In the last few weeks we, dear readers, have witnessed a lot of gaming preparatory work.
This week we see that things are really moving.
Gotham City Sirens #2 is a real winner of a middle issue. The exciting reveal of issue #1 was that Punchline was behind the mysterious cyber-buffalo stampedes and that the cartoonish futuristic western violence raging in the streets of Gotham is all part of an AR video game she runs and promotes with scantily clad hot tub streams. It’s a silly premise, but it fits the tone the book has set from the start.
Punchline is a perfectly fitting villain for GCS, and if DC’s editorial team continues to put her front and center, this is a great opportunity for them. This reviewer hopes that an inevitable showdown between Harley and Punchline avoids portraying the two characters as living in the Joker’s shadow/ultimately vying for his attention.
The Sirens (that’s not what they actually call themselves) realize that Punchline is not only promoting the energy drink XO Punch (which is bolded and trademarked by author Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou whenever it’s mentioned) in a tasteless way on her hot tub streams, but that she’s also using the stuff to mind control her loyal streaming subscribers! Together, they convince the guy from the local bodega, Perry, to stop selling the popular drink and allow them to hide in the store at night to wait for the delivery truck – and promptly ambush it. They hitchhike with the unsuspecting mind-controlled driver to infiltrate the XO Punch distillery and put an end to the chaos. But of course, it won’t be that easy!
The illustrations are slightly improved from the last issue. The color palette and general tone remain the same, but Daniel Hillyard’s penciling is sharper and more focused. He’s able to bring out a lot of background detail without compromising the pacing of what has been an action-packed book so far, and he’s able to allow each of the book’s three main protagonists to move and pose with their respective signature flair (or lack thereof). No one character overly steals the show in any one panel or page. With a team-up book, you expect artistic balance, and Hillyard delivers.
I wish the same could be said about each of the Sirens. narrative features. In particular, I wish Ivy had more to do. The general heist atmosphere of the book so far and this issue in particular provides a reasonable perspective for Catwoman’s involvement, and the (again, generally) bold, tongue-in-cheek tone makes Harley a natural main character. But Ivy seems to be in it just for fun so far. She gets to use her seductive charm to convince the bodega guy to help them, but that easily could’ve been accomplished without the help of anything supernatural. I certainly don’t necessarily need some kind of vegetative twist this book to perfectly justify Ivy’s presence, but I personally hope she can be brought a little more to the forefront of the narrative in future issues. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait too long to find out, right?
Overall, I’m glad we got past the not-unpleasant introduction of the last issue to get to the fun of this one. This book could have easily fallen into all the girl power cliches of an uninspired bachelorette party, but so far it has exceeded those mediocre expectations. I’m looking forward to the second half of this short run.
Recommended if …
- You’re curious about how DC gently pokes fun at gaming/streaming culture
- They think Punchline is at her best when she is not in the shadow of the Joker
- You’re still excited about Beyoncé’s release of Cowboy Carter
In total:
Things are looking up! As it stands, this short miniseries doesn’t try to do too much within its confines, but still has a lot of fun throwing ideas at the wall. A modest success so far.
Score: 7/10
COMMENTS
