Hard at work

Just a quick update. I now have 3 pages penciled for my comic. I'll post some when I get the inks done.

Batwoman #1

I was really excited for Batwoman solely due to images I had seen of J.H.Williams' artwork on Detective Comics. I wasn't disappointed. I have to admit, however, I got a little confused. It could be because I am completely new to secondary DC characters and this book seems to be a continuation as opposed to a reboot. Another reason could be the layouts. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful. The problem I had was with the amount of 2-page spreads and different art styles and media being used on each single page. The first half of the book is easier to understand than the second, due to the lack of intermingled flashbacks and such. Once the backstory started being explained, I just lost my way.

I honestly can't tell if it was written well, because most of what I saw after the flashbacking started was non-sequential, albeit beautiful, artwork.

Since this is such an art-heavy book, let's look at a particularly gorgeous spread by the talented Mr. Williams. this happened near the beginning of the book, in the 2-pagers that weren't quite as confusing.

The motion that is captured in this sequence is exquisite. That's what really pulled me into the art. It's as if every shard of glass was mapped out and would fit perfectly as puzzle pieces into the broken window. As an artist myself, it's very clear to me just how much skill this artist brings to the table. I'm onboard for at least the first story arc, for the art alone, although I have heard that the art duties will be shared since co-writing and providing the art on such a detailed book would be too heavy a workload for Mr.(or Ms. I suppose) Williams to meet deadlines. It's understandable.

I give Batwoman #1 two ghostly pale, alternative heroines up and one scratching my head with a batarang in confusion to the side.

The Flash #1

All you need to know about how I feel about this comic is in in this image. I freaking loved it. I don't know much about Barry Allen except people seem to see him as having no personality. This Barry Allen is basically Peter Parker on speed. I liked it. I liked the dialogue. I liked the art. I liked the layouts. It was a good superhero comic book. That's really all that needs to be said. Art is by Francis Manapul (hehe) and it is written by Brian Buccellato. Good good good. These are the kind of pages that Chris Bachalo wishes he laid out.

My only complaint is that it was (ahem) kind of a fast read.

I give The Flash #1 two awesomely laid out pages up.

New 52: Aftermath Omega #0.1 Tie-In

What I've read so far:

Animal Man - Sticking with it
Swamp Thing - Sticking with it
Batwoman - Giving it one more issue
Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE - Sticking with it
The Dark Knight - Not buying #2
The Flash - Sticking with it
Justice League Dark - Giving it one more issue
Superman - Sticking with it
Teen Titans - Dipped it in acetone

Superman #1

*SPOILERS*

We get our main Superman title in the last batch of new 52's. The grand opening of the all new, all different Daily Planet. We get a burly Perry White complaining to Lois Lane about the lack of integrity of an all-online news publisher, and Lois, of course, wondering where Clark is. Pan over to Superman hovering above the ruins of the freshly demolished all old, all the same Daily Planet. Then a fire monster shows up, then Superman fights it, then he wins, then he goes to Lois's apartment, then he finds a dude there, then some other shit happens. I will go on record saying that this thing is one wordy sonofabitch. I don't think the bulk of the text was unnecessary, however. There wasn't very much campy dialogue, either. The narrative were not done in a point-of-view way. Instead they were exactly what they are supposed to be, narrative.
There was no;
      [I realized the fire wasn't igniting the metal]
It was more like;
      [Superman discovered that the metal was becoming fire]
It's not that big of a deal, but I liked the way they were done from a third person perspective.
      [Superman realized that because of the unfreezing process, he had no inner monologue]

 So, in regards to the writing and dialogue duties, I think George Perez handled them well. There was alot of action and alot of story. By the time I was done, it felt like I had just watched a season premiere, and that is why I liked this book. Good way to use a #1.

The art by Jesus Merino is well done. It's reminiscent of the actiony art of the late 80s mixed with the photoshop colors of the mid 90s. That may or may not make any sense. I thought it was good. Not my favorite style of art, but it suits a Superman book just fine.

I picked up Superman #1 expecting to be indifferent, and I put it down two hours later being excited for the next issue. There was plenty of setup and story. It successfully communicates the status quo of the characters involved. The art is comic-booky and exciting. It's all-in-all a decently rewarding read. I wasn't blown away in the same way I was with Animal Man and Swamp Thing, but I certainly put it in my 'buy the next issue' pile.

I do think the Super Manties need to come back.

I give Superman #1 two flaming Daily Planets to the face up.