Skyward is the story of an earth forever changed by a disastrous event. Yup, it’s another post-apocalyptic sci-fi book — but you’ve never seen an apocalypse quite this sunny and bright.

See, the world-changing event in question was that gravity suddenly malfunctioned, sending coffee cups, people and even cars floating helplessly into the sky. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and humanity has adapted to survive. Artist Lee Garbett shows us a cityscape of pulleys, jet packs and balloons, a little reminiscent of free-running videogame Mirror’s Edge — thanks especially to Antonio Fabela’s colors, which paint the world in pastels, punctured with occasional flashes of stark red — but the book never lingers on its worldbuilding. This is just the way things are.

RELATED: Lucifer Showrunner Teams with Comics Vet to Defy Gravity in Skyward

Which is appropriate, given that our hero, Willa, was just a baby when gravity decided to pack its bags. This low-g life is the only one she’s ever known and, even though she lost her mother on that fateful day, Willa isn’t keen to come crashing back down to earth. “I think I would have gone crazy,” she says at one point. “Not being able to go up.”

Not everyone agrees, however. The other character we spend the most time with is Nate, Willa’s father. Nate seemingly predicted what would happen, and is the one person who seems to be treating this apocalyptic event with the — please excuse the pun — gravity you’d expect.

The push and pull between father and daughter — one embracing freedom and wanting to push out further still, while the other literally ties himself down — seems like it will be the main thrust of the book going forward. But the actual story in this issue, like everything else about it, is fairly light. We meet the cast, see snippets of the world, and end on a final bit of setup.

Skyward just about gets away with it because all of those things are presented so charmingly. Joe Henderson’s dialogue does a good job of quickly establishing character, but Garbett’s art is undeniably the star here. His characters have a cartoonish edge to them, with exaggerated proportions that really accentuate their movements and expressions, but with enough realism to keep them, ironically enough, grounded. His panelling is wide open too, giving characters room to float around the page, and lending the book an appropriately airy feel.

So yes, it’s light — chances are, you’ll fly through this issue like Willa through the skies of Chicago — but Skyward establishes solid foundations that Henderson and Garbett can build on in future installments.

The post Image’s Skyward #1 Introduces the Lightest, Brightest Apocalypse Ever appeared first on CBR.

Eighty pages isn’t really enough to commemorate 80 years and 1000 issues, but then, there’s really no precedent for celebrating such a milestone. Action Comics #1000, though, sure makes a valiant attempt — and mostly succeeds. Its 11 stories pay tribute to the Man of Steel, spanning from an extension of his first appearance right up into his next era. It’s Superman’s birthday celebration, with plenty of stories for his fans — but like any pile of gifts, some are preferred over others.

Dan Jurgens has arguably had as much impact on the character as anyone in the modern era, so it’s fitting that the issue leads off with his “From the City That Has Everything,” a celebratory observation of all that Superman has done for the people of the city that he calls home. Jurgens story gets a little hokey at times, but it’s an apt tribute to a character who’s not only come to mean a lot to the residents of Metropolis, but also his readers. It’s also a refreshing reminder of the respect held for him by his colleagues, captured in a bright and fun spread by Jurgens to conclude the issue’s introduction.

No less fitting is Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s “Never-Ending Battle,” which is not only a delightful ode to Superman’s 80 years of existence, but also to their own run on the Superman series, which is going to be missed. Tomasi makes the effort to establish a story mechanism for Superman’s time trip through his own history — wonderfully captured by Gleason — but it isn’t really necessary. The glimpses at significant moments from the Man of Steel’s past are not only meaningful, but just plain fun, reminding readers of decades of terrific stories.

RELATED: Action Comics Just Transformed Two Classic Characters – But Will It Stick?

A pair of shorter stories allow some notable past creators to join in the celebration, but sadly the actual results fall short. Marv Wolfman’s “An Enemy Within” reuses some art from the legendary Curt Swan, but the story is trite, and Butch Guice’s inks clash with Swan’s pencils. Paul Levitz’s “The Game” gives Neal Adams some time onstage, but feels dated. While Adams’ layouts are as grand as ever, his finishes appear as though they were completed on too tight of a deadline.

Subsequent short entries do much better. Richard Donner joins Geoff Johns and Olivier Coipel in the inspiring “The Car,” finally explaining just what happened after the events shown on the iconic cover of Action Comics #1. Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s “The Fifth Season” is a higher-thinking look at Superman and Lex Luthor’s relationship. And Tom King and Clay Mann’s “Of Tomorrow” is a touching look at the literal Man of Tomorrow’s memories of his long-departed Earth parents.

RELATED: The Script for Action Comics #1001 Is Complete

Veterans Louise Simonson and Jerry Ordway typify the Man of Steel’s miracles in “Five Minutes,” while providing a fun look at the conflict Superman creates in the life of Clark Kent. Paul Dini’s whimsical “Actionland” features the welcome return of José Luis Garcia-López to the pages of Superman, evocative of the pre-Crisis era for those who miss it. Brad Meltzer’s technical “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet,” though, is a labored look at the Man of Steel’s knack for saving the day, and is stiffly executed by the usually excellent John Cassaday.

Naturally, the issue caps off with the introduction to the incoming writer of both Action Comics and Superman, Brian Michael Bendis. “The Truth,” written by Bendis and illustrated by Jim Lee, puts readers in the middle of a battle with an unknown foe, climaxing with a surprising revelation going back to Superman’s beginnings. The story is a fair representation of what readers can likely expect in Bendis’ upcoming run. Lee’s art is clean and dynamic, as always, and Bendis delivers drama peppered with his usual irreverent scripting tics. Fans of Bendis have a lot to look forward to, but those enamored with the now-concluded Jurgens/Tomasi/Gleason era might take some time to win over.

Action Comics #1000 is a largely enjoyable party, although padded somewhat to allow room for some additional guests who don’t bring the same caliber of gifts. While a little bloated at eight bucks and 80 pages, Superman is looking a lot better than most of us do at 80 years old.

The post Action Comics #1000 Shows Superman Still Looks Good at 80 Years Old appeared first on CBR.

How far would you go to truly understand the mistakes you’ve made, and how much danger would you put yourself in to do so? That’s one of the central themes of Steve Orlando, Garry Brown, Lee Loughridge and Thomas Mauer’s Crude, a new debut from Image Comics partner studio Skybound. Described by Orlando as somewhat of a spiritual sequel to his Jamaican queer revenge story Virgil, Crude is about a young Russian man searching for a greater purpose in life no matter the cost — until it isn’t, and the book takes a sharp turn into an entirely different kind of revenge story.

Orlando himself spent a decade living in Russia and his experience with the culture shines through, especially with the initial lead character of Kiril, a young bisexual man living in a small town with even smaller ideas of what kind of future men like him have in the world.

RELATED: Steve Orlando Joins Skybound With Oil Drama Crude

Choosing to risk everything by moving to the notoriously dangerous mining town of Blackstone to escape a predictable life, Crude deftly conveys a universal experience through a very specific set of circumstances. Kiril doesn’t want to grow up to be like his father Piotr, a man whom he believed to be an insurance salesman, and risked everything in order to escape from his shadow.

One of the main criticisms of millennials as a generation is that we don’t want to float through life content with the same unsatisfied careers as our parents and Kiril embodies that idea, cast against the harsh and unforgiving backdrop of a cold and forgotten Russian city where he would have no future.

His father on the other hand, who hid his secret life as an assassin, only ever wanted his son to be safe but by not being honest with him, he drove his son into life-threatening danger. Garry Brown and Lee Loughridge excel when contrasting Kiril and Piotr side-by-side; Kiril’s face is clean, unblemished and the light always catches it just right, while Piotr is scarred by the years of his lies and always seems to be somewhat in shadow.

Brown’s inking is a real standout in this first issue and the heavier its use on a character’s face, the more guilt the character is currently experiencing; naturally, Pitor is soaked in heavy blacks throughout the issue. A nine-panel grid of Piotr slowly learning the worst while the same four words repeat in his head over-and-over is one of the most striking scenes of the book, and this is a comic where a man rips out another man’s jugular with his teeth.

Crude is an impressive debut issue about the lies told and the secrets kept between fathers and sons and how each generation is affected and broken down by their own twisted ideas of what it means to be a man. While marketed as a revenge story, Piotr’s journey to learn who is son truly was no doubt to continue to explore these themes of toxic masculinity and the futility of committing yourself to outdated and misinformed ideas in order to prove your worth to the world.

The post In Image’s Revenge Story Crude, the Real Villain is Toxic Masculinity appeared first on CBR.

“Assembling the team” issues are a tricky thing. You need to give space for each character’s introduction to breathe, without turning that into the entire story. It’s doubly tricky when each team member comes from a different alternate universe or possible timeline.

That’s the challenge facing Marvel’s new Exiles #1. The issue opens, on its recap page, with an image of the team that has four of the five members blacked out and marked with a question mark. The one character we can see is the series’ single constant across its three iterations: Blink. And the issue does a great job of introducing Blink, and laying out why you should care about her in just two pages.

RELATED: Marvel’s New Exiles Series is Classic Claremont X-Men Meets What If?

On the first, artist Javier Rodríguez delivers an absolute masterclass in style, layering fragments of image from different realities on top of one another to assemble a single image of Blink. It’s a page worth lingering on, whether you want to spot the references — like the assorted characters who appear in their “Age of Apocalypse” incarnations — or drink in the unknown worlds suggested by each panel. Most importantly, it establishes Blink as a visually cool character.

On the next page, meanwhile, Saladin Ahmed shows why she’s a character worth investing in emotionally. We see Blink in the Bahamas, where her parents are from, meeting her only surviving family — or at least, the version that exists in this reality. In the space of six panels, it introduces her as a woman who has lost her home, and is trying to establish a new one.

The other four characters, the ones marked with question marks, don’t fare quite so well. Though they’re all on the cover, by the end of the issue, we’ve met half of them.

First, a grizzled Kamala Khan from a future where, god help us all, it seems the Inhumans vs X-Men crossover never ended. She certainly looks cool — an Ellen Ripley with stretchy embiggening powers — and it’s interesting to see the “Old Man” formula applied to a young female character, but there’s not enough time to establish her personality before we have to move on.

To another future timeline, and another member of the team. This time it’s Iron Lad, the Young Avengers’ answer to Iron Man, who is actually a teenage version of time-traveling supervillain Kang the Conqueror. It’s a suitably twisty concept for a book all about dimension-hopping, but it’s not clear just yet how it’s going to tie in.

Traveling back in time to the start of this review: Remember how I said it’s hard to make a “meet the team” issue where that’s not the entire plot? Ahmed is clearly all too aware of this problem, and front-loads the issue with a threat that will bring the team together: a mysterious “Time-Eater” who is consuming entire universes.

It builds to a fun reveal at the issue’s end, and gives momentum to Blink’s hopping between dimensions — after meeting each character, their universe gets swallowed up, meaning the newly expanded team has to move onto the next. But by the end of the issue, the formula is a little too obvious, the workings of the plot engine visible as it pulls its characters through the necessary locations.

More importantly, it eats up page space that could be used to better introduce each character. They are, after all, the main selling point of this series. The idea of Ms. Marvel as Cable is hard to resist, and the two team members yet to be introduced — a Valkyrie directly inspired by Tessa Thompson’s portrayal in Thor Ragnarok, and a cute cartoony Wolverine — are an exciting prospect, too. For now, though, they’re still just an idea.

No doubt we’ll get to know these characters better as the series progresses, but this first issue is lacking exactly the things that its lead character can manipulate with her mutant powers: Time and space.

The post Exiles #1 Introduces Readers to (Most of) the Dimension-Hopping Team appeared first on CBR.

DC’s New Age of Heroes is an interesting, if slightly unclear, proposition. The Curse of Brimstone is the fifth book published as part of this new line, there doesn’t appear to be a uniting personality, in the way that, say, Young Animal is an outlet for the weirder side of superhero stories.

There’s a strange undercurrent of Marvel pastiche running through most of the titles — teen hero Sideways has a distinctly spidery look to his costume, Damage is a man who transforms into a hulking monster, and the Terrifics are a pretty direct reflection of the Fantastic Four, and there’s a touch of Ghost Rider to Brimstone. But it’s hard to say whether there’s any real intent there or just an indication that there are only so many superhero archetypes to play with.

PREVIEW: The Curse of Brimstone Brings the Devil to the DC Universe

Nevertheless, while it’s hard to put a finger on what exactly New Age of Heroes is, the imprint is a very welcome addition to DC’s line. It’s a rare and exciting thing to see a major superhero publisher putting out a whole line of comics that don’t star the same familiar faces, and even more so to see them putting artists first.

In the case of this book, that’s Philip Tan, who is co-credited as “storyteller” with writer Justin Jordan. Tan experiments with a slightly looser, moodier style than he normally works in — and it results in the best work I’ve ever seen him produce. It fits the personal tone of the book, which is based on Jordan’s own experiences living in a rural area of Pennsylvania.

The book is set in York Hills, a small town that had the heart ripped out of it when the coal mines closed down. “It’s a forgotten place now,” says Joe Chamberlain, our star, a young man who feels trapped by the town. He doesn’t have the right education to be able to move away, and is tied to home by his father, who was injured in one of the now-closed factories.

It’s a distinctive setting for a superhero book, literally miles away from the usual metropolises, and we follow Joe’s slice-of-life troubles for the majority of the book — until one night he meets a stranger on the road. The man, who calls himself The Salesman, offers Joe a deal. Become “our agent” — whatever that means — and he’ll help the town get back on its feet.

Inevitably, Joe says yes. And inevitably, this being a superhero-horror book, he’s immediately cursed with demonic powers, transforming into the fiery creature Brimstone. Which is where the issue ends.

Normally, I’d hesitate to describe an issue all the way to its last page, but that’s how long it takes to reach the basic premise of the book. It’s a standard origin story, but it’s a unique one. Making a deal with the devil is a well-worn trope — and calls to mind again that Ghost Rider comparison — but making that deal in order to help bring an ailing post-industrial town back to its former glory? That’s not something I think I’ve ever seen before.

Among the flames of the final pages, stoked beautifully by colorist Rain Beredo, we get glimpses of other scenes, most likely a taste of what’s yet to come. But, without stepping beyond Brimstone’s origin story, it’s hard to tell what kind of book this is going to become, or even what we can expect from issue #2. With the New Age of Heroes not having established a unified voice, there are no clues there either.

Taken on its own merits, though, Curse of Brimstone #1 is a scorching tale about people stuck in a part of the world that’s rarely shown in superhero comics. It might not be enough to set the world alight just yet, but if the developing story proves as distinctive as its setting, that could quickly change.

The post Curse of Brimstone #1 Tells an Origin Story You Haven’t Seen Before appeared first on CBR.

Once upon a time, there was a symbiote. One symbiote, singular.

We didn’t even know it was a symbiote at the time — all we knew was that Spider-Man’s new black costume looked pretty cool when it was first introduced more than three decades ago. Later revealed to be an alien lifeform, the symbiote that became Venom begat another — Carnage — and eventually, the Marvel Universe was awash with the alien creatures.

RELATED: The Venomized Thanos’ Secret Weapon is Bad News for the Marvel Universe

Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello’s Venomized #1 serves largely as an exponential extrapolation of that trend. Spinning out of the events of Venomverse, Venom Inc. and the “Poison X” story arc, Venomized #1 features the symbiote infection spreading into the heart of the Marvel Universe. No longer contained within the scope of the Spider-Man and Venom titles, countless spores have been brought to Earth and have started to infect some of the world’s most powerful heroes.

While it’s easy to say enough is enough regarding the proliferation of symbiotic entities, Bunn prefers to argue that too much is never enough. The cosmos and multiverse-crossing excess of the series’ first issue is so loud and over the top that it’s hard not to enjoy for its extravagances. Does it all necessarily make sense? No. Is it contrived in spots? Yes. But is it fun? Absolutely.

Bunn’s story entertains much in the same way as Xenomorphs brutally slaying hapless victims in Aliens, or zombies devouring the living in The Walking Dead — the repetition doesn’t quite get old. Watching a familiar hero getting “Venomized” isn’t as grisly, though — in fact, there’s a kind of fascinating curiosity in examining how Bunn and Coello will pull it off each time. Coello has the enviable duties of creating hybrid looks for various heroes, and readers get to reap the benefits of it.

Such a storyline doesn’t exactly evoke any kind of literary brilliance, but then, that’s not the level of excellence Bunn is striving for. That’s not to say that his story is a mindless, one-dimensional romp, though — there are some clever twists that show some depth to Bunn’s outwardly straightforward script. Spider-Man’s previous bond and experience with symbiotes are shown to be a factor in this issue, as does Carnage, the Marvel Universe’s second symbiote. These developments stand to serve as potential conflicts to further strengthen Bunn’s story down the road.

RELATED: After Venomverse, Marvel Comics Will Become Venomized

Coello delivers a pleasing look to the issue that matches Bunn’s high-octane story. A large and diverse array of heroes and villains from across the world and beyond make appearances, and Coello revels in drawing them all. He even finds opportunity to pay homage to the original Secret Wars event, and Spider-Man’s introduction to his new costume — the first chronological appearance of the symbiote.

Venomized #1 isn’t high art, but it isn’t meant to be — nor should it be. Instead, it’s fun in the tradition of the original Secret Wars event, only not quite as mindless.

The post REVIEW: Venomized #1 is Plain and Simple Fun (But Not Too Simple) appeared first on CBR.

Previously best known for his reinventive Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and his ultra noir-ish Sin City, Frank Miller again surprised audiences 20 years ago with 300, his historical account of the Spartan armies of Greece. Miller had since returned to those other franchises, but now finally revisits ancient Greece in Dark Horse Comics’ Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #1.

The five-issue series isn’t exactly a sequel to 300, and in fact takes place several years earlier. Instead, it’s been described by the publisher as a companion to Miller’s original series, referencing the Spartans but featuring an altogether different Greek army facing off Persian invaders. Miller’s follow-up, though, contains a similar array of soldiers, colorfully characterized in the course of a script rich in visual verbiage that makes for a compelling introduction to his long-awaited next chapter.

RELATED: Walter Simonson, Paula Andrade Contribute to Frank Miller’s Xerxes

Miller’s cast contrasts the glorious efficiency of the Spartans with the more diverse but no less valiant army of soldiers going into battle against Persian forces. The narration describes this band of soldiers as everyday men simply defending their homes — but their actual demeanor is far deadlier. Miller’s description of his characters belies their actions; each of the soldiers who are given their moment are decidedly unique, and dangerous. Whereas the Spartans’ strength was in their unity, this Athenian army finds strength in its diversity.

Warrior Aeskylos, for example, is quick to break formation, but literally cuts through his enemies with ninja-like precision. The squadron’s captain is forced to improvise, but inspires those under his command as he does so. And the army’s general carries a curious sense of majesty that’s more befitting of a throne than a battlefield. With the first issue, Miller establishes a bond with readers through his characters, by way of their individuality more so than their cohesiveness as a single entity like the Spartans.

Miller’s narration is lush with visual imagery that describe the scene with equal, if not more, detail than his actual art. “Poseidon is in a mood,” for example, is a fittingly simple description of the rough and stormy seas faced by the invading armada. These verbal descriptions ironically convey a mental image often stronger than that evoked visually by Miller. But such descriptions make the more verbose parts of Miller’s script — as verbose as Miller’s scripts get, anyway — a more inviting experience than those communicated solely with his art.

That’s not to say Miller’s layouts aren’t strong, as always. Ever the masterful storyteller, few can convey the enormity of warring armies like Miller, and with almost methodical precision. The horizontal page dimensions help convert Miller’s layouts into a cinematic, almost larger-than-life appearance. Alex Sinclair’s colors help embellish that atmosphere, using a largely textured palette, by also settling for mostly solid backgrounds where appropriate.

RELATED: INTERVIEW: Frank Miller Returns to the World of 300 with Xerxes

Miller’s actual linework, though, remains an acquired taste for those not already fully enamored with his work. His finishes often look deliberately crude, a style that has long defined his work, but also one that at times tend to undermine the otherwise attractive composition of his pages. It’s also a style that’s arguably fitting to the ancient, warring feel of the story, but those looking for something a little crisper won’t find it here.

But, both fans and detractors of Miller know what to expect, and with Xerxes #1, both get it. Those who found themselves less than thrilled with 300, or any of Miller’s past work, won’t have their minds changed here. Those who are already established fans, though, will find themselves enjoying the latest entry in Miller’s increasingly diverse array of offerings.

The post Xerxes #1 is the 300 Follow-Up Frank Miller Fans Have Waited For appeared first on CBR.

With that nice round number on the cover, you might expect Saga #50 to break out the champagne and celebrate reaching such a major milestone. But Saga has never been a comic in the business of doing what you expect from it — and this is no exception.

Issue #50 isn’t a jumping-on point, being the second issue in the arc. Nor does it feature any big plot twists or developments. It’s just another installment of the long-running sci-fi drama comic. Which, Saga being Saga, means opening with a sex scene and closing with the bloody consequences of violence, finding time in between for an emotional conversation between a boy with a computer screen for a head and a seal in a Hawaiian shirt and a young girl kicking the head off a mechanical bigfoot.

RELATED: Saga’s 15 Greatest Hits (So Far)

This isn’t to say that the occasion has completely passed Saga by. The concept of anniversaries gives this issue its thematic backbone. “The most important moments in our life rarely take place on some numerically significant date,” says Hazel, the book’s narrator and aforementioned sasquatch martial artist.

Instead, we get a rare moment of quiet in the lives of these characters, who have spent the past five and a half years running from one threat to another. Almost the entire issue takes place on Alana and Marko’s date night, jumping around to show what the supporting cast are up to back at home.

This could be nothing more a little wink at the audience –- we’re not going to celebrate our anniversary, nyah nyah — but it resonates with one of Saga’s long-running themes: our relationship with the past. Most of the cast are keen to put their pasts behind them, whether it’s a history of violence or the prejudices you were raised to believe.

It might claim to ignore the milestone, but this issue is quietly about everyone choosing, or being forced, to revisit their pasts. Alana and Marko have a rare moment of reflecting back on their marriage. Petrichor refuses to talk about her life before transitioning — a topic the series has been gradually figuring out how to handle. Sir Robot complains about having to pick over the sordid details of his previous life, and wear the courtly uniform of the royal family that exiled him, as he prepares to leave it all behind forever.

The other side of Saga’s theme is that hard as we might try, we can never fully bury the past. This has always been a comic about the long-term consequences of our actions, even — especially — the ones that seem insignificant at the time.

The issue ends with a promise that the past will catch up with all these characters, and a reveal that for one of them, it already has. It seems like things are about to get dangerous again, but before they do, it was nice to enjoy a moment of peace. Maybe that’s really the best way to celebrate a milestone.

The post Saga #50 Celebrates a Milestone By (Mostly) Ignoring It appeared first on CBR.

There was a time when we couldn’t believe a man could fly — especially if that man was Batman, and it was on the back of a dragon. A Joker dragon, no less. Times have changed, though, and if Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo can’t make us believe it, at least they can make it a whole lot of fun. Both creators hold nothing back in Dark Nights: Metal #6, the final issue of the team’s high-octane, headbanging, multiverse-spanning event that brought Batman to the forefront of the DC Universe.

For years, readers had been convinced that Batman largely had no place outside of Gotham — and only after dark, at that. Snyder convincingly upended that notion in his All-Star Batman, and has carried that momentum into and throughout Metal. DC’s first-ever Bat-centric event has forever put the Dark Knight on par with the company’s heavy hitters — not just lending a hand against the threat of Barbatos, but taking the lead.

RELATED: DC Is Building the Foundation of Its Cosmic Universe from Metal’s Ashes

Snyder’s drastic paradigm shift for Batman has also been a microcosm of his attitude towards Metal itself — high-thinking, but still loads of fun. It’s a serious storyline, sure, but that doesn’t mean going over the top once in a while– or a lot — does it any harm. In fact, the current issue hammers home why such an approach has worked so well.

It’s easy for any storyline centered around the concept of a multiverse to collapse under its own weight, and many have. To successfully execute and conclude an event centered around two multiverses, Snyder has balanced the weight of the concept with the endless possibilities it presents. Two multiverses, seven evil Batmen, and dozens of heroes are best juggled if they’re juggled in a manner akin to a thrash-metal guitarist tearing through a blistering solo on a diet of coffee and energy drinks. So that’s what Snyder does, throughout the series, and most especially the final issue – Joker dragons and all. The action is constant, the thrills are exhilarating, and the issue is packed with one too-cool moment after the next.

Of course, Snyder’s vision would never have been brought to life without Capullo’s heavy metal interpretations, and none could make a Joker dragon look so threatening, creepy, and larger-than-life like Capullo. The artist brings the same loud, fast and thrashing mentality to the issue as a whole, just as he’s done with the entire series. There’s no white space in a dark multiverse — every page, every panel, every corner is packed with caffeinated imagery.

This isn’t to say that Snyder’s content to just put a brick on the accelerator and let his story speed aimlessly to its conclusion. His attention to the story structure remains focused: for all the thrills, the overlaid narration from Carter Hall’s journal is a well-placed element that keeps the action linked to the very basis of the story. And when the issue hits its crescendo, much is implied rather than shown, but it works well, because the readership is largely out of breath by then.

Like many a song whose loud, thunderous music drowns out the lyrics, careful listening reveals a meaning that might not immediately be apparent. The story’s climax includes the last words from Hall’s journal, which carry an almost inspirational message to those reading it. It’s a nice final touch by Snyder, to counter those who might criticize his story for lacking any kind of meaning. Ultimately, Metal has been all about rising from darkness, and the final words from Hall’s journal remind us that we can all aspire to greater heights.

RELATED: How the ‘New Age of DC Heroes’ Titles Tie Into Dark Nights: Metal

The issue’s lower-key but informative epilogue reads like the welcome and relative quiet of a power ballad played on loop as the crowd exits the arena after the show. The sequence sorts out not only what’s happened in Metal, but also lays out what’s to come in DC’s post-Metal era. The scene eagerly addresses the curiosity of those who, despite the intensity that just ended only pages earlier, immediately want to know what to expect next.

Like a speed metal song with no room between the notes, Dark Nights: Metal, and especially its final issue, just might be the first comic series to leave readers’ ears ringing.

The post REVIEW: Dark Nights: Metal #6 is a Rocking, Headbanging Crescendo appeared first on CBR.

Tom King has given readers plenty of reasons to expect a masterpiece with every single issue he’s written of Batman. In issue #43, the conclusion to “Everyone Loves Ivy,” King delivers his usual level of excellence, but also succeeds for another reason entirely. Drawn by Mikel Janin and Hugo Petrus, the issue wraps up Ivy’s conquest for world domination with a revelation about her character. It’s a revelation that not only gives King’s story a surprise twist, but also stands to redefine Ivy’s nature and possible future role in the DC Comics Universe.

It’s rare for a Batman villain to initiate a worldwide takeover. Rarer still is for said villain to convincingly be portrayed sympathetically. King confidently pulls off both, with a plot by Ivy that’s deceptively simple in nature, and a motive that isn’t what it initially seems. Ivy’s takeover is one of those why-didn’t-anyone-ever-think-of-that kind of story ideas, but there’s no better writer to come up with it than King. Furthermore, King establishes plausibility for Ivy’s current actions, and reveals that some of her past ones were not as they seem.

King accomplishes two important characterization elements in one clever stroke. One, Ivy is established as a world-class villain, although whether her actions are truly villainous is a topic explored by King in the story. The Joker, Riddler, and Penguin might be the big names in Batman’s rogues’ gallery, but Ivy is now shown to be one of the heavy hitters.

RELATED: DC Comics Unveils Catwoman’s Wedding Dress On Batman #44 Covers

Two, King humanizes Ivy to a level rarely seen. Gone is the mere sultry seductress that she’s often portrayed as, and in her place is a character driven by her emotion. Her powers, even used to their natural fullest extent, are merely a tool to further her ends, rather than the focus of her actions. And those ends aren’t driven selfishly, but instead altruistically. While King brilliantly examines what her powers are ultimately capable of, this examination is ironically a means to more deeply explore her character.

If anyone demonstrates consistently executed excellence as well as King, it’s Janin. Like the story’s two previous chapters, Janin’s pages are nothing short of gorgeous. Janin’s lines again prove to be well-suited to both Ivy’s typically lush, idyllic, garden-like settings, as well as the more sterile confines of a hospital room, where Bruce continues to recover. June Chung’s colors, as always, embellish Janin’s layouts with a beautiful and equally lush palette. Petrus, credited with four of the interior pages, perfectly matches Janin’s layouts and pacing.

There’s another clever element previously seen in King’s work that’s especially apparent this issue. His usage of other prominent DCU characters as supporting characters is deftly interwoven throughout his story. King wields the players of the DCU like notes in a guitar solo — attention isn’t called to any one in particular, but collectively they combine to enhance the story as a whole. Back in the day, such appearances would have been blatantly splashed across the cover as a selling point, but under King, it’s not necessary. King’s story sells itself, and if a walk-on by Superman makes it even better — which it does — so be it.

Praising King’s work at this point has become an exercise in redundancy — but what a wonderful side effect of his stellar run on the title. With Batman #43, “Everyone Loves Ivy” might be over, but everyone still loves Tom King and his artistic collaborators, and continues to have good reason to.

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