BATMAN: THE DEVASTATOR #1/ Plot by FRANK TIERI/ Written by JAMES TYNION IV/ Pencils by TONY DANIELS/ Inks by DANNY MIKI/ Colors by TOMEU MOREY/ Letters by TOM NAPOLITANO/ Published by DC COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

The Dark Knights continue down their path of destruction as The Devastator – a Batman who turned himself into a monster and a father of monsters to fight the corrupted Superman of his world – pays a visit to Metropolis and Lois Lane. Good as these various tie-ins detailing the origins of the Dark Knights have been, I think this may be the best one yet. Frank Tieri’s plotting, with words by James Tynion IV, delivers some powerful scenes, including a nice but unsubtle rebuttal of the idea that Batman could easily beat Superman in a fight. Tony Daniel and Danny Miki’s artwork is as fine as ever making this book a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good alternate universe story as well as those reading all the Dark Nights: Metal tie-ins.

 

BLACK LIGHTNING: COLD DEAD HANDS #1/ Written by TONY ISABELLA/ Art by CLAYTON HENRY/ Colors by PETER PANTAZIS/ Letters by JOSHUA REED/ Published by DC COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

Tony Isabella returns to DC Comics to reintroduce his most famous creation for a new generation. Back on active duty after retiring for a few years to spend time with his father before he died, gold-medal athlete turned teacher turned superhero, Jefferson Pierce faces new challenges and an old enemy. Isabella’s writing is as strong as ever, though the artwork by Clayton Henry seems oddly flat with characters that are a little too smooth and streamlined. Still, there’s enough right with this book to make it a must-read for anyone curious about the character in the wake of the approaching CW series and fans of the classic comics.

 

CROSSWIND #5/ Written by GAIL SIMONE/ Art by CAT STAGGS/ Published by IMAGE COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

Gail Simone and Cat Staggs continue to impress on this twisted little series about a housewife and a contract killer who find their minds having switched bodies. This issue sees the mystery of just how and why this happened explained but don’t think that means the drama is done. Not by a longshot. A must-read!

 

ELSEWHERE #4/ Written by JAY FAERBER/ Art by SUMEYYE KESGIN/ Colors by RON RILEY/ Published by IMAGE COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

The adventure continues as Amelia Earhart, her allies in the rebellion against Lord Kragen and fellow Earthling D.B. Cooper launch a daring raid on Lord Kragen’s dungeons. This is a daring little adventure series with fantastic artwork, sure to be a hit with any fan of alternate histories and powerful female leads.

 

GREEN ARROW #34/ Written by BENJAMIN PERCY/ Art by STEPHEN BYRNE/ Colors by HI-FI’s BRIAN MILLER/ Published by DC COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

Moira Queen has revealed herself to her son, Oliver as being alive and well and in the thrall of The Ninth Circle. She needs his help to save herself and says that together they can save their city, but before Oliver can consider whether or not he can trust her he still must help Black Canary save Seattle from The Clock King. At this point I trust Benjamin Percy completely as the writer on this series, which is why I’m holding my tongue on how slow this issue seems. The only action – and best sequences – are those which involve Ollie and Dinah together. Sadly, they – and The Clock King – are an afterthought compared to the subplot involving Merlyn and John Diggle working together, which I’d honestly forgotten about until now and never cared about before. Thankfully, Stephen Byrne’s artwork is fantastic with some amazing uses of color. Still, the whole plot involving Moira’s resurrection has killed the momentum of Oliver’s trial and I’m eager for it to be resolved so that we can move on to more interesting stories.

 

INJUSTICE 2 #30 (Digital Edition)/ Written by TOM TAYLOR/ Art by MIKE S. MILLER/ Published by DC COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

The plot to free Diana from her prison on Themyscria hits a snag when Kara, posing as the victim of a shipwreck is discovered by the new Wonder Woman and subjected to The Lasso of Truth. Luckily for her, not all of the Amazons are at peace with Hippolyta’s rule and believe Diana right in her desire to force peace on the world. Tom Taylor does his best to try and redeem the Injustice world’s version of Diana, but it’s an uphill battle. Still, Taylor breathes new life into The Amazons and fans of the Wonder Woman movie will like his take on the familiar characters. Mike S. Miller’s artwork is less enjoyable, full of forced-poses and awkward expressions.

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE #32/ Written by ROBERT VENDETTI/ Art by LIAM SHARP/ Published by DC COMICS

Reviewed by MATT MORRISON

Trapped in hellish dungeons designed to briefly test their powers before killing them, the Justice League must face their counterparts among the Dark Knights. This issue is a serviceable, if understated bit of action and adventure. There’s not much to it beyond the basic set-up in terms of story, with four heroes fighting their evil counterparts and quickly realizing how phenomenally out-classed they are. Liam Sharp’s artwork looks great but there’s not much “there” there in Robert Venditti’s script.

---

Buy these comics at your local comic book store (don’t know where that is? here you go) or digitally via comixology.com!