What ho, fearless readers! Having trouble finding a quality Sequential Planet review for one of this week’s DC offerings? Search no more! If one of our wonderful staff doesn’t write a full review of a DC title, chances are you can find a fast review here in the hallowed halls of the Weekly DC Roundup!
The Unexpected #1:
Art: Not too bad! The coloring is what really makes it stand out to me. The character designs are pretty good too! 7/10.
Characters: Like all first issues for new team books with new characters, they just throw a bunch of dudes at us. The main character doesn’t seem too shallow and the villain Quench was slightly entertaining, but the rest of the cast is pretty forgettable. Maybe it’ll get better as time goes on, maybe not. 5/10.
Story: My biggest problem is that none of these “new age of heroes” team titles are starting small. They charge in all gung-ho and go “boom! Check out these crazy new characters! Look where they’re going! Wow!” But you haven’t built up the trust from your audience that would allow big stories like that to happen. As it stands, the story feels generic and too large in scale for a character’s first outing. Start small. 5/10.
Rating: 5.5/10.
Buy it? Hell no.
Wonder Woman Annual #2:
Art: The multiple artists and art styles were used well throughout the book and conveyed atmosphere and tone very effectively! I also would like to mention that the character designs were more varied than you usually see in renditions of the Star Sapphires and I really appreciated that. Good work all around. 8.25/10.
Characters: The only two that mattered were Diana and the villain. The villain wasn’t bad at all and the concept behind him was actually rather solid, so as far as one-shot annual villains go I was quite pleased. Robinson, as always, has an excellent grasp of what makes Diana tick, and there were some good character moments for her in the issue. 8.25/10.
Story: I’m an absolute sucker for Lantern stuff, and Diana getting her Sapphire ring back and helping out the Zamarons was just a total joy for me. The Star Sapphires never get enough love (ba dum tss), so a story focusing on them was also a pleasant surprise. The conflict was cool too! A very solid one-shot story that did a good job of tying into the ongoing plot as well. 8.75/10.
Rating: 8.5/10.
Buy it? Definitely!
Green Arrow #41:
Art: Not too bad. Panel layouts are pretty good, and the action’s pretty solid from time to time. I’ll miss the old art team, but this is more than serviceable. 7/10.
Characters: Ollie’s a great character! His portrayal here is fairly jokey, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and his insistence that no one is unnecessary really resonates with Ollie as he should be. I could stand fewer one-liners, but all in all, it’s not a bad version of Ollie. 7/10.
Story: It feels like a quick and fun little storyline that’ll maybe last another issue or two. A good starting point for a new creative team! I’m interested to see where it goes – like I said, I like small-scale stuff until we can trust the creators with the character. It might not be on the same level of social relevance as the last run, but I was entertained and I have a good feeling about the next issue! 7.5/10.
Rating: 7.25/10.
Buy it? Maybe see how the next issue goes first if you’re not already a GA fan.
Deathstroke #32:
Art: Pretty good! The linework is actually quite fine, especially in the combat sections of the story. It isn’t anything special, but in general, I think the art is firmly good. A couple of the bigger splash panels even make you stop and go “hey, that’s nice!” 7.75/10.
Characters: Priest has an excellent grasp of who the characters are and, more importantly, what their relationships are. Any writer knows that it’s a character’s relationships who define them. The only character that doesn’t work for me here is Batman. I just don’t think Priest has a good handle on who Batman is or what’s important to him. Great aside from that. 8.5/10.
Story: I… Look, Damian must be batman’s kid. The story is fairly exciting, and the thought that Batman and Deathstroke are being manipulated is cool, but if Priest actually makes it canon that Damian isn’t actually Bruce’s kid I’ll be pretty mad about it. Be better than that, Priest. But it was still a lot of fun and totally full of intrigue. 7.75/10.
Rating: 8/10.
Buy it? I’d say so.
That’s all for now, folks! All the other DC titles should have a full review up by the end of the week! As always, it’s your pal Quinn signing off! See you next week!
