The search for Dr. Manhattan is over, as Ozymandias, Rorschach ll, Johnny Thunder, Saturn Girl, The Marionette, The Mime, The Comedian, The Joker, and Batman are all scattered in different circumstances, their paths in Gotham have finally converged. Why is Dr. Manhattan residing within the DC Universe? What was his goal for the universe? What is it that he sees that neither of the heroes and villains unable to see? What truths will be uncovered? And what is Ozymandias hiding from everybody?

After six issues of mystery, and plot development, Johns finally provides some answers to the very questions that readers have been asking ever since and throughout the series thus far. But with the answers provided, it leaves readers with a new sense of questions and curiosity for what will unfold within this 12 issue series, and mind you, it’s now 7 issues out of 12 . This leaves many readers wondering what will unfold within the next five issues which is the tail end of the stand-alone series. So far, as from what readers have been witnessing throughout the series is a glimpse of the Minutemen’s homeworld before it got nuked, then a bit of metropolis, exploits of stuff surrounding the superman theory and the world’s speculation of it, but most of all, the story has been focused immensely on the setting of Gotham City.

Now, I will state that I really loved this issue, and it feels like things are really falling into place. But, it left me wishing, if not desiring to see more of what else that is occurring beyond just Gotham, because John’s and Frank provide some small excerpts of reports that refer to situations happening all over the world in regards to the world’s suspicions of all the superpowers that are and are not government made. And as much as readers get to hear a lot about it within the book, it left me wanting to see more of what is happening around the world aside from the hunt of Dr. Manhattan and his presence in Gotham. I think John’s writing is really strong in this issue since we get to see more of these characters from various parts of the DC Universe, past, present, future, and alternative all interacting with one another, creating what will soon become iconic moments for the internet to clamor about. I really loved the dialogue and climax of this issue, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about Dr. Manhattan and his reasons as to why he chose the DC Universe as a place to reside entirely. I’m pretty sure Johns will expand on those reasons more in-depth in the following issue since this issue is focused more on the discovery of Dr. Manhattan and what he was doing during that time.

But for this issue, it was awesome to see the characters react to the new information and discoveries that were uncovered and reacting in ways that felt convincing to their character and in context to the themes of this series. I’m enjoying the new developments of this book and most especially within this very issue since it feels like this issue finally answers some questions that have been plaguing everyone since the beginning of DC Rebirth. Yet despite all of the new information, it leaves me a little concerned about the last five issues, because I only wonder how much Johns and Frank will be able to explore in depth that will make the book feel more fleshed out aside from everything exclusively in Gotham. Because one would be convinced that this would be more of a Batman and Watchmen story than a DC Universe / Watchmen story. This doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy this series, because I’ve been enjoying this series immensely despite the delays. But it leaves me concerned about whether or not readers such as myself will see characters like The Flash show up and whether or not the mysteries that were presented in stories such as The Button, will be answered. And given that Sanctuary was mentioned in the prior issues of Doomsday Clock, how much Heroes in Crisis has a stake in this series as well? Who knows at this point? But I am enjoying this book despite my concerns for it.

Gary Frank continues to deliver in as much beauty and grace as he does in brutality with his artwork. The quality of his artwork is consistent and really satisfies the eyes with each new development, action, and scene that is delivered by him. His cross-hatching, his details, his figures, the choreography of fight scenes and shots, all done in nine-panel pages is really impressive and really holds well as an homage to Dave Gibbon’s /Steve Ditko’s approach while making it very much his own when delivering such scenes with beautiful execution. Frank’s art coupled with Anderson’s colors just makes the book even more of a masterpiece (at least on the visual side of this series since it’s still too early to tell whether Johns will truly deliver in the final issue of this series).

I think that this issue is a worthwhile issue to go out and get if not for the writing, then at least for the artwork alone. But John’s writing is solid enough that it will leave readers eager to see what happens next. Because the developments made within this issue will surely get everyone excited and skeptical for what will unfold in the next issue. But that’s the excitement that should leave readers feeling, because it leaves you wanting more, and so far, John’s has been delivering that. Each issue continues to feel a lot bigger than the last, widening the scope of the story, making it feel much more larger in scale and possibly more epic than realized. I think this issue is actually worth picking up, and I definitely recommend adding this issue to your new comic Wednesday pull list. I hope Johns doesn’t fail us and exceeds any expectations within the next following issues because this issue was nothing short of amazing, and that is not due to Batman and Joker at all, and that is something in it of itself.

By Anthony Andujar Jr.

Anthony Andujar Jr. is an NYC cartoonist and lover of comics and music. So much so that it led him to writing comic book reviews in between it all.

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