The Good
Seeing this many cool characters on the same team is always going to be a nice treat (unless we're talking about the current THUNDERBOLTS series... ugh). Even if their interactions are as simplistic as "shoot that enemy," it's still something that'll put a smirk on my face.
This issue pretty much boils down to one extended fight with Eclipso and some much needed aid from Essence. The issue widely plays it safe and doesn't throw any twists your way, but if you've been enjoying the story so far, odds are you'll think this is a decent conclusion to the book's first arc. There isn't any solid banter, but there's plenty of action to go around.
The real treat here are two very solid looking splash pages. The first deals with an explosion and it really gives the colorist (Nathan Eyring) a chance to show off. It's delightfully vibrant and meshes well with artist Jesus Merino's work. There's another fantastic splash page involving Grifter and Eclipso, but I won't dive into any spoilers.
The Bad
I'm not big into the fantasy genre, so when it comes to stories like this one, it needs something extra special to really win me over. Writer Justin Jordan is successfully doing that over in the pages of SHADOWMAN. I'm loving that dark fantasy book, but here, the tale with Eclipso comes and goes without doing anything extraordinary or truly exciting. The solution for defeating the villain is plainly spelled out and then executed just as easily as it's initially stated. It looks fine but it just isn't as fun as it should be.
Seeing this many appealing characters on a team comes as a double-edged sword. Some characters will get a chance to shine (it's Grifter in this issue), while others are limited to perhaps 2 or so lines and don't really offer much other than being yet another character to pull a trigger in a group shot. It's a tricky balancing act that unfortunately leaves some of the cast in the dust.
The Verdict
TEAM 7's first journey has come and gone. There were some decent laughs and a fair amount of fun, but it's the cliffhanger that has piqued my interest. Justin Jordan is currently handling Slade Wilson over in DEATHSTROKE and it looks like Slade's earlier years are about to get a major emphasis over here now. I'm a sucker for a good Deathstroke story, so I say bring it on, Jordan!