As other reviewers have noted, Robinson has a "talky" problem, if you will, namely, a tendency to have his characters deliver long speeches. I'm also normally annoyed by this phenomenon, but, in this title, I usually feel like the character delivering one of these long-winded (and also conveniently expository) speeches would have still delivered it if Robinson hadn't needed to move along the plot. In other words, most of these speeches have felt more or less organic, if a little wordy, to me. However, even I have to admit that Khalid's soliloquy on the Tower of Fate was a little unbelievable verbose. Most of us facing down some menacing sorcerer wouldn't go into a long narration of why he did what he did when it came to the Helmet of Fate. (Maybe he got all chatty because the Tower of Fate was previously the Tower of Babel.)
But, as I often am, I'm willing to give Robinson a pass, if only because it's an interesting story. Khalid used his knowledge of magic to expel the Helmet to the Tower of Babel, knowing that the Great Beast who guarded it would be able to keep the Helmet -- and, hence, its powers -- safe. It makes sense that he would do so, particularly given that he's not so keen on possessing those powers. Moreover, it also make sense that Wotan doesn't really want to go up against the Great Beast, preferring Khalid (and now Flash) to do so. So, although Robinson may have found a way to cut down the narrative exposition or provide us the back story another way, it's still a pretty interesting (if overly convenient) story.
Beyond the Tower of Fate storyline, the revelation that Adam's lover Sam was actually the target of the assassination attempt is intriguing to say the least. Robinson uses the twist to full effect, having it come from an emotionally honest encounter between Adam and Sam's disapproving but loving father as well as sending Adam to Hawkgirl for help. It's notable that we're 11 issues into this series (including the #0) and we don't have a Justice Society yet. Robinson is doing a great job of not rushing it, focusing on building the characters first. We see that here by having him separate off Adam and Kendra, the two strongest characters, in order to give their relationship the space and time that it needs to progress.
So, although we were a little talky this issue, I'm excited to see the fight with the Beast next issue as well as GL and Hawkgirl's investigation into Sam's death. It's nice to read a comic with such good stuff on the horizon.
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