This issue takes place on the day that the massacre of Sanctuary occurred, with events leading up to issue 1 being revealed from different perspectives, Gnarrk, Wally West and Harley and Ivy. Each element bring into play aspects of the respective characters, though at this stage I am not sure that any more light is shed on events. This issue is very much a talking issue. Be warned.
Previously, I have stated my concern over the pace of this book, especially given as news broke at the start of the run that the series was going up in issue count to accommodate two one-shots. As with issue 3, this book feels like one of those one-shots. The last couple of issues have moved the investigation along with the inclusion of Batgirl and the newspaper leak. Why then do we need to go back, totally out of the blue to the actual day? I am not sure what purpose Gnarrk has in the story, but reading his dialogue was painful. Tom King, returns to form in part with an examination of Wally West, depicting a Wally who feels lost without his family. Since Rebirth, I am not sure there has been a character that has been put through the wringer as much as Wally. First, he lost his love, then he had a heart attack that forced him from the Titans and finally he is the fastest worm food. King’s recognition of the grand scale of Wally’s loss is well handled and is probably the only saving grace in this issue, especially as the original conceit is destroyed; originally is was stated that Harley and Booster were running the place, here Harley is actually hiding out in Sanctuary. This example of right character in the right place at the right time has, for me at least, minimised Harley’s motivation within the story.
The art and part of the colors are provided by Mitch Gerads, whose style differs greatly from the clean lines of series’ regular, and on this occasion, bookend artist Clay Mann. Gerads, has made a name for himself on Indie books as well as spending time at Marvel on the Punisher. His dirty real world art style may work for those books, but here, contrasted against what we have seen before, this style doesn’t mesh well, for the most part. The Gnarrk pages do look good but the Wally panels, especially the Rebirth #1 homage ones look awful, with heavy lines and heavy colors that give the appearance of crayons being used for pencils and colors. Gerads tries hard to maintain the style previously seen for Harley and Ivy, and succeeds in some places and not in others. Despite Gerads style not being my cup of tea, I would have preferred him to stay true to his style than try to keep up with a “house style” The rest of the colors are provided by Tomeu Morey, who delivers as you would expect. Clayton Cowles again provides letters and does extremely well in delivering the meanderings of Harley and Ivy that takes up a whole page.
Even though I have been enjoying this series, this issue has diluted the fun somewhat. Never the quickest writer to tell the story or get from A to B, King is stretching this out to an almost Doomsday Clock pace. I suspect that this issue may have started out as a one-shot that maybe the powers that be thought “how many Gnarrk fans will buy this book?” and realised that it would need to be pigeonholed into the main narrative. Maybe this is an issue that was meant to be part of the narrative from the get go. Whichever is the correct cause for this book, the quality is a significant drop from previous issues.
Writing – 3 Stars
Art (Gerads) – 2.5 Stars
Art – (Mann) – 4 Stars
Colors (Gerads) – 3 Stars
Colors (Morey) – 4 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Tom King
Art by; Mitch Gerads & Clay Mann
Colors by; Mitch Gerads & Tomeu Morey
Letters by; Clayton Cowles
Published by: DC Comics
Author Profile
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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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