The first week of DC Comics New 52 has past. Following the release of Justice League #1, last Wednesday DC released its first week of full comic releases of the new relaunch. Excitement has never been higher for DC Comics, and one single question has been asked by comic fans, new and old, everywhere.

Are the books any good?

That’s what the DC Comics ‘New 52′ report card is here to answer! Each and every week, I will read and review each and every book of the ‘New 52.’ Letting you, the reader, know exactly which ones to buy, which ones you should avoid, and which ones you should give to your friend that has never read comics before.

So let’s get started. This week’s books are Action Comics, Animal Man, Batgirl, Batwing, Detective Comics, Green Arrow. All books will be graded on a scale of A to F. Check in tomorrow morning for our second half of last week’s comics. Withoutt further adieu, let’s get started with our first book: Action Comics #1.

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As I was reading all about the controversy surrounding Hit-Girl in the movie Kick-Ass, I wondered why all this hullabaloo? There have been a ton of sidekicks in the past that no one has said boo about. My favorite sidekick of all time, is also the first in comics: Robin, the Boy Wonder.

Robin was a sweet, acrobatic kid until he was trained to be a super-soldier by his caring and crazed “parental guardian” Batman. Albeit, he didn’t kill, but he still had bullets whizzing by his head. He was captured every other week and the Joker even killed one version of him.

Where was the parental outcry for my beloved Boy Wonder then? Instead of my dad decrying the shoddy parenting skills of Batty, he crafted a bat cave out of our sewing room, devised numerous bat-inspired gadgets for our utility belts, and together we trolled the streets of the cul-de-sac in search of evil.

In between ridding the streets of crime by returning a lost cat back to our neighbor, I read copious comic book adventures and looked forward to seeing a kid thwart crime on the mean streets of Gotham. It’s a wonder Robin has survived at all. His mentor, old Bats is a little Batty himself. He’s either sleeping at the office, obsessing in his bat cave over the latest baddie, or being all angsty, dark, and solemn.

The only time he does pay attention to Robin is when he trains him as a soldier to fight crime in grungy alleys. Not exactly, a nice afternoon in the park. Especially since the “superhero” by Robin’s side refuses to carry a gun against super-villains who have many distinct plans on how to torture and kill them. If I was Robin facing a coo coo for CoCo Puffs super-villain, I would certainly be packing a boatload of ammo and not be afraid to use it.

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Welcome to The Pull List Comic Reviews! Get comfy as a few titles elected to go with short stories this week, meaning we’ve got a lot to cover. As always, WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

PULL OF THE WEEK:

Deadpool #900 – Marvel Comics – $4.99 US
Writers: Jason Aaron, Fred Van Lente, Mike Benson, Joe Kelly, Duane Swierczynski, Victor Gischler, Charlie Huston Artists: Chris Staggs, Dalibor Talajic, Damion Scott, Rob Liefeld, Shawn Crystal, Sanford Greene, Kyle Baker
Score: 9.0

Has there been a hotter commodity in recent times than Deadpool? Hard to argue, but looking back you’ll find that the first issue of this title was launched last year amid much fanfare. Fast-forward twelve months and the character has starred in a one-shot (Deadpool: Games of Death), a mini-series (Deadpool: Suicide Kings), a second ongoing series (Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth) and an upcoming third ongoing (Deadpool Team-Up). What better way to hammer home his arrival in the spotlight – yeah, there was a Marvel Spotlight issue, too – than to give him a #900 issue, a first for comics?

The line-up of creators that contributed to this issue is ridiculous, so it’s no surprise that these seven short stories completely shine in their own right. Not a single dud in the mix. How could there be? He fights mimes in one short while staging a Vegas CSI scene in another, both with cataclysmic results. He gets abducted by aliens (poor aliens!) and spends quality time with his shrink (poor shrink!). He even puts the blinders on as he aims to collect on a childhood bet! Obviously, there’s no limits where ‘Pool is concerned.

Fourth walls be damned, in one memorable short he has a philosophical debate with his other inner-voices to determine which came first, the chicken or the egg. Accompanied by Kyle Baker’s visually trippy art, said short doesn’t end well for one reader, and bodes nothing but ill tidings to the rest of the readers out there, yourself included. But fear not as Deadpool embarks on a vacation cruise, systematically infuriating the entire crew and guests, and ultimately settling his differences with a fierce battle against Doc Ock… in ping pong.

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