Note: All covers taken from IGN
Written by Geoff Johns
Art & Cover by Jim Lee
This is the big announcement coming from DC; the Justice League of America will be getting a radical redesign, costume-wise, and will be 14-members strong by the end of the first arc. The initial team members, going by the cover, are: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Cyborg. This series should be fantastic, considering how well Geoff Johns writes the majority of these characters and how good Jim Lee's artwork is, but that's just the problem - Jim Lee has proved time and time again that he is incapable of keeping to a monthly schedule. Hopefully, this time, things will be different.
Potential for Success: 8/10
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art & Cover by Cliff Chiang
I am unbelievably excited for this book; considering how poorly Wonder Woman has been treated over the last year, this looks set to be the start of something good and pure. Brian Azzarello has proven to be hit or miss in the past, but with the promise of some gorgeous Cliff Chiang artwork and the promise of a return to form for the series, how could I be anything other than excited?
Potential for Success: 10/10
Written by Geoff Johns
Art & Cover by Ivan Reis
Considering the way "Brightest Day" concluding, this series was inevitable. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis reunite once more for what can only be described as "Aquaman: Rebirth," as they redeem the character and build him back up as a force to be reckoned with. As Aquaman's sections of "Brightest Day" were certainly some of the best this can only be a good thing, and the potential of a gritty, action-packed Aquaman series without tongue-in-cheek humour is something that appeals greatly.
Potential for Success: 10/10
Written by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Art by Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Cover by Francis Manapul
The Flash has been a consistently great book over the last year, thanks in no small part to the fantastic artwork by Francis Manapul. With the departure of Geoff Johns at the end of "Flashpoint," Francis Manapul will take over writing and art duties alongside Brian Buccellato. The story sounds intriguing, involving a villain who can be everywhere at once, and hopefully Manapul and Buccellato's writing skills are up to scratch, but as long as the artwork remains consistently awesome this will definitely be a book to check out.
Potential for Success: 7/10
The Fury of Firestorm #1Written by Ethan Van Sciver & Gail Simone
Art by Yildray Cinar
Cover by Ethan Van Sciver
This is an unexpected series. Sure, the end of "Brightest Day" did leave threads dangling regarding the fates of the Firestorm supporting cast, but now they're getting a whole series dedicated to their exploits. Expect science fiction action and other such nonsense, hopefully with Van Sciver and Simone turning in a decent script. I'm not too keen on Cinar's art, meanwhile, meaning that this could be unappealing on the eye. Definitely one of the weaker announcements thus far, which is a shame, because it has potential.
Potential for Success: 5/10
The Savage Hawkman #1Written by Tony Daniel
Art & Cover by Philip Tan
This book is the worst announcement of the bunch. I doubt there will be one worse than this. Tony Daniel, the man who has been slowly but surely driving the primary Batman title into the ground is going to tackle the character of Hawkman and tying him into a story involving an alien virus in New York City. And, to make the announcement even worse, they announce Philip Tan as the artist; one of the worst artists working in comics right now. This series will be a failure.
Potential for Success: 1/10
Written by JT Krul
Art by Dan Jurgens
Cover by Brett Booth
This book is two sides of a coin; on the one hand, I absolutely love Dan Jurgens artwork and will read the book solely on the strength of that. On the other hand, JT Krul is still writing it, and his interpretation of Oliver Queen has been awful, at best. It seems to be trying to maintain some of the feel of the current (horrendous) series, while also going for the classic Robin Hood vibe of the book's past. We'll see if it works, but on the topic of Krul, it's doubtful he'll have improved.
Potential for Success: 5/10
Justice League International #1Written by Dan Jurgens
Art & Cover by Aaron Lopresti
The existence of this book almost makes the new Geoff Johns/Jim Lee series redundant. The Justice League International was the best incarnation of the team, and it's great to see DC revisiting that after it worked so well in "Justice League: Generation Lost." The potential for this is enormous, and even though Dan Jurgens (who I like) is writing it rather than Judd Winick (who made the team awesome again), Aaron Lopresti remains as the artist which should be fantastic. From the cover, we can see the team will consist of: Booster Gold, Batman, Guy Gardener (Green Lantern), Rocket Red, Fire, Ice, Vixen and two characters I don't recognize. But that doesn't change the fact this will be awesome, and hopefully will continue the Max Lord story from Generation Lost.
Potential for Success: 10/10
Written by Eric Wallace
Art by Roger Robinson
Cover by J. G. Jones
Mister Terrific is one of the best characters in comics, but usually he works best as a team-player. The fact that he's getting his own book should fill me with some sense of joy, but strangely it doesn't. The premise seems decent enough - Mister Terrific will face scientific threats that threaten to reshape the globe, but the lack of knowledge I have of the creative team, save Eric Wallace's involvement in the 'just okay' mini-series "Final Crisis: Aftermath: Ink" doesn't fill me with much hope.
Potential for Success: 5/10
Captain Atom #1Written by JT Krul
Art by Freddie Williams II
Cover by Stanley "Artgem" Lau
Captain Atom was an incredibly engaging character throughout the run of "Justice League: Generation Lost," but before that he was nothing more than an irritating non-character. While this series has the potential to fix that, the inclusion of JT Krul as the writer doesn't fill me with much hope at all. The premise is simple, though - Captain Atom battles evil while also trying to come to grips with whether or not he's losing his humanity - and that might save it from Krul's awful writing. Freddie Williams II is a decent artist, too, so that's not too much of a problem. I have slight hope here, just as I have a little with Krul's "Green Arrow."
Potential for Success: 5/10
Written by Paul Jenkins
Art by Bernard Chang
Cover by Ryan Sook
Now this is a series I can get behind! An Anthology title where each arc will boast a different creative team and minor character within the DC Universe. The first arc is all about Deadman, one of my personal favourite characters, and has the team of Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang making it better than could be expected. Sure, Jenkins wrote one of the worst comic books I've ever read (The Sentry: Fallen Sun) but he seems to be trying his best to redeem himself. I pray this is good, but I'm unbelievably excited for it right now.
Potential for Success: 10/10
And that wraps up the First Part of my look at the DC52. The next part will be coming very, very soon.
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