Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Convergence #2Convergence #2
DC Comics
King, Pagulayan, Paz & Steigerwald

Convergence turns in a character focused story with this issue of the mini-series. While the book tries to make some plot developments in the heroes versus the villain portion of the book, it seems to fall short of advancing as much as it could. The book is closer to where it should be as an event but still falls into the average category. This is an improvement but not enough of one.

The best part of the book is the meeting between Batman, Thomas Wayne (Earth Two is my best guess), and Batman, Bruce Wayne (Pre-Flashpoint I assume). This meeting is told through Dick Grayson's voice, which is fine, except the pair leave the room and the reader has no idea what was said. This is a huge disappointment. It makes this a non-moment. While getting Grayson's perspective on the meeting is good and having Alfred interact with a different Grayson is pretty cool, the main piece of drama remains hidden from the reader. What was the creative thinking behind this?

The other parts of the book have some fighting, some escaping and some next-moves-planning. In some cases the fight is between worlds and in other cases the battle is against the main bad guy. The plot is paper thin and the action helps to distract the reader from that. The book is mostly positioning for future issues.

This event is a dud thus far. I found this issue to be less confusing or pointless as the previous issues. The idea of Bruce and Thomas Wayne meeting each other, both as Batman, is something that would have made this comic interesting. The walk up to the meeting was perfect. The exit out of the meeting was very good. The pair needed to speak on panel. This was a huge letdown.

The book contains some action, but it's fairly tame. The characters fight over a couple of panels and it kind of ends. The comic doesn't seem to want to entertain too much with battles or go too deeply into the winners and losers.

Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe artwork is fine. The action scenes are stiff but some of the quiet panels are very well done. The Batman meeting Batman scene is a very powerful set of panels. The emotions between Thomas, Bruce, Alfred and Dick are well depicted. Generally the book does a solid job on art.

Convergence is definitely a mini-series for the die-hard DC fan. The reader that knows all of the characters from all of the universes and that's kept up with all of the major events through the years. If you are one of those readers then you will know how these characters should act and how the plot fits together. If you pick this up on a lark and are a casual DC reader then you are left to your own devices. You won't find a recap page or footnotes or any information to help you understand what's happening or the characters that are involved. You are left to sink or swim based on the material in the panels. Quite frankly there isn't enough for my entertainment. I can't recommend this book.

2.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles