INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US #1 Review
I really wasn't expecting to be so enamored with this comic. In fact, I was expecting quite the opposite. Videogame adaptations don't have a great track record, at least not yet. It was with those expectations that I started part 1 of Injustice: Gods Among Us, and to say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.
Here's the thing. I'm not spoiling this book (at least not past the first few pages) because it's worth your time and part of what makes the issue so memorable is how it ends. What I will say is while I have seen this twist before, that doesn't stop it from being good. Crazy kudos to Tom Taylor (writer) and Mike S. Miller (artist of pgs. 21-30) for making those final pages quite stunning and at the same time heart wrenching.
Maybe I'm just ignorant to how good videogame based comics have gotten in the last few years. I've read titles based on game properties in the past (Tomb Raider, Street Fighter, etc), but none of them left much of an impression. You could have told me this was an Elseworlds story (DC Comics great line of alternate reality stories way back when) and I wouldn't have been the wiser. The writing was funny, smooth, and felt honest to who these characters are. This in lieu of the hackneyed job of some adaptations where you get the feeling that the first time the writer ever heard of these characters was when he was offered the job. Taylor has some great scenes of dialogue between Bruce & Clark, and after just finishing the latest Aquaman (written by vet Geoff Johns and featuring Batman & Superman) Taylor's voices for the characters felt right in line with the DC Universe proper.
While there are three different artists on the book, all of them have similar styles that seem to compliment each other. Jheremy Raapack's style fits Batman and Gotham quite nicely, and Axel Gimenez does a good job of bridging the gap until Miller takes over.
As a comic this stands on its own, regardless of what game it ties into. As a piece of marketing for Injustice it excels as well. If this is what we can expect from the story in Injustice, then count me in. If you're looking for something to read over the weekend, you might want to give this issue a look. It really is worth your time.