Forever Evil's plot isn't terribly complicated. "The bad guys are winning. Now, who's going to do something about it?" The book takes place after the events of Trinity War, but not directly so. The Crime Syndicate from Earth 3 (Why the fuck are we doing all the alternate Earths again?) has shown up to run this planet like they pretty much always have and are making it a good day to be a bad guy. We're only given teases as to what happened to the Justice League, but no matter the details, it's pretty apparent that they lost in a major way.
The book serves as something like a red carpet show for a Who's Who of DC baddies including, most notably, Flash's Rogues Gallery. With the way he revolutionized villains like Sinestro, this should be Geoff Johns' bread and butter. Personally, I enjoyed the opening act where we're seeing the state of the world so far through the eyes of Lex Luthor. Johns' characterization of Lex isn't quite as spot-on as Grant Morrison's from Action Comics and All Star Superman, but he still serves his purpose as an unintentional hero. We're not given as much of a look into the Crime Syndicate as I would have liked, but the little tweaks he makes to some old baddies (Power Ring's apparent capacity to FEEL great fear) makes it a good enough tease to hold us over until the next issue. The weak link in this series thus far is the artwork of David Finch and the problem him is the same as it's always been: David Finch knows how to draw exactly four facial expressions....1). The "Not now! I'm posing!" face
2). The "I'm batshit crazy!" face
3). The "Happy" face....which so far, throughout the entire New 52, I've only ever seen from Stargirl and maybe one of the Teen Titans.
4). The "every emotion I express revolves around me looking like I want you" face. This face is reserved almost exclusively for Catwoman and is also known as "the Angelina Jolie."
Bottom Line: If you can get past David Finch's stone faces, this is an entertaining, ambitious tease of what's to come. 7.5 out of 10.
Infinity #2: A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that it's always a plus to have an comic event include a contained, purposeful number of optional tie-ins working in tandem with the core title. That still remains true here this week. Since the first issue of Jonathan Hickman's wide reaching "save the universe" epic, it's become clear that you're required to read the work he's doing in Avengers and New Avengers to keep up with what's happening in this book. However, if you elect not to, you are DEFINITELY missing out on some truly awesome superheroing.
Upon reading this issue, it's obvious right away that the focus is less on the grand battles in space and the invasion of Earth which is a bit surprising considering the kind of momentum built in the first issue. Instead, Hickman has elected to shift the POV for more of a "behind the scenes" sort of look at Black Bolt and the Inhumans, who are obviously going to be playing a big part in the coming issue. Despite the well done tension building with the intimate aspects, the peeling away of layers that reveals bits of Thanos' true intentions for Earth.....you're still left wanting a little more out of the other conflicts. One panel on one page telling us about Black Panther repelling ANOTHER alien invasion (read the Secret Invasion tie in for BP...you're welcome) simply doesn't measure up to what we're given in the corresponding issue of New Avengers. However, in a way, it's just the cost of doing business when you throw out the big guns right away. And this isn't a new tactic from Hickman. His stories tend to be so all-encompassing, it tends to be worth the wait when he deviates from the main beats of action. So it's perfectly acceptable to give him some leeway here. The task of penciling the divided up with Dustin Weaver working on the scenes depicting the battle on Earth and Jerome Opena doing the parts that take place in space. Although, storywise, the focus isn't so much on the fighting, that doesn't mean there's been any slacking in the art department. A particular Weaver scene where Thanos henchman, Corvus Glaive, offers a demonstration of his servants' conviction is simply stunning. Opena has an equally fantastic moment showing Gladiator and his Shi'ar troops contributing to the effort in space. Though the shift in pov has changed slightly, this event hasn't lost any of its luster just yet.
Bottom Line: Even though it's a better read if you're keeping up with the two supplementary titles, this book is still how big events should be done. 8 out of 10.
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