Writer: Matthew Rosenberg, Delilah S. Dawson, Jeremy Adams, Frank Tieri, and Stephanie Williams
Art: Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan, Matt Herms, Troy Peteri, Rafael Sarmento, Serg Acuna, Caitlin Yarsky, Peter Pantazis, George Kambadais, and Tom Derenick
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99
Release Date: December 6th, 2022
As the Hall of Justice falls, get new perspectives on the various conflicts while the battles across Dark Crisis rage on in Dark Crisis: War Zone #1! With the classic Justice League members gone, see how members of the next generation such as Red Canary and The Flash Family deal with the chaos in this key chapter of the saga leading into Dark Crisis #7.
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Dark Crisis: War Zone #1 Review.
THE DISPATCH
Suspended disbelief is the phrase that is best used to summarize this week’s Dark Crisis: War Zone #1. Now, I understand why Linda, Iris, and the Flash are the focal point of the first part of this issue. Jeremy Adams is writing the script for it and that just so happens to be his cup of tea right now. And a mighty strong cup of tea too I might add. You should really check out his Flash run when you get the chance. Just click on the link above. But anyway, the perspective makes sense, however, Adams’ tone that he’s portraying in this tie-in is the same as the tone he uses in the Flash book. Entertaining, fun, witty, and charming. That’s great except that’s not Dark Crisis nor would it be a showdown between all the DC Comic heroes and villains.
Mix that cocktail up with a cameo from the Spectre versus Raven and we get what appears to be almost a commercial for a future Spectre comic down the line written by Frank Tieri. Sure, I could be wrong but that’s exactly what it felt like. Moreover, Stephanie Phillips’ vignette felt like another opportunity just to quickly introduce the Amazons into the story to show comic fans that they are also involved in the Dark Crisis as well as Matthew Rosenberg’s Green Lantern piece. See, everyone’s impacted by this event! And remember the Green Lantern’s who you thought would be a huge part of Dark Crisis, well they’ve finally come back into the story!
However, the part that is almost undeniable is the force-fed female-dominated push that overtakes Dark Crisis: War Zone #1. It just so happens that the first story is about Linda and Iris saving some kids’ lives. Then we get Raven standing toe to toe with the Spectre following closely behind with the next story about the Amazon’s connection to the Dark Crisis. Needless to say, the Green Lantern most dominantly focused on was Jo to which we end by reconnecting Red Canary to the story from last week’s Dark Crisis: The Dark Army #1.
Readers, female characters are amazing. They can be strong, confident, smart, and can lead a story well. Nevertheless, it’s hard to read Dark Crisis: War Zone #1, which wasn’t painted as a female heavy tie-in, mixed with four different writers and they ALL somehow push the female hero in some manner or fashion. It felt highly motivating and extremely unnatural which is what was the most disappointing. I thought we’d get more of ALL our heroes returning to the fight. What happened to Nightwing and the Titans? What about Superman (Jon Kent)? Heck, what about a better follow-up after Dark Crisis: The Dark Army #1 involving Damian’s plan? There were so many angles that could have been addressed, that should have been addressed, and that would have felt more natural to the story and event so far. But instead, we get four individually written stories that barely connect and focus on some not so well known female heroes during the Dark Crisis. If that’s what you were looking for, you’ve come to the right place. However, I doubt it.
ART
With a book containing a variety of artists, it certainly does the job of providing multiple different perspectives and styles. However, it’s the art styles that bounce the tone around from a more serious look to a more childlike appeal. At times, the heaviness of what was going on seemed more weighty than others. For example, the Green Lantern story itself seemed like it should be more intense and impactful than it was. However, the cartoonish design deflated the actions involved.
Furthermore, creative teams need to be more careful with the throwaway fight scenes in the background. For example, the background had Superman (Jon Kent) and Supergirl practically throwing around, and distinguishably handling Darkseid with ease. Additionally, Doomsday was just thrown into scenes all Willy-Nilly as if anyone could take him. Or how about Raven standing toe to toe with the Spectre? The intent was to have “the crazy” but instead, it came across as silly and unrealistic.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths has taken forever. Readers, this crisis began June 7th, 2022 with A Free Comic Book Day Special in May. It’s now December 6th, 2022 and we are still talking about the Dark Crisis and having tie-ins. Sure, there haven’t been many tie-ins but this sucker is dragging on now. Many fans have probably already lost interest let alone buy tie-in issues. So, enter Dark Crisis: War Zone #1 where the impression received from the title, as well as the many covers, was that we were getting some action. We’d get some fights from the Justice League mixed in with some of their most vicious villains of all time. But instead, we get four mini-stories of female heroes, some new and obscure, and very little (if any) air time with any of the heroes who have headlined the entire Dark Crisis to date.
Dark Crisis: War Zone #1 is entirely skippable. And what’s worse is that I don’t know what new or pertinent information is gained by this comic towards the event. Furthermore, it’s also not what was entirely advertised. We do get the Flash Family for a bit and a small portion of Red Canary, however, who’s buying it for that? Maybe some Jeremy Adams Flash fans. But, that’s only 8 pages of the entire Dark Crisis: War Zone #1. Plus, the Red Canary portion is just a large awkward exchange between Damian and Red Canary followed by multiple “stan” moments when she meets Black Canary. Truthfully, the best story and art come from Adams Flash Family pages. If you really need to see Linda working together with Iris, then pick this up. Otherwise, with an event that’s taken six months to unfold and interest lost by many, Dark Crisis: War Zone #1 doesn’t do anything to entice you to buy it and appears to be an avenue to showcase how some new DC Comic female heroes are doing throughout the crisis. Readers, save your money. This is a hard pass from me. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!