World War III

                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                   

                                                                                  

        You would think that a comic titled World War III would be simple and direct right? A lot of hitting, a lot of death, and you aren't wrong. World War III delivers a great deal of action as expected but there's something deeper here, something that casual readers may find a little frustrating.  It's going to be confusing unless you happen to read the 52 series that DC had been putting out at the time. Without reading 52 nothing here makes sense. Why is Black Adam killing everyone? That's some serious anger here and as the story plays out you don't get a lot of answers. Reading the WWIII issues won't help you. You know a lot of times you get little messages telling you to go to certain issues that tie into that particular story but here you are on your own kid. There's nothing to guide you to the how and the why and that is unfortunate. New readers who just happen to see the cool cover art are thrust into a story that's half over. You get the war but not the reasoning behind it. Does this make the comic bad? Oh no. This series is quite good and allows us to finish out a story that began in 52. Comic readers know that sometimes stories weave themselves into other comic story lines. WWIII is no different but just reading this without reading the 52 books is going to be confusing. Long story short, Black Adam is killing everyone out of revenge. Revenge is a powerful motivator, and the effects of his grief and anger add to the story. We know he needs to be stopped, he needs to be held accountable but how are you going to stop him? We see different heroes making an effort over these four issues and the story fits nicely into such a small framework because you're getting the conclusion not the beginning or middle. To understand the reasoning behind Adam's actions you need to read 52. 

         As a sole miniseries, it's not terrible. The art here is decent and we see a lot of action and chaos. If you're new to comics I would urge you to start somewhere else because WWIII is a lot to digest. People will also tell you it's a terrible storyline, but it's not when you look at the other pieces that tie it all together. There's an effort here to engage readers who want something more than a simple arc. WWIII has something unique and human tying everything together. You see a man who has lost his wife and is now out for revenge. Can he be stopped? Who will be the one to stop him?  We all know that good always triumphs over evil but getting to that point is a great deal of fun. Plus you get to see Black Adam inflict some punishment and when I say punishment i mean the violent kind. DC's New 52 had some classic moments but WWIII falls short a little, but hey, I still enjoyed and look forward to checking out 52 to find out what I missed. I give this a solid 6 out of 10.