THIS WEEK: DC takes things to the Next Level, with the launch of new Batwoman, Deathstroke, and Lobo ongoings. Can these new creator-driven series maintain DC’s hot streak?
Note: The reviews below may contain spoilers.
Batwoman #1
Batwoman #1Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist/Cover Artist: DaNi
Colorist/Cover Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
While promoting DC Next Level, Scott Snyder has repeatedly said the initiative is an attempt to apply the Absolute ethos (make it accessible, make it cool, make sure readers feel the need to return each month) to main line DC books. While reading this month’s Next Level launches, I couldn’t help but keep that thought in mind. So outside of whether the books are good or not, expect me to comment on whether they “feel Absolute.” That is, if a reader is into the tone and content of Absolute Batman or Absolute Wonder Woman or Absolute Martian Manhunter, are these books a good gateway into the main DC line?
In the case of Batwoman #1, the answer to that question is mixed. Batwoman is the March Next Level title I’d anticipated most. Writer Greg Rucka back at the Batwoman wheel, paired with the stellar art team of DaNi, Matt Hollingsworth, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou? I knew this book was going to be good. And it is. But I’m not quite sure it does the job it is supposed to.
The art team, for their part, cannot be faulted for their effort to make Batwoman #1 “feel Absolute.” DaNi’s ink-heavy artwork evokes Azarello and Miller, and does a great job portraying both intimate emotion and operatic action. Hollingsworth and Otsmane-Elhaou complement DaNi’s figures and layouts, and together, this team produces pages that are not only great on their own merits, but that any reader of Absolute Batman should be into. A two-page spread of Batwoman fighting Alice on the side of a cliff amidst a thunderstorm is a personal favorite of mine, as it showcases not only DaNi’s excellent layouts and acting, but also Hollingsworth and Otsmane-Elahou’s contributions to this issue’s dark atmosphere.
However, Rucka’s story does not feel especially new-reader-friendly. As a person who has read most Batwoman comics, I understood and am intrigued by what happened in this issue. But a new-to-Batwoman reader would likely have a lot of questions – and not entirely in the good, “I have to find out what happens next” sort of way. This issue leans heavily on existing lore that a reader who picks up Batwoman #1 because it looks cool probably will not know about. Remember the Religion of Crime? Do you know about Anti-Life and Darkseid? If you don’t, it’s possible you’ll leave Batwoman #1 more confused than intrigued.
This opening chapter’s pace is also quite slow, a feeling enhanced by the fact that half the issue’s events occur in flashback. I’m familiar with Rucka’s storytelling style. I absolutely expect him to deliver on the threads and mysteries set up in this issue, and I personally will be back for Batwoman #2. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this Next Level launch, in particular, doesn’t grab Absolute readers the same way that line grabbed them – because this issue feels like an excellent version of Batwoman #75, rather than an excellent version of a new Batwoman #1.
Deathstroke: The Terminator #1
Deathstroke: The Terminator #1Writer: Tony Fleecs
Artist/Cover Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colorist: Ivan Plascencia
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Deathstroke: The Terminator #1, on the other hand, absolutely passes the “Absolute test.” Readers need know nothing about Slade Wilson before picking up this debut from writer Tony Fleecs, artist Carmine Di Giandomenico, colorist Ivan Plascencia, and letterer Wes Abbott. The only thing Fleecs, Di Giandomenico, and co. ask of readers is that they’re ready for some high-intensity, (literally) pedal-to-the-metal action.
Di Giandomenico is a personal favorite artist of mine, and one I believe has been underrated up to now. I expect this Deathstroke launch will change that. Di Giandomencio nails the assignment here, delivering (in partnership with Plascencia) multiple striking double-page spreads and moody and well-choreographed action sequences. After this issue’s action starts, it doesn’t stop. And if one of the tenets of “feeling Absolute” is “make it cool,” then Di Giandomenico and his artistic partners certainly succeed here. From an artistic perspective, Deathstroke #1 is a slick book.
That may have felt like setup for a swerve, but no – from a story perspective, Deathstroke #1 is also slick. This issue’s story does almost exactly what I’d expect an “Absolute feeling” main line DC debut to do. It introduces Deathstroke and his deal without making readers feel like they’ve missed and need to read years of back issues. It smartly corrals most of that exposition into the story itself, in places where introducing those elements makes sense. And most importantly, this issue is much more focused on showing why Deathstroke is cool and what he’s doing now than anything that has happened in the character’s past. If you already know and love Deathstroke, you’ll like this issue. If you just want to read John Wick set in the DC Universe, you’ll also like this issue.
Of March’s three Next Level launches, Deathstroke: The Terminator #1 feels like it most understood the assignment. It delivered an artist-forward roller coaster ride of an issue, complete with cool splash pages, wild action, and a killer cliffhanger. As the Next Level launches continue, Deathstroke is the title those books should seek to emulate.
Lobo #1
Lobo #1Story: Skottie Young
Artist/Cover Artist: Jorge Corona
Colorist/Cover Colorist: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Lobo #1 is the Next Level launch that is most “not for me.” I say this upfront to let you know that, regardless of how good a Lobo title is, it’s likely not going to make it onto my monthly pull list. This Lobo guy and I, we just don’t jive on that level. Never have, likely never will.
Which is why I think it says a lot that, if you’re into Lobo’s particular brand of crassness, violence, and humor, I’d still recommend you give this month’s Lobo #1 a look. Writer Skottie Young, artist Jorge Corona, colorist Jean-Fracois Beaulieu, and letterer Nate Piekos have crafted a noteworthy debut that leans into Lobo’s strengths, and that I expect will connect with its intended audience.
Corona and co.’s art, in particular, feels like a success. This book is dirty, kinetic, overstuffed, and exaggerated – all things I expect a Lobo book to be. There’s a lot to look at here, but none of Corona’s weird aliens, extra lines, or detail work distracts from his storytelling. And as with all this month’s Next Level debuts, Lobo’s art team meshes well. Beaulieu’s colors do a great job furthering the book’s feel of “gritty,” over-the-top insanity, while Piekos deftly inserts a bevy of sound effects and oh so many word balloons.
It’s Skottie Young’s contributions that put me off this particular iteration of Lobo. Young’s story is completely fine, and the issue’s ending cliffhanger is inspired. Lobo as Dog the Bounty Hunter in Space is a solid concept, and more than enough upon which to hang an ongoing (at least for a while).
However, Young spends the entire issue getting to that ending. And in the pages preceding it, Young leans on jokes that may or may not land (I enjoyed some, didn’t enjoy others), a lot of dialogue, and two sets of wordy double-page spreads that explain Lobo’s backstory to readers. I read Lobo #1 three times. On none of those reads did I manage to read the entirety of the “Lobo’s backstory” spreads. Above, I talked about how Batwoman #1 may have leaned on too much existing backstory without explaining it, and how Deathstroke #1 almost perfectly incorporated the existing lore readers needed to know. Lobo #1 completes the spectrum, landing at the opposite end as Batwoman #1, by providing readers with pages’ worth of backstory that’s not actually relevant.
Wordiness and unnecessary exposition aside, I enjoyed the direction in which Young eventually moved Lobo #1 – particularly his satire of mega-corporations and the media landscape, and the pages upon which he let Corona cut loose depicting Lobo in action. While I don’t believe Lobo #1 passed the “Absolute test,” and I don’t think Lobo #2 will particularly be for me either, Corona and co.’s art alone makes Lobo worthy of being a Next Level book. And for those who are more into the things that make Lobo Lobo, this may well be their favorite Next Level debut.
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