New Comics!: The "New 52" Edition #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batgirl #1:  OK, to be honest, I had pretty low expectations for this issue.  It was pretty clear from the start that it was going to have to be an exposition-heavy outing, given that Simone would need to address why Barbara Gordon was suddenly going to be able to walk.  To its credit, DC has at least made clear that the Joker did in fact paralyze Barbara.  Both Simone and Syaf highlight the fact in the book, with Simone focusing Barbara's first case on a home invasion and Syaf using images directly from "Batman:  The Killing Joke."  However, Simone only hints at why Barbara could now suddenly walk, referring simply to a "miracle."  I'm hoping Simone doesn't drag out the story too long, because, similar to "One More Day" and "Brand New Day" in "Amazing Spider-Man," the quicker we can get past the crappy turn of events that got us here, the better we'll all be.  Except for the use of WAY too many paralyzation metaphors to signify Barbara's return to action ("stretch my legs"), the rest of the issue more or less surpasses my expectations.  (How's that for a backhanded compliment?)  Simone reasonably presents Barbara's growing pains in re-learning how to be a costumed superhero again while at the same time starting to introduce Barbara's supporting cast of characters (I like the new roommate) and developing a fun voice for Barbara, something that differentiates her from the boys and their serious miens.  Some moments don't really ring true for me at times; for example, the detective screaming at Barbara for being a murderer seemed kind of crazy to me.  So long as Simone can move us quickly past the paralyzation-focused storylines, this series should be OK.

Batman and Robin #1:  If my biggest question going into the reboot was, "What happened that made Barbara Gordon walk again?" my second biggest question was, "Were Dick and Damian ever partners?"  The answer, thankfully, is yes.  Of all the rebooted issues I've read, this one reads most like one that could've happened in the old continuity.  It tells the story we all knew one day was coming, of Bruce taking back the mantle of the Bat and suddenly having to deal with Damian.  Tomasi plays out this scene more or less exactly how I thought it would go, focusing on Bruce's need to control his junior partner and Damian's need not to be seen as a junior partner.  (One note, though:  I hope Tomasi keeps in mind that we've seen a kinder, gentler Damian than the one he portrays here.  For example, in "Blackest Night:  Batman" #1, Tomasi himself has Damian wryly note that most kids don't "meet and greet" their grandparents as corpses.  It's totally legit for Tomasi to harden Damian, if you will, because his kinder, gentler moments came as a result of his relationship with Dick.  But, it's important for Tomasi to remember that Damian IS capable of emotions.  It's the fact that he's suppressing them to build walls in his relationship with a father who doesn't entirely trust him that's interesting.)  Moreover, Tomasi carries over a theme from the previous continuity, focusing on Bruce's attempt to emerge from the darkness, moving past his parents' death and focusing on his current life, full of people he loves and trusts (for the most part).  For all these reasons, it's a fairly familiar feeling read.  The mystery of Nobody is interesting, particularly since it shows that "Batman, Inc." still exists.  I'd also like to know who the glowing figure standing by the side of the pool that Batman drains to cool off the nuclear reactor is.  All items Tomasi will address next time, I'm sure.  

Batwoman #1:  I've never read "Batwoman," so, for me, it's unclear what parts of this story are different as a result of the reboot.  I'm pretty sure I would've known if Renee Montoya died, so I'm guessing her appearance on the wall of fallen officers has a story.  Moreover, I'm pretty sure her relationship with her dad is different than it was when I first saw him in "Batman, Inc." #4.  Otherwise, I'm left just to enjoy the story as it is, and it's a pretty enjoyable one at that.  Williams and Blackman create a great Gothic feel to the book, giving us quiet, dark moments like Kate's surprise meeting with Batman on the last page.  The central villain herself is creepy; Williams and Blackman do a better job recalling the Bat-books' history of dealing with supernatural themes than Finch did in "Batman:  The Dark Knight."  The art is, of course, spectacular.  Williams breaks the mold with his rejection of traditional panel structure, though it occasionally becomes difficult to follow the action.  All in all, I'm happy to keep getting this one.

Detective Comics #1:  Daniel throws a lot at us in this issue.  I'll get to the surprise ending in a minute.  First, though, I'm a little confused about the timeline for this issue.  Daniel seems to be telling a "Batman:  Year One" type of story here.  For one thing, the cops of Gotham appear to be significantly less trusting of Batman than they were in the previous continuity.  I mean, Gordon is still supportive, and Bullock is still skeptical, but it seems that the rank-and-file members are gunning for Batman in a way they weren't in the previous status quo.  Moreover, Batman's narrative about the Joker and his efforts to capture him makes it sound like he really hasn't been engaging with him that long.  We know that he shot Barbara Gordon three years earlier in the current continuity, since Barbara herself mentions it in "Batgirl" #1.  But, when Bruce recites the Joker's crimes over the previous six years, he doesn't mention it and still seems baffled by him.  (For example, he ponders why the Joker was naked, wondering whether he always strips to the nude before he kills.)  Moreover, in the previous continuity, Dr. Arkham became the Black Mask; either this story takes place in the past, or Arkham didn't become the Black Mask in the DCnU, because he's simply presented as Dr. Arkham here.  I'm almost wondering if "Detective Comics" hasn't taken a step backwards five years like "Justice League" did.  Are "Batman" and "Batman and Robin" going to be the present stories?  I'd be down with that, but, right now, I'd like a little clarification.  Meanwhile, the surprise ending is intriguing.  It wasn't until I read the issue again that I realized that Joker killed his victim in the beginning of the issue because he expected only the Doll Collector (and not his son, the victim) to work on him.  (The fact that the Joker kills the victim is a testament to the Joker's lethality.  He decides to kill someone, the son of an ally, just because he wasn't expecting him to be there whereas most people would, I don't know, just leave.)  Moreover, is Daniel implying that Arkham is the Doll Collector?  Why exactly would the Joker be willing to lose his face (literally)?  I'd be remiss, before ending, if I didn't note the awesome fight between Batman and the Joker at the end, one of the better ones I've seen from a scripting and artistic perspective.  The Joker is rarely presented as Batman's fighting equal, but he is here, reminding us why he's so dangerous in the first place.  Beside the question over continuity, which I suspect will plague the whole "New 52!" enterprise for a while, Daniel gives us a pretty solid outing.

Superboy #1:  At first, I was disappointed to see that DC had decided to rehash Conner's "OMG, I'm a clone!" past.  I liked, in his "Adventure Comics" run, how Johns had moved Conner past that, allowing him to focus on his present and not obsess about his past.  But, Lobdell really sells it here.  As intended, I was confused by the Smallville sequence, particularly with Conner walking past the woman in a burning house calling for help.  The revelation that it was a virtual-reality program used by Superboy's creators to determine whether he felt empathy was brilliant.  Lobdell did even one better, implying that Lex Luthor still constitutes half of Conner's DNA in the reboot and that his "pathological, megalomaniacal narcissist" predisposition negates Superman's obsession with helping people, leaving Superboy's moral code deeply in question.  Moreover, Lobdell is setting up an interesting situation where Superboy is seemingly the pawn of a large organization with questionable objective and he may in fact be a plant on the Teen Titans.  All great stuff.  The previous "Superboy" series was so terrible that I'm just excited by the chance to read some great stories in this title.