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. Generally, the quality of an issue won’t be discussed unless it directly impacts a new reader’s enjoyment of the series. Some assumptions will be made regarding familiarity with some of the bigger named heroes (for example, I’m assuming you know who Bruce Wayne is) when it comes to accessibility.

You may notice that not every comic is covered week to week, and that’s because I  sometimes forget to read them  (although that doesn’t happen often). 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.

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Action Comics #979 Honestly, you don’t need a recap. This is a Friendly issue with an arc starting here.

All-Star Batman #10 A story told from Alfred’s point of view. gloriously Friendly, and frankly very good. This is well worth you checking out as both the main and backup story start fresh here, and with Scott Snyder writing it… you can’t go wrong.

Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #10 Wrapping up the battle with Blackbird, the story can be read without anything else, so in that case it’s Friendly, but you might not want to.

Detective Comics #956 Gotham is under siege by the enemy of the League Of Assassins, the League Of Shadows, and Batman and his allies had just been captured by Lady Shiva, only for Orphan to single handedly take on the entire League Of Shadows to free them. Last issue saw the Batfamily stand in a heroically comic book pose before getting ready to take on Lady Shiva. This is the concluding chapter, but it’s still Friendly enough for you to start with. Oh, Clayface is a hero now.

Hal Jordan And The Green Lantern Corps #20 Despite being the third part of this arc, there’s a Friendly introduction courtesy of John Stewart. I really don’t need to give you too much more, so I won’t.

Justice League Of America #6 Finishes of the battle with Aegeus. It’s really Unfriendly and one to avoid unless you start at the beginning of the arc.

New Super-Man #11 Kong Kenan was artificially granted a power set very similar to Clark Kent’s by a government sponsored organization, and he became the New Super-Man, a member of the Justice League of China (who just got their newest member in a purple speedster). In order to unlock those powers Kenan has begun learning martial arts, and his interactions are actually quite amusing.  This is another first part, and it’s quite Friendly.

Red Hood And The Outlaws #10 I have no idea what’s happening here because I don’t remember the previous issue. I suppose that makes this Unfriendly.

Suicide Squad #17 So General Zod is in the Suicide Squad now. Go figure. Funnily enough, this is still a Friendly comic (assuming you know roughly who the Squad is).

Superwoman #10 kicks off the “Rediscovery” story arc and since it’s the first part you’re pretty good to start here, so this one’s rated Friendly.

Titans #11 Deathstroke is back! Despite his long history with the team, that I am utterly unaware of (I have read exactly 11 Titans comics, which you’ll notice is the number of this issue), I was still able to follow along nicely here. It helps being the first part in a new arc, but this is a Friendly issue full of goodness.

Wonder Woman #22 I may be writing this feature, but I almost went looking for a recap of the issue myself. It’s frustrating, because I’m genuinely enjoying this series – or I would if not for the dual narratives that are just similar enough to get muddled in my brain, making this Unfriendly for me.