Well well well. After an 8 month hiatus (although I suppose technically it’s just a break between 2 series), we are back in the universe of Gotham By Gaslight. If you read any of my previous reviews, you’ll know that I wasn’t a fan of The Kryptonian Age. So, let’s see if this new series can improve on what I considered a rough start.
Getting better all the time
Now, this is a bit more like it. My biggest issue with the first series was the pacing. Because we were dealing with so many characters in different places, we had to keep cutting to and from everywhere, and it just felt very disjointed. Now that they’re all together, it definitely feels a bit more focused and easy to digest. We still do have a section with Adam Strange at the beginning, which is making me afraid that we’ll be splintering off again in later installments, but for now I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.
Story-wise, it picks up exactly where the last ended off, and it certainly feels like no time has passed. Seeing all the cast together interacting helps appreciate the actual characterisations much more. My mind jumps first to Wonder Woman who feels great as a very level-headed mediator for most of this book, stopping fights between prospective League members. I do wish this version of Superman got a bit more play, considering he might be the most different of all the characters. There’s plenty of time for that later down the road I suppose.
Wait, that’s it?
So, now that all our heroes are finally together, what will they do? Split of into a group immediately? Alright then. As much as I prefer this issue to any of the previous ones, it still suffers from the fact that it just feels like set up. We have a little bit of development and to be honest, a really cool fight between Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, but the whole issue feels like it’s building towards the Justice League actually meeting each other. It’s another case of a monthly comic feeling more like a fraction complete story, rather than also feeling like a story in and of itself. In other words, it stops right as it’s getting good!
That’s another very small gripe I have. Too long of a title! I feel like the Batman at the beginning of the name is redundant now anyway. Like I say, it’s only a small gripe. I’m still enjoying the art and most of the designs, even if I’m not sold on that Superman suit. Some more interesting environments would do wonders though. A lot of the appeal of the original GBG is that Gotham is very visually distinct. You get a bit of that here with Smallville as an old west sort of town, but I’m waiting for something a bit more in-depth. There is also some very odd panel placement that I’m not completely sold on, especially during Superman’s meeting with Batman. Which is odd, because I loved the panelling of the original series!
Recommended If
- You enjoyed the first series
- Seeing a Victorian era JL sounds good
- Batman on a horse. You know you want to see it.
Overall
An obvious and immediate improvement over the first six issues in this reviewer’s opinion. The art is of a consistent quality and I feel very relieved to see the League come together, even if it’s not for very long. Hopefully the remaining books develop the team dynamic further.
Score: 7.5/10
DC Comics have provided advance copies of books for review.
English (US) · 