The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #5 – Pornsak Pichetshote, Writer; Jeff Stokely/Craig Taillefer, Artists; Miquel Muerto, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: As we get close to the end of the first volume of Dead Boy Detectives, Pornsak Pichetshote takes us deeper into the dark question—exactly what can kill a ghost? Last issue saw the sympathetic, tragic Jhai fall prey to a mysterious creature that rendered her deader than dead, and now the survivors are left to pick up the pieces. There is a deep sense of melancholy to everything going on in this issue, and Pichetshote does an excellent job of capturing the sadness of lost youth and the emptiness of being a ghost. Then the story takes a much darker turn, as the ghosts descend into a twisted vision of the underworld and encounter the thing that took their friend—and it may be much closer to home than expected. With so much mythology to explore, this series can be a little overly dense at times, but it’s never less than compelling and incredibly haunting.
DC/RWBY #3 – Marguerite Bennett, Writer; Soo Lee, Artist; Marissa Louise, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The “crossing of the streams” between the DCU and RWBY for the second time continues to turn the DCU into a rather surreal place. Not only has Arkham been taken over by supernatural beings who have possessed the Joker, but now non-powered citizens are getting strange superpowers of their own—including the heroes of Gotham, whose powers seem to match their personalities. It’s clearly time to bring in some magic experts—including Zatanna, Constantine, and Wonder Woman. This issue, much like the last two, has a problem with too much exposition, given how long RWBY has been going. However, its use of fables that reflect not just the characters of RWBY, but the heroes of the DCU, is clever. Soo Lee takes over for Meghan Hetrick this issue, and while both are talented, the dramatic shift in style is a bit jarring especially when it comes to characters like Blake and Yang.
The Riddler: Year One #4 – Paul Dano, Writer; Stevan Subic, Artist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this movie tie-in shifts focus dramatically, away from the moments before Edward Nashton became the Riddler and back to his childhood in a dark Gotham orphanage. Abandoned by his mother, who died not long after, Edward was raised in an unforgiving environment by nuns and a priest, surrounded by sadistic bullies, rats, and the constant stink of death. The art by Subic is more abstract than usual, leaving many of the torments of the orphanage up to our imagination, but one thing grounds the story—the admiration of Thomas Wayne by the brilliant but tormented Nashton. The boy grows up worshiping the father and resenting the son, so when tragedy strikes, it’s easy to see the direction things will go. This is overall a good comic, with the art being a real highlight, but I’m not sure it’s telling us anything we didn’t learn from the main character’s rambles in the movie.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
