Thoughts on OYL thus far:

So far I'm enjoying the OYL issues, so I decided I'd collect a bunch of my random opinions.

Because it's my blog and I can. :-) Some of these have runner ups and some of these don't, my explanation for why: see previous sentence :-)
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Best OYL Issue: Teen Titans was probably my favorite OYL, if only for the shock of the ending. Using Cyborg as reader surrogate was a nice touch. I thought the ending was both in character and "what the fuck" worthy at the same time.

My Biggest Question: *Wendy* and *Marvin*?!

The runner up for me was probably Blood of the Demon, actually. Which is funny because I know maybe three people who read that series. But it was good, exciting. And the climax of this month's issue while a bit predictable still was a very cool moment. (With the added ick factor of Etrigan and the zombie limbs earlier...eek).

My Biggest Question: How did Harry Matthews become human again?

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Most Meh Issue for me: Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis. I like Mr. Busiek's work, but this new "Arthur Curry" does nothing for me. I think it's that he's too much like the original. Don't get me wrong I love original flavor Aquaman, but if we're gonna have a new guy, I'd prefer him to be *brand new*, not a blatant rehash of the guy he's replacing. Now if he's amnesiac original Aquaman, or somehow a magically split off half-of-Aquaman or something, that could be cool. But right now, I'm not terribly interested.

My Biggest Question: *THIS* saved Aquaman from being canceled?!

Runner up: Outsiders. It's funny, I like the cast. I really like the addition of Captain Boomerang, but so far something seems missing. I'll give it a few issues to get its footing though.

My Biggest Question: If Dick and Owen merged, would their collective fashion atrocities cancel each other out?
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So far disappointing: JSA. Maybe it's just that I'm not a big fan of Mr. Levitz's writing style. His characters feel a little off for me, though that could just be that I'm so used to the Robinson/Goyer/Johns version. And I don't care that much about Gentleman Ghost. Really though, it's probably that my favorite character is missing without explanation. Hmph. If that ghost is Wesley Dodds on next month's cover, Sanderson Hawkins better show up. Or there better be a *damn* *good* reason he's not there. :-) If Mr. Johns was lying when he said the cast lineup was going to be unchanged, I'm gonna cry. :-P

My Biggest Question: Where are all the missing characters?
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Best pulled out from the gutter: Robin. I've loved the Robin series, it's what got me into DC. I love Mr. Willingham and Fables is my favorite non-superhero comic, but the two together were not a very good mix. I've blogged my theories about why this was, before, so I'll spare you. Anyway, the new team is great, the story is interesting, and I particularly enjoyed the nod to Chuck Dixon's run (Lynx!). I'm excited about reading Robin again.

My Biggest Question: So what's going on with Cass?
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Best I totally predicted that but it's still cool issue: Manhunter. It was probably Ragnell who called the switching sides to mean defense attorney thing first, but I definitely agreed. She's too morally ambiguous to turn dark. It just wasn't enough of a twist. And I figured Todd wasn't going to lose it again, for much the same reason. And the rooftop banter between Kate and Todd was cute and fun.

My Biggest Question: So how *did* Todd get his powers back? And how'd he and Damon meet anyway? I wanna flashback!

Runner up is Catwoman. I'm not too sure about Holly in the suit yet, but Selina and Helena have me fascinated. And Bruce. And while some see it as more ambiguous, I still think Bruce's behavior in the nursery was very much a confused teenage father's: "I wanna do right by you but I don't know how."

And if he does turn out not to be Helena's father, he'd so end up retconned into being it within a few years.

My Biggest Question: Why doesn't Slam Bradley have more panel time?
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Best why mess with a good thing issue: Birds of Prey. Yeah, the line up may have changed, but the important stuff remained. Barbara's still awesome, and the tone, pacing, and character touches that I like best in Ms. Simone's work remain strong and enjoyable. It's pretty much, where it counts, exactly like before OYL. And that's a good thing.

My Biggest Question: When will we get to see Shiva and Robin interact again? They always had interesting interactions...

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Most...mixed feelings-springing issue: Nightwing. Honestly, I'm not surprised the Babs/Dick engagement didn't pan out. Honestly, no matter the intention of the writers, he's still the exact same immature, clingy, needy basket case he was the last time they were together. He hadn't been allowed to grow since then, and he seems to be in the same boat OYL. Still he does look pretty, and Jason *is* interesting.

My Biggest Question: To quote Guy Gardner: "What *is* it with the long hair?"
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Most promising new series: Well, it's not out yet, but I'd have to say GL:C. Recharge was a blast and a half, and a space opera/cop show type thing would be just up my alley. Besides I love Guy and Kilowog, Soranik seems to have a lot of potential and the Nightlights should be a lot of fun.

Runner up: Ion, for obvious reasons. Checkmate looks like fun too.

And that's all I can think of for now. I will possibly follow up on this later. But more likely will be distracted by something else entirely. :-)