Ongoing books from a villain’s point-of-view are notoriously tricky propositions, but Cullen Bunn is off to a solid – if rougher than I’d like – start in Magneto #1. Check out the read/RANT review today!
Cover by Paolo Rivera
Writing a great first issue is hard. With “#1 With A Bullet”, I wanted to examine some debut issues that worked – or didn’t – in an attempt to figure out just what makes a great first issue… and what common mistakes creators occasionally make. Today, I look at Mark Waid’s fantastic Daredevil #1 and the art of revitalizing a character who has been stuck in something of a rut. Continue reading
Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner team up with, uh, basically every major artist still speaking to DC for a blessedly playful introduction to their upcoming Harley Quinn series.
Harley Quinn was more damaged than perhaps any other character in the DC Universe (give or take a Jaime Reyes) by the DC Universe ‘soft reboot’ in the New 52. While Harley’s always had a dark, seductive edge, the New 52 stripped her of all her subtlety and most of her clothes, turning her into a vaguely ridiculous facsimile of one of DC’s most iconic female characters. Bits and pieces of the old Harley have resurfaced periodically, but by and large, Harley went from the Clown Princess of Crime to another bland merry murderess in a corset and boy shorts. It was an abysmal redesign. Now, however, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner are taking over and steering Harley Quinn back towards being her own thing, a process that starts in the cluttered-but-playful Harley Quinn #0. 
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Marguerite Bennett lands on a brilliant concept for a “Zero Year” tie-in, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Valiant’s first superteam gets a worthy debut issue as Unity tackles a tough prospect with admirable intelligence.
The Movement is a book I badly wanted to love. One of the few truly new ideas to emerge from the New 52, it had pretty much everything I look for in a monthly comic, at least on the surface. It had a fantastic premise – superpowered teens fight corruption and wage class warfare – that was extraordinarily relevant to modern society, a diverse cast filled with mostly new characters, and a dedication to building a strong sense of place in Coral City. But The Movement has failed to connect with readers (myself included) in a way that’s rare for writer Gail Simone’s work. Where did it go so wrong? Continue reading
DC’s newest event gets off to a shaky start in the underwhelming Green Lantern #24.
