First off, those of you who haven’t come to grips with the ending to Identity Crisis might not want to pick up this title. Of course, you might be relying on this reviewers opinion to pick up this title. If that’s the case, thanks for your interest in my opinions. So let’s get started shall we? Oh, and prepare yourself for at least one spoiler. Would be hard to review the title with out this one teeny little fact.
Day of Vengeance opens up at Arkham Asylum where Jean Loring is being held. Loring finds herself in possession of the Eclipso jewel which can turn its user into a powerful being that will wield the wrath of God. The jewel seduces Loring into becoming its new vessel, preying on her anger. A few weeks later the hero known as Ragman finds himself summoned to a mystical forest to help the Enchantress(No, not the one from Thor. That’s an entirely different comic.) Ragman learns that the Spectre had attacked the Mist Woods and killed seven hundred sorcerers. The two retreat to the Oblivion Bar and discover other mystical men and women have been attacked or their clans wiped out. It’s there that Enchantress decides they need to form a team and take on the Spectre before he kills them all. The only one who agrees with her is a talking chimp named Detective Chimp. Now they have to put together a team to save the day.
Between the two mini-series that tie into Countdown and the upcoming Infinite Crisis that have been released, this one is more accessible then The OMAC Project. Writer Bill Willingham introduces the main character Ragman to new readers who may have never heard or read anything with him. I’m new to ragman but now have an idea of his powers and exactly what kind of man he is. While I have a little problem understanding how Jean Loring has become Eclipso(who gave her the jewel anyway?) everything else went off without a hitch. Willingham also puts together a nice ending for fans of a certain classic comic character.
Justiniano and Walden Wong provide the artwork which works well with the mystical meets superhero feel of the story. I was down on Justiniano the first time I saw him on Flash but I’ve got no complaints here. The look of ragman is creepy and the nice spread of Spectre fighting Blackbriar Thorn while Ragman and Enchantress watched had this grad, epic feel to it. Justiniano’s work reminds me of an early Chris Bachalo. The colors add to the eeriness of several scenes.
Now, I liked OMAC Project and especially the creative team on that one, but this first issue of Day of Vengeance knocks that series out of the park. I’m looking forward to the next issue, as well as the next two minis to debut, Villains United and Rann/Thanagr War.
