It sucked! But I still liked it
Warning: The Following review contains spoilers for Justice League #23.1. You've been warned.
Out of all of the Villains Months books, I was looking forwards to this one the most. Darkseid has always been one of my favorite DC villains, and I wanted to see more of him after the first arc of Justice League. I really didn't feel he was fleshed out enough in that arc, so I was hoping this issue would start. I think he should have a fill mini-series for that, but this was certainly a good way to start. The awesome cover really helped to. I'd post a pic of it, but it wouldn't do the cover justice. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it has a really awesome 3-D (I guess) look to it, which I found out all the Villains Months books are doing. Everything about this issue pointed to it being awesome. So why does Darkseid #1 suck!?! I could go on a rant about it, but I'll do a more professional review for it.
The Bad
I'm starting with the bad this time to get it out of the way.
- Darkseid's new origin - I don't mind the change in origins too much. Some might, but I don't. My problem (which I'll be bring up a lot) is it feels too rushed. This should have been the entire issue, possibly stretch into two issues. But it took up a few pages and that was it. I never got the time to care about the story or anything, just a few pages and boom! He's Darkseid now.
- Darkseid's Motives - So, all we've seen of Darkseid before this is him attacking the Earth in the first JL story arc. We know nothing of his motives, so it'd be cool to find out why he attacked Earth, right? Well, I preferred the mystery to the explanation. Basically, some girl whose name I forget (whom might be Darkseid's daughter, but I don't recall that being officially confirmed) keeps teleporting to different dimensions, and Darkseid chases her and attacks the universe she finds. So, Darkseid's motives are he's playing a game of hide & seek. WTF!?! Darkseid should be an awesome, interesting, complex character with deep motives. He's ruined here. I won't talk about this more to avoid getting angry, but it's just stupid.
- It's too rushed - The entire issue just feels rushed. This should have taken up all 4 issues of JL this month. Instead, it takes up one issue and the entire story is rushed and doesn't leave a lasting impact. This should have been an awesome origin story like what Marvel is doing with Thanos in Thanos Rising.
- The finals words - The final words are "Where will Darkseid Strike Next!?! Read Batman/Superman and Earth 2!" Now, I could complain that these should all be self contained stories and not be continued in future issues. However, I wouldn't mind this if it involved a book like Justice League where it would fit. I don't even mind Earth 2. But what does Darkseid have to do with Batman/Superman!?! I haven't been reading Batman/Superman, but it should be the two teaming up to take down a villain that they couldn't take alone. They should not be fighting someone that took the entire JL to take down (and technically he wasn't even beaten, Cyborg teleported him). I don't care how this is done, it's just stupid.
The Good
- I have to say that the art was fantastic. The colors were great, the detail was good, and it was just nice to look at. But that's about the only positive thing I can say.
My Final Verdict
So let's go over my review again: This comic had good artwork, which is a positive. However; it has a rushed story, makes Darkseid's motives stupid and ridiculous, and pretty much makes every wrong decision. So I must really hate this comic, right? Well that's the weird thing. Even though I haven't found something good to say about the comic other than the art, I still enjoyed it. I don't know what it is, but there's something that just made me like it. For whether I'd recommend this issue or not, I'd say get it if you have the extra four bucks, but don't go out of your way for it.
My Final Verdict: 3 out of 5 Stars (I guess).
