Once a month we'll be bringing you a summary of the best comics to hit the shelves courtesy of the staff at 8th Dimension Comics. This month we went a little overboard, so stay tuned for part 2.
Apologies in advance for the almost completely DC lineup this month, but the 52 reboot is in full swing and we're trying to cover it as much as possible. Catching up on Justice League, we see a meeting between four of the biggest names in comics, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash and Superman, as a mysterious alien threat begins to manifest itself. We also see why Batman gets all the respect among people who can move at the speed of sound or lift buildings over their heads. Namely, they're kind of idiots.
Rating: 6 of 10
We never really got into Sergeant Rock. The Unknown Soldier was the only military comic that really appealed to us. However, in keeping with the cohesive nature of the reboot, it seems like DC is really going out of their way to take people like Batman and Rock who are not metahumans and make them very, very relevant. The journey of Rock from corporal to sergeant enables the reader to see the rise of godlike characters through the eyes of regular humans, and gives more than ever the feeling that we're trapped in a world beyond understanding.
Rating: 6 of 10
We've always liked Barbara Gordon, but DC's decision to return her to the role of Batgirl rather than have her remain as Oracle is probably the decision we're least happy about. Still, if her stint as Oracle was meant as an analogy for surviving one kind of disability, then this incarnation seems to be about the difficult, almost impossible process of living with something horrific happening to you.
In a way, she's become more Batman than Batman himself, and her pursuit of a new villain named Mirror, determined to spare the world the suffering of survival, serves as the perfect antithesis of her determination to fight past her crippling attack by the Joker. We've known too many victims to not feel sympathy for her, and to be proud.
Rating: 8 of 10
