Cleaning up after yourself is a big part of growing up.
Creative Staff:
Story: Paul Levitz
Art: Inaki Miranda
Colors: Eva de la Cruz
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
What They Say:
Kent Conrad, the original Doctor Fate, has come to New York to try to assist the newest bearer of the power, Khalid Nassour, in learning how to use and control it. But when their lessons lead to an Efreet emerging through a portal and lighting New York afire, Khalid and Kent must defeat it and take it back to where it came from. But when the smoke clears, will one of them be stuck on the wrong side?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Amid all the Rebirth titles going on, Doctor Fate is one of the more recent titles that’s managed to survive some of the purges that went down. With a bit of a break between the last issue and this one, Paul Levitz is continuing on with the book while also bringing in more of the past with it through Kent, which we saw the last time around. This issue also brings in a guest artist with Inaki Miranda, someone that just nailed this book perfectly in its opening pages and ran with it from there on. This series has had some creative artists on it to work that mystical and otherworldly style and Miranda keeps to that while also feel like they have their feet a bit more firmly in the mainstream design world as well, to very good effect.
Kent’s arrival in the series is welcome for me as it provides a bridging to the past, though how much of it is there is beyond me at this point in this continuity. What we do get is someone familiar with things and the way it works to help guide Khalid a bit more, something he desperately needs. With the intent of getting Khalid to shut the door he opened when he escaped Duat, Kent brings some good views on how to operate in the mystical realm. Namely, don’t trust anyone, including himself. Part of this is just part of growing up in that you have to take information from a wide range of sources and people and do actual research to understand it before just agreeing or disagreeing with someone, and before taking action if you can. It’s not a hard lesson for Khalid, but you feel for him in just wanting something a little clearer sometimes considering what he’s been through so far and how little help he’s gotten.
Khalid’s journey is one that makes him nervous since he’s fearful of getting caught up in it all again, but it does work as a solid learning experience since he does it alone but begins to feel more comfortable in this new skin of his. There’s growth to be had but he’s been doing that since the beginning and it works very well with how Kent brings him to it as a guide without doing it for him. What also works well is that we get this as the primary story done in just over a dozen pages while the remainder is a backup story of sorts that shows another way that Khalid is understanding his powers as well as how to reach people. It’s something that feels just a touch forced, though some of that comes from my general aversion to religion in superhero comics, but it works well here to show how he’s beginning to see other paths to conflict resolution in smaller ways.
In Summary:
Doctor Fate continues to be a series that I’m thoroughly enjoying for its kind of on the fringes approach and the way we’re getting something beyond the usual for it in terms of pacing and characters. I want more of just the characters/family/friends in normal settings to explore as we get some good stuff with that in the backup and in previous issues as Levitz has definitely been working that side well. I like the obvious Fate related pieces but it’s just felt a little more drawn out and unfocused than it should be, and in turn missing out on some of the bigger strengths of the book. Inaki Miranda nails the artwork in this installment perfectly and I’m hopeful they return for another guest spot in the future. A solid return to the book after the break that it’s had and it has me excited to see what’s next for Khalid and everyone else.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 27th, 2016
MSRP: $2.99
