgirl, and New Super-Man, among others, alter the landscape of the above ranking. It continues to be a very fun time to be a DC fan.