apokos7

@kilowog52: No, Night of the Monster Men was pretty weak and uninteresting in my opinion. Totally disrupted King's (and the others') flow on the book, too. It would have been so much better if it didn't happen and we went straight from I Am Gotham to I Am Suicide. I do get that it was needed for the artists to breathe though.

Yeah, Cyborg, Trinity and Superman were great and I hope you'll also love Aquaman. This Bat-crossover really disappointed.

Superman keeps being one of the best things from DC since, like, forever. I knew I was going to like Trinity because of the art but the writing was good as well and I couldn't help but love it.

I can't help but disagree especially on the "voice" part which was pretty bad for me but people have different opinions.

Night of the Monster Men really feels like it's unnecessary so yeah, just bring the main arcs already. Aquaman was amazing this week and it was nice getting into more of the Atlantean lore. Since you liked the character-driven Superman and Trinity (I did too) I can't help but recommend Cyborg as well (I think I recommended that to you last time as well). It fell in the same department with the other two books and was in my opinion the superior one. The series really deserves all the recognition it can get.

Trinity was great. So far it's advertised as ongoing. I really hope people get behind it and it keeps going for a good while. Green Arrow's two-issue mini-arc was clearly filler for the artists to breathe. Let's hope the island arc is more interesting.

Orlando's different Batman voice was probably the main thing that killed it for me. Superman was really awesome though. Truly one of the best Superman runs in a while.

The Raven series is actually a mini-series. It wasn't revealed as part of Rebirth and that's probably why you missed it. She will star on Damian Wayne's Teen Titans as well. I have mixed feelings on Green Lanterns. On the one hand I enjoy the characters and their world and I do enjoy the smaller moments like making cookies that you mentioned. On the other hand though it's the humor that kills it for me. It's really forced, practically everywhere and it's not even smart humor; more like cringe-worthy one-liners. If you give Cyborg a shot, I think you'll really enjoy it. After the Rebirth issue reintroduced Cyborg, issue one really delved into the character and his personality and emotional state. Really strong book.

Just a few words on this week's comics from DC. There will be a Pick of the week and the rest will be labeled as Highly recommended, Recommended, Recommended only for *the book's* fans, Not recommended. Feel free to share your own opinions and thoughts on this week's titles.

• Aquaman. Arthur returns to Atlantis to deal with his responsibilities as king while Black Manta leads N.E.M.O. in a new direction. Just when the first arc concluded greatly and you thought things were going to calm down a little this issue was even better than what came before it. Returning to the Atlantean landscape might have helped since it was missed these past few chapters. We also saw some new faces of the royal advisors and it's always great to see the mythos expanding. Great plot, script and art. Pick of the week.
• Cyborg. Sarah takes Victor for a walk as Cyborg tries to find his lost soul. Great issue, I just love the series so far. Really emotional moments. You really feel for Victor and you never think you're bored from all the small moments fleshing out the character. Amazing art too. This shapes out to be the Cyborg series I've been waiting for. Highly recommended.
• Superman. Things calm down for the Smith family as they go to the fair. Really fun issue with nice interactions between the characters. Really nice story and art too. Highly recommended.
• Trinity. Bruce and Diana visit Clark's family for diner. With the New 52 Superman gone the Trinity members have to establish their relationships once more. It's really enjoyable watching their interactions while Jon and Lois in the middle. I'm also really anxious to see where will the story go with the last scene. Really nice writing from Francis Manapul and finally we get more of his always beautiful art. Highly recommended.
• Justice League. The Justice League comes face to face with the Kindred as the fate of the Earth is at stake. So, I generally liked this arc but I found the finale to be a little odd. Hopefully there is more to what happened here and what the Kindred hinted at gets revisited down the road. Recommended.
• Green Lanterns. Jessica faces her biggest fear yet; time spent with Simon's family. I really like the Green Lantern universe and I really want to enjoy this book. And for the most part I think the story is in a good place and the writer's heart is in the right place as well plus the artists working on it are nice. However, the dialogue is very repetitive, the humor is way too forced and a good chunk of the script could be shortened. Recommended only for Green Lantern fans.
• Doctor Fate. Osiris is coming against Doctor Fate in a test to prove how much Khalid has grown into the role of Fate. Really good story although it felt a little short, as in easily wrapped up. Well-handled character interactions. Not the biggest fan of the art. Recommended only for Doctor Fate fans.
• Raven. Raven tracks her mother's sister as something is wrong with her powers. The series starts with a well written issue. The school parts were not to my taste but the part about Trigon and Raven's powers intrigued me so since it's a mini-series I'll keep up with it. Recommended only for Raven fans.
• Batman and Nightwing. The Night of the Monster Men is here and Gotham's protectors should rise up to the occasion. The first two parts of a six-part crossover out in the same week and it's a big no. It's plotted nicely with the strike team, the evacuation team, etc. but the execution is a huge and complete mess. Orlando's script is way off and especially Batman's lines are almost off-putting. The art is bad. Not only is it heavily stylized but it fails to capture tension or anything for that matter. This event smelled forced and just a placeholder from the moment it was announced and it did nothing to disprove that. A shame for the overall strong Rebirth Batman-line that does good so far. Now I'm worried for the JLA as well with Orlando writing it. Recommended only for Batman fans / Not recommended.
• Green Arrow. Emiko has to save her mother from the Yakuza as her past fight with Oliver against the Clock King unfolds. This two-part story was obviously a placeholder for the artists to catch-up. It was fine but nothing spectacular. I also liked how it started in the last issue but ended up too soon. Recommended only for Green Arrow fans / Not recommended.

General thoughts. One thing that came to mind was that we had a lot of slow-action, story/character developing issues this week with Aquaman, Cyborg, Superman, Trinity and even Green Lanterns. I personally love those when handled correctly so it was a nice week for me. The other thing that struck me was how this week's titles were either awesome or bad with really few titles in the middle scale.

Geoff Johns' New 52 Green Lantern issues continue directly from where he left of prior to the Flashpoint event. I would consider them essential since he manages to build and expand the mythos even during the final arc, plus the last issue is simply stunning.

Now, if you really like Green Lantern you should definitely continue with Robert Venditti's New 52 issues which bring new and fresh things to the book and lead up to Rebirth's Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (still written by Venditti) which is pure awesomeness and maybe even on par with Johns' stories.

The way I see it, The Man Who Laughs features the first encounter between Batman and Joker while The Killing Joke features possibly the last one (with that possible outcome scene plus it was first intended as a standalone almost elseworlds story). Of course the Red Hood origin happens before the events in The Man Who Laughs but the main story in The Killing Joke happens long after that. So The Man Who Laughs predates The Killing Joke.

@rurgandy: I personally love his book. It's one of my favorites. But yeah, this week had way too many titles out.

@thepreface: It's actually awesome, isn't it?

@ready_4_madness: No, sorry. I wanted to get invested in Marvel too back when I started reading comics but their line up for the past few years has put me off so I don't read any Marvel books. Maybe when they get their own Rebirth and their comics are back to being amazing then why not; I'd probably do a thread for their comics that I read.

@ready_4_madness: Other than Detective that really divided me personally, we pretty much agree on the others. Rebirth is a gift from the Highfather himself, really.

@rurgandy: We're pretty much on the same wavelength. New Super-Man really is a surprise hit, I love it. I also wanted to mention in the "general thoughts" section that I picked up Birds of Prey but found it unworthy of short-reviewing and I dropped it but I forgot it. On another note, don't you read Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps?

Also, the books have truly piled up. It was a heavy week and we still have quite a few titles ahead of us.

Just a few words on this week's comics from DC. There will be a Pick of the week and the rest will be labeled as Highly recommended, Recommended, Recommended only for *the book's* fans, Not recommended. Feel free to share your own opinions/thoughts on this week's titles.

• Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. Yellow Lanterns deliver Guy Gardner to Sinestro as the Fear Engine is revealed. I can't properly describe the amount of enjoyment I get out of this book. The writing is great the art is amazing with the story being so good. Pick of the week.
• Deathstroke. Slade and Wintergreen track the people who knew of Wintergreen's secret location as Slade's past is further explored. Another great Rebirth series so far. The writer does a really good job at keeping you interested in Deathstroke by delving into his character. The art was also really nice, clean and detailed. I think they had a new artist providing layouts for Carlo Pagulayan that worked out really well since it improved his overall storytelling. Highly Recommended.
• Action Comics. Clark Kent is back and tries to break a story when he comes face to face with Superman. Really good issue where we saw a nice reporter story. They are finally about to shed some light into the Kent mystery. Good writing and amazing art from Patrick Zircher. Highly recommended.
• New Super-Man. Kenan Kong reveals his identity to the world and the Justice League of China members get to know each other a little more. This book is so much fun and I really like it. There is some good humor in a well structured story that's also intriguing. The dialogue is nice and the art is great too. Highly recommended / Recommended.
• Superwoman. Superwoman tries to wrap her head around last issue's developments as Steel is reintroduced and Lex Luthor meets his nemesis. Great title so far. The story is really tight and every issue feels really heavy in content. Both the writing and the art are awesome. Highly recommended / Recommended.
• The Flash. As Barry follows some leads on the Speed Force users' deaths, he finally comes face to face with Godspeed. So, at first I was ok with the idea for this arc. The first few issues felt a little slow with the previous one being the slowest of them all but this issue was actually amazing. Probably everything I want from a Flash comic. Good writing. Not a fan of heavily stylized art generally but it's good and fits the theme of the book. Recommended.
• Wonder Woman. Diana and Steve reach man's world with the military trying to pinpoint Diana's point of origin. I feel like the story finally picked up the pace. I found the art and the script to be outstanding in all of the previous issues but the story and the pacing to be a little weak but now things are finally being put together and the result feels rewarding. Excited for the issues to come. Recommended.
• All-Star Batman. Villains come after the "most wanted man in the state" while the GCPD prepares a raid on Wayne Manor. The main story with two-face progressed nicely. It was action packed with some cool villains going after Batman. The back-up story was a little weaker as I found it pretty uneventful. In both cases I wasn't a real fan of the art. Interested to see where the book goes from here. Recommended.
• Detective Comics. The Colony's drones attack Red Robin while Batwoman confronts Jacob Kane. I liked this arc previously, it was something good even though it was nothing special, but this issue was a little disappointing. I didn't like they way they handled the attack on Tim and what seemed to be the result of it, I felt the effect shown from that was way too forced and only to be revealed that it ultimately wasn't what it seemed, a direction I liked a little better. The art was top notch though and really highlighted the moment it had to captivate. I don't know how I feel about this title moving forward after such an ending to their first arc. Recommended.
• Suicide Squad. The Squad reaches its target when a member actually perishes in the field? So the main issue picked up the pace from last issue's slow developments. The writing was fine and with Jim Lee on pencils you can't go wrong. I hope they stay true with the direction they took at the last few pages. The back-up story looked stunning but at some point I wondered what it had to offer. Recommended / Recommended only for Suicide Squad.
• Red Hood and the Outlaws. Artemis confronts Red Hood as they find out what Black Mask is truly after. I like the story and the cast but I felt that the scripting slipped a little with a few unnecessary lines. I'm still interested in what they do with Bizarro though and the art is really nice. Recommended / Recommended only for Red Hood fans.
• Green Lanterns. In the final face off between the Red Lanterns Jessica Cruz must face her fears to assist her partner and save the earth. Nice story that unfortunately is way over-scripted with forced humor and fails to capture the reader. I'm really interested in the Phantom Ring storyline but I really hope it's good since I love the GL universe and don't want to drop this book. The art from Will Conrad was gorgeous and has me pumped up for his Cyborg issues. Recommended only for Green Lantern fans.

General thoughts. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Deathstroke and Action Comics continue to be amazing with New Super-Man and Superwoman being great surprise hits and I hope they resonate well with the fans. The Flash and Wonder Woman picked up the pace and brought their A-game this week improving on what they had build before. The two Bat-books scored a little low, while they weren't bad All-Star Batman's back-up story felt a little unnecessary and Detective Comics' ending was not of my taste. The main story on Suicide Squad improved upon the previous issue but the back-up story was a little weird. Red Hood and the Outlaws and Green Lanterns have their heart in the right place but they are over-written. Maybe an editor should forcefully cut some stuff down?

Can they please shelf Harley for at least five years or at least fix her?