Saturday May 6rh was Free Comic Book Day.
So imagine my surprise when I walked into my comic show on May 23rd and discovered another free comic book for me to grab. the Dawn of DC Primer #1 was on the shelves for free and included not only a new original story by Joshua Williamson and Leandro Fernandez but also some Who's Who style ads for some of the newer titles on the shelves.
'Dawn of DC' is a decent enough tagline for a Rebirth style soft reboot of the line. Ollie is back in a solo title. Hal is the GL acting on Earth again. Superman is flying high in his solo book. We also are getting a new Cyborg book, the new Doom Patrol book, and a new look at the Titans as the premier superhero team in the DCU.
I do find it interesting that it was the Knight Terrors preview that was given out on FCBD. This book seems more like a true primer on the whole DCU, something you might want to entice new readers with. If you are using FCBD to see what DC has in mind, would you suddenly pick up a company wide crossover lasting 2 months?
The story in the issue is solid enough, showcasing Amanda Waller as a true villain, working with C-list villains to put a bounty on all super-heroes heads. I really don't like this turn Waller has taken over the last couple of years. She is a megalomaniac on par with Luthor here, thinking she knows what is needed to right the world and willing to do anything to achieve it.
This does include some references to the new books coming into the fold. We get a nifty new magic item for the DCU. The art by Fernandez has a sort of Sean Phillips roughness to it which works for the mostly dark nature of the story. That is a very cool wraparound cover by Jeff Spokes. And who doesn't like (pseudo) Who's Who pages.
On to this quick look at the story.
