Tag Archives: Dark Nights: Metal

Mar 30 2018

Dark Nights: Metal 6: Discussion

by Spencer Irwin and Mark Mitchell 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

slim-banner

Spencer: Now that the series has come to an end, I can safely say that I have very mixed feelings about Dark Nights: Metal as a whole. So much of this event has been about embracing gonzo, bonkers, throwback action, but much of that fun is buried under attempts to overexplain every aspect of the (often impossible to follow) plot. The stakes of the event never fully sank in for me, as aside from artist Greg Capullo’s hellish landscapes, most of the nightmarish aspects of the Dark Multiverse were buried away in tie-in issues, while the main series focused on fun, but straightforward action beats. That said, there were a few areas where this series shined, and Dark Nights: Metal 6 exemplifies them all. It’s a strong metaphor for embracing hope and community over nihilism and isolation, a powerful reminder of stories’ ability to inspire, and an ode to the past (and future) of the DC Universe. Continue reading →

Mar 7 2018

The Terrifics 1: Discussion

by Michael DeLaney and Ryan Desaulniers 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Michael: We live in a curious world where Marvel hasn’t published a Fantastic Four comic book since 2015. To fill that Fantastic-less void, DC has given us an analogue team out of a few lower-tier heroes in addition to a new one. The team that has not yet become a team consists of the eponymous Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, Plastic Man and Linnya Wazzo. The FF analogues are pretty obvious from the outset, the only thing that’s different here is the stretchy guy is occupying the “youthful/obtuse” role of The Human Torch. Continue reading →

Nov 20 2017

Batman Who Laughs 1: Discussion

by Patrick Ehlers & Mark Mitchell

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

slim-banner

Patrick: Outside of dance-able club hits, which state their desire to make you dance, very few works of art tell you what effect they intend to have on you. Batman Who Laughs has one purpose and one purpose only: to shock longtime Batman fans with a violent, evil twist on the Dark Knights’ mythos. And the book cockily asserts that it is going to surprise its readers, by having the titular laughing Batman address the camera directly and saying as much. “You really thought you had it all figured out. That you knew every combination in the deck.” The work assumes the reader is skeptical of its goal from page one — the remainder of the issue is spent trying to prove that this is the darkest, most twisted Batman story ever told. Continue reading →

Nov 13 2017

Editorial Edicts vs Willpower in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps 32

by Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

The art of crafting a successful event tie-in issue is using the language of the event and applying it to the protagonist’s philosophy. Robert Venditti and Ethan Van Sciver use some familiar imagery and references to ground a Metal tie-in to the world of Hal Jordan. Continue reading →

Nov 10 2017

Batman Lost 1: Discussion

by Patrick Ehlers & Michael DeLaney

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

slim-banner

Patrick: For as much mythological importance as we place on origin stories, the question of how a superhero came to be very seldom adds up to his or her actual origin. Batman is the example in question, so let’s use him: a random mugging in crime alley, a broken string of pearls, two shots fired, an orphan. That’s quintessential, primordial Batman — the very stuff of which he is made. But that’s incomplete. A DC Comics murderers’ row of artists and writers set out to remind readers just how strange Batman’s origins really are in Batman Lost 1. In so doing, they also remind us how infinite and unpredictable Batman’s future truly is. It’s a dizzying collage of what-ifs and secret histories, all presented as true with unflinching authority. Continue reading →

Oct 10 2017

Artwork is Metal in Green Arrow 32

by Michael DeLaney 

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

Green Arrow 32 is the conclusion to the Dark Nights: Metal tie-in “Gotham Resistance,” so you could be forgiven for your confusion if you haven’t been following the previous chapters in Teen Titans, Nightwing and Suicide Squad. As much as “Gotham Resistance” is one story, each individual title manages to maintain a piece of its own unique identity. A large part of Green Arrow‘s Rebirth identity has been artist Juan E. Ferreyra, who is far and away the most memorable thing about this issue. Continue reading →