Comics this week

Birthright #1- The issue starts innocently enough with a father playing catch with his son near the woods. The son became lost and after an unsuccessful search, the father was accused of killing him. Years passed, the father became a drunk, the parents got divorced, and the younger son got into trouble in school. Things were bleak before the police got a man claiming to be the missing son. According to his crazy story, he was “spirited away” to a fantasy world where he was a hero. The story is crazy but his fingerprints and dental records match that of the missing boy and he do looked a little like the father. Could his story be true? Well, it is but that’s almost an afterthought to what went on before. The promo of this series showed a warrior with a big sword and fantasy creatures flying in the background. However if you came to Birthright thinking this is Conan 2.0, you would be solely mistaken. Birthright is a FAMILY DRAMA and writer Joshua Williamson hit it out of the park with this one. This debut is well-written, well-paced and very interesting. Artist Andrei Bressan also nailed it filling the issue with many small details that flesh out the story. Looks like a winner!

Earth 2: World’s End #1- Ever since 52 became a smash hit, DC has been trying to make lighting strike twice by releasing a series of weekly titles. All of them ranged between okay to not-so-good but give DC credit; they never stop trying. Earth 2: World’s End is their latest weekly title and it is set on Earth 2, an alternate world where the Trinity died saving the world from Darkseid. Immediately, you can see a problem. Readers who don’t follow the main Earth 2 book will have a lot of back-story to cover. Most of them probably won’t even know who Sloan is, much less how important is the reveal that he was the one who killed Alan Scott’s boyfriend and partner. This fact (and some others) would just fly over your head if you don’t follow the regular Earth 2 series. Luckily for me, I do! I won’t say this issue was perfect but I liked it. More Earth 2 is just not a bad thing in my view.

Earth 2 #27- This issue is the companion issue to Earth 2: World’s End and in many ways, it felt like it. This issue features a story that is entirely reliant upon its readers picking up World’s End and World’s Finest (I honestly have no idea Power Girl and Huntress were back on Earth 2). Add to that the complete utter fake and forced relationship between Batman and Huntress, and between Power Girl and Val-Zod, and you got an issue that’s easily the worst in the series thus far. This issue was like the poor cousin to World’s End and I worry about the series if this is the route writer Tom Taylor is going to take.