Doomsday Clock #6
DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Gary Frank
You know when you’ve defended something and been patient with it for a long, long time only for it to turn around and kind of kick you in the balls?
Yeah, that’s kind of what I’m starting to feel with this series.
Look, I’m going to be straight up with you: this isn’t a terrible book. There are much worse books out there. But it’s starting to disappoint and really has made me start to doubt Johns’ idea. When the book was first announced I was a little anxious but also really excited. Watchmen is one of the best graphic novels of all time. Whether or not it’s overrated is a debate for another day, but the story itself finishes pretty well and does leave the reader satisfied in most areas. It’s contained. So when DC announced they were “BRINGING THE WORLD OF WATCHMEN TO MAIN DC EARTH” I can understand why many a fan would be worried. But, being the Blue Lantern I am, I kept myself hopeful and optimistic about the idea. DC’s Rebirth had been entertaining and The Button was one of my favorite stories to come about. And once Doomsday Clock came ticking, did I like it?
Why, yes actually, the first few issues were pretty enjoyable. We need a bit of build-up to get the ball rolling and get the plot moving along. We’re now on issue #6 and…we’re still building up. And it’s starting to both worry and irritate me. Now before I turn this into a Negative Nellie review, I’ll speak about the number of things I have enjoyed. Firstly, Gary Franks artwork is always great, I’ve enjoyed how everything looks and the detail is incredible. Second, Mime and Marionette have been enjoyable characters and fun villains, and sure it was nice to see some backstory on them. The little villain underground meeting was pretty cool, it was almost like the different eras of comics were thrown together in a modern, gritty looking comic (i.e. Riddler in his original catsuit was a surprising one).
Now on with the bad. Firstly, Gary Frank, I love your work, but if these rumors are correct, PLEASE for the love of god, pick up the pace with this series. It’s bizarre how many delays we’ve been having and I honestly forgot what happened from the previous issue. Sure I don’t mind rereading old issues but, good God I keep forgetting what happens each time which leaves a lot to be said about the writing. Which leads me to the next point: we’re on issue #6, HALFWAY through the series, and not a whole pile has really developed. The last issue did end on a bit of a hype moment with the JSA and the L.E.G.I.O.N. hinting at making their comeback. And then we get another origin. Yes, I understand in the original Watchmen we got issues dedicated to each of the character’s origins and psychological analysis’ and how different heroes viewed others, BUT the plot also developed further while handling these origins. This issue did see how Mime and Marionette come to be while we had a meeting with Gotham’s (and a few others) rogues discussing what to do next. Character interactions were pretty enjoyable, but it’s gotten to the point where I’m starting to get really confused on what’s the actual plot here. The world is starting to doubt superheroes and now suddenly everyone’s hunting them down and the Watchmen characters are looking for Jon, but it feels like it’s kind of going nowhere.
Now I’m not the fan that was expecting a bit huge battle between Doctor Manhattan and the Justice League, with Rorschach and Batman doing this epic team up like Saturday Morning Watchmen (great video check it out guys), but I still feel pretty unsatisfied with how things have turned out. But it also leaves me more confused because I wasn’t entirely sure what I’m looking for in this story either. Another point I would like to point out, where the hell is Superman? He’s been teased and shown from The Button and the first issue and that’s it. It’s not a major complaint, I’m just a little confused because this event has been marketed that Superman would be a major player and he’s been in one issue. There doesn’t seem to be a huge mystery either with what’s going on, compared to Watchmen. I’m not saying I want every single thing explained each issue but this whole wanting to find Jon feels slightly weak as the main plot.I’m still going to continue reading this series, I’m still hopeful about certain parts but it’s starting to tear down my faith. Again, like I said it’s not a terrible comic, it just feels like a lot of waiting for a whole lot of nothing or more buildup, which begins to get tiring. If you look at the story as a number of characters doing stuff in Gotham then it’s a great story, but the fact it’s really enforcing the “WATCHMEN IN THE DC UNIVERSE, THE SECRETS OF REBIRTH REVEALED” makes the story a bit of a letdown. Now we are halfway through the series, I have enjoyed a large number of aspects to this story, I’m not giving up yet, I just really hope the payoff is good and we do get some answers soon (Johns did say most of the answers to the New 52 and Rebirth would be revealed here so…). After reading the Scott Snyder event Metal again, something I enjoyed as this ridiculous, over the top, multiverse adventure which was fun, it did consist of a lot of build-up and the payoff is…eh. I really hope this doesn’t affect this series, I reckon I probably will enjoy it re-reading the entire event in one collected edition.
Also Mime is literally a meme. The guy is hilarious. You’ll see why.
This has been a pretty negative review but again, I am holding on hope still that the final 6 issues turn things around. I feel like we’ve gotten enough backstory and explanations now for these new characters that the plot can advance a lot more. The art is stunning and I really, really hope it doesn’t get delayed too much anymore.
Doomsday Clock #6
More buildup for this story, hopefully the plot progresses soon.
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