I love this issue! I absolutely and totally love this issue, despite the cover that makes little sense to me. There are no tentacles in this issue, but there is some closure, some damn fine closure.
The issue starts with some more silly hinting of Renee Montoya becoming the next Question. Just get it over with it already! Right after that, the best of all 52’s storylines ends. The Elongated Man’s torturous journey ends, and he goes out in a thoroughly satisfying way. Ralph has gathered all he needs to attempt to revive his wife, who was murdered at the beginning of Identity Crisis. Reading this was very odd, because I didn’t know what Ralph was doing or if this odd ceremony would even work. Magic isn’t my favorite subgenre of comic books, but I was not a fan of Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, either.
Now I’m a big fan of Ralph Dibny’s character, and mixing magic and mysticism with what is basically a detective story. They blend well, and the reveal about Dr. Fate’s Helmet and why it chose Ralph Dibny amazed me. I was just about ready to give the book a standing ovation.
Another character is also involved in this long journey of Ralph Dibny, and I would rather not go any further with spoilers. I love a twist, and I also love when a plan comes together brilliantly. So Ralph Dibny is the big winner, no matter what happens in this issue, just because he has been elevated as a deep character by the 52 writing team.
Speaking of the work on this issue, I didn’t like the art for this week, namely the way that Ralph Dibny was drawn. He looked like a shriveled up middle aged man at times. All of the art was pretty wonky, but not even the art could stop me from appreciating the story that was being told. It will be hard to top this issue, but with 10 issues to go, anything is possible.
This week’s back-up is about Green Arrow’s origin. The art by Scott McDaniel reminds me of a Lobo comic I read back in the day. It’s sort of blocky, sort of angular. Look at me trying to attempt describing an art style. I’m far from a great fan of the Green Arrow, but if a writer and artist can successfully make him cool to me, I don’t mind him at all. They’ve successfully done it in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon and in titles like 52, so it’s not entirely out of the question for me to pick up an issue of Green Arrow’s solo book.
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