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 pick 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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Batman #42 Just don’t. Even the thought of recapping this leaves a dirty taste in my mouth. Unfriendly. 3/10

Deathstroke #29 Make no mistake, this is a fantastic series. It’s just really hard to read without reading a chunk of it in one go due to the complexity and interwoven genius of the plot. Yes, it’s kinda Unfriendly, but it’s very good. 8/10

Green Arrow #38 This issue caps off a LOT of loose ends. Too many for me to cover here in the detail the comic deserves, but fortunately there is a very brief recap that touches on everything you need to know (save one thing) without actually giving you any spoilers. That one thing that isn’t touched on? Ollie Queen is on trial for the murder of Wendy Poole, a victim of human traffickers that Green Arrow saved and lived in abject terror of being recaptured, so she has remained in hiding since her rescue. Which means the world at large think she’s dead. This issue is Friendly, and not too bad. 7/10

Green Lanterns #42 The Green Lanterns are on the case of some superhuman traffickers, and the case has taken a personal for Simon Baz as one of the victims was a previous date of his. Although it’s sort of Friendly, there’s not much of a flow to the comic as everything seems to rush far too quickly from point A to point B. 6.25/10

Justice League #40 I really have no idea what’s going on here, but for some reason the Justice Leagues are in trouble. Despite missing part one in this arc, the comic is still enjoyable enough to be marked as a Friendly 7/10.

Nightwing #40 You’ll probably be okay to pick this up without much recap, as you can figure out that there’s a long history between Nightwing and the Judge (basically a maybe immortal with his eyes sown shut who is great at manipulation and seeing your deepest desires). In terms of accessibility this is probably a Friendly comic – you’re unlikely to find another clean jumping on point for another issue or two. 6.5/

Superman #42 You’re going to have a really tough time figuring out what’s going on with the first third or so of this comic if you’ve never heard of Bizarro, the anti-Superman who speaks in negatives and otherwise odd yet very endearing speech patterns. Other than that, the comic is Friendly and pretty solid. 7/10