Wonder Woman: Evolution #6 – Stephanie Phillips, Writer; Mike Hawthorne/Adriano Di Benedetto, Stefano Raffaele, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Since this series began, it’s been a fascinating look at a Wonder Woman pushed to her limits. Stuck in a sadistic series of tests by cosmic judges, Diana has had her friends turned against her and now is even a refugee from her fellow Amazons. Now, a mysterious older version of Donna Troy has come to get her and expose the truth—that she comes from a post-climate change future where Earth is about to die out. This is surprisingly bleak stuff, with Diana being forced to ask if there truly is any hope for humanity—and deciding that if there isn’t, she’ll make some. It’s a great characterization of the lead character, and this issue moves fast and is full of some brilliant visuals. Unfortunately, the last page reveal indicates that something else is going on here—something much less profound and much more petty and cruel than previous issues indicated. I’m not all that thrilled with the twist, but I’m intrigued by where Phillips plans to take this in the last act.
Robins #6 – Tim Seeley, Writer; Baldemar Rivas, Artist; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: It’s been a long strange road for Robins, which won the first DC Round Robin tournament last year. People have been clamoring for a team-up of the five core Robins for some time now, and this book delivered—both giving us some compelling dialogue and some great spotlights and what-ifs for the individual Robins. While Tim Drake was mostly left out due to the plot, he does get some great moments in this final issue. However, a lot of this narrative has been dedicated to the evil escape artist Cormac Dodge and the twisted Jenny Wren—who was briefly considered to be Bruce’s first Robin before her fall from grace. The idea here is fascinating, but the book struggles to decide how sympathetic she’s supposed to be. The ending offers some hope, but I’ll believe we see her again when we do. Overall, the best part of this book is simply watching Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, and Damian interact like the oddball siblings they are.
Refrigerator Full of Heads #6 – Rio Youers, Writer; Tom Fowler, Artist; Bill Crabtree, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: While this series has had two writers over its run, with Rio Youers taking over for Joe Hill, it really does fit together into a twelve-issue saga. Youers and Fowler pick up plot threads for the entire run—and end it with a spectacularly messy, sometimes incoherent finale that delivers great visuals. A prologue that explains the backstory of one character seems like shameless emotional manipulation, but all is forgiven once a car with a disembodied hungry shark head on the front bumper roars into battle against a demonic magically-enhanced snake man. This final issue is bloody as all get-out, with visuals definitely taking priority here over the story. It seems like most things are resolved, with the major villain vanquished in spectacular fashion, but the ending leaves several plot threads dangling for future carnage. It’s not really my taste, but all put together it works as a tribute to splatterstick horror movies of the ‘80s.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
