Reviewer : Tim Byrne
Title : Seven Hells
Writer : Dave Gibbons
Pencils : Ivan Reis, Joe Prado & Joe Bennett
Inks : Mark Campos, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert & Jack Jadson
Colors : John Kalisz & The Hories
Letters : Nick J. Napolitano
Editors : Peter Tomasi & Stephen Wacker
Whew…. I feel like the reviews over, and all I’ve done is set out the multitudes who’ve worked on this final issue.
Well, for all those who yearn for those universe-wide adventures with little or no basis in reality – here it is.
Proudly and straight-facedly setting out lines like “My Nth metal body courses with the soul-energy of a planet”, the story clatters head-first to an explosive conclusion.
Oh, and when I said ‘conclusion’, I meant ‘vaguely decisive ending which serves as a huge advertisement for this highly-publicised series you may have heard of called Infinite Crisis’.
As someone who has had only a passing knowledge of much of the twists and travails of DC continuity, I have allowed much of this series to wash over me in a brightly coloured bath of abstract references. I’ve certainly been concerned that these minis, which are supposedly attempting to bring ‘fringe-dwellers’ back into the fold, focus so intensely on little-known characters within the DC Universe. Oh well, the powers that be know better than a little old review writer, I’m sure.
In terms of the ‘plot’ of this issue, there’s a lot of explosions, much fighting, a ‘tragic’ death, and, naturally, a plot device that snatches a ‘sort-of’ victory for the heroes at the last minute. That would merit a spoiler warning except for the fact that its pretty well telegraphed once the ‘horrifying all-powerful’ nature of the villain is so clearly telegraphed.
The highly croweded art is obviously one of the main selling points here, with the many artists filling every available space with the cast of milliaons, as well as pleasantly detailed backgrounds. Numerous splash pages add to the feel of a ‘blockbuster movie’, which does sit a little uneasily with some of the intricacies of knowledge required to get all you should from the plot.
There’s some obscure mini-series which apparently carries on this story. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
