Action Figure Review: DC Collectibles New 52 The Joker

You can't spell Slaughter without laughter, and who knows that better than the Joker!

Straight out of Scott Snyder's New 52 storyline "Death of the Family," the Joker is back and deadlier than ever.

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Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: REDemption Review

Last year, DC introduced a new team of existing characters during their New 52 reboot. Red Hood and the Outlaws features the one-time Robin, Jason Todd, Starfire, and Arsenal (Red Arrow). This dysfunctional team is both a fun and unique title, something which the New 52 was in desperate need of.

Follow these three Outlaws, in their quest to find themselves and kick ass doing it! REDemption collects issues #1-7 written by Scott Lobdell (Teen Titans).

I don't know really what to say about this title other than it's AWESOME! Definitely a great take on the characters despite its initial controversy over the "too sexy" Starfire. I have read the current issues and they have delved deeper into Starfire's past, solidifying her as a character in the New 52 Universe. This title kicks major ass and is violent, hilarious, and heartfelt.

Ummm... I'm not sure I see the problem...

Do yourself a favor and pick up Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: REDemption! Also, look for the monthly series at your local comic shop!

Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 1: REDemption is 10 out of 10 Red Hoods!

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The New 52 Teen Titans Vol 1: It's Our Right to Fight Review

The Teen Titans are an iconic team, featuring Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Wonder Girl. You'll be happy to know that this team has only about half of that.

The New 52 has this problem of fixing things that aren't broken (and not fixing the broken parts). Like taking Tim Drake and no longer having him been Robin he's just straight Red Robin. The problem is that in this he mentions being Robin... what? Yes, it's totally confusing, not to mention, unnecessary.

Reading this version of Teen Titans was similar to what it would be like waking up inside the dreams in Inception. Everything seems somewhat familiar, yet it's muddled and cloudy.

The characters include the previously mentioned Red Robin, Superboy (wearing a Tron style costume and bro-tastic barcode Superman "S" tattoo), Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl. Beast Boy and Starfire have been replaced with generic and boring "heroes" whose names are not worth learning: a cloud lady and a giant spider lady that acts like the Hulk.

By far one of the worst new characters is Bunker. First off, his name makes absolutely zero sense, he doesn't turn into rock or conjured protective force fields. He can create lavender constructs such as giant fists or part of a brick wall. Secondly, his costume is just plain awful, it's maroon and purple. Lastly, DC tried to make Bunker (aka Miguel Barragan) the "Miles Morales Spider-Man" of the Titans. What I mean is they tried to cram several minority qualities into him by making him both gay and Hispanic. Now before you jump to conclusions, I am all for diversity in comics, but diversity means making people on a team diverse not shoveling ever single diverse quality into one character. I'm fine with him being both gay and Hispanic, because honestly it doesn't matter. As long as he kicks ass, I don't care.

My main problem is that DC tries to ram it down your throat by making it so obvious and not being tasteful. For instance, every other word he says is some cookie cutter Spanish word that makes Speedy Gonazles look politically correct. Also, when they travel to a different place he always has a ton of clothes with him and is constantly changing outfits. It's basically a caricature and it comes off very tasteless. Come on, DC if you're going to diversify characters, do it correctly and don't make it an over the top farce of how you think people would act.

Despite all of this the story is somewhat decent. It's the same story we've seen before, people are after a hero, the Teen Titans are protecting her, Superboy is bad, etc. But it plays out really well.

There's an awesome part where Kid Flash's costume gets destroyed so he runs and gets an old Robin costume (yeah I know) and draws a lightning bolt over the "R."

I would hope that in the future of this title we see Beast Boy and some other more familiar and useful faces. Also, I hope they have gotten the "hey we're being diverse" attitude out of the way and can really start giving meaningful and tactful story lines to Bunker and the other two characters.

Teen Titans Vol 1: It's Our Right to Fight gets a 6 out of 10 Red Robins.

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The New 52 Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In The Dark Review

Justice League Dark is a really cool concept for a New 52 title, but it definitely falls short of the idea.

I really do not care for the logo because it seems like the "Dark" is just slapped on there and out of place. I think the whole title should be something else entirely, because it's not a Dark version of the Justice League, it's the magical equivalent. The title makes it seem like a Starbucks order.

Also, many of the characters seem interchangeable and generic besides Zatanna, Deadman, and John Constantine. These three are hands down the best characters in the series, but they aren't used to their full potential.

Most of the story is buried beneath some convoluted plot riddled with nonsensical and confusing magic mumbo-jumbo. The rules of the world constantly change and overall it just doesn't mesh very well.

The artwork is really cool and all of the characters designs represent them well. I really hope that this title evolves and becomes better because I really like the idea behind it.

Justice League Dark Vol 1: In The Dark is a plain 5 out of 10 Magicians.

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The New 52 Green Lantern Corps Vol 1: Fearsome Review

In the New 52, the Green Lantern Corps title follows Lanterns John Stewart and Guy Gardner (and others) as they fight to protect the universe from evil.

It was cool to see both of these Lanterns fighting side by side and making all kinds of awesome constructs. In fact, most of the panels are green and full of constructs!

However, the story is extremely uninteresting and almost boring. There are some cool parts, but it's a little farfetched (I know it's a comic about "space police with magic rings" but still). For instance, these mysterious random aliens are killing off planets and Lanterns sector by sector, but on a planet made of water, they manage to remove all of the water. It's really random and not very cohesive as a story.

The artwork is very good, but a lot of the times it's hard to tell exactly what's going on and which construct is which because everything is green.

It's a shame that these awesome characters are reduced to mediocrity because of the bland and unrealistic (I know, but you get what I mean) storytelling.

I'm sad to say that Green Lantern Corps Vol 1: Fearsome only gets an average 5 out of 10 Lanterns.

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The Fury of Firestorm - The Nuclear Men Vol 1: God Particle Review

The Fury of Firestorm - The Nuclear Men Vol 1: God Particle is more than just a mouthful to say, it's a modern take on an underrated superhero.

Firestorm was originally a superhero that was created in a nuclear lab accident. High School student Ronnie Raymond and physicist Martin Stein were combined during the accident to form Firestorm. Ronnie was in control of Firestorm, but Stein was the voice inside of Ronnie's head, helping him along the way. I never really read much Firestorm, but I always thought this was sort of a weird concept to wrap my head around.

In 2004, DC introduced another Firestorm, Jason Rusch, who was combined with Ronnie's spirit (a la Stein in the previous incarnation).

The New 52 version solves these problems by creating two Nuclear Men! Jason and Ronnie are the main protagonists (and rivaling students at the same High School). During an explosion from a capsule given to Jason by Martin Stein, they are transformed into the Nuclear Men and are fugitives on the run. Here's the catch, when Ronnie and Jason get mad and fight, the combine to form Fury, a deadly giant Firestorm, which they each have limited control of. They are able to turn on and off their powers in a Shazam like manner, by yelling "FIRESTORM!" at the top of their lungs. They must use their new found powers to protect themselves from corporate mercenaries and rogue Firestorm terrorists.

Fury!

There are a few plot holes in the story, but overall it is really well done and I was surprised at how much I liked it! Ronnie and Jason are each unique and so it makes the fight scenes interesting. Ronnie (a jock) is more of a brawler and uses his football background to take out the competition. Jason (a nerd), on the other hand, is capable of understanding his powers and is able to transmute and manipulate matter.

Jason (Yellow) and Ronnie (Red)

Part John Hughes movie, part espionage, all nuclear. This title is really unique and definitely worth checking out!

The Fury of Firestorm - The Nuclear Men Vol 1: God Particle is an explosive 8 out of 10 Nuclear Men!

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Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench Review

Get all of your snickering out of the way now because Aquaman in the New 52 kicks ass!

The story does a great job of almost putting Aquaman in our world, people are always making fun of him and don't understand his powers. He proves he's a badass by deflecting bullets off of his skin, flipping an armored car with his trident, and even eating fish!

Paired with his queen, Mera, Aquaman must fight a deadly unknown army from the depths of the Trench, who have come to feed upon the flesh of the land dwellers. In Volume 1, Aquaman also must rely on help from his past to decode an ancient message that threatens the safety of Atlantis.

This is one of the best New 52 titles released! Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Blackest Night) were the perfect duo to handle this title! Johns, DC's golden boy, pokes fun at all of the old Aquaman jokes and shows you why he's awesome!

I like the depth (no pun intended) of the characters in this story, which is one thing I definitely did not expect to get. Aquaman has a tough time finding where he fits in. He's unwelcome on land and he doesn't feel at home in Atlantis, but no matter which one is in danger, he springs to save it without question and without being too whiny about it.

As strange as it sounds, Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench gets a 10 out of 10 Tridents!

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Resurrection Man Vol 1: Dead Again Review

Before The New 52, I had never heard of Resurrection Man. It was a short lived series between 1997 and 1999 focusing on Mitchell "Mitch" Shelley, who is resurrected almost immediately after his death. The catch is that Mitch gets a random super power every time he resurrects.

Fast forward to 2011 where Mitch Shelley is resurrected for his own title in The New 52. This was definitely the dark horse of DC's relaunch. The story is pretty much the same idea along with the Russian roulette of powers. Mitch wakes up in issue #1 with little memory of his previous life. Complete with numerous different powers, many people wanting Mitch permanently dead, and of course lots and lots of death, Resurrection Man has it all!

It's hard for me to stress how great this title is, but it is just so much fun to read and really different! I'm saddened that there will only be #13 issues (counting the #0 issue this September). Although, I can see where it would be a limited story. Hopefully, we'll see Mitch Shelley resurrect in a crossover later on.

Volume 1 collects issues #1-7 and is written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (both of Realm of Kings fame). Fernando Dagnino's artwork is nothing short of amazing and is really able to capture so many different styles for Mitch's character.

Definitely pick up this gem!

Resurrection Man Vol 1: Dead Again is a solid 10 out of 10 Resurrections!

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Deathstroke Vol 1: Legacy Review

In the New 52, Deathstroke is working as a mercenary for hire. Sporting a more armored version of his iconic costume, Deathstroke is as violent, bloody, and deadly as ever.

We find our anti-hero working for some very seedy people and (briefly) teaming up with an annoying group of young mercs, the "Harm Armory." Deathstroke also encounters a few unsolved mysteries from his past, as well as a new villain, Legacy. Are all of these events somehow connected or is our old friend Slade just having a busy week?

Volume 1 collects issues #1-8 written by Kyle Higgins (Nightwing) and artwork by Joe Bennett (52). The sad part is that the controversial Rob Liefeld is now writing and drawing Deathstroke starting with issue #9. This is only fair to kick off a successful writer and artist and replace them with Liefeld who had his New 52 Hawk and Dove cancelled after issue #8... Anyway, these first 8 issues are great and really fun to read! It's a shame this fun didn't continue afterwards.

I was a bit upset that there was not a storyline about Deathstroke squaring off against some of our favorite DC heroes, especially with all of the crossovers within The New 52. Hopefully in the coming issues there will be some sort of crossover.

Deathstroke Vol 1: Legacy is a head rolling 9 out of 10 decapitations!

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Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones Review

To be honest, besides The Brightest Day storyline, I had never read any Swamp Thing comics. In The New 52, Swamp Thing seems to pick up right where the other series left off. Alec Holland is no longer Swamp Thing and is struggling as The Green beckons for him to return as Swamp Thing to defend against The Rot. This series ties into The New 52 Animal Man (see review my here) as both are fighting against the deadly Rot to save all types of life on Earth.

Scott Snyder (Batman: The Court of Owls) weaves an intricate and amazing story in the first 7 issues that are collected in this volume. Snyder's story is paired perfectly with Yanick Paquette's awesome artwork that is extremely detailed. Everything in Swamp Thing actually looks alive and (in some cases) dead! Each panel is colored beautifully and it's extremely easy to get lost in the imagery.

Swamp Thing is an amazing story with beautiful images. Definitely pick it up!

Swamp Thing Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones gets 9 out of 10 Parliament of Trees!

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