Wednesday, July 12, 2017

DARK DAYS: THE CASTING #1 by James T Tynion IV and Scott Snyder - Book Review


From the publisher: The Joker's surprise attack threatens to lay waste to all of Batman's carefully laid plans. Will the Dark Knight be able to regain the trust of his closest allies, Green Lantern and Duke, and prevent the forces of darkness from consuming the DC Universe?! Will Hawkman's warning stop our heroes from peering into the abyss?

The great comics event of summer 2017 is on its way, courtesy of superstar writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV with art by a master class of comics artists: Andy Kubert, Jim Lee and John Romita Jr.! 

Dark Days: The Casting #1, by James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder, picks up where Dark Days: The Forge left off. There are several groups investigating a mysterious dark metal. Batman has met up with Wonder Woman. Duke and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) are confronting the Joker; and Hawkman is narrating his history and journey through a journal. As some of these heroes meet up, more is revealed behind the mystery of the dark metal. However, no clear answers are given; rather, this book is going to lead right into the Dark Days event series beginning in August.

The story was pretty good. It functions as sort of an extended prologue to the main series, so there are no major revelations. But, there are some interesting tidbits dropped in for readers. For instance, the dionesium that saved Batman's life in his battle with the Joker (and apparently saved his life, too) is related to the dark metal and there may be side effects. Another nugget of information is that Hawkman's origin goes back farther than ancient Egypt (which is the typical origin story for both Hawkman and Hawkgirl). I'm curious how these ideas will play out.

I'm also wondering just what the overall synopsis for Dark Days is, because for now, both Tynion and Snyder are keeping things close to the vest. They did a fine job with The Casting, but I think their hands were  tied in so far as revealing anything goes. I would recommend Dark Days: The Casting #1 to readers who are Batman fans and to those who are anticipating the Dark Days event. I don't think it will be required reading for the main series, but it does provide some context and background.

I received a preview copy of this book from DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.

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