The Dreaming: Waking Hours #12 – G. Willow Wilson, Writer; Nick Robles, Artist; Matheus Lopes, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The Sandman Universe line debuted with a lot of hype and four books, but it eventually dwindled to just this one. Now the universe as a whole comes to an end with this poignant final issue by Wilson and Robles. While it’s been immersed in the complex world of the Dreaming, it’s also an LGBT story at its core, featuring a key trans character and a gay romance at its core. There’s a lot of story to wrap up in only twenty pages, but Wilson does a good job—giving some characters their happy ending relatively early in the story before it circles back to Ruin’s tale as the living nightmare desperately tries to escape his fate. Dream being used in an antagonistic role in this final issue is a little odd, but the characterization is solid by the end. The art by Robles is brilliant as always, and makes me wonder if there’s anything still planned for these characters. There is a TV series coming up, after all.
DC Horror Presents The Conjuring: The Lover #3 – David L. Johnson-McGoldrick/Rex Ogle, Tim Seeley, Writers; Garry Brown, Kelley Jones, Artists; Mike Spicer, Jordie Bellaire, Colorists
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Jessica’s descent into madness continues in the main story, as her visions lead her to point a knife at her roommate in the opening scene. While she doesn’t wind up hurting her and her roommate moves out, Jessica becomes increasingly isolated and her mental instability grows as the visions get worse. A journey into a secret area of the library filled with occult books and a Warren name-drop add to the suspense, but things quickly go from bad to worse when Jessica agrees to go out on a date—just in time for the demon to resurface with possibly fatal consequences. Nice and creepy, but very trope-y.
The team of Tim Seeley and Kelley Jones deliver a creepy backup focusing on a haunted accordion monkey. Featuring a mad nurse, a terrible series of events centering around the birth of a baby boy, and some genuinely disturbing visuals, it’s as good as you’d expect from a pair of horror monsters.
Suicide Squad #6 – Robbie Thompson, Writer; Dexter Soy, Eduardo Pansica/Julio Ferreira, Artists; Alex Sinclair, Colorist
Ray – 7.5/10
Ray: So from the start of this series, the action has been split. That continues in a big way this issue, with some of the Suicide Squad going after Swamp Thing (as seen in this week’s The Swamp Thing #6), while the others pursue Bloodsport and Black Siren on Earth-3. The action is generic and few of the characters make much of an impact—besides Superboy. The character has been a mystery since the start, appearing very different from his previous Young Justice version, and his presence on the Squad hasn’t really seemed to fit—why is Superman letting Waller kidnap one of his kids? Well, while the issue doesn’t make a great impression until the last few pages, the final reveal makes me very excited for the next issue.
Crime Syndicate #6 – Andy Schmidt, Writer; Kieran McKeown/Dexter Vines, Bryan Hitch, Artists; Steve Oliff, Alex Sinclair, Colorists
Ray – 5/10
Ray: There hasn’t really been too much to this miniseries, just a never-ending series of stories as the villains of this world take down any opposition in their way. That continues this issue, as we start to see some real threats to the Crime Syndicate’s power emerge—including an enraged Supergirl disgusted by what her cousin’s become, and a very different Sinestro who comes close to breaking the power ring’s hold over John Stewart. But this is a universe where, essentially, nothing good can happen, so the story just ends with a whimper rather than a bang as the status quo reasserts itself. The Atomica origin story by Bryan Hitch has a few decent scenes, but the ending just ends the story on a weird note.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
