DC get the jump on Free Comic Book Day (this Saturday 5 May) with the early release of DC Nation #0. The comic collects four stories highlighting some of this summer’s major DC storylines and surprisingly not all of them are terrible!
The stories are arranged in descending order of quality, starting with the best and ending with the worst. Tom King’s Batman short sees the Joker breaking into some unlucky sod’s house to await his invite for Batman and Catwoman’s wedding. Who is this guy? Is Batman even sending out wedding invites? It all makes sense in Joker’s head. Or doesn’t, which is kinda the point.
I loved the way King wrote Joker as this scary but oddly charming chap. King’s Joker unexpectedly made me genuinely laugh too, which the character hasn’t done in a long while. He starts a joke about a letter and a stamp, abandons it and gives the stranger the most bonkers expression. Full marks to Clay Mann for nailing the visuals and making Joker funny for a change. The ending is disappointingly predictable though there is an undeniable tension as to whether or not the wedding invite will show up. The story is another feather in the cap for King and his fantastic Batman run – can’t wait to see what Joker’s got planned for the Bat and the Cat’s big day!
We get another tantalising glimpse into Brian Bendis’ forthcoming take on Superman with a short prologue to his Man of Steel limited series. Lois Lane is AWOL and a new star reporter has joined the Daily Planet: Robinson Goode. But she’s not all that she seems…
If this story is anything to go by, Bendis’ Man of Steel looks to be very similar to his Marvel series, The Pulse, a newsroom-focused drama with the occasional obligatory superhero scene. I didn’t love the story but it’s perfectly readable and I’m intrigued enough to read on so mission accomplished, Bendis!
Then we’re in soiled pants territory with Scott Snyder’s Justice League. Snyder’s comics of the last few years have been horribly dull despite attempting to be whacky, exciting and ambitious in a faux-Grant Morrison vein – No Justice doesn’t look to buck that trend. Multiple Justice League teams are fighting some aliens in some cosmic landscape for some reason – I couldn’t care less. I was so bored with this incoherent story, I actually put it down halfway through and I think it’s only around ten pages!
It’s so clear this title’s gonna stink: it has three writers – Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson – with a whole mess of characters all trying desperately hard to seem like they’re doing something electrifying… and Tom King manages to write a vastly more compelling story in the same space with the Joker and a stranger sat on two chairs in a room. The difference in writing quality is damningly noticeable. Oh well, looks like Justice League will continue to suck - this series should be called No Good!
The fourth and final story is The Unexpected by Steve Orlando, a writer who has never written a comic worth reading, which is expectedly crap. Someone called Firebrand has a machine heart that only keeps beating if she keeps fighting – kinda like the Crank movies but not nearly as fun – and some Johnny Depp-looking dude wants to steal it, just ‘cos. The Unexpected is part of “The New Age of DC Heroes”, a line of 8 new titles launching this year. At least I know there’s one less series I’ll be bothering with!
DC Nation #0 has a really good Joker story and a half decent Superman story. It’s also totally free so I’d say it’s definitely worth a look! Download your copy on Comixology here: https://www.comixology.com/DC-Nation-2018-0/digital-comic/666816?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy