The Good
Batman wants answers to who made Superman kill Dr Light. He goes to Phantom Stranger who takes Batman, Katana, and Deadman into the afterlife to ask Dr Light some questions, but the Stranger was warned before. If he ever comes back to the afterlife, he'll be erased from existence.
This is my favorite of all the Trinity War tie-ins, so far. The CONSTANTINE tie in was good, but this issue of PHANTOM STRANGER really follows up on what's going on in Trinity War as well as including other characters from the other books and pushing the overall Trinity War story forward. Also, it really ties in heavily to previous issues of PHANTOM STRANGER. So fans of this series will really love the melding between this book and the event.
While Katana, Batman, Deadman, and Phantom Stranger are in Heaven, we get to see Katana's version of Heaven, followed by Batman's. I really liked Batman's version of Heaven. It was cleverly done. Without spoiling anything, we get two sides to this character, and it's pretty obvious which sides, when you start to understand how Heaven works in this world. It's a very satisfying scene as well.
Could Dr Light's legacy carry on? He gives something to Phantom Stranger to take back to his family. If Phantom Stranger gets it back to Earth, does that mean his wife or daughter could receive the gift? Will they become the new Dr Light? This is a pretty cool way to possibly carry on a legacy, if it happens. Maybe I'm just over-speculating. I've really been enjoying J.M. Dematteis' writing on this series. He's always pushing the series farther. He's great with set-up and planting seeds for future stories.
Pretty bummer ending. If you've been reading the series, then you know about Phantom Stranger's dealings with the angel Zauriel. Readers of the book are going to have a lot questions on their mind until the next issue of this book comes out. It wasn't the ending I was expecting, but it was the ending that really made this issue fantastic.
The Bad
If you're buying all the Trinity War tie ins, some parts of this book may either not make too much sense, or the impact of the issue won't be as great because it heavily ties into the last story line within this book. However, you really should be reading this book, month-to-month. It's a really great series.
The Verdict
PHANTOM STRANGER #11 is a fantastic tie-in to the Trinity War as well as a great issue on its own. This isn't a must read for Trinity War fans, but this is something you should really pick up. Batman, Phantom Stranger, and some others find themselves in the afterlife, which is a big problem for Phantom Stranger (see previous issues). The story is a ton of fun and Dematteis has made this one of my favorite reads. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a large PHANTOM STRANGER #11 covered in hot fudge*.
*Please don't cover your comics in hot fudge.