“Year Of The Villain” – Part One
Artists: Alex Maleev, Jim Cheung and Francis Manapul
Color Artists / Letterer/s: Not Credited in Digital Review Copy
Cover Art: Greg Capullo
Review by Steve J. Ray
Whoah! The DC Universe is in deep trouble right now. Just with the three titles I’ve reviewed this week we’ve had a zombie apocalypse, a villainous uprising and a crisis of Turtle-tastic proportions! Two of these stories are out of continuity limited series, but the one featured in these pages is canon. Yes, dear reader DC’s Year Of The Villain is upon us!
Anyone who’s read Dark Nights: Metal, followed the repercussions through No Justice, The Batman Who Laughs and the three ongoing Justice League books (Justice League, Justice League Dark and Justice League Odyssey) will have an idea of what’s happening. Anyone who hasn’t (seriously, what are you thinking?!?) needs to pick up this incredibly entertaining one-shot issue. Honestly, it’s only 25 cents, so you have no excuse.
This Is Comics
This comic is a must read and the perfect intro for anyone who wants to get into reading comics. Give this book to a ten year old and they’ll love it. Pass it to someone who wants to feel all the thrills, action and fun that comics can deliver, and I’m sure that they’ll be happy. DCeased is dark and terrifying, but Year Of The Villain #1 is the kind of classic, universal threat comic that I grew up with and still get a huge kick out of reading.
Writers Snyder, Tynion and Bendis (plus the creative teams on their own ongoing books and all the Batman family of titles) will be carrying this incredible tale through the Superman and Justice League comics over the rest of 2019… and beyond. For 25 cents this issue delivers a lot of bang for its (quarter) buck! Intrigue, plots, explosions and more super characters than you can shake a cosmic rod at! That double page spread over pages 20 and 21 is seriously gorgeous and worthy of full-on poster treatment.
Conclusion
Buy a copy… NO! Buy four or five and give them to your friends! This is a story that will chart the path for DC’s entire line for months and years to come. The thing I love about DC events is that you won’t need to buy every single crossover and tie-in, but will just be rewarded by a richer reading experience if you do. As Batfans, if you already pick up Batman, Deathstroke, Detective, Batgirl, Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Teen Titans and the Justice League books, you’ll be getting most of the story automatically. Whatever you decide, grab this one and you’ll be getting in at the ground floor.
Images Courtesy Of DC Entertainment