FORMAT: HARDCOVER (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
DC Comics mythology is quite a convoluted affair. Since the beginning, the DC’s stable of super-hero stories have mostly been about how much they can out do each in terms of scope and grandeur. Over the years we’ve gone from saving cities to blowing up entire realities and all points in between, with crisis after crisis pretty much defining the range.
Dark Knights Death Metal however is one of the more daring attempts to out-do everything that has come before it, through the simple premise of turning every single page into a heavy metal album cover.
This book attempts to bring to a close a whole chain of overly involved DC comics cross-overs, but the highlights are that Perpetua, a being that can reboot entire universes, has been tearing apart reality, aided by a being known as The Batman Who Laughs. Batman, but as a sadistic demon thing that is so ‘edgy’ that it’s very name sounds like a 90’s nu-metal band. Other demon-like heavy metal versions of beloved DC heroes try to stop this/ fulfil their own agenda. Honestly, it’s all quite confusing.
If you are a huge fan of the DC comics universe, there is a reasonable chance that you’ll not only understand the plot but will enjoy it. For the rest of us however, it’s a whistle stop tour of familiar and loved comic book heroes that have had all the fun hammered out of them in the name of being different, loud and memorable.
Presentation wise, the Deluxe Edition does exactly what it says on the cover. These are full cover, heavy pages and everything from the hardcover to the binding makes the art stand-out. It’s clear that DC understood that the main appeal of this book would be the art-work, and the book is very pretty; this is the sort of thing that will end up getting turned into many memes and wall-art. In places it reminds the reader of the likes of Spawn or 90’s Spider-Man, in others it’s just solid fantasy art with a touch of super-hero pop-culture added to taste. It’s a pretty book, shame about the almost incomprehensible story.
