I say! What’s this? You’re looking for bite-size reviews of the DC issues that fell through the cracks this week? Look no more! It’s the Weekly DC Roundup!
Suicide Squad #43
Art: The first 10 pages have fairly alright art, with a good amount of hatching (and y’all know how much I love hatching). The rest of the comic has art that seems like the pencils didn’t scan incorrectly – the linework is oddly light as if the colors got painted over the lines in some parts. Apparently, the colorist was the Hi-Fi studio, so I’m surprised at the low quality of colors in the comic. But seriously, the art is never anything special at all. 5.5/10.
Characters: Williams has no idea how to write Batman or, indeed, any of the other characters. It’s either artificial Batman/Deadshot drama or a bunch of silly one-liners from the other Squad members, and it’s fairly tiresome. Normally this particular team-up would work well for me, but Batman’s dialogue is so jilted that the dynamic between the characters loses all of its potential chemistry. 4/10.
Story: This particular title has been better than one would expect for most of its Rebirth run, but this issue seriously drops the ball. It even starts with a WMS (Wayne Murder Sequence)! Not very much happens, and it feels like the amount of time that passes in the story is about the same amount of time that you spend reading it. This issue feels like filler to me, which is sort of annoying because I was actually kind of enjoying this arc. 4/10.
Rating: 4.5/10.
Buy it? Nope!
The Immortal Men #3
Art: Actually quite good. The lines are nicely textured, the inks are nice and dark, and the coloring is smooth and congruent. The panel work isn’t super imaginative, but the story doesn’t give the art much room to have fun – and that’s probably my main complaint: Despite the art’s quality, it just doesn’t have a lot to say. 7.5/10.
Characters: Three issues in, and we finally start to get just a little background for our main cast. And it’s about three speech bubbles’ worth each. C’mon, Tynion! You can totally do better than that! I’ve read your Detective Comics and I know for a fact you can handle characters better than this. I won’t say that their backstories are uninteresting (though Timber’s backstory is utterly silly), but we never, ever get enough backstory to justify the characters’ existence or, indeed, the title’s existence. The villains also do not seem to have any actual motivation for their evil yet beyond saying things that imply the good guys are naive. 5/10.
Story: Two houses, locked in a secret eternal war, good, evil, the rightful place of immortals, blah blah blah. Completely standard, pretty uninteresting, reads like every single “We’re a cool new comic” story published since 1993. I want to like it – The Batman Who Laughs is playing an interesting role – but good lord, Tynion, this needs to be character-driven and you have created a mind-numbing plot here. 4/10.
Rating: 5.5
Buy it? Haha nope
Eternity Girl #4
Art: There are about four or five different art styles in this issue and they’re all excellent for different reasons. In fact, having multiple art style shifts that correspond with narrative shifts is one of my personal favorite tropes, and when handled well it can really elevate the experience of reading a comic. Taken separately, each art style varies from around a 7 to an 8.5. But let me be absolutely clear about the purpose of art in a comic book: It must perfectly supplement and support the script. And I have rarely if ever seen that done with such skill. Is it the most beautiful or realistic art in the world? Not even close. But when taken all together? It creates an incredible flow and almost constitutes a story all its own. 9.5/10.
Characters: Not as strong as they’ve been in past issues, but that’s because the shape of the story requires knowing who the characters are and what their relationships are. So what I would say is that the characters are strong and present, but that this is not clear unless you’re already fully aware of the nuances of the story. If you are, then this issue is full of interesting takes on the main characters’ desires, goals, and personalities. 7.5/10.
Story: In a move that is simultaneously taking a step back from the story and diving straight into it, this issue takes us on a multidimensional bender that recontextualizes the prior three issues and shows us exactly what our protagonist is up against. This series is reminiscent of Morrison at his best, and nowhere is that more evident than in this latest issue. If you’re interested in a character-driven story about the repeated suicide attempts of an interdimensional immortal being of ridiculous power, then Eternity Girl is for you. 9.25/10.
Rating: 8.75/10.
Buy it? Absolutely.
New Super-Man #24
Art: The same as it’s been since the start of the series – a good middle-of-the-road color-forward art style that isn’t too amazing but doesn’t have any glaring flaws. The best part of the art of New Super-Man has always been the character designs, and the new(-ish) characters in this issue continue the same way. 7.25/10.
Characters: New Super-Man is a playful splash of unusual characters that all manage to ingratiate themselves to you at some point or another. Seeing as it’s the last issue of the series, it’s a little bit late for character development, but I can say that all the development that’s happened so far gets put to fairly good use and the characters get to interact with each other in ways that feel natural. 7.5/10.
Story: Like any cancellation that was unforeseen, the ending feels a little rushed. Yang did an admirable job keeping the issue free of end-of-series tropes, but it’s hard to feel satisfied reading a comic that ends before it’s meant to. That said, the story was very enjoyable and wrapped up Kenan’s character arc really well. In fact, the story itself seems to be saying not to be sad that the series won’t continue. As I-Ching says, “let go of the goodness that can never be.” Well, I for one hope that this isn’t the last we see of the Justice League of China. Thanks for creating such a wonderful new corner of the DCU, Yang. Sorry to see it go so soon. 7.75/10.
Rating: 7.5/10.
Buy it? If you’ve been reading it, yes. But chances are you slept on New Super-Man, fool that you are, and so I must recommend that you get the trades. Seriously, the series is better than you think it is.
