After months of build up and a number of poorly kept secrets, “Forever Evil,” the first event of the New 52, has arrived! What more do you need to know?!
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by David Finch and Richard FriendThe first universe-wide event of The New 52 begins as FOREVER EVIL launches! The Justice League is DEAD! And the villains shall INHERIT the Earth! An epic tale of the world’s greatest super-villains starts here!
Reading through the first issue of “Forever Evil” is sort of a surreal experience. There’s a strange cognitive dissonance involved with reading a major DC event comic that is utterly devoid of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the like. Of course, those who’re up on their current comic events know these characters are present, in a roundabout way.
It should be safe to say at this point (the cat’s been out of the bag for a while now); the front-lining act in this gig isn’t the villains of the DCU, but rather the Crime Syndicate of Earth 3. Dating back to the silver age, the CSA has been a constant inter-dimensional thorn for the Justice League. In recent years, the team’s most prominent appearance is likely the Grant Morrison penned, Frank Quitely illustrated original graphic novel, “JLA: Earth 2.”
With the “Big 7” and company out of the way, their fates still up in the air after last week’s “Justice League” #23, the stage is set for Johns to do what he does best; call in the second stringers. It should be no surprise that villains like Black Manta and the Rogues are featured prominently here, but a few heroes seem set to take center stage as well. The “World without a Justice League” concept isn’t new territory, stories such as Joe Kelly’s “Obsidian Age” and the massive “52” touched on it quite well, it always provides a great opportunity for writers to utilize underused and under-appreciated characters.
Clearly, “Forever Evil” is a concept ripe with potential. Unfortunately, “Forever Evil” #1 is very much a set-up issue, a teaser of things to come. You can easily spot the scenes that are little more than in-story ads for the various tie-ins and accompanying mini-series that will surround the main series in the months to come. While that might be seem a somewhat jaded critique, there is no gratuitous “follow the Rogues in “Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion,” coming next month!”, but the knowledge that the tie-in’s are coming makes one wonder how much of what is featured in this opening issue will actually play out within the main series. One key moment, which is sure to have folks comparing “Forever Evil” to a certain Marvel event, is sure to have major ramifications throughout both this series and the DCU as a whole.
Furthermore, it’s hard not to associate “Forever Evil” with other recent stories. The aforementioned “JLA: Earth 2” quickly comes to mind, as well as Paul Cornell’s Luthor-centric “Action Comics” run, or “Final Crisis,” which was centered on a similar “villains win” scenario. This isn’t a fault of the book, or of John’s writing, but it does undoubtedly color the reader’s perception of the story. Of course, with its 70+ year history, there’s nothing new under the sun in superhero comics. It’s up to the creative team to use these familiar concepts in new and exciting ways, and there’s definitely a glimmer of that here. Furthermore, as the story progresses, those comparisons may become woefully inaccurate.
Earlier I described the experience of reading the issue as oddly surreal. David Finch’s art is a counterpoint to that, with its gritty, rock-hewn style. Finch’s work often illicits a mixed reception from fans, but it’s hard to knock the extreme effort he’s put into this opening issue. Johns has a penchant for picking artists that work well with a particular story, and Finch’s style is a logical aesthetic match for the dark themes encompassed by a book like “Forever Evil.” It’s not appropriate to call a book such as this “gorgeous,” with its dark, moody colors and hard angular lines. It does, however, strikingly capture the mood of of a world gone dark.
Continued belowAs seen in his recent stint in “Justice League of America,” Finch’s style doesn’t always come off particularly well in, for lack of a better term, “super-hero-y” situations. What I mean by this is that Finch’s highly detailed, somewhat static pencils don’t always accurately convey momentum, making the depiction of superhuman feats fall somewhat flat. However, Finch does shows one marked improvement over his recent stint on “Justice League of America.” Some critics have noted the Finch’s tendency to draw only two types of faces, male and female. Here, Finch displays a wonderful range of diverse character types, especially noticeable in the gathering scene at Happy Harbor.
Occasionally the art suffers in other ways. Perhaps in an effort to complete the oversized issue (30+ pages, including a multi-page splash that has become synonymous with Johns’ events) character anatomy occasionally takes a hit. This is most noticeable in the Happy Harbor scenes, where all the villains are gathered together. For example, Gorilla Grodd morphs back and forth between his normal appearance and something more akin to the Shaggy Man. It’s worth noting, however, that these instances are few and fleeting, considering the sheer number of characters featured. For the most part, the team of Finch, inker Richard Friend, and colorist Sonia Oback have delivered a well-crafted, richly detailed issue.
The best part of the issue, by far, is John’s brilliant use of Lex Luthor. While Ultraman is the obvious “anti-Superman,” Luthor fits the role just as accurately, if not more so. Johns seems prepared to capitalize on that idea. As the issue so eloquently establishes, Luthor is not a hero, but he does have the potential to be a savior.
As a sidenote, Johns throws in a number of fun cameos, easter eggs, and teases. These range from a few surprising villain appearances (hello Flamingo!), to a certain interesting name drop, setting up the potential return of a certain fan-favorite character.
“Forever Evil” has a lot of great things going for it; a strong concept, a compelling mystery, and a large pool of characters, any of which could become a breakout hit in the hands of a writer like Johns. The book, while a little wonky at times, is also extremely strong in the art department. Somewhat disappointingly, the first chapter doesn’t quite capitalize on this potential. For a book with so many rich characters, this is very much a plot driven issue. Much of the series’ scope and focus remains up in the air. Even so, there’s an electricity running through these pages that has been sorely lacking in much of DC’s recent output.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Buy. A fine start to a unique DC event.
