-Comics that I believe strongly enough in to purchase for someone else
Batman & Robin (It's still amazing to me how half of the Bat-family books are so good while the rest are often not even worth a second read... I don't want to pick a favorite between this, Snyder/ Capullo Batman and J.H. Williams III/ Blackman/ sometimes Reeder Batwoman, so I'll just say that if you like Bat-family stuff, buy these three books. Tomasi/ Gleason/ Gray are killing it when it comes to developing the Bruce/ Damian relationship. Also, the art is enhanced by the writing, which is a huge deal. Plus, these covers... Tim Callahan has a article that's a really good read about this book that I'll respond to in my review of the story arc and IT TOTALLY DEALS WITH COVERS: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36689 )
Batwoman (This is a rad book. A totally rad book. I'm sure people have issues with the art layout and density, but you know what? I like it when the art is methodical and forces me to slow down my reading of the book. Not that it forces a re-read [I tend to think that's a artistic flaw], but that it slows the pace of the book. Plus, with exception a few bizarre dialogue tone changes that happen within a scene, this one sustains and develops its characters beautifully. Really solid writing and great art makes for a great comic experience)
Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. (I have an unhealthy love for Jeff Lemire's work... this sounds so silly, but I have yet to have a complaint about Frankenstein unless it's that there's too much S.H.A.D.E. and not enough Frank. That's not really a good complaint. And I waffle daily on whether or not I think it's accurate. I think it's a pretty fair debate between Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire to see who is the better writer at DC right now, but no one else is even competing with them in this category. Both are putting out 3 top notch books a month. I'm so SO SO sad that he's leaving Frank soon, so I expect Matt Kindt to knock it out of the park)
-Comics I think are good, but either too generic or too boring or too flawed to do more than recommend
Deathstroke (The book does what it intends to do: set up Deathstroke as the dude when it comes to killing other dudes. It's fun and it does fun stuff. It has a very 90s feel to it)
Green Lantern (Sad sack Hal and Johns' Sintestro. Some rocky pacing in the first book, but it gets better. And, honestly, I almost don't want to see Hal untethered from Thaal anytime soon. Not the best of the [sadly overall weak] Lantern books, not a "must buy", but I'm grooving on it)
Demon Knights (It's Dungeons & Dragons with DC Characters. It has yet to move beyond what feels like a very fun Friday evening gaming session. The drops of character development in the book have done enough over the arc to make it feel like an actual collection of individuals, though it's taken [I think] a few too many panels to accomplish all of it's goals. When the pacing for the entire arc is lagging enough, it feels like watching a video where the actors and dialogue are slightly out of sync. Could be super irritating for some, but it doesn't drive me up the wall. But if the pacing and character development don't improve in the second story arc, I'll be moving this book to a lower tier)
-Comics I wouldn't mind letting you read at my place
Batgirl (It is just so dadgum frustrating that Simone, who has done Barbara Gordon/ Oracle so well in the past, is writing this Barbara Gordon/ Batgirl so poorly. I have a ridiculous amount of respect for some of her previous writing, but it feels like both this book and her work on Firestorm are almost not worth my time. Toss in a bunch of one note tertiary characters, plot developments that are just there to be more plot, and perhaps my least favorite new villain in The New 52 [and definitely my least favorite villain with this many panel appearances], and you have a book that misses the mark on enough targets to where I just don't like it. Which is rough because of how much I expected to like this book. Not a let down, more of a "How did this happen?")
Grifter (This book should've been money in the bank. Huge fan of Grifter from Image as well as Wildstorm. A perfectly translatable character to the DC Universe. And then they went and mucked it all up by making it, "Guy with a mask fights aliens that destroy superhumans in combat. Boring, out of sync with the rest of the universe, and a possible title ruining first arc. But it's Grifter, so I don't hate it, you know? This isn't Cole Cash, this is some new character they call Cole Cash who has the same bandanna covering his face)
Resurrection Man (Boy, I loved this comic in the 90s. It was a bunch of well executed [sorry] big concepts. Now? It feels hodgepodge, far too arbitrarily random, and completely uneasy with itself. Lanning and Abnett crushed on the old Vertigo series. Now with this half-hearted Heaven and Hell stuff, it feels like it wants to be a big story but has no idea how to do it and doesn't have much reason. I'm enjoying the series because I missed Mitch and I want to give Lanning and Abnett enough of a chance to get back to the old concept that was so great. I'm worried it's just going to muddle around in this substanceless quasi-religious quagmire until being cancelled in the 3rd or 4th wave of The New 52. I feel like I should make some pun about "resurrecting" the character or concept here, but it'll be subpar. I'd rather come up with a good one when I'm reviewing the story arc)
Suicide Squad (It's just... meh. You know? It could be cool [though killing off one dude per mission/ issue is pretty formulaic], but everyone feels... bland. What makes Harley different from the other sexpot females beyond some flavor salting up her dialogue? How is Deadshot written much different from how Batman would be written if he were in the same position? It feels like an Image team comic from back when that was a negative connotation. The concept alone is driving this book, and it won't get any better until the concept exists as the framework around which someone can wrap some solid storytelling and more dimensional characters. Also, reducing Amanda Waller in both size and character depth has infuriated me to no end. One of DC's best characters of the 2000s was ruined in a single panel reveal. Then someone defiled the corpse with her awful, awful dialogue. I thought the intent of the relaunch was to fix what was broken or stagnant, not to lipo the size and personality of stuff that was working)
Superboy (This book is fine on it's own and fine in conjunction with Teen Titans. If you're a fan of the Titans [as I am] and Kon-El [less so], you won't hate picking up this book every month. That doesn't mean you'll like it. Everything about this book is average)
-Comics I wish I hadn't purchased and won't let you read even if we're bored at my place and you want to read them
Legion Lost (This book is straight up bad. Terrible pacing, terribly written dialogue, old plot ideas with nothing new added to them, bad to incomprehensible art, just... ugh. But still not as bad as Mister Terrific or Green Arrow)
Mister Terrific (While JT Krul's run on Green Arrow was the worst of The New 52, Mr. Terrific was maybe a half step behind. Avoid this book at every cost. It is awful. Really, really awful)
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