DCU Comic Book Reviews

SHADOWPACT #23

The Burning Age, Part One of Three

May 2008

Written by Matthew Sturges

Pencils by Phil Winslade

Inks by Phil Winslade

Cover by Phil Winslade

Synopsis

In Morocco, Shadowpact chase down an Ifirt carrying a Threshing Box with the visage of the Sun King on the cover.  Meanwhile, Blue Devil has finished the trials set forth by the church only to learn that will not get involved in the legal proceedings for possession of his soul.  Elsewhere, Dr. Gotham takes another threshing box with over 200 souls as an offering to the Sun King.  In hell, Blue Devil has his day in court.  His lawyer finds a legal loophole and manages to give Blue Devil his soul, but in the process Danny loses his powers and becomes a mere human once more.  Later, Phantom Stranger visits Shadowpact and tells them they need to fight the Sun King to restore balance to the multiverse.  To help them, the Stranger calls forth two more Shadowpacts:  one from the past and one from the future.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was a typical issue for this book as we see the team in action, we get some humor, action, mystery, and the standard nuttiness to be expected from this book.  Sturges has handled this book well since he took over as the writer from Willingham; there is a difference in their styles, of course, and I think WIllingham suits the book better than Sturges, but the difference is not that noticeable.  I wouldn’t be surprised if many people didn’t even realize there was a new writer.  However, the series has apparently been cancelled, so this issue sees the return of the Sun King and before the end comes we’ll get resolution to the story that has been brewing since the first issue.  It is a credit to Sturges that the Sun King plot doesn’t feel forced, although there are other aspects of the books various subplots that do feel rushed or probably will since they have not yet been addressed.  We’ll have to see how it goes.

I am extremely disappointed that we don’t get to see Blue Devil’s 13 tests; with the little tidbit (a blender!) we got in this issue, I think it would’ve been fun to read.  I am going to assume that the impending cancellation of this book forced Sturges to skip directly to the legal trial so he could deal with finishing the Sun King story.  I am, however, pleased with the outcome of the trial; the “monkey’s paw” resolution made perfect sense and I am curious to see how Blue Devil’s status is going to be restored. 

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