This is just one of those books that you hate to hate.  I mean, it’s Greg Rucka writing some of my favorite characters from one of my favorite series.  This has got to be gold, right?  And yet, I find myself nothing but disappointed with this month’s issue.  It’s kind of a stinker, and while some story elements are nicely done, there’s just not much here to be really excited about.

With this issue, the teaser of The Spectre killing Montoya is played out and we learn some things about what is going on…or at least, I think we do.  Throughout all the exposition, it just didn’t seem to make sense to me as to why the Spectre would be going after Montoya.  I mean, Darkseid is in human form enslaving people.  Why isn’t the The Spectre killing him?  And as Montoya asks in the issue, why is God wanting Montoya dead if she’s doing some good?  Shouldn’t he know all of these good things she’s doing?  As a disenfranchised Catholic, I can appreciate this dialogue with the Vengence of God, and a majority of these conversations are well done.  It’s a nice touch, and Allen’s struggle with the demon is great.  But on the other hand, there are these confusing story moments about the conceit that are hard to follow.  Added to that is a scene with the Spear of Destiny and Vandal Savage that doesn’t make any sense within the context of the story, and it somehow plays into Final Crisis.  But with Darkseid’s push taking the forefront, I could really care less what Vandal Savage is doing.  I will say that one of the things I really liked in the issue is the scene where Montoya is attacked by the anti-life equation.  It was well paced and I liked how the equation unfolded.

With last month’s issue, I made no bones about my hatred of Phillip Tan’s art.  And while this book seemed more toned down, I still can’t help but utterly despise the way that he’s drawing this book.  His lines are sloppy, his figures are weird looking, Montoya looks like a dehydrated corpse, and his action scenes just don’t bring a pleasing aesthetic.  It’s definitely keeping my enjoyment of the book on the lower end.

I almost hate to be disappointed by this book.  I love these characters and I love the writer writing them.  I think this series would have been more impactful if it would have been shorter and focused more on Montoya and Allen and less on whatever the hell else is going on in it.