There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #5
Written by Tom Taylor
Illustrated by Clayton Henry
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by Wes Abbott
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
When DC Comics first moved forward with the “Injustice” games and comic books, the idea of a violent Superman causing a shockwave across the DC Universe never sat well with me. Thankfully, in his second series with Jonathan Kent, “Injustice” creator Tom Taylor is working with artist Clayton Henry to examine Superman’s son, Jon’s reaction to the violent outlook of the “Injustice” world. The way Taylor and Henry have reckoned with the morality of a previous storyline has been one of the most compelling story ideas for recent Superman titles for my money.
Clayton Henry’s art is incredibly ambitious, illustrating characters from numerous realities with a striking level of precision. One of my favorite parts about the art in ”Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent” #5 are the facial expressions that Henry gives to characters like the Injustice Superman and Nightwing. While readers should be trying to find conflict with these dark characters, Henry’s art does a lovely job humanizing the darker Superman. Henry is also great at character acting, often giving characters a secondary action to make the art feel more interesting than static images on the page.
In the pages of ”Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent” #5, Jon is now directly battling the forces of the “Injustice” Superman with help of Batman from the same world. Taylor takes advantage of Jon’s characterization by seeing what characters from the property haven’t fallen towards a violent outlook. The level of heart that Taylor is able to evoke in this dark series with the interactions from Jon feel emotionally potent in this story. Taylor also continues to explore Jon’s main cast in this series in a few select scenes from the storyline as well. ”Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent” #5 is a clever expansion of the “Injustice” franchise that asks introspective questions about morality.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Taylor and Henry examine the complicated morality of the “Injustice: Gods Amongs us” property in ”Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent” #5.
Knight Terrors: First Blood #1
Written by Joshua Williamson
Illustrated by Howard Porter
Colored by Brad Anderson
Lettered by Troy Peteri
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
“Knight Terrors” is the opening issue for the latest DC venture into horror written by Joshua Williamson. The story doesn’t waste any time by showing a dream-turned-nightmare with John Dee, AKA Dr. Destiny, and then switches focus to the story’s main voice Deadman. A character that, despite living in the limbo-like state between the living and dead, has a rather lighthearted disposition toward the world. Williamson uses Deadman to supply some supplemental information to the DC Trinity (Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman) as they venture to check what triggered the alarm in the Hall of Justice. The mystery begins to unfold with the corpse of John Dee being found, only to be interrupted by a phone call from Harley Quinn stating she was looking right at Dr. Destiny in Arkham. A new villain named Insomnia comes for not only the heroes but the villains of the DC Universe as his chaotic powers begin to take over. Williamson delivers this heart-pumping thriller that even Batman seems confused and caught off-guard with, and that is an impressive maneuver on its own. The reader can obviously read the set-up issue markers for the event, but it’s jam-packed with enough action and easy-to-follow thoughts via Deadman to keep the reader engaged and entertained.
Howard Porter and Brad Anderson get to show off their creepy horror muscles with this series because they created this DC meets Nightmare On Elm Street vibe that fits perfectly. The linework has this purposely messy feel that meshes well with Williamson’s dreamworld villain, Insomnia. There’s also a sequence when a spirit of gruesome ghost-like creatures comes out of Dr. Destiny that creates this pause for the reader to step back and realize how creepy this will get. The supernatural feel is obviously in play, but Porter and Anderson get to play with it when Deadman takes temporary possession of Batman, and it changes his whole body language as the two struggle to maintain full control. The lettering is also an underappreciated value of this issue due to the various characters and voices, so to see the different fonts and colors to keep it simple for the reader goes a long way.
Final Verdict:8.5 – A solid foundation for this new horror event that also leads into this new villain attacking superheroes and villains to show that they mean business, much like the creative team behind this issue.
