Poison Ivy #41 – G. Willow Wilson, Writer; Davide Gianfelice, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Some issues tell a story, and others speedrun you into a new era. That’s the case with this issue, which has a lot on its mind and has to rush a lot of developments. After killing Vandal Savage’s AI guru, Ivy is on the run. She gets an assist from some ordinary people whose lives were ruined by data centers, but is eventually attacked by Savage’s goons and thrown in prison – where she’s housed with infamous crimelords who are tasked with killing her. But it seems like everyone, inside and outside the prison, supports her on this murder, and while Janet is trying to get her out of prison, Harley sneaks in and helps to give her the frankly insane idea to run for Mayor on a…pro-murdering-tech-executives platform? Look, we obviously know what this issue is actually about, but while the idea of Ivy as Mayor is an intriguing one and Wilson’s writing is always good, the concept of this story does push believability more than usual.
Batman/Static Beyond #3 – Evan Narcisse, Writer; Miguel Mendonca, Artist; Wil Quintana, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This Milestone crossover continues to deliver, with the entire city in chaos – courtesy of Shutdown, the newest Bang Baby with the power to disrupt electric signals. This has caused a massive blackout, shut down Batman’s suit partially – and more critically, seemingly killed Static because his body runs on electricity. Batman is able to save him by flying him into a lightning storm, but the threats have just started. Technology is shut down, riots are commonplace, and Static and Batman can’t get on the same page. This issue does a really good job with the older Static, as his powers essentially reset back to the level they were when he was a teenager and he starts to spiral, despite the support of his close friend Richie. But Shutdown isn’t done wreaking havoc yet, and after a confrontation with his parents, he’s ready to make his next move. It’s good to see Static making a comeback lately.
Teen Titans Go! #12 – Sholly Fisch, Writer; Dario Brizuela, Artist; Franco Riesco, Colorist
Ray – 7.5/10
Ray: Another frantic, amusing issue of this tie-in series, this one ties in to Valentine’s Day. The story starts with Robin, as usual, embarrassing himself. He wants Starfire to realize his feelings for her, so he dresses up as Cupid, tries to shoot arrows at her, and gets mocked for wearing a diaper by Raven. But then Raven notices a strange giant gift in the middle of the Tower, and it turns out it’s from her secret admirer. Beast Boy? He denies it, and a mystery begins. The culprit is slightly amusing, but the twenty pages to tell this story and the sheer number of gags it tries to pack in makes the reveal feel a bit anticlimactic. As a whole, this issue feels pretty close to the tone of the ongoing series, which is very much an acquired taste, but Fisch’s writing always has a more good-natured edge to it that makes it more amusing. Let’s not ever put Robin in a Cupid outfit again, though. Team Raven on that one.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
