52 #25 -- Halloween Issue
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Liminal Times
Halloween in the One Year Gap!
Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Layouts: Keith Giffen
Pencils: Joe Bennett, Dale Eaglesham, Phil Jimenez, Patrick Oliffe, George Perez
Inks: Ruy Jose, Art Thibert, Andy Lanning, Drew Geraci
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Phil Balsman
Editor: Steven Wacker
Cover Art: J.G. Jones
Publisher: DC Comics
I’m fudging the rules of the Back Issue Bin because I really wanted to sneak in the review of this fun little Halloween issue. Like every issue of 52 thus far, there’s a ton of stuff going on, and it’s all to the good. In Gotham City, Bruno “Ugly” Mannheim is cementing Intergang’s hold on the city with a crime summit. The demonic Sabbac attacks Boston, sending both Marvel families into action, Ralph Dibney encounters an old Justice League foe in a very unforgiving environment, the new Infinity, Inc. heads out against some veteran villains, Alan Scott makes Mr. Terrific an intriguing offer (GASP) and on Oolong Island, Will Magnus learns more about why he’s been brought there.
This is an issue where the “realtime” gimmick of 52 really works to the book’s advantage - showing the Marvels’ first meeting with their “Black Marvel” counterparts in the middle of a crowded riot of trick-or-treaters was a nice touch. The Ralph Dibney scenes, however, really stole the book. With a dash of DC history (and some beautiful artwork), Ralph descends into the depths of Hell.
What really amazes me about this title is how it’s possible, week to week, to keep track of all the various storylines. It’s clear that 52 now features far more than the originally-advertised six stories, but even with the half-dozen intersecting plots here, there’s no trouble telling who’s doing what, where, and with whom. You don’t need a scorecard for this. Maybe it would be hard if I was waiting month to month for each chapter, but for a one-week gap, there’s no trouble at all.
The artwork is a bit more troublesome to me. It took 25 chapters, but we finally hit something of a “jam” issue, with multiple art teams handling different aspects of the story. For this issue, it worked pretty well - Jimenez on the Ralph scenes, Oliffe on Infinity, Inc. and Mr. Terrific… each segment had its own distinct flavor, and I was okay with that. I don’t know if I’d like every issue to be that way, however. Although I suppose ultimately, once the series is read as a whole, it will have that feeling regardless.
For this week’s origin story, Mark Waid tackles Nightwing, with art by George Perez. Like all the origin stories, it’s a nice, two-page capsule of the character. Unlike most other origin stories, though, we also get something of a glimpse into the future of the regular series. Not the far future, but we do see a little further than the most recent issue of Nightwing brought us, and that’s quite interesting.
All in all, Halloween in the one-year gap turned out pretty well.
Rating: 8/10