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Mild Mannered Reviews - Batman/Superman: Authority Special #1

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Batman/Superman: Authority Special #1

Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 2, 2021
Cover date: January 2022

"Empire of Shadows"

Writer: Philip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Jonathan Glapion, Trevor Hairsine, Ben Templesmith, Rain Beredo and Scott Hanna
Cover: Rodolfo Migliari
Variant Cover: JeeHyung Lee

Reviewed by: James Lantz
Click to enlarge

As Superman and The Authority prepare for their voyage to Warworld, Batman needs them for a mission that could help save the Multiverse. The Empire of Shadows, a Dark Multiverse counterpart to Ra's Al Ghul's League of Shadows, has captured a Fuginaut, a guardian of the Multiverse, as a means to invade the main DC Universe. The Enchantress' magic aids the Batman, Superman and The Authority to launch a preemptive strike on the Empire of Shadows. If they fail, all that exists will fall under their tyranny.

The Fuginaut is dead, and Enchantress has been captured. While Superman and most of The Authority battle the Al-Ghuls and their undead soldiers, Batman and Midnighter take out followers who could be dark versions of Bruce Wayne's bloodline to rescue June and take away the Empire of Shadows' bridge to the main DC Universe. The Dark Knight is impressed with the Man of Steel's team. He knows they'll do what they can to liberate Warworld. However, the Empire of Shadows could be planning their next move in spite of their defeat.

5Story - 5: I was pleasantly surprised by how fast paced this story was. While it doesn't answer all my questions that "Superman and The Authority" and "Action Comics" have put in my mind, I'm confident that Philip Kennedy Johnson will provide those as his stories progress. I feel like he and other creative teams are weaving a complex serial for all characters involved along the lines of many of the classic Bronze Age comic books or the literary works of Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov. This comic is just among the many entertaining DC outings in recent years. Plus, Midnighter's witty banter says what I believe some fans might be saying about Batman.

3Art - 3: The art goes from being incredible to being utterly horrible from one page to the next. This is what really bugs me in general about multiple artists on a single issue, even if it is a Special. You can have a case of too many cooks spoiling the comic broth as has happened with this issue. The styles just clash too much for my taste.

5Cover Art - 5: This cover would be great for an animated film poster. I can't imagine any other main image for this book.

5Variant Cover Art - 5: This variant reminds me of both Golden Age Superman and art during Joe Casey's run some years ago. I probably would have added some Authority characters to it, but that little thing doesn't really hurt the rating.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2021

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 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021

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