Forever Evil #6 (Comics Review)

I have put up with DC’s Forever Evil event for going on six months now, since last September. It started off fairly well I think, all things considering, but has kind of been wallowing along for a while now. With the penultimate issue in stores this week, I believe things are finally looking up, even though the new issue is still plagued by many missteps, and the story really is all over the place sadly. But I must admit that I get a weird kick out of reading this title, even though I haven’t been enjoying it all that much. On a very basic level, this is quite an interesting series.

In the previous issues, we’ve seen some big reversals for the Crime Syndicate, even though they still hold innumerable advantages over the heroes of the world and are almost unassailable. But, with Luthor’s Injustice League on the prowl now, things are changing a little bit, bit by bit. Because in the absence of the heroes of the world, whether they are dead or unreachable, it is up to the villains to save the world, quite literally, and any heroes alive who are still willing to make a stand are in very, very short supply. And the art hasn’t improved at all, which is still very disappointing.

First off, that is a very, very unattractive cover. Like, I really want to facepalm at it. Quite possibly that is the worst-looking cover in the entire Forever Evil event, including all the crossovers that have been rolled out. And once again, for an issue with as sensational an announcement on the cover as this one, the story just does not match it. I mean yeah, it is referenced, but the so-called last stand is hardly a stand. It really is nothing. I just don’t get how DC can solicit such terrible looking covers for a premier title like Forever Evil.

The story itself is all about the Injustice League, with Batman and Catwoman, breaking into the Justice League’s watchtower, which is now the headquarters of the Crime Syndicate. In that respect, it is a very predictable story, because it is so damn easy to guess how they are going to get in and what is going to happen. It is no secret to say that this is the ending of Justice League #23, just with some roles switched around. The Crime Syndicate goes up against the Injustice League, and it really is a fight to the death, very literally actually. Because we do get at least one death in this issue. Possibly as many as three.

Personally, Forever Evil has kind of petered out to be little more than pure sensationalism. Stories like Throne of Atlantis and Trinity War were pretty damn excellent but Forever Evil has been nothing of the sort. There are occasional moments of brilliance such as the screentime given to villains like Black Manta and Captain Cold, with even Bizarro and Black Adam getting some punching time on occasion. The characterisation for these villains was quite cool and I liked their scenes, admittedly. But overall, the story just wasn’t all that good.

I don’t know. We get a very interesting reveal about just who the prisoner that the Crime Syndicate really is, and it is a big shocking reveal with some very big implications for the world post-Forever Evil, depending on how the story plays out, but I can’t help feeling that all that Forever Evil is about is sensationalist reveals. It is just… inescapable. The story has always been quite thin on the ground, and all we seem to get are these big shocking reveals and the story just revolves around them, rather than using them as progression points.

And as far as the art is concerned, well, I can’t say that I saw any improvements from last time. This issue is a riot of characters. We get so many of them and in a lot of the panels it shows that David Finch is struggling to keep up. A lot of the characters just look so damn similar, and often times their expressions don’t change at all from panel to panel, which is just very odd. The colours and inks were okay, but the pencils aren’t that good, so its a struggle for them to be any good as well.

Overall, certainly not one of Geoff Johns’ better issues, not by a long shot.

Rating: 7/10

More Forever Evil: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5.