Sirens: Love Hurts #2 – Tini Howard, Writer; Babs Tarr, Artist; Miquel Muerto, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This Black Label series has a much lighter tone than many of them, owing to the antics of Harley and Ivy, but it still has a pretty dark mystery at its core. The Sirens and Black Canary are investigating a seemingly unconnected series of murders of young women around Gotham, with the GCPD uninterested and the various villains turning out no leads. But Dinah is also getting married soon, and she’s preoccupied with her preparations with Ollie and her police contact with Renee Montoya. She’s pulled in all directions, as is Catwoman – who has her own unique contact in Batman. This issue finds the different heroes and vigilantes often talking past each other to try to solve the case, but the end of the issue has a big break and the introduction of a dangerous new female villain in Gotham. The story here has a good hook to it, but Babs Tarr’s cartoony art is a huge part of the draw – especially her chaotic take on Harley.
Harley & Ivy: Life & Crimes #4 – Erica Handerson, Writer/Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Erica Henderson is clearly having a great time with this miniseries, exploring the early days of Harley and Ivy’s relationship in the most chaotic way possible. In this issue, the two are on the run from both Joker and the GCPD, but they’re not getting along. Harley thinks Ivy is stuck up, Ivy thinks Harley doesn’t take anything seriously, and they can’t get on the same page while they’re on the road. Plus, Harley keeps blowing off Ivy’s dandelion bra, which is one of the funniest visuals I’ve seen in a while. The arguments between them take up most of the issue, so I can see why some people might find this issue slow, but the great art and the surprisingly realistic and emotional dialogue make this well worth reading. However, the issue took a big step up for me towards the end when Harley seeks help – from one of the most entertaining obscure DC characters around, still kicking after all these years.
DC x AEW #2 – Steve Orlando, Writer; Travis Mercer, Artist; John Livesay, Inker; Andrew Dalhouse, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: This is only a two-part crossover, which is probably for the best as it’s really more of a showcase for the AEW team than it is a proper DC story. When we last left off, the quest for the shards of the cosmic championship belt was interrupted when iconic wrestling heel Mercedes switched sides and teamed up with Lex Luthor to steal the power for herself. This has kicked off an epic race to the ring, as the various heroes fight villains who want their own piece while teaming up with wrestlers. There are well over two dozen characters in this, so everyone gets a bit of page time but not much. Some characters like Sting mostly show up to provide a dramatic appearance, but we’re really building towards a huge tag-team match in which Luthor and Mercedes face off against Wonder Woman and a Mother Box-empowered Kenny Omega. It’s a fun story full of easter eggs for AEW fans, but non-wrestling fans might only get about half the references.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
