Writers: Bill Willingham and Judd Winick
Artists: Justiano, Ron Wagner, and Ian Churchill (p), Walden Wong, Livesay, Dexter Vines, and Norm Rapmund
Publisher: DC Comics/Titan Books ISBN 1-84576-230-4
Reprinting stories from: Day of Vengeance #1-6, Action Comics #826, Adventures of Superman #639, and Superman #216.
Bill Willingham was wasted on this.
While I’m not as big a fan of his Fables as most people, I recognize the man’s talent. Very little of it shows through here. It’s not until the second-to-last page of the entire book that we get anything that sounds remotely original or interesting. Everything until then is a standard superhero team-up. Honestly, people; once someone’s crossed over to Vertigo comics, they shouldn’t return to the spandex clichés.
This book collects the 3-part “Lightening Strikes” story from the Superman comics by Winick, Churchill, and Rapmund. Eclipso tries to possess Superman in an attempt to permanently possess Captain Marvel. He ultimately fails, and finds a willing host in Jean Loring.
In "Day of Vengeance," Eclipso finds the Spectre separated from his former human host, Hal Jordan. He convinces the Spectre the best way to destroy evil is to destroy all magic. The Spectre quickly dispatches Earth’s most powerful magicians. Only six magically-powered heroes dare fight back against the Wrath of God itself. Assistance from Captain Marvel, the wizard Shazam, and a teenaged girl make a huge difference in an otherwise impossible battle.
Here’s the story in a nutshell: Shit goes down, the loser heroes step up, make a good show of it, escape, come back with a different plan, and only half succeed. The End. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. Not only is the story formula familiar, but most of the characters aren’t very interesting. Jim Rook is just another white guy in a costume. Black Alice is the latest in a line of goth chix. Ragman comes across as Spawn-lite. Blue Devil is just another strong guy with attitude. Enchantress is fairly bitchy, even when she’s “nice.” Give her some good heroes to play with and she can spice up a story. Nightshade’s past is so mysterious, she’s practically a blank slate. (If it were up to me, I’d reveal a connection to The Shade.) Detective Chimp is the star by default. He’s so bitter, cynical, and just plain weird, he stands apart from the cast. This monkey should get his own Vertigo mini-series.
Churchill and Rapmund turn in the best art in this book. They’re almost enough to make me read the new Supergirl series. The others do a decent job drafting the weird creatures and violent fight scenes. But there are times when it just looks bland. Technically, it’s great, but it doesn’t excite me.
While this all sounds like a pan, Day of Vengence is not the weakest of the "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" mini-series. (That honor belongs to Villains United). I don’t see a future for the Shadowpact monthly series. Magic-based superhero books usually fail because they remain stuck in traditional comic book conventions. Only those rare exceptions that embrace truly weird and bizarre ideas (like Steve Ditko’s Dr. Strange) find an audience and long life. If Shadowpact is anything like Day of Vengeance, I give it about a year before it’s cancelled.
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