Falling Diamond
This series started out really impressing me with it's surprising avoidance of the shallow series it appeared it would be. However, as the series progressed, it quickly started deteriorating in quality with an inconsistent art schedule, and some other problems that are possibly inescapable, as they seem tied into the core concepts of the series.
Last issue I complained about the insistence on giving all the characters spotlight time muddying up the spotlight i a similar vein to Legion of Super-Heroes' main shortcoming. This issue its kind of balance out by leaning back too far in the other direction, as everyone is present, but about 80% of the cast is completely forgotten with Deathstroke hogging all the page time. Sure a few others get a panel or two to shine, but the big chunk of characters I already have trouble remembering blend more into the woodwork this issue as they're severely under utilized. And that's one of the biggest drawbacks of this team series. There's a bit too few many characters for a group consisting of such easily forgotten and non-iconic characters. Sure I always remember Slade Wilson and Black Canary and OF COURSE the masked Grifter; and Amanda 'Er but that's....; but the other members are such generic archetypes and names I'm not familiar with. It's impossible for me to connect with these characters when they're written off so much.
However, putting the spotlight on Deathstroke DOES give some amazing insight into his character, and what makes him such a stone cold badass, and not just in terms of his abilities. His split-second decision making, indomitable spirit, and willingness to go to any lengths to get the job done really help him here, and demonstrate why he's presently known as the DCU's greatest assassin.
Other than that, though, this issue is a mess. Julius Gopez's artwork is pretty nice, but Jimbo Salgado's work is somewhat shoddy and clashes pretty wildly with Gopez's. It's also around the point that Salgado takes over that the story takes a nose dive into rushed confusion. There's a lot built up about the island being this huge complex magical prison.... and then suddenly two pages later everyone is right at the center for a battle between the two invading forces. What happened to that freaking gauntlet upon another gauntlet Essence talked about? Not only is the big climax underwhelming, it jumps around between scenes, with what feels like pages or panels missing as the story skips forwards like a broken record.
In Conclusion: 2.5/5
This series has slowly been moving downhill after its admittedly surprisingly impressive start. This issue completely ignored half the cast and utterly fell apart towards the end. There's some good ideas in this series, but with such an overwhelming cast that blends together so much I don't know how long this series can hold itself up.
