By Grant Morrison (writer), J. G. Jones (artist), Alex Sinclair (colors)
Alright, Mr. Morrison, you are officially off the hook. Not only is Final Crisis #3 a great read, it’s actually in a form that’s digestible. I can say with confidence that I understood 90% of what was going on this time without looking at appendices or plot breakdowns from the “expert” DC crowd. That doesn’t mean the first two issues aren’t a mess – they still are, and they still require their research (for the average comic reader) – but things are finally falling into place and the story much (much) more coherent.
Unlike the previous issues, there’s also a lack of a surprise or shocking ending. Stuff does happen though, but the full effects of the event won’t be realized until next issue – which I believe won’t be out for another two months. Either way, the story told here covers a lot of ground, pushing the underlying arcs forward, connecting the dots, and finally forcing the heroes to band together in a way not seen in decades. The only thing I want more of is Superman. His plot is briefly touched upon and raises some good suspense, but the two pages allotted to his scene is frustratingly short.
J.G. Jones once again does some terrific work. If you can, find the Supergirl cover. It’s to die for (and strangely reminiscent of that girl on the cover of Grand Theft Auto IV). There’s a few notable pages that’ll make your jaw drop – particularly one involving the aforementioned assembled heroes. My confidence in this series is restored and I never thought I’d feel this way, but I’m actually now anticipating the next chapter of this series more than Marvel’s Secret Invasion. Crazy! (Grade: B+)
- J. Montes
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Alex Sinclair, Batman, Final Crisis, Grant Morrison, J. G. Jones, Superman, Villains Win
Interesting… I enjoyed the first two issues but thought this one was complete filler! It was a nice long build-up but nothing actually happened.
I don’t mind a build-up issue except in this case there’s a two-month wait till the next issue! (Now that I look a the website it seems they’re staggering #4 to arrive at the six-week interval between 3 and 5.)
Maybe I was too tired when I read it. Morrison’s comics always deserve a second reading so I’ll give this one the benefit of the doubt that there was some thematic significance or at least something… more.