By Dustin Cabeal

It’s likely that Doomsday Clock will go down as the greatest waste of Gary Frank’s talents. I pop for the artwork for sure, but this story is so incredibly dull. I 100% stand by everything I said in my first review of the series. None of that has changed. This is just Geoff Johns making sure he’s the one that gets to play in the Watchmen world before anyone else can. I’m sure next year we’ll see plenty of the characters as they flood the DCU… or maybe not.

Frankly, with Rebirth, I don’t see the point of explaining how Dr. M made the new universe. Sales seem fine; the schedule is packed. The books and creators are being allowed to tell stories and let them breathe… it seems like an event book explaining how we got here is a little pointless or worse… late to the party, it started.

At any rate, this issue was dull as fuck. We’re spending so much time with John’s Joker and Harley Quinn knockoffs that I can’t even fake interest. The bank scene was predictable and entirely too long, all to get to the point that A) she was pregnant and B) to explain their “connection” to Dr. M. The only scene in the comic that I enjoyed was Batman calling out Rorschach for eating his pancakes. Mostly because it seemed like a desperate attempt at creating a “moment” in both characters history. Like in 20 years someone’s going to find this and be like, “Wasn’t it incredible that Rorschach 2 wouldn’t back down to Batman? Over pancakes?” For some reason, I can picture people thinking this is a cool scene rather than finding it absurd and ridiculous. It’s not even fun in a comic book way because we just saw the Comedian shoot Lex Luthor and throw down the motherfucking gauntlet against Oz and then Batman and Rorschach follow that up with a, “You ate my soggy, cold pancakes… Sure did, you must be Batman, I’m the second guy named after the predictable test that was included in your backstory and displayed in this issue.”

It is my great hope that when this series is done, there will be some “Ah-ha” moment in which the dull and slow pacing of these first two issues make sense and are somehow worth the read. Currently, Doomsday Clock is proving to be a chore to read. It’s not that I don’t want to enjoy it, it’s that it’s making it actively challenging to enjoy. Every time I find myself slipping into comfort something jerks me away in the story. It is not a brilliant masterpiece or the ultimate feather in Johns’ Aquaman cap that some might find it to be, but instead a book approved by editors to afraid to say no to their own boss. It just seems like a title that you give to a huge name in comics, instead of the company man that’s done his due diligence, but hey, good on Johns for getting it before anyone else.

Franks’ artwork is stunning. It’s not enough to save this issue or series, but it’s stunning. He’s able to modernize and yet capture the original era of the book. It appeases both aspects in that way, but without cheapening the source material. The art is the exact opposite of the writing in which it feels like a natural fit to the universe and the story. Frank’s artwork unites the two universes in a magical way. You want to see his renditions of other characters because of how great they look. His visual storytelling is superb but completely shackled to John’s story. Very few panels are without narration or dialogue in this issue, and that’s a shame because the art should be doing the heavy lifting for this story and it’s not.

I was in no rush to read this issue or review it. If it hadn’t been for the “Pancake scene” I don’t even know if I would have bothered reviewing it. It was dull. It was the exact opposite of the one-shot rebirth issue that started this all. Hell, even the pointless “Button” storyline was more entertaining than this story has been. I suppose I’ll see what comes next… probably something with the two Joker’s meeting and the Mime being one of the three Jokers or some shit. I’m hoping for some ridiculous comic book stuff in this series rather than Johns trying to elevate his writing to a more mature status. Batman and pancakes aren’t going to cut it though.

Score: 2/5 (but the art should get a 5 on its own)

Doomsday Clock #2
DC Comics