The Review
This issue is told almost exclusively from the point of view of the heroes that stayed on Earth, primarily in the group of Shadowpact (Constantine, Zantanna, Detective Chimp, Blue Devil, Ragman, Red Hood, and Ravager). You find out, from Swampthing, that there is another group of survivors outside of Poison Ivy’s Garden in Gotham in Australia and that if Shadowpact doesn’t go there, Swampthing is going to take care of the problem because the Green is crying out there. Combine that, and the beginnings of the Shadowpact trying to deal with the other outpost in Australia, with the Justice League making it to Poison Ivy’s Garden to get Superman healed and you have an issue!
This issue is good. There’s still the issue of inconsistent
tone from the narration, but the bigger problem is that the art is incredibly
inconsistent. Despite the creative team being almost completely the same (they
lost one of the two inkers from the original issue), it feels like a different
art team from the first issue. Some of the panels feel like the first, but most
feel different – and worse in my opinion.
If you enjoyed the first issue (I did), you should pick up
this continuation. The art is not enough to take away from the continued
world-building.
High Point(s)
John Constantine being himself to the point that he gets
Swampthing to swear in anger
The Bat-family reunion
Low Point(s)
There’s a few pages that have needlessly large panels and a
bit more story could have been fit in
The inconsistency of the art in this issue and its differences
from the first despite the creative team almost entirely staying intact
The Editing
The Cover
I don’t like this cover. Superman looks too old, his pose is
very stiff and awkward, and his right fist and forearm are bigger than his left
hand in the foreground.
Wonder Woman is also off. Where she overlaps with Supes
feels off and her left hand and arm are enormous. Additionally, she isn’t
looking at Superman, who I assume she is supposed to be fighting rather than
some random hero that’s outside the image.
Green Canary is fine, though I wish she blocked less of the
title.
Page One
The red drop shadow of the locating text is back from the
beginning of the first issue.
Page Two
Could remove “Someone with rock-hard abs, perfect teen, and
comforting words.” Skirts the edge of the established narration tone.
Page Three
More shouting with starbursts in the text, but only when
Arsenal is screaming, not when the little girl is screaming in either of the
next two panels.
Page Five
Remove the second and third narration boxes from the third
panel. You could add “Bobo the” before “Detective Chimp” to throw that in
there.
“Kinda like Batman…” and “But not as squeamish.” are closer
to the random jokey narration that pops up sporadically in the series than I’d
like, but I don’t have a suggestion.
I don’t love either sound effect on this page and “BANG”
shouldn’t go past the panel edge. Or really go past it.
Page Six
Either remove "And…" narration box from the
previous page or continue the names plus descriptions on this one for
Constantine and Zatanna (in that order for the first two panels).
In panel two, because of Zatanna’s hair, it looks like she
is in zero-g rather than flying up at any kind of speed.
The sound effect in panel four should be removed as it
doesn’t work. It’s tolerable in panel five.
Page Seven
Either the sound effect is wrong in panel four or the
coloring of Fire hitting the building needed to be bloodier.
Page Eight
The “POP” sound effect in panel three is unnecessary.
Page Eleven
Narration box being used for off-page dialog. Coloration
should not be red for Constantine regardless.
Changing “…had kept out every blighted one.” to “…had kept
out the blighted.” or “…had kept out the anti-living.” in panel 2 feels better.
Page Twelve
Remove “Nice to look at, too. And” From the second narration
box in the first panel so it reads “Safest place on the planet. It would be
easy to consider it a paradise.”
Move Poison Ivy’s word bubble so it isn’t being overlapped
by Harley’s and make the tail point towards Ivy’s mouth.
More use of the narration style box for off-panel dialog.
Page Fifteen
Wonder Woman’s hand should be under his back/shoulder area
vice under his neck like it is in the following panels. It’s really
uncomfortable/difficult to carry someone by the back of their neck.
Dunno what’s going on with Cassie’s…tears in the last panel.
She’s got one running down her cheek and.. maybe her eye is melting towards her
ear?
Page Seventeen
Cyborg’s head seems a little too small in panel two.
Page Eighteen
Jason's mask is off in the last panel of the previous page
and now it's on for no reason. Damian is at least shown putting his cowl on,
though I think it should have been left off.
Page Nineteen
Cassie’s eyes seem to be melting out of her face again in
the second panel.
Page Twenty
Either remove the third narration box in the first panel
completely or just the “Like some kind of horror cake.” from it.
The narration box in the last panel should be pulled away
from the edge of the panel.
Page Twenty-one
It’s unclear who is speaking the second dialog bubble in the
third panel. Let the tail overlap Blue Devil to point more towards Detective Chimp's head area (I assume that is who is talking).
Page Twenty-two & Twenty-three
The starburst shouty font is back.
Zatanna and Blue Devil’s faces look off.
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