Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist/Cover: Nicola Scott / Ethan Van Sciver
Inker/Colorist: Trevor Scott / Pete Pantazis
THE DARK AGE Part 2
The earth’s Wonders and the World Army joined forces are being beaten by the brute force of Superman! All hope is lost on Earth 2 but Batman has a plan to stop Superman. Inside the Arkham Base, Batman gets ready to release 3 prisoners that will help tip the balance but will they join him or attack him. Plus Flash’s speed will be tested against the man of steel’s!
The Ups: Taylor amps up this story from 10 to 11! It seriously had me going HOLY GOODNESS!!!! What I really enjoyed about this issue is how Taylor builds the story slowly and starts revealing information bit by bit and then it hits you hard. It left me shock and wanting more. This issue is mostly a Batman centric issue. Batman interaction with Major Sato and Red Tornado gives us hints to the identity of Batman and builds new mythos to the character as well. Taylor sneaks in a brief emotional response to Batman hearing “Bruce” that was well timed and showcases this Batman’s human side. Batman recruits 3 prisoners and his choices was very interesting. Those prisoners were a reintroduction of preexisting DC characters that were exciting and new. The Flash determination was something to be admired in this issue. Going against Superman isn’t easy but Taylor had me rooting for the little guy. I can’t say enough about the art. Nicola Scott draws beautifully. Her pencils are tight and detailed this issue. Her page lay out are easy to follow which makes the story more enjoyable. Trevor Scott and Pantazis are the best complements to Nicola’s line work. I don’t have a favorite artist here but more like a favorite art team. Once again Sciver delivers an awesome cover! One of my favorites this week!
The Downs: Last time I said there was not enough pages in the issue. This time they give us 8 pages but it filled with a Mad magazine comic. I did not care for it honestly. I rather not have the extra pages or they can use it to show case 2-3 script pages/2-3 pencils of the issue. This almost hindered the grading on the issue but this week issue was too good.
Overall: Taylor continues to ride the chaos of Earth-2 and not stopping. I am really enjoying this alternate Earth and Taylor was the right choice for this book. The art team is amazing and continue to bring us the war for Earth with fantastic art. If you were to pick up one team book make it Earth 2
Grade 5 of 5
ComicsRefueled 