5 out of 5

 This book is… implausibly good.  A series based in / around a video game; a book that, with its armor-plated, swearing heroes and bloody, population-rending antics could be said to be a product of the mid-2000s “grim” age of comics.  The plot boils down to a universe where Superman turns evil; how edgy.  And yet, writer Tom Taylor did the concept – sigh – justice by actually giving weight to its characters and narratives.  In its first volume (or ‘year’), he balanced larger-than-life personas with humanity, and mapped comic soap opera dramatics to relatable emotions.  Everything is still over the top, but we actually followed the plot’s throughlines with interest, and not just inevitability.  The jumble of artists required to pull off the originally-as-web-comics structure was the main roadblock, as some of these folks weren’t suited to sequential art and made the reading experience a bit bumpy when pieced together.

…Which is smoothed out in Year Two.  By narrowing art duties down to whom I would say were the best of Year One’s batch – Bruno Redondo and Mike Miller – Injustice gains important visual consistency which lends the same sensibility to our characters.

On the plotting front, Taylor again wrangles the remarkable from what would often be generic lead-up-to-a-clash final sequence: Batman is legitimately sidelined after year one, and we spend a good ten issues not simply putting a Vs. Superman plan together, but tracking the decisions that make that ultimate fight… actually feel ultimate.  This is an interesting distinction: A lot of writers try to give super heroes weight by showing their impact on the real world, but Taylor closely hones in on their effect on each other, ans this ends up showing us, much more effectively, the emotional stakes of their actions, which in turn feels more naturally projected outward.  So when death comes – and it does – it hits harder than usual comic book deaths; when the world around these gods is affected, it feels relevant, and not just like plot filler.  And when the twists happen, hoo boy, they are good’uns.

Sure, the chapters from the annual aren’t on par with the actual series, but it’s nice they were included in this collection.  Extras include some covers and sketches, and full pencils on a great scene between Black Canary and Harley Quinn.

If only all DC / Marvel comics could be this awesome, but then again, this is something of a response to the existing legacy.  If this was the norm, well, it wouldn’t be so special, would it?