Earth 2 #21

Review by Randall Smith

Writer: Tom Taylor
Penciler: Nicola Scott
Inks: Trevor Scott
Colors: Pete Pantazis

Shattered Fate

           Our story resumes with the World Army broken and retreating under Brutale's onslaught. The former Superman is relentless in his assault on the Earth's champions. A heavy cost is paid, and the triumphant Kryptonian moves onwards. Meanwhile, James Olsen is putting the resources within the Batcave to good use as Red Tornado continues to try and cure the newly-freed Kryptonian Val's agorophobia. 
           Meanwhile, on the island of the amazons, Commander Khan recieves some disturbing news about the World government's last ditch plan, which ends up to disasterous results. Atlantis now under Aquawoman (Don't call her that!)'s control forges an alliance with Khan and the new Batman's groups, as Brutale learns that he is no longer the last Kryptonian thanks to Terry Sloan's mind laid bare. 

          The visuals are as solid as the last few issues have been, Brutale's dark might is showcased well with the powerful sketches, his darkness contrasting with the lights of Earth-2's backgrounds. These characters are very well developed, even the recent additions, showing that whatever story notes the team has about their world, they're fairly in-depth. I'd love to see a comprehensive bible of Earth-2's past outside of what little flashbacks we've seen in the series and World's Finest.

All in all, this is by far my favorite title out of the New 52 universe, and I look forward to each new issue.

Reccomendation: This is a book that doesn't get credited enough. Keep your eyes on it, it's going to be remembered.

Earth-2 #19 *Spoilers included!*

Earth-2 #19
Writer: Tom Taylor
Penciler: Nicola Scott and Robson Rocha

The Dark Age, Part 3


Going to give some spoiler room here for those whom aren't regular readers of Earth-2.

















- Commencing Spoilers-




The newest arc in the Earth-2 saga continues featuring the revealed Brutale, Superman and his rampage on behalf of Darkseid. As the invading parademons and the furies rampage, the World Army and it's wonders are regrouping. Fate has been injured, and Arrow is holding things together on the ground. Meanwhile,  within the Arkham facility, the impromptu team of the new Batman, the newly awakened female Red Tornado (Lois Lane), Major Sato, Marella the Atlantean Queen,  and the rescued super-brain Jimmy Olsen are scouring the sublevels for the next piece of the puzzle.

The interesting thing with this series aside from a really fresh take on the Golden Age heroes and their World War era continuity is their attention to the really obscure bits of DC lore. And as a long-time comic fan, that detail work is refreshing. Sloan's hidden secret turns out to be another Kryptonian, one from the not-often mentioned island of Vathlo, which isn't referred to quite often, but lurks about in the memories of sharp creators. A dark-skinned subset of Kryptonians, whom remained apart from the main Kryptonian empire, although relations were quite strong between them, eventually immigrating to Kandor prior to the destruction of the planet.

The end half of the issue has our heroes departing in a very typical style, with a teaser of what looks to be a reconstituting Solomon Grundy. Between that, the capture of two of the Earth's brightest,  and Superman's rampage on Washington DC, things are looking even worse for our heroes.

The Round Up

To sum it up, the art is as strong as ever, there's no repeated panels, the dialogue is strong, and the story remains quite engaging. Being this deep in an arc, I must say it's for the best to get some familiarity with the backstory before launching into Earth-2 haphazardly, else you will get lost. That being said, I'm quite excited for where the future will be going for this ongoing. I'm only crossing my fingers that there will be no crossovers with the regular New 52 earth aside from World's Finest with Huntress and Power Girl being a part of that earth. I don't think either's ready for a crossover of those proportions at this time, and would only be detrimental to the development of both Earths.

Recommendation: Pick it up in the trade paperback.