“War”
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Yasmine Putri
Color Artist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Wes Abbot
Review by Sharna Jahangir
Warning: there are minor spoilers in this review
I love that this team of creators is back. Yasmine Putri brings Tom Taylor’s words to life in such an exquisite fashion, and this is s a big reason why I follow this series. In Dark Knights of Steel #9, we see our trinity throughout, as we begin to approach the climax to our tale.
When last we left off, all three kingdoms were at war, leaning towards a Game of Thrones-esque series finale. Wonder Woman’s in a state of shock after seeing her mother killed by her lover’s (Zara El) mother. Now it’s queen versus queen, Amazon versus Kryptonian. There’s so much unresolved turmoil, it just keeps getting messier, leaving us to wonder how Prince Kal-El and the Bat-Prince will save these innocent lives.
The Story
It’s revealed, as I suspected, as any reader would have suspected that OF COURSE… it’s doubles! Kal-El, our Superman, no matter what universe (except Injustice; God, Tom why do you make our corn-beef-fed Kansas boy a killer? Keep our sunshine superhero, please!) Kal-El would never commit cold-blooded murder. [Insert “Not all men. You’re right, Clark Kent would never” meme] We have lines that were shown in medias res of this Elseworlds saga, at the beginning of the series “They will sound like us. but they are not like us. They are demons.”
The doppelgangers have made such a mess of things, so this issue is pure chaos as all the characters who’ve been hurt by the demonic tricksters are at their wits end. This issue’s captivating as we see the half-brothers, Superman and Batman re-imagined, going toe-to-toe, and finally others making a sense of what has been going on. Diana’s unhinged, and the armies are ready to attack. These kingdoms were at peace, but after all these years, war is unstoppable. I must add, Batman’s absolutely epic in this issue! Ahem…so is Alfred, and you’ll find out as to why.
The Art
I love Yasmin Putri, and hope she works on other Batman titles. She creates such gorgeous and emotional faces. The art’s beautiful and the battle scenes glow. She makes a great team with colorist Arif Prianto. The pages come alive with enriched highlights of dark lines that show action and the layout of the panels is top-notch. An image of art I will never forget is Diana’s broken face and red hands, she squeezes them so tightly seeing the death of Queen Hippolyta, it’s heart-wrenching.
The reveal of the demons is also well-drawn, as they have such sinister faces. I’m looking forward to more versions of them, as well as the lead villains. Prianto does a stunning job with the colors, and the art’s really what compelled me at first to follow this series and continues to do so.
It’s also such a treat we have Dan Mora at it again with the covers. Yes, more of him drawing Superman and Batman, please.
Conclusion
There’s so much fantasy in this issue, it’s absolutely a must-read if you’re following the series. I’m loving this story and am aching to see where it leads. This issue has to be a favorite, because we see the trinity, and because some of the confusion has been cleared up. If you’re following this Elseworld, I 100% recommend continuing.
It’s Dark Knights Of Steel #9, we’re almost at the end! Also, there’s Batman riding a Dragon a fantasy somewhere, now come to life with eye-catching art-work! That’s something I’ll never get tired of
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment
