Best and Worst of DC Rebirth

[noisebloom]

Was just curious what everyone's thoughts were on the best and worst series' of DC rebirth they've read. Instead of "worst", you could also include disappointing or series' that just didn't do it for you.

Include as many as you'd like. I'm mostly interested in why you liked or did not like a series, as I've been out of the DC loop since The New 52, and I'm figuring out which ones I'm going to jump into myself.

[noisebloom]

Let's say "rebirth" = everything after the initial rebirth event that doesn't completely break continuity and isn't Elseworlds.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

The first couple TPBs of Tomasi & Gleason's Superman are fantastic, as is Super-Sons. Unless you are a big fan of 90s era Superman, I'd avoid Jurgens's Action Comics, as that book was mostly relegated to doing continuity clean-up from the New 52.

Tom King's Batman run has been divisive, but you should check out the first TPB to see if it clicks with you. Detective Comics was essentially a team-up book with Tim Drake, Batwoman, Spoiler, Cassie Cain & Clayface, so if you were a fan of the extended Batman Family, it's the book for you.

Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman was a mixed bag. The stuff with Liam Sharp was beautiful, but ending up just being more continuity cleanup to explain away the unsalvageable New 52 incarnation. The Year One arc with Nicola Scott was much better and established her new origin moving forward.

Williamson's Flash has been reasonably popular, but his Barry has been too much of a sad sack for my tastes, and there's been too much Speed Force related nonsense and characters I simply don't care about.

Venditti's Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps was also a mixed bag because it was trying to serve too many masters. It needed to focus on Hal while also giving enough for John, Guy & Kyle to do, which mostly left the alien GLCorps members underserved. It did a very good job of resetting the GL mythos after how badly it had been mismanaged following the end of Johns's run, but it largely felt like pandering to disgruntled fans, with no real depth. Green Lanterns, which focused on Jessica & Simon, was inconsistent, but Sam Humphries ended his run really strongly with the First Lantern arc. After that, it was utterly forgettable.

Bryan Hitch's Justice League was breathtakingly dull. Titans was a bore. Teen Titans was a creative misfire. Suicide Squad was a dud with some Jim Lee art. Avoid all these.

Priest's Deathstroke has been very well received, and also sometimes features layouts by the incomparable Larry Hama.

Harley Quinn was still Conner & Palmiotti's Harley Quinn. Sam Humphries took over from them and did a good job of explaining how all the craziness of that series actually fits into the DCU proper.

That's the main ones I can think of. Overall, Rebirth did a good job of course correcting a lot of the mistakes made during the New 52/DCYou era and the twice monthly shipping gave them enough momentum to win back a lot of lapsed fans like myself. There were some definite missteps and disappointments, but the DCU is in a much stronger place now than it was prior to Rebirth.

[Jackalope89]

The first couple TPBs of Tomasi & Gleason's Superman are fantastic, as is Super-Sons. Unless you are a big fan of 90s era Superman, I'd avoid Jurgens's Action Comics, as that book was mostly relegated to doing continuity clean-up from the New 52.

Tom King's Batman run has been divisive, but you should check out the first TPB to see if it clicks with you. Detective Comics was essentially a team-up book with Tim Drake, Batwoman, Spoiler, Cassie Cain & Clayface, so if you were a fan of the extended Batman Family, it's the book for you.

Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman was a mixed bag. The stuff with Liam Sharp was beautiful, but ending up just being more continuity cleanup to explain away the unsalvageable New 52 incarnation. The Year One arc with Nicola Scott was much better and established her new origin moving forward.

Williamson's Flash has been reasonably popular, but his Barry has been too much of a sad sack for my tastes, and there's been too much Speed Force related nonsense and characters I simply don't care about.

Venditti's Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps was also a mixed bag because it was trying to serve too many masters. It needed to focus on Hal while also giving enough for John, Guy & Kyle to do, which mostly left the alien GLCorps members underserved. It did a very good job of resetting the GL mythos after how badly it had been mismanaged following the end of Johns's run, but it largely felt like pandering to disgruntled fans, with no real depth. Green Lanterns, which focused on Jessica & Simon, was inconsistent, but Sam Humphries ended his run really strongly with the First Lantern arc. After that, it was utterly forgettable.

Bryan Hitch's Justice League was breathtakingly dull. Titans was a bore. Teen Titans was a creative misfire. Suicide Squad was a dud with some Jim Lee art. Avoid all these.

Priest's Deathstroke has been very well received, and also sometimes features layouts by the incomparable Larry Hama.

Harley Quinn was still Conner & Palmiotti's Harley Quinn. Sam Humphries took over from them and did a good job of explaining how all the craziness of that series actually fits into the DCU proper.

That's the main ones I can think of. Overall, Rebirth did a good job of course correcting a lot of the mistakes made during the New 52/DCYou era and the twice monthly shipping gave them enough momentum to win back a lot of lapsed fans like myself. There were some definite missteps and disappointments, but the DCU is in a much stronger place now than it was prior to Rebirth.

Yeah, barring a few one shots, Justice League was quite the misfire.

But Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth was gold. I know Lobdell gets crap for other titles he writes, but with Jason, and especially with RHatO Rebirth, the guy hit on something special. It was the team-up no one knew they needed.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Yeah, barring a few one shots, Justice League was quite the misfire.

But Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth was gold. I know Lobdell gets crap for other titles he writes, but with Jason, and especially with RHatO Rebirth, the guy hit on something special. It was the team-up no one knew they needed.

Oh, yeah! I knew I was forgetting something. I never read much of the Red Hood stuff, so I can't really comment on the quality of it. I was so turned off by the first issue of the New 52 Red Hood that I never wanted to go back again. Treating Starfire as little more than a sex object was enough to sour me on the series for the foreseeable future.

[Jackalope89]

Oh, yeah! I knew I was forgetting something. I never read much of the Red Hood stuff, so I can't really comment on the quality of it. I was so turned off by the first issue of the New 52 Red Hood that I never wanted to go back again. Treating Starfire as little more than a sex object was enough to sour me on the series for the foreseeable future.

The original Outlaws are barely touched on during the Rebirth run. While Bizzaro and Artemis are given their due diligence, as well as their own arcs. Nicknamed the Dark Trinity, they're also a family.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

The original Outlaws are barely touched on during the Rebirth run. While Bizzaro and Artemis are given their due diligence, as well as their own arcs. Nicknamed the Dark Trinity, they're also a family.

Bringing in Bizarro & Artemis was a good idea. I'll give it another shot. Is there a particular arc you'd recommend?

[noisebloom]

Yeah, barring a few one shots, Justice League was quite the misfire.

What do you all think of Snyder's JL run? I think it's branded as post-Rebirth, but I'm counting those.

[Electricmastro]

JLD continues to be an unexpected gem of a series.

[Jackalope89]

What do you all think of Snyder's JL run? I think it's branded as post-Rebirth, but I'm counting those.

Began better than the previous 2, but now its just feeling tedious to me. Some things almost feel like shout outs as well. Like Hawk Girl having a future son (like in the DCAU), only instead of John Stewart as the father, its J'onn. Whom was also childhood friends with Lex.

And really, not a fan of the "Year of the Villain" thing or Batman Who Laughs (he had his run in Metal, and it should have ended there, but no).

[Bored at 3:00AM]

What do you all think of Snyder's JL run? I think it's branded as post-Rebirth, but I'm counting those.

Snyder's first arc was absolutely great. The other arcs have been a bit overlong and overstuffed.

[Jekyll]

The first couple TPBs of Tomasi & Gleason's Superman are fantastic, as is Super-Sons. Unless you are a big fan of 90s era Superman, I'd avoid Jurgens's Action Comics, as that book was mostly relegated to doing continuity clean-up from the New 52.

Tom King's Batman run has been divisive, but you should check out the first TPB to see if it clicks with you. Detective Comics was essentially a team-up book with Tim Drake, Batwoman, Spoiler, Cassie Cain & Clayface, so if you were a fan of the extended Batman Family, it's the book for you.

Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman was a mixed bag. The stuff with Liam Sharp was beautiful, but ending up just being more continuity cleanup to explain away the unsalvageable New 52 incarnation. The Year One arc with Nicola Scott was much better and established her new origin moving forward.

Williamson's Flash has been reasonably popular, but his Barry has been too much of a sad sack for my tastes, and there's been too much Speed Force related nonsense and characters I simply don't care about.

Venditti's Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps was also a mixed bag because it was trying to serve too many masters. It needed to focus on Hal while also giving enough for John, Guy & Kyle to do, which mostly left the alien GLCorps members underserved. It did a very good job of resetting the GL mythos after how badly it had been mismanaged following the end of Johns's run, but it largely felt like pandering to disgruntled fans, with no real depth. Green Lanterns, which focused on Jessica & Simon, was inconsistent, but Sam Humphries ended his run really strongly with the First Lantern arc. After that, it was utterly forgettable.

Bryan Hitch's Justice League was breathtakingly dull. Titans was a bore. Teen Titans was a creative misfire. Suicide Squad was a dud with some Jim Lee art. Avoid all these.

Priest's Deathstroke has been very well received, and also sometimes features layouts by the incomparable Larry Hama.

Harley Quinn was still Conner & Palmiotti's Harley Quinn. Sam Humphries took over from them and did a good job of explaining how all the craziness of that series actually fits into the DCU proper.

That's the main ones I can think of. Overall, Rebirth did a good job of course correcting a lot of the mistakes made during the New 52/DCYou era and the twice monthly shipping gave them enough momentum to win back a lot of lapsed fans like myself. There were some definite missteps and disappointments, but the DCU is in a much stronger place now than it was prior to Rebirth.

Your analysis of The Flash is spot on and the main reason that I dropped it.


The best was definitely Venditti’s Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps title.

[Pohzee]

IMO the worst part about Rebirth wasn't anything truly terrible, it was all the mediocre stories shielded by returns to superficial iconography. Not too many series actually ended up turning out to be that notable.

Prieststroke is of course the notable exception here.

[Flash Gordon]

Aquaman was the best of the best for me, throughout Rebirth.

Superman was prolly the worst. Unreadable until Bendis came on.

[Eto]

Aquaman was the best of the best for me, throughout Rebirth.

Superman was prolly the worst. Unreadable until Bendis came on.

That's some fine bait.