Written by Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, Mike Johnson, & Cullen Bunn
Art by Jorge Jimenez, Tyler Kirkham, & Eddy Barrows & Eber Ferreira
Colors by Andrew Dalhouse
Published by DC Comics
It’s the same old drill again, another issue of DC’s regular installment of disappointment. Guess it’s time to get it done. Earth 2: World’s End reaches issue #24 and is set to conclude in two weeks. Looking back on the last six and a half months leads one to conclude that the finale will most certainly be disappointing given how mismanaged this entire endeavor has been since day one. That being said, this week brings shockingly the closest knit issue to date, that is to say, there’s something that ties the many plot lines together and not something like the terrible art or drawn out fight scenes.
If there’s one word that describes this issue, it’s family. Almost every member of the cast has a familial bond that’s stressed or rekindled or in some other way brought front and center. Thomas Wayne accepts that he’ll never be a part of true Helena’s true family. Dick Grayson gives up his son Johnny (or Tommy depending on the issue) so he may live. Jay Garrick raises his voice when he can’t finally reunited with his mother, although that reminds the reader that his mom effectively exists to give him dialogue. Queen Marella returns after being sidelined harder that the Superman family, how nice that she has contributed nothing to the plot at all. Also Big Barda continues to act impossibly out of character. This is all coming together towards a finale that will likely be another stretched out and boring fight scene.
It’s been said before but it bears repeating, the Earth 2: World’s End art team is one of the most over bloated and poorly chosen group of artists for a job such as this. No one’s style attempts to match someone else’s and it looks like a total mess, not helped by the lack luster coloring by Andrew Dalhouse. Jorge Jimenez is by far the worst member of this team. His style is sloppy and messy. When he’s asked to draw a great battle between the Superman family and the aristocracy of Apokolips, there’s such terrible choreography and structure that there’s no sense of power or perspective to any of it. Strangely, the best art in this installment is by Tyler Kirkham. While it’s no feast for the eyes, particularly in how his style starts to resemble that of Scott Kolins’, it’s a godsend compared to the rest. Perhaps it’s because he draws a number of heroes all pursuing their own stories and so the book starts to resemble something created by people with an ounce of competence. It’s still barely a compliment when one says this is the best art in the book.
World’s End continues to do what it’s always done, disappoint. Though soon the comic book reading public will be a bit richer once this series concludes, this issue does provide what little levity it has the capacity to offer. There’s two more weeks of this garbage and after that, the world will be a better place.