DC This Week Roundup – Space and Beyond

Green Lantern #9 – Geoffrey Thorne, Writer; Tom Raney, Marco Santucci, Maria Laura Sanapo, Artists; Michael Atiyeh, Colorist

Ray – 8/10

Ray: This series has gone full cosmic as it approaches the one-year mark, and that’s elevated the scale but also distanced it from the character-driven focus of the first few issues. The story now mostly concentrates on two Lanterns, John Stewart and Jo Mullein, as they battle to survive in different timelines. John is going up against the mad god Esak eons in the past, as he discovers that his transformation may make him more powerful than ever. Jo’s unique ring, meanwhile, has allowed her to keep her powers even after the destruction of the central battery. As she tries to interrogate one of the attackers seemingly responsible for the destruction, she finds herself transported to an odd location within Oa where she discovers that the conspiracy that destroyed the battery may not have been an outside plot—but may have been cooking for thousands of years from within. It’s an exciting run, but it’s still sort of hard to see how this will lead to a new long-term status quo.

Suicide Squad #10 – Robbie Thompson, Writer; Eduardo Pansica/Julio Ferreira, Dexter Soy, Artists; Marcelo Maiolo, Allen Passalaqua, Colorists

Ray – 7/10

Ray: The Suicide Squad heads into space this issue, going up against an army of Thanagarians and a surprise Green Lantern. But while the fighting at the front of the issue is exciting, the main conflict this issue is among the team members. Narrated by Culebra, the undead conscript who died earlier in the run, she seems to be one of the few genuinely decent members of the team. Ambush Bug is lost in his own head, Match is in thrall to Nocturna (a little creepy, given his age but not out of character for his clone-source), and Major Force continues to be thoroughly disgusting. Overall, it’s a fast-paced issue that doesn’t really advance the story too much. The main thread in this comic is the two competing Squads, and Rick Flag’s version just shows up at the end for another cliffhanger to remind us that they’re coming. It’s improved from the first few issues, but still isn’t really hitting on all cylinders.

DC Horror Presents Soul Plumber #3 – Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, Ben Kissel, Writers; PJ Holden, John McCrea, Artists; Mike Spicer, Colorist

Ray – 6/10

Ray: This book started out as a dark religious satire, taking us inside a corrupt corporation that claimed to be able to suck demons and corruption out of the human soul. After that first issue, though, it seems content to just be an over-the-top gross-out comedy in which a pimply idiot gapes in horror as bodies get ripped apart. Edgar, our devout-but-stupid would-be exorcist, has accidentally unleashed a spirit on the world and it’s built itself a meat-suit out of various corpses. It’s on the rampage at the same time Edgar’s former mentor, Father Rivera, comes looking for him with orders to kill. Needless to say, this is going to have an explosive and bloody end, and Edgar mostly seems to be a bystander as gross things happen around him. The art is suitably grotesque and it has an offbeat splatterstick comedy vibe, but it doesn’t seem to have much to say beyond the gallons of blood being tossed around.

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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.