It was another big week of comics. DC delivered another critical prelude to Dark Nights: Metal, brought back fan-favorite series The American Way and welcomed a new creative team on board Wonder Woman. Marvel continued to flesh out the Secret Empire conflict with various tie-in books and kicked off the long-awaited Spider-Men II.
Scroll down to check out our reviews for these and various other new releases, and be sure to let us know your favorite books of the week in the comments below.
Written by Dan Jurgens | Drawn by Viktor Bogdonavic
After Jack Herbert’s outstanding artwork in the previous issue, Viktor Bogdanovic’s art is definitely a letdown. Don’t misunderstand: Bogdanovic has talent and he’s not a bad artist. He simply can’t match the energy of Herbert’s pages. It really doesn’t make much sense to switch artists in the middle of an arc when things are heating up. Bogdanovic’s pages just don’t have the epic quality that they needed for the ultimate battle between the Revenge Squad and the all-new Superman family. It’s also unfortunate that the issue doesn’t quite deliver on the all-out fight that was teased in the previous issue’s cliffhanger. Those are the kind of promises to the readers that really should be kept. Dan Jurgens has kept the stakes high, and yet an expected betrayal happens so suddenly that it fell flat on the page. The cliffhanger has a lot of potential, but it feels like a lot of the momentum for this story hit a wall. -Blair
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Written by John Ridley | Drawn by Georges Jeanty
"It's been roughly a decade since writer John Ridley and artist Georges Jeanty wrapped up the original American Way mini-series at Wildstorm. Now is probably the ideal time to bring this politically and racially charged superhero series back into play, given Ridley's higher profile post-12 Years a Slave and the generally bitter political climate we find ourselves in. And though the idea of a comic that deconstructs the superhero genre is no more novel now than it was in 2006, Ridley and Jeanty prove that they still have plenty to bring to the table." -Jesse
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Written by Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV | Drawn by Andy Kubert, Jim Lee & John Romita Jr.
"There are a lot of factors that go into building a good, satisfying comic book event. Obviously you need a marketable hook and a strong creative team who can deal with the added editorial pressure. But one element so many of these projects lack is novelty. You need readers to feel like they're reading something genuinely new and exciting, and it's hard to do that when they're barely given a month or two of breathing room in between each epic, status quo-shattering conflict. But even though Dark Nights: Metal is sandwiched in between various other DC events this year, the prologue comic Dark Days: The Casting suggests that Metal truly will be something special. This is one event that has the novelty factor down pat." -Jesse
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Final Score:
Written by James Tynion IV | Drawn by Alvaro Martinez
This issue is a bit scattered between the two current storylines: Batman’s search for answers through magic and Azrael’s past coming back to haunt him. It’s the first story that has my attention. James Tynion has a very strong take on Zatanna, and that really comes through as she explains why she operates as both a performer and magician. It makes perfect sense for her character. She’s trying and failing to keep Batman from using a very powerful magical artifact that may even tie into the Metal event. But the real joy here is simply watching Zatanna and Batman speak to each other and revisit their shared history. Unfortunately, the St. Dumas story just isn’t as interesting, and it seems to be taking us places that we’ve been several times before. Even within this book, Azrael has been underdeveloped compared to the rest of the team. This latest twist doesn’t seem like a very promising turn. Alvaro Martinez's artwork is pretty to look at, but not quite as spectacular as the more recent artistic turns on this book. Overall, the issue falls short of the standards that it set for itself in the last year. Hopefully the conclusion of this arc will bring it back around. -Blair
Final Score:
Written by Joshua Williamson | Drawn by Howard Porter
Well. Barry Allen’s an idiot. You’d think that the fastest man alive would have a sharper brain, but the Flash makes such horrible decision in this issue that it borders on self-parody. Is it wrong to hold the Flash to a higher standard? Can’t he make mistakes without coming off like a moron? Because this is far from Barry’s finest hour. Joshua Williamson does offer an intriguing glimpse into at least one possible future for Barry and Iris, and it's refreshing to see Iris assert herself with both Barry and the Reverse-Flash. But there’s been so much Reverse-Flash in this book that he’s become played out, and it’s no longer interesting to see him torment Barry and Iris. Howard Porter’s art is harder to follow than usual. Porter gets a lot of details on the page, but the overall effect was muddled. This just isn’t a very enjoyable issue. -Blair
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Written by Robert Venditti | Drawn by Ethan Van Sciver
If the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps alliance wasn’t broken before, it certainly seems to be on its way out now. Robert Venditti appears to have set up a major turning point for the next issue, which would be fine if two key players didn't act so wildly out of character. It’s one thing for a murderer to act so rashly, but Soranik too? Even accounting for her anger, that turn doesn't feel like it was earned or justified. On the art front, Ethan Van Sciver has a surprisingly subdued issue. There are occasional moments that Van Sciver depicted to full effect, including the murder of a Sinestro Corps member and Soranik’s confrontation with Kyle Rayner. However, Van Sciver’s pages don't seem to hit his incredibly high standards. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by Van Sciver’s consistent quality, so that even the slightest drop is noticeable. This isn't a bad issue by any stretch of the imagination, but it is relatively disappointing. -Blair
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Written by Steve Orlando | Drawn by Andy MacDonald
JLA begins another short arc with this issue, and it doesn't appear that "Curse of the Kingbutcher" will fix any of the series' ongoing problems. This issue is a strange mishmash of elements, as Steve Orlando combines familiar interpersonal drama with a plot about a fantastical warrior punishing people whose wishes are granted in their dreams. Needless to say, these disparate elements don't work very well together. A lot of the dialogue here feels strangely stilted and contrived, whether it's Ray's heated argument with Batman or the Catco newscaster blandly reporting the conflict at hand. As for the art, Andy MacDonald's depiction of the Kingbutcher is appealing, but otherwise little else in this issue stands out. It feels very much like the series is spinning its wheels until the Atom-focused storyline begins next month. -Jesse
Final Score:
Written by Rob Williams | Drawn by Gus Vasquez
This series has featured some of the best artists currently working at DC, with its visual high point occurring last month as Stepjan Sejic stopped by to lend his unique touch to the franchise. In the wake of that excellent issue, Suicide Squad #21 is a bit of a letdown. Gus Vasquez's art is very plain and unassuming for a book about larger-than-life killers. Vasquez's subdued approach suits the Amanda Waller scenes well enough, but he doesn't bring the scale or intensity needed in those focused on the rest of the Squad. There's often a weird disconnect between the zaniness of Rob Williams' dialogue and plotting and the actual energy on the page. This issue also disappoints in its refusal to dig deeper into Harley Quinn's present mindset. We don't get a clear sense of how she's reacting to her new promotion or what's really motivating her at the moment. For once, I actually miss the overly lengthy, character-driven backup stories that were a fixture of the series early issues. -Jesse
Final Score:
Written by Steve Orlando | Drawn by Brian Ching
If there’s a silver lining in the current storyline of this book, it’s the way that the classic Supergirl and Batgirl friendship has been reestablished in the DC Universe. That’s been overdue for a while, although it is downplayed in the final chapter of “Escape from the Phantom Zone.” Both heroines are given key roles to play in their escape, but their adversaries are so unmemorable that it actually hurts the issue. Fortunately, Brian Ching’s artwork is very charming, and he seems to be having a lot of fun drawing the psychic dragon and the two heroines. Ching ends up carrying this book through the somewhat toothless resolution. If anything, it feels like the heroines won too easily because the leading villain was a moron. That doesn’t make for a satisfying reading experience. The cliffhanger is at least intriguing, but there had better be a good explanation for that heel turn. -Blair
Final Score:
Written by Dan Abnett | Drawn by V. Ken Marion
Titans is clearly back in full-on soap opera mode, even in the middle of an issue-long supervillain fight. That’s nothing new for this book, and melodrama has been a part of the Titans’ DNA for decades. But this time, the love triangle between Wally West, Donna Troy and Roy Harper seems incredibly forced, and even the Tempest and Lilith romance is falling flat. Dan Abnett is trying to give the team deeper connections, but it feels like the script is straining to put the team in these positions. V. Ken Marion’s art is sharp, and I actually had to double check the credits to make sure that Brett Booth wasn’t the artist of this issue. Aside from Endgame’s ability to switch powers on the fly, it was a pretty standard battle for the Titans. It's nothing that we haven’t seen many times before, but at least it looks good. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to make these characters into a compelling team again. -Blair
Final Score:
Written by Shea Fontana | Drawn by Mirka Andolfo
"It's hard to imagine a more thankless task than following Greg Rucka, Liam Sharp and Bilquis Evely on Wonder Woman, especially for a brief, six-issue run. That's the uphill battle facing new writer Shea Fontana and artist Mirka Andolfo as they take the reins of the series with this issue. This is definitely one of those cases where it's best not to go in with any preconceived notions about what to expect. This brief run isn't shaping up to rival its predecessor, but Fontana and Andolfo carve their own little niche with the series." -Jesse
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Final Score:
Continues
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