By d. emerson eddy — We're now on the first week of conclusions for the Future State titles, which raises a fair amount of questions, not really for the content of the stories themselves, but for the overall purpose of the event. Like the editorial push behind The New 52, there doesn't really seem to be a coherence that links all of the books. At least, not one that's readily apparent just by reading them.

This does not really affect the quality of the stories, other than maybe making it so the spate of two-parters could feel a little rushed, but this all fuels a question that’s nagged me: “Why?” Some of these series seem to be a brief taste of incoming creators for next month's Infinite Frontier. Others feel like a sampling of a new setting that likely won’t be revisited, possibly making them remnants from DC Comics’ aborted 5G plan. I don't know. And then a couple of these books just kind of do their own thing, delivering a solid flash-forward story.

You're left wondering what the editorial remit here was for all of the titles as well as the Future State event itself. Whether there's overall some sort of meaning behind this, or if it's ultimately just a curiosity as the pieces align for a reshuffle next month, as we’ve seen in the past with Convergence.

Future State: It Doesn't Even Matter How Hard You Try

One thing that we do know is continuing — or in a roundabout way beginning — is The Next Batman series. Announced as a Digital First title in April's solicitations, Tim “Jace” Fox's story will be further explored in The Next Batman: Second Son from John Ridley, Tony Akins, and Travel Foreman. Though it's conceptually a flashback to what caused the schism between Jace and the rest of the family, I am happy that Ridley will still be exploring the character. Because this is some pretty decent stuff.

We get the third installment of Jace's Future State adventure as The Next Batman here from Ridley, Laura Braga, Nick Derington, Arif Prianto, and Clayton Cowles. This is probably the weakest entry so far as it suffers from a large case of “middle” syndrome, which hurts the pacing. Basically, there's a bit of treading water as the story repeats bits of the Fox family drama along with issues in the actual police department, but at least the plot points repeated are from a slightly different perspective. There’s also an appearance by someone who I'm sure will be well-appreciated by readers. Still, this book has wonderful art and action sequences.

The back-ups fare better in this book, with the conclusions to “Outsiders” and “Arkham Knights”. I really quite like both of them. “Outsiders” from Brandon Thomas, Sumit Kumar, Raul Fernandez, Jordie Bellaire, and Steve Wands is wonderful. Thomas pens a rather rousing, heartfelt speech for Duke Thomas as he rallies the people to fight against the Magistrate. We also get some very nice character interaction and backstory between Katana and Black Lightning in their current incarnations. I'm thankful that this one is going to be continuing, in a slightly different form, as one of the stories in the new Batman: Urban Legends anthology title.

The book is rounded out with the conclusion to the “Arkham Knights” story from Paul Jenkins, Jack Herbert, Gabe Eltaeb, and Rob Leigh. I definitely wish there was more of this one, too. It's an odd grouping of former Arkham inmates with the Arkham Knight — who was introduced by Peter Tomasi and Brad Walker — and I would have liked to have seen more of an exploration of how this group ultimately works. There's an interesting surprise when it comes to the group's intent. Plus, the art from Herbert and Eltaeb is simply incredible.

Future State: The Next Batman #3
“The Next Batman”
Writer: John Ridley
Artist: Laura Braga
Breakdowns: Nick Derington
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
The adventures of the next Batman continue! Batman has captured a pair of murderous fugitives, but he faces a tough decision: leave them for the Magistrate troops, which means certain death, or risk his life and fight his way through Gotham City to deliver them to the GCPD for trial. He’s Batman...so there’s only one choice!
Buy It Digitally: Future State - The Next Batman #3

“Outsiders”
Writer: Brandon Thomas
Penciller: Sumit Kumar
Inkers: Raul Fernandez & Sumit Kumar
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Steve Wands
And in “Outsiders,” Katana has reunited with Black Lightning, but her old friend and ally has changed...big-time! Now composed of literal black lightning, Jefferson Pierce arrives with a dire warning about Duke Thomas and his mission to liberate Gotham from the oppression of the Magistrate. They’ll have to work together-and we really mean together-to have any hope of defeating the forces working against them!
Buy It Digitally: Future State - The Next Batman #3

“Arkham Knights”
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Artist: Jack Herbert
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics
Plus, in “Arkham Knights,” Astrid Arkham and her band of maniacal misfits have picked a fight with the Magistrate...and they’re not going to back down! On the eve of their mission into the heart of Gotham’s fascist occupiers, Croc, Zsasz, Phosphorus, Clayface, Harvey, and the rest steel themselves to try and shine a beacon of hope into the darkness-but not everyone will make it out alive!
Price: $7.99
Buy It Digitally: Future State - The Next Batman #3

I Tried So Hard and Got So Far

Among the highlights for the first month of the event was Future State: Swamp Thing. The first issue was a beautiful mixture of looming dread, regret, mournful introspection, and mystery, as Swamp Thing and his motley crew of veggie people searched for the last of humanity. It was a great, atmospheric horror tale in a bleak post-apocalyptic world. With Future State: Swamp Thing #2, I can safely say that Ram V, Mike Perkins, June Chung, and Aditya Bidikar stuck the landing.

We pick up again in the far north of Canada where Swamp Thing is searching for the last men on Earth, and what he finds isn't pretty. Jason Woodrue has descended further into insanity, weaponizing Obsidian to essentially blot out the Sun and kill all plant life, or rather, all life when you think about it. I really like how V further centers Woodrue as one of Swamp Thing's key villains, in an entirely different way outside the rot and decay of Anton Arcane.

There's also a wonderful payoff on the anatomy lesson segments that have been running through the story, explaining what the plant simulacra following Swamp Thing are, which results in a morally questionable result. It’s also a result that I suppose kind of ties in to Swamp Thing's condition in Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman, though given the scope here, I'm not sure that was the intent. Still, I'm going to chalk it up to synergy between the two timeframes.

The art from Mike Perkins and June Chung continues to be perfect. The atmosphere and darkness within this bleak, snowy landscape is wonderful, emphasizing it as a desolate place where nothing can grow. Likewise the transformed Woodrue — twisted further from other incarnations of the character, tapping into a bit of body horror — is a terrifying design. It’s all topped off with more impeccable letter work from Aditya Bidikar. The shifts in word balloon style are quite nice, especially the sickly blue balloons for Woodrue.

Overall, Future State: Swamp Thing from V, Perkins, Chung, and Bidikar has been a story of survival, adversity, and potentially redemption. There are still questions about the Guardian of the Green that destroyed the world, something that may or may not be addressed further in Infinite Frontier, but it doesn't really matter. These two issues work well as their own thing, and they serve as an indicator that the forthcoming Swamp Thing maxi-series is in very good hands.

Future State: Swamp Thing #2
Writer: Ram V
Artist: Mike Perkins
Colorist: June Chung
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
Publisher: DC Comics
Humanity strikes back! The shadow of Swamp Thing Supreme stretches across the globe as it has for centuries. The world is at peace, until a rebellious faction of humanity ignites their terrible plan, fueled by Woodrue Wilson’s appetite for power. But Swamp Thing, too, harbors a secret-one he must reveal in order to restore peace to the planet once again. But it will cost him everything he has.
Price: $3.99
Buy It Digitally: Future State - Swamp Thing #2

I Had to Fall to Lose It All

I think it's fairly safe to say that Yara Flor is one of the best new characters coming out of Future State, and certainly one of the most exciting to arrive at DC Comics in a while. We already knew we'd be seeing more of her, especially with a new television series in development at the CW, but this week we also got the announcement of a new Wonder Girl comic, launching in May from the Future State: Wonder Woman creative team. This is great news, because indeed this series has been wonderful and Future State: Wonder Woman #2 — from Joelle Jones, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles — is a solid conclusion, ranking as one of the highlights of the entire event.

Like the first issue, the artwork from Jones and Bellaire is absolutely stunning. This is a book where you can just enjoy the art, the character designs, the layouts, the panel transitions, and the various techniques applied to different scenes. The quality of the art is not even just in the impeccable visual storytelling, but it’s also evident in the discrete elements — basically, this is one damn fine looking book. The designs for Hades and Persephone in particular are pretty neat, even in comparison to Cliff Chiang's quintessential weird design for Hades. I also like the more Amazonian Amazons that we see, with attire similar to Yara Flor's.

There is much more to the book, of course, than just gorgeous artwork. Wonder Woman's trip into the underworld to search for her fallen comrade takes on a kind of structure similar to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, as Yara finds herself before Hades, given a brief respite from potentially losing her soul to find her fallen sister. There's a nice explanation for the remorse that she feels for how the other Amazon died, as well as a satisfying — if bittersweet — bit of character growth for the conclusion. It's a nice character study that has me excited to see what comes moving forward in the aforementioned Wonder Girl series.

Future State: Wonder Woman #2
Writer & Artist: Joelle Jones
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
Emerging from the Amazon rain forest, the new Wonder Woman must battle her way through hell! Witness Yara Flor at the height of her power as she takes on the king of the underworld, Hades himself! Betrayed by a close ally, Yara’s back is against the wall as she is forced to battle legions of demons for survival and to liberate her Themysciran sister. You won’t want to miss the exciting conclusion of this of rising superstar hero’s first adventure!
Price: $3.99
Buy It Digitally: Future State - Wonder Woman #2

Acting Like I Was Part of Your Property

I've been liking the more “sane” characterization of Harley Quinn that's been appearing in James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez's run on Batman, taking on more heroic traits as she seems to be increasingly integrated into the Bat family, rather than remaining an anti-hero at the fringes as she has been for a couple decades now. It makes sense, given how prominent she is in the DCEU films and animated television products.

Stephanie Phillips' Harley in Future State: Harley Quinn #2 — joined by Simone DiMeo, Toni Infante, Tamra Bonvillain, and Troy Peteri — gives me some of the similar vibes. Harley is still cracking wise and taking no crap when both Jonathan Crane and Black Mask work to try to control her, but she also has something of a harder edge than what we've seen in the main Batman title. I like it, and I'm interested to see how this version of Harley works in the forthcoming new volume for Infinite Frontier.

That said, this series has been a good one. It does operate within the Future State framework of a Gotham under the Magistrate's rule, but it still feels somewhat incidental to the overall meat of the story. We see Harley being forced to bring in the villains who are still out there, and managing to outwit pretty much everyone.

I also think this one has some of the best color art across the event. DiMeo and Infante's linework provides a lot of shadow and heavy black ink, and it's made gorgeous by the shine of purples, blues, pinks, and greens, along with some interesting applications of light sources, from Bonvillain's colors. It works within both that retro neon future aesthetic and the harder kind of bubblegum pop that you might expect from Harley Quinn herself. Beautiful stuff.

Future State: Harley Quinn #2
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artists: Simone DiMeo & Toni Infante 
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain 
Letterer: ALW's Troy Peteri
Publisher: DC Comics
Harley Quinn has gained Jonathan Crane’s trust, everything is going according to plan, and she is getting close to making her escape. But Black Mask and his gang are continuing to undermine the Magistrate and push Crane closer to the edge, where he will become the Scarecrow once more. Will Harley be able to defeat the Scarecrow and stop the Black Mask Gang? If she’s going to secure her freedom and save Gotham’s future, she’ll have to!
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Future State - Harley Quinn #2

You Wouldn't Even Recognize Me Anymore

I really enjoyed the first issue of this one, which set up the beginning of a new status quo for Metropolis and the plucky adventures of a still youngish Jonathan Kent, but Future State: Superman of Metropolis #2 delivers an even more entertaining and exciting series of tales.

The lead tale, the titular “Superman of Metropolis”, is brought to us by Sean Lewis, John Timms, Gabe Eltaeb, and Dave Sharpe. It concludes the battle between Superman and the nasty Brainiac clone — BrainCells — that has been manipulating and controlling Metropolis. There are some really neat ideas here as Jonathan is tested by a group of faceless clones of his father, getting to the heart of legacy and living up to the expectations of trying to walk in the shoes of a parent as legendary as Superman.

The art here from John Timms and Gabe Eltaeb is even better than the first issue. Timms has been doing some wonderful artwork in Young Justice, but I feel like he's outdoing himself here. He's another artist in DC's current stable that kind of straddles the stylistic influences of Greg Capullo, Andy Kubert, Stuart Immonen, and Jim Lee, and it just looks great here. The battle between Jon and the clones is suitably epic, and his Supergirl is one of the best I've seen since RB Silva (with a much more practical and sensible costume). Eltaeb's colors opt for some bright blues, reds, and greens, really making you feel immersed in the traditional colors of Superman (as well as his weakness, Kryptonite). Dave Sharpe's letters enhance that feel further with an interesting green-bordered word balloon style for BrainCells' dialogue.

My only complaint is that it's over too soon. Lewis, Timms, Eltaeb, and Sharpe have crafted a wonderful setting for the Bottle City of Metropolis, and while the conclusion necessitates Jonathan making the right decision about its fate, it feels kind of rushed. It’s almost a missed opportunity not to live in this world for more time. I know the seeds of what bring us here are being planted throughout a number of tales in Infinite Frontier, but I feel like this setting could have just used more.

Thankfully, we do get at least a bit more exploration of life under the dome in the conclusions to the two back-ups, but, again, I'm left wanting more. “Mister Miracle” from Brandon Easton, Valentine de Landro, Marissa Louise, and Dave Sharpe reveals what we already know about the bottling of the city by Kryptonian technology, and it sends Shilo Norman off to where we see him again in Future State: Superman - Worlds of War #1. It's kind of odd to be essentially reading these events out of order, but nonetheless, this is still a solid tale.

As is the concluding chapter to “The Guardian” by Sean Lewis, Cully Hamner, Laura Martin, and AndWorld Design. I think it's interesting how Jimmy Olsen is being used across this era's settings as a counter-culture, underground revolutionary, which makes me wonder what's going to happen when we get back to the present and start to see who this new villain, Andrej Trojan, happens to be. Also, phenomenal artwork from Hamner and Martin.

Overall, the Future State: Superman of Metropolis era stories are quite good, with a strong lead tale of self-discovery as Jonathan comes into his own as Superman. I just wish there was more of it.

Future State: Superman of Metropolis #2
“Superman of Metropolis”
Writer: Sean Lewis
Artist: John Timms
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Braincells, the advanced offshoot of the diabolical Brainiac, continues to lure Jonathan Kent down the wrong path-but things go from bad to this can’t get any worse when it appears it has also taken some manner of control over Supergirl! If the Kryptonians clash, nothing will be able to protect the bottled city of Metropolis!
Read It Digitally: Future State - Superman of Metropolis #2

“Mister Miracle”
Writer: Brandon Easton
Artist: Valentine de Landro
Colorist: Marissa Louise
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Meanwhile, inside the bottle itself, the Guardian is doing everything he can to stop the city from destroying itself from within, while Mister Miracle has discovered the trail of a strange signal that he doesn’t realize will take him to Warworld.
Read It Digitally: Future State - Superman of Metropolis #2

“The Guardian”
Writer: Sean Lewis
Artist: Cully Hamner
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Publisher: DC Comics
Meanwhile, inside the bottle itself, the Guardian is doing everything he can to stop the city from destroying itself from within, while Mister Miracle has discovered the trail of a strange signal that he doesn’t realize will take him to Warworld.
Price: $5.99
Read It Digitally: Future State - Superman of Metropolis #2

But in the End it Doesn't Even Matter

I generally try to focus on the positive in what I write about in comics. Largely because there's just too much damned good stuff out there to dwell on the books that I don't like. On top of that, there's so much negativity out there already — I don't want or need to add to that din. I'm also fully cognizant that something can still be technically proficient, but not to my tastes.

And then there's Future State: The Flash #2 from Brandon Vietti, Brandon Peterson, Will Conrad, Mike Atiyeh, and Steve Wands. I did not like the first issue. The second issue is worse. It's rare that a comic story can actually make me angry, but this leaves such a sour taste in my mouth. 

The art from Peterson, Conrad, and Atiyeh is fine. I really don't have an issue with their work here or that of Steve Wands, whose lettering is always superb. There is a lack of visual consistency, however, from the first issue's art by Dale Eaglesham and Atiyeh, most notably in how within two months Barry has grown a full beard and gone completely grey. I suppose that's possible, but it further reinforces other inconsistencies in the story itself. 

In the two month gap, Barry's also gained a propensity for endless monologues that say absolutely nothing, Iris disappeared getting supplies, Max died from an unexplained disease, and Avery, well, she just seems not to exist in the story any more, despite a prominent role in the previous issue. There’s not even a throwaway line about how she also died or something. This doesn't even work as a coherent two-parter, not with how its story flow works against itself. When you add in a soul-crushing Pyrrhic victory of giving Wally a virus that debilitates his physical being and that even gets the rug pulled out from under us in one of the most mean-spirited “ha ha, fooled you” moments, what we get is a comic book that isn't just a depressing, nihilistic future. 

No, this is a comic that purposely makes a joke of the Flash legacy. It makes you feel like hoping for a better world, a better existence, is foolish. And worse, that even the valuable “data” that carries over to Future State: Teen Titans is meaningless, because this is all empty and hollow. We already know that everyone fails even further along this narrative thread. I don't often say this, but this is a bad comic. It is not worth your hard-earned money to purchase. Not even if you're a masochist or a completist.

Future State: The Flash #2
Writer: Brandon Vietti
Artists: Brandon Peterson & Will Conrad
Colorist: Mike Atiyeh
Letterer: Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics
All hope is lost as Barry Allen races to save his former partner, Wally West. Armed with the weapons of the Rogues who once tried to destroy the Flash, Barry plots an attack that’ll either free the former Kid Flash from the evil that’s possessed him-or end his threat forever!
Price: $3.99
Buy It Digitally: Future State - The Flash #2

Breathe. I suppose they can't all be winners. Thankfully, though one bad apple here doesn't ruin the bunch. Given the two other books that follow that thread, it might be one tree that's sadly infested with tent moths, but we can excise that with fire. The rest of the orchard is filled with solid, healthy trees. Some — like Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn — even yield prize-winning bumper crops.

NEXT: It's curtains for Green Lantern, Justice League, Kara Zor-El: Superwoman, Robin Eternal, Superman/Wonder Woman, and Teen Titans, as well as the third issue of Dark Detective…

Read past installments of Future State Fridays!

d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.