DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review

Doomsday Clock #10 Review

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review

Doomsday Clock has been an absolute joy to read. This big event has been the complete opposite of DC’s other big event in Heroes in Crisis. Geoff Johns has been treating the readers to a delightfully complex story. Johns has meticulously crafted such a detailed world for this big event. Johns is once again reshaping the DCU and the Multiverse and it has been an exciting ride. Yes, the delays for Gary Frank’s gorgeous artwork has a been huge disappointment. However, this is still an impressively written and drawn big event. I am sure that Doomsday Clock #10 will be another excellent read. Let’s go ahead and hit this review!

Words: Geoff Johns

Art: Gary Frank

Colors: Brad Anderson

Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin in June 8th, 1954 on set of the shooting of the final scene of the movie The Adjournment. Carve Coleman forgets his line again. The director gets mad that Carver has screwed it up again for the 13th time. Carver asks for a minute to get himself together.

Dr. Manhattan narrates this entire issue. Dr. Manhattan says that on June 1, 1954, that Carver got a letter threatening to expose his darkest secret. On March 19, 1952, Carver won an Academy Award for Best Actor. Carver thanks his mother and father back in Indiana. On June 9, 1954, Carver is found dead in his dressing room. Someone bashed his head in from behind. On June 13, 1954, Dr. Manhattan is standing at Carver’s grave and is feeling nothing.

We cut back to June 8, 1954, with Carver going to his dressing room to get himself together. The director says that they can continue tomorrow, but Carver says that they must finish it today. The other people on the set think that Carver is either a drunk or has a drug problem.

The movie wraps filming later that day. Carver then goes to a bar that night. His mother arrives at the bar. His mother is the one who sent the letter threatening to expose Carver’s secret. Carver tells his mother that they should not do this here at the bar.

We shift to Dr. Manhattan on Mars. It is November 1, 1985 and he is on Mars with Laurie Juspeczyk. Dr. Manhattan then says that he is now on Mars with an army of Superman’s friends around him.

We then cut to November 2, 1985 with Dr. Manhattan meeting with Ozymandias. Dr. Manhattan says that he will neither condone nor condemn human affairs.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
Let’s take a trip with Dr. Manhattan!

Dr. Manhattan then enters the Multiverse. It is April 18, 1938, and Dr. Manhattan is drawn to Superman’s worlds for reasons that he does not understand. The first person that Dr. Manhattan talks to is Carver Colman.

We cut to Carver as a kid in Philadelphia. Carver’s mother is a stripper who ends up bringing one of the men from the strip club home with her. At that point, in January 19, 1928, Carver leaves home and heads to Hollywood. Carver gets a job on a Studio lot. On February 14, 1929, Carver is then fired when he sees a Studio head kissing a man behind a set.

In February 12, 1937, Carver is fired from his job when he skipped a work day for an audition that never ended up happening.

On April 18, 1938, Carver is evicted from his apartment. That night Carver sleeps in an alley in Los Angeles. Two cops arrive in the alley and threaten to beat up Carver if he does not go sleep somewhere else. Suddenly, Dr. Manhattan appears on the scene.

Dr. Manhattan takes out the two cops. Dr. Manhattan notices Carver checking the pulse on the two policemen. Dr. Manhattan notices that people on this planet are different. Dr. Manhattan is confused for the first time since Ozymandias blinded him with tachyons.

Dr. Manhattan sees himself back on Mars with Hal Jordan calling for backup from the Green Lantern Corps. We see that Dr. Manhattan has defeated Martian Manhunter, Bargirl, Flash, and Jessica Cruz. Dr. Manhattan takes out Hal Jordan. Dr. Manhattan then waits for Superman.

We cut to August 19, 1943 with the release of the first Nathaniel Dusk movie starring Carver Coleman. It is a huge hit.

We cut back to April 18, 1938, with Dr. Manhattan arriving in Los Angeles and meeting Carver. Carver asks Dr. Manhattan if he is an angel. Dr. Manhattan replies, “No.” Dr. Manhattan knows that Carver is hungry.

Dr. Manhattan then takes Carver to a local diner. Dr. Manhattan uses his powers to make him look like a normal human. Dr. Manhattan feels like he is walking through a fog. Dr. Mahattan tries to look three minutes into the future to try and clear his mind. Dr. Manhattan cannot look three minutes into the future.

Dr. Manhattan then focuses on Carver. A buzzing fills Dr. Manhattan’s ears as he tries to see into the future. Dr. Manhattan then sees Carver telling him that Dr. Manhattan was right that Carver got a part in a Gary Cooper movie. We cut back to April 18, 1938 with Carver asking Dr. Manhattan if he is not an angel then is he God.

Dr. Manhattan says that his eyes continue to adjust to this universe. Dr. Manhattan begins to see the future again. He sees April 18, 1943 with Carver happy over his hit movie. Then on April 18, 1952 with Carver getting his Best Actor award. Carver asks Dr. Manhattan to tell him what will happen next year. We cut to April 18, 1954 with Carver stunned that Dr. Manhattan says he will be dead in one year from now. We cut to April 18, 1954, with Dr. Manhattan sitting alone in the diner for the first time since 1938.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
That is a lot of blue penises in one place.

We hop back to April 18, 1938, Dr. Manhattan tells Carver that in eight months he will get a role in a movie that will change his life. Suddenly, over the radio is a report of a mysterious man in New York lifting a car over his head. Dr. Manhattan then disappears from the scene.

We cut to Dr. Manhattan arriving in New York where witnesses are telling cops about a man in a wrestling outfit and wearing a cape lifting the car above his head. They said that the man had a smile on his face. (Nice touch, Johns!)

Suddenly, the crowd of people are gone and the car is gone. They were never here. Dr. Manhattan says that it is April 18, 1938 and the world has changed. Dr. Manhattan thinks how Bryce DeWitt hypothesized that the universe was constantly splitting into alternate timelines. That parallel worlds were endlessly created. Dr. Manhattan says that the heroes on Earth call this the Multiverse. Dr. Manhattan says that Earth is the center of the Multiverse. That Superman first appeared on April 18, 1939 and that Superman was the first of the costumed heroes. The first of many.

We cut to July, 1940 and see Alan Scott becoming Green Lantern. We cut to January, 1939, and see Jay Garrick becoming the Flash. That same month, we see Carter Hall becoming Hawkman. In April 1939, we see Wesley Dodds becoming the Sandman. In February, 1940, we see Jim Corrigan coming the Spectre. In May, 1940, we see Kent Nelson becoming Dr. Fate. In March, 1940, se see Rex Tyler becoming Hourman. In October, 1940, we see All Pratt becoming the Atom.

We cut to November, 1940 at the JSA’s brownstone. We see Jay, Alan, Carter, Wesley, Al, Kent, Rex, and the Spectre all seated at the iconic round table of the JSA. (FUCK YEAH!! Talk about a damn money shot!!) This is the first official meeting of the Justice Society of America. The members debate if they should wait and see if Superman responds to their invitation to join the group before officially holding their first meeting.

Jay Garrick says that Superman was his inspiration when he first got his powers. Johnny Thunder is about to take a group photo of the JSA. Jay says that they should wait for Superman. Johny then summons Thunderbolt and tells him to go find Superman.

We then repeat the scene with Johnny about to take the group picture of the JSA. Alan Scott then says that Johnny can take the photo since the entire team is here. There is no mention of Superman, anymore.

We then cut to Dr. Manhattan in the dark meeting from of the JSA. Dr. Manhattan wonders why Alan Scott did not know about Superman. Dr. Manhattan wonders why nobody has heard about Superman.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
Dr. Manhattan…not the best dinner date…

We cut to April 18, 1948, Dr. Manhattan is meeting with Carver Coleman in the diner. Dr. Manhattan asks Carver if he has ever heard of Superman. Carver says that he has never heard of anyone by that name. Carver asks Dr. Manhattan what is in store for him in the coming year. Dr. Manhattan then disappears from the scene.

We cut to 1956 at the Kent Farm. (The beginning of the Silver Age.) Dr. Manhattan says that it always begins here. We see Superman’s rocket crash-land and the Kent’s finding baby Kal-El. Dr. Manhattan says that some outside force shifted Superman’s arrival forward in time. The reverberations of this change affect not just this world but every world in the Multiverse.

We cut to October, 1986, and Dr. Manhattan says that Superman’s arrival on Earth has shifted forward again. (Man of Steel.) We then see Superman’s arrival shift forward once more. (Superman: Birthright.) We then see it shift forward one more time. (New 52.) Dr. Manhattan says that he does not understand this universe.

We shift to May, 1949, with Clark by his father’s death bed. We then cut to 1956 with Clark visiting the graves of his parents. We cut to October, 1986, with both of Clark’s parents alive. Years late, Jonathan Kent dies again. Dr. Manhattan thinks that he has misinterpreted what this universe is. Dr. Manhattan looks into the future following Superman’s trail of influence. We cut to the 31st Century and see Superboy being inducted into the Legion of Super-Heroes.

Dr. Manhattan then realizes that this universe is connected to Superman. That forces such as the Anti-Monitor and the Extant have been responsible for shifts in Superman’s timeline. That dark directions constantly target the hope that Superman embodies in an effort to redefine him.

Dr. Manhattan then changes the past to try and challenge the future. Dr. Manhattan prevents the formation of the Justice Society of America. The Multiverse reacts to this universe. The Mutliverse has gone from endless worlds, to none, to fifty-two, to dark Multiverses, and back to infinite worlds. Dr. Manhattan says that all of these changes in the Multiverse were created by changes to this universe. Dr. Manhattan says that this universe stands apart of the Multiverse. That this universe is a Metaverse. It is in a constant state of change. We see Dr. Manhattan holding Alan Scott’s green lantern. Dr. Manhattan says that when he stops the formation of the Justice Society of America that he changes Superman once again. We then see the creation of New 52 Superman.

Dr. Manhattan says that this Superman is more distant from humanity. Dr. Manhattan understands this Superman more and relates to him more. Dr. Manhattan says that the power he feels from chaining Superman is intoxicating.

That five years ago, Dr. Manhattan altered the Metaverse and in turn the Multiverse. However, one year ago, the Metaverse became aware of Dr. Manhattan’s hubris. We see the return of Wally West. Dr. Manhattan says that the Metaverse is not passive. That the Metaverse began fighting for its survival. That an innate hope that fights back to the surface. We see Wally West as that innate hope. (Well…at least we did until Heroes in Crisis. Thanks, DC for crapping all over Doomsday Clock before it even finished.)

We zip to April 18, 1938 with Dr. Manhattan in Carver’s house. Dr. Manhattan thinks how he re-created the Metaverse and that it has now turned against him. Dr. Manhattan sees a vision of Superman in the future and that Superman destroys him. Or Dr. Manhattan destroys the Metaverse.

It is now June 8th, 1954. Carver asks Dr. Manhattan if he is okay. Carver then asks Dr. Manhattan what he is doing in his house.Dr. Manhattan says that he does not know why he is here. We see Carver going to his wet-bar to get a drink. Dr. Manhattan thinks that Carver will be dead in ten seconds. We see Carver’s mom and her goons bash in Carver’s head and kill him. Dr. Manhattan says that Carver’s killing will never be solved.

Dr. Manhattan then says that it is May, 1971 and he ended the Vietnam War. That he watched the Comedian kill a woman and child and did nothing. It is now April, 1938, and Dr. Manhattan used Carve Colman to help him find the balance in the Metaverse. Dr. Manhattan says that in 1954 he watched Carver get killed and Dr. Manhattan did nothing. It is November 1, 1985, and Ozymandias kills millions to unite the world. On November 2, 1985, Dr. Manhattan allows Ozymandias to walk free.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
Here comes the big fight!

Dr. Manhattan says that he is a being of inaction who is on a collision course with a man of action. (Ha! Nice one, Johns. I see what you did there.) We see Superman lying in a hospital bed. Dr. Manhattan says that to this universe of hope that he has become the villain. We then see Superman waking up. End of issue.

The Good: Doomsday Clock #10 was another brilliant read. Geoff Johns is firing on all cylinders and is putting on a clinic on how to construct and deliver an epic big event story. The only other writers who can match Johns’ world building and ability to skillfully play with high concept themes and delve into deep continuity would be Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, and Jonathan Hickman. That’s it. It is a small and exclusive group.

Johns shows off his literary skills in Doomsday Clock #10. We here at The Revolution talk all the time about the rare few comic book writers who ascend to the level of being wordsmiths. A wordsmith is not just a writer who can tell an entertaining story. A wordsmith is able to use the English language to fashion a story that has beauty and grace. A wordsmith can make dialogue and narration flow like poetry. Johns does just this with Doomsday Clock #10. Johns’ use of the English language is impressive. There is beauty to Johns’ writing on each and every page.

Johns continues to deliver a wonderfully complex story. Doomsday Clock #10 is meticulously written. Johns labors over the smallest details. Everything is obviously carefully hand crafted. It is evident that Johns has labored and spent hours getting the story just right and sweating even the smallest details. The reader can easily tell that Johns has poured his heart and soul into this story.

There is no wasted panel space anywhere in Doomsday Clock #10. There is no fluff. Johns packs an impressive amount of content into this issue. Doomsday Clock #10 is a dense read that gives the reader so much to digest. This is an issue that demands multiple readings in order to fully appreciate and to truly understand all of the details and nuances of this story. Doomsday Clock #10 is an issue that stays with the reader. Johns crafts so many interesting themes and concepts in Doomsday Clock #10 that continue to tug at the reader’s mind well after reading this issue.

Doomsday Clock #10 is such a well plotted and paced issue. There is no doubt that Johns employs a steady burn throughout this issue as we head to the climactic reveal of the Metaverse and Superman’s role within the Metaverse and how all of it impacts the Multiverse as a whole. The steady rising tension builds as the reader makes their way to the powerful ending of Doomsday Clock #10. The slow burn approach is the right one to take. It accentuates the feeling of impending doom. It highlights the dramatic cosmic reveal of the nature of the Metaverse and Superman’s role within it.

The narration and dialogue in Doomsday Clock #10 is beautifully constructed. There is a pleasant flow to Dr. Manhattan’s narration that forms the spine for this issue. This well written narration feels natural and helps to link together the quick cuts that Johns employs from panel to panel as he hops between time periods. The story jumps from multiple time periods in fast fashion from panel to panel. This is a difficult type of story to deliver and not have the story seem disjointed and chaotic. However, the natural and well constructed narration helps give the story a form and order which prevents the story from falling apart into a disorganized mess. This is an ambitious approach to take with an issue and few writers can pull it off as well as Johns does with Doomsday Clock #10.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
Dr. Manhattan is a Superman hater.

Of course, the strength of Doomsday Clock #10 is Johns’ ability to engage in world building and to sculpt and mold DC’s complicated continuity and mythos. There is not another writer who adores DC’s continuity and bathes in it the way that Johns does. Johns has an obsessive love with DC’s continuity and mythos and is able to dive into the most subtle details.

Johns performs some massive continuity work in Doomsday Clock #10 that changes the very foundation of the DCU’s history and the Multiverse itself. The Johns acknowledges that the Multiverse has taken several shapes in the past. It has gone from infinite universes, to just one universe, to 52 universes, and back to infinite universes.

After acknowledging the past, Johns then adds several new wrinkles. The first is that the main universe of Earth-1 is actually the Metaverse. The Metaverse is the foundation for the entire Multiverse. What happens in the Metaverse has a direct impact on what happens to the Multiverse at large. Any change to the Metaverse will result in rippling changes to the Multiverse itself.

The concept of the Metaverse is brilliant and actually in keeping with DC’s established history. This is not Johns creating a concept out of whole cloth and forcing it into DC’s continuity. The concept of the Metaverse is the perfect explanation as to why whenever an outside force like the Anti-Monitor makes a change to Earth-1’s universe that it then impacts all of the rest of the Multiverse. The concept of the Metaverse also explains why Earth-1’s universe has always been the core universe and the most important universe in the Multiverse. The Metaverse explains why Earth-1’s universe is the center of all the various Crisis events and why the fate of the Multiverse depends on what happens in the Earth-1’s universe.

Most importantly, the Metaverse is not just a great story concept, but it is also an excellent literary tool. The Metaverse explains why the DCU has constantly shifted and changed from the Golden Age through the Silver Age to the Bronze Age and all the way up to the Modern Age. This makes the Metaverse the perfect literary tool to explain away why there are never ending subtle tweaks and changes to the DCU in addition to massive retcons within the DCU. The Metaverse makes these constant and sometimes disparate changes to the various characters within the DCU throughout the decades more natural and connected.

Johns uses the various retconning of Superman’s history from the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Man of Steel, Birthright, and the New 52 to explain how the Metaverse operates. This was an excellent way to convey how the Metaverse operates and reacts to external forces attempting to change the Metaverse’s narrative.

Johns’ concept of the Metaverse is also rooted in Grant Morrison’s take on the Multiverse in his Animal Man run in the late 1980’s and from Morrison’s Final Crisis: Superman Beyond. Morrison elevated the Multiverse to a meta-level during his run on Animal Man. It was during these two titles that Morrison examined the concept of the DCU and the Multiverse as simply a collection of stories and tales.

First, let’s look at Morrison’s Animal Man. Morrison rolled out his new Animal Man title after the conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Post Crisis, DC editorial forbade any writers from mentioning the Multiverse. Going forward, DC writers were to operate that nothing that happened prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths happened and that none of the characters involved with Crisis on Infinite Earths had any knowledge of the DC history that exited prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Well, there was one writer who bent that rule: Grant Morrison.

DC Comics Animal Man #24
Behold…the Multiverse!

Morrison had Psycho Pirate appear in Animal Man. Psycho Pirate was the only character in the DCU that retained knowledge of the Multiverse prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Morrison has Psycho Pirate locked away in Arkham Asylum. Psycho Pirate has been drive insane by all of the characters who were retconned away during Crisis on Infinite Earths that he now had inside of him. Psycho Pirate ended up releasing those characters back unto the world. Most of the characters realized that they are just characters in a comic book.

Eventually, Animal Man helps Psycho Pirate and Psycho Pirate fades away and enters Comic Book Limbo. At this point, James Highwater, a member of the Asylum’s staff, assumes wearing the Psycho Pirate’s Medusa Mask and keeps all of the forgotten multiple Earths wiped away by Crisis on Infinite Earths contained.

Morrison also has Animal Man travel to Comic Book Limbo in Animal Man #25 in 1990. Comic Book Limbo is where characters go to say when they are not being used in any of DC’s comic books. It is this moment where Morrison has Animal Man realize that everyone in the DCU, including himself, are just comic book characters in a story. In fact, Animal Man ends up meeting Grant Morrison himself and realizes that the DCU is nothing but stories written by various writers.

Morrison then revisits Comic Book Limbo in Final Crisis: Superman Beyond. It is in Comic Book Limbo that we are introduced to the book with infinite pages. This book represents DC’s Multiverse as the ultimate source for an endless number of stories that are published in DC’s comics. Morrison reveals that the Multiverse is comprised of stories. At the end of Final Crisis: Superman Beyond, Morrison continues the theme of the DCU being just stories and narratives.

Johns picks up on Morrison’s meta-narrative concerning the Multiverse, Earth-1’s universe, and the concept of stories and characters when creating the concept of the Metaverse. Johns has the Metaverse serving as the ultimate story. And within that story, Superman is the main character from which everything springs forth from. Johns has Dr. Manhattan realize that everything in the Metaverse is a story and one that can be manipulated and changed by external force. That characters and entire stories can be wiped away yet the Metaverse will always have a story to tell. And that the Metaverse’s story always begins with Superman’s arrival. Johns uses the Metaverse to show that characters can be altered through time and that stories can be shifted and retconned but that the narrative of the Metaverse remains. That the Metaverse will alway create a story of hope no matter what external force tries to stop or change the Metaverse.

I love the use of Superman as the linchpin for the Metaverse. I am certainly no big fan of Superman. In fact, I rarely enjoy his character. However, the fact remains that Superman is the most iconic super hero of all time. And Superman is absolutely the genesis of the DCU. It is only proper and logical to have Superman serve as the fulcrum for the entire story of the Metaverse and the DCU.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
The birth of the dreaded New 52.

I also like how Johns builds off of his theme of hope from DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Hope, in the form of Wally West, is what brought about the Rebirth initiative in the DCU. Here in Doomsday Clock #10, Johns has Superman symbolize the hope that is the core theme of the Metaverse. That no matter what an external force tries to change about the Metaverse that hope will never die. That the Metaverse’s story is one of hope. And that hope will always take the form of the arrive of baby Kal-El on Earth-1. And that Superman will always serve as the source of hope that serves as inspiration for all other costumed super heroes to use their powers for good. The stories may change but the result is that Superman always comes to Earth and then always inspires other characters to become super heroes as well. And with that follows the stories of the DCU.

Johns placing Superman as the inspiration for all of the other super-heroes in the DCU also plays well with the Superman Theory plot-line that we have been getting in prior issues of Doomsday Clock. In this issue, Johns shows that the origin for all super-heroes begins with Superman. That once Kal-El operates as Superman that he creates the concept of the super-hero and then inspires other characters to become super-heroes.

This mirrors the Superman Theory plot-line that before the arrival of Superman there were no super-heroes. That after the arrival of Superman there was an exponential increase in metahuman activity. This leads to the conspiracy theory that the American government, after Superman’s arrival, manufactured all of their metahumans. Then the metahumans are assigned a public hero or villain role. The main impact of the Superman Theory is that there is a metahumans arms race between various countries in order to try and claim their superiority over the rest of the world.

For the most part, the reader has been lead to believe that the Superman Theory is just a ridiculous conspiracy theory with no truth to it. However, in Doomsday Clock #5, Johns does have Lex Luthor say that there is some truth to the Superman Theory and that a former member of the Justice League is behind it. Still, given Lex’s character, the reader is still suspicious of the Superman Theory. With Doomsday Clock #10, Johns gives the reader basically the Superman Theory on a far grander scale. Instead of the Superman Theory being a government project, Johns gives us basically the Superman Theory on a grand cosmic scale with Superman’s role in the Metaverse. That Superman is the cause for the explosion in super-heroes within the Metaverse. It should be interesting to see where Johns goes from here in the final two issues of this big event.

Johns’ use of April 18 as the the spine of Doomsday Clock #10 was a brilliant choice. April 18, 1938 is when Action Comics #1 as first published. This marked the first appearance of Superman. Having April 18 be the day that Carver always meets with Dr. Manhattan all throughout the years reinforces the theme of Superman as the key ingredient to the story of the Metaverse.

I also like how Johns uses the dates of the first appearances in comic books for the dates that the various members of the Justice Society of America first get their super powers and become heroes. Johns then uses the publishing date for the first issue of the Justice Society of America for the date of their first meeting in Doomsday Clock #10. This also reinforces the Metaverse being a collection of stories told through comic books.

DC Comics Doomsday Clock #10 Review
The Mother Fucking Justice Society of America!!!

Speaking of the Justice Society of America, it was absolutely fantastic seeing the Justice Society of America together once again. DC completely trashed the JSA with the New 52. Yeah, we got that craptastic version of the JSA over in the comic book Earth-2. But, the real JSA from Earth-1 was nowhere to be found. Johns finally rectifies that as we now see the classic Justice Society of America in all of its glory once again in Doomsday Clock #10. Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Al Pratt, Wesley Dodds, Ken Nelson, Carter Hall, Rex Tyler, and Jim Corrigan are all absolutely fantastic characters. It was a complete joy to see these characters once again.

Johns does an amazing job with Dr. Manhattan’s character. I love how Johns builds upon the passive and detached nature of Dr. Manhattan’s character that Alan Moore cultivated in the original Watchmen story. Johns rightly points out how completely passive Dr. Manhattan was during the events of Watchmen. This inaction is continued in the pages of Doomsday Clock #10 as we see Dr. Manhattan standing idly by as Carver is killed.

Johns now takes Dr. Manhattan, a man of inaction, and sets him on an inevitable collision course with Superman, a man of action. The theme of inaction for Dr. Manhattan and action for Superman are consistent with the core personality traits of both men. It is also a nice play off of the title of Action Comics which is the title that started the entire DCU in the first place.

Doomsday Clock #10 is not only brilliantly written issue, it is also a gorgeously drawn issue. Look, I know that Gary Frank cannot keep up with any sort of regular schedule at all. And I hate that Doomsday Clock has had several delays. However, all of this does not change the fact that Gary Frank’s artwork is simply amazing. Frank delivers a powerful issue. There is not much action at all anywhere in this issue. Yet, Frank is still able to make Doomsday Clock #10 a riveting looking issue. Frank packs so much detail into each panel. Frank draws excellent facial expressions for the various characters. This helps to infuse so much emotion into Johns’ story.

Best of all is that Frank’s style evokes feelings of Dave Gibbons’ art on the original Watchmen story. There is not another artist in the comic book industry that I would want to see drawing the Watchmen world other than Frank. Delays suck. I am the first to criticize a comic book publishers when they can meet their own release dates. However, for me, the wait for Frank’s artwork is preferable to getting a guest artist on the title in order to make the release dates on time.

The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue. However, the fact remains that Doomsday Clock #10 is a slow issue. This issue is also exposition heavy. There is little to no action in this issue, either. There are going to be readers who simply find this type of issue to be a bit boring.

Overall: Doomsday Clock #10 is another beautifully written and drawn issue. It is obvious how Johns and Frank have poured their hearts and souls into this title. It is rare to see a comic book where the creative team has so clearly given their absolute best effort in every single page. If you still have not jumped aboard Doomsday Clock then you absolutely need to read this big event when it comes out in trade format.


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