Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Two #1

Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Two #1

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Inker: Julien Hugonnard-Bert
Colorist: David Lopez of Ikari Studio and Rex Lokus
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Cover Artist: Jheremy Raapack with David Lopez

Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Two #1 starts with a happy moment. Writer Tom Taylor kindly and lovingly takes readers by the hand and shows them a fun time when Green Arrow, Black Canary and Green Lantern hanged out together. Then like the sly storyteller that he is, Tom smacks us right on top of Green Arrows grave. It’s a heck of a way to kill a smile, and great reminder of how serious things have gotten. Superman is no longer the hero we remember.

The comic is broken down into two parts. The first half, entitled “Third Wheel”, showcases Black Canary and the grief she is dealing with now that Green Arrow is dead. It’s poignant and to the point. It also slips something in at the end, teasing readers with a new plot thread, and a new ploy against Superman.

The second part of the comic is called “Fear”. There are two different storylines going on in this part. First off, there’s the return of Kyle Rayner, one of the Green Lanterns. Yet that intro quickly gets interrupted with an interlude in Gotham between Superman and Commissioner Gordon. Ever the bully, Superman tries to intimidate Gordon, but the commissioner holds his ground. But that doesn’t stop Superman from delivering a nasty blow. We also catch a glimpse of Batman making his recovery in an unexpected place. From there, things flip back to Kyle Rayner who is flying through space, heading to Earth. Unfortunately his journey is complicated by an ambush which leads to trouble.

Without spoiling too much more, there’s some nice story developments in this issue. It certainly doesn’t have the impact that Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 did, but it’s definitely doing some nice work in building on what’s already happened. The artwork is also really good in this issue with Bruno Redondo’s pencils, Julien Hugonnard-Bert’s inks, and a switch off between colorists David Lopez (“Third Wheel”) and Rex Lokus (“Fear”). The cheery moments look cheery, the mournful moments look mournful, and then there’s those moments of rage brimming just under the surface…and sometime released. “Third Wheel” has an excellent array of panels with a very nice arrangement as it shifts the focus between close-ups and faraway shots. “Fear” was a bit more cluttered with all the different stories, but the end moments between Sinestro and Kyle Rayner are great. Having done the The Brainiac-Sinestro Corps War, Bruno and Taylor are a natural pair when it comes to dealing with lanterns.

A fun issue overall, I give Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Two #1 a four out of five metal bikinis.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.