Superior: You know, it reminds me of Chosen in that it's a really kind of sweet, earnest book -- and then boom, some Satan shit. It's not as horrifying as Chosen (and sure as hell not as horrifying as last week's child-murder/gang-rape issue of Kick-Ass), but it's still just disappointing. Millar's spent the last decade showing us he can do adolescent shock-schlock; I think childlike wonderment suits him better at this point and would love to see a series where he drops the negativity entirely and just goes for pure joy.
Then again, maybe that IS what this series is. After all, it's not like "monkey emissary of Satan" is a story beat you can play straight. This may yet turn out to be the first comic Millar's written that he can show to his daughter. (Outside of his stint on the British Sonic the Hedgehog, I suppose. And even then he purportedly managed to work in a character named Clint Flicker. Oh, Mark Millar...)
(Tangentially: The first Kevin Smith superhero arc I read, Green Arrow: Quiver, was much the same in that it had a whole lot of fun character beats -- Batman and Superman bullshitting in Smithian fashion, and a tour through some fan-favorite characters like the Demon and the Spectre -- and then it turned into a bunch of Satanism/child-sacrifice shit at the end for no good reason. Disappointing.)
The Flash: Now this is a solid, straight-up superhero book. It has a great pace -- as a Flash book damn-well should -- and, while I'm still not crazy about the Photoshop-over-pencils approach on art, those pencils are solid and the layouts are goddamn wonderful. It's not just the pace of the book that's brilliant -- it's the MOTION. The book is kinetic; the positioning (and even coloring) of the panels carries you across the page in a way that only comics can. The story's serviceable enough, but in terms of pure comic-book storytelling, this book is probably the best of the New 52. (Yes, better than Batwoman -- Williams is a better artist, and I love his layouts, but they don't add to the storytelling in the same way that Manapul's do.)
JL Dark: Now THIS is a book that uses the Photoshop-over-pencils technique well. Nice, thick, clean lines, and colors that make the pencil shading pop. I wouldn't bitch about digital inking if it looked like this all the time.
I really like Janin's figures. His faces are great, and he even makes the far-too-busy new Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Cyborg costumes work. (And Superman without a spit curl!)
As for the writing, it's pretty good. Milligan's one of those guys who (like Azzarello) paired with a phenomenal artist around the turn of the century and put out a book that really hit it out of the park, but whose subsequent work has failed to grab me. I haven't read his Shade or Hellblazer. But I can see the appeal here; it's no X-Statix, but if that's going to be my bar then I'm going to spend my life being disappointed.
All in all, it bears repeating: while I've griped about Red Hood and Catwoman, and stand by every word of it, there really are quite a few good books coming out of the New 52. Yes, DC needs their knuckles rapped when they fuck up, but they deserve praise for the shit they're doing right, too.
The reason I complain about books like Red Hood and Catwoman is because dammit, I want more books like Flash and JLD instead.
Still dealing with some shortages. Haven't read Wonder Woman yet. Or the #2's of Swamp Thing or Stormwatch. (I hear Stormwatch is better this month! I hope Swamp Thing is, too.)
