Reviews

DC Rebirth Holiday Special (2016) #1 by Paul Dini

clockworkp's review

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4.0

3.75
Aunque hubo muchas historias cortas que no me interesaban, la manera en que están hiladas es genial, parece tal cual un show navideño típico.
Mi historia favorita por supuesto, los super sons.

capesandcovers's review

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4.0

I love holiday specials, I always have, so when DC announced that they were doing one for Rebirth I knew I had to read it. There are 10 stories overall, one of which (Harley's) takes places throughout the anthology, since the whole thing is narrated by Harley Quinn. This special was pretty diverse in the holidays celebrated and there was quite an array of diverse characters in between the usual ones. I think there was more Superman and Batman/Batfamily stories than there were in the past, but then again that's the market DC has been actively trying to reach.

I broke down the anthology to give a mini review of each separate story.

A Very Harley Holiday by [a:Paul Dini|61935|Paul Dini|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1294337447p2/61935.jpg] and [a:Elsa Charretier|9085236|Elsa Charretier|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]

This was a weird story, partially because of how it needed to be written around the others, but also because of how Harley and other villains were just chilling at this superhero holiday party (in the Watchtower?). Ignoring that, the story itself wasn't anything special, just the usual New 52-esque Harley flitting about without pants (please give her clothes for fucks sake )and making somewhat rude comments in an attempt to be humorous. It is mentioned that Harley is actually Jewish, but rather than sticking to just that they seemed to have change things so she now celebrates both Hanukkah and Christmas.

The part with Wonder Woman's holiday traditions was just bizarre, and was written in the violent OOC behavior Azzarello and Johns had written her in at the beginning of the New 52. Please, stop writing her this way DC, you have other characters you can do this with. The Raven and Beast Boy part was kind of weird and random, but it felt like the current Teen Titans Go cartoon so I'm assuming that's why it was in there.

Honestly, the only parts of this I liked were the brief Task Force X panels because of Deadshot, and the idea of Black Canary and Zatanna singing together. The art style was nice and minimalistic, and so was the coloring. 1/5 stars.

Superman & Batman: The Last Minute by [a:Tim Seely|15364855|Tim Seely|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] & [a:Ian Churchill|161083|Ian Churchill|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]

As someone who hasn't been acitvely keeping up with New 52 and Rebirth Superman this one was somewhat confusing. It was nice seeing Clark, Bruce and Lois together for the holidays, though the Jon thing still weirds me out. It was nice to see Damian with a friend though, and he had such nice hair. The art was so nice that the rating gets boosted from 1/5 stars to 2/5.

Superboy & Krypto: For the Dog Who Has Everything by [a:Eric Esquivel|4941959|Eric Esquivel|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], [a:Dan Jurgens|2688|Dan Jurgens|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1361141047p2/2688.jpg] & [a:Norm Rapmund|665051|Norm Rapmund|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]

This felt out of place and held literally no meaning to me since I don't know or care about Jon or like kids. N/A or 1/5 stars.

Batman & Detective Chimp: The Night We Saved Christmas by Heath Carson, Gustavo Duarte

This is that weird story out of the group, which makes one of the many reasons why I love holiday specials. It has great layout and the art has a great cartoon style without veering off into childish. The coloring was mostly solid block and it just worked so well with everything, The story itself seems to be an out of continuity team-up between Batman and Bobo, which makes it even better. 5/5 stars

Wonder Woman and Constantine: Dreaming of a White Christmas by Mariko Tomaki and [a:Matías Bergara|3190115|Matías Bergara|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]

Other than the complaint that Diana has a little too much of a rude attitude (I swear I'm not THAT picky), I did really enjoy this one. Constantine has some great lines as per usual, and the art was okay. The color palette was such a great mood setter. 4/5 stars

The Flash: A Flash Christmas Carol by [a:James Tynion IV|6852949|James Tynion IV|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and [a:Robbi Rodriguez|28324|Robbi Rodriguez|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]

I have no clue who Malcolm is, but this was classic holiday special material. This was such a Flash story, and I love when the relationships he has with The Rogues come into plot. The art didn't really do anything for me, but it wasn't bad either. This was truly one of those stories I live for. 10/5 stars.

New Super-Man: Day of Returning by [a:Gene Luen Yang|68959|Gene Luen Yang|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1415919636p2/68959.jpg] and [a:Andrea Mutti|694397|Andrea Mutti|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267981157p2/694397.jpg]

This story held 0 meaning to me, since as stated before I haven't been keeping up with recent Superman comics. From what I could tell not much was really happening other than the New Super-Man being rude and some costumes that hurt my eyes. N/A or 0/5 stars

Batwoman: Light in the Dark by [a:K. Perkins|2105721|K. Perkins|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1438862525p2/2105721.jpg] and [a:Paolo Pantalena|2914512|Paolo Pantalena|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]

I had some issues with the art for this one, I wanted to like it, but some of it was just too sexed up. Other than that, it was a mediocre story, I'm not sure who the Catlady/Oracle wannabe was, but she was interesting enough that I'd read something else with her in it. I've missed reading Kate. 3/5 stars

The Titans: What a Year For a New Year by [a:James Asmus|2933191|James Asmus|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442501191p2/2933191.jpg], [a:Reilly Brown|286838|Reilly Brown|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Scott Hanna|286007|Scott Hanna|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png]

This was really reminiscent of the original Teen Titans cartoon in some ways, but in others it was similar to the old Titans runs too. Roy was kind of weird and OOC, and Ding Dong Daddy was the villain which has some nice tie-backs to it being a Roy-centric story. Overall nothing very special, the last page was the most interesting part. 2/5 stars

Batgirl and Nightwing: I Don't Wanna Be Late by [a:Bill Freiberger|13630136|Bill Freiberger|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and Thomas Patilli

I loved the idea of the formatting, and it actually worked out quite nicely. This was cute, and I enjoyed it despite my hatred for Batgirl of Burnside. In all honesty, if you ignore the costumes it could have easily been pre-reboot Batgirl Barbara. 3/5

Green Lanterns: The Epiphany by [a:Steve Orlando|7214373|Steve Orlando|http://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1490717931p2/7214373.jpg], [a:Vita Ayala|16130337|Vita Ayala|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], V. Ken Marion and [a:Mick Gray|187093|Mick Gray|http://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]

I haven't been actively keeping up with the Green Lanterns run, but I poke around and have a basic idea of what's been happening with Baz and Jessica. I don't think I actually needed to know about it though for this story. The plot itself is a bit questionable, but it reminded me of other older plots and made me nostalgic. 4/5 stars

themtj's review

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3.0

Fun, but not quite worth the cover price.

standardman's review

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4.0

There's a couple of dud, leaden stories here but it's mostly good. The framing sequences are light and the Night We Saved Christmas story with Batman and Detective Chump was a joy.
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