Now For Our Next Trick
Story/Writing
The story continues on from the last one with Deadman, Dick, and Dick's father fleeing from the Amazons who are after Doctor Fate's Helm of Nabu. Ragdoll and King Shark fight heroically against the Amazonans, however Doctor Fate and Dick's mother are unfortunate casualties of the Amazon's lust for power - with Dick's father hanging on the line. The story does a good job of keeping the suspense from the previous story. And it broadens the dialogue of the importance of selflessness by challenging Deadman to act heroically under the knowledge that Dick's life may be in the balance and only he is capable of changing Dick's fate. It's a good in-between issue with a few clever lines and a number of interesting twists and character cameos, but the story's pacing feels rushed and the character-development is traded in favor of action.
Art
This issue saw a change in artists from Mikel Janin to Fabrizio Fiorentino doing pencils and Ulises Arreola to Kyle Ritter doing colours. The new team manages to ape the style of the previous issue well-enough to keep the transition mostly unnoticeable to casual readers, but the quality does take a slight decline in all respects save for the background art (which has become more detailed than before). Once again, Cliff Chiang's art for the cover is a pleasure, though this is my least favourite out of all the covers.
Odd-One Out
It's interesting that J. T. Krul chose to use Starfire to burn down the village at the end of the issue, considering her previous connections to Dick. It may not have any real significance; but it is curious.
Final Rating - 3/5
The story continues on from the last one with Deadman, Dick, and Dick's father fleeing from the Amazons who are after Doctor Fate's Helm of Nabu. Ragdoll and King Shark fight heroically against the Amazonans, however Doctor Fate and Dick's mother are unfortunate casualties of the Amazon's lust for power - with Dick's father hanging on the line. The story does a good job of keeping the suspense from the previous story. And it broadens the dialogue of the importance of selflessness by challenging Deadman to act heroically under the knowledge that Dick's life may be in the balance and only he is capable of changing Dick's fate. It's a good in-between issue with a few clever lines and a number of interesting twists and character cameos, but the story's pacing feels rushed and the character-development is traded in favor of action.
Art
This issue saw a change in artists from Mikel Janin to Fabrizio Fiorentino doing pencils and Ulises Arreola to Kyle Ritter doing colours. The new team manages to ape the style of the previous issue well-enough to keep the transition mostly unnoticeable to casual readers, but the quality does take a slight decline in all respects save for the background art (which has become more detailed than before). Once again, Cliff Chiang's art for the cover is a pleasure, though this is my least favourite out of all the covers.
Odd-One Out
It's interesting that J. T. Krul chose to use Starfire to burn down the village at the end of the issue, considering her previous connections to Dick. It may not have any real significance; but it is curious.
Final Rating - 3/5