Titans #19 – John Layman, Writer; Serg Acuna, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: As the Titans figure out a new roster and a new leadership dynamic, a recurring threat is haunting them – emotional instability. Raven is struggling to keep her soul self under control, but the villains aren’t safe either. This issue, the main threat is Killer Frost – now a reformed villain and a Justice Leaguer. But she quickly unravels when she believes that the League will never fully accept her, and returns to her old ways to create a massive ice storm in the Titans’ backyard. Raven struggles to hold it together during the fight, but Starfire helps her find her center. The visuals in this issue are strong and the reveal of Deathstroke’s secret ally is very intriguing, but this issue is hurt a bit by the fact that the Titans seem to have lost a lot of their likability from the Taylor run – Roy is pretty much an immature jerk, and Donna seems to have reverted to “Stony leader” characterization. And team dynamic is critical on a book like this.
Catwoman #72 – Torunn Gronbekk, Writer; Marianna Ignazzi, Artist; Patricio Delpeche, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Torunn Gronbekk has taken this title in a new direction, with a focus on tense espionage stories as Selina’s multiple identities come back to haunt her and she finds herself on the run through Europe. This issue takes place entirely within an Eastern European villa, as her identity as Evie has bad blood with a ruthless oligarch. Now, she’s found herself in the middle of a Russian family reunion, with one of the biggest treasures of her hunt at stake. The villain is hatable to the max, and the back half of the issue is a thrilling escape through a burning villa. This issue nicely wraps up the current arc, but it doesn’t feel like it advances the plot set up in the first issue too much. That makes me think Gronbekk is gearing up for an extended run, one where we’ll be taking a tour through Selina’s many past lives and discovering just how many enemies she’s made.
Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet #3 – Joseph P. Illidge, Writer; Darryl Banks, Atagun Ilhan, Denys Cowan, Artists; Prentis Rollins, Inker; Christopher Sotomayor, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The penultimate episode of this massive Milestone crossover adds several new players to an already packed narrative, with the omniscient Dharma continuing to manipulate Rocket towards his ends. The addition of Duo, one of the newest and more obscure members of the Milestone Universe, was definitely a surprise, but this is a fascinating character that didn’t quite get their due. However, the bulk of this issue belongs to main antagonist Angela Alva – or rather, to the entire Alva clan. The story that unravels here is pretty unexpected, creating a complex story about how far some people will go to pass in a racist world and who gets left behind. Angela is a tragic villain trying to get what’s rightfully hers – but she’s also blind to the damage she’s causing, and ultimately unleashes a much bigger threat on the universe that sets up a massive showdown for next issue.
Black Lightning #3 – Brandon Thomas, Writer; Fico Ossio, Artist; Ulises Arreola, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This title continues to be a fascinating look at how the changes to superpowers recently have upended the DCU’s social ecosystem, through the eyes of its most blue-collar hero. Steelworks is under attack by a group of C-list villains, with Natasha Irons doing her best to hold them off and survive until help can get there. Meanwhile, on political TV, a debate is going on between the bigoted Councilman Harriman (a former member of the Sons of Liberty) and Josiah Power, the metahuman businessman who is making a comeback at the end of this month in his own one-shot. But while the dialogue is fascinating, the best part of this issue comes at the end, when Jeff Pierce joins the fray and Anissa struggles to control her new powers as the battle escalates. What happens at the end of the issue not only threatens to create a deeper rift between father and daughter, but to pit Black Lightning against his own League team members.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
