Ten glimpses at 52 Week 4

Let's look at 52 Week 4, shall we?


Cover: Hey, who knew Lara Croft was a DC Universe character?


Cover: I really like the chapter teasers at the bottom of each cover. It puts me in mind of old books that used to have a different descriptive header at the top of each page (see, for example, early Moomin books by Tove Jansson) or (a more comics-oriented antecedent) the chain of chapter headers in each issue of "Brief Lives" in Sandman.


Page 2: Hooray! Halo's back! I may be the only person who actually is a Halo fan (especially for the early, Aparo-drawn Batman and the Outsiders issues...loved that black-and-multicolored costume). Hey, speaking of "Brief Lives," why's she talking like Delirium? (And it might be just me, but doesn't she look like she's drawn by Mike Allred? Maybe a little around the eyes?)


Page 4: A little something for the gentlemen...


...and for the ladies. Never let it be said that DC's not an equal-opportunity fan-service provider.


Page 6: The Best Line of the Week!


Page 18: I know nothing about medicine, but despite this series taking place in "real time," how much you wanna bet that Montoya's broken arm heals much faster than it should in real life?


Page 18: Doncha love how we as fans can look at an illustration of a piece of technology and instantly define it as "Kirby Tech?" That's an amazing tribute to the influence of the man: his inanimate objects have inspired an entire style of illustration.


Page 20: Is the perspective just really screwed up on this panel or is Hawkgirl thirty feet tall? Yikes.


Page 20: A nice bookend to the chapter teaser words on the cover is the silent "next issue" panels of 52. It reminds me of another very effective silent teaser: the first season "Next week" teasers on The Sopranos, which relied on imagery and visual elements to compel you to check in again next week. One of my favorite parts of 52.