Metamorpho the Element Man #2 – Al Ewing, Writer; Steve Lieber, Artist; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Al Ewing and Steve Lieber are clearly having the time of their lives here delving into the history of comics for this Silver Age inspired sci-fi romp – but the best part is, they’re not just using superhero comics for inspiration. This issue draws on themes of soap opera and comedy comics as well, to create one of the most offbeat books I’ve read in a long time. When we last left off, Rex Mason had survived an assassination attempt from a new villain thanks to the intervention of Urania the Element Woman, and she’s now holing up with him and his girlfriend Sapphire at the safe house – causing no small amount of tension between the two women. Complicating this, Sapphire’s career as a pop star and influencer has also hit a rough patch, as the new superstar Sugar Sweet has not only taken her spot atop the charts, but seems to be one step ahead of her on every possible trend.
That’s because Sugar Sweet isn’t a pop star at all – she’s an android, created by Mad Mod and tailored to follow the trends. But the twist is in who commissioned her – Simon Stagg, who aims to create a future of robotic entertainers, pushing humans out of the creative fields and letting them devote their time to big business. Is it a slightly on-the-nose analogy? Yes. Is it one that still works very well? Absolutely. AI is on everyone’s minds, and this is one of the funniest approaches to skewering it I’ve seen yet. Of course, things go hilariously wrong when the android becomes self-aware and targets its biggest competition, leading the two Element People to have to save the day. There are some great visuals in this issue, as well as some hilarious dialogue, and it’s really impressive just how much Ewing and Lieber pack into this issue. The last page in particular has a hilarious twist cliffhanger with tons of potential.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
