Salvation Run #4 of 7

As the cover for this issue shows, things turn very violent. The showdown between Gorrilla Grodd and Monsieur Mallah is very brutal. Sean Chen's art is extremely good here with the fight sequence being very easy to follow. Matthew Sturges characterizations of each of the villains is very good as well. We now have three camps with Lex Luthor, the Joker, and Vandal Savage in charge. With Martian Manhunter hanging around and reporting back to Batman, you can see where the intersection with Dwayne McDuffie's "Justice League of America" is headed. Matthew Sturges took over for Bill Willingham last issue and does a fine job getting through the halfway point of this miniseries.

Even though DC had to replace the writer midstream, this mini has not missed a beat and is still an entertaining read.

Salvation Run #2 of 7

I am enjoying "Salvation Run". Bill Willingham is having fun playing with the villians of the DCU and it shows. In this issue he gets to play around with two big baddies, the Joker and Lex Luthor and he does a fine job of capturing both of these characters. I'm not up-to-speed on a lot of the bad guys and gals here but Willingham does a good job of providing introductions without slowing the story down. He puts enough twists and turns in the story to keep it moving. I'm loving Sean Chen's art as well. He knows how to capture action scenes with lots of different characters. The art has a very clean look and does not look rushed at all.

I did not have big expectations for this miniseries but it has been a good read so far. My only concern is where this all fits into DCU continuity. Other than that, I'm just enjoying Willingham's good story and Chen's great visuals.

Salvation Run #1 of 7

I was debating whether to pick this miniseries up or wait for the TPB to come out. While I was at my local comics shop picking up my weekly pull I saw the front cover and just had to grab it. Sean Chen's cover really grabbed me. I missed out on the excellent Rogue comics when Geoff Johns was writing "The Flash", but I have since gone back and read all of Johns' "The Flash" TPBs. Johns brought a real depth of character to all of the Rogues. I especially liked his Captain Cold. So, seeing all of those Rogues on display I had to jump at picking up this mini.

Writer Bill Willingham provides a plausible set up where Checkmate and company are rounding up all the villians and depositing them on a planet far away to fend for themselves. The first group to be placed is a small group of the Flash's Rogues Gallery and they are immediately fighting for their lives. Even though the squabble quite a bit we see them work as a team. About half way through the issue quite a few of Batman's rogues and a few add ons show up. Willingham brings differing voices to each of the villians and does a good job of making the reader root for them. Sean Chen does an exceptional job on the art and is backed up nicely by inker Walden Wong and colorist John Kalisz. This is a very balanced issue with outstanding art and a great script.

This has been a good week for DC miniseries. This along with Suicide Squad top my list of must reads for this week.