| Now that is more like it. As I mentioned last month, there was a mix-up in my comic order, resulting in me getting two months’ worth of books at once, so I had a lot of ground to make up. And make it up I did.
Here’s December:
Action Comics (Vol. 2) #1-3
All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold #12-13
Billy Tucci’s A Child is Born
DCU Holiday Special 2010
Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #2-3
Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 3) #2-3
Green Lantern: New Guardians #2-3
Green Lantern: The Animated Series #0
Red Lanterns #2-3
Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes #1-2
Superboy (Vol. 3) #63-72
Supergirl (Vol. 4) #33-42
Superman (Vol. 3) #2-3
Team Superman #1
Tiny Titans #45-46
Young Justice (Vol. 2) #9-10
Young Justice #9-18
Young Justice in No Man’s Land #1
Batman Chronicles Vol. 6 trade paperback
Showcase Presents: Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 3 trade paperback
Total: 56 comics, 2 trades (Year total: 410 comics, 17 trades)
The Legion Showcase continued from last month, and I also started the second volume of Heroes, so more on that in the next installment.
But what a way to end the year, eh? The most productive month of the year, hands down. It was really nice to end the year on a high note — not just with reading a lot of books, but reading a lot of books that I truly enjoyed (more on that in a minute).
All said-and-done, the year-end total was 410 comics and 17 trades, not including any podcast-related reading. That averages out to roughly a book and a half per day. That’s not at all a bad rate.
So, as for the books from this month themselves… well, let’s start with the not-so-great. I’m a little sad to say I’ve just not been overly impressed with any of the “New 52” books. None of that I am reading are bad… they just aren’t great. A lot of it feels very much like business as usual, just with a new coat of paint that will wear off quickly.
The best is probably Grant Morrison’s ACTION COMICS. I actually went back and re-read the first issue before re-reading issues two and three, rather than just skimming it as I did the others. I actually wanted to re-read it. On the other hand, we all knew it would be among the cream of the crop and even given that, it still feels like something that will be far more enjoyable in trade form.
But, we’ll move on. I was dismayed to learn about the pending cancellations of TINY TITANS and ALL NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. Neither are surprising, especially the Batman book with the cartoon off-air now, but, still, both were solid reads pretty much month-in and month-out and I will miss them both.
“Johnny DC” titles traditionally don’t last more than a few years, which is unfortunate since, for some reason, it takes them a while to hit their strides. The good news is, the current YOUNG JUSTICE book is strong and the first issue (or is that “zeroth” issue?) of the Green Lantern book tying into the comic was fun, even though it felt like they were biding time. So, maybe there is hope.
On the reading project front, I got through just shy of a year’s worth of SUPERBOY, YOUNG JUSTICE and SUPERGIRL. SUPERBOY has been a little tepid, to be honest. Karl Kesel is doing Superboy through Kirby-vision goggles, which is fine… just not quite to my taste. And I can’t get into the Wildlands characters at all. But, Kesel still has a solid grip on the character and the book has taken a stiff upturn with the blockbuster “Evil Factory” storyline. Unfortunately, I know Kesel’s final departure is looming just around the corner. I can’t say I’m looking forward to that.
I haven’t been enjoying SUPERGIRL as much, but, as I recall, this is a bit of a lull period for the title. The last issue I read this month feature the return of Buzz, so things should start picking up soon as we hit the run-up to issue #50.
YOUNG JUSTICE is incredibly fun and very awesome. I can’t believe it took me so long to read this series. I’ve got one more issue, and then it will hit the “Sins of Youth” storyline, which I hope to be able to read in a concentrated dose over the period of a few days. Good times ahead!
Looking ahead to 2012, I have decided to keep going with The Stack. I should be able to wrap up the reading project by spring or early summer and plan to start another after that. I don’t know what that project will be. But, stay tuned!
