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OYL – One Year Later
It’s May 1st, 2007. Last year, in May, DC decided to fast forward a year in their storylines leaving many questions and promising answers. Well, it’s been a year, let’s see how OYL turned out, one year later. This deals only with ongoing titles that continued after the Crisis. I’ll grade each restart either Excellent, Satisfactory of Failing. Let’s hit the gradebook.
Action Comics: Action Comics and Superman started with an awesome 8-parter and while Superman would later soar, Action Comics faltered. After that was a rather weak story about some cosmic collector then a failed Johns/Donner/Kubert run. I have no idea why the trio had problems with delays since Kubert was always fine in Marvel, but it has been delayed to ruin and the fill-ins the past few issues haven’t been too great. Failing
Aquaman: I’ll admit, I didn’t read Aquaman prior to the Crisis and I figured I’d give it a shot once the restart occurred. I really wish I hadn’t. The story never got me moving (I read the first 5-6 issues), was exceptionally boring, hard to follow and I believe it was delayed at least once. It didn’t do it for me, I quickly dropped it and haven’t looked back. This really could’ve benefitted from a restart for newer fans and failed miserably. Failing
Batman: Batman and Detective Comics used the Superman approach and started with an 8-parter about someone knocking off some C-list villains and Batman trying to stop it. I don’t remember much from the story other than it was decent. After that, Grant Morrison and one of the Kuberts took over with a very good arc with Batman’s son, Damien. Then, they went on a break. Huh? Luckily, the fill-in stories were fairly good. Again, a Kubert lets down a main DC book. The stories kept this afloat but it hasn’t been any better than it was before. Satisfactory.
Birds of Prey: The Birds had a massive shift change a year later, most notably with Black Canary leaving. Never one to let that stop her, Gail has written some great stories. I think this has been a consistent title month in and month out. There hasn’t been a knock-out story but the most recent one with Secret Six has been great. I think its one of the most improved titles OYL. Excellent.
Catwoman: One of the biggest shocks when DC made the jump was that Selina Kyle had a kid! The first arcs focused on the potential father and the replacement Catwoman (Holly) who took her place during her pregnancy and Holly’s arrest for the murder of Black Mask, which Selina committed. The book hit its high-point with the Film-Freak storyline that was beyond interesting. Its tough to follow it but the current story has been good so far. The Adam Hughes covers have been glorious, too. Excellent.
Detective Comics: Detective Comics shared an 8-parter with Batman and while Batman went through a rotating crew after that, Paul Dini has crafted some great single issue stories that have never dissappointed. It gives a Silver Age feel to them (being they are only one issue) but still keeps major plot points going (like the Riddler). I didn’t care about ‘Tec prior to the jump but this is a title that is soaring. Excellent.
Firestorm: Firestorm was one of those characters that never found his place in the DCU after the Crisis, which is a shame. I’ve enjoyed the series as the writing and art were always top-notch. Firestorm just never fit into the grand scheme of things. I would’ve given this an Excellent but it has to receive a Failing due to it being cancelled! RIP Firestorm.
Green Arrow: The big jump saw Ollie as the Mayor of Star City. The 12 issues since the fast forward dealt mostly with Star City’s walled off ghetto and the training Green Arrow received to kick Deathstroke’s ass. The stories have been very good but I don’t feel Ollie has been elevated as a character at all. It’s been alright and I’ve enjoyed it enough to keep buying it but I don’t feel Ollie has become as elite a character as he could be. Satisfactory.
Green Lantern: Honestly, I read Green Lantern prior to the jump and hated it, and the OYL stories never interested me in the least. I think I will pick up Sinestro Corps but this is the ONLY OYL book I didn’t pick up. Failing.
Hawkgirl: So Hawkman dissappeared and we had Hawkgirl. The first arc featured perhaps the worst Chaykin art I’ve seen and one of the worst stories I’ve ever read. This was the first OYL book I dropped. I couldn’t keep doing it. Every issue featured Hawkgirl in her bra somehow, fighting some mystical creature with no discernible plot. Just bad. Failing.
JSA: JSA came out of the chute with a really cool Gentleman Ghost storyline but the book was cancelled with #87 for the sexier relaunch and a #1. It was cancelled, so Failing.
JSA Classified: I really enjoyed the Vandal Savage story, then stopped reading. I can’t say it’s excellent or failing since I’ve heard the stories were good, but I can’t afford it. Satisfactory.
Nightwing: Nightwing really would’ve benefitted most from an awesome relaunch. The character was floundering and was going to die but was saved at the last minute. He needed a strong story to get fans to accept him. He didn’t. An absolutely awful debut arc with a silly villain and Jason Todd in a ridiculous role. It has gotten better but the whole point of the relaunch crumbled with the horrible opening arc. Failing.
Outsiders: This was a book I knew nothing about coming in but I quickly fell in love with the dynamic stories and interesting characters. There was lot left unexplained and piecing together the past years events through the clues dropped made this a very enjoyable series. The first two arcs were very fun reads and the whole year culminated with the amazing Annual. Excellent.
Robin: Robin was a character in need of a rehaul. His character seemed rather boring, especially considering his father was just killed. OYL started with much controversy (Batgirl became a villain!) but the stories were very strong and featured Tim Drake as much as it did Robin. Batman shows up sparingly but all of it made sense and didn’t seem forced. Robin almost getting a girlfriend just recently added another spectrum to the character. Excellent.
Supergirl: Supergirl was a wildly popular character going into Crisis and a strong showing after the jump would’ve only elevated her into the top tier of DC characters. Unfortunately, a weak story with Supergirl and Power Girl that didn’t make too much sense and a horrible shipping schedule instantly made this a forgettable title. Failing.
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: On the opposite end of the spectrum, the LSH added Supergirl as a hero and made a splash. I was not familiar with the LSH at all and bought this for Supergirl, to be honest. The stories were very good, especially the single issue murder mystery and I have come to love and appreciate the Legionnaires. I will keep buying this after Supergirl leaves (which doesn’t seem likely at the moment). Excellent.
Superman: Superman has been nothing short of consistent since the jump, something its brother title (Action Comics) cannot say. The stories have been very good (especially the one in the near-future with Superman showing up at the end, just awesome) and its rolling along nicely. It has provided much better stories than Action Comics and is the banner Superman title in the world right now. Excellent.
Teen Titans: The saddest part about this title is that Geoff Johns is leaving. This title is probably one of my favorite following OYL. There was the great mystery over who betrayed the Teen Titans, the opening story involving the Doom Patrol and Beast Boy to the thrilling Titans East storyline that is going on today. The art is superb, the writing fantastic and this is a great book. Excellent.
So there are 18 comics and results are average at best. I was surprised that 7 issues came in as failing. I enjoyed most of the titles I got but I did drop a handful and some were cancelled. 3 came in as satisfactory and 8 as excellent. I’m sure not what DC had in mind, especially its two flagships, Action Comics and Batman, suffered from Kubert lateness that has soured the titles. Overall DC’s OYL is a firm Satisfactory creating an equal number of excellent and failing titles.
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