You might help us stop the destruction of the multiverse because you’re feeling petty?
John Stewart
Dark Knight: Death Metal – Multiverse’s End #1
Publisher: DC
Writer: James Tynion IV
Art: Juan Gedeon
Colors: Mike Spicer
Letters: Rus Wooton
Cover: Ian Bertram & David Stewart
I’ll say this right now, Multiverse’s End is the best tie-in to the Dark Knights: Death Metal event so far! A pretty bold statement but the entire creative team really does make this THE tie-in to pick up. If you haven’t been here from the beginning, Tynion gets you up to speed with the event via an interrogation sequence as Earth – 3’s Owlman has captured John Stewart. He wants some more information before he decides if he’ll actually help the heroes against Perpetua. So while John is telling the story, Tynion has the rest of the GL Corps and remaining heroes doing what they do best. And he makes it all count. From the emotional Captain Carrot moments to the hilarity of the Batman Rainbow Corps led by a toddler Dark Knight, Tynion packs this story with so much craziness and heart while being very self aware of how wild it is. You also get a firm sense of the stakes and that John is also on limited time because if they fail here it’s game over.
Been a fan of Juan Gedeon since seeing his work in Horizon and his unique style here along with Mike Spicer’s colors bring it all home! There’s the over-the-top action sequences that deliver plenty of eye candy of our multiverse heroes punching Nazi supervillains along with the expressiveness and pain that Captain Carrot carries regarding the loss of his team. Spicer’s colors are rich and the cherry on top of a great comic.
Some people just stick with the main title during an event but as I said earlier, this is one tie-in that deserves your attention! 4.5/5
Justice League: Annual #2
Publisher: DC
Writer: Robert Venditti
Art: Aaron Lopresti
Colors: David Baron
Inks: Matt Ryan
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Annuals should be comfortable and accessable stories for any reader to pick up and enjoy. That’s exaclty what Venditti gives us here in this good old fashioned murder mystery with a twist that takes place right under the noses of the Justice League. Not only do Superman, Flash, Batman, John Stewart, Wonder Woman and Batman have to solve this mystery but they also have to stop the Hall of Justice from killing them as well! Venditti shows some excellent teamwork and skills as the League attempts to solve the mystery in time but what’s great is that we get some fun character moments throughout the action that takes place. The artwork is pretty solid from Lopresti, Baron, and Ryan and moves the narrative with great ease.
My only complaint is the “superhumaness” of Batman at times which is clearly displayed here. Look, I get it. Batman is a badass but he’s still a regular guy but if he’s going to take hits like Wonder Woman and Superman what’s the point in his triumphs? With that said, this Annual is still a good choice for an enjoyable one-and-done story. 3/5
Legion of Superheroes #9
Publisher:
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist(s): Arthur Adams, Jim Cheung, Mike Grell, Michel Fiffe, Gary Frank, Jenny Frison, Mitch Gerads, Nick Derington, James Harren, Riley Rossmo, Emanuela Lupacchino, David Marquez, Kevin Nowlan, Joe Quinones, Ivan Reis, John Romita Jr., Tula Lotay, Nicola Scott, Ryan Sook, Gene Luen Yang
Colors: Jordie Bellaire, Mitch Gerads, Joe Prado, Klaus Janson, Wade Von Grawbadger
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover: Ryan Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger, Mikel Janin, Travis Moore, & Jordie Bellaire
The trial of the Legion continues here and through the showing of several members’ audition tapes we get an easier introduction. Bendis gives more layers to this team and shows that not all of the members actually are on the same page when it comes to the United Planets. However, he builds this up to be more than just a trial but reveals what we already knew about General Nah and that there’s something dark on the horizon and that the Legion is necessary. Thanks to testimonies from Doctor Fate, White Witch, and Dream Girl. The problem with Mon-El is sure to come back but Colossal Boy’s comment about him was just spot on.
The art is done by some of the best in the business which you can see by looking at the long credits list. Seeing all of these varying art styles is a little jarring at times and works better when we jump around to different interviews. It’s when they are moving consecutive events that things get a bit odd in terms of flow. As far as if it looks good to you, well you’ve got plenty of moments to choose from. Oh, that kiss between the two Legion members was probably supposed to be a highlight moment but it fell kind of flat but Mitch Gerads did make that page look good! 3/5
Batman: The Joker Warzone #1
Publisher: DC
Writer(s): James Tynion IV, John Ridley, Joshua Williamson, Sam Johns
Artist(s): Guillem March, Olivier Coipel, David LaFuente, Laura Braga, James Stokoe
Color(s): Tomeu Morey, Matt Hollingsworth, Hi-Fi, Antonio Fabela,
Letters: Clayton Cowels, Deron Bennett, Gabriela Downie, Tom Napolitano
Cover: Derrick Chew
The Joker Warzone is an anthology that focuses on the background characters that are putting in work during the Joker War event taking place in the main Batman title. From the newly introduced Clownhunter to favs like Spoiler and Orphan it’s a pretty solid collection of stories. It’s also very clear that these shorts are setting up things for the future as we’re told that many will be continued next year.
The opening is a tense conversation between Joker and Bane from Tynion where we see the Clown Prince telling an imprisoned Bane how far he’s fallen and mocking his failed last attempt at taking Gotham. Batwing returns as we get a painful story focused on Lucious Fox and his family then a fun adventure focusing on Spoiler and Orphan as they look for a symbol to rally behind and inspire the citizens of Gotham. Poison Ivy gets her time and it’s going to be interesting to see what direction she takes. Clownhunter’s story is a straight up violent romp as he’s taking back Gotham the only way he knows how and leaving a stack of bodies in his wake.
Every story is given some great visuals which is sometimes very hit and miss in these anthology books. Olivier Coipel and Matt Hollingsworth bring their talents to the Batwing story and in a perfect world if this character gets another series I’d love to see them handle the visuals. Guillem March and Tomeu Morey heighten the tension between Joker and Bane while Lafuente and Hi-Fi deliver a whimsical look for Orphan and Spoiler’s adventure. Laura Braga and Tom Napolitano do Ivy justice as she defends her home and James Stokoe gives us a Clownhunter fight that will have you cheering his name like the citizens of Gotham. My only complaint is that almost every story here is a set up for something else and it kind of cheapens the moment. There’s nothing wrong with a done in one story and I just wished we got more of that here. 3.5/5
Fore more Crisis of Infinite Reviews click here!
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
