Wrap It Up! Domino #10

This was a mess.

Gail Simone's Birds of Prey run is among my favourites. This is why when I see a Gail Simone book, I will give it a try. I also love Domino, so this title should have been a lock for me. A joy! Something to keep my hope alive! A peek into a better world!

But no.

There are many things I don't like about this comic. The worst crime is that it feels rushed. There is a small army of artists drawing this, all with varying styles but united in their clear attempt to get their pages down and out the fucking door. The storyline--which was flimsy to begin with, something about Longshot being a threat to all humanity because someone from Wakanda said so, so Domino and her team get involved and woah both Domino and Longshot have luck powers and won't that be freaky (SPOILER: it isn't)--races to an abysmally unsatisfying conclusion. From what I can gather, Domino and her team go to an extradimensional realm and conquer it--in 12 hastily drawn pages. They upset years of slavery and rally the oppressed to fight back--in 12 pages. Four people with guns do this. FOUR PEOPLE A BIT OF OF LUCK. IN TWELVE PAGES.

Well, I assume there is a bit of luck, since that is Domino and Longshot's power, but you don't see it. You don't really even see who Domino shoots most of the time. In fact, it could be just four anyones who did this. There is nothing here to make this a Domino comic, since apparently anyone can overthrow an entire realm. You should try it yourself.

Even before this issue, I was having problems with this series. In my opinion, the art style of the regular artist is far too cartoony for a story about an assassin. Domino's sidekicks--Outlaw and Diamondback--seem interchangeable and one dimensional, and in Outlaw's case, down right embarrassing. The inclusion of a new member--Atlas Bear from Wakanda, because you just have to have a Black Panther connection to sell comics these days--seems equally empty. (She wants Longshot dead for most of the last few issues, but suddenly wants to care for him because he's sick.)

Like I said, a mess. Apparently this is the last issue before it gets re-launched as a --wait for it-- a brand new Number One! This time Domino will be in another team book, set to run for five issues. With the same empty characters but with Black Widow thrown in, so yeah, that'll solve all the problems plaguing this run of Domino.

I'm not sure if I'll pick it up. I may let the burning stench of this trash fire dissipate first.