New Super-Man Volume 1: Made in China
Written by Gene Yang
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic
Kong Kenan is a high school bully in Shanghai, China when through a chance encounter he accidentally drives off notorious super-villain Blue Condor. This draws the attention of spunky young reporter Laney Lan and Dr. Omen, the director of the Ministry of Self-Reliance. Kenan is imbued with part of the life essence of the New 52 Superman and becomes China’s answer to the Man of Steel. He’s paired up with the Bat-Man and Wonder Woman of China who find Kenan to be an incredibly immature brat with very unreliable powers. Kenan’s father, Kong Zhongdan is an aging political activist who comes at odds with his son’s new direction in life.
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John Constantine, the titular Hellblazer, has just arrived back in the U.K. after an extended stay in the States. As soon as John hits the shore, he is pulled into a battle of wills with a demon. This particular conflict involves John succumbing to a curse or figuring out how to pass this evil onto the entire population of London. I bet you can guess which route he goes. Swamp Thing shows up as a support and the petitions John’s help to finding the missing Abby Arcane. A conspiracy of supernatural beings is revealed, and it turns out Abby is deeply involved. Along the way, John pisses off bookies and demons alike, as he is wont to do.
After a year-long absence, Terry McGinnis returns to take on the identity of Batman in a futuristic neo-noir Gotham City. This time an entire borough of the city has fallen into the hands of The Jokerz, a cult that worships the deceased villain. Another enemy, Terminal, has taken advantage of this religious fervor and is using the cult for a mysterious purpose. Without Bruce Wayne to guide him any longer, Terry must strike out on his own and prove his worth to continue the legacy of Batman.
Colonel Rick Flag is brought into Task Force X by Amanda Waller to lead the latest iteration of Suicide Squad. This time around the team is intentionally modeled after the line up in the film adaptation. We have Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Katana, Enchantress, and Killer Croc. Along the way, a couple more additions are made, but the intent to shape the team after the film is very apparent. The Black Vault where powerful cosmic items are stored and one particular item becomes the crux of this story.
Some call him a mercenary. Some call him an antihero. But as his partner Wintergreen states in this collection, Slade Wilson is always going to be a villain. And he is a villain with a complicated history. He was once married with two sons, Grant and Joseph. His life as the assassin Deathstroke led to an enemies list that stretches for miles and one of these enemies targeted his family. Around the same time, he learned of a daughter he had with a Hmong sex worker and headed off to Southeast Asia to find her. In the present day, Slade reels from losing one son, having one son near murdered, the collapse of his marriage, and the fractured relationship with his estranged daughter Rose. Rose is a pretty tough character in her own right, a clairvoyant killer called Ravager. Slade decides he wants to bond with his kid and what better way than to investigate who put a hit out on her?
Since DC Comics rolled out their New 52 relaunch, they seem to continue their lack of surety when it comes to Aquaman. Geoff Johns’ run began with a big chip on its soldier about the pop culture joke perception of the hero and Abnett’s first arc in the new Rebirth status quo continues that strange chest pumping. Aquaman aka Arthur Curry has opened an Atlantean embassy to the surface world. The previous story arc in Justice League where Atlantis attacked the surface has led to enormous tensions between the governments of the world and this mysterious underwater nation. While welcoming visitors, Arthur is forced to deal with The Trench, a radical terrorist group of Atlanteans who want to eliminate the surface dwellers. He has his fiancee Mera running interference while Tula acts as the ruler of Atlantis in Arthur’s absence. And his old nemesis Black Manta looms in the distance.
I felt like I was in familiar territory because this issue seems to tread the same notes most modern Aquaman stories always do: Hey, he’s a super serious hero, you guys! This need to make meta-commentary on jokes about Aquaman does more to diminish the character than just telling good stories about him. This comic also didn’t seem very open to new readership with some elements, like the Deluge, not being defined well or the reveal of the villain at the end feeling awkward. At the end, I felt like it was all set up for Aquaman to just fight one of his old villains again, but not the sense that something new was going to happen. Probably my least favorite of this week’s releases.
appears to be a focus on a team of Bat-related characters. Featured in the series will be Batman, Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, and Clayface. Clayface is the interesting outlier, a character shaped more by his appearances in the 90s animated series, than much of anything in the comics. His role in the team hasn’t been revealed yet but Tynion does a good job of making him sympathetic right from his first moment in the film. I used to truly hate the work of artist Eddy Barrows but he has made some significant improvements. Action feels fluid and energetic and the world is full of detail. There’s a slot of story potential for the interaction and relationships between these characters and this will be one I continue following.
It can be argued that DC Rebirth #1 was a Flash-centric story, with its lost Wally West at the heart of it all. The Flash Rebirth is an interesting artifact in that it takes place before, during, and after the events of DC Rebirth. Right away Williamson is making the title new reader friendly by using a contemporary murder scene to recap Barry Allen’s own loss of his mother. It would be easy to just make the comic a facsimile of the popular tv show but effort is put into referencing those important elements but keeping the comic its own. There are a couple beats that take us out of the story, the Barry/Wally reunion retold and Barry’s visit to Batman who happens to be analyzing that familiar smiley face pin. Artist di Giandomenico was someone I didn’t care for much on the recent X-Factor title for Marvel, but here his style lends itself to the spend and energy of the Flash. While not a singularly cohesive story, Flash Rebirth is a good introduction to the character.
Greg Rucka is bringing up the contradictions and fluctuations in this character’s past. Rucka’s past work on the title also dealt with finding a unique place for Princess Diana in a world of supermen. And he did a great job at it, playing up her role as a warrior and an ambassador to the world of men. Right away Rucka is saying we are going to examine this character again and redefine her. Another thing I loved was the use of multiple artists. Often new artists pop up in a jarring non-essential way, but here we switch to a new artist the moment Diana dons her new costume. If you really want a comic that is beckoning you in for a new story,but with recognition of the history that has come before, this is it. You also have a great pedigree with Greg Rucka at the helm. The ongoing series will be doing something a bit odd, alternating issues between the present day story and a Year One origin reboot. Definitely on my list to follow. Hands down the best release of the week.
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