I came across this “100 Issues Ago” panel in an old JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and thought I’d tidy it up and re-purpose it. If one month = one issue, what was I reading 100 Issues Ago?
So here we are – FLASHPOINT had ended and the New 52 was underway. Fifty two new titles released by DC, all with new number 1 issues, all throwing aside previous continuity (well, mostly – GREEN LANTERN continued pretty much as if nothing had happened) and relaunching with new versions of old heroes.
There’s no denying it was a bold move and generated a huge amount of interest in what DC were doing but, with hindsight from just over eight years later, it quickly became something of a tangled mess as creators and fans alike were unsure what was still in continuity, what wasn’t, how that affected characters and so on.
For me, DC’s plan worked – I went from 11 ongoing series in August, to 18 in September. Some of those – the Green Lantern/Justice League titles – were pretty much straight swaps, but the New 52 allowed me to pick up some new titles that I might not have otherwise, among them ALL-STAR WESTERN, FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E., MISTER TERRIFIC, and even the much maligned VOODOO as well as DEMON KNIGHTS featured above.
As is always the case, some titles lasted longer than others, and there would be a second wave of titles six months or so down the line, but this initial month seemed full of promise. The haphazard nature of the New 52’s arrival, though, would soon become evident.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 
The switch to New 52 didn’t change the totals for me. I was buying 3 before, I picked 3 to replace them: Grifter, Suicide Squad, and Resurrection Man. ‘Course, I’d regret Suicide Squad by the end of the first issue – Waller torturing the Squad as a test, then immediately throwing them into a mission without medical attention made her look stupid rather than tough – and it and Grifter are gone by the end of the year.
Outside that, Mystery Men ended, so did Heroes for Hire. Turns out I bought more than one issue of that Fearsome Four mini-series, but it ended too, and so did the Wolverine and the Black Cat mini-series. Geez, that’s a lot of books falling off the table there. I was still buying Daredevil, Darkwing Duck, Angel & Faith, and Avengers Academy.
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I picked up RESURRECTION MAN as well, having been a fan of the first series they did a couple of years prior to this; tempted by GRIFTER though still haven’t read it; was it any good?
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I dropped it after 4 issues, so I’d say no. I guess it could have gotten better after. I was drawn in by the premise of the title character being the only one who could see these aliens masquerading as humans for what they were. Not a new conceit for a story, but one that has some possibilities.
But Nathan Edmundson’s writing didn’t really draw me in or make me care about the characters. Grifter had this lady partner in the cons he was pulling before the whole alien thing started, and she had her own subplot running. But she felt like such a cipher I could never remember her name. Each issue, it was like that was the first time I’d seen her.
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