Jesus, that’s a long title.

JEFF LEMIRE – writer

MICHAEL WALSH – artist & cover

NATE PIEKOS of BLAMBOT – letterer

Synopsis in a Sentence: The Black Hammer gang switches places with the Justice League; hi jinx bound to ensue.

Our Dark Horse/DC crossover commences with a fairy tale-esque narrative introducing the Black Hammer characters and their current predicament, namely being stuck on a farm they can’t escape. As a fan of Black Hammer, something just feels off immediately. I don’t know if it’s Lemire’s flowery prose or the dialogue between these characters I’ve grown to love. I’ll just come out and say it- I think this was dumbed down for the DC crowd. Or at the very least, the bite was taken out of my beloved Black Hammer denizens. This isn’t the Mature title I’m used to, that’s for sure. Michael Walsh’s art is serviceable in so much as I can tell who’s who, but is nothing special.

Back to the story, a weirdo in a bowler hat shows up, wanting to buy the Black Hammer farm. If I had to guess at this point, I’d say it’s Mister Mxyzptlk, but we don’t truly find out this issue.

Quick jump to Metropolis, which is under attack from Starro. Just as the Justice League are getting things under control, weirdo-bowler-hat-guy shows up, offering them a vacation for several jobs well done. And he’s got just the place. Back on the farm Madame Dragonfly realizes this dude is magical, just as Diana is coming to the same conclusion in Metropolis. Bada-bing, bada-boom, presto-chango, and our heroes switch locations. Not only that, it seems our JL has been on the farm for the ten years the Black Hammer guys were. Strange, huh? We end with Captain Weird shrak-ing into space and surrounded by the Green Lantern Corps, so that’s something.

In Lemire I trust, but this opening issue was pretty “meh” to me, and the art didn’t do anything to hide the lackluster feel of the normally edgy Black Hammer side of things. Hopefully the story picks up in the next issue and we can get past catering to the DC contingency.

7.5/10