Reviewer: Mathan Erhardt
Story Title: Enlightenment
Written by: David Goyer & Geoff Johns
Penciled by: Leonard Kirk
Inked by: Kieth Champagne
Colored by: John Kalisz
Lettered by: Ken Lopez
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Publisher: DC Comics
Not too much action in this issue. Most if it happens in other dimensions and doesn’t have any immediate consequence on the ongoing story. We get to see Hector meet some other agents of Chaos and Order, plus they stage an intervention to get his head back in the game (yawn, zzzzzzz.) Star Spangled Girl and the former Captain Marvel make their way through the Shadowlands (I’m awake, I’m awake, I’m back asleep.) But Batson does kiss Star Spangled Girl, and the last page is a great blast from the past.
Now about that kiss. I don’t know if there was any tongue action. Billy wouldn’t have forced the tongue issue. But Courtney initiated the kiss, and she can be kind of wild and reckless. It could have been just a peck. For Billy’s sake I hope it was at least an open-mouther.
Goyer and Johns do great things with character. In the beginning of the review I hinted that it was a boring issue. It isn’t, it just isn’t all the excitement that the previous issues have been. The conversations between Billy and Courtney are dead on. Peep pages 15 and 16 for some great dialogue. Since this issue is like the mid point of the story arc I expect things to slow down for a minute. Having an entire story run at breakneck pace can be exhausting. The Chaos and Order BBQ was also well written.
The art is fantastic as usual, when Kirk is in the house. He had a great run on Supergirl, I just wish the JSA didn’t have so many fill ins. The whole team did a great job of setting the mood. The BBQ looks blissful and the Shadowlands are sinister. And my man on the last page has never looked better, nor has the dude he’s carrying looked worse. Kudos.
