The Good
Pandora takes on Giganta, Signalman, and Vandal Savage as she searches for someone to open up Pandora's Box.
The relationship and history, which was a single meeting in both their pasts, is expounded upon here. These are two immortal characters, so having them have a bit of a history and an understanding for each other really works. I really like Vandal Savage though. He's a great villain, but I feel he works much better in this book because his motives and goals are so different from Pandora. She wants to fix the world, and he wants to rule it or destroy it, depending on how he feels that day. Just as I said in my review of issue one, I hope we get to see him again.
Signalman never stops talking, and I love it because it annoys me. It reminds me of the expository dialogue of the Silver and Bronze age where a character was explaining everything they do, as they do it. However, this is a part of this character. He has to say this stuff out loud because it's a part of his abilities and it's information only he knows. It gets to a point where I thought to myself, "I really want someone to hit him." Although he's not downright villainous, he's a solid right-hand-man that I love to hate. He's like that kid in 5th grade math class that knew all the answers before everyone else. You hated him for it and were envious all at the same time.
Solid fight scenes in this issue. Pandora takes on Giganta in a pretty awesome fight, then it's a fight to the death against Vandal Savage. These are both very satisfying fights, and bring a lot of fun to an issue that features a lot of set-up. I have to give it up for Ray Fawkes for trying to pack a lot into this issue. While at times I felt a bit bogged down with everything he was throwing at me, at no time was I bored with the issue. It remained pretty interesting throughout.
The Bad
We have members of the Secret Society in the issue (Signalman, Vandal Savage, and now Giganta), but this group doesn't feel like the Secret Society from other New 52 issues. It really just feels like Vandal Savage leading around a couple of goons. It's another case of the solicit misleading the reader a bit.
I'm so down the middle on Signalman with his design. He feels so out of place. Believe it or not, I like his powers, and I like the fact he never shuts ups. However, the look of the character, which did not originate here (New 52-wise) feels very dated and out of place. He's a character who really needs a new look.
A lot is packed into this issue, but very little happens. This issue feels more like a introduction to a bunch of reoccurring characters to this series than a continuation to issue one. This issue's story was just ok for me.
Finally, the art is another "just ok" moment for the book. Pandora looks great, pencil, ink, and color-wise, but everyone else looked a bit flat. There wasn't much transition in shading. They could have done a lot more with the colors here to make this pop and give the characters more depth within their scenes.
The Verdict
For some reason, a 3 star review, on this site, is scene as "the reviewer hated it!" I'll be very clear. I like this series, and I liked this particular issue. It has its ups and downs, sure, but it's not bad. I still recommend picking this up. I had high expectations for the book because Trinity War has been a blast, I've really been enjoying Ray Fawkes writing, and the tie in issues to Trinity War have been great as well, especially CONSTANTINE, but this one fell a tad flat. If you've been enjoying Trinity War or you enjoyed the first issue of this series, give this book a read.
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