Photo Credit: Comic Book Cover Art by DC Comics
You will probably hear Jon and I mention ‘The New 52‘ and many of our reviews/discussions will be talking about New 52 series. I figured it would be a good idea to brief you on what the New 52 actually is.
In essence, DC Comics (the comic book company who is most known for Batman, Superman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, etc.) decided to make a bold move. DC Comics decided to ‘start over’ and revamp its series with issue #1 for all of its characters in September 2011. There is an entirely new generation at the appropriate age to start getting involved with comic books. However, many readers (and potential readers) had no idea where to start. Many of comic book series were well into the #100s with their issues, so it was nearly impossible to just jump into a storyline that was so well entrenched in other stories and continuity.
So what did DC say? Boom, Scrap, Let’s Go.
DC came out with 52 individual comic book series, all of which started with a fresh storyline at Issue #1. This allowed anyone and everyone to not only read the new stories from the beginning, but also experience the joy and rush of collecting the ‘#1 First Edition’ comic books.
These are the following series that are available as part of the New 52 (these are in alphabetical order, the numbers are not significant). This is known as the ‘First Wave‘ of the New 52:
- Action Comics
- All-Star Western
- Animal Man
- Aquaman
- Batgirl
- Batman
- Batman and Robin
- Batman: The Dark Knight
- Batwing
- Batwoman
- Birds of Prey
- Blackhawks*
- Blue Beetle
- Captain Atom
- Catwoman
- DC Universe Presents
- Deathstroke
- Demon Knights
- Detective Comics
- Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
- Green Arrow
- Green Lantern
- Green Lantern Corps.
- Green Lantern: New Guardians
- Grifter
- Hawk and Dove*
- I, Vampire
- Justice League
- Justice League Dark
- Justice League International*
- Legion Lost
- Legion of Super-Heroes
- Men of War*
- Mister Terrific*
- Nightwing
- OMAC*
- Red Hood and the Outlaws
- Red Lanterns
- Resurrection Man
- Static Shock*
- Stormwatch
- Suicide Squad
- Superboy
- Supergirl
- Superman
- Swamp Thing
- Teen Titans
- The Flash
- The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men
- The Savage Hawkman
- Voodoo
- Wonder Woman
However, since these issues premiered in September 2011, some of them have not been selling as well as others. DC Comics is determined to keep each series successful, so a few series have been cut in order to be replaced by others. DC ‘s goal is to always have 52 active series. The following ‘First Wave‘ series have been cut (and are represented by the * in the above list):
- Blackhawks
- Hawk and Dove
- Men of War
- Mister Terrific
- OMAC
- Static Shock
In order to replace these 6 series, DC has begun the ‘Second Wave‘ of comics with the installment of the following series:
- Batman Incorporated
- Dial H
- Earth 2
- GI Combat
- The Ravagers
- Worlds’ Finest
DC has also announced that Justice League International has recently been cut, but no replacement has been announced.
If you have ever wanted to read comics, now is definitely a great opportunity to get involved. You may not be able to get first editions of the #1 issues of many of the ‘First Wave‘ series, but you can still enjoy the story! Each series has a new issue once a month, so each storyline is still in its infant state. All issues are (usually) either $2.99 or $3.99 so they are also very affordable. You can also do digital comics here and here, which are often less expensive and work great for those of you that like reading things online.
If you have any questions about each series or would like any recommendations, feel free to shoot us a message!
And want my opinion?
If you want an awesome solo-hero, go for Batman.
If you want a great team-up, go for Justice League.
Start there and see where the world of comics will take you!
~Ian
Gamenomics & Comicology 