Batman Superman #3.1
Writer: Greg Pak Artist: Brett Booth
Introduction
Greg Pak has been delivering the work of his career in the proper Batman Superman title. The prolific writer has also been giving readers the privilege of reading the best Villain’s Month titles. Zod was better than it any right to any be, giving a new aspect of depth to a psychotic unlikable murder. New elements of mythology were given in the Darkseid issue to make that antagonist more interesting as well. Doomsday is someone that most people loathe for symbolizing everything horrible about the medium of comic books. The character was created in the creatively over saturated part of the comics universe in the early 90’s. He brought the death of Superman with him, and a lot of strife and agony. Nothing about this hero is clearly defined from personality to physical prowess. Each writer and artist has a lot to determine when it comes to the evildoer. As you can tell from this review so far, there is a lot riding against scribe Greg Pak in this issue. I would not wish my worst enemy to write Doomsday but with an author this talented, quality should be assured. Good luck!
Writing
When describing why I like the writing of Pak to some others, the reasoning that hit my mind was that he makes you expect the unexpected. While this phrase will sound horribly cliche to most, this is exactly what was in this book. A great instance of this, is how the story kicks off with a focus on Krypton and Kara instead of the obvious Superman riff. References to the infamous 90’s story introducing this character were skirted around in a lovely manner. Use of Zod here shows that there is a strong grasp on all characters as opposed to just one that trope held the Two Face one shot down slightly. It was also fascinating to note that the pay off towards this issue, could actually take place in Supergirl’s comic.
Art
Brett Booth delivers some interesting pencils in this issue. He has a style rooted closer to the 90’s that suits this particular character very well. The illustration also serves to continue to deliver on the house style of these books. There is a certain visual lack of clarity that is always present within the penciller that can serve to be frustrating. In some cases, it detracts from the writing of the issue and hurts the storytelling. One has to wonder if Booth could deliver this dynamic sense of energy towards a cleaner style that could make his art more contemporary. Some of this already looks dated now, imagine how it will look in a few years. A flashback sequence later on in the issue, showcases a different aspect to the cartoonist, his style is a bit more cleaned up and muted by the colors. Hopefully, we can see more of this in the future, as it seems to address some of complaints about the pencils.
Verdict
Those seeking a well written, non-traditional Villain’s Month one shot, will not be disappointed here. Come see a master of subversion at work.
Introduction
Greg Pak has been delivering the work of his career in the proper Batman Superman title. The prolific writer has also been giving readers the privilege of reading the best Villain’s Month titles. Zod was better than it any right to any be, giving a new aspect of depth to a psychotic unlikable murder. New elements of mythology were given in the Darkseid issue to make that antagonist more interesting as well. Doomsday is someone that most people loathe for symbolizing everything horrible about the medium of comic books. The character was created in the creatively over saturated part of the comics universe in the early 90’s. He brought the death of Superman with him, and a lot of strife and agony. Nothing about this hero is clearly defined from personality to physical prowess. Each writer and artist has a lot to determine when it comes to the evildoer. As you can tell from this review so far, there is a lot riding against scribe Greg Pak in this issue. I would not wish my worst enemy to write Doomsday but with an author this talented, quality should be assured. Good luck!
Writing
When describing why I like the writing of Pak to some others, the reasoning that hit my mind was that he makes you expect the unexpected. While this phrase will sound horribly cliche to most, this is exactly what was in this book. A great instance of this, is how the story kicks off with a focus on Krypton and Kara instead of the obvious Superman riff. References to the infamous 90’s story introducing this character were skirted around in a lovely manner. Use of Zod here shows that there is a strong grasp on all characters as opposed to just one that trope held the Two Face one shot down slightly. It was also fascinating to note that the pay off towards this issue, could actually take place in Supergirl’s comic.
Art
Brett Booth delivers some interesting pencils in this issue. He has a style rooted closer to the 90’s that suits this particular character very well. The illustration also serves to continue to deliver on the house style of these books. There is a certain visual lack of clarity that is always present within the penciller that can serve to be frustrating. In some cases, it detracts from the writing of the issue and hurts the storytelling. One has to wonder if Booth could deliver this dynamic sense of energy towards a cleaner style that could make his art more contemporary. Some of this already looks dated now, imagine how it will look in a few years. A flashback sequence later on in the issue, showcases a different aspect to the cartoonist, his style is a bit more cleaned up and muted by the colors. Hopefully, we can see more of this in the future, as it seems to address some of complaints about the pencils.
Verdict
Those seeking a well written, non-traditional Villain’s Month one shot, will not be disappointed here. Come see a master of subversion at work.
A Look Inside
