Review: Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger #11

Before I dive into this issue, I’m going to go on a small talk about this series. As much as I liked issues 0, 1, and 2, I can clearly see the improvement since then. The story has improved, and the issues have gone from good and enjoyable to amazingly done and enjoyable, especially since DeMatteis took over writing full time in issue 9, and even since he joined co-writing in issue 6. Anyway, the point is, this issue is not quite as good as last month’s issue, but it still is a good issue and I love how strong this series has become. (This post will contain Spoilers).

So, this does follow Justice League Dark #22, and it picks up the story of Batman’s group (Batman, Katana, Phantom Stranger, Green Lantern (Simon Baz), Flash, Vibe, Steve Trevor, and Catwoman). The issue starts with just the Stranger, Bats, Katana, and strangely Deadman traveling through Heaven’s basement. Here there be souls that suck the life force out of living creatures. They attempt to do so to Bats and Katana, but Deadman tricks them into trying it on him, which weakens them because he’s dead already. They hurry on, Batman growling to the Stranger that he doesn’t care about the metaphysics, he just wants results.

Flashback to “an hour ago–or perhaps it was an instant (impossible to tell when you’re at the crossroads of space and time)…we stood within The House of Mystery“. Just outside, Trevor wants to go in, but Catwoman wisely advises him not to. Also, Deadman has showed up, claiming he feels he’ll be more useful here than with Wonder Woman. Inside, Bats and the Stranger are arguing about going to see Doctor Light. The Stranger does not wish to (for good reason, he was threatened with being erased from existence if he returned) but Batman won’t give up on Superman. He wants to see if Light knows anything. What finally convinced the Stranger is not Batman explaining how Superman’s a symbol of hope, but really the fact that Dr. Light had a wife and daughters. Finally, still grieving over the loss of his family, the Stranger agrees.

An interesting note on these panels, is that a mirror they are looking at shows Superman, Superman locked up, Doctor Light, Superman killing Doctor Light, and Doctor Light’s family as Batman works to persuade the Stranger. After the Stranger turns away and agrees to lead Batman, the mirror shows Zauriel, which neither of them see.

The Stranger takes Bats, of course, and Deadman because he’s dead and Katana because she has a sword full of souls, I believe. Trevor demands answer, but they vanish, and so he yells at his people to follow them. “Happy to, Colonel, all you have to do–is tell us where they went” responds Catwoman. It’s a nice little moment that reminds us these other heroes are characters too, just not ones important to this particular story.

Flash forward and they’re out of Heaven’s basement. Deadman is surprised by the neighborhood-like Heaven, but the Stranger simply explains that Heaven is tailored to the beliefs of each soul. But before they can go on, Batman, Deadman and Katana disappear. The Stranger is frustrated at his mistake, and heads off to find the Heavens each of his companions have made.

First, is Katana’s. This was my least favorite part of this issue. Katana meets her husband and she dives right in to the…eh…exotic meeting. She’s enjoying her husband’s company, to say the least, when the Stranger shows up and casts him away. She is instantly back into her armor, and attacks the Stranger, slicing off his head, ignoring his warning that it might not have even been her husband. Off course, he comes right back, and he says he’s the one who needs forgiveness, he should have known it might happen.

They move on to Batman. This is an amazing scene. A young Bruce is on the couch with his parents at Christmas. Thomas is reading a Christmas Carol, which fits the tone of the scene. At first Katana wonders why he’s so young, but Batman comes out of the shadows. He just wanted a glimpse, and perhaps he can return when his war on crime is done, but it shows the depth of Batman’s character incredibly.

They leave and find Deadman, who fittingly doesn’t need a Heaven of his own. He’s happier doing his work on earth. Instead, he found Dr. Light. A little note here: Deadman found light, Batman was ready to leave, but Katana was immersed in her Heaven and attacked the Stranger when he came to her. She’s not exactly in the same league as the other two. I honestly preferred Catwoman’s couple of lines in this issue to Katana. The positive thing I will say, is that at least she did something, as opposed to her near-invisibility in JLA.

Unfortunately, Light’s unconscious, still adjusting to “life” in Heaven. Katana uses her sword to break the sphere he’s in, and the Stranger wakes him. Both he, and Batman, try to interrogate Dr. Light, but he doesn’t know anything. Batman thinks their mission was in vain. The Stranger, however….

“If we take Light back with us…return him to life–then there never was a murder. Superman… is free. And you, Arthur–you’ll have your family back. Nothing–in life or death–is more important than that.”

This quote too, shows that while the Stranger does care about Superman, he’s still feeling the effects of his own family being taken, and wishes to help Dr. Light. They all agree, but Light gives the Stranger something as a last gift to give to his family, should he not make it out of Heaven.

The angels arrive, led by Zauriel. These last three pages of the issues are great. Both artistically amazing, and in story. The other three learn that the Stranger faces “extinction”. They realize just how much that he’s sacrificed for them, but Zauriel sends them out of Heaven. He then sends Dr. Light back to his sleep, and turns to deal with the Stranger.

The Stranger admits he had no good reason for doing it, but he did it, foolish as it was. He believes his old master, who some called a fool, would be proud of what he did tod–

And he’s erased by Zauriel. Chances are, he was merely sent somewhere else, or something of the sort. Perhaps the dog/God/voice will bring him back. Who knows? We’ll have to wait two months for this, as Phantom Stranger doesn’t have a September Villains Month issue.

The art in this issue is almost as good as last issue. There’s nothing bad, there just aren’t quite as many absolutely amazing panels. That said, it was a beautiful read.

Overall, this was another fantastic issue of Phantom Stranger. I really love this series, and I can’t stress enough how much I suggest it. Even if you don’t like the first issues, this series has really improved since then. As a Trinity War tie-in, I think this was the strongest one yet. It told a contained story, but it felt important. The only complaint I have is that this probably means the Stranger won’t appear in any more Trinity War issues. After this though, I’m willing to sacrifice that. While Katana isn’t as much fun, the Stranger, Bats, and Deadman all are great to read. I give this a strong 8/10. This series has been so strong, especially in the last couple of issues. If you aren’t reading it, you should give it a shot. I actually believe this would be a pretty good jumping-on point, which is good for the semi-ad that tie-ins are.

So, are you just as excited to see what happens to the Stranger now that’s he’s erased from existence? How does he come back? I sure am looking forward to the Sin-Eater, the Question, and others that are coming in the next couple of issues.

Review: Trinity of Sin: Pandora #2

While there were people who didn’t like the launch of Pandora, I enjoyed the first issue. This issue, however, is far better, and although it has a painful moment or two, there are some absolutely great things in here. This post will contain some Spoilers…

The issue starts with probably the worst part. The first page is Pride talking to Envy, and it’s pretty rough. First, their dialogue just doesn’t seem natural. Maybe they wanted it to be unnatural, but it just doesn’t work here. Beyond the dialogue, the scene itself doesn’t seem to be relevant to the issue in any way. I’d much rather they’d just cut this scene and given us more of the main story. Additionally, the artwork on this page is subpar. Pride and Envy are not drawn well here, and although they seem mostly the same as they were in the first issue, I had a much harder time with them here.

From there we meet Agents Kincaid and Chang of S.H.A.D.E. (Super-Human Advanced Defense Executive) and A.R.G.U.S. (Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans) respectively. They interplay between these two characters is so much fun. They banter about interdepartmental communications and jurisdiction with far better dialogue than the previous page contained. I certainly hope they continue to be characters import to the story of Pandora.

Meanwhile, Pandora is getting outfitted with her armorer, Marcus. Again, the dialogue between these two is far better written. He’s an interesting character, and we still don’t know too much about him. I’d certainly like to learn more about his history, before he met Pandora and after, in the future.

At the same time, Giganta, Signalman, and Vandal Savage are trying to track Pandora. Giganta is drawn and written fine, and Signalman is perhaps a little better, but the real treat is Vandal Savage. They way he looks and dresses demands my respect of the artists. They dialogue between the three Secret Society members is almost as much fun as between the Agents, especially because of Savage. It’s like having Flash, Superman, and Batman talking. Signalman takes it easy, doing his job. Giganta speaks with incredible power. Whenever Vandal Savage speaks, he speaks with incredible authority and power.

Pandora decides that if Superman, the purest of heart, couldn’t open the box, that she must try the darkest of heart. Who could that be? She goes to the three Secret Society members, but they attack before she can speak. Signalman’s attack does nothing, followed by Giganta smashing Pandora, to no effect. She throws one of her knives into Giganta’s forehead, and it explodes, taking Giganta down.

Signalman discovers, through his devices, that she’s in incredible pain, but she’s just carrying it. Her broken bones are healing, she’s not breathing, and she just keeps going. Savage attacks her, and they fight, using everything from hand-to-hand to guns and knives.

She shoots him in the face, blowing half of it off, and seemingly killing him. Apparently this shocks Signalman, though I’m not sure why, exactly. Off course, Savage is not dead and he snaps Pandora’s neck, to no avail. He demands she hand of the box, or he will fight her until he finds a way to kill her. But wait…that’s exactly what Pandora wants. She wants him, the darkest of heart, to open it.

Unless he’s not the darkest of heart. Apparently there’s still some “good” in Vandal Savage. A surprising turn, but I kind of liked it. Not because “there’s good in everyone”, but rather I like the idea that someone as dark as Vandal Savage still isn’t the darkest. There are darker. Black Adam, maybe? Or the mysterious Outsider? I doubt Luthor, but the Joker’s got to be pretty dark of heart, not that I expect him to appear in Pandora.

Anyway, the issue ends with the two Agents from the beginning launching a full investigation into the extensive, paper mind you, files on Pandora. Whether they’ll end up as allies to Pandora, enemies, or somewhere in between, I’m glad it seems they’ll be appearing in future issues.

The art overall in this issue is good. Excluding the terrible first page with Pride and Envy, the quality is very nice. Pandora, Marcus, Signalman and Vandal Savage are all great. The two Agents are a bit generic, and Giganta isn’t incredible, but that’s okay. The art is certainly more consistent this issue then the last one, which is reassuring. I understand that the style is probably not for everyone, but I love the look of JLD and Phantom Stranger, and this is stylistically similar.

Overall, this is a much better issue than the first one, which was already very good. I like where Pandora is going with more emphasis on characters, and I enjoy getting into Pandora’s head more and seeing why she’s doing the things that have lead us to Trinity War. As a Trinity War tie-in, it’s not particularly important. If you want to learn a little more about Pandora’s motives, or want to see more of the Secret Society in action, then you’ll probably enjoy this issue. If you’re a fan of DC’s Dark line of comics (Phantom Stranger, JLD, Constantine, Swamp Thing, etc.) you’ll probably enjoy the style and tone of the story and art here. If you prefer only the Justice League line, or the Edge line, maybe not. As a fan of the Dark line, I give this a strong 8/10 or a weak 9/10. I know I gave last issue an 8/10, but I’m almost reconsidering that after this issue. This was so borderline 9/10, that if they’d just fixed the awful art and dialogue on the first page (which really should be some of the best, it is the first page potential readers will see) this definitely be 9/10. I imagine that future issues of Pandora will not always be this good, but I’m okay with that.

Side note: It was great to see S.H.A.D.E. around. Save Frankenstein in JLD, we haven’t seen much of them around all of the Trinity War stuff yet.

Are you looking forward to fleshing out some of these characters in future issues?

Review: Trinity of Sin: Pandora #1

I’ve been looking forward to this comic for a long time. I’m really into the Dark line of DC, reading Phantom Stranger and Constantine (as well as vaguely following JLD), so I was ready for another title like this. To me, Trinity of Sin: Pandora #1 lived up to the hype.

It’s basically an origin story, but I felt it was executed quite well. The long history of Pandora and her training was not only interesting, but enjoyable. The only big thing I felt they missed was any reference to Flashpoint, which was a little disappointing. Beyond that, it was a great origin with many answers, and a few more questions (sadly no pun, her partners in the Trinity of Sin only briefly appear in the standard Rock of Eternity scene we know so well).

A little spoiler here…

The guest appearances of the Seven Deadly Sins was expected and excellent, but the twist of them calling her “mother” was chilling. The other guest appearance (which seems like it will be a regular appearing character for a little while) of Vandal Savage was logically explained and while amusing, taken seriously.

The art of this issue was pretty good, although a little inconsistent due to the multiple artists on the issue. That said, it felt right at home in the Dark line, with dark colors (and a dark story, for that matter).

Overall I would highly recommend this issue to anyone, especially those who are enjoying Phantom Stranger, and JL or JLD. I give it an 8/10, for a great first issue story and art with a few minor disappointments. Please go read it if you haven’t, please.