So at this point I'll share my rankings for the new 52... I'll be putting them into categories of brilliant, great, good, okay and enh, which you might as just well read as bad. I just don't like calling things bad. At the conclusion I might add some thoughts, including what might qualify particular titles to elevate themselves in this new month... where my excitement level is for the additional new titles... and perhaps a light rationale for a few of my choices.

Brilliant: Justice League, Swamp Thing, Action Comics, Batwoman, Frankenstein, Demon Knights, Batman, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, All-Star Western, Supergirl, Batgirl

Great: Justice League Dark, Animal Man, I, Vampire, Detective Comics, New Guardians, Stormwatch, Batwing, Nightwing, Teen Titans, Catwoman, Superboy, Voodoo, OMAC, Men of War, Superman

Good: DCU Presents, Red Lanterns, Suicide Squad, Red Hood, Firestorm, Hawk & Dove, Dark Knight, Hawkman, Birds of Prey, Mr. Terrific, Deathstroke

Okay: Justice League International, Static Shock, Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Blackhawks, Resurrection Man, Grifter

Enh: Legion Lost, Legion of Super-Heroes

First of all, I love the legion. I want it to be great. This month, it just wasn't. And it wasn't for a lack of good talent. Pete Woods is on my list of super-artists... Nicieza has written some of my favorite stories... the best work Levitz has done was on the Legion... it just didn't come together this month. If the problem persists in the months following, then we'll be reconsidering things, but I'm still fine with them for now.

A lot of the okay stuff is having some shifts in creative teams... some of them are just getting their first moments of footing... I foresee that at least half of them will easily make a jump up my rating list next month.

The good category this month was almost better labeled uncertain. Each one has some really solid moments... each one has a solid misstep or two. Mr. Terrific was actually one of my favorites... until there was a really strange shift in the story and I had to backpeddle and scream "huhwhatnow" and try to figure out what the heck I missed.

A few of the greats may actually have been brilliant... I just need to read them again to make sure of that assessment. My copies are all sealed for now... luckily there are 2nd printings on the way. Those that might've been brilliant were: Justice League Dark, Animal Man, Batwing and I, Vampire. If I get the same positive vibe from my rereading, they'll be retroactively upgraded. Stormwatch I expected to be brilliant... for a first issue though, it didn't quite do it. I'm thinking it'll stay in the great column for the first few issues, then will make a jump upwards once all of the pieces have been explained, revealed and settled. Voodoo, another surprise that I was expecting (yes, I know, doesn't make sense) might also make the jump up, I just need to know if the next issue will hold up as well as this one did.

My brilliant list really surprised me, for some of the inclusions and the quantity of them that there were. I expected maybe two a week and look at what I got! Whoo! Supergirl was a last minute jump up from great... I'll be 2nd reading that again, to make sure, but thinking back on it I found it pretty darned stellar.

My Favorites of the Week were as follows: Swamp Thing, Batwoman, Batman and Aquaman. At this point...

I've yet to decide my favorite of the month. Sue me, my brilliant pile was really good! I'm going to re-read them all, regardless of whether they were favorites of the week and hopefully have a favorite of the month up... by next month. Or something. Gosh knows.

In the new books for next month, the mini-series debuts: Huntress I expect to be brilliant... she isn't one of my top characters... but Marcus To is one of my top favorite artists. Penguin should be great, if only because the character wouldn't get a mini unless the story was really going to be that compelling. My Greatest Adventure could be good... the hard thing is that the final decision will be based on each of the separate stories... so they've all got to hold a similar level. Weird Worlds was surprisingly entertaining, we'll see if it can hold against the price tag. The Shade has high expectations and should be great or brilliant... anything less though and it might as well sink to the bottom... James can pull it together, but the quality of this maxi will really set the stage for pre-decided fan opinion on his new JSA book. Batman: Odyssey might be okay. The first volume didn't work for me, at all. But maybe it just needed a fresh start without the stigma of the suffering delays. Legion: Secret Origin... has been done. And this month wasn't the Legion's finest hour. So there are a lot of preemptive strikes against it... but if it can surprise against those expectations, it'll be all the more significant. I have no idea if my shop will be putting Online Legends back on my list.

Anyways, let month 2 begin!