The Good
The last we saw the Wonders they had been transported to a mystical place and confronted by a man with green skin. We don't start exactly with that moment, but instead we see Khalid and his first encounter with Nabu's helmet -- the helmet that would turn him into Doctor Fate. The moment passes quickly and we are once again introduced to the green man we saw at the end of the previous issue, Karel Wotan.
I really like the way the dialogue is structured around the idea of Fate. Wotan's play on words in this scene is fantastic and sets up a great series of moments that follow. This moment is later followed by a beautiful page illustrated by Nicola Scott from the perspective of the ground up. It's an incredibly intricate image that is beautifully drawn. There is a ton going on in this panel and it is very well executed.
Early on in this series and in one of my early reviews I mentioned the importance of honoring character deaths. I think that in order to really create an impact, the death of the character should not be something that begins and ends in that moment; it is something that needs to be expanded upon. When Sam was first killed in this series, I mentioned I hoped Robinson would allow Alan Scott to grieve and mourn, and this is something that we are seeing here. Robinson isn't solely using the character death as a plot device, he is also exploring the character even after his death and I really think this is important: it gives value to the character, his death, and creates an interesting dynamic in his relationship with Alan Scott.
Not only are we introduced to some new characters in this issue (Khalid, for example), we also begin to see Alan Scott's character evolve a little bit. There is a great scene where he sort of eats his words a little bit, and if you have been following the series then you will be pleased to see that here.
The Bad
The issue is really wordy, very heavy on the dialogue. Robinson does this often and usually it's alright, but I think there were points in the issue that could have been better organized. There are some panels that I felt should have been expanded on, like the moment where Khalid is talking about the tower, for example. I think that this particular scene could have been fleshed out a bit and the writer could have utilized the artist to really draw it out, extending one panel into say two or three at least. It's a very well articulated piece of dialogue that could have been complimented with visuals.
As much as I like the pencils in this series, I have a bit of trouble with the colors. There are some moments where I think their brightness and vibrance almost overshadow Nicola Scott's talents as a penciler and take away from the art in the comic. I think it makes it a bit more. I wouldn't seeing more shadows, particularly in this issue where there was a big focus on architectural structures.
The Verdict
Overall I liked this issue a lot. I don't necessarily recommend this issue as a starting point for anyone who has yet to read the series, but I do believe it is a great issue overall. I think it presents a very interesting story and introduces us to new characters while expanding on things we have already seen in previous issues. The layout is really great and very organized, and Nicola Scott's pencils are incredibly detailed and very beautiful. There are some moments I felt could have been fleshed out a bit and some word balloons that could have been broken up and had more additional images to compliment them, but overall this was still a great issue.
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