Customer Reviews

Final Crisis: Revelations HC

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The modern comics crossover presents writers both with tremendous challenges and tremendous opportunities. On the debit side, stories seeking to tie in must incorporate a central narrative, one that generally cannot be resolved in the tie-in, hence some satisfactory resolution must be arrived at without resolving the overarching situation. At the same time, they can bring writers platforms with increased visibility on which to enact their long-term stories, and to bring lesser-known characters into the spotlight. In "Final Crisis: Revelations", writer Greg Rucka (assisted by artist Philip Tan) is more than up to the task of using the backdrop of Grant Morrison's "Final Crisis" to further his own ongoing stories. Story points are discussed herein, so spoilers.

The main characters in this series are Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen, formerly partners on the Gotham Police Force in "Gotham Central", the critically-acclaimed crime drama that Rucka co-wrote with Ed Brubaker. Following the end of that series, the two formerly normal characters underwent some fairly significant changes (the better for them to fit into the superhero world of the DCU), with Allen's death at the end of "Gotham Central" leading to his enlistment as the Spectre, the virtually omnipotent embodiment of the wrath of God (the Presence, in DCU-speak); and Montoya becoming the second Question. Rucka earlier penned "The Question: Five Books of Blood", a miniseries that saw Renee thrust into the leadership of a murderous cult based on the religion of crime, founded by Cain and Lilith; this plot thread is picked up immediately within this miniseries (somewhat disjointedly, since some time has passed). With Allen, on the other hand, he is clearly moving to correct the damage done to the character in a story written by another writer, which saw Allen compelled to kill his own son.

As shown by his run on "Wonder Woman", Rucka is exceptionally adept at dealing with issues of religious faith with his fictional characters. With most writers, the only story they can do is a one-sided rage-against-the-heavens plot that shows how individual the character is (as often seen when other writers handle Wonder Woman). Rucka puts them to shame here with a complex handling of the aftermath of Allen's actions. Montoya has less to do here in terms of character development, though there is a brief space dealing with her feelings for Kate Kane (Batwoman). The Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), another character Rucka has done a lot with in the past, joins up midway through, though she's primarily another body for action scenes. Rucka also makes two rather considerable (and logical) additions to the mythos: the first is the Spirit of Vengeance's counterpart, the Radiant, Spirit of Mercy (now bonded to a deceased young nun, Sister Clarice); and the revelation that Vandal Savage, the immortal supervillain, is actually Cain.

All in all, this is an excellent piece of work, in a lot of ways better than the main event. One hopes for further Rucka-written adventures for these characters.

Nothing much to say, none the less this is the most relevant of the Final Crisis tie-ins that were released in hard covers. While the other 2 written by Johns carry the FC title, they are basically irrelevant to whats going on during the event and could have been used as arcs on his Action comics run or whatever. BEWARE, if you do not like religion in your comics its best to stay away, but then again why bother reading something with the spectre in it, if you don't want that? Anyways Rucka does a nice job on this, explaining a few things such as; why the Judeo-Christian God of the DCU is not intervening whilst Darkseid reeks havoc and takes away the free will of the inhabitants of the earth.

Final Crisis: Revelations comprises a 5-issue story arc that takes place during the Grant Morrison-penned event series Final Crisis. Darkseid has unleashed the anti-life equation on Earth, stripping humanity of its free will. Writer Greg Rucka and artist Philip Tan take on the religious implications of Darkseid's assault as Cain, the first murderer from the bible, takes revenge against God's agent The Spectre.

Right off the bat: while reading Final Crisis proper can only add to the understanding of what happens here, Revelations stands independently of its parent story arc. That's a sign that you're holding a reasonably well-produced tie-in. Beyond thematic similarities and the initial setup, you're getting two independent takes on what happens when evil wins. Conversely, you might want to be fluent in the history of The Question (Renee Montoya) and The Spectre (Crispus Allen), as Rucka is continuing story threads started in Gotham Central Book One: In the Line of Duty, 52, Vol. 1 and The Question: The Five Books of Blood SC. It's been an intriguing ride, and well worth the continued investment.

I'm quite pleased with Rucka's use of The Spectre here - for too many event series he's been de-powered, corrupted or removed from the board in some fashion, usually to compensate for his near-omnipotence. Final Crisis as a whole still relegates Spectre to this tie-in story, but at least within these pages The Spectre's powers and limitations are given more definition. We learn why he cannot act to stop the spread of evil, and what it takes to empower God's hand of judgement. This thoughtful examination of faith and belief is an extension of Rucka's continued exploration of his trademark characters, and the result is an enjoyable take on religion that's rare in the mainstream comic world. Philip Tan's art, rich in line work and detail, is a great fit for this type of story and both drives home the hopelessness of the situation and the majesty of the holy spirit where appropriate.

If you want more Final Crisis or just a smartly told religion-centric superhero story, Final Crisis: Revelations is worth checking out.

Final Crisis' may not have be the most popular DC series. 'Revelations' may not be one of the best stories DC has ever written. But it's an excellent addition to the 'Final Crisis' event, if you enjoyed it, which I did. And it's worth reading if you're a fan of Greg Rucka or the Question.

Greg Rucka's writing has an emotional resonance that is not as prevalent in many of DC's comics, and he isn't shy about religious or spiritual aspects of a story's premise or character's profile. In 'Revelations' Greg Rucka not only compliments 'Final Crisis', but he gives fans of the Question another story arc in her catalog.

The plot is a bit of a mouthful, for a 5-Issue series, and I don't want to give away any spoilers. But in 'Revelations', Crispus Allen struggles with his identity as the Spectre. Renee Montoya, the Question hunts members of the Religion of Crime, and tries to prevent certain events prophesied in the Crime Bible, an ongoing struggle for her character. The Spectre and the Question end up in a brutal face-off with Cain, as in Cain and Abel, and in the midst of all that, the Anti-Life Equation is unleashed on the Earth. Batwoman also makes an appearance, but she's under the Darkseid's mind-control. Like I said, it's a bit of a mouthful.

The religious aspects of 'Revelations', are only controversial, if you have no toleration for Christian folklore, or as you might prefer, the Holy Bible. I have no problem with the religious aspects of the story. Religion contradicts the DC universe as much as it can our own, and I think the juxtaposition is noteworthy, to say the least. Greg Rucka explores concepts such as vengeance, guilt, mercy and faith, and does an exceedingly well job of it, by emphasizing the spiritual aspects of the characters and the religious undertones of the story's premise.

The fantastic art is also worth mentioning. The panels in Revelations' are a bit cluttered and muddy, but effectively dark and oppressive. Philip Tan is like a messy Ivan Reis. Amongst the dark colors, the use of white in 'Revelations' is stunning; the inkers and colorists did an exceptionally superb job as well.

I can't say 'Revelations' is the best comic ever, but it's not disappointing. It's Greg Rucka and Philip Tan doing what they do best, making comics. And if you're going to read 'Final Crisis', don't forget to pick this up either.

a cheap way to end a story. keep your religion out of my comics.