Injustice: Ground Zero #21 - A Review

As Barry Allen makes a fateful decision in the wake of Shazam's death, Harley Quinn has a question of her own to ponder - what do I do with myself next? A visit from an old friend and lover may give her some guidance and a new direction for herself and The Harley Horde.


This is a particularly strong issue of Injustice: Ground Zero. Seeing the events of the game from Harley's perspective, as they are presented in this issue, makes them feel brand new. Harley's insights into Barry Allen's character show her intelligence and insight - a welcome change of pace given how she's usually written as a bimbo. Then again, showing Harley's brains has been par for the course in Christopher Sebela's excellent scripts for this series and it's gratifying to see him also touch upon the Harley/Ivy relationship here, however briefly.


Marco Santucci proves a good choice for handling the art for this issue. Santucci's detail-drive style excels in bringing out the best of the intimate scenes that take up most of this chapter. The vibrant colors of J. Nanjan provide the perfect finishes to Santucci's pencils and inks.

Injustice: Ground Zero #16 - A Review

Sent forth from The Tower of Fate, Harley is stuck struggling with the revelation that her soul is bound to The Joker across all of time and space. Will she be able to use the magic word Fate gave her to free herself when her army is threatened by Joker's madness? And what of the jailbreak to free the Batman of another world from the tyrant Superman?


Injustice: Ground Zero continues to be a solid read. Christopher Sebela's command of Harley Quinn as a character is impressive, but the story's pacing is hampered by the continual cutaways to retell the events of the Injustice game. The artwork is wonderful, with Marco Santucci turning in a fantastic showing, backed by J. Nanjan's vivid color art.

Injustice: Ground Zero #11 - A Review

No sooner is Harley free of The Batcave with a "recovered" Batmobile, then she has to head back. Batman and the Justice League of a parallel Earth are there, unaware that they're walking into the ambush Harley just evaded! Unfortunately, Black Adam has just arrived on the scene and seen the very conspicuous Batmobile in the streets of Gotham...


The artwork in this issue is fantastic. Marco Santucci crafts a dark, moody atmosphere befitting the Gotham City setting and the Gothic aura of the abandoned Wayne Manor. This aesthetic is further aided by J. Nanjan's wonderful colors.


The use of humor continues to be the best quality of this series' writing. Strangely, considering the focus on Harley Quinn, nearly half of this issue centers upon Batman and The Justice League. There is humor here as well, yet the characters are written as true to form as Harley and Black Adam in their fight scene. And Christopher Sebela crafts what may be the single greatest summation of Harley Quinn's character with this line - "I think I need my head examined sometimes. Then I remember how fun it is to be this kind of crazy."

Injustice: Ground Zero #6 - A Review

As Harley Quinn fights her conflicting feelings regarding a new Joker entering her life, her army of protesters wage a more physical battle against Superman's Regime forces. Meanwhile, The Regime has captured Batman... but not the one they expected!


While a solidly written piece of work, Injustice: Ground Zero #6 lacks the luster of previous issues. Half of this is due to the book's intrusion into the story of the original game, when the appeal of the original Injustice comic was that it told us all the stories we didn't see in the five-year gap between the game's prologue and first act. The other half is the lack of Harley's narration in the later part of the book, as the action shifts to focus on The Regime torturing Earth Prime Batman.


While the story may seem somewhat repetitive to those who have played the original game, the visuals of the artwork more than make up for it. Marco Santucci has a great gift for depicting facial expressions and the close-ups in this book look fantastic. The rich colors by J. Nanjan are also worthy of special praise.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #38 - A Review

Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five #38 continues into the story of the game's opening sequence. This time,we see The Joker and Harley preparing to set-up a nuclear bomb in the middle of Metropolis. The twist is that the story is told primarily from Harley's perspective.


With little room for action in this issue, Brian Buccellato delivers the funny instead. Thankfully, his takes on The Joker and Harley are quite amusing. Marco Santucci manages a splendid sense of motion throughout as well as a few fantastic splash-pages as we see the action from afar. And Rex Lokus' colors are as wonderful as usual.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #32 - A Review

Hawkman has returned to Earth and he is out for blood! Abandoning Batman's plans to peaceful bring Superman to heel, he's laced his mace with Kryptonite. Unfortunately, that won't help anyone when the rest of The Regime show up...


The action in this issue is amazing. Marco Santucci and Rex Lokus do a stellar job in portraying Hawkman in all his savage fury and create a number of amazing visual effects, such as the golden glint of Hawkman's helmet. The emphasis may be on the action this week, but the script by Brian Buccellato still allows for some brief character moments, such as one panel where it seems that Barry Allen seems conflicted over the fight and is seriously pondering stepping in to change things... one way or the other.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #31 - A Review

As Hal Jordan begins to share Barry Allen's reservations about what they've come to represent and what Superman might be doing in the name of peace, Batman and Batwoman take the fight to Cyborg and Hawkgirl at the Hall of Justice. Meanwhile, Superman seeks the unlikeliest of guides in finding Raven...


There's quite a lot going on in this issue of Injustice but Brian Buccellato does a fine job of keeping all the plates spinning.No one sequence seems overly long and the fight between the Bats and the Regime team is a thrilling centerpiece for the issue. And props to showcasing a relatively obscure Titans character as Superman's point of contact for finding Raven.  It's little touches like this which have made this book such a delight for DC Comics readers even as we witness the horror of Superman gone bad.


I've enjoyed Marco Santucci's artwork in the past and, for the most part, I enjoy his work here. That being said, his depictions of Batwoman and Hawkgirl are textbook examples of Escher Girls. While not the most egregious example of this sort of thing, it was still distracting enough to take me out of the story. At least Rex Lokus gave his usual stellar job on the color art but it's still disappointing as Santucci is capable of much better work.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #24 - A Review

Alfred Pennyworth is dead and serial-killer Victor Zsasz has been revealed as the culprit. The question of just how Zasaz escaped from Superman's super-prison has yet to be answered. More pressing is the concern that an enraged Batman may expose himself to a wrathful Superman... or maybe even go over the edge in dealing with Zsasz.


The artwork for this issue is astonishing. Marco Santucci's visuals are amazing and the Gothic architecture of Gotham City has rarely seemed so foreboding. Rex Lokus completes the art perfectly with a muted palette of purples and grays.


Brian Buccellato's script proves equally enjoyable. Buccellato is known for his witty dialogue but this issue - largely taken up by a silent sequence in which Batman pursues Zsasz - shows that Buccellato is equally capable of telling a story without words. The whole story is amazing well paced, leading up to a tense cliffhanger in its conclusion.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Five #23 - A Review

Desperate for a lead on Batman's whereabouts but unwilling to dirty his own hands, Superman releases the serial killer Zsasz from prison. Coincidentally, his release occurs on Alfred's birthday. Well, the day that Bruce Wayne has elected to celebrate his faithful butler's birthday this year, Alfred's real birthday being a closely guarded secret...


There is a lot of subtle humor in this week's chapter of Injustice. I'm not unused to comedy in Brian Buccellato scripts but it is is usually more overtly presented. There's a great irony that The World's Finest detective should prove incapable of deducing the birthday of his oldest ally. I find it hilarious that Alfred should keep holding this mystery over Bruce's head just to amuse himself and that Bruce still manages to find a way to fill Wayne Manor's kitchen with balloons from halfway around the world.


The action of the issue is ably illustrated by Superman: Lois and Clark artist Marco Santucci. Santucci draws a great fight sequence and the battle between Alfred and Zsasz is one of the most exciting this series has seen. Rex Lokus's colors provide the perfect finish to Santucci's pencils.

Superman: Lois And Clark #4 - A Review

As an alien invasion fleet approaches Earth, Superman must prevent Blanque - a powerful psychic he imprisoned inside of his new secret base - from escaping along with a recently empowered Hank Henshaw. Meanwhile, Lois checks in on her editor - the only other person who knew about her investigation into Intergang - and discovers that she has disappeared!

There's quite a lot of metaphorical plates spinning in this story by Dan Jurgens keeps them moving with apparent ease. Both Lois' and Clark's respective storylines get plenty of time in the spotlight. There's even time for a flashback showing how Lois arranged for Clark to get his supersuit in this strange new reality as well as a  check-in on the approaching alien fleet.



There's two separate art teams on this issue but you'd never know it from looking. Close examination will reveal the differences between Lee Weeks and Marco Santucci's styles but the differences are not so jarring as to distract away from the flow of the book. The inks by Sergio Carifello and Scott Hanna are likewise well-balanced, with the colors by Jeromy Cox supplying the perfect finishes to the final artwork.