Teen Titans: Earth One Vol. 2

Now this feels like the Teen Titans.  Jeff Lemire has crafted a great volume to what I thought was the weakest of the Earth One series.  No longer Teen Titans: Earth One definitely deserves its place at the table.  I like how the rest of the team was assembled together in this volume.  Impulse, Wonder Girl & Kole who start out as enemies of the Teen Titans fill out the rest of the team.  Slade Wilson demonstrates a heroic turn in this story-arc.  Raven & Starfire return in the end uniting all of the Teen Titans members together for the first time.  Finally Cyborg comes into his own & is revealed in a really cool way.  There is a very minor cliff hanger of a potential threat on the way but for now the teens just get to bask in victory & being teenagers.  I know that other than sequel planned to the current titles within the Earth One stable there are plans for an Aquaman & a Flash title.  For those I am equally excited but I also think there are a great many of DC Comics current heroes who could work well within the Earth One format.  For instance I would like see a Green Arrow, a Green Lantern, as far as the single heroes go but in terms of other team books go a Justice League, a Justice Society, a Freedom Fighters or a Green Lantern Corps.  I am sure there are other heroes that people would love to see join the Earth One series.

Teen Titans: Earth One Vol. 1

This is the first team book to come out of the Earth One series so far.  Jeff Lemire has done an excellent job crafting an origin story for the Teen Titans however this doesn't feel like the Teen Titans to me because Robin is missing it feels more like Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan.  However that is part of the enjoyment in this story it seems fresh.  One of the old members the original days of the Teen Titans back when Marve Wolfman was writing the book is back in this re-imagining, Terra.  Having Terra back throws in a nice dynamic to the team I don't really understand who Joseph also known as Jericho is so I found him to be kind of confusing but still interesting.  I really liked the idea of having Cyborg in this story especially since in mainstream continuity of comics & movies Cyborg is a Justice League member.  He is the only character to make the jump from the minors to the big leagues,  I like that Jeff Lemire reversed the gender role from Elias Stone to Elinore Stone for Victor's scientist parent who is not only a top S.T.A.R. Labs scientist in the story but the big bad in the end.  My favorite character of this whole new series is Raven I love how they of made her a Navajo girl who has visions also her character design is very cool.  Overall the artwork is top notch Terry Dodson is an amazing artist but I did have some problems with some of art.  First off his panels don't seem to flow as nicely as Jeff Lemire's story but it is still beautiful to look at.  Next I found that some of his character designs just seem off for the character.  Victor Stone for example just seems a little scrawnier than I was expecting him to be & it bothered me throughout the story.  Deathstroke was another one I liked the overall character design for Slade Wilson but when he got into costume as Deathstroke that he just kinda looked goofy.  Finally the reveal of who has brought them all together, Starfire.  However there are still several questions left unanswered first & foremost who did this to them.

Trinity War

I have to give DC Comics credit where credit is due this is a nice mini event the fact that they played this up as being some big crossover only to have this be the prelude to something much bigger was brilliant.  I like how Marvel sets everything up for its readers while DC plays it closer to the chest the result is always similar when it comes to events from the big two; you either hate them or you love them.  As for Trinity War this was a decent event I enjoyed it more I think because I was not familiar with the Crime Syndicate but what I did love about this series was the misdirection and in this area DC excels over Marvel.  I would love to read more Marvel stories with this level of misdirection.  Secret Invasion had a certain amount but not on the same level; bring on Forever Evil.

Justice League Dark Vol. 3: The Death of Magic

This third volume of Justice League Dark takes the team to another dimension.  Several characters have left in this volume Amethyst & Andrew Bennett.  I really like this group of characters however I would like to see more of the Shadowpact characters make an appearance in this title.  Deadman & Constantine are still my all time favorites of the group but Frankenstein is coming pretty close to knocking Constantine out of the top two spot.  In this other dimension something is reversed for each of our heroes, Xanadu is old, Deadman is alive, Black Orchid becomes a creature & Constantine can't tell a lie.  Timothy Hunter's destiny is revealed, the final part of this collection reveals a secret about Madame Xanadu.  Next up is Trinity War & then Forever Evil.

Justice League Dark Vol. 2: The Books of Magic

The second volume of Justice League Dark shows Constantine putting the band back together to take down a new threat to the world in Faust & his followers.  This team is also on the search for the books of magic & are on a mission to stop someone from Constantine's past.  This is the volume where Jeff Lemire takes over writing duties on these characters & it just shines through.  I really liked this title especially since I am unfamiliar with the majority of the cast in this.  I know who the main players are by name but I don't know what they are capable of.  Its refreshing compared to say Batman but lets be honest if you are reading this & don't know who Batman is there is a problem, bring on the next volume.

The Nobody

Writer & artist Jeff Lemire has crafted a fantastic story of endearing characters in small town USA.  This story is reminiscent of a classic H.G. Wells story but done with a new twist.  This is a very easy & quick read, I read it in one sitting.  One of the things that really stands out is the artwork & the color pallet.  I really can't say anything about this title for fear of giving away some of the plot & the mystery that the cover portrays.  The art on the cover is the exactly what you will find inside with a similar color pallet.  By the end of this story you get the idea that something amazing has just happened but you just don't know how to explain it.  If you have ever lived in a small town then you'll love this tale about how a stranger is received in this rural american town.