Black Lightning #5 – Brandon Thomas, Writer; Fico Ossio, Artist; Ulises Arreola, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The final issue of this compelling miniseries finds the Lightning family fully united, as Anissa Pierce gets better control of her powers, rejoins her family on the battlefield – and gets a much-deserved reunion with her on-again, off-again girlfriend Grace. These two were always an entertaining couple, dating back to their stint on Outsiders, and it’s great to see Grace get a resurgence here and in Birds of Prey. The battle with Volcana is resolved relatively quickly, with the main villain almost feeling like an afterthough, and Councilman Harriman is a different kind of foe who can’t be easily vanquished. But what this series did best was re-establish Jeff Pierce as a major figure on the ground of the DCU, tackling issues that most heroes might be unaware of, and that sets up his role in the upcoming Power Company revival. The segment set at a barbershop at the end may be the best writing in this whole book.
DC vs. Vampires: World War V #7 – Matthew Rosenberg, Joey Esposito, Writers; Otto Schmidt, Pasquale Qualano, Artists; Pierluigi Casolino, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: After a brief hiatus, this series is back with one big new x-factor in the room – Darkseid, who is unaffected by the vampire plague and has come to Earth seeking to rein in this new threat. While the surviving humans and turncoat vampires battle to win the fight, Darkseid makes quick work of the leading vampires, including top enforcer Wonder Woman. While the addition of these cosmic figures quickly strips away much of the horror vibe of this comic and brings it closer to the tone of the later issues of DCeased, it also takes out a good deal of the tension – but the cliffhanger reveals what’s going on with one of the biggest dangling plot threads of the series.
The second and last part of the Animal Man backup by Esposito and Qualano also has Buddy still trying to keep his vampire family under control, and he winds up in the Red courtesy of his young daughter. There are some great visuals here – and a dark twist ending that really sells the creepy vibe of the story.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
