This was an interesting week. As I pointed out yesterday, there were an awful lot of female leads and female team members in this week’s titles, and it still managed to be the week that most upset a bunch of people about gender roles in the relaunch. Similarly, it had a pretty high number of books I didn’t imagine myself to have much (if any) interest in, and a few that I really, really thought I would like.And I was wrong about almost all of them.Batman #1 – *****Written by Scott Snyder; art by Greg Capullo and Jonathan GlapionAlright, so this is one of the four that sounds the most impressive–Action Comics, Detective Comics, Batman and Superman all get new #1s for the first time in decades as a result of the New 52 relaunch and, so far, the results have been pretty good. One of the best titles of the week, Batman headlined a generally strong week of comics across the board and should have, by all rights, been the book everybody was talking about.This book, like all of the Batman titles, is pretty much more of the same except that the same guy isn’t in the Batman costume was was a few months ago. With Bruce returned, they pretty quickly make it clear that Dick will continue to be part of the title for the foreseeable future. It’s a back-to-basics approach to Batman that seems simple, smart and sparse in a way that I can’t remember Batman being since Bruce returned to the cowl after the events of KnightsEnd and Prodigal.Alfred Pennyworth is here in what appears to be his restored physical form in the issue, too, putting aside any of the questions raised by the lack of a physical Alfred in Detective Comics #1. So everyone who was worried about that can exhale now.Birds of Prey #1 – ***1/2Written by Duane Swierczynski; art by Jesus SaizWith Birds of Prey being written by somebody other than Gail Simone, the pressure is on new writer Duane Swierczynski to get a quick and firm handle on the characters, winning over the folks who had just recently been so excited when Simone returned to the title with its relaunch after she left Wonder Woman.Probably, then, it’s a surprise to most readers that Dinah Lance is single and wanted for a murder she didn’t commit, and the second lead in this issue is Starling, a new character created for this iteration of the team. Other than the presence of Dinah and a brief cameo by (a now-walking) Barbara Gordon, this version of the team has almost nothing to do with its previous incarnation. That said, it’s a smart take on the characters with strong characterization. Its divorce from the past Birds of Prey helps to establish a version of Dinah who isn’t joined at the hip with Oliver Queen, and a version of the team that is easy for new readers to jump onto. And Jesus Saiz’s art is characteristically fantastic; like his run on Manhunter, the Birds each have their own look and shape; they don’t have the typical gargantuan breasts and 12-inch waist of most superheroines.That said, it would be nice if one of the superhero team books DC put out would have all of the members on the team at the end of this month (I exaggerate, of course–Justice League International has its act together–but you get the point).
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