Having recovered from the medication-induced frenzy of giving practically everything a four or higher last week, I’ve turned the spotlight on this week’s New 52 comics.
As usual, each comic is scored out of five and at the end I have a cumulative leader board to show which are consistently excellent, which are on the rise, and which are circling the drain (excluding reviewed one-shots and mini-series).
Warning, there could be spoilers ahead (although I try to avoid them).
Batman #6
Not since Bane broke the Bat has anyone put the hero through such brutal physical abuse as writer Snyder has in recent issues of this title, which makes it very, very, very satisfying to see things finally start to turnaround for the Dark Knight – 4.5
Blue Beetle #6
Others have criticised this title for recycling recent history, but I haven’t read those comics so I found this issue, in which Jaime is attacked by his Scarab-possessed best friend, Paco, very entertaining and quite true-to-life … what would you do if you were suddenly a danger to everyone you cared about – 4
Red Hood and the Outlaws #6
I’ll give writer Lobdell due credit, as he’s recovered from a shaky start to string a couple of quite good issues together, including this one, which recounts when Jason Todd first met Starfire – 4
Birds of Prey #6
It took me a page or two to find my bearings in this issue, but once I did, I greatly enjoyed seeing the Birds get on the front foot and try to take the fight to the mysterious mind-controller, Choke – 4
Supergirl #6
Writers Johnson and Green continue to weave a solid origin story for the fully rebooted Kara Zor-El that nicely balances character development and action, as this issue sees the young heroine make some kind of peace with the past and confront the Worldkiller, Reign, who has set her sights on Earth – 3.5
Catwoman #6
This solid but unspectacular issue is elevated by a couple of excellent character moments, as Selina tries to get herself out of a sticky situation arising from inadvertently ripping off some dirty cops – 3.5
Captain Atom #6
A really solid issue for this often inconsistent title, in which the threat of overzealous military intervention forces the hero’s hand while dealing with a menace that is more of a victim than a villain – 3.5
Nightwing #6
This issue seems like the beginning of the end of the first story arc involving the circus, which – while far from bad – hasn’t really enthused me at any point – 3.5
Green Lantern Corps #6
I figure writer Tomasi and artist Pasarin were purposefully aiming for a balls-to-the-wall, big budget, “war is hell” feel in this issue, which sees a squadron of GLs take on the Keepers in a bloody battle on the latter’s home turf, but ultimately I found it overwhelming and elements of the story (namely the Fear Bomb) poorly explained – 3
DC Universe Presents #6
The focus of this title moves to the origin of the Challengers of the Unknown (who I don’t know much about), in a story that’s intriguing but also very wordy and a little hard to follow … time will tell if the payoff is worth it – 3
Wonder Woman #6
This issue was really, really ugly (come back Chiang) – there, I’ve said it, but also the story of Wonder Woman’s efforts to avert a disastrous war between Gods for the turf left by Zeus’ absence has been missing the mark for me the last couple of issues as well – 2.5
My Greatest Adventure #5 (of 6)
The Robotman chapter, which delved into the character’s origin, was quite entertaining, while the Garbageman part was at least passable (with nice artwork from Lopresti), but once again I just found Tanga silly and uninteresting – 2.5
Legion of Superheroes #6
Really, what’s the point of a relaunch if the new comics never introduce the characters in a way that helps new readers get up to speed … it’s the sixth issue and I still don’t know much more than the names and powers of most of the characters in this title, which makes it really hard to care about them in any way – 2
If you haven’t already, check out last month’s reviews and ones from earlier this month:
Please note, since a title is only as good as its last issue, the books are ranked firstly by their average score, then their most recent score (shown in brackets), and the number of issues is the final number.
LEADER BOARD
1. Animal Man 4.3 (4.5) 6
2. Swamp Thing 4.3 (4) 6
3. Batman 4.2 (4.5) 6
4. Resurrection Man 4.1 (4.5) 6
5. Aquaman 4 (4.5) 5
6. Justice League Dark 3.9 (4.5) 5
7. Batman and Robin 3.9 (4) 6
=8. Batwoman 3.8 (4) 6
=8. Birds of Prey 3.8 (4) 6
=8. Blue Beetle 3.8 (4) 6
11. Green Lantern 3.7 (4) 6
=12. Batwing 3.7 (3.5) 6
=12. I, Vampire 3.7 (3.5) 5
14. Justice League 3.6 (4) 5
15. Stormwatch 3.6 (3.5) 6
16. Green Lantern Corps 3.6 (3) 6
17. Suicide Squad 3.5 (4.5) 6
=18. Batgirl 3.5 (4) 6
=18. Batman – The Dark Knight 3.5 (4) 5
=18. Blackhawks 3.5 (4) 5
=18. Demon Knights 3.5 (4) 6
=18. Teen Titans 3.5 (4) 5
23. Supergirl 3.4 (3.5) 6
24. Wonder Woman 3.4 (2.5) 6
=25. Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. 3.3 (4) 6
=25. Justice League International 3.3 (4) 6
=27. Action Comics 3.3 (3.5) 6
=27. Captain Atom 3.3 (3.5) 6
=27. Catwoman 3.3 (3.5) 6
=27. Green Lantern – New Guardians 3.3 (3.5) 5
=27. Nightwing 3.3 (3.5) 6
32. Detective Comics 3.3 (2) 6
=31. Deathstroke 3.2 (4) 6
=31. Superboy 3.2 (4) 6
=35. Mister Terrific 3.1 (4) 6
=35. O.M.A.C. 3.1 (4) 6
=37. The Flash 3.1 (3.5) 5
=37. Red Lanterns 3.1 (3.5) 6
39. Voodoo 3 (3.5) 5
40. Red Hood and the Outlaws 2.9 (4) 6
41. Men of War 2.9 (3) 6
42. DC Universe Presents 2.8 (3) 6
43. Legion Lost 2.7 (4) 6
44. All Star Western 2.7 (2.5) 5
45. Static Shock 2.6 (1) 6
46. The Fury of Firestorm 2.5 (3) 5
47. Green Arrow 2.4 (3) 6
48. Grifter 2.4 (3) 6
49. Superman 2.4 (2) 5
50. Hawk and Dove 1.9 (1.5) 6
=51. Legion of Super-Heroes 1.6 (2) 6
=51. Savage Hawkman 1.6 (2) 5
read/RANT! 
Considering I forgot to take Nightwing off my pull list, I picked up the latest issue after all and rather enjoyed it. Enough actually that I’ll actually be looking into the next issue as well when it pops out.
How much longer will you continue on with this abuse, btw?
Nightwing was quite decent, but I’m just not digging the overall plot.
I was originally keen to do six months, but now I’m tempted to try to keep going until the first cancellations. Can I keep this up for two more months?
Batman #6 was almost too incredible for me. It hurt how much I loved it.
I agree Snyder’s Batman run has been amazing thus far.
I just don’t see what everyone else does with Blue Beetle. It’s a 90’s Spider-Man retread, with more violence and less wit. Which is fine, I guess, but… why?
I hated this past issue. Jaime is my favorite new character of the past 10+ years of comics, but I just can’t keep buying into this ‘grim and gritty’ reboot. It’s so boilerplate! I feel like there’s a checklist of everything an angsty teen hero needs, and the series is just running down that list like a machine.
I think the fact that you’ve read and enjoyed the previous stories leads to inevitable comparisons, and you obviously don’t find the new issues up to the standard set by the earlier books. That’s fair enough.
I wouldn’t say I love Blue Beetle at this stage, but I admire the consistency and reasonably high level of quality that the creators are achieving. I acknowledge your point about ‘grim and gritty’ and that, along with a little bit of cheapness in the storytelling at times (I didn’t like how Jaime impaled his friend at the end of one issue and fixed him in the first page or two of the next), is what’s holding this title back from greatness.