DC Comics releases Dark Nights Death Metal: Multiverse’s End #1 on September 29. Writer James Tynion IV, artist Juan Gedeon, color artist Mike Spicer, and letterer Rus Wooton take readers on a journey through the remaining Earths of the multiverse as the Green Lanterns and the Justice League Incarnate try to disrupt Perpetua’s plans to reshape all of existence, with help from an unlikely ally.
Writing
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This issue was a lot of fun! The Justice League Incarnate is one of DC’s most criminally under-utilized concepts, but it’s good to see them taking part in Snyder and company’s zany, multiversal epic. Tynion does an excellent job capturing the voice of each character, with some of the best dialogue saved for the interactions between Guy Gardner and Captain Carrot. Astute readers will also recognize a smattering of easter eggs to famous and infamous moments in DC history, including a certain “refrigerator” reference (which made sense as a nod to the reader but may have been in poor taste. Of all the nods to choose…).
Still, this issue captures the right balance between being a fun, action-packed adventure that borders on the cartoony while still carrying the weight of a story where all of existence hangs in the balance.
Art and Colors
Gedeon’s art style is an excellent match for this story. With a character like Captain Carrot taking up so much time in this book, Gedeon’s style captures the more cartoonish moments of the book well. However, while he is able to capture the cartoon energy of certain scenes, there are other panels that he draws with a lot more solid detail and line work.
Up close, Gedeon’s character designs lose their cartoonish quality with their detail and shading.
Spicer’s colors complement Gedeon’s art exceptionally well. For up-close shots, like those above, his colors are more nuanced, with the pre-Crisis Owlman skeleton and helm almost having a paint-brushed look. For the other more cartoony looking frames and the action sequences, his colors are more substantial and pop on the page.
Letters
Wooton’s letters serve this issue well. Many of the characters are given their own unique word balloon styles. Even though there is a small amount of DC-Crisis history exposition, it doesn’t slow down or crowd out what is overall a very action-driven issue that features cameos from across the DC multiverse.
Conclusion
This issue was a fun installment to DC’s Death Metal epic. Again, seeing the Justice League Incarnate is always a delight. Owlman’s heel turn (on the villains) is an excellent exploration of his character and how the original “evil version of Batman” processes the presence of a bunch of evil Batman from the Dark Multiverse. It would’ve been great to see Calvin Ellis’s Superman get a little more panel time, but hopefully, this isn’t the last we’ll see of him.
As Guy says in this issue, all this Crisis stuff may indeed make our heads spin, but if our heads are spinning, we ought to at least have fun while it’s happening. This issue will help with that.
What did you think of Dark Nights Death Metal: Multiverse’s End #1? Tell us in the comments below!
