Trinity of Sin: Pandora 8
Ray Fawkes, Francis Portela
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
Leaving off where writer Ray Fawkes left off with last week’s issue of Constantine, Pandora and the newest incarnation of the Justice League Dark are in the middle of the most epic battle they’ve been in yet. Artist Francis Portela continues his unique vision of the magical portion of the DC Universe as Forever Evil: Blight rages toward its inevitable (and most likely bloody) conclusion. And I would also like to point out that this is now four straight issues in a row that were all good. Yes, spoiler, this issue is well done.
Just like the cover shows us, with the stake being all of humanity (especially all versions of the Justice League Dark teams) hanging in the balance, Pandora takes on (pretty much single-handedly) the likes of master sorcerer and uber-evil bad guy, Felix Faust. Now, let me just say that Faust has always been one of my favorite villains. And when the New 52 arrived, I was a bit disappointed with his treatment. Well, this issue (among with his appearance in the last several parts of this event-within-an-event) continues his road to redemption and finally is starting to remind me just why I love him so much. He’s evil, gross, and twisted. So after he and Necro see through Deadman’s disguise (as the Crime Syndicate’s fallen Sea King), they immediately go after the rest of the team, only to have them captured and then escape because of Pandora’s confusing yet intriguing new powers. She transports herself and a couple others far away from the bad guys only to realize that she left a majority of the team behind. Obviously, it’s a “to be continued” moment that will most assuredly be looked at as a betrayal.
The greatest strength of what’s left of “the dark” imprint of the New 52 is the lack of trust among its heroes. And anti-heroes. And villains, come to think of it. It’s that moral ambiguity that makes this portion of the DC Universe just so interesting to begin with. Marvel Comics may have won (and forever maintained victorious) with their epic space operas (excluding Darkseid and the New Gods stuff, on occasion), but DC definitely has something to offer in terms of the magic and fantasy realms that Marvel cannot even come close to touching. DC is proving that “the dark” really does serve a big purpose and a deserves a huge role in their world full of iconic superheroes, cosmically-powerful villains, and fan-favorite vigilantes. Although I still stand by my original thoughts and opinions that there don’t need to be as many individual titles as they are, I still do buy them and still, for the most part, am very happy with being proven wrong month-in and month-out in terms of their quality.
My Rating: 4/5
