I’m just going to jump into this. You know that whole Doomsday fight that was dragged out through last issue and then promised in this one? That’s solved in about three panels. Then it’s two more pages of fighting and 25 pages of talking. And I’d be cool with that if this were, say, Batman, Earth 2, Grayson, or even Justice League 3000. Those books can do that, just give expository dialogue in a way that conveys a story. Infinite Crisis isn’t about that, it’s pretty much been about watching different versions of one’s favorite characters fight it out against different versions of one’s favorite villains. That’s pretty much the premise of the game.
If you’re going to have us sit and listen to characters bicker, at least have them bicker about things that are engaging and interesting. I found this issue lacking in both those qualities. Gaslight Luthor shows up, no one trusts him, but the heroes decide they have to work together to stop this crisis. It takes up the final act of the book, and it probably would have been the most intriguing aspect of the book had I not recently seen a better version of it done in the last few issues of Justice League.
The artwork is stunningly bad, in such a way that this entire issue doesn’t even look near finished. These panels look like first drafts, half of them devoid of any background other than a sterile, one-dimensional, single-colored background. The first twenty pages of the issue are illustrated by Eduardo Francisco, while Agustin Padilla takes the final ten. Both have their very distinct styles, but neither one worked for me while reading the issue and now looking back at it.
Francisco’s chapters start off strong by comparison, bringing to life the battle that was raging at the end of last issue on Arcane Earth. The scenes were the teams are reunited are the most busy and chaotic, which works for a fast-paced, crowded action sequence. The artistic problems come once the action has stopped and the characters try to sort out everything that’s been going on in the series. My biggest issue with Francisco is the armor that he uses; there’s so much of it, and it’s so unnecessary. Everyone has cheek plates or that completely irrational chin-guard: Cyborg, Flash, Arcane Green Lantern, K.A.L., and Batman. It just looks ridiculous.
Where Francisco makes unwise clothing choices, Padilla just does not draw humans. Instead, there is some kind of warped, disproportionate version of a humanoid for every character. I won’t even go into it, I’d rather show you.
It’s this kind of artwork that can kill interest in a series that is already pretty much comatose. After reading comments and hearing stories from comic book artists for the last few weeks, I’m stunned that this quality of work can be put into mass production without the faintest hint of regret.
I did get the code for the Mecha Superman champion though, for what it counts.
- Shocker, Luthor has some ill-mannered motivations.
Favorite Quote: “I can’t trust you.” “I understand.” “I won’t trust you.” “A given.” – Prime Batman and Gaslight Luthor
Recommended If…
- You’re in it for the long haul.
- You want to see more cool iterations of your favorite heroes.
Overall: You probably didn’t even notice that I forgot to review this. That’s how insignificant this line is.
SCORE: 2/10
