It’s no longer a secret, as the cover of this issue of Earth 2: Society makes clear: Ultra-Humanite is in the mix! He’s attempting to take over a planet held together by Green Lantern, but how will he do it? And can our heroes stop him?
Earth 2: Society #15 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The DC summary reads:
A new menace rises to threaten the fragile order the Wonders struggle to maintain. Emboldened by Green Lantern’s loss of power, the Ultrahumanite emerges from the shadows with an army of super-powered slaves. His goal is nothing less than reforming Earth-2 in his vision, utilizing the Amazonian technology that Fury had hoped to use to rebuild a better world.
Why does this book matter?
Writer Dan Abnett has written well over the last few months in Earth 2: Society, featuring great character work. Meanwhile, artist Angel Hernandez has come on and flashed his greatness in all its detailed glory.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
He looks kinda scared doesn’t he?
Abnett opens this issue with the Ultra-Humanite tripping up a bit as his slave metahuman sees his father for the first time in a while. Abnett continues to write solid, believable characters that you care about and care about each other. Steel for instance, isn’t looking so hot, and the characters are broken up about it as they continue to lose their friends. Later we get a rather dramatic sequence pitting the Ultra-Humanite against Alan Scott in a battle of ideas and words. It ends in a somewhat surprising way, kicking off one hell of a cliffhanger.
The art by Angel Hernandez continues to be a highlight for me and he’s been an artist I’ve kept an eye on ever since his Green Lantern/Star Trek crossover series. Hernandez draws the second half of the issue and the layouts are balanced and well paced and the Ultra-Humanite is incredibly creepy — like a horror movie monster. The way energy looks is quite something and the colors by David Calderon and Ikari Studio help to make it leap from the page. To kick off his section, Tony Harris draws the first half and ends his half with an impressive full page spread of Huntress that’s poster worthy.
It can’t be perfect can it?
That said, Harris doesn’t do it for me in the first half, with strange, cartoony faces and a style that just doesn’t jive with the rest of this series. While it’s not all a wash, there are some panels that are straight up cartoonist in nature, completely throwing off the atmosphere and seriousness of the book. It doesn’t help that Batman’s son seems to have inexplicably aged 10 years either.
You can read more about how Huntress helps him in the Annual out August 31st
Is It Good?
Save for a jarring artist change halfway through this continues to be a fun gem that’s a bit hidden from the rest of the DCU books. The most important element of this series is perfect: Anyone can die and anything can happen.
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