By now, you would have read about the premise of the book; the Trinity have created a safe place for those heroes traumatised by the effects and the impacts of what they do. Sanctuary’s existence is secret, with two of the most damaged characters from the echelons of the DC Universe in charge, the sanity challenged Harley Quinn and the the man out of time and self-esteem, Booster Gold. As the book opens, we see that the sanctity of Sanctuary has been compromised with a number of heroes “confirmed”. In a diner across town, Harley and Booster have an energetic conversation, over peach pie, regarding who is to blame.
Issue one is all setup. Tom King, at least at this early stage, has taken the brave step of starting things off without a huge explanation. Sanctuary’s existence is a given, with an origin that will no doubt be told at some stage. The idea of the place is a logical one to be sure, though the heads of the centre is definitely less so. Not being a Quinn fan, King has done the impossible and made her interesting, with some great little touches, “I hate pudding” probably giving me the biggest smile. Booster is, well Booster; always trying to do the right thing and somehow always screwing up. Dialogue wise, King has also worked wonders in showing us a Trinity that sounds right, unlike the Justice League version.
Clay Mann, who has worked with King before on Batman, is the latest artist to fall into the 9 grid panel layout. Mann’s figure work here is exceptional. To say that the book is racked with emotion is an understatement and Mann’s pencil work delivers in spades. Is it perfect? No, not quite, with Superman flying at speed and how is Harley holding that cup, the minor-est of issues. All the character are on point, though oddly, Woman Woman seems a tad blocky; Mann has shown with Harley he can draw a convincing female figure. Maybe the use of Margot Robbie as a reference helped. These are minor quibbles for a book that displays fantastic art from the outset. Tomeau Morey provides a color scheme that exudes a level of maturity that is to be expected with a book that focuses on mental health, albeit draped in spandex and Kevlar. Letterer Clayton Cowles completes the package with stellar work feeding the tone of the various characters as they suffer their own mini crisis.
Crisis is a bit of a watch word for DC fans, with major events carrying some form of ramification. The flow of this book, from the setup to the execution in the middle act, reminds me of the classic Identity Crisis series. Identity was a huge fan favourite and King, Mann and company will have to go some to reach that dizzy height. Still, based on this first issue alone, I think readers had better strap themselves in for story that is going to pack an emotional wallop as much as a physical one.
Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Tom King
Art by; Clay Mann
Colors by: Tomeu Morey
Letters by; Clayton Cowles
Published by; DC Comics
Author Profile
-
I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
Latest entries
