DC Comics reviews for the week of 6/14/17

Dark Days: The Forge #1

It’s hard these days for the next great ‘mega-important’ event to come close to living up to the hype. That’s not the case with Dark Days: The Forge #1. It’s more challenging not to come away surprised and excited about what’s in store for DC following this kickoff issue.

Batman’s up to something. That’s not surprising or anything new. But this time the depths of his plan could radically change the nature of the DC Universe. Writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV have some big ideas cooking and if this appetizer is any indication, the full course is going to be something that’s going to leave DC fans buzzing for a long, long time.

The 31-page issue is largely broken down to three main subplots. Batman is readying the final stages of a potentially very reckless mission. This investigation has been as off the books as Batman could possibly manage with components in various areas in the DC Universe…and beyond.

But not even Batman could handle a task of this large a magnitude on his own and he begins calling in his special ops allies. The reveals and teases of these characters will likely prove a welcome surprise to longtime DC fans. These cameos are one cool aspect of The Forge, but it’s Batman’s presumed end game that ties in to a previous mega DC event that’s most intriguing.

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In the other subplot, Hal Jordan is dispatched to a very specific location on Earth and uncovers some of Batman’s plan. This won’t make his friends too happy. And through flashbacks, we start to get a wider glimpse of Carter Hall’s final days. In a nice full circle moment, Andy Kubert illustrates most of this chapter in a homage to his father, Joe, who was synonymous with Hawkman’s golden age.

Further proving how important this event is to DC, Jim Lee and John Romita Jr. are the other artists with ink provided by heavy hitters Scott Williams, Klaus Johnson and Danny Miki. Along with Alex Sinclair and Jeremiah Skipper’s colors, there’s not a questionable panel let alone a bad looking page.

Don’t let big event fatigue keep you away from this one as I’ve got the feeling this is going to have people buzzing for a long time.

Rating: 10 out of 10