A miss for me. So far, World’s Finest has felt like a Saturday morning cartoon but this flashback feels like a Sit-Com with too many fake laugh-tracks.

The beginning was fine and the awkwardness was great, but then characterization got betrayed for the same old boy-meets-girl tropes. Some stuff also didn’t seem thought through in a way that to me looks like Waid forced himself to write one thing because it is the trope and then tried to back-paddle.

The way death was talked about in this issue was weird and not in a funny way. more

It's an enjoyable first issue, but I attribute that a lot more to Campbell's art and visual storytelling than Williamson's writing. Campbell has always been good and creative, but he stepped up his game even more this time. I enjoy Clark as a mammoth of a man, lol, and he gives those visuals perfectly. The way he draws action and uses panel borders makes Clark feel incredibly powerful. He's also a master at showing emotions in my opinion.

As for the plot points, it's alright. A focus on Lex and Clark working together is fine, but I don't need it, while I think having Lois as the Editor-in-Chief is a great idea but not a good job for her. I hope there'll be a Lois subplot about it. I'm looking forward to Clark taking on Paraside and am curious how Marilyn Moonlight will enter the story. more

A wonderful conclusion to the tale of the Amazons. I hope there'll be more Historia in the future.

A strong debut for a Scarlet Witch story that sets out to finally move on from the past. I'm not overly familiar with Wanda but her characterization here is very pleasing to me. She feels like a modern witch and I appreciate that while moving on from the past, Orlando doesn't just ignore continuity. The character appearing at the end is an intriguing surprise. I didn't expect her and had all forgotten about the circumstances surrounding her "birth". Orlando also introduces Wanda's current status quo well, I'm curious how much focus the shop'll get.

Sara Pichelli's characters are very expressive without coming across as too cartoonish, making the reactions of the characters genuine and when Wanda turns a truck into water, it looks quite impressive. Wilson's colors really set the tone. The color palette is quite harvest without being dark.

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Things are happening! This is the best issue in a while and the beginning of Diana's true confrontation with Hera. Cheetah gets an excellent showing and it is simply fun to have so many supporting characters in one issue. One thing Cloonrad knows how to do is make the Wonder'verse feel alive.

Lupacchino's art starts out a little rough but she grows into the characters. Especially her Diana looks great. more

I only picked this up for the backup. It's an intriguing first look into how Dick got involved with the Vampires. Vieceli gets Dick's voice right and Haining's art conveys emotions very well, and the Vamps look amazing.

World's Finest has been reading like a Sunday morning cartoon, connected with this very Golden Age-inspired story, this Dick-focused issue becomes a great feel-good story between arcs with stunning art.

While I was a bit disappointed that Mora wouldn't be drawing this issue, Moore is a great artist in his own right. His soft drawing style, paired with warm colors by Bonvillain, really brings out the good vibes.

It's good to see Robin!Dick investigate and being back in a circus setting for a moment without too much tragedy befalling the poor establishment. I certainly got what I wanted out of this. more

An incredibly powerful and colorful read with so much genuine emotion that I couldn't stop reading. It's one of the best ONGs DC has published to date.

I don't remember the last time I felt as if a DC comic had such a good handle on a team of characters. Bruce and Clark might be the main stars but even so it's obvious that Waid respects the characters he uses and gives them moments to shine. Take notes, Titans and Young Justice writers.

Since Amazon messed up Comixology (especially for international customers) this is the only comic drawing me back to monthlies right now. It's colorful and bright and I don't have to be afraid that a character I like ends up being portrayed as utterly useless. Plus, Dan Mora's crisp designs are perfect. more

Wow, Rosenberg doesn't get Damian's, Dick's or Bruce's character at all. It's a shame this is so generic, I was looking forward to an in-depth exploration of what Dick's betrayal would cause. What a way to squander their dynamic. Makes me miss the Reborn era even more.

The resolution of the Altuum plot spilling over from TotA pulls down an otherwise enjoyable issue.

Steve and Siegfried are an absolute delight, Dr. Psycho is creepy af, and Diana has her hands full of problems already.

Thanks to Antiope the Young Diana backup feels more relevant to the present-day story than its past iterations.

Remember Greta Van Fleet? Talented kids, for sure, but it's not the band itself I'd like to compare this comic to, but rather remind us all of one quote regarding their debut album, which was labeled "boomer fetishism". Whether it was an accurate criticism, or just a journalist hackery, I'll leave for personal interpretation, but either way it got stuck in my mind, and came back when I was reading this book. You know why? Because I felt like it actually commits similar "crime", but instead of fetishizing boomerisms, it fetishizes Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Now, there's nothing wrong with referencing classic comics nor trying to take what's there and tell your own continuation. But if you decide to do so, you should focus on YOUR story first and foremost, and there's very little of it to be found here. Granted, it's just the prologue to a bigger event, so I can't be too critical of it, but when I think about it, there's nothing outside the Dark Army itself that seems like something new. And even then, it's not something that would feel... inspiring and complelling, you know? Oldest trick in the book - when enemies get strong enough you can't think of anyone stronger, just make them unite and strike the heroes together. Dark Nights Metal worked, because it gave us good antagonists, even though most of them ended up being wasted. Crisis on Infinite Earths got a big memorable baddie too. Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night? You bet there was something more than just armies of endless cannon fodder.

But that's not really the worst part. What hurts me the most here is that I felt little to nothing while reading this book. Characters die, and that's it. It's not as terrible executed as, let's say, Superman's laughable death in Batman v Superman dumpsterfi... movie, I mean, but still, I cynically smirk thinking that they're going to come back to us very soon. It's comics, after all. We've seen Death of Superman, so no publicity stunt like this will work again, I guess. And even if they're dead for good in the main continuity, there's countless elseworlds that sales-wise perform better than main-line DC series.

Finally, considering the scale and "stakes" of this event, I dare to say its art left me pretty disappointed. Sandoval is a good artist, but he clearly needed more time to properly detail all the panels here, because overall, they look pretty rushed. Surely, glory days of DC's big events with Perez or Reis really doing some insanely intricate work are over.

Overall a meh/10. Nothing that would blow my mind either story or art-wise. It works as a semi decent prologue and its value will be measured once the story unravels properly. For now, there's not much of it other than obsessive fascination with Crisis on Infinite Earths. more

It does what it promises - taking the JL off the table - and that's it. There's no emotional impact so far.

Also, as a Wonder Woman here is my obligatory "Why the heck didn't Diana use the lasso?" comment. Srsly, dear creative team, don't just make her pose with a sword when the situation clearly requires the Leaguers to convince the villain and make the villain see the truth.

It's a good conclusion to an event that wasn't as good as it should have been but is still miles better than the other events DC has brought out in Q1 2022. I would have enjoyed more cohesiveness and more natural progressions. Trial of the Amazons sadly tried to do too much.

This so far is the part of Trial of the Amazons I have read through the fastest and I am left wondering what even happened to make it worth the money I paid for it.

I didn't keep up with Wonder Girl, so I appreciate the flashback but it went on for way too long. The story progression is minimal at best. Cassie investigates but I have to agree with Artemis that Nubia should have chosen someone better because her skills in this leave much to be desired. The mystery of Doom's Doorway doesn't progress here or maybe minimally if one wants to be generous.

Joelle's art is pretty and she certainly draws gorgeous women but her panel-to-panel storytelling is still mediocre at best and sometimes the emotions depicted do not match the words spoken. more

The third part of Trial of the Amazons focuses on Diana as expected. Sadly she felt a little off and as did the way to her ultimate conclusion. The introspection didn't feel as smooth as it should have been.

But I very much appreciate the tie-back to the WW Annual that was said to set this event up and it was good to see Diana and Cassie interact.

The art by Rosi Kämpe is either extremely strong or quite weak. There are definitely some panels that are beautifully executed but some things just get wonky and that is sad to see. At least for an event, they should have been able to give a consistent artist to the Wonder Woman flagship title.

Adventures of Young Diana makes a comeback with this Issue and seems to be staying. I'm not sure if it is going to tie into TotA properly - as I had expected - or if it exists to shine more light onto Hyppolita's and Diana's relationship. As a reader who was quite glad that AoFD ended, I'm not excited to see it back. more

Howard and Leon continue to create a great comic. The first arc has been a blast so far, and I truly didn't expect that. I'm very much looking forward to the finale next month. Let's see how Selina deals with the danger and her new stray.

Despite Medusa's appearance, this is in no way an ending to the story Ayala, Williams, and Martinez set up in prior issues. I'm not mad about that and it has been indicated clearly in the solicitations, still, this should have ideally been a one-shot because if this gets collected into the NatA TPB people are gonna scratch their heads.

Martinez's art is enjoyable as always even if a proper fight scene is missing. Doom's Doorway is acting up further and Medusa might be able to give some hints to Nubia. I enjoy the spotlight on Cassie this sets up and hope Donna, who has sadly only been a silent bystander, for now, is going to get the same treatment.

Hyppolita's death ceremony is handled well, but I was a little lost at first because there are too many things implied about her death in parts one and two that aren't clearly spoken about until the middle of this issue. more

Trial of the Amazons #1 sets up the dynamics between the Amazons in an enjoyable way. Faruka is clearly the stand-out star but Yara isn't easily overshadowed and Nubia's and Diana's interactions continue to be a delight.

It feels good to finally have the Amazons in one place and this feels like an event that is actually gonna bring change not just promise it.

The art is enjoyable for the most part and fits the occasion but, even though longer issues often have multiple artists working on it, I wonder if 40 pages really needed this many artists and if it couldn't have been divided better.

Another technical/editorial problem that appeared while Nubia and Diana and then Diana and Faruka speak is that speech bubbles were seemingly positioned wrongly. It just leaves a bad taste that this happened despite TotA #1 being delayed for a week, not to mention that this should be *the* Wonder Woman showcase. more

I want to support a batfamily story, I really do. But the characterization of some characters is getting so completely off that it's almost funny.
This issue we got Huntress, doing acrobatics and fighting when injured and shouting jokes at Dr. Freeze. At the same time, we got Nightwing who can't even sneak on a villain, literally stumbles and falls, beaten by every single opponent around, and ends as a hostage.
Unless the sole purpose of the series is to prop Huntress, I really don't get what's the endgame here. more

This is a great part two. Tini Howard and Nico Leon make Selina Kyle's war against the mob throughoutly enjoyable. Bellaire's colors help a great deal with that.

Valmont is also turning out to be more than just another thief with a pretty face. They are much more interesting now.

This was probably the most disappointing book coming out of Infinite Frontier for me. I thought it had a ton of potential, but Sheridan just didn't have a very good plan for this run.

Despite the amazing art and even though I enjoy Alitha Martinez's fight scenes there was some impact missing. Medusa was so amazingly drawn, I expected a brutal fight and while some scenes work well, like when the staff transforms, I wanted a bit more.

But even with that complaint, the story works and especially Doom's Doorway looks amazing. The tensions are rising and I can't wait to see how everything comes to a head in Trial of the Amazons. more

Except for some stilted dialogue I loved everything about this. The revelations of both the main story and the backup make or break this finale for both stories. For me, they worked.

I appreciate how connected everything is and how Trial of the Amazons has been built up.

Cloonrad continue to play the long game. I am looking forward to the stories they are going to tell after the event is over because it doesn't look as if there is time for Diana to slow down.
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Nubia and the Amazons is spinning its wheels a little with the council but narrative threads are coming together and Alitha Martinez is allowed to show off how well she can draw fighting scenes.

The backstory finally revealed how Andromeda and Nubia are connected and Bia certainly has a point about Medusa being initially the same as the souls waiting for their rebirth on Themyscira. I'm looking forward to seeing how Medusa's storyline is going to be resolved and to what mayhem that undoubtedly leads in time for TotA. more

Marcio Takara has really gotten a feel for Wonder Woman. The fights are fantastically illustrated and the quiet moments work well. Especially with the featured villains, Takara's drawings shine and he really puts a lot of work into the mirrors.

I hoped for a bit more development given that this is the penultimate Issue before the arc ends, but I still think that it flowed well. Now I only hope the last part of this arc ends on a high note before the book enters Trial of the Amazons.

Deadman left me scratching my head this time. Cloonrad kinda forgot that he is a ghost, at least as far as I know he shouldn't have been able to destroy the dupes and Etta shouldn't have been able to see him at all. Apart from that, I still think it is an engaging story. Diana is a bit more aggressive this time as well but I think it fits because her stress levels in this arc are rising to quite the height.

The backup continues to flesh out the Bana-Mighdall and their grievances with the Themyscirans. Atalanta and Faruka especially shine in their roles as queens this time. The small revelation here also makes me even more excited for Trial of the Amazons.

Skylar Patridge continues to impress, especially with the spread page of the Oracle's vision. more

This is a pleasant surprise. What a great first Issue.

Nico Leon draws a wonderfully expressive Selina Kyle and a great Catwoman. I love the fashion Selina wears while investigating Trixie's and I like the upgrades to her costume. There's a bit of a Zoe Kravitz vibe to this Selina that I don't mind at all. What I thought I would mind are the seemingly movable cat ears, but they work quite well.

Bellaire's colors enhance Leon's drawings and are simply gorgeous.

Howard's voice for Selina is a bit more tongue-in-cheek and less sophisticated, but I like the more playful side of Selina, especially when it doesn't keep her from being a headstrong badass.

The one thing I didn't like at all were the censored curse words. I just can't stand it if more than two of those appear in one Issue. Valmont seems like a nice addition, but he doesn't have my interest quite yet. more