Comics this week

Forever Evil #7- Weeks late, the finale of Forever Evil has finally arrived! So how did this issue fare when the rest of the the DC Universe has already moved on to other stories? Pretty dam well exactly. It's worth noting that writer Geoff Johns had said that he wrote Forever Evil as a standalone series and while he didn’t really succeed in that (Cyborg takedown of Grid can only be seen in JLA), on the whole he was mostly correct. You don't really need to read other series to know what is happening here. Forever Evil has mostly been a conflict between Luthor's gang and the Crime Syndicate and notwithstanding Batman, the rest of the Justice League are side-characters. #7 continue the trend and the series is better for it. Sinestro and Black Adam's buddy moments; Bizarro’s bond with Luthor; all were very well written with only one downside. The ending when Luthor decide to save Superman; that didn't work. Now I can buy Lex as a more conniving, sympathetic character than the pre-New 52 Lex Luthor but Luthor going out of his way to save Superman? That’s a bridge too far and not even Johns’ good plotting can save that switch. On the whole, this final issue stands out as being excellent and I thought the event on the whole was very enjoyable. Too bad about the ending and the late shipment. If they could have got that right, this event would have been great.

Justice League #30- This issue should be titled "Forever Evil: Epilogue". Set immediately after Forever Evil, writer Geoff Johns has fun with the fallout of Forever Evil. Lex Luthor had just saved the world and boy; is the Justice League pissed off about it or what! As an angry Justice League try to find Luthor (for no apparent reason other than he managed to stand them up), the rest of the world is lapping up their new world savior. Geoff wrote Lex beautifully here as a conniving egomaniac who want a seat at the table of the most powerful group in the world but instead of forcing his way in, he is slowly worming his way into the team. Advertisements for the coming issues has made it clear he will succeed but seeing how he manages to do it is part of the fun. Bring on the next issue quickly!

Original Sin #2- So the person who kill The Watcher is...a Z-list villain so obscure even I don't know him? I said in the review of #1 that Original Sin is different, and #2 do not change a thing about that. Writer Jason Aaron moves his murder mystery forward step by step and while there are a few high points in this issue (Nick Fury's flying car; Punisher and Dr.Strange buddy team), on the whole there are still far more questions than answers to this event. I can see why Marvel is confident about this event. The story is interesting, the art by Mike Deodato Jr. is solid, but...where is it all going? All the unusual hero match-up may be fun but you do get the feeling this issue is spinning its wheels.