DC Silent Tales #1 – Gustavo Duarte, Writer/Artist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: This spins out of a series of short, silent comics released first on DC’s digital platform. Now, all of them are released as a collected comic for the first time. It’s a quick read, but there are some amazing visual gags in here.
The first tale has Harley taking on the chore of mallet-shopping, as she visits a kindly old shopkeeper who guides her through the process. She picks out her mallet, pays him—and then bursts through the window and robs the confused old man. It’s about as chaotic as you’d expect for Harley.
Cyborg takes on the lead in the second story, as he goes record-shopping for his favorite vinyl tunes. Unfortunately, Gizmo shows up to do some hacking, and gets foiled due to the analog nature of Cyborg’s pastime. It’s a clever little story, but the action isn’t as clear as it was in the first.
Superman is the lead in the third, with the Man of Steel fighting off some giant bugs that are threatening the city—and getting covered in green goo. Then he tries to eat an apple, finds a worm, and throws it out—only for the hapless bug to wind up in that green goo and grow to giant size as well.
Zatanna and her new rabbit Mr. Crowley are next up, as she adopts the little critter, nabs some carrots for him, and takes him along for an adventure in the demon realm. This takes some unexpected turns, as the rabbit has a surprising effect on the demons. It’s got incredibly cute art, but again, the story is a little hard to follow.
Joker takes the lead in the next, as the Clown Prince of Crime hijacks a Gotham art museum’s opening to troll Batman and Gordon. As the two hapless crimefighters try to track him, he pulls off a fairly spectacular joke on the museum and disappears into the night.
Finally, it’s Lobo’s turn to close things out. He’s fighting Nazi vampires! Why? I don’t know, but he seems to be helping a curator get his hands on some Nazi gold for a museum. Then Vampire Hitler shows up, because why not. It’s the most ridiculous story in this, but I appreciate the Nazi-killing energy.
Overall, it’s a fun read, but so quick that I wouldn’t say it’s a must-buy. The art is excellent, though.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
