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Mild Mannered Reviews - Special Comics

Event Leviathan #3

Scheduled to arrive in stores: August 14, 2019

Cover date: October 2019

"Event Leviathan"

Writers: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Alex Maleev
Cover: Alex Maleev
Variant Cover: Jay Anacleto and Rain Beredo

Reviewed by: Mario Bennese

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In the Fortress of Solitude, the team of the world's greatest detectives discuss their battle with Jason Todd. Through a flashback, we see that the team lost the fight, largely because there were too many individuals trying to do their own thing. During the confusion, Lois manages to ask Todd a series of questions that end up proving his innocence. The team begins to suspect Amanda Waller. Lois mentions that Waller was recently in the Fortress, but somehow broke out. Robin finds a device Waller had planted that was invisible to Kelex's sensors. Plans are made to evacuate the Fortress as the government agent had been listening in on their conversation the whole time. Green Arrow speaks directly to Waller, telling her the Leviathan situation happened on her watch.

In a motel in the middle of nowhere, Waller destroys receiver before heading to a pickup truck. Leviathan appears before Waller intending to kill her, but before any shots are fired, Superman arrives to save the day.

Story - 3: I'm not going to say that this is a bad book. It really isn't. The world's greatest detectives assembling to solve a world-ending mystery is a brilliant concept. However, a good concept doesn't amount to much if the execution is lacking. When I picked up my comics this week and looked at the books I got, the only book I wasn't excited to read was this one. Again, it's not terrible, but it's also not captivating me the way a story of this nature should. The intrigue and excitement I felt reading the first issue is gone and it feels like I'm just reading out of obligation. There are some developments in the last five pages, but the bulk of the issue is the team talking about losing a fight and Jason Todd's innocence. With hindsight, it makes the previous issue seem like a waste of time. Unless Jason Todd comes back into the picture later in the story, proving his innocence was pointless. In the meantime, I'll give Bendis the benefit of the doubt.

On a different note, I don't even want to think about how janky the story's pacing will be in the collected edition. The last issue ended with the beginning of a fight and this issue picks up after it's ended. It works with single issues, but not so well when being read back-to-back.

Art - 4: The biggest highlight of this series is the art. Maleev's work adds a distinct texture and there's great use of lighting to convey mood and atmosphere. The final splash page features a Superman that reminded me of Curt Swan's barrel-chested Man of Steel. That made me smile.

Cover Art - 2: To borrow a term from Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, this piece feels "stock." You could slap this image on the cover of either of the previous issues and it'd work. Why? Because it's a generic piece of Batman fighting some masked soldiers. It doesn't feel unique to this issue or unique in general. The art is good, but the piece is uninspired.

Variant Cover Art - 2: This cover doesn't do much for me. Much like the standard cover, it's well-drawn but not particularly interesting.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2019

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2019

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Mild Mannered Reviews - Special Comics

Event Leviathan #3

Mild Mannered Reviews

2019

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