Comic Review: New Talent Showcase 2018 #1 (DC Comics)

It’s always refreshing and tantalizing to see new talent at work. DC Comics boldly shows off their new creators, both writers and artists, fresh from the DC Talent Development Workshops. It’s New Talent Showcase 2018, issue 1.

This comic consists of six stories, each by a different creative team. Featured are Batman, Constantine, Catwoman, John Stewart, Zatanna and Wonder Woman. The challenge in short stories for both creators and readers is to observe the flow of a cohesive story in the limited range of pages. Most of these stories run about a dozen pages. Just enough to get in, establish the scenario, get something happening and conclude it.

Batman in “Leap of Faith” succeeds very well. A candidate for US Senate is held hostage, and only Batman, who she despises, can rescue her and her son. WIll it work out? Such is the stuff of drama. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, artist Amancay Nahuelpan and colorist Trish Mulvihill perform admirably here. It’s visual, it’s big scale, it’s human. Bravo!

Another strong story comes from writer Magdalene Visaggio, with art by Aneke and colors by Beth Sotelo. Wonder Woman is in the position to save a confused teenager. It’s Billings, Montana, site of strange seismic activity at Beartooth Mountain. In this case, a small cast, and somewhat small scope story is the perfect training ground for new DC talent. It has it all; conflict, human emotion, and a good flow.

Overall, there’s some good reading in the New Talent Showcase. Check it out and see what tomorrow’s professional comic talents are doing today!

DC Comics, New Talent Showcase 2018, #1, $7.99 for 80 pages of content. Rated Teen