Intriguing premise that railroads many characters through its plot & runs roughshod over all of them, Wally West & Barbara Gordon most of all. Only good thing in it at all was return of Booster Gold & Blue Beetle.

Tom King may be impressing Batman fans, but this book makes it very hard for me to want to pick up anything by him in the future ( )

The central theme of superheroes struggling with PTSD and needing a place to unburden their thoughts and feelings is an interesting one, and leads to some of Tom Kong’s trademark insightful character moments. But wrapping it in yet another death-of-heroes mystery resolved through time-travel babble is tedious. A missed opportunity to do something different that unfortunately ended up being a reflection of the unimaginative state of the current DC Universe. ( )

I like King's Batman books, but this falls short of those.

I like the concept of superheroes dealing with PTSD, because, as is brought up frequently throughout the book, most DC characters have been put through the wringer many a time. That's going to take a toll, and it needs to be addressed. Also, I like the art and the page-to-page writing.

But for me, the overall originality is lacking and there's a giant dark hole in the heart of the book. Big words on the back cover declare, "There's never been a crisis like this." Except this just seems to retread previous superhero murder mysteries Identity Crisis and (more directly) "The Murderer Among Us: Crisis Above Earth-One!" from Justice League #171 and #172. Also, I was struck by how this left me feeling the same kind of cold as King's Vision series, wherein a major character is left so completely broken that you just find yourself waiting for some other writer to come along and retcon it away. The inevitability of that is why I can let myself give this three stars instead of two. ( )

Sometimes if you are not a super avid reader of superhero comics stories and timelines can get all jumbled, thanks to the Multiverse. Right now the heroes are in a crisis. Their sanctuary has been invaded and heros have died. But who committed the crime? Was it Harley Quinn or Booster Gold? Or someone else entirely. Sanctuary is a top secret digital therapist. Superheroes have seen stuff, and just like everyone else they deal with mental health issues. Sanctuary is where they can go to get help in secret. Until the secret was released to the media, and dead superheroes litter the fields. This book has an interesting premise. The reader gets to see snippets of heroes therapy session while the JLA and various others try to piece together what happened. This is a needed graphic novel as more real world events bring mental health to the forefront of the media. It says even Superheroes need help sometimes.
August 3
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