Review by Tim Sheridan
“Who’s Your Daddy Part 3: Domestic Violence”
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Penciller: Javier Pina
Inker: Fernando Blanco
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Colorist: Steve Buccellato
Asst Editor: Rachel Gluckstern
Editor: Joan Hilty
Published by DC Comics
As the penultimate issue before the ‘One Year Later’ shift, it’s a little all over the place. It seems as though Andreyko had too many side stories to wrap up, and too little time to do so. And for the first time, it seemed like the story took a backseat to Andreyko’s random pop culture references. There even was a slightly forced scene involving a gay character. I have nothing against the gay subplot at all. In fact, I really like the way it’s being handled for the most part. And I even like that the fact that it’s a bit of a surprise involving one of the characters. But in an already busy issue, it just slowed things down. Honestly I think I feel this way because I want to see this (along with all the scenes) expanded on. There are only 22 pages to work with here, and this just didn’t fit.
The book has been populated with many very interesting characters, but at this point, it may be too many. There are a lot of stories vying for attention, but none of them really get the attention they deserve. Frankly, the issue is just too darn small.
The story I am most excited about, of course, is Kate Spencer’s. After all, she’s the character the book is about. We find out that Kate’s family has a history of superpowers, and that her father, who looks more and more like Clint Eastwood each issue, is dying. His intention was to use Kate’s son for a bone marrow transplant…but he’s not a match.
The father is also in cahoots with Phobia, who seems to be popping up everywhere these days. Phobia is holding Kate’s ex-husband, who is just not in good shape.
Anyways, with the help of Cameron Chase, Kate finds out where this is all going down, so she goes there, and proceeds to fight with Phobia (of course), and the issue ends with a rather grizzly image, and is quite the cliffhanger.
If my review seems a bit disjointed, it’s because the issue itself was the same way. It was an uncharacteristically weak issue, but I don’t fear for the title. This story will be wrapped up next month, and then Andreyko has a chance for a fresh start, and despite a weak script this month, I still look forward to the book ever month.
The art was once again excellent, and I really hope Pina and Blanco never leave.
