Teen Titans to the Rescue?
This review was originally posted on my website Imagination Centre (here).
This crossover event kicked off brilliantly with it's opening issue last month, teasing the future of the DC Universe. Now that Villains Month is finally over I personally look forward to seeing the affects that Forever Evil has on the DC Universe, and what better way of starting that than with another issue of the main event, Forever Evil itself.
Plot
With the Justice League dead the Crime Syndicate make preparations to keep this world for themselves. As this is happening both Lex Luthor and the Teen Titans make their own plans to stop the Crime Syndicate.
Review
This was a brilliant issue, and a fantastic continuation to this even. Geoff Johns did a great job of showing how bad the world has went now that the Crime Syndicate have taken over, also setting up other branches of this crossover brilliantly. Another thing that I loved about Johns' writing was that although most of this was set-up work, he managed to keep it very exciting and entertaining, also adding plenty of suspense. Johns also did a fantastic job with the dialogue, as it was simply amazing, being humorous at times, overall making some slower sequences much more exciting. Johns also set a brilliant tone in this issue, with some mystery in the background, and overall I can't wait to see what he does next.
The artwork in this issue was also spectacular, and David Finch did a fantastic job. The detail throughout this issue was simply brilliant, as although there was the odd rough patch here and there, the majority of the issue was to a very high standard. The facial expressions on the other hand were a little awkward at times, something that tends to happen in Finch's art a lot. It doesn't however take much always as there are plenty of great things that overshadow the minor flaws. Finch also once again had some brilliant layouts in this issue, that added a lot of depth to the issue. There was also one character in particular that Finch did a good job of, but I won't spoil the surprise appearance of this character by naming them.
This issue would kick off with Luthor continuing his plans to fight back against the Crime Syndicate, going down to sublevel 13 of Lexcorp Headquarters to attend to a project that he's been working on. Now this was a brilliant development, and it was nice to see Otis again as well, as even though he was in a different role it was nice to see him and Luthor interact with each other again. It was however Luthor's project that interested me the most, as although I won't reveal who it was (it's easy to work out) I was very happy when it was revealed, and it has me very excited for the future of this story.
The Crime Syndicate were also making there own plans, with a hooded man tied up in the Justice League Watchtower with them. I really enjoyed this sequence, as it showed a bit of dysfunction between the members of the Crime Syndicate, something that was bound to happen sooner or later. I did however also like some of the mysterious background developments, and how it continued one development in particular that was brought to our attention in Justice League #23.4 Secret Society. I am also now looking forward to see what the Crime Syndicate has in store next, and if they'll manage to continue working a team.
The Teen Titans would also make an appearance in this issue with Red Robin (Tim Drake) saying that now the Justice League are gone that it's up to them to take the Crime Syndicate down. The Teen Titans would then get into a fight with Johnny Quick and Atomica. I personally liked seeing the Teen Titans in this issue, though I would have loved their appearance to have been a bit more meaningful, as it basically seemed to be a way of setting up their part of this crossover. I did however enjoye seeing Red Robin act as the leader he is, as well as their encounter with Johnny Quick and Atomica, but it could have been better.
Final Verdict
This was a fantastic issue, and a great continuation of the story. It also does a brilliant job of setting up the crossover storylines in this event, also having some brilliant developments for the main series itself. There was also brilliant dialogue, with some exciting sequences as well as a bit of mystery as well. Due to all this I'd highly recommend this issue as well as the first and can't wait for the next.
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