Earth 2 #14
“Battle Cry” review
Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Nicola Scott
Inker: Trevor Scott
Colourist: Pete Pantazis
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Cover Art: Juan Doe
A review by Jake Morris
Earth 2 #14 kicks off the war that has been edging closer and closer for quite a few issues now. You could say since the first time that the new wonders showed up. The war I am speaking about, is the World Army’s quest to finally defeat Steppenwolf. The first splash page of the issue is gorgeous and electrifying, showing Green Lantern, Doctor Fate and Flash speeding towards the outer defences of Dherain. The shot is truly rewarding because you finally feel like this new team is coming together and that all types of conflict between them have been put to bed. The ensuing battle grants us a lot of great action shots and entwined within those moments, we have the three characters discussing the plan of their attack. The two or three panels do seem unnecessary however and probably could have been left for some other moment prior to the actual action.
We are given another small look at Steppenwolf, and he reveals a dastardly plan for which he will unleash on the wonders. You get the feeling that the conflict will eventually lead to a wonder and Steppenwolf meeting where we will get a lengthy narration from Steppenwolf on what his grand scheme is. Many may complain about his overly-villainy portrayal but I really dig it, at times the title borders on a little serious and sometimes you want a villain to ham it up.
One of the areas that I haven’t been too bothered about with Earth 2 is the World Army conference calls and the numerous meetings with different officials. This issue has another but it isn’t so straightforward this time as Commander Khan and General Foster have a slight game of swings and roundabouts. Both often looking like they might not have the same beliefs in the overall cause but it swings back around to show that Khan is in fact well respected despite numerous undermining moments from the council. Although I am never too keen on these parts, it was cool to see Khan finally gain some backing as he comes across as the most loyal and trustworthy World Army member. This also hands us a reveal as to the whereabouts of a certain character that showed up a while back in one of the earlier issues.
Overall the issue is a good step forward in the titles future. We get a mixture of elements that are going to be essential to the story, and the pacing is very well managed throughout. I do feel like the Sandmen deserve more time in the series as they have potential to be big players in this war that is going on, but as of yet it is a waiting game, much like the rest of the story.
The art is strong yet again and the consistency in Nicola Scott’s art is tremendous. You would be hard pressed to find a weak panel or a lazy splash page. It is perhaps her artwork that should be commended more than most factors in this title as she has been side by side with Robinson since the beginning and they have created this new world magnificently together. Their world building is one of the reasons why Earth 2 remains as my favourite book that DC puts out.
Despite the strengths, the issue does still struggle with familiar problems from previous issues. The dialogue often reads a bit off and some characters might not be reaching their potential, but that is something Robinson could still achieve. Unfortunately, we will only see two more issues from him…
So if you have been enjoying the run so far, then this should be more of the same for fans. An issue that builds on the story ever so slightly, but importantly builds on the relationship between characters.
4/5
Jake is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter @JakeUtd.