DC's Year of the Villain #1 Review

Burn Out and Fade Away

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
Artist: Jim Cheung, Alex Maleev, Francis Manapul
Cover Price: 25¢
Release Date: May 1, 2019

For as big as this comic seems to be, I have not heard a lot of hype surrounding it.  I actually have heard more confusion about what it is and how it all continues and that's not a good thing.  Well, hopefully, I can shed some light into all of this stuff going on as well as tell you if this issue is worth the 25¢ sticker price.

Yea, it's crazy that this book is 25¢ and even crazier when you realize it hits the shelves 3 days before Free Comic Book Day.  That isn't exactly a new thing for DC, but it does make it seem like it's a story that may be a last minute development to say, fill in for a book that isn't hitting the way it should be.  You know, a book that was supposed to change the whole DCU but might be suffering through some delay issues.  You know...the hell with it, I really believe this is DC course correcting because of the Doomsday Clock delays!

The issue opens with Amanda Waller going to see the President of the United States to warn him about Lex Luthor...only to find Luthor waiting for her in the Oval Office.  This beginning feels big and just gets bigger as Lex tells his plan to Brainiac before doing the craziest thing I've seen is a long while.  Again, this feels big and whether this leads to or takes the place of the Doomsday Clock, it is that epic so far.

We then go off to see a cool team up of Green Arrow, Batgirl and while Merlyn is there as well, the big deal is Leviathan is in the house and after his blue energy zap, we get Batgirl and an offer to reboot the world.  Yep, this felt like the start of Rebirth 2.0, but with Batgirl as the face of it all.  

"Hook me up a new revolution

Cause this one is a lie"

We end the scene with Damian and I like the idea of what he is asking, but someone tell Bendis that the Red Hood of Gotham is Damian's brother!  Besides that little thing, I am all in and love seeing Oliver.

We end the book with the third chapter that is a bit of recap for those who haven't been following the Justice League book, but then it opens things up in a big way with a splash page promising a bit of a Justice League Unlimited feel coming down the pike and then see that the bad guys and gals are about to get bigger and worse as well. 

For 25¢ you can not go wrong here.  This is big stuff that looks to be the start of everything else going forward.  It will catch you up a bit if you need it before sending the DCU on its way and the art looks incredible.  The story goes off into a bunch of books (including the just announced Batman/Superman) and whether you follow it all is up to you.  However, if you are a fan of DC Comics, throw a quarter down and check this out.

Bits and Pieces:

This almost free comic paves the way for bigger and hopefully better things and really, if you are a DC Comics fan, you should get it.  The art throughout is great and while this is mostly setup for what's to come this summer, it feels big and important.

8.0/10