Dark Crisis #1 Review

How many times has the Titans Tower been blown up?

The Justice League is dead 

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Daniel Sampere

Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez

Letterer: Tom Napolitano

Editor: Paul Kamisky
Cover: Daniel Sampere and Alejandro Sánchez 

I really love how this issue opens, feels very respectful and proud about DC's history. The art is amazing too. Jon trying to assemble a new League was the best part for me. I can see this character becoming a good Superman easily. However... This reminds me how Jon already having this level of responsibilities feels wrong and forced. Kara should be the one taking Clark's place. I feel somewhat similar about the new Wonder Woman and Batman. Yara, the "fake" brazilian(I'm brazilian myself and I have some issues with her) and the Batman who uses a Bat costume, the name, but wants nothing to do with it(?).

About Black Adam's role here, don't they have anything that can just see if he's lying or not? Like lie detector machine or something.

But ok, let's talk about the titans section of this issue. Deep down, I know complaining about this is stupid but, how does Dick survive a bomb that close? And I want a really good explanation for Slade doing this, he had made a deal with Nightwing, his "troubles" with the Titans are resolved. I guess this has to do with what happened when Slade was in the Lazarus pit(very dumb thing btw) but still, this needs a better explanation and quick. And Slade's new design is just ugly, I'm sorry.

But my major problem here is Deathstroke killing Gar. This is not the first time he does this, but it feels wrong. After Trial of the Terminator the two became friends, seeing this ignored bothers me a lot. This comic wants us to think about the old days, this is clear by the opening page, but it does not want us to remember all the details.

Gar's death is also another problem with this by itself. Events like these always feel the need to kill characters but this is just empty to me. Feels robotic, a editorial mandate, "kill someone, this will boost sales and people will know what we're serious about this". Think about Dark Nights Metal. No one died there, and yet, everybody was buying. Actually, that event had "negative" deaths, with missing characters coming back. That event had its problems but it was exciting to read. This? I'm not so sure, now I'm just like "ok, who dies next to help with the sales?".

Happy pride month! Let's talk about Jericho

 DC might have forgotten Jericho, but we won't!

One of DC's best characters when it comes to representation, Joseph, or just Joey as his friends like to call him, is one of Deathstroke's kids and a Teen Titan. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, one of the most legendary duos in comic history. Joseph first debuted in DC Sampler #3, contrary to what people believe, he was seen before Judas Contract. Joseph was brought in to help stop his own father, Slade Wilson, with his powers, Joseph can possess others peoples bodies. Jericho's name originally was a reference to a character from the original Teen Titans series, however in DC Rebirth, that was changed to be a biblical reference.

Jericho was more of Pérez creation, he was the one responsible for making the character mute. 

Now, one thing to notice is that Jericho wasn't always a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Pérez and Wolfman had consider making him gay since the beginning,  however, Wolfman feared that it would be too much of a stereotype to have the sensitive, artistic, and wide-eyed character with arguably effeminate features be also homosexual. 

As the time passed, lots of things happened to Joseph, lots of bad decisions too. Before Flashpoint happened, it seemed that Jericho and Arsenal would create a new Titans group, sadly we never saw that. 

Convergence: The New Teen Titans 

Lets jump over to 2015, during that time Convergence was happening. With the goal to homage different eras from DC comics history, we had Marv Wolfman writing for Teen Titans again. Wolfman rewrites one moment from his New Teen Titans series, making it official, Jericho was gay. 

I really like how this was handled, the comic stops in a sign of respect for the character, the artwork is very clean and beautiful, How the characters act in the scene feels very natural too. 

Deathstroke: Rebirth, or should I call it Jericho Rebirth? 

Now, let's go to 2016, Deathstroke was being written by Christopher Priest and he made one briliant decision with his run, making Slade the main villain and Joseph the actual hero. Since Rebirth took place in the main continuity, where the character was shown having relationships with women, Priest made it so he was bisexual in DC's main canon. 

Besides making Joseph's journey the real focus of the series, his love life also gains proper attention and respect. And it's also important to mention how the fact that he is mute was respected here. Overall, the character gets the proper treatment he deserves. 

Why Jericho is the best 

This segment was a hallucination, but Slade's words are sincere.

Joseph Wilson is the type of friend that everyone needs, he's kind, he worries about his friends and would do anything to protect them. He's the son of a super-villain, but he does not let that define who he is, he was even turn into a villain many times, but always comes back as the hero he is. 

He's a very inspirational character in my opinion. He was dealt every bad card  life could give him, and yet, he will always be there to help his friends with a smile. 

That's it for today, happy pride month, everyone. Stay safe and have a good one. 

Shadow War: Omega Review

 RIP Deathstroke Inc. I guess 

Shadow War part 8 

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Stephen Segovia, Mike Henderson and Howard Porter. 

Colorist: Hi-Fi

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover: Jonboy Meyers

This crossover was one big letdown, full of inconsistencies, boring and unnecessary long.

First, let's talk about what they did to Brion here and how it makes zero sense. Terra never died in today's continuity, he has no reason to hate Deathstroke, and what Talia did to him is way worst. Just like in the beginning, this whole crossover depends on inconsistencies and that the reader forgets certain things, but, it also mentions some previous comics. So, it wants you to remember certain things, but not all things that is referencing. This is lazy writing. The way Brion gets taken down is just as stupid as Talia beating Slade in a fair fight. Also, it feels wrong, the fact that Talia kills a man who did nothing wrong to her, shows no remorse, but does not kill the one who's actually guilty here. Making the message of the comic pointless and empty. Turning Geo-force into a murderer and a villain is stupid enough, it kills the point of character, but how they made it here is even worst.
The only moment that could be good, Batman talking with his son, gets thrown away. I find no redeeming aspects here, even the art is weird at some places.

About the epilogue now. Another thing that makes zero sense. Did the writer forget that Slade can heal himself from that type of injury? Everyone knows that Slade has a healing factor, he has survived worst things, why would the society feel the need to use the Lazarus pit on him? Oh, yeah, plot. This is supposed to connect to Dark Crisis. It was one of the selling points. But the connection comes only in the last pages.

Since we're getting a new writer and a new arc about Slade's origin in Deathstroke Inc., and looking at how this event did with the title, I also fear that DS inc has been thrown under the bus for nothing. Wasted potential. Reminds me of what they did to MJS Thor run for Siege.

This could have been great. Make Slade be the one who killed Ra's, he would have reason to, Make Talia ask for Geo-Force's help to take Slade down. Make Geo-force the hero and Slade the villain. Also, don't kill Respawn. Remember the term "woman on the fridge"? Even tho he's not a woman, they just introduced him, to kill him, to give Slade a reason to attack Talia. This is also lazy writing.

Robin #14 Review

If i had a coin for every time Slade died is this series I would have 2 coins. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

Shadow War part 7 

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Roger Cruz

Inks: Norm Rapmund

Colorist: Luis Guerrero

Letterer: Troy Peteri

Editor: Paul Kaminski
Cover: Roger Cruz, Norm Rapmund and Luis Guerrero 

This issue disappointed me. Slade vs Talia is a stupid fight, I'm sorry. Talia is a good fighter but she should not be a problem for Slade, she beating him is even more ridiculous. And the fact that this series is killing Slade again is just stupid. And Talia is unbearable here, going after Slade for something he didn't do, being responsible for the death of a kid and showing no remorse for it. I just can't root for this character. The reveal of who the fake Deathstroke is makes sense but is something I don't see the point. Pre-Flashpoint comics like Outsiders for instance had dealt with his rivalry with Slade. Especially when most of the events that made Geo-force hate Slade were erased from continuity. Seeing him as a villain feels weird too. It kind of kills the point of his character. Just as this issue killed my hype for this crossover.

Deathstroke Inc. #9 Review

 Ghostmaker meets Deathstroke

Shadow War Part 6

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Paolo Pantelena 

Colorist: Romulo Fajado Jr. 

Letterer: Steve Wands

Editor: Ben Abernathy 
Cover: Jonboy Mayers 

First of all, I do appreciate that this issue takes time to grief over Respawn's death(funny to think that he "fridged" to give Slade proper motivation here). Also, when Slade has Clownhunter as a hostage it was clearly a parallel to Judas Contract where they first telled Deathstroke's origin. A lot happen here, which is good, since now this crossover is nearly its end. Again, another solid issue however, I must admit, this crossover is feeling a little bit boring to me. Maybe this is due to the size of it, this storyline could be shorter.

Shadow War Zone #1 Review

Easy money, isn't that right, DC?

Shadow War Zone

Writers: Joshua Williamson, Ed Brisson, Stephanie Phillips and Nadia Shammas
Artists: Otto Schmidt, Ann Maulina, Michael Bowden and  Sweeney Boo
Letterers: Steve Wands, Awls Troy Peteri and Andworld Design
Editors: Ben Abernathy and Dave Welgosz 
Cover: Jonboy Meyers

Why does this exist? I hate using the term "cash grab", and even though this doesn't really fit the description, the word definily comes to mind after reading this. Nothing here feels like it needs to exist. Black Canary's fight with Angel Breaker went nowhere, we still don't know much about the two. The only purpose of their encounter is to set up another fight in the future, feels flat and disappointing. And that's the only story that's worth mentioning. You can definitely have some fun with the rest of the comic, it isn't bad, but again, why does this exist? This is supposed to show the impact this crossover is having but it feels so small and inconsequential. It also suffers from "Character is on the main cover but plays no role in the issue".

Again, this isn't a bad comic, for exemple, seeing Ghostmaker and Clownhunter as some kind of Batman & Robin is fun, but I don't think you will be losing much or feeling lost if you skip this over.

Suicide Squad: Get Joker! #3 Review

 Last issue came out 84 years ago

Suicide Squad: Get Joker! Book three 

Writer: Brian Azzarello 

Artist: Alex Maleev 

Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher

Editor: Mike Cotton and Chris Conroy
Cover: Alex Maleev 

After what felt like years, this series finally hits its end.  

The art and humor are definitely the selling points here, but the story and characters, at least to me, are lacking in weight. Yeah, it's the Suicide Squad, they' supposed to be replaceable but we should care about them, they should grown and learn as the story progresses, so we feel something when they die. Harley Quinn for example, I find somewhat weird how she's treated here. After all these years, the character has grown out of her "love" for Joker, even having in mind that this is an alternative reality, still kinda jaring seeing how she is written here. Also, I have problems about how Jason Todd is treated, at the end some dialogue feels like a commentary about the character but it simply does not work for me. Yeah, I'm talking about this due to how the last issue ends, with a second Suicide Squad, having Deathstroke as one of its members showing up. I find weird how some of them are using costumes from The Suicide Squad movie, some from Arkham Origins and some from old comics but that's just an observation. The only thing that's worth pointing out about the second Task Force X is how they have Deadshot and Deathstroke and yet they are mmissing everyone on Jason's team at the bar where this issue begins.  Seriously, Floyd alone would kill them all in 3 seconds with headshots (Ok, that's a nitpick). 

Again, amazing artwork and I love the acid humor, but the lack of character progression lefts to be desire.