REVIEW: ‘New Year’s Evil,’ Issue #1

New Year’s Evil #1 is published by DC Comics, written by Gabriel Hardman, Corrina Bechko, Christos Gage, Kenny Porter, Dave Wielgosz, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Kurt Busiek, Jim Krieg, Vita Ayala, Dan Watters, and Ram V. The issue features art by Gabriel Hardman, Karl Mostert, Ramon Villalobos, Cain Tormey, Summit Kumar, Dale Eaglesham, Aneke, Elena Casagrande, Alessandro Vitti, and Anthony Spay, It features colors by Matt Hollingsworth, Luis Guerrero, Tamra Bonvillain, Dave McCaig, Romulo Fajardo JR, Mike Atiyeh, Hi-Fi, Jordie Bellaire, Adriano Lucas, and Jeromy Cox. New Year’s Evil #1 features letters by Steve Wands, Travis Lanham, Tom Napolitano, Alex Antone, Clayton Cowles, Todd Klein, Wes Abbot, David Sharpe, Gabrielle Downie, and Troy Peteri.

It’s the holiday season! Likewise it’s also the holidays for the DC Universe’s most notorious villains. New Year’s Evil #1 gives readers a peak on what some of the villains are doing to wrap up the year. While DC’s Year of the Villain is in full swing it’s no surprise to see an end of the year anthology book staring many of those same villains coated with a layer of holiday themes. With a wide variety of characters ranging from Toyman, Joker, Aries, and Sinestro, the full gamut of DC villains is on display throughout this collection of stories. And the style and themes of these stories is just as broad as the cast. From tales of villainy that use the holidays purely as a backdrop to genuine tales of god cheer, New Year’s Evil #1 has a fun time with these iconic characters.

While all ten of the stories that appear in New Year’s Evil #1 are mostly solid shorts my favorite had to Black Adam’s tale. V does a wonderful job with the character. Like in his recent Year of the Villain one-shot, Black Adam finds his objective to be commendable, though his means are perhaps a bit off the mark. The other stand out story for me was Harley Quinn’s. While I’m not usually a fan of her’s, this story was the perfect blend of heartfelt sincerity with just a touch of Harley’s off-kilter humor.

While the bulk of New Year’s Evil #1 is solid there was one story that felt noticeably weak. Poison Ivy’s story came across as a bit hollow. Lacking any real point or payoff it felt like a space filler. Noticeable among the other stories only in how it failed to compare with them.

The art present throughout the comic is a solid showing from all involved. Each story’s visuals complement the writing well and do justice to its characters. I particularly appreciated Villalobos’ version of Superman. It captured a sort of old-school Saturday morning cartoon vibe. Perfect for a fun little holiday tale.

When all is said and done New Year’s Evil #1 is a fun compilation of stories. It presents different looks at the holiday season instead of just rehashing the same old tropes most holiday books trot out.

New Year’s Evil #1 is available now wherever comic books are sold.