Villains. Everyone loves them. They are what make the hero so heroic, they cause mass mayhem and test our heroes in different ways every movie or issue. We love reading about them because they are so evil. They act out things that sometimes we wish we could do. We revel in the evil they bring us. If they have a tragic back story? Even better. We can feel less like a monster when we start loving all the messed up stuff they do. However, we all know how the standard comic book story goes: the villain messes up stuff, the hero comes in, stops them, the end. But what if, the hero, nay, all the heroes lost. Were killed, even. Well then, you get Forever Evil.
The last big DC event was two years ago with Geoff Johns’ brilliant Flashpoint. That lead us to the New 52. Two years later and DC is finally ready to give us another event. Something that I am incredibly excited about. You see, ever since Marvel started churning out events, I got tired of them, especially since all we saw were heroes fighting heroes. However, Geoff Johns brings us what we have been waiting for: a total super-villain take over.
The events of the Trinity War from the Justice League books left the heroes in a constant state of fighting each other over Pandora’s box. And well, FINALLY, someone did what I thought no one would do in one of those books. Make that the perfect time for the villains to strike. And they strike hard. There was a traitor among the group who was actually a part of the Crime Syndicate from Earth-3. She took control and allowed her teammates to join her on this earth. They then proceeded to wipe out every member of the Justice League when they were at there weakest.
Now, in Forever Evil #1, they have recruited the villains of Earth-0 (the mainstream DC universe) to join them and take over. This was probably one of the coolest comics I have read all year. It was really just a start up comic to let us know where things will be headed in the future but the set up was great. I loved seeing all the villains being recruited from various prisons and asylums. I loved seeing the villains interact with each other, and I really loved the last panel which has Lex Luthor saying something you would have never expected him to say. There is also a fantastic moment in the comic where it is literally a four page foldout spread of nearly every single super villain in the DC universe all in one room, and it was beautiful. David Finch’s art is so reminiscent of late 70s to early 80’s DC stuff. I love the clearly hand drawn style as opposed to the crisp and clean digital art style in most comics now-a-days. I have no problem with new art, it is just refreshing to see the old take.
This is the event book every comic reader has been secretly waiting for. The writing is fun and intelligent at times and the art is spectacular to look at. Over all, I give Forever Evil #1: 10 secret society coins out of 10.
-Coty Keziah
The Nerdicon 