Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #2 – Robert Venditti, Writer; Riley Rossmo, Artist; Ivan Plascencia, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Of the three JSA titles debuting last month, this seems to be the most straightforward with few continuity implications. It’s a tense noir thriller set in the buildup to World War II, with Wesley Dodds as a Shadow-style vigilante. When we last left off, his building had been burned in an arson attack. An investigation finds the body of the culprit inside and the police consider it closed—but Wesley discovers his journal containing the formulas for his gas has been taken, and knows that an enemy is on his trail. After moving in with an over-eager friend and trying to settle in, he begins tearing through the city as Sandman to interrogate those tied to the attacker. While he doesn’t discover anything shocking this issue, we do get our first glimpse of the main villain at the end—and that is a good enough hook to keep this entertaining old-school book high in my regards until next issue.
The Vigil #6 – Ram V, Writer; Demalya Pramanik, Artist; Rain Beredo, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Launching a new character is always tricky, and a whole team of new characters even more so, but I think Ram V has done a strong job with this Indian-accented superhero team. The first few issues focused on specific characters, while the latter few set up a larger plot involving the team’s mysterious mastermind, a horribly failed experiment, and the sinister figure known as Mr. Wall. As the villain puts his plan into effect and torments the team’s creepy child mastermind, this story starts to unfold like a puzzlebox—revealing one piece at a time until things come together in a fascinating moment that reveals a lot of the past secrets. This series definitely required more attention to detail than some other DC books, and a re-read might be called for after this issue, but the ending features some fascinating ties to other titles. Hopefully the tease for more at the end comes to pass.
WildC.A.T.S. #12 – Matthew Rosenberg, Writer; Danny Kim, Tom Derenick, Artists; Elmder Santos, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: This series wraps up largely as it began—with a massive jumble of over-the-top 90s-inspired superhero action. The beginning of this issue is literally a mass of around 20 metahumans, not counting the Talons, brawling in a building as characters fall with barely anyone noticing. But then something interesting happens, as Grifter—the character Rosenberg has been writing the longest—takes an unexpected path and essentially sacrifices himself by becoming the face of the wetworks operation and exposing himself to the legal system—thus making it impossible for the dark agents to keep operating in the shadows. From there, the bad guys get taken down, some of the good guys fade back into the shadows, and Grifter pays the price. It’s an intriguing but oddly downer ending for a title that started out trying to pay tribute to an era of comics that often didn’t have as much on their mind.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
