"The Show Must Go On:" Murdered while performing death defying acrobatics, Boston Brand, aka Deadman, carried on as a spirit that could not be heard or seen by most and could only act by possessing others. In the wake of Brightest Day, Boston died saving Dove. The Flying Graysons, John and Mary, were the Haley Circus' main attraction until the tragic day they were killed while performing, leaving their son Dick an orphan who was taken in by Bruce Wayne. Growing up to be Robin, then Nightwing, and then Batman, Dick has become a lynchpin in the DC universe. Now, in the wake of Flashpoint, these two acts, including Dick who never lost his parents, are in the same travelling circus circling Europe, trying to avoid the Aqua/Amazon War.
Summary: Right off the bat we are introduced to the three "freak" acts in the travelling circus in Ragdoll (a personal favorite character of mine), King Shark, and Kent Nelson and his Helmet of Fate. Deadman, our narrator cannot understand what the appeal of these guys is... you see them once and that's it, where as acrobats are always a different show everytime. The Graysons are very different as they do things smiling and get a crowd riled and smiling. Boston is more focused on hearing them scream or gasp in terror when he performs. Cut to the next day as the circus packs up to move and we see a very different side of the "freaks." Normally, appearing insane and violent at the drop of a hat, both Ragdoll and King Shark, supervillains, are some of the nices folks in the circus. Boston is shown to be the jerk here as he insults workers and refuses to help for fear of hurting his hands. Kent just rocks back and forth, listening to the words from the helmet. We are given an image of what Fate has to show, showing Deadman's dead body, Mera's execution by Wonder Woman, the Justice League never formed, and what appears to be a Robin with a Bat character that doesn't look familar. Arriving in Poland soon, they begin to set up again. Reaching out to Kent to wake him up Boston is struck with a vision of his ghostly form over the body of Dick. Meanwhile, back in Austria, Amazons are destroying everything looking for Fate's helmet. While preparing for that night's show, Boston approaches Dick to tell him that he needs to cut loose from his parents and be his own man, because that's where the money is. Dick talks about how jumping with his family is a signal of trust and that they will always be there to catch him (foreshadowing, much?). As the show begins, we see that Amazons are on their way to destroy the circus.High Points: The art here is really nice and surprisingly refreshing. I like what is going on here, but I'm sure if the payoff of this book will be worth it.
Low Points: Why are the Amazons in this? Seems like between her and Aquaman, they are ruining all the good stories.
Verdict: B+. Its a good start and I'm hoping it continues to get better from here. Do you guys feel the same way?
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