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Ok, might as well come out and say it; SPOILERS ALL OVER THE PLACE. There's no point in sporadically putting up spoiler warnings since this mini-series has been out and the cat's outta the bag at this point, and that would really mess with the flow of the article. So read at your own risk.
Yes, I jumped on the bandwagon late. Frankly, mini-series drive me bonkers because you have to wait... and wait.. and WAIT for the dang thing to end. Ok, so it's not like you're waiting YEARS as in the case of 'Star Wars', but considering a comic takes a whole 15 minutes to read, waiting that whole month for the next one is NOT fun. So I waited on this one... cheated on Issue #1 and peeked at it at the comic shop and went 'OMG THEY KILLED SUE DINBY?!?!?!??!!!' 'Holy cow, THEY JUST ACED TIM'S DAD?!?!??!?!?!' And actually the shocker is 'Good grief, YOU'RE STUPID ENOUGH TO MESS WITH BATMAN'S BRAIN?!?!?!?!????'
It's been fun over the months to read reactions to this mini-series, saying the story is heresy for killing off so many people, that there is no point knocking off 'second stringers', blah, blah, blah. So what's this 'old school' guy's take on it? Well, this comic series dared to do what few comics do... tell a story about real people and about a true emotion... grief.
The first thing that grabbed me about this entire series is the first victim; Sue Dinby. Ok, it's not like they knocked-off Lois, but this is Sue Dinby! If you're an old-school fan, she and Ralph were one of the true, cute couples in comics; always laughing, being kinda mushy, just being sweet together. Frankly, I almost cried in the comic shop as her casket rolled into the church in issue #1. She wasn't just a paradigm like Batman and Supes. She was as human a character you could create over DECADES in a comic and then some how, she died.
Another reason for the power of this series is the writing and art. Every character is drawn to be 'real'. No Ed McGuiness manga-ish, super-bulging muscles. No Michael Turner hawk-like visage. Just PEOPLE. Again, the funeral is such a striking moment. Ralph is trying to get the strength to say SOMETHING to the people who have assembled to say goodbye to his wife, but you see the strain, grief, and pain on his face as he sits at the pew. It's not the exaggerated look of most comic art... this is the look you see at any moment of loss and sorrow. That burns into your skull. Bless Morales and Bair for forgoing the usual flair and pumping-up superheroes get and sticking with what looks natural.
Along those lines, Brad Meltzer's writing is amazing. Usually something this 'big' is done through the eyes of Batman or Superman, e.g. 'Kingdom Come'. Not this time. Instead, Green Arrow of all people gets the important job of being our narrator, and it actually feels perfect. He's the in-between guy; he knows the old guys like Supes, but he's also kinda new since he was also recently DEAD. He's not just the 'kid' like Kyle and Connor, nor is he one of the Old Guys like Bats. The result is a story told from a refreshing point of view... especially in light of the measures taken by Zatanna and Co. to maintain the secret identities of everyone, hence the title of the mini-series.
Another reason this story is so powerful is this ISN'T your average story of bad guys getting a severe butt-whupping from the good guys. That's what it SEEMS to be. Hey, one of the wives gets killed, you expect a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig fight, major confrontation, lots of bodies all over the place and a final confrontation that would make Ragnarock look like a baby-shower.
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