Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia #1 – Gabriel Hardman, Writer; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: For his first foray into Black Label, Gabriel Hardman is telling an interesting upstairs-downstairs-inspired tale focusing on three of DC’s grittiest vigilantes. The centerpiece is a project to build futuristic floating cities that will be able to survivor government collapse, ecological disaster, and whatever humans cause – as long as you can pay your way in. Batman has been employed by the ringleader, Emil Rotha, to provide security and investigate any weak spots, while Oliver Queen – whose company Rotha has bought – is working to investigate the truth lurking under the surface. The Question, meanwhile, has embedded himself into the workforce building the city – most of which are slave labor. The three parties quickly uncover some dark secrets lurking under the surface, but they’re not always on the same side – and as things escalate, the bucolic new city starts looking more like a warzone.
Poison Ivy #40 – G. Willow Wilson, Writer; Davide Gianfelice, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: We know where this series is going – Poison Ivy is going to become Mayor of Gotham, as bizarre as it sounds. But first she has to return to Gotham – and she does so by immediately declaring war and picking a fight with Commissioner Savage. After attacking a data warehouse with the Order of the Green Knight, she finds herself under arrest, and Savage proceeds to beat her within an inch of her life – or at least as much as she’ll let him. An awkward truce is formed, and Ivy winds up partnered with Savage’s AI expert to help greenwash his new pre-crime initiative, which is eating up a ton of Gotham’s resources. This is clearly a pretty topical issue, and one that isn’t exactly subtle about how the writer feels about AI and policing. That’s nothing new for this comic, which has long worn its heart on its sleeve, but it’ll be interesting to see how it can make this new status quo work.
Teen Titans Go! #11 – Matthew Cody, Writer; Megan Huang, Artist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: Teen Titans Go has always been an irreverent show, taking elements from the classic cartoon and comics and turning them cartoonish. That works sometimes, but it doesn’t work quite as well with the character of Terra. In both the comics and the cartoon, Terra was a character who was deeply manipulated by an evil, older man and turned against the Titans, although how twisted she was varied. While here, she’s portrayed as…a cackling evil girl who loves to betray for the joy of it. On a Titans game night, Beast Boy invites her over so they can all play a game called…Traitor, and a series of misadventures ensue in the game as she tries to sneak off and get ahold of the team’s deepest secrets. It’s pretty much a one-joke issue, leading to a slightly amusing punchline, but it doesn’t seem to want to reckon with some of the more troubling aspects of the character’s past at all.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
