Review: Heroes in Crisis #2 (of 9)
Following a spate of Tweets involving a 9 panel page featuring Poison Ivy, and the realisation of what happened in the last issue to those who had such a session; there is a lot of noise regarding this second issue of DC’s newest Crisis themed book.
Harley is in need of new digs, having taking care of Booster, she heads to Gotham and the “chattiest” of all the Batman villains, the Penguin. Now, back in the familiar red and black (which may be a clue to proceedings down the line), she takes on the Trinity. Booster however, is not down for the count, thanks to some off panel Skeets medicine he is also on the trail of what happened at Sanctuary.
Tom King continues to play with the psyche of all those involved, with the motivations behind Harley and Booster scratched a little, with the Trinity spending some time in nine panel therapy themselves. The interaction between Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman comes across very natural, with the characters accepting the best and worst parts of each other in a way that is more natural than seen in the Justice League book. Credit where credit is due, Justice League and Heroes are different types of books, so it figures that different parts of their relationship may be focused upon. The gangs interaction with Harley is also fun; King has seemingly done the impossible in creating a Harley that I am enjoying. Still, there are a couple of concerns; firstly, I hate it when stuff happens off panel. If Skeets was close enough to save Booster from death, how come he wasn’t close enough to help Booster in his fight with Harley? My second concern regards story decompression. This issue actually feels like a bit of a rehash of last issue. For example, therapy sessions, a superhero battle and a mysterious intent / villain of the piece all are on show. I hope that we are not going to just 
get another 7 issues of the same.
The art, for the most part, is supplied by the fantastic Clay Mann, whose figure work remains outstanding. Looking at the cast of characters, each one has a unique style or frame. Mann manages this extremely well, from the bulky muscles of Batman to the lithe athletic muscles of Booster. His Harley has a level of flexibility that his Wonder Woman, who isn’t actually statuesque, doesn’t show. It is strange then that the powers that be needed Travis Moore to sub in for three pages. I assume that Moore is used as his style isn’t that dramastically different from Mann’s, though there are obvious signs that can jar the eye. Tomeu Morey and Arif Prianto supply the colors with a painted style, again for the most part, that adds to the maturity of the themes discussed in the book, though Moore’s pages look to be colored in a more traditional superhero way. I really love the Penguin pages as well as the game of go fish. Letters are supplied by Clayton Cowles whose clever stylings help propel the reader through the book.
You have to give the DC marketing guys & gals a pat on the back, For a book in which, not a lot happens, there is an awful lot of chatter online that will increase interest in the book. King and Mann are in the midst of creating something really good or potentially a repetitive narrative right up to the last issue. As always, time will tell; for me, I am willing to keeping giving all involved the benefit of the doubt, for a couple more issues at least.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Tom King
Art by; Clay Mann & Travis Moore
Colors by; Tomeu Morey & Arif Prianto
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
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