Aquaman #24
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Paul Pelletier, Sean Parsons, and Rod Reis
Cover Artists: Paul Pelletier, Sean Parsons, and Rod Reis
Publisher: DC
The secret behind the sinking of Atlantis is revealed, and with it a dark history unknown to its current king. With the end of Geoff Johns’s run closing in, the story takes a drastic turn as Arthur learns that he is not the rightful heir to the throne of Atlantis. Johns does a great job of explaining many unanswered questions in this issue, setting up his last issue to be a major showdown between kings. There were a couple odd things about this issue. The first being the claim to the throne. Regardless of how Atlan was overthrown by his brother, the fact that he sank the city should automatically put him out of the running. Kings are overthrown all the time throughout history, Arthur’s ancestors are no worse and no better than any other usurper. The bigger problem with this issue is in terms of the DC timeline. This issue starts off with Arthur waking up six months after the last issue. Where does that time jump fall in line with the Justice League title, as well as the Forever Evil event still going on? Nevertheless, ignoring the rest of the DC Universe, this issue was absolutely great and a remarkable representation of how good this title has been since the very beginning. 4.5/5
Batman: The Dark Knight #24
Writer: Greg Hurwitz
Artists: Alex Maleev and Dave McCaig
Cover Artists: Alex Maleev and Dave McCaig
Publisher: DC
This issue is a prime example of having too many titles for one character, which isn’t to say that this issue itself wasn’t good. In fact, this issue was actually a well written and developed origin for Clayface. It set up his history in a methodical way, that puts him in that grey area between pure good and pure evil. The problem is this: with so many Batman titles, different writers end up writing the same villains over and over again. And while that villain may not repeat in the same title, if he ends up in all five titles, it can still be excessive. In this case, this is the third title featuring Clayface in a year’s time. He’s a great character and this was a great issue, however, this repetitive representation of Batman’s classic rogues gallery becomes a bit stale after a while. 4/5
The Flash #24
Writers: Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul
Artists: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Cover Artists: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
Publisher: DC
The Flash is by and far one of DC’s most consistently well written and beautifully illustrated books. Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul have been on fire from the very start both as the writing team as well as the art team. This issue, the conclusion to their Reverse Flash arc, as well as the penultimate issue of their run, was great. Admittedly, the arc did feel a tad rushed, mostly in part due to the Villain’s Month issue. While that issue did a nice job of giving an origin to the Reverse Flash, it almost feels as if it took away from the main series. There had been a nice build in the story as the Reverse Flash went after everyone with ties to the Speed Force, however, his final battle with the Flash was over almost as soon as it started. With the next issue being a one-shot story, this issue feels like it should have been two issues, but was instead compressed into one. That aside, the issue reads well, and is absolutely gorgeous to look at. This creative team will definitely be missed. 4/5
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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
