By: Jeff Lemire (story), Graham Nolan (layouts), Victor Drujiniu (finishes), Jeromy Cox (colors)
The Story: It’ll be hell for the real estate agent who has to put this house on the market.
The Review: I must apologize for the delay on this one, but my shop actually received this issue late this week. I’m actually not entirely sure how an entire slew of comics could be delivered on time and one got left out, but such are the vagaries of the modern day shipping system. I once ordered a book from a seller who lived only two counties over, and another book from a seller across the country. The cross-country book arrived two weeks before the intra-county one.*
Anyway, I’m not sure anyone really needed to rush-order this particular issue. One major complaint I’ve had about nearly all of DC’s fantasy offerings is that none have really been very daring, creativity-wise. I don’t quite understand how, in a setting where literally anything can happen, we can get so very little of novelty. I’d hoped that Lemire’s chops would move at least this title out of that rut, but I’ve been sadly disappointed so far.
I still don’t understand how things could’ve turned out this way. The premise of Black Orchid, Amethyst, and Frankenstein navigating the strange interiors of the House of Mystery should be plenty fertile ground for anything Lemire’s imagination can devise. Alas, alas—most of what we discover in the physics-defying mansion boils down to random minions, the kind you slaughter a dozen at a time in Diablo III. Amethyst at one point posits the house contains “thousands” of rooms, each with its own set of discoveries, but for the most part, the tour proves disappointing.
Lemire does manage to put this otherwise forgettable excursion to some use when Orchid stumbles upon a room with Constantine’s version of the Rip Hunter blackboard (though John upgrades by sticking notes on a corkboard). Nearly all the scribbles refer to easily identifiable plotlines from other books, but a few hint at stories to come:
“Green Arrow: Playing both sides?”
“ADAM ONE: Is he the Big M?”
“Frankenstein:…Possible ‘cure’ for [the Rot]?”
Maybe Lemire would’ve been wiser to devote a whole issue to this little misadventure, rather than sidle it alongside the ongoing action—though “action” is something of a misnomer, considering how little actually happens in this issue. Basically, John, Xanadu, and Steve Trevor stand around fretting over Zatanna and Timothy’s disappearance while Dr. John Peril (the magic expert at A.R.G.U.S.) engages in some exotic pseudo-scientific theories to solve the problem. At the very end, Lemire throws in Phantom Stranger, DC’s go-to guy for jump-starting new plots, only for the Stranger to refer to an upcoming Event all of us know about anyway.
While I wouldn’t say that Nolan-Drujiniu are an improvement over Mikel Janin per se, I do find the art a little easier to take this issue. But it really has nothing to do with the linework and figures themselves, which have some of Jesus Saiz’s elegance. No, more likely than not, I’m reacting to Cox’s colors, which are smooth, polished, and pleasingly rendered. It’s a welcome break from the waxy, pasty stuff Ulises Arreola usually burdens this series with.
Conclusion: I still have faith in this cast under this writer, but these kinds of issues can make you start to doubt whether they’ll deliver the glory they promise.
Grade: C+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: * But then, I live in California, and we all know things are not going great here. Hopefully, there’ll still be a state left by next year for me to write reviews in.
– As it turns out, Black Orchid is, outside of her purple garb, one Alba Garcia, formerly quadriplegic and armless. Obviously, she’s had a life full of ups and downs.
Grade
Conclusion