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Mild Mannered Reviews - Batman/Superman Comic Books

Dark Knights of Steel #10

Scheduled to arrive in stores: March 28, 2023
Cover date: May 2023

"The Green Man"

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Yasmin Putri
Cover: Dan Mora
Variant Covers: Ejikure and Jorge Molina

Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer

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The story picks up right after J'onn J'onzz reveals he is Alfred and the armies learn of the existence of the White Martians. Diana immediately confronts J'onn about his role in the whole plot. Bruce defends his mentor and it looks like he and Diana will come to blows, until Kal intervenes with the lasso of truth. Constantine suggests they take a minute to reassess the situation, at this point Diana goes off on him due to his role in the prophesy and pursuing the conflict. The return of Jacob turns even Queen Anissa against John, until Queen Lara invites all into the city to recover from the battle.

Once inside the palace J'onn recites the tale of his people's destruction. He reveals the dire nature of a conflict with the White Martians and his own failures to protect his family. After he recites his tale, we shift to the Green Man, Luthor. He is sitting atop a tree talking to his Green Lantern ring, in mid conversation he is torn apart and the leader of the White Martians seizes the ring from him.

Story - 5: At long last... it is back! Wow! We have waited a long time for this. Only two more issues after this one, that kind of scares me, because the highs of this maxiseries have been triumphant. Issue ten marks another high point in the series. I know I have been down on it because of the underutilization of Superman, and the over emphasis on Batman. This issue has barely any Superman, but it highlights a severely underutilized J'onn J'onzz.

My highlights for this issue were the confrontation between dragon Beast Boy and Diana. I love the idea of Beast Boy being a dragon and backing up Bruce in a confrontation with Diana. I also really enjoyed seeing Constantine being confronted over his prejudices and poor advice to his Queen. I hope that he will receive some more consequences later in the series. By far the best part of the issue was J'onn's story. His description of the end of his world is heart breaking, and adds some important stakes for the upcoming battle with the White Martians. With only two more issues to go, it is nice to finally have the true villains exposed, and their powers revealed.

Art - 5: I do not know for sure why these comics are so delayed, but I assume it is because of the art. If that is the case, it is totally worth it. The figure work is gorgeous throughout. I especially loved the dragon design and the Martians. Unfortunately, as is the case with most comics, the backgrounds are typically barebones. The few detailed backgrounds shown are incredible, I wish that there were more illustrations showing the world around the characters. I would love a book of Putri just drawing different places in this world, and I hope Yasmine is along for any future explorations of this universe.

Cover Art - 4: I like the idea of this cover, and the figure work is great. But the white background makes it look too plain.

Variant Cover - 2: I know I am in the minority on this cover, I just have never liked how this artist draws faces, especially female faces. This takes away from my enjoyment of the cover in such a massive way. The faces are central to the image, they're the first thing my eye is drawn towards. If they are not to my liking the whole image fails.

Variant Cover - 5: This cover embodies everything epic that I was hoping would be in this series. The dragon in the background is incredible, it feels ripped straight from the "Desolation of Smaug". And the Batman in the foreground... gorgeous. When I was a kid I had a Silver Knight Batman toy as part of the "Legends of Batman" toy line. That was one of the coolest toys I had as a kid, and seeing Batman, all armoured up for battle. This cover creates a similar sense of wonder and childlike excitement in me.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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Mild Mannered Reviews - Batman/Superman Comic Books

Dark Knights of Steel #10

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

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