New 52 Recap #3

Here is my latest recap of DC Comics' New 52 line. I'm covering the issue #3's today. My previous recaps are here and here.

Here is the list of New 52 titles I stuck with through three issues, in order of their issue #3 ratings:

Wonder Woman #3 (8)
Batwoman #3 (7.5)
Static Shock #3 (7.5)
Action Comics #3 (7)
Justice League #3 (7)
Swamp Thing #3 (7)
Batman: The Dark Knight #3 (7)
Aquaman #3 (6.5)
Batman #3 (6.5)
Nightwing #3 (6.5)
Animal Man #3 (6)
Batgirl #3 (5.5)
Birds of Prey #3 (5.5)
Superman#3 (5.5)
Batman And Robin #3 (4.5)
DC Universe Presents (Deadman) #3 (4.5)
Detective Comics #3 (4)
Justice League Dark #3 (3.5)
Suicide Squad #3 (3)


And here are the titles in order of their running average:

Batwoman (7.50)
Wonder Woman (7.50)
Batman (7.33)
Static Shock (7.33)
Action Comics (7.17)
Aquaman (7)
Swamp Thing (7)
Animal Man (6.67)
Birds of Prey (6.17)
Justice League (6.17)
Nightwing (6.17)
Superman (6.17)
Detective Comics (5.83)
Batman: The Dark Knight (5.67)
DC Universe Presents (Deadman) (5.50)
Batgirl (5.33)
Justice League Dark (5.00)
Batman And Robin (4.00)
Suicide Squad (3.00)


Biggest Rating Increase From Issue 1: Batman: The Dark Knight (+3.0)
Biggest Rating Decrease From Issue 1: Justice League: Dark (-4.0)

Here is the list of titles that I have purchased a Fourth issue of:

Action Comics
Animal Man
Aquaman
Batgirl
Batman
Batman and Robin
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
DC Universe Presents (Deadman)
Detective Comics
Justice League Dark
Static Shock
Superman
Swamp Thing
Wonder Woman

Titles Dropped After Issue #3:

Nightwing
Suicide Squad

Notes:

I'm still quite a bit behind the current releases of these books as far as my reading goes, so a lot of my decisions to keep or drop a title are done on a "benefit of the doubt" basis. Starting after issue #6, I plan on paring my pull list down to what will likely be a stable level for a while. I bought 15 #4's. There's one title in there (Batman And Robin), which is very likely to be dropped unless it improved drastically. I also may consider revisiting Nightwing, which actually improved a bit from the first issue. I dropped it after #3, but I don't rule out picking up #4 as a back issue if I get a chance. Suicide Squad, on the other hand is staying dropped. It was remarkably consistent, earning a 3/10 in three consecutive reviews from me.

Here are some other titles that are "on the bubble" for when I make the cuts after the #6's:

Aquaman: Great start, but has gotten progressively less interesting with each issue.

Animal Man and Swamp Thing: I'm grouping these two former Vertigo titles together because I'm having the same problem with both of them. The do a nice job of recapturing the flavor of their Vertigo runs, but the feeling I'm getting is nostalgia and not much more than that. Both titles are good, but I keep waiting to see something that feels really original in them.

Batgirl: There have been signs of improvement, but probably not enough to keep me reading.

Batman And Robin: As mentioned above, pretty consistently bad. Likely drop.

Batman: The Dark Knight, Birds of Prey, Justice League: Weak starts, but steady improvement. Could be keepers if they continue to get better.

Detective Comics: Opposite direction. Started good and has gone downhill.

DC Universe Presents: Probably will be dropped after the Deadman run concludes, unless the next feature is really interesting to me (I know it's been announced, but I don't remember what it is; it wasn't something that sounded exciting from the description).

Justice League Dark: I keep hoping for this to be good. So far it has been okay in its best moments and absolutely awful in its worst.

Nightwing: As mentioned above, considering giving it another shot.

Static Shock: Well, this one is canceled after #8, and I've heard that I've heard a fair amount of negative comments on it. I still loved the first three issues, and I think I'm going to plan on reading it to the end of it's run, but I reserve the right to drop it if it turns horrible.

Superman: Leaning toward keeping it.

That puts Action Comics, Batman, Batwoman, and Wonder Woman in the almost-definitely-keep category.

I've already started reviewing the #4's and I'm slowly making progress on catching up to the more current issues.