2 out of 5

I bought this for the Section Eight “sneak peek,” which was meant to introduce some new S8 characters for the (then) upcoming (mini?) series.

…The first half of the comic is the second part of one of DCs many 2-part Convergence books, which, as far as I can tell / remember, did the DC version of Marvel’s Battleworld, smushing together a whole bunch of different realities / characters for some unknown reason determined by some ultimate overlord who was probably defeated in the main crossover series.  I don’t know which came first with the idea, DC or Marvel, and I don’t care; I lost the energy / taste for these crossovers years ago.  They’re rarely satisfying, and generally only good as springboards for new series… which end up generally being short-lived.

Anyhow, Harley Quinn and Captain Carrot are fighting in this issue, which should be funny, but usually-artist Steve Pugh manages to write the thing like the jokes are almost there…  Almost as though the idea of two silly characters going at it is so rife with humor that it seemed funnier to swerve around it.  It’s not unfunny, per sé, just weirdly like we’re hearing a watered down version of things.  There’s also a completely pointless wraparound structure to the story to support one gag, and that it’s not a great gag underlines how jammed-in it is.  Steve Winslade’s freestyle art is always nice, except I think he’s better suited to heroes who are a bit more normal; the spandex-wearing crowd looks a bit funky and blocky via his style, and he’s almost not bombastic enough to carry the cartoonish humor of Quinn.  So that happens.

Unfortunately, the Section Eight backup is equally pointless.  There was a note in the first issue of Section Eight saying this book would give us the first appearance of The Grapplah, Guts, and Powertool… and that’s exactly what it does.  They appear.  They say their names.  And Dogwelder is there.  But all of this is covered better – and with more context – in the actual S8 book, so these few pages are worthless, story-wise.  I mean, it would’ve been a fun bonus, I guess, had I been reading Harley Quinn and had no idea Section Eight was going to happen, but going back to it after reading the first few issues of that series adds nothing.  But, y’know, McRae in all his sloppy glory, and Dogwelder.