Kelly Gaines 5/30/18 Kelly Gaines 5/30/18

Review: Raven: Daughter of Darkness #5

By Kelly Gaines

Raven Daughter of Darkness #5 feels like the grand finale of a confusing twister of plot and character- except the story’s not over, and there’s no Bill Paxton or Helen Hunt to be found. If you’re committed to this title, buckle up for the excitement of demonology meets power rangers meets wizard book club meets true crime in the making. It’s a mixed bag in the absolute worst way and only becomes more disappointing as the dust settles.

Kelly Gaines 4/25/18 Kelly Gaines 4/25/18

Review: Raven: Daughter of Darkness #4

By Kelly Gaines

Leave it to an ex-demon wife to bring her drama to someone else’s funeral. Raven’s estranged mother, Angela, has returned- and become an extra layer of irritation on an already messy plot. After #3, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep reading Raven. History keeps underwhelmingly repeating itself in Wolfman’s recent Raven stories. There’s a promising start, followed by a slow aggravating decline into boredom. You’d think having roughly four interlocking storylines would give readers something to come back for, but none of the plots are explored with enough depth and detail to make them interesting. Instead, the whole thing feels like reading a loosely related anthology of stories about Raven. I will say that issue #4 is a slight step up from issue #3, but Raven Daughter of Darkness has miles to go before becoming a worthwhile series.

Kelly Gaines 3/29/18 Kelly Gaines 3/29/18

Review: Raven Daughter of Darkness #3

By Kelly Gaines

How do you make a half-demon superhero living with devoutly religious relatives who spends her time fighting psychological villains boring? I don’t fucking know but as Marv Wolfman. I’m beginning to notice a pattern with his Raven arcs. The story starts out with potential, then slowly fades into a boring circle. It was my worst fear with this title, and Raven Daughter of Darkness #3 has brought up a disappointing sensation a deja vu. All of the ingredients for a great comic are there- interesting characters, complex backstories, a strong start, and a top-notch creative team. Because of these elements, I was willing to give this version of Raven another shot after the first arc ended on a rather flat note. Now I’m just pissed off. How are you doing this? How is this not working? This is literally the first time reading about demons has bored me, and I hold you accountable, Wolfman!

Kelly Gaines 2/28/18 Kelly Gaines 2/28/18

Review: Raven: Daughter of Darkness #2

By Kelly Gaines

*Obligatory spoiler warning, which I apologize for not including more often*

Raven: Daughter of Darkness #2 is an in-depth look at a half demon’s crash course in empathy. Raven, current alias Rachel, is splitting her time between typical high school and telepathic superhero business. We left off with Raven coming face to face with a superhuman creature. The girl, who Raven calls Azure, is able to conjure horrifying illusions straight out of her enemy's nightmares; a power that currently leaves Raven in a tight spot. Raven is unable to tell if she’s the hunter or hunted but remains as determined as ever to help Azure- if helping her is possible at all.

Kelly Gaines 1/29/18 Kelly Gaines 1/29/18

Review: Raven - Daughter of Darkness #1

By Kelly Gaines

The half human, half demon teenage superhero of the DC universe has gotten herself into another sticky situation. Raven- Daughter of Darkness #1, picks up where 2016’s Raven left off, with the deeply troubled Teen Titan trying for fit into ordinary suburbia and make a life with her devout Catholic aunt’s family. Being a demon in a church group is the least of Raven’s worries. In her efforts to prevent evil forces from taking hold of the innocent, Raven meets a young superhuman (well, more of a super being at this point - there’s no confirmation that she’s human yet) whose extraordinary powers have attracted the attention of government agents. Raven finds herself caught in the crossfire of a rescue mission gone bad, and comes face to face with another super-powered teenager with a murky moral history and a strong affinity for wearing hoods.

Chris Tresson 10/19/16 Chris Tresson 10/19/16

Review: Raven #2

By Chris Tresson

This week sees the release of the second issue of DC Comics's Raven, a title I have reviewed previously and enjoyed purely based on the fact I knew it’d get better with time... I had a little think about it some more once I'd read this issue and I think I seem to enjoy the miniseries DC put out more than the majority of their ongoing titles, they seem to me to be of a higher quality (that's an expert opinion, because I pull at least three quarters of what DC puts out. Honest.) Let's jump in and see what I thought...