Well, Brad Meltzer is back . . and he did a fantastic job with this book. The whole thing is really about Geo-Force, but we also see a lot of other people's point-of-views . . they're thinking that tomorrow may be the last normal day they see for a long time . . or maybe . . forever. Geo-Force is contemplating the decision to kill Slade. He's still upset about how Slade manipulated his sister and how's he's messed with his own powers. He doesn't feel that he's been adequately punished . . if at all . . for his crimes. Long story short, they confront each other, but, come to find out, Slade has been manipulating Brion for quite a while. He ends up beating the crap out of him, and knowing that he'll never beat him, Brion takes Slade's sword to his own throat. Then when Slade comes up to gloat . . Brion puts Slade own sword through him. Somehow they both survive. Black Lightning is convinced that Slade did all of this to Brion . . even the throat . . and that Brion purposefully made sure that the sword wasn't a killing stoke. He's commending him for not giving up and finally beating Deathstroke. But we all know what really happened. And I'm not convinced that Brion wasn't trying to kill him. I think he . . and his soul . . just got lucky. But, we'll probably never know for sure. The art for this issue was done by Adam Kubert, John Dell and Joe Kubert. It was incredible. We already know that Joe's an icon, but the work that Adam and John did was fantastic. Everything . . throughout the whole book . . was perfect. And now, hopefully, Brion can move on with his life and be a productive member of either the Outsiders or the JLA. I think he can finally put his demons behind him. Well, most of them anyways.
I've read quite a few comics between LW&T and now. But, I have to admit, Meltzer's story has really stuck with me. The scenes between Geo Force and Deathstroke were really powerful. Especially those of Brion laid up after slashing his own throat.
ReplyDeleteYedna . . first of all, it was nice to hear from you again. Yes, it was a very moving story. It really got me thinking more about Brion's character. Basically, he exorcised one demon, only to replace it with another. It'll be interesting to see the affect it has on his character in the future.
ReplyDeleteAfter finally getting around to this comic, I can't even begin to express my satisfaction at it. The rest of the book was great, but the stuff with Deathstroke and Geoforce was just plain awesome! I loved Meltzer's take on Deathstroke in "Identity Crisis", and his portrayal of Slade here was just brilliant!
ReplyDeleteEven as a Deathstroke fan, I couldn't help but dispise him! The scene where Slade stands there gloating to Geoforce after defeating him really solidified Slade as one evil, evil man.
I agree that hopefully this will lead to an increased role for Brion in the DC Universe, he's always been a very under utilized character.
I'm here to tell you . . Brad's work is amazing. If you haven't had a chance, you should read the first 12 issues of Justice League. He did a terrific job on those issues. I'm also currently working my way through his novel Book of Fate, and then I have Book of Lies waiting to read after that. For me it's hard to pick which I like better, Brad or Geoff Johns. They've both just brought so much to this medium.
ReplyDeleteI'm here to tell you . . Brad's work is amazing. If you haven't had a chance, you should read the first 12 issues of Justice League. He did a terrific job on those issues. I'm also currently working my way through his novel Book of Fate, and then I have Book of Lies waiting to read after that. For me it's hard to pick which I like better, Brad or Geoff Johns. They've both just brought so much to this medium.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm in total agreement with you on Meltzer's work. I can honestly say it was his work on Identity Crisis and those early Justice League issues that really drew me into DC Comics.
ReplyDeleteI had been casually reading some DC Comics, but it was Brad Meltzer who really pulled me into the DC universe. I'd always been under the mistaken impression that the DC characters were inferior to the Marvel ones... Brad's excellent writing and his characterization of the DC heroes/villains totally proved that arguement wrong! It's actually thanks to Meltzer that most of the new comics I read every month are now DC's.