Year of the Villain #1 was an interesting read as it wasnt randomly setting up a big event, but organically developing from existing storylines in many key books. Im curious to see how Snyder, Bendis, Tynion IV and company play this out, but its got a ton of potential and could be the next great DC event. This is certainly a promising start and the best 25 cents you'll spend this week. Read Full Review

YotV is a rich appetizer for what's to come this year. Acting as a compass, the special shows the direction of DC Comics' mysterious future, covering everything from the spaceways to the streets. Read Full Review

The ending twist revealing what's become of Luthor is one of the biggest mind-screws I've seen in a DC book in a while, and the story as a whole seems to build nicely on what Snyder is doing in his core title. Read Full Review

I think we're off to a good start for these summer events and we have some great characters to look forward to, I just hope it doesn't get too convoluted. Read Full Review

Year of Villain #1 was a fun read. The expertise of the creative teams involved is in full effect. The story itself is a little disjointed, but still clear. The initial stakes are now set and I'm very interested in seeing where the event will go. If you are a fan of DC Comics and don't mind events then there aren't many better ways to spend 0.25 cents. Read Full Review

Youve seen this before and, while it doesnt have all the intricacies of previous kick-off specials, it does what it sets out to do. It takes storylines that are already working on some huge scales and expands the scope. Do we need that? Is there a danger of convoluting things by cross-stitching them together like this? Is bigger always better? None of these answers are in this book, itll either get you amped for something you were already going to buy into anyway or, at the very least, will give you a truckload of great art and content to drool over. Read Full Review

Easy issue to recommend and one that has me looking forward to DC's next big event. Read Full Review

DC's Year of the Villain has begun and teases what is to come perfectly! Read Full Review

Year of the Villain #1 was a fantastic teaser issue for this upcoming big event. Snyder, Tynion, and Bendis did their jobs in getting readers excited for Year of the Villain. Year of the Villain #1 certainly increased my expectations for this big event. Read Full Review

Let's face it, Year of the Villain #1 is partially a marketing guide for future comics, and it does its job very well. Read Full Review

This almost free comic paves the way for bigger and hopefully better things and really, if you are a DC Comics fan, you should get it. The art throughout is great and while this is mostly setup for what's to come this summer, it feels big and important. Read Full Review

How does this affect the Doomsday Clock storyline? I get that the book is behind, but was this book rushed out to ignore the implications that were addressed in that storyline? Is the Rebirth over? These are things that worried me as I started reading this. Hopefully, DC answers with carefully constructed storylines. Read Full Review

Buy a copy...NO! Buy four or five and give them to your friends! This is a story that will chart the path for DC's entire line for months and years to come. The thing I love about DC events is that you won't need to buy every single crossover and tie-in, but will just be rewarded by a richer reading experience if you do. As Batfans, if you already pick up Batman, Deathstroke, Detective, Batgirl, Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Teen Titans and the Justice League books, you'll be getting most of the story automatically. Whatever you decide, grab this one and you'll be getting in at the ground floor. Read Full Review

All the strips aren't great, but the overall package does its job well enough. It has teased me with what is to come in the world of DC. Read Full Review

It's hard to say overall how good this comic really is. It has me both interested and not in what's coming and while each individual chapter is interesting none really have me excited for what's next. Still, for only 25 cents it's hard to argue to not get it. Read Full Review

The artwork is good, but that's not enough to make this worth reading, even with the book only costing a quarter. Read Full Review

In conclusion when you have trouble connecting the dots, a user guide helps.And Year of the Villain sets up the large and small plot lines.So, if you like a little mystery to your multi-book-end-of-everything event put this one in a bag and board until the dust has settled, or leave it on the shelf for the reader who needs it. Read Full Review

There's not a lot of crunch for your quarter, but it does only cost a quarter. The hardest part of this book is the unwavering commitment to grimdark nonsense, murder and senseless chaos, and the presence of the execrable Batman Who Laughs. Read Full Review

Highlights of the issue were Maleev's layouts, the full page Bane, and Snyder's story. But I cringe at the overall concept because (and far be it from me to tell Snyder how to execute a villain!) isn't a fundamental part of being a villain...not thinking that you are a villain? Maybe other than Joker. I hope we don't backslide into black-and-white good/bad dichotomies. Overall score can't be harsh at $0.25, though!

I'm pretty interested in what Snyder and co. have to offer with this, as the mini-stories offered here do a good job of setting the stage for what's to come this year. I'm also optimistic for these tie-ins, because if done right, then we may see a more encompassing event than what we've seen from recent efforts (HiC is more or less exclusive to itself and a couple of tie-ins, and Metal's postgame line-up was really just a bunch of failing and flailing New Age titles and a Justice League segue). The only thing that has me concerned is the time-frame, which may not only take a while to get off the ground, but may also take space/time away from other DC ventures (e.g.: Doomsday Clock, future Black Labels (if any), any remaining gleam of hope for the Milestone reprise, etc.). No matter what, though, it seems like they're going to try and have some fun with this one, which is always welcome over boring sci-fi exposition, pseudo-intellectual rambling, and misguided attempts at being "deep, thought-provoking literature". more

Somehow it felt very short, but it did it's job well of getting me excited for the upcoming months of DC Comics.

I'm down for all of this. It all sounds and looks very promising.

This was a fun issue. I think every DC fan should just pick it up since it's only a quarter.

This issue sets up Year of the Villains& I’m looking forward to it. However I hope DC will do all the villains justice. That’s my biggest concern. This issue is mainly about both sides recruiting& thinking about, what will come. I question Perpetua‘s taste in the end, but well...
Overall I’m curious how this event will fit with other events& whether Doomsday Clock is still a canon story& I hope the upgraded designs will look good as well. We will see.

THE GOOD:

-Hey, it's 25 cents. Even if you just want to flip through it and look at the art, it's worth it.

-Speaking of, the art is absolutely fantastic across the board. All three artists do a spectacular job.

-The best story was definitely Snyder's. I liked the writing and the art, it tied to Tom King's Batman, which I can appreciate for continuity's sake even if I don't like that series, and it ended really surprisingly.

THE BAD:

-Bendis' story wasn't great. His dialogue always manages to annoy the hell out of me, and Leviathan is not a compelling villian whatsoever. Plus that end was just really forced and I seriously doubt that it actually means anything for the identity of Leviathan. Just Bendis and his need to use awful twists at the end of every issue he writes.

-I'm on the fence with Tynion's story. The art was great, but the story was pretty uninteresting. I liked the connection to the Batman Who Laughs and the end was surprising, however. It's definitely right between Snyder's and Bendis'. I guess I'll just not add or remove any points for it, considering I found it very average, not good or bad. more

I like it, but I have a bad feeling about this. Like realy bad.

DC's recent track record with big events is very uneven. Rebirth and Dark Nights Metal were a success, New Age of Heroes derailed pretty badly after few months, Heroes in Crisis is utter garbage, Doomsday Clock is being actively pushed aside and never gets attention it deserves, No Justice was a rushed overcrowded mess, and let's not even start with Night of the Monster Men or Batman's #50 total failure. That's why I'm skeptical about another huge crossover event being set up, involving many established characters, with at least a part of them being changed for it.
One of the last pages of the issue shows concept arts for them, and honestly, I'm afraid. The Terrifics ain't broke, so why would you fix them? Rose Wilson looks like a Silencer ripoff with so many details on her costume, it's just distracting. Meanwhile Solomon Grundy lost his upper lip and nose, now resembling Iron Maiden's Eddie on some serious steroids.

I don't know, my gut tells me to proceed with caution. Not meaning I disliked this special, but there are things in it that seem like bright yellow lights. more

I don’t know. I love the villains so I’m willing to have some faith.

This wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I'm not really on board for any of it yet. Leviathan has been building in Action Comics for a while, and I'm not a fan of that title. And that story was probably the weakest of the bunch. The Snyder story, and the Justice League story, is what I'm mostly interested in. But even that fluctuates damn near every arc. There's not much to say about the Tynion story, it just felt like an extension of the Snyder story, but more cosmic. I just hope that the execution on this is good because that's what will determine whether or not the entire line is screwed for several months.

"Something beautiful"

We had a villain's month some time ago. Now we're going to have a year of the villain. Oh, boy. I really hope they can pull this off.

- Chapter 1: 7,5
First of all, amazing art. That page with Bane is just something out of this world. And the story is not far behind. I'm really curious, just what Lex (and Snyder) have cooked up for us, the readers.
Also, I knew it. Luthor is just too arrogant to simply do what he did at the end of this chapter.

-Chapter 2: 7
Some of the initial dialogue from Batgirl and Green Arrow felt off. But after the big flash of light things started to look up. Whoever Barbara was talking to and what Damian proposed has me worried for the Bat-family and interested in how this whole Leviathan thing will play out. I like that story-line in Action Comics, so fingers crossed.
As for art, I think Maleev can do better. I've seen him do better.

-Chapter 3: 7
It's James Tynion. So you can expect that it might be wordy and exposition heavy. It is. But what was teased in this chapter, the big war between Justice and Doom. Well, I'd be lying if I said it doesn't make me excited.

Bring on the Villains DC. Let's see how it goes. more

Scott Snyder is still writing corny dialog, bland characters/plots, and scripts that stifle Jim Cheung.

Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are so perfect together, I'd be fine if they took over every DC character on the shelves today.

James Tynion IV is pretty much the good version of Scott Snyder (and Francis Manapul doesn't hurt).

Overall, a mixed bag (as these specials always are).

Twenty-five cents. In this case, you get what your pay for. Each chapter tries to establish a ton of information in a diminutive number of pages and the result is this soulless, confusing info dump.

The Justice League chapter has the most success as it is easier to follow and includes some heroics to latch onto.

The Lex Luthor chapter is the most problematic, largely due to the cringe-worthy dialog and lightning pace.

The Leviathan chapter's greatest sin is that it is just boring.

For twenty-five cents, I think I just saved myself many dollars by purging any urge to dip my toe into the pool of Year of the Villain books to come out, so in that sense, it was a worthwhile investment.