Review – Dark Days: The Forge #1

Since the start of the Rebirth initiative, DC Comics has pretty much stayed away from any major crossover arcs.  There have been teams ups and crossovers here and there (most recently the Lazarus Contract and The Button), but it has mostly been singular story telling.  That ends now with, what looks to be, a huge multiverse crossover with Dark Days: The Forge.  Let’s see what this star studded creative team has to offer.

There is a lot of mystery attached to this book, but there are two things that we learn right away.  I won’t spoil either one, but to put it plainly, something potential devastating was discovered and Batman is hiding something from everyone.  The book has a very “something is going on here” feel to it, and it brings in a few Justice League characters that we know and love.  There is one in particular that is sent to investigate exactly what Batman has going on, and ends up on quite the adventure of his own.  We do get plenty of Batman in this book, so don’t worry about that.  We also get his usual secrecy, but this time, it’s more than usual and nobody seems to know why.  Things are certainly eluded to at points, including the origin of the problem, but there are no real giveaways in the story.  One thing I did not expect, was the reveal at the end.  If you want an ending that will make your eyes pop out and really want the next issue, this book does that and then some.

Dark Days is definitely an appropriate title for this book.  Snyder and Tynion IV really make you feel and give you the sense that something is REALLY wrong  and it’s danger is of epic proportions.  That’s a fairly impressive feat, considering we have no real idea what it is.  There is a flashback side to the story that does give you some background, but certainly not enough to really give away the scope of what is being dealt with.  I do love that it makes one of my favorite characters part of the story, and it makes sense to include him given the timeline of when things started.  Match this up with the stunning work of three of the top artists in the industry, and how could you NOT want to keep reading this book.  I think this is a great start to, what could be, Rebirth’s first signature multiverse arc.  Given the amount of individual hits that Rebirth has already had, I have every confidence that this trend will continue.  So ready to dig a little deeper (pun totally intended!)