Welcome to Graphic Policy’s DC Rebirth: Recap And Review where we take a look at the comics released under DC‘s Rebirth banner and try to work out just how accessible they are for new readers – we’ll also be providing recap of sorts for the relevant story beats up until the issue in question in order to help you figure out if the series is something you’re interested in.
Each comic will receive a rating of Friendly or Unfriendly based on how easy it was for new readers to pick them up; the ratings are based solely on the issues released in the post-Rebirth ongoing series. More consideration regarding the comic’s accessibility will be given for the specific issue being read rather than the series overall, but if reading a back issue will help, then that will be mentioned. You’ll also notice that each comic will get a rating that falls on Graphic Policy’s typical ten point scale, which is there to help you pick between issues if you only want to check out one or two.
Not every comic is covered week to week, and that’s because I sometimes forget to read them (although that doesn’t happen often), or I really can’t bring myself to pic up the issue. If I have missed an issue, typically I won’t go looking for back issues to catch up on events – this feature is all about accessibility for new readers, after all.
Apologies for the brevity this week; I’ve been feeling less than stellar this week and put off reading these comics to beyond the last minute.
Action Comics #995. Superman traveled backward in time to witness the destruction of Krypton, but screwed up the timeline and Krypton didn’t blow up. So time traveler Booster Gold went to stop him, and now they’re trying to escape. Or, rather, they did escape, but not alone… this Friendlyish comic can be read without much of a recap. But.. it isn’t great. 6/10
Detective Comics #972 Batman has been rehabilitating Clayface, quite successuflly, but the Victim Syndicate just drove Clayface back to his villainous ways via pain and the removal of his inhibitor bracelet (that kept him human, and somehow by being human in appearance he was less like a monster). Chaotic, Friendly, and not that bad. 6.75/10
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #36 The Guardians have been kidnapped by the Controllers, who are using the Guardian’s life forces to create new Controllers (the two races share the same origin point). Hal Jordan, Kyle Raynor, Guy Gardner and Jon Stewart have mounted a four man rescue mission. The conclusion is pretty Friendly for all. 7.2/10
New Super-Man #19 A day in the life of Laney Lan. It’s Friendly, but not worth 
reading. 5/10
Red Hood and the Outlaws #18 Bizarro is no longer as thick as a plank, thanks to a little case of death and rebirth, and is creating incredibly tech for the outlaws in their war on crime in Gotham City. The issue is Friendly enough – and I say that as somebody who didn’t read the last issue (or forgot he did). 7/10
Suicide Squad #33 The first part of a new arc. which is typically the best place to jump on board with any series, and this is no exception. Prevous events are utterly irrelevant to this comic, making this nice and Friendly. 6.5/10
Superwoman #18 It’s the final issue. So…. not the best place to jump in.
Wonder Woman #38 Another series that sees the first part of a new story kicking off, which means that, once again, this is a Friendly comic. And enjoyable to boot. 7/10
Titans #19 The Titans saved the world, but it almost went wrong. This issue starts dealing with the fallout, and it is Friendly. 7/10
That’s a wrap for this week folks. I’ll see you next time!
