The third arc of “DC Universe Presents” beings here with a kidnapping, a serial killer, an FBI agent and a locked up murderer. The book sounds much more interesting when that murderer is Vandal Savage, doesn’t it?
Written by James Robinson
Illustrated by Bernard Chang– As this new tale begins, the country’s best FBI profiler, Kass Sage, must seek help on a desperate case from her father…imprisoned serial killer VANDAL SAVAGE!- Chapter one of a three-part story by JAMES ROBINSON and BERNARD CHANG.
Let’s get this out of the way: if Agent Clarise Starling had been Hannibal Lector’s daughter, Silence of the Lambs would look a lot like this issue of “DC Universe Presents.”
The plot is remarkably similar: FBI agent needs to use the intellect of an imprisoned killer to catch another killer on the loose. However, instead of Lector helping out from behind bars, Savage will be accompanying his daughter on this mission. Antics are sure to ensue (if by antics you assume murders and villainy).
However, despite the familiar plot, this story works. This issue is, perhaps, the best yet of “DC Universe Presents.” A lot of that credit needs to go to James Robinson for crafting a story that, although familiar, keeps the reader riveted and credit also needs to go to Bernard Chang, who captures a tone between police procedural and superhero comic.
Chang ably handled the first arc in this book (that featured Deadman), but scales back here, to focus on the awkward subtleties of a father/daughter reunion after a decade and a half of separation. Savage appears to be totally in control of his emotions at the outset, but we see his heart warming ever so slightly towards Kass as the issue moves forward, and without anything over the top or distracting, by the end of the issue, we see Savage showing fatherly pride towards his daughter. This is all accomplished through facial expressions and body language, and a lesser artist may have tried too hard here and ruined the subtlety that Chang is so adept at.
Plus, he is probably the best artist working today when it comes to drawing rain. Seriously, his rain stands out in every book where he draws it. He should teach a master class on rain illustration.
Looking at Kass for a second, we see a daughter who clearly wants to distance herself from her past and her father’s legacy of death and establish her life as a balance for her father’s. It is important to note that she is an entirely new character; many were worried that this character would be a retconned Scandal Savage. Robinson has said this is not the case, and there is nothing to suggest that Kass and Scandal are mutually exclusive characters.
All of this could have been very by the numbers, but Robinson manages to make each interaction seem genuine and each character’s motivation true. Of course Kass would be horrified that her father is proud of her; of course Savage would relish the idea that his daughter is as masterful a killer as he is.
The characterization of Savage is one that is seemingly consistent with his portrayal in “Demon Knights,” where he is not quite the monster he is sometimes portrayed as, but rather a man who lives outside of reality because of his immortality. When Savage describes making sacrifices to gods no one remembers anymore, he makes his murders sound completely logical. He is a brutal man, but brutality takes on a different shade when viewed against 50,000 years of life. By the end of the issue, he has both charmed and creeped out the reader.
Robinson continues his 2012 revival here by building strong characters out of archetypes and giving these characters a depth most other writers would gloss over. Savage is brutal but well spoken; Kass is strong but shows cracks of insecurity. This book isn’t essential Robinson, but it is certainly the most appealing of any of the “DC Universe Presents” arcs so far, as it is doing something new with a beloved character; the Deadman arc was nice, but retreaded his origin for new readers, and the Challengers of the Unknown arc wasn’t anything to write home about.
This should be the standard for this series – high profile creative teams telling new, different stories using classic characters. This should be the longer, more established version of the new “National Comics” line – characters that need a story to recapture the attention of the masses, by writers and artists who are up to the task. Sadly, the Kid Flash story solicited in issue #12 seems like more of a case where DC wanted to finish up a story but didn’t want to do a one-shot, so they stuck it here instead. Regardless, DC got this one right, and hopefully this is the first in a series of good decisions to put this anthology series on the right track.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Buy
