DC Comics reviews for 9/11/19 – Batman #78, Event Leviathan #4

Event Leviathan #4

Event Leviathan is now past the halfway point and it still feels like there’s been little plot progression since the first two installments.

Writer Brian Michael Bendis rarely seems that invested in action scenes. As is becoming his norm, he’s skipped ahead past last issue’s cliffhanger and simply recapping what happened when Superman faced off with Leviathan. With no worthwhile information gleamed from that summary, the detectives start reconsidering suspects including Manhunter.

It’s clear Bendis envisions turning Manhunter to a big time player like he did with Spider-Woman in the Avengers. Bendis can’t work much magic into making Manhunter interesting. Instead the issue is peppered with excessive dialogue and nothing else. The Silencer makes a surprise appearance, which doesn’t address the end of her solo book at all.

Alex Maleev’s art continues to be a highlight of the series as he’s fluent in Bendis and understands the most dramatic angles for the most effective presentation. Maleev just needs to tighten up his take on characters as Superman barely looks like the same person on some pages.

This issue of Event Leviathan really didn’t go anywhere and played out like killing time instead of a vital cog in the story.

Rating: 4 out of 10