Event Leviathan #6: What Now?

For my full review of Event Leviathan #6 please wait for my review of Action Comics #1018. I’m just kidding, but that is what it was like to finish Event Leviathan — six issues of buildup and then a quick mention to read Action Comics #1018. I had fun reading the mini-series but I felt there were a lot of problems. For one, there were way too many characters. Barely anyone does anything except Superman. There is a team of the world’s greatest detectives but they seem to all kind of hang around. Also, what was the point of the “other detectives?” Did Bendis throw in all of these characters to inflate the perceived urgency to the story? These are questions I now get to stop asking myself.

I have consistently enjoyed the art throughout Event Leviathan. Alex Maleev is incredibly talented at working with large teams of characters in action sequences as well as stationary. It takes a great artist to make a bunch of superheroes standing around talking as exciting as them in action. Despite Maleev and Bendis being an incredible team, without a good story they lose some of their appeal. Towards the end of Event Leviathan’s run I began to feel that some things were a little rushed. Issue #6 somewhat confirmed that with a panel of Superman without the S on his chest. Maybe I’m nitpicking but here it is:

Even though I felt that there were too many characters, I have to hand it to Bendis for his writing. He juggles a lot of characters and the dialogue doesn’t suffer because of it. This is even more impressive looking at the pacing the last few issues. A lot is happening and a lot of people are involved. A highlight of this issue was Batman and some of the team communicating in American Sign Language, which Bendis and Maleev somehow make exciting and suspenseful.

I enjoyed the reveal that Mark Shaw was behind everything. I love the idea of the Manhunters wanting to bring order to the galaxy, so Shaw’s motives make sense. However, I am not sure what this means for the DC Universe. The problem with these events is that there are too many of them and they all boast great importance, so I am always skeptical of their staying power. My guess is that Shaw will play a minor role in Action Comics and everything will be business as usual, but I hope I will be wrong.

Did Event Leviathan make any impact on the DC Universe? Well, buy Action Comics #1018 to find out.