Introduction

I went with a slightly different format for the last review article and it worked out well for me. I will continue to use that format in this article for DC Comics August 2019. The reason for the change is that I rarely have anything bad to say about the comics and there is almost never any ugly. I did stick with the meter of the list, though, with The Great, The Good, and the Decent.

I will say one thing about DC Comics right now. For a while there, I was enjoying them more than Marvel books. That has changed. I found only two books that I’d consider great, one good, and the rest were barely in the decent pile. I mean, that can all change and hopefully it does. Because I’m enjoying the DC Giant books more than the current books.

The Great (DC better hope that James Tynion IV doesn’t jump ship any time soon)

Justice League #27 and 28 (James Tynion IV and Javier Fernandez)

I was getting a bit sick of Scott Snyder on Justice League. He had a pretty good run, but it was just getting stale. I’m not sure if I really just like the Year of the Villain stories or Tynion, but I also like Justice League Dark, so there’s some evidence for the latter.

Justice League Dark #13 (James Tynion IV, Daniel Sampere, Mark Buckingham)

This has consistently been my favorite DC comic since it was released a little over a year ago. I never expected to enjoy it as much as I have. Just like Immortal Hulk for Marvel, it has been a good book without a bad issue the entire time. Even if other books falter, I’m convinced this one will keep me into DC until they get it back together eventually.

The Good (A Surprise Here)

Aquaman #50 (Kelly Sue Deconnick and Robson Rocha)

I liked Aquaman after the Rebirth. The whole “the king is dead, long live the king” story was interesting to me. I wasn’t sure that they’d be able to keep it going after that, but this has been a solid title. If you told me that I’d prefer Aquaman over Batman, I’d have called you a filthy liar! But, it is I who was lying to myself the whole time.

The Decent (Quite a Hodge Podge of Inconsistency)

Catwoman #13 (Joelle Jones et al)

Normally, I’m a fan of Joelle Jones’ Catwoman, but the last few issues have fallen a bit flat for me. Things seem to be spicing up a bit now that we are in the Year of the Villain banner, so I hope the momentum keeps building for the next few months.

Action Comics #1013 and Superman #13 (Brian Michael Bendis, Szymon Kudranski, Brandon Peterson, Ivan Reis)

It was a big deal when BMB went from Marvel to DC. DC gave him their defining super hero and titles. For a while, I was impressed. However, things have gotten a bit disjointed with the two Superman books. I’m starting to remember why I didn’t like this hero very much growing up.

Detective Comics 1007 and 1008 (Peter J. Tomasi et al)

When James Tynion IV was writing this book, it was one of my favorites. Since Tomasi has taken over, it has been okay, but nowhere near as much fun or as interesting. These two stories revolved around a cult of Spectre and the Joker? All I have written here is *sigh*. I guess that about says it all.

Batman #74 (Tom King and Mike Janin)

Of all the books that have fallen off, this one’s drop has been most precipitous. I remember raving about Batman and salivating for each new issue to come out. Things started to go sour for most fans with the big #50 reveal, but I was still invested. Chris started to fall off somewhere in the 60s. I’m now almost completely out, but things look to change with the “City of Bane” story, so I’m hoping.

The Verdict (Hoping for Big Things from YOTV)

I haven’t been much of an event guy recently. I’m still burned out from Secret Empire. However, the way that DC is handling this Year of the Villain thing has me intrigued. It seems as if they are using it to shake up some of the creative teams. That’s a good thing because the books have been getting stale.

The stories, too, have been really good. I said earlier that I’m back to being a Marvel zombie and looking forward to more of their titles recently. That could change if the payoff from this Year of the Villain is anything close to the set up. DC Comics August 2019 could prove to be a turning point in many of the books.