Hey y’all. I apologize for being late with these reviews. I
was laid off Friday, so I’ve been mostly scrambling to get stuff in order. Also,
it killed my writing spirit for a few days. But I’m back! I am going to once
again mention that I have
a Patreon. If you like what I do here, you can help me out (Especially
right now) by throwing a couple bucks my way. I’d greatly appreciate it.
I have decided to remove the grading system from this series.
I have been considering it for quite some time as I do not believe review
scores add anything to the posts. Also, I don’t put scores in any of my non-comic
reviews. Let’s shoot for some consistency. Now, on to the main event!
Young Justice #15
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis and David Walker
Art: John Timms (pg. 1-15) and Scott Godlewski (pg. 15-22)
Colors: Gabe Eltaeb
Letters: Wes Abbott
Cover: Timms and Eltaeb
What is this comic even about? This
issue finally reveals what happened to Young Justice and why some people remember
it and some don’t. It doesn’t match with what we know about the previous
reboots from other comics though. So basically, this is a whole issue dedicated
to nothing. Again.
The entire massive YJ squad
defeat the evil scientist lady before deciding to recreate Young Justice
officially as a loose coalition of teen(ish) heroes. That’s all that happens.
The aforementioned reveal is basically that anyone that wasn’t on Earth at the
time Flashpoint started was erased from history, but they still exist. Except
we know that the entire metaverse shapes itself around this Earth so how does
that make sense? Either someone exists or they don’t. If they were erased, they
would have been erased.
What?
The is nice. I really wish Timms
was capable of drawing an entire issue though. They are a fantastic artist that
imbues these characters with so much personality. Maybe the three months
backlog of issues will help him get caught up.
Next issue is about Bart and
what happened to him post-Flashpoint. I’m definitely reading that issue, but I
doubt I’ll continue after that. Young Justice just isn’t telling an interesting
story. If I see an interesting story arc pop up in solicitations, I’ll check it
out, but I’m probably done reading monthly.
Dark Knights: Death Metal #1
Writer: Scott “Hallowed Be Thy Name” Snyder
Artist: Greg “Painkiller” Capullo
Colors: FCO “Fixxxer” Plascencia
Inks: Jonathon “Motorbreath” Glapion
Letters: Tom “Mr. Nice Guy” Napolitano
Cover: Capullo, Glapion, and
Plascencia
This comic is a lot. There is both simultaneously a ton of information but no world building or plot development. As with Dark Nights: Metal, this comic seems more focused on trying to be cool and edgy than telling a good or interesting story.
Wonder Woman is the ruler of hell (Hell?) and works for Batman Who Laughs (Henceforth BWL), who in turn works for Perpetua. Perpetua is some kind of god that created the multiverse…. I think? This issue goes to great lengths make the reader care about her and BWL. It doesn’t work. Perpetua is some nebulous entity ruling over all existence but does not appear in this issue. She was stuck in the Source Wall by other gods after creating the multiverse out of Crisis Energy instead of Connective Energy.
Lame
Never heard of those energies? You’re in luck. There is a long monologue about what they are. Essentially, every form of energy in existence falls into one of two categories: Crisis (Chaos Magic, Anti-Life, etc.) or Connective (Speed Force, Emotional Spectrum, etc.). One is good; one is bad. There are many multiverses and all but the primary DCU one are made of Connective energy. This one was made by Perpetua with Crisis energy. All the Crisis stories DC is famous for are because she convinced the villain to mess around with the energy. Anti-Monitor? Her fault. Parallax? Her fault. Superboy-Prime? Her fault. You get the idea.
This plot point is the one upon which this story is set to turn and it blows. Putting every weird form of energy in the DCU into strictly good and bad categories is incredibly unimaginative. It also removes any potential grey areas that characters may find themselves in. Clearly, this is Snyder trying his hand at Geoff Johns-esque worldbuilding and explaining the cosmology of the DC universe. Instead of adding anything new, he actively limits the potential. Even Doctor Manhattan’s power falls into the Connective category. It’s reductive.
By far the best panel
Of course, Metal was Snyder trying his hand at Grant Morrison-esque worldbuilding. That was a huge failure that lacked the depth and creativity Morrison would have brought to the project. At least that series had Capullo’s art to save. It was incredible. The entire art team returns but this issue lacks the same quality. The color palette is extremely limited and the art overall is much less impressive. Panel composition and page layouts remain engaging but the art itself is dull and ugly. There are only three interesting panels, none of which are for the art. In fact, the actively hinders the death of BWL. It just isn’t clear what is happening.
Overall, this was an incredibly disappointing issue. I had hoped the team had learned from their problems in Metal, but it appears they have only doubled down. I might pick up the next issue to give it another try, but this was an inauspicious start.
As always, feel
free to give your thoughts in these comments or on Twitter at @alexraysnyder.
And if you like what you read here, consider throwing a couple bucks my way on Patreon to help
cover costs.
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