• story: Tom King
• art: Mitch Gerads, Evan ‘Doc’ Shaner

It looks stunningly beautiful. There is no question in my mind that Mitch Gerads and Evan ‘Doc’ Shaner are two of the greatest artists of this generation, and their work here raises the bar for superhero comics from here on out. The colours by Shaner are equally remarkable, the greens shadowing Alanna’s confrontation with Batman are a mood switching counterpoint to her’s and Adam’s TV appearance covered in golden hues, and add a punchy and precise extra dimension to both story and linework. King’s story is enhanced and limited by what isn’t shown – the interview with Mr Terrific, who last issue had decided Adam was lying about his war involvement in some way. What about it infuriates Alanna so much afterward? The delivery of this issue differs from the previous two, in that the Stranges are now centre stage, and the character work which (again) does and maybe doesn’t diverge between present and ‘past’ segments has to do all the heavy lifting, instead of the issues King had started investigating independently of them. We’re given little to go on, other than a deeply sinister turn by Alanna. Standalone in this issue it’s frustrating, but it’ll no doubt be more effective when collected in trade.

The conclusion to the gladiatorial battle on Rann offers hints about both Adam and Alanna, and seem to back up the suggestion that there are problems with both of them, but King for the moment keeps his cards to himself about whether or not Adam is a war criminal. Power and privilege are both on show here, and I’m looking forward to seeing whether the couple’s propagandising is about truth manipulation (echoing the pliable nature of the truth in current politics) or whether they’re just fending off an equally modern trial by television. The undercurrent of what makes a hero is a little downplayed this time out, but the issues in play remain really interesting and the potential for this series (with the Black Label format) remains huge.

writing	★★★★☆
art	★★★★★
colours	★★★★★
overall	★★★★☆