Harley Quinn #50 – Elliott Kalan, Writer; Mirka Andolfo, Artist; Triona Farrell, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Mirka Andolfo jumps on board for art duties on this anniversary issue, which has a very clever concept – Harley Quinn’s body has been hijacked by…her own brain. Tired of being abused by Harley’s bad decisions, her mind – dubbing itself the supervillain “Quintellect” has locked Harley’s more chaotic side up in a psychic prison and is currently going around redeeming her image by becoming the biggest humanitarian of Throatcutter Hill. Is this its own identity, or another level of Harley’s mental breakdown? The story isn’t completely clear about that, but it’s an amusing angle with some great visuals. The villains, Gunbunny and Mayfly, are the latest henchwomen hired by evil and smitten billionaire Althea Klang, and it’s amusing to watch these two snipers bounce off each other. But their presence adds a major new wrinkle to the events – Quintellect is very bad at fighting. This was one of the best issues of this series in a while.
The Flash #20 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Vasco Georgiev, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The first event of Simon Spurrier’s run on The Flash kicks off this month, spinning out of the recent story. And true to his run, it’s very strange. Over the last arc, Wally split himself into two Flashes so he could do both JL duty and family time, only for one Flash to become increasingly unstable. That led to Eclipso returning, consuming Speed Force dog Foxy, and becoming a cosmic entity. And now, Wally wakes up in the future – as one of thousands of Flashes fighting a cosmic war on the moon. These disposable dupes are working to slow down Eclipso and keep him away from Earth, at the cost of their own lives. There are a lot of interesting beats in this alternate reality, with Ace and Avery being a destructive duo who have created a new power, and Judy Garrick taking over for her seemingly fallen father as a general. The result is a fun, unique, and completely chaotic first issue.
Power Girl #20 – Leah Williams, Writer; David Baldeon, Artist; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: It’s the final issue of this series, as there can only be one series starring a blonde super-family member at one time, apparently, and that leaves this issue with a lot of big plot threads to tie up. When we last left off, Power Girl found out that someone was impersonating her, sabotaging her professional career by burning bridges with Lois Lane. That plot escalates in a big way when the impostor Power Girl shows up at her apartment and targets Lilith. It turns out to be Ejecta, now entirely made of machinery, and she makes a quick attempt on the life of her friends, but is foiled. The back half of this issue mostly feels like Paige saying goodbye to the cast and the audience, with her and Axel growing closer – as do Lilith and Siggy. Overall, this was a fun series with so many different plot threads and competing tones going, but given that Peej has the most tangled character backstory since Donna Troy, I think it did a good job of creating a strong narrative.
Peacemaker Presents Vigilante/Eagly Double Feature #2 – James Gunn, Story Consultant; Tim Seeley, Rex Ogle, Writers; Mitch Gerads, Matteo Lolli, Artists; John Kalisz, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: This offbeat spinoff from the ultraviolent TV series continues to be a bizarre delight, starting with the main story by Seeley and Gerads (who is taking a brief break from working with Tom King). This installment has Vigilante on the trail of the mysterious Controller, who he believes has kidnapped Peacemaker and is infiltrating the town with crime and mind control. The only problem is…Vigilante is completely insane, and the best part of this story is watching him unravel more and more in hilariously inappropriate ways.
The second story finds Peacemaker and his loyal bird Eagly waking up in a strange landscape after being gassed on the plane. After They get their bearings and argue with the other passengers, they start being picked off by assassins – which provides some entertaining opportunities for ultraviolence by our favorite helmeted knucklehead. This is a short segment that doesn’t advance the plot much, but Peacemaker’s dialogue is a gem.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
