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Rann-Thanagar: Holy War #1
Posted 29 May 2008
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Ron Lim (interior); Jim Starlin (cover)
Letters: Pat Brosseau
Ink: Rob Hunter (interior and cover)
Colors: John Kalisz (interior); Jeromy Cox (cover)
Publisher: DC Comics
4.50 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam McGovern
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The sad paradox of
many universe-spanning epics is that they feel not vast but
cramped, cramming as many characters as possible into a storyline
to maintain continuity and preserve copyrights. But in
Rann-Thanagar: Holy War writer Jim Starlin presents a truly
panoramic sense of the diverse corners of the DC Universe, in a
well-paced rotating narrative that gives glimpses of players on
many worlds that serve to sustain their awe and expertly build
suspense.
“No one can deliver widescreen action and state-of-the-art
superheroics with an unforced political context like Starlin.”
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In this tale of a brewing sectarian catastrophe between the two
title worlds, we’re given a vivid insight into the passions and
anxieties that drive the characters on a personal level in this
grand-scale saga, for an involving tapestry of big mysteries and
private motivations, not just the convoluted cosmic procedural such a
book could become.
Fans of the richly pulpy and emotionally complex Captain
Comet series Starlin did last year will be happy to see the
character continue in this series, and not be crowded at all by a
comprehensive but well-chosen cast of other players from the far-flung
sectors of the company’s literal universe. (Starlin’s
finally getting to write Adam Strange as he’d originally planned
for the series that became Comet, and underrated minis by
others, like last year’s Omega Men, are ably picked up in
this one’s plotlines.) Humor and tension, grand conflict and
quiet horror are balanced well, by a seasoned storyteller who knows
how to take such material seriously while always having fun.
The echoes of contemporary wars, holy and otherwise, in our own
world are plain, with Starlin unfussily critiquing distortions of
thought in many types of societies for a kind of rational dissent
that’s been in short supply in both real-life politics and
mainstream comics for as long as anyone can now remember.
When he’s on his game, no one can deliver widescreen action
and state-of-the-art superheroics with an unforced political context
like Starlin, and the spectacle is in no small part shouldered by
artist Ron Lim, with great alien vistas and colorful characterization.
There’s always been a perfect synch of purpose and style between
Starlin and Lim, and they’ve never been better together than
here. If the rest of the War goes this well, it’ll be one
everyone can cheer for.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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