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.

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Action Comics #991 Mr Oz. is actually Jor El, and he wants to take the Kents off Earth so they can live in a place that deserves them. Clark is less than enthused as he battles against Oz’s plans to ruin the world through the worst of humanity, but Jon is tempted… This is a relatively Friendly issue, but it’s not the best you’ll ever read. 6.5/10

Batgirl and the Birds Of Prey #16 In a perfect case of not judging a book by it’s cover… this Friendly book is a very interesting read – especially in today’s climate – that looks at toxic masculinity through some decidedly comic book lenses that almost work. 7/10

Detective Comics #968 So there’s a Batman from the future trying to kill Batwoman to prevent his future from happening. Future Batman is Tim Drake, and Present Tim is back and trying to stop his future….. look this sounds unFriendly, but it’s not. Not really. 7/10

The Flash#34 The first part of a new arc, aaaaaaaaand it’s Friendly. Flash has somehow gained the Negative Speed Force (I don’t remember how, and it’s not relevant here), and…. the rest basically revolved around an evil speedster called Godspeed who would steal the powers of other speedsters. 6/10

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32 features a Dark Knights Metal tie-in. Not the best time to start reading the series.

Justice League of America #18 Part one of a new arc that finds the JLA facing off against Prometheus. The first part is quite Friendly, all things considered, and as a  set up for the story to come it isn’t too bad, but it won’t set you world on fire either. 6/10

New Super-Man #17 Despite remembering very little about the previous issue, I found this to be quite Friendly, all things considered. Quality wise the comic isn’t too bad – just nothing overly spectacular. 6.25/10

Red Hood and the Outlaws #16 The Outlaws were recently captured by Batwoman her team of heroes in Gotham, despite their mission to fight Gotham’s underworld undercover (which the Outlaws haven’t shared with many people other than Batman). The issue opens with the Outlaws having been dropped off where super criminals typically are, and it’s pretty Friendly, although not the strongest entry in the series. 7/10

Superwoman #16 The unfortunate thing with this series is that I really don’t care about it – or for it – so I tend to not read it more often than not. So while there’s no recap here, the comic is kinda Friendly… but I’m still waiting for an issue to get excited over 6/10

Wonder Woman #34 Darksied’s daughter is hunting the children of Zeus in order to give their life essence to her father in order to restore him from his current childlike age. Her next target? Wonder Woman’s brother. No, you read that right. Wonder Woman has a brother, and this is a Friendly comic. 6.25/10

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That’s a wrap for this week folks. I’ll see you next time!