[10] Justice Society of America #1 - "Legends Die Together, Too"
~ Geoff Johns & Mikel Janin
Yes! The main reason I loved this so much is because I had previously read the old Paul Levitz Adventure Comics E2 JSA stories with Huntress in them, specifically the one Johns uses as reference where Soul Thief empowers a criminal to kill Batman. This is the kind of continuity mining that I want in my comics!
The fact that this issue is titled "Legends Die Together, Too", a clear response to the Adventure Comics #462 title "Only Legends Live Forever!" is awesome.
I loved the roster of the future JSA, and the generations spanning conflict creates such a fun and epic scope for the twin JSA/Stargirl books that is 100% my bread and butter.
Sure the Watchmen stuff is extremely self-indulgent, but I'll give it a pass for my continuity-porn cape popcorn roller coaster comics.
[9] Riddler One Bad Day - "Dreadful Reins"
~ Tom King & Mitch Gerads
Riddler's Killing Joke!
I loved how terrifying King and Gerads were able to make the emerald enigma in this book. The flashbacks were great and addressing the cyclical nature of Batman and his rogues was done extremely well.
I'm a big fan of Batman when a writer is willing to evolve the character or take him in new directions that stay true to his portrayal across his entire history. This evolution of the Riddler was very fascinating, although this story does the most possible to elevate his threat level compared to all the other rogues.
Killing Joke was about two broken men taking trauma in polar directions: a study on the limits of sanity and the breaking points of good men. Dreadful Reins is all about the game; the rules of engagement when two geniuses decide to use the world as their chessboard. The last page was brilliant, and the ambiguous nature of if Batman broke and killed the Riddler vs if he just put him away once more to continue the game is thematically perfect for the overall Killing Joke parallel. I also loved Batman's final riddle, which reminded me a lot of one of Morrison's best Batman stories: "Time & The Batman". The mystery always comes knocking! It's for you to decide to get up and answer the door!
[8] Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League: Superman #1 - "Out There"
~ Tom King & Chris Burnham
Wow. I hope this issue brings Chris Burnham to the spotlight because he is one of the top 5 artists in the industry right now.
The backup brought this book down for me. I could feel a lot more pages left while reading my physical copy, and when I flipped to the last page and saw the transition to the aquaman story, I was pissed as heck.
Not the biggest fan of King dunking on Orion again, but I get the parallel between him and Jon (could have used Kalibak or Grayven!).
That last page hits hard, and the ["Fourteen"] sequence was one of the standouts.
Tom King's writing has really grown on me. I get that I have very different takes on characters than he does, but that doesn't mean his writing isn't good. It's like reading Identity Crisis; some of the Dibny + Jean Loring stuff may have gone too far but the book is still good IMO.
[7] A.X.E. : Judgement Day #1 - "A Victory By Erosion"
~ Kieron Gillen & Valerio Schiti
"Patience, Moira, Patience. Eternals are Eternal. If nothing else, we will win by erosion."
One of the best openings to an event comic I've seen in a long time. I'm a DC fanatic, but this year Gillen wiped the floor with Dark Crisis. The pacing was fantastic, and the stakes feel grounded because of all the build-up since Eternals and even Inferno/Immortal X-men.
I always find it interesting to see how certain writers and their works end up inspiring and influencing the next generation of creators. You can most definitely create a timeline starting with Kirby and Gardner Fox through Moore and Morrison all the way down to Johns and Hickman who then laid the foundations for Al Ewing and Kieron Gillen. This kind of multi-title/multi-year grand design storytelling is always a pleasure to consume, and I can't wait to see what Marvel pops out in the next year (and I pray that one day both of these creators will try something out at DC!).
[6] Defenders Beyond #4 - "Da'at: The Land of Couldn't-Be-Shouldn't-Be"
~ Al Ewing & Javier Rodriguez
If you want to know what's wrong with DC right now, read this comic. Al Ewing just freaking gets it. He understands the mundaneness of the story serpent; every human on the planet knows the "Hero With A Thousand Faces" like the back of their hand! Al Ewing understands this, and that's why his stories are so good, because he takes it in a direction that is not on the map, a direction in a higher plane.
This is what art needs to do! It needs to evolve, and Al Ewing is one of the few actively trying to push the veil of comic book storytelling.
[5] Swamp Thing #14 - "The Alien Idea"
~ Ram V & Mike Perkins
Holy goated.
Not a page is wasted in this issue, every word chosen by V becomes a piece of this great debate's foundation. Mike Perkins' pencils are only a glimpse into the true vision of Ram V's elemental epic, but even that is more than enough. The symbiosis between Perkins and Spicer is incredible, and their ability to adapt V's world of cosmic beauty and horror to the page is a godsend.
This issue especially goes up against some of the best of Moore's original saga. I would even dare say that it's some of the best stuff done with the character ever.
[4] Black Adam #6 - "Akhet: Sins of the Father"
~ Christopher Priest & Eddy Barrows
Well god damn, that was fantastic. I love Rafa Sandoval, but Eddy Barrows killed this issue! Priest is the last bastion of kino cape-comics at DC right now, and I am loving every second of his run so far.
It's fascinating to see competent and skilled writers tackle a showdown story between two heavy hitters: something so simple to conceive but so simple to execute in an uninteresting and uninspired way. Priest both presents the clash in an unexpected and innovative way as well as loading it with powerful and relevant dialogue and stakes to give it some weight.
Let this be known: I am not a fan of the Rock's version of Black Adam. If the popularity boosts sales of Johns' JSA and 52 I'm all for it, but if it results in the character being shifted to resemble his movie's counterpart then you've completely lost me.
Thank God we're blessed with having Chris Priest working on this title to prevent any sort of movie influence from truly affecting the character.
[3] Danger Street #1 - "Atlas The Great"
~ Tom King & Jorge Fornes
Loved this! Now to read all the 13 issues of "1st Issue Special" to get backgrounds on all these characters!
I've been one of King's harshest critics in the past. I'm not a fan of his Batman. I'm not a fan of Heroes in Crisis. Even if I dislike his interpretations of our beloved Silver Age characters, I will admit that he is without a doubt one of the best writers of this generation.
The way Tom King structures his mini-series is brilliant: 12 issues is the perfect pace, a design that hits the sweet spot of publication and trade quotas while facilitating the growth of narrative at an optimal rate.
Another thing I adore is his use of obscure Silver and Bronze Age characters. Tom King is that invisible hand, plucking untapped potential from Limbo to exploit and debase! I hate myself for saying this, but I've hit the point where I'm eager to read anything he puts out.
It's only been one issue as of this blog post, but I have very high hopes for these next 12 chapters, and I can't wait to see what angles King will bring us.
[2] Action Comics Annual 2022 - "A Tale of Two Titans"
~Philip Kennedy Johnson & Ian Churchill + Dale Eaglesham
Everyone needs to be reading this book right now!
The Clark section was beautiful. It was reminiscent of Jeph Loeb's tribute to his late son in "Sam's Story" back from Superman/Batman #26, but the continued reinforcement of the Kent's lessons of humility and moral virtue in Clark are awesome. I hope that this gets more popular so we can phase out all of the Hack Snyder DCEU supes personality from the zeitgeist.
The Mongul section was enjoyable as well, the reverse moral code of war-world to ours is extremely fascinating. It makes a lot of sense that the Mongul dynasty would be "Mongol-like"; Genghis Khan fathered so many children, the Mongul's spread their seed and wait for the successor to come and pay for the throne with blood.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues to impress with his take on Superman, and I believe this is shaping up to be one of the best modern takes on the character since Morrison's Action and Rucka's Adventures of Superman.
~ Jeremy Adams & Fernando Pasarin
This is easily one of the best Flash stories I have read in a while. I started reading comics during the cusp of the Rebirth era, so I was caught in a tale of two Wallys and have great appreciation for both of them. Jeremy Adams does character interactions better than anyone in the industry right now. He does Bendis better than Bendis. This was an entire issue of two cousins having a heart to heart and it never failed to keep me interested. Pasarin's art suits Adam's style better than any other artist, the expressions along with his beautiful rendition of Wally's Flash suit is always great to see. This was a brilliant issue and I continue to look forward every month to picking up this book.
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