Booknote: Injustice: Gods Amongst Us, Vol. 1

Tom Taylor, Injustice: Gods Amongst Us, Vol. 1. New York: DC Comics, 2013. ISBN: 9781401245009. 

This is a prequel comic/tie-in to the video game Injustice: Gods Amongst Us. Regarding the comic, in a nutshell, Superman loses Lois Lane and their unborn child at the hands of The Joker. Grief stricken, he basically goes on a rampage to punish the crime. However, he does not stop there as he basically goes on a dictatorial crusade to rid the world of violence, crime, and war by any means necessary. Some of the other superheroes stand with Superman, and others do not thus setting up the big conflict.

The story starts well enough. Tragedy strikes, and naturally the reader feels for the Man of Steel. However, once he has gotten his justice, things get way out of hand as he basically goes on to become an out of control dictator and bully. This is the definitely not the usual virtuous image of Superman we  usually see. At that point, the story pretty much becomes who sides with who and how many people Superman can alienate. At that point, that was where I lost interest in this comic. So, in the end, a story with a good start that degenerates as it progresses.

A redeeming quality is the art. The cover art is slick, colorful, sharp. Art inside is good as well, and there are some good panel layouts. I liked it, but this could have been a lot better.

If you ask me, 3 out of 5 stars, barely.



Disclosure note: This is the obligatory part where I tell you, in order to keep The Man happy, that I read this as an e-galley provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.