Written and Illustrated by Various
Published by DC Comics
This was nice treat I didn’t see coming.
This is a compilation of brand new stories starring the villains of the DC Universe in some wacky adventures. It’s by different creators for each story. Sometimes that makes it a mixed bag but more often than not they are pretty nifty.
The opening Bizarro and Joker story is the most striking of the bunch. It’s written by Lee Bermejo. He does a pretty nice job getting into the craziness of both Bizarro’s and the Joker’s mentalities.
The best part of this short story is the art by Francesco Mattina. This guy is a star. It’s beautiful art that is unlike anything else out there. The story is short but Bizarro and the Joker team up in it and it’s just nuts.
The next story by Jeff Loveness and David Williams is a Lex Luthor story. Luthor’s car breaks down. The guy who comes to his rescue has a Superman tattoo on his arm. It’s a funny and cute story that works very well. The art by Williams is especially good here.
Next up is a Mr. Freeze story. It’s written by Paul Dini and Illustrated by John Paul Leon. It may be the best Mr. Freeze story ever. This is a highlight in the book and I will re-read it again just for this. Also, Mr. Freeze gets brain freeze in this issue. Read it and see why. It’s charming.
There a story about the Cheetah in here that’s barely worth mentioning as it’s completely boring. It has nice art but let’s move on. The Black Manta story by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman is great. The art especially works wonderfully here and makes Black Manta a serious threat for once. It reveals a bit of who he used to be and it’s smart and tells a really nice story in a short amount of time.
There a Giganta story in this where she goes home. It doesn’t add up to much. They missed the boat on that one. The Gorilla Grodd story by Tim Seeley and Minkyu Jung fares better however. It’s entertaining and fun and shows another side of Grodd. It shows a bit of the history of Grodd as he and The Flash talk. It also shows how The Flash and him understand each other. I really liked how it went.
The Deathstroke story by Shea Fontana and Carlos D’anda is great too. It shows a relationship between Slade and a young girl and how the two of them relate over her dog who happened to be killed. Slade gives her an option to take revenge. It’s a great tale that doesn’t end how you expect. It’s also wonderfully drawn.
There was a story about the young Penguin that I really wanted to like. Instead, I just found it annoying. Sadly, that’s how I felt about the last story involving the Crime Syndicate. I just tuned out of that one.
Still, there’s a whole ton to like here. It’s more than worth the price of admission. I hope DC keeps going with this idea and keeps the quality high. This was mostly a lot of fun.
RATING: B+
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