Deathstroke #36: I’m Not Crazy… You’re Crazy!

As the first issue of a new arc that picks up after a six-month interruption, this issue is somewhat hampered by the inevitable need to recap previous events. Because of that fact, this first issue reads at a much slower, more organized pace than previous entries in the run by Priest and company. That said, however, it is still a strong issue in and of itself, but in ways we haven’t really seen so much of from Priest thus far. In bringing Space Man to the forefront of the arc, Priest manages to inject an unfamiliar but welcome element of humor, even hearkening back to Priest’s days as the Black Panther writer.

Thanks to the group sessions taking place inside of a virtual reality world, Benes and Pasarin are given free reign to make this book as beautiful and dynamic as they wish. It takes only one page, opening on an exceptionally gorgeous splash page, to let the reader know that they are in for a treat.

There are a number of mysteries in operation at once. Is Deathstroke crazy? Who will he become friends within this arc? What is Jericho’s role in either trapping, rehabilitating, or rescuing his father? And of course, as we left off with the “Chinatown” arc, what is happening to Rose Wilson? Is Willow a possession or a psychic break? There are a few obvious clues in this issue, but I anticipate a very busy second issue now that the recap is out of the way.