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Mild Mannered Reviews - Bizarro Comic Books

Bizarro #5 (of 6)

Scheduled to arrive in stores: October 21, 2015

Cover date: December 2015

"Is the Bromance Over?"

Writer: Heath Corson
Penciller: Gustavo Duarte
Inker: Gustavo Duarte

Reviewed by: T.A. Ewart (aka liheibao)

Click to enlarge

Agents Mahalo and Paillard proffer Jimmy and Bizarro 50K to break into Area 51, in order to gain the alien tech there. Chastity and Colin are still along for the ride, and they're off to the races once more. Naturally, the quartet causes a riot with the locked up aliens, culminating in a stand-off with Sam Lane. Fortunately, Lois Lane bails them out, sort of, then Jimmy and company set the world to rights, sending the aliens back home with their respective tech. However, Bizarro is upset with Jimmy, having learned the truth of Jimmy accompanying Bizarro this far: to make a coffee table book. Bizarro flies off, leaving Jimmy to ponder his next move.

Story - 4: Bizarro continues to be a bright spot in the DC YOU initiative. If you've waded through the stuff being offered by DC Comics for the last few months, and missed this title, it's not too late to give it a try... before it's over. In five issues, there has been, ironically, more character development with seeming off-shoots of the canonical characters. When Bizarro leaves Jimmy, untuned by comprehending that he was merely a means to an end, it works. It works better than it should, as Corson has actually done the two things necessary for any decent story: plot well, and develop your characters. Neither Jimmy nor Bizarro is the same character that they were when the series started. In the midst of a comical endeavor, there has still been enough growth that the most weighty moment in the series, can be taken seriously.

What does it say about an initiative when the most imaginative, reader-friendly, and entertaining book, the one that isn't "real"? Bizarro is limited to six installments, and then the road trip through hysteria and hijinks is over, and it's telling in order to gain satisfactory storytelling, one has to look to a book where nothing truly matters; where the outcome is not to be impressed on the history of the DC Universe for its duration. You have to wonder why such a spot of fun can only be had here, as if regulated to a stool or corner for punishment. Sad but true.

Art - 4: The last page says it all. You actually have to read it, especially Bizarro's flight path as he zooms away.

Cover Art - 3: The weakest portion of an otherwise cool read.