Writer: Tom Peyer
Art: James Igle and Juan Castro
Publisher: Ahoy COMICS
Price: $3.99
Release Date: May 5th, 2021
Reviewed by: Rollo Tomassi
For those that may be unfamiliar with this series, the premise is pretty simple. What is the Adam West Batman and the Batman from the Dark Knight Returns switched universe? In the case of this series we have a character called DRAGONFLYMAN (Earth Alpha AKA Batman 66 world) and DRAGONFLY (Earth Omega AKA DKR). This series is the sequel to the pervious series that created the swap. In this series we have the Dragonfly men meet up and the mystery of how they swapped worlds is explained. Like the previous series this is a great examination of both the lighter fun superheroes and also the grim and gritty types. This is a top notch series that really deserves to be getting more attention than it does.
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon.
THE STORY
This issue opens with Earth Alpha and the issues without having their Dragonflyman there to protect It. There is a great opening conversation between the Mayor and the Bank Manager that feels right out of the Batman 66 TV show. After that we meet up with the captured Dragonflies meeting with their sidekick, Stinger. This is just one Stinger from one of the Earths. As what happened to the other Stinger in the previous series has a profound affect on one of our main characters. After they escape the Earth Alpha Drangonflyman attacks his doppelganger in an extended fight sequence. We end with a new character breaking up the fight.
TOMASSI’S TAKE
This issue like the previous ones does a great job of showing how the Dragonfly men can be similar yet different at the same time. While it would be easy to simply play the Earth Alpha Dragonflyman for comic relief, the writer Tom Peyer plays him straight. He can have some Adam West like dialogue, but is several times shown to be extremely competent at being a crime fighter. His counterpart is the more grim and gritty one. Previously shown to use extreme violence when needed. But in this issue we flip the script and see our Adam West stand in finally get angry and attack his counterpart.
Jamal Igle is doing career defining art here. It is crisp, clear, and Peyer wisely allow Igle to depict the main fight this issue to be mostly wordless. Besides slight changes to their costumes, Igleuses body language to better set the Dragonfly men apart. Colorist Andy Troy deserves credit for the bright and eye catching colours. Characters and backgrounds stand out.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is a great fun series that while the premise is pretty straight forward, in this mini we get a lot more detail on what happened with the swap from the previous series. The art is amazing. As a digital reader I don’t normally pay attention to the cover. But the cover for issue 4 is one of the best ones yet. If you are interested in trying this series there is the first mini series I mentioned earlier. As well there is a prequel series called Dragonfly & Dragonflyman. All worth checking out.