DC's New 52 'Zero' Omnibus Review

Resident Comics Expert Douglas Dixon highlights the behemoth collection. Want to get in on the ground-floor of DC's 2011 line relaunch? Here's your doorway.

Welcome all, Welcome all.
COMICS!! SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY! beep boop beep boop. MYSTIC ARTS & HORRIFIC HORRORS!
What a way to pass the day. Reading just enriches us in so many aspects. It brings not only teams together to produce the material, but then whole communities around these universes that they create.
Here, we give thanks to those Olympians who deliver us these gifts from the Ether.
In this our first review, we are on the subject of the New 52 from DC. I recently finished the New 52 Zero Omnibus and it is a whopper!
Because I might be talking about the new 52 length at some point, I will keep the summary of the New 52 Zero Omnibus short. Following the events of a crossover storyline entitled “FlashPoint”; in 2011 DC revamped and relaunched all of its entire line of comics. This omnibus collects the Zero Issue of each title, 55 in total!
Although I will only be talking about 10 titles in this review, you faithful readers should know that this omnibus is definitely worth the purchase. It is a whopper in size at just over 1300 pages, and although it only contains the 'zero' issue of different titles you will easily find more than a few trades or writers/artists to pick up after reading this.

TOP 5 PICKS

This was actually very hard as there is a lot of amazing talent in this package on all fronts, and people will pick what speaks best to them. I hope you enjoy my little slice of the pie.

1. "The Long Run", Talon- Story by Scott Snyder James Tynion IV, Illustrated by Guillem March.
 

Awesome SAUCE! This takes place after Snyder’s Court of Owls run, which although I have not read yet I really want to now after reading this (there are no spoilers to the Court run in this zero issue). The main star is Calvin Rose, an assassin raised by the Court who just keeps you glued to the page. Half Houdini, Half Ninja this guy is drawn beautifully and written with the clear execution. Snyder and Tynion are going to start making a presence on my shelves, Scott also writes for American Vampire which is astounding.









 2. "Break my Body", I Vampire-  Story by  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Illustrated by  Jenny Frison

This story convokes horror and weaves it a wonderful tapestry of pain, blood, and love. Originally
told from the tales of House of Mystery during the 70's by J.M. Dematteis, this is a great revival and I was so enthralled with the zero issue that I bought all 3 trades of the series. Sadly it was cancelled, although the writer was given enough time to wrap it up by the time it ended on issue #18. The story invokes many images and myths from our past, while the artists do a stellar job creating this world. You can only glimpse a little from this issue, although it seems like a great redemption epic.





3. "Red Birth", Animal Man- Story by Jeff Lemire and Illustrated by Travel Foreman
   
YAS!! Monsters, Avatars of Higher Beings, a Giant Cat, and even family drama.  This looks like it could pan out to be a very decent and lengthy run. Humor and horror abound, Lemire does an excellent job scripting this joy and making you genuinely feel for the characters. It is also tied to Swamp Thing by  Scott Snyder which almost made it on the top 5 but I wanted to make sure everyone gets a cup of coffee. Both are going to be great additions to the New 52, and already have established volumes. Foreman does justice drawing this too; it’s a tricky universe with diverse characters which are all displayed majestically.





4. "Every End has a Beginning", Superman- Story by Scott Lobdell and Illustrated by Kenneth Rocafort

Scott and Kenneth deliver us some solid groundwork for a new chapter and they start by taking us back to the time of Krypton with superman’s parents. Jor-El discovers a mystery in the depths below Krypton’s crust, while a doomsday cult is apparently trying to bring out about the planets demise through some unknown means. While the story is well written and gives the reader a great starting point for their world, it’s Rocafort in my opinion who is shining here. I love how detailed the art is, and Sunny Gho does incredible work on colors. This zero issue got me very excited to pick up the first volume of his run, Superman Volume 3 Fury at Worlds End. Volumes 1 and 2 of the series are written by various artists and writers and do not connect with their run.










5. "Checking Out", Captain Atom- Story by J.T. Krul and Illustrated by Freddie Williams

I think I found a new favorite artist to start adding to my shelf with this title. Freddie Williams is drawing some amazing work and the pages explode with color, even when Captain Atom isn’t exerting control of dimensional forces. I enjoyed the background story behind Nathaniel Adams our protagonist, a fighter pilot recruited by Doctor Megala working for the “Continuum”. The story isn’t what really attracted me on this title or what put it on this top 5. I would actually be happy with removing the text bubbles and just getting full spreads of these artists work (Inkers and colorists deserve love too).

BOTTOM 5 PICKS

This wasn’t too hard thankfully. When looking at an omnibus and all the work on every level that goes into producing it, you would hope you are getting your money’s worth.

1. "Balance of Power", Hawk & Dove. Story by Rob Liefeld and Illustrated by Marat Mychaels

I wanted to like this so much. Liefeld was one of the first comic book writers I was introduced to in 1992 with his character Supreme. There is a certain nostalgia feeling and you might hope it could attract you in the same manner again. Sadly this would not be the case. While the concept of having avatars of chaos and order sounds neat to me, it just fails terribly and comes off as cliché. The art isn’t bad, I liked it more than the writing. Except after this zero issue Rob Liefeld takes over as Artist and someone else takes over as writer. I’m not going to even link the Volume because it ended after 8 issues.

2. "A Deeper Mystery", The Unknown Soldier -Story by Justin Gray and Illustrated by Staz Johnson

No sir, I didn’t like it. Somehow they make MK Ultra explain how there is an Unknown Soldier in every war, and use a guy who always has bandages on his face to remember past lives. The artwork couldn’t even help me get past this one. On a side note, this and another zero issue in this omnibus is collected in G.I. Combat Vol. 1: The War That Time Forgot.  Ariel Olivetti Does some incredible artwork for the origin story of this GI Combat lost in time.

3. "Sundial H for Hers", Dial H- Story by China Miéville and Illustrated by  Riccardo Burchielli

After re reading it for this review, I almost want to take it off this list. It’s got quirk and scope, and features multi-dimensional aspects but comes off as lackluster. She is trying to channel Grant Morrison in this story about an ancient civilization where a native girl tries to use a sundial to dial for help (HA) and save her people from disaster. Loved the art, it really saved it for me.

4. "Covalence", Firestorm the Nuclear Men- Story by  Joe Harris

I have no idea what it is, but I seriously dislike the character Firestorm. It just doesn’t execute for me and visually doesn’t work at all on book or TV. Two football bro’s who get nuclear powers but have to be fused into one body while the other speaks to them as some floating conscious. Enough Said.

5. "Those who Rise above Us", The Savage Hawkman- Story by  Rob Liefeld

Congratulations I guess Rob; you made it on here twice.



Description: "Originally published in single magazine form in Action Comics #0, All-Star Western #0, Animal Man #0, Aquaman #0, Batgirl #0, Batman #0, Batman and Robin #0, Batman: the Dark Knight #0, Batman Incorporated #0, Batwing #0, Batwoman #0, Birds of Prey #0, Blue Beetle #0, Captain Atom #0, Catwoman #0, DC Universe Presents #0, Deathstroke #0, Demon Knights #0, Detective Comics #0, Dial H #0, Earth 2 #0, The Flash #0, Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #0, The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #0, G.I. Combat #0, Green Arrow #0, Green Lantern #0, Green Lantern Corps #0, Green Lantern - New Guardians #0, Grifter #0, I, Vampire #0, Justice League #0, Justice League Dark #0, Legion Lost #0, Legion of Super-Heroes #0, Nightwing #0, Phantom Stranger #0, The Ravagers #0, Red Hood and the Outlaws #0, Red Lanterns #0, Resurrection Man #0, The Savage Hawkman #0, Stormwatch #0, Suicide Squad #0, Superboy #0, Supergirl #0, Superman #0, Swamp Thing #0, Sword of Sorcery #0, Talon #0, Team 7 #0, Teen Titans #0, Voodoo #0, Wonder Woman #0 and World's Finest #0."-Google Books


Author Douglas Dixon is a Texas native, now Washington state transplant. He lives and breathes comics. Some say he views the world in panels...