DCnU Second Wave: Earth-2 and World's Finest

The first wave of DC's New 52 has come and gone, and now they have the second wave, another release of new comics, hoping to replace the titles that sizzled and died.

So far, the only one that I was following that ended was Static Shock, and after the kerfuffle that happened between the author and artist, that's no surprise. It came to a mediocre end, just as the rest of the run.

For other comics, we have Justice League International and Resurrection Man about to crossover with Firestorm and Suicide Squad respectively, so it seems I'll have to shill out another three bucks a piece to get the full story on those, while Blue Beetle will be meeting with Green Lantern: New Guardians soon. While crossovers are nice, at this point it seems like an attempt to drum up support for the titles that they're worried about. That might explain why JLI has been seeing a wave of cameos over these past few issues, with Batwing, OMAC, and now Firestorm and the Nuclear Men appearing in rapid-fire succession.

Meanwhile, two of my favorite titles, Swamp Thing and Aquaman, have managed to avoid the crossovers and are remaining as awesome as always. I've dropped the other two Justice League titles from my weekly grabs, but I'll still follow them casually.

Of course, comic fans have a lot to look forward to this week. First we've got "The Avengers" movie premiering soon, and most of us have high hopes for that. There's also Free Comic Day this Saturday, so I'm looking forward to seeing what freebies they're offering us.

Anyways, I've rambled on for long enough without getting to what you're all reading this for. Two of the Second Wave releases I've been interested in are "Earth-2" and "World's Finest," two connected comics about heroes from another Earth in the DC multiverse, which as we know consists of 52 universes... except two of them were combined with the main DCu... and then that one split and sent the Justice Society members back to Earth-2... okay, there's somewhere between 50 and 52 universes in the multiverse. Continuity can be weird sometimes.

So let's begin with "Earth-2," written by James Robinson, with penciling by Nicola Scott and inking by Trevor Scott.

While Earth-2 begins with the main trinity of heroes (Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman), we know they won't be the main focus of the story. Instead, we see a world slightly different from the one we usually see, as evident in the character designs, Helena Wayne (the daughter of Earth-2 Bruce) as Robin, and the fact that people are dying everywhere as the world is overrun by Apokalyptian creatures. This is what would have happened in "Justice League" if the JLA didn't come together, and instead, all hell broke loose.

As an added note, I like the extra work they put into making the little details different. For example, Wonder Woman worships the Greek gods in Earth-1, but the Roman ones in this one. While they are the same gods with different names, it's a nice touch, and I always appreciate a good mythological reference.

Although the focus begins on them, later issues will focus on the emerging heroes in a world once ravaged. Yes, while the Justice Society is older than the Justice League, this comic goes over their origins first. So far we've just seen Alan Scott and Jay Garrick, but more will come soon.

While the dialogue can be a little clunky at times, the story still gets told nicely. While it draws us into the action immediately, it still manages to tell the setup story through dialogue and minor flashbacks, and we have some touching moments, like the parting dialogue between Batman and his daughter. Once things settle down, we get right into the new characters, one at a time, and leaving things with the sense of rebuilding and reconstruction that it was aiming for.

Then we have Huntress and Power Girl in "World's Finest." This ties directly in with "Earth-2," as you see how the two found their way into Earth-1. We learn a bit about how the two have adapted, but it's also clear where their endeavors lie. While Huntress is content to make do with what she's got, whether she likes it or not (she doesn't), Power Girl is actively searching for a way back home.

It gives us a good feel for the characters, and the chemistry between them is nice. They work with each other nicely, bouncing off one another's setups and meshing quite well as characters go, in no small part thanks to their different actions and personalities while still being connected by their original home.

While I'm not particularly fond of the costume change for Power Girl (and no, it's not just about the boob window), we don't see too much of it this issue. And for those of you who miss the fanservice, don't worry, you'll get that as well. Huntess shows less skin, but the main design remains the same, so there's no real reason to complain about her's. The artwork is fine, with George Perez doing the pencilling and Scott Koblish as the inker. All in all, worth a read, for those who like the characters.

So that's what I've got so far. I might end up checking out "Dial H" as well, but at the moment, I've got my hands full following these titles and "Avengers vs X-Men," but more on that later.

Until next time, this has been Whatever I Read.