NEW 52: FUTURES END #1 Review

Is this really a weekly series that’s worth your investment? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC:

Five years from now, the DC Universe is reeling from a war with another Earth, leaving the world unprepared for an approaching evil that threatens to destroy the future. Can a time-traveling Batman Beyond help a massive cast of the DCU’s finest avert the impending apocalypse? Find out in this new weekly series that will forever alter the direction of The New 52! In this debut issue of The New 52’s weekly series, Batman Beyond arrives five years later! Grifter turns against humanity! And a Justice League member DIES!

I’m not going to lie I’ve always been into stories that entertain the notion, “What if?” The usual result of these endeavors is an alternate or potential timeline that targets the heroes that we know and root for. Within that context a creative team stacks the odds against them and that’s exactly what we get here, as the body count climbs and a massive threat surely makes its presence known.

With a strong team of writers at its back, its no wonder that the New 52 is in for a world of hurt. Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens and Keith Giffen combine their talents to spin a yarn with Stormwatch, Batman Beyond, Firestorm, and Grifter. There are more players but these authors know their focus and how to build up this threat five years in the future. For the most part I was engaged by the narrative path but there were some bits of dialogue that just felt awkward, especially the arguments within a two-person hero.

As far as the visual component is concerned Patrick Zircher does a tremendous job capturing the basic look and feel associated with the current state of DC continuity. The opening set of panels with a scuffle offer a fitting introduction to the piece, and with the assist of consultant Keith Giffen it no doubt carries a unique look. Add in the colors by Hi-Fi and the entire comic feels like the complete package.  In short: for a weekly title it looks awesome so far.

New 52: Futures End #1 is a must own for the hardcore but for the casual it may be a bit too much for them to digest. If you’re on the fence don’t stress, because it’s good enough to earn a recommendation from me.