Forever Evil: Arkham War #1

The Good

Well, I WAS going to rate this book at 5 stars until another book came along this week and set the bar higher (See my eventual Superman/Wonder Woman #1 Review). I like this book and I like the concept of the Villains of Gotham going to war and I am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.

The Bad

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to think about the book when I first read it, so I put it aside to come back to it later. Once I came back to it and flipped through it again I started to notice the inconsistencies. First of all I don't like the cover. Oh sure it is drawn well and it really gives that sense that this title is all about the fall out from the Forever Evil storyline. What it DOESN'T do, is really express the spirit of the pages within. Really the title is shaping up to be a Bane Vs. Everyone type story where as the cover page is just cramming all the Batman Villains on one page, most of them aren't even in this issue and at least one isn't even in Gotham at all (WTH is Prankster doing on the cover, isn't he in Chicago with Nightwing? Seriously?)

Next thing is the pacing is a little slow. From the beginning narrative to the politicing and positioning of troops, there isn't enough action in this book. We get two and a half pages of Bane assaulting... Professor Pyg? Now don't get me wrong, Pyg seems like a lunatic to me and they did a good job portraying him in this issue. He's creepy and demented sure. But is this guy torturing one measly hospital really THAT big a threat to BANE? Srsly? We get barely two panels of Bane's 'Army' assaulting Clayface and Ivy's territory while Bane himself figures he has to break some bones on a spectacularly not super-powered crazy person? Sure, it could be argued that the hospital was a strategic location due to the medical supplies, but he sends his men out alone to deal with Clayface and Ivy while he personally leads the charge on Pyg? How are Bane's men handling a creature that can literally go anywhere and (as established by Batman) look like anyone? How are bullets even hurting him? Flame throwers are great for dealing with plants, but the people wielding them should be easily strangled with a few vines.

And the Penguin's master plan is to... take out the bridge? Against a guy who cam in on a BOAT! I guess maybe Bane doesn't need to be all that smart to take out Gotham after all.

The Verdict

At the end of the day, this was an ok read. Unfortunately, I think I like the idea of the book more than I like the writing. It's not a horrible story, it just doesn't mesh together well. How can I believe that Bane is even capable of taking over Gotham if he doesn't show me that the guy has any kind of strategic mind at all when he goes after Pyg before the more dangerous Villains in Gotham? And am I supposed to believe that the resident Villains didn't take ANY precautions after Scarecrow's warnings?

I'm going to read this series because I want to see how it turns out, but this book needs to get its act together and start making sense real quick!