DC’s New Talent Showcase has returned for another year. This large issue (75 pages of content) really does ‘showcase’ new writing and drawing talent.

For that reason, we need to take a step back from our usual high expectations. The comic is produced by graduates of a 10-day comic talent workshop sponsored by DC comics. These graduates are mentored by Andy Kubert, Klaus Janson, Jim Lee and Scott Snyder. It’s not ‘yet another issue by a comic veteran with 20 years of experience’. There are some rough patches here and there.

New Talent Showcase 2017 consists of seven short stories, featuring Red Hood and Duke, Katana, Nightwing, Poison Ivy, Deadshot, Doctor Fate and Wonder Woman.

A few of the stories suffer from being too complex, or what I see as a lack of clarity. We are shown characters in conflict, (“Red Hood and Duke”) but we are puzzled as to what is actually happening, and how the short story will offer us a beginning, middle, and end. Some of the stories are more a “slice of life” than a fully developed story. And some stories appear to be a loosely assembled montage of fight scenes and dialogue. Some pages of art are awkward, some transitions between scenes are abrupt or jarring. But such is the learning of the craft. You have to write and draw in order to learn how to do it better!

Of the seven stories in this issue, I particularly enjoyed “Silent Screams” by writer Owl Goingback artist Matt Merhoff and colorist Dave McCaig. This ten-page Poison Ivy is very well written, and exquisitely drawn and colored. It is a really good read!

Also strong in my opinion are the Wonder Woman story (The Archive), and Deadshot (Mercy).

$8.00 is a bit steep for a comic showcasing only new talent, but it looks like there is new blood at work in the comics industry, and DC has stepped up to the plate in terms of supporting their development. So that’s a real plus, and one way to support new talent is to purchase their work!

DC Comics New Talent Showcase 2017 Issue 1, $7.99 for 75 pages of reading content

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!