Written by: JM DeMatties
Art by: Jason Gorder
Published by: DC
Pretty much since the start of The New 52, they’ve been there. The silent watchers, doing little but appearing as Easter Eggs, or showing up in back ups to Justice League. As the new universe evolved, these three began to play a larger role, two of them getting their own series, and one of them indirectly causing Trinity War and the events of Forever Evil. So they really haven’t been doing much good for the universe, and the quality of their solo books has been… debatable.
These three, of course, are the Trinity of Sin: Pandora, Phantom Stranger, and the Question.
Now, before I get further into this review, I have to say: if you like the Question, steer clear of this book. This isn’t so much DeMatties’ fault, seems more editorial. The fact remains; this is not the character that fans have come to know since his inception. Like the rest of this book, he is infused with magic for some unfathomable reason, and with that has come a fairly odd character shift.
Anyways, technically speaking, Trinity of Sin #1 isn’t a horrible comic. Sure, it has its issues. There’s a ton of exposition that is as unnecessary as it is boring. Plus, it’s quite overwritten, and the whole endeavor feels oddly dense, especially any and all scenes even tangentially involving Pandora. To be quite frank, she’s really just a bad character. But these aren’t really huge issues, and there are many who may actually enjoy this book for what it is. Its biggest issue is really that it’s hard to care about anything that happens. None of the characters are interesting, and the plot fails to do anything interesting either.
The book follows each member of the trinity as they are attacked by supernatural creatures, who seem to easily be able to overpower the trinity. The issue then turns into a massive action sequence, which introduces these characters to the reader, but is also meant to provide some entertainment value. Unfortunately, it only succeeds on one of those fronts. The issue does a fairly good job of introducing who these characters are, their motivation, and where they came from. How interested readers are in their story will vary, though it will likely lean more towards being disinterested and unimpressed.
Really, this is the first time an action sequence has felt like a chore to read. Even in the worst comics, action is at the very least entertaining. Here, the art (courtesy of Jason Gorder), which is actually pretty great, is masked by text. Unfortunately, it’s also fairly shallow, though again, that may be more because of how hard it is to care about anything that happens in this book than actual issues with the writing.
Look, if you have some great interest in the Trinity of Sin and post-New 52 Question, then more power to you. Unfortunately, this issue really just didn’t cut it. There were issues with the writing, yes, but most of the issues that readers will have with this will stem from just a general disinterest in the characters. It will definitely be interesting to see how long this book lasts, especially seeing as it follows up multiple high profile launches, that it really can’t stand up to in terms of quality.
