Writer: Will Pfeifer
Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Colorist: Dan Brown
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT PART 2
After a suspicious fire is started at the S.T.A.R. Labs facility in New York, Bunker and Beast Boy are called into action. Meanwhile Red Robin investigates the attempted bombing of the S.T.A.R. Labs building, a gang of Wonder Girl impersonators run around fighting crime, and Raven attends a concert dedicated to her. The team has been pretty busy lately…
The Ups: Bunker gets a ton of page time in this issue. Will Pfeifer seems to have made a conscious effort to give Bunker more exposure. As the member of the team with the least of amount of prior exposure it’s important for readers to get to know him and eventually know him as well as the other characters. In this issue we get to see Bunker experiment with his powers and learn a new trick or two which is not only interesting in itself, but also helps readers new to the character to understand the rules and limits of his powers (which is incredibly important for a character like Bunker who’s powers have very strict rules). Outside of being a super-powered teen we also get a sense of who he is as a gay teenager and how he responds to a world that doesn’t accept that side of him. Another great part of this issue is seeing the interaction between Beast Boy and Bunker, which was rather entertaining. Beast Boy’s upbeat sense of humor and Bunker’s seriousness are well balanced and their friendship is both funny and insightful. The art in this issue is just as good as it was in the first issue. Kenneth Rocafort and Dan Brown’s art is colorful and fun without losing its intensity when it needs it.
The Downs: There were a lot of references to social media and internet memes in this issue which were funny some of the time but mostly came off as being corny. I understand that this is a teen book and young people relate to social media and internet humor, but those jokes can get old fast and tasteless pop-culture references aren’t worth as much as genuine comedy in the long run. The rest of the team was also fairly absent in this issue, members outside of Beast Boy and Bunker do show up but not for very long. Each of the other members appears by themselves and their actions don’t feel connected to the main plot of the issue.
The Overall: This issue had a decent amount of comedy and action, but it didn’t quite match the intensity of the first issue. The team also didn’t feel as unified as they did in the first issue, although it seems like their paths are about to converge soon. Over these last two issues we got a good sense of who Bunker is and what motivates him, but the rest of the team is still a mystery in the context of this new series. The individual characters are developing slowly as the plot progresses and when it comes to the relationship between Beast Boy and Bunker there is the beginnings of a team dynamic. With developing individual characters, the relationships between different characters on the team, and introducing new villains, this series has a lot on its plate. Progress is being made in all of these areas but because it’s all being done simultaneously the overall progress is slow and it will take a while before the book is fully developed. The transitional period until that happens is enjoyable but I do find myself wishing for things to move a little faster.
Grade: 3 of 5
ComicsRefueled 