Dark Nights: Metal feels like a blockbuster movie unraveling before our eyes. There's no time to breathe, because action never stops, even for a moment, and every chapter so far tried to squeeze as much action into its limited number of pages as possible. The event grows - from regular series it's going to expand into several spin-offs and one-off issues. Hopefully the upcoming Guidebook will explain few things to us, as well as properly ground all the characters and shows us how and why they're in particualar places looking particular way, and having a chance to develop. That's something the series so far has been missing - a chance for each main hero to grow, and all of that because the plot has to progress forward super fast. And it's not like I don't like what I see, but as I said, some breething room and development would be more than welcome. more

I enjoyed the first two stories of this book, however there is undeniably a great deal of issues with this book. For starters, what is the purpose of this book? Because beyond the first two stories, which are about the Darkest Knight and Robin King respectively, there is no cohesion or purpose to the book. The rest of the stories featured are about two to three pages of nonsense. They do not add much to the lore of the characters or the event itself, and when you are paying 5.99 for such a book you would feel as if you would want something of more substance and quality.

While I can appreciate the first two stories, there is no denying that the "I Am Here" storyline is a massive exposition dump. I mean literally half the story are splash pages of exposition, which add nothing to anyone who is familiar with the metal/death metal storyline. The "King of Pain" storyline is by far the best in this book, though I can see some people having issues with Riley Rossmo's artwork in that story. Personally, I did not mind as I felt it added to the sinister nature the story was trying to tell. Overall, this book is cool if you want to read the Robin King storyline, but beyond that I did not see much point for this book.

6/10 more

The Sword of Space? Really? That was the best they could do?

Metal is the most diverse family of musical genres out there. There are acts that take themselves (too) seriously, like Mayhem, and ones that do the exact opposite, like Alestorm. If Dark Knights: Death Metal #2 was a band, it'd be somewhere in between, leaning towards self aware comedy rather than thick skulled (sic!) seriousness. So basically Mastodon.
The story feels way funnier than #1, featuring several humorous dialogue exchanges between characters, as well as little twists that would make some purists grab their heads and shout "why?!" to the night sky. Snyder understands that both comics and metal music can be serious, dark and heavy at times, but ultimately there's no point of pretending they can't, under any circumstances, be funny and silly. They very much can, and so can this comic.
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I was looking forward to DCeased: Dead Planet because I really enjoyed the first DCeased event. I gotta say, Tom Taylor continues to amaze with this elseworld tale. Following the events of DCeased, our heroes have created a new Justice League and receive an alert from a tracer which has them return to Earth on a mission. The stakes are high, and knowing how Taylor has killed of a great deal of characters in the first outing, no one is safe here, adding a real sense of weight and excitement to every page because each panel could be a character's final panel. This is a very exciting event which is not afraid of taking risks and avoids being cliche for the most part. A high recommendation and an enjoyable read. 9/10 more

This issue was another prelude to the Joker War. The issue features the aftermath of the Two-Face and Batman conflict from last issue, which takes some unexpected and enjoyable turns. Additionally, the issue shows more of Joker's plans and how he intends to take down the batman. Personally, I am a fan of the Court of Owls, so to see them included was a welcome addition. Walker's artwork is solid and I feel that he brings an added element of horror to the Joker. His character really looks and feels decrepit and twisted.

Overall, this issue was very enjoyable and ends with a cliffhanger that will be sure to have readers on the edge of their seat for the next issue. Not to mention, there features the return of a bat-villain that hasn't been around for a bit of time, which is always exciting. 8/10 more

This issue featured the conclusion to Tynion's "The Dark Designs" and while it was not a terrible issue, it was the weakest chapter of this storyline. The main purpose of this issue is to set up the joker war, which it does so effectively. However, there are sluggish moments which slow down the momentum that was being built in previous issues.

For starters, the conversation between Catwoman and Batman felt it was misplaced. I understand Tynion is trying to show how vulnerable Batman is following the death of alfred, but at times he can be a bit verbose when discussing the matter in his issues, especially when Bats is climbing random parts of gotham introspecting, and the issue ends with pretty much that.

There were still some interesting moments in this issue, like Joker and Punchline sharing some devilish moments with Batman. Also, there are subtle moments of foreshadowing with Deathstroke, pointing to the notion that this joker war event will have grand consequences for gotham city and its people. One thing I really appreciate is how much Tynion's Batman is much more reflective of the Batman we have grown to love and understand under editors like Denny O'Neil, here we see the calculative, determined, and traumatized DETECTIVE who will do whatever it takes to save his city. Overall, the issue was good but it felt like it slowed down some of the momentum leading in to joker war. Still, I am looking forward to Joker War. 7/10 more

After King's disastrous Batman arc, leaving more loose ties and unresolved plot points I can possibly name, DC decided to play safe for once and give fans a more... conventional story, one that wouldn't try to reinvent and deconstruct avery aspect of what it means to be Batman, one that wouldn't feature more filler than actual plot, and one that certainly would not smell its own farts pretending to be deeper and more intelligent than it really is. You know, exactly like a certain controversial game everyone hates and mocks, released few days ago.

Tynion crafted a big mystery that instantly captured our imaginations. It was big, it was convoluted, and and it was made with a plan in mind. It wasn't yet another War of Jokes and Riddles, promising a huge event and then turning out to be a shallow, pointless shell. No, the stakes were seemingly real and you never knew where the plot leads really. It lead here.

Depending on whether or not you've been a fan of Tynion's arc so far, this issue will either satisfy you with several important revelations and answers to questions you may have had, or it's going to convince you it was all just a marketing apéritif leading to the main event, Joker War. That I'll leave to your personal interpretation. To me the comic was definitely good, finally providing a ton of long awaited explanations and also setting up few new twists to be explored in the foreseeable future. Was it outstanding, though? Nah, I wouldn't say so. Not when it comes to uneven art drawn by several artists, not when it comes to storytelling. It's an example of a good, solid book, but as the grand finale, conclusion of an arc, especially in Batman series, I guess I expected a bit more. more

This issue of batman features the penultimate chapter of the 'Dark Designs' storyline and it was quite an enjoyable issue. Firstly, I read this issue twice to fully appreciate the scale and nuance that Tynion brings to his Batman story, and there is plenty. Arriving at this point of his first 'Batman' story arc, he has added a number of characters, gadgets, tricks, and tropes to make this run feel as if it were truly his own and is something I really enjoy.

Tynion utilizes all the characters well to add a sense of weight to his storyline. Batman's world is really falling apart here, setting up the chaos we are sure to experience in the upcoming 'Joker War' story arc. There is an exciting battle between Punchline and Harley Quinn which will leave fans excited for more. We get to see Tynion play with the underbroker more, to get a sense of the character and their place in the Gotham mythos. The issue features great moments with Batman and the Designer which take unexpected turns. The artwork by Guillerm March is fantastic and he brings an interesting quality to the joker, preserving his elegant clownlike manner while also managing to capture his e sadistic and twisted nature, even through a phone call. Overall, this issue was great and has me very excited for the Joker War. 8.5/10 more

I thought Doomsday Clock was the most ambitious book I've ever read; I was wrong.

The book opens en media res, where Prime Earth has been ravaged to the point that its a literal Bat-Supercontinent. The last that we saw of Snyderverse shenanigans was Hell Arisen: Lex getting cucked by Monitor Sugar-Mommy and Plot Armor who Laughs, who revealed the extent of the JL's escape through the Quintessence's "door". All we know is that the League (no Kendra or J'onn but Hal instead?) recreate the DCU Rebirth one shot cover and then get vaporized by what looks like Perpetua's granny hand doom magic.

We have Sergeant Rock talking about poop, Bat-tourettes-rex, and a myriad of Bat-analogues that hurt my brain. I mean come on Snyder, Baphomet is a goat devil, not a cthulu squid dragon!

BWL holds a summit after Perpetua sends Earth 22 to "kingdom come" (get it?), and our lovely Batman pulls up and resurrects and army of revolutionary bat soldiers. This pissed me off because Snyder clearly doesn't know how Black Lantern Rings work, but I guess it doesn't matter since Lobo in the next page to distract you from realizing that (and no dreads either).

And then fucking Wally West, literal Ultimate Speedster Manhattan Mobius Chair West, gets captured by discount Mouth of Sauron Who Laughs! They better explain this somehow. The Wall-man reveals that Perpetua is the big multiversal baddie who is the reason behind very single crisis level villain in DCU history, using her influence to cause crises as a means to escape from her Source Wall lockup. This sucks on a myriad of levels, because apparently now our beloved boys True Darkseid, Dark Monitor Mandrakk, and Prime-Time are officially a bunch of simps for Perpetua. What's next, is the freaking Empty Hand subscribed to her OnlyFans too?

Snyder's OC's can literally suck it. I hate Perpetua and I HATE the Batman Who Laughs.

However, besides the griping, I cannot deny that this book was entertaining as hell and I will definitely be buying the rest of the series and the tie-ins too. The epitome of so ridiculous that its good. Snyder clearly loves DC and what he's put together appeals to me 100%. The Trinity Crisis one-shot will be my saving grace.

Here's to July! more

You know what great books have in common? They make you not just surprised and shocked, but also thinking. Thinking about what the hell you've just read, where it came from and where it leads, what does all the symbolism mean and what it foreshadows. Dark Nights Metal surely was a story like that, and hence it's anything but suprising nor shocking it received a sequel. One that's twisted even more than its predecessor.

The comic hits you hard in the head from the very beginning. In a way that's exactly what you'd expect from something having "Death Metal" in its name, eh? And similarly to how an inexperienced listener will be overwhelmed with a wall of guitars frantically playing 16th notes, blast beats and growling all combining into a brutal death metal song, I think inexperienced reader will be overwhelmed with amount of content in this book. There's so many little things one should know before picking it up, even detailed explanation one of the characters provides doesn't really mean much, because ultimately to understand why he's even there, looking the way he does, you should be familiar with limited series released last year, being a sequel to two other limited series, with one of them being a total trainwreck I wouldn't recomment even to my worst enemy.
Sure, I could imagine a new reader could pick this book up and have fun with it, but knowing the background really helps, even if some of it we'd rather forget and see blatantly retconned.

The first issue of Death Metal is something entirely different. An ambitious, exhausting read leaving you with tons of questions you can't wait to see answered. It leaves you stunned, thinking about what caused this event, and where it'll take DC's universe.
I'm telling you, it's something special you have to experience on your own. Buy it. more

Good start. As always, Snyder knows how to rope you in and start an event very well. He sets up the main players, the conflicts, and the story all very well. My major gripe is that this feels like it has come out of left field. When the original Dark Nights Metal happened, that had setups to it in prelude issues and other Snyder Batman stories, but this kind of feels random. It feels like it is picking up from the Justice League run, but it's very unclear where this is taking place in continuity. Did that detract from my enjoyment of the book that much? No. I love the universe that Snyder has built here, already post apocalyptic. I hope that he can expand on how it came to be or other aspects of it. I also like the story (spoilers, please for the love of god tell me he finally killed the BWL). The art is actually not on par with Capullo's best Batman work, it seems very rushed, and that makes sense given the current DC landscape and what has been going on behind the scenes at DC. I hope the quarantine has given Capullo and the art team to improve the future issues. I'll still read this series and recommend it after the first issue. more