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.
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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.
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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!
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*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.
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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.
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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...
Read MoreHot damn! I didn’t realize this was out this week. This book appeals to me. I like this character a lot and I’m excited to see what a comic book mini-series starring this character looks like. Ladies and gentlemen, you’re about to read my review of DC Comics’ Raven #1, written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Alisson Borges.
We kick off the issue with Raven moving in with her aunt’s family. These are all normal girls and boys and about as vanilla as you can get. Some real two-point-four children type deal. It’s evident from the get-go that this family and Raven are completely different. Like the reverse Munsters (Raven being reverse Marilyn.) Raven’s trying her hand at getting to know her mother’s side of the family but she’s haunted by things from her dad’s side of the family in her sleep. If that wasn’t terrifying enough, she has to go to high school and try to fit in/survive. That’s when all the weird shit starts happening and that’s as much as I’m telling you. It’s interesting so far and I like the fact there’s a demonic/magic-centric book at DC now that doesn’t completely suck.
Marv Wolfman has a good chance to show us a little more of Raven with this series and I’m sure he’ll do it. I have faith in him, he’s written some of my favorite superhero stories before now and I know he can tell a good tale, so there’s not much else worth saying that hasn’t already been said. The man’s a legend.
But now to the artist of this book, Alisson Borges. Who the fuck is Alisson Borges…? I’ve just done a sweep of social media and cannot find hide nor hair of the guy (I’m assuming he’s a guy, I apologize if I’m wrong.) Anyways, I need to know because the art in this book is great. I love the way Borges draws Raven. The character’s design is excellent and Alisson does an excellent job of giving you a sense that Raven is having a hard time adjusting to her new surroundings purely through body language and facial expressions. Quite a feat! It’s a good time to mention Blond’s color work here is great, too. He does a really nice job of making Raven stick out like a sore thumb in every panel she appears. Great contrast, great work from the art team.
I think this is a good start to a mini-series and I’m pretty confident you’ll agree with that when you read it. It’s nice to see supporting characters like Raven getting their own series, I think it’s great that DC are doing it and I’m looking forward to reading the rest. Hell, it’s great that they’re doing a mini-series full stop. I would like more. As for this one, go grab yourselves a copy this Wednesday and see what you think.
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Raven #1 Writer: Marv Wolfman Artist: Alisson Borges Colorist: Blond Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Mini-series; Print/Digital
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