Injustice Gods Among Us #1 Review

Forty pages is all it took for a character that I once saw as a maniacal humorous madman into a loathsome and revolting psychopath. Before I finished reading the last panel in Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 I was excited for the upcoming video game to come out, however, now I am feverishly counting the days until April 16th (70 BTW) when I exact vengeance against The Joker. Hit the jump to see why Superman roasting The Joker alive is too good of a death for the clown in this spoiler filled review.

When I first picked up Injustice I expected a typical DC comic with the heroes triumphing over the villain unscathed aside from a black eye or a torn costume, however, I was pleasantly surprised when things took a dark turn. Injustice quickly sets itself apart from other DC universes when well known characters are murdered with The Joker standing amidst the chaos smiling. These events successfully convey how iconic heroes drastically change their roles in this fictional world from hero to villain to set up a grim future. Writer Tom Taylor not only made me feel compassion for characters, but also instilled a fear for what is to come in the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game.

This is the face of an expecting father?

Unfortunately the art within the book doesn’t hold up to the fantastic storytelling. There is a lack of character detail which lead me to wonder who somebody is until there was a clear picture two to three frames in. Additionally, character faces often express a different emotion than what the story is telling.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 is better than what I was expecting from a video game tie-in. While the artistic value was lacking, the story kept the book interesting and I turned each page with excitement. The dark universe and a hint of what’s to come is a great reason for anyone who is familiar with iconic characters should pick this up.

Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 retails for $3.99 and is published by DC Comics.