Sadly, this was the first week since the release of the new 52 that I wasn't able to wait at the comic shop on Wednesday for my pull list to prepared. I instead had to settle for hanging back until Thursday. The difficulty of avoiding the internet for fear of spoilers aside, this was another fabulous week. Several books hit high marks on my list, others blossomed and jumped to new spots in my overall analysis chart.

Batgirl: I thought this one was amazing. Expectations having been high from the first issue, I know that some were disappointed. Nevertheless, this is a sharply written and drawn book. Admittedly an element or two confounded me, and a prediction I made in the middle of the issue turned out to be wildly off the mark, but seeing as we're still in the earlier part of the story arc, there is still much development left to come.

Batman and Robin: Greatest part about this title? Ace the Bat Hound. Granted, he doesn't do anything, and there are still plenty of other wonderful developments in the title, I just like that Ace is back in the family. This depiction of Damian is a little unsettling to me, and pushes in the opposite direction of what I was initially hoping for, most pointedly in his handling of a batcave resident. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it greatly, and trust Tomasi's vision for the new dynamic duo. Gleason continues to rock it on art duties, particularly in costumed scenes.

Batwoman: Favorite of the Week. Like Swamp Thing the week before, this one is a repeat title earner for my favorite. If this keeps up, I'm going to have to find a way to exclude these titles to offer some glory to other books. First of all, the layouts are mindblowingly cool. The vibrancy of every visual element of this book is absolutely stunning. The story is intriguing, the dialogue is witty and enlightening. I'm so ridiculously pleased at the quality of this long-awaited book. The best part is that even when we switch artists, we have Amy Reeder waiting in the wings not long from now to take over.

Deathstroke: For this one, I had to adjust what I was looking for ever so slightly. While normally death and development are the dramatic parts of a book, it seems utterly clear that those pieces are to play no part in this book. Basically the concept is turning out quite solidly to be 'Deathstroke kills everybody who shows up'... which is fine, I suppose. Ridiculous, yes, but that seems to be the book's middle name. From one perspective it reads a little to easy for Slade, with no challenge, physical or mental, beyond his mastery. But again, that sort of need is usually present in the more traditional book, the likes of which this is not. I'm mildly intrigued by this briefcase mystery, but aside from that I expect that the next 10 issues will be 'uber-foe shows up, Slade kills, super-saiyan form uber-foe shows up, Slade kills...' And as long as those deaths are new Mary Sue characters, I'm chill with that.

Demon Knights: Hells to the yeah, this is what I'm talking about. First of all, this whole cast is quickly blowing up the charts of my favorite characters lists, purely because they're so crazy cool. This book is funny, action packed, beautifully drawn and full of energy. While we're still a little light on Horsewoman (who I've been looking forward to) the team of characters are all really interesting. This basically reads like the greatest D&D campaign I could ever imagine. This one stays comfortably in my top tier.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E: Another title of action, excitement and intrigue. The greatest part about this book is that Jeff Lemire made me love the creation, build and resolution of these characters in his Flashpoint mini, and is now wiping all of that away to do the exact same thing again, without repeating any of those powerful elements. The moment I knew I loved this book to crazyland was the simplistic statement of Frankenstein's vengeance not being discriminatory by age. While in a sense this is a throwaway line, for me it defined every important element of Frankenstein. The script and art are perfectly matched to each other, and it is my fervent hope that this title will be rocking for a long run.

Green Lantern: I always wonder when my loyalty to Geoff Johns might be betrayed, simply because every writer must have a bad story now and then. And every time this kernel of doubt creeps into my mind, Geoff uses his latest tale to smack me in the face, remind me that he is fantastic at what he does and to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Particularly with Sinestro as the central focus of this issue, Johns really makes some great strides with re-defining the character in a new light. Whether it be his superior attitude or the subtle genuine hero woven so far beneath, Johns creates a take on the legendary baddie so on the mark that this will likely be the definitive depiction of the character in the comic annals.

Grifter: This book didn't blow me away exactly the first month, and again didn't blow me away, but it certainly made for an enjoyable read. There are certainly some good action sequences, good snippets of dialogue and good plot developments... but that theme of 'good' dominates the book. It just didn't quite hit the great spot yet. It will probably jump up one on my ratings chart, but my biggest worry for the title is how long it will use this storyline of the daemonites, and whether or not Grifter can fit into a wider world without it. Everything of who the character is and what the story is seems completely tied to that facet that I can't really see him easily transitioning out of this story. I liked the ending though, the last few pages got me pumped for the next issue.

Legion Lost: This might be the most improved book of month 2, we'll see in the next few weeks if this improvement can be topped. While I'm still a touch in the "roll my eyes, sour" camp on the meaningless death of two characters, ignoring that element allowed for this to be a pretty decent book. The plot seems to have a touch more purpose, the Wildfire narration frames it well and the art reminds me of why Pete Woods is on my general favorites list. This is another one that I question what will happen in the future, as I can't see it diverging from this plot all that well, but whatever.

Mister Terrific: If I had one problem with the first issue it was that I was jarred out of loving it by certain elements of the story flow. Luckily, this time there was no bump in the road to stop me from loving it. Michael seems like a ridiculously cool guy, with confidence, inner strength and cleverness beyond his stated mental acuity. Every once in a while, characters get crowning moments of glory, so over the top unbelievable, except for you buy into it because somehow it fits the character... Holt gets this moment with this issue as he reboots his brain. So cool. The only other time Mr. Terrific has been this cool to me was his other similar crowning moment of glory in the recent JSA, when he had to relearn the alphabet. I underestimated the potential of this title and I'm so glad that it surprised me so solidly.

Resurrection Man: Another one that bumped up my opinions, however temporarily, and another one that I see as perhaps too inextricable from the present storyline. I don't know how this one will evolve out of being purely focused on the hunt for Mitch, but at least while I was reading it that wasn't an important element for me. The strongest moments in the book came with quiet exchanges and the weave of clues laced throughout the title, although I also found the body doubles to be rather charming, although they are likely to contribute as fodder in the new war of female representation in the book. The conclusion also left me intrigued, in that fashion that I have no idea how the character will escape his current predicament. Sometimes it is nice to not be able to anticipate what will happen next.

Suicide Squad: This one surprised me in week one and it continued that pattern this week. What I was most surprised about was the fact that I really felt like I could love all these characters, even those reveling in their D-list glory. Deadshot and Harley are certainly the stars for me though, which is rather relieving to be able to continue to adore two of my previous favorites. In fact, Harley's written depiction fits my understanding of the character nearly perfectly. The twists keep coming throughout the story and the art is really something to watch. I also found that this was a book I could laugh out loud with, a feature truly desirable. This book could really have the potential to make its way up the ranks.

Superboy: Aside from the tie in elements to Teen Titans, I'm not really sure I understand where this book is going. The complimentary part of that statement though is that I don't much care. The artistic depiction, especially of the two principal female characters, is wonderful. While slightly manufactured, the story is readable and engaging. The real test will be the moment of integration between the two titles, and where they both go from there. For now, this one can stay right where it was in my framing of expectations.