I’m currently ranking DC’s new 52 titles from worst to best, based on the first five issues. Here is the Master List, with links to the write-ups. It will be updated as the countdown continues.
- 52. Green Arrow
- 51. Legion Lost
- 50. The Savage Hawkman
- 49. Blackhawks
- 48. Green Arrow
- 47. Mister Terrific
- 46. Red Lanterns
- 45. Static Shock
- 44. Legion of Superheroes
- 43. Hawk and Dove
- 42. Superboy
- 41. Batman: the Dark Knight
- 40. Blue Beetle
- 39. Suicide Squad
- 38. Captain Atom
- 37. Demon Knights
- 36. Voodoo
- 35. Stormwatch
- 34. The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man
- 33. Resurrection Man
- 32. Justice League Dark
- 31. Superman
- 30. Catwoman
- 29. Justice League International
- 28. DCU Presents
- 27. Deathstroke
- 26. Red Hood and the Outlaws
- 25. Nightwing
- 24. Detective Comics
- 23. Green Lantern: New Guardians
- 22. Supergirl
- 21. Teen Titans
- 20. Birds of Prey
- 19. Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.
- 18. Green Lantern Corps
- 17. Batwing
- 16. O.M.A.C.
- 15. I, Vampire
- 14. Justice League
- 13. All-Star Western
- 12. Batgirl
- 11. Swamp Thing
- 10. Action Comics
- 9. Batman and Robin
- 8. Men of War
- 7. Animal Man
- 6. The Flash
- 5. Batwoman
- 4. Green Lantern
- 3. Wonder Woman
- 2. Aquaman
- 1. Batman
In other slightly related pieces, I pondered what it meant for a work of art to be average. And I compared the new 52 launch to Ultimate Marvel.
As a Marvel zombie reading a shitload of DC comics, I also decided to look at the differences between the two publishers/ shared universes in an ongoing series. DC is a patchwork consisting of the contributions of many disparate writers and artists while Marvel had Stan Lee. The best DC stories tend to be self-contained, while the best Marvel stories tend to be part of a shared universe. And DC’s villains are typical supervillains, while Marvel has more real-world analogues to their bad guys. DC’s families tend to be based on characters with similar abilities, while Marvel’s are typically based on characters with unique powers. DC went with the Sherlock Holmes approach to episodic serials, while Marvel had more long-term story development.
