Inception fans will love this. One of the week's best comics.
Luthor awakens in several fantasy scenarios - - including the old west and Greek antiquity - - to finally confront Mr. Mind, who's been setting up the fantasies to trap him.
The Good
Wow... I was truly surprised at how good this was. Cornell weaves a story that's literally engaging on every single panel. I loved the framing device of Mr. Mind directly addressing the viewer (informing them of just how he was trying to manipulate Luthor) and I loved how this whole issue was both a mind-bending, character-driven thriller. Luthor is shown to be so cunning, he even picks up on how these fantasies are trying to appeal to his signature vanity. While each segment reflects his inner motivations in an abstract way, I especially liked the Promethean portion where he's stealing fire from a god-like Superman statue. And Woods & Cafu's art is just so clean, yet sharp. They convey character and big action. And, I have to say, that part where Mind's doppleganger explodes because of outside conditions was genius! Pop, indeed!
The Bad
Finch's cover for this is awesome, but it's also a little misleading. I actually wasn't that excited to read this issue based off of it, because it made it look like it was going to be yet another Elseworlds-style Frankenstein pastiche. That (thankfully) ended up being a small portion of the issue, but I don't think I would've picked this up if I were judging simply on the story promised by the cover.
The Verdict - 4.5/5
Obviously, this was in development independently of Inception, but if you've got a taste after that blockbuster for stories about cunning minds navigating traps set throughout dreams-within-dreams-within-dreams, then you're going to enjoy the hell out of this. I was really surprised to find that two of DC's longest-running titles would be some of the best comics out this week, but this and Detective are definitely my top recommendations for this week.
