DC’s Legion of Bloom #1 // Review
Spring arrives in the DC Universe this year with a lengthy anthology of stories bursting out of a pleasantly large volume. DC’s Legion of Bloom #1 features stories with Wonder Woman, Poison Ivy, Batman, and more. There is some rather impressive work by writers Ashley Allen, Zac Thompson, and Travis Moore. Moore’s art is also included in the anthology along with notable work by artists Isaac Goodhart, Hayden Sherman, Riley Rossmo, and others. There might be some slight repetition in the anthology, but it’s nice to see some green popping off the rack as the snows of winter melt outside the comics shop.
It’s the last day of winter, and there’s a human foot growing out of a brick wall in Gotham City. Batman’s got one of his stranger investigations ahead of him as winter turns to spring. Elsewhere in Gotham, Pamela Isley is willing to murder to halt an injustice in a flower shop. Down in sunnier surroundings, Blue Beetle is on Spring Break in Florida. Over in Earth-26, Rodney Rabbit encounters a few problems when his kids get into the cosmic carrots. Wonder Woman and her Asgardian friend deal with Jack Frost. Superman struggles to make it through a difficult winter as the issue comes to a close.
The issue opens strong with Allen’s Poison Ivy story involving a very concise adventure for the anti-hero. Thompson’s Batman story is one of the rare instances in which supernatural horror crawls through a reasonably dazzling nightmare across the page in the presence of Batman. Some of the better moments in the issue have a breezy action to them. Calvin Kasulke has some fun with the tragically under-used character of Captain Carrot. Moore’s adventure with Wonder Woman, a resurrected Asgardian warrior, and Jack Frost proves to be just the right length. Dave Wielgosz develops an impressive impression of winter’s toll on Clark Kent to round out the issue.
Goodhart gives Poison Ivy a sharply brooding presence on the page. The darkness of Hayden Sherman’s Batman story gives the Floronic Man a bit more menace than he often has on the page. Rossmo’s tumbling art in the Superman story delivers the chaos of winter with some vivid visuals and clever composition. Wielgosz knew exactly what to throw at Rossmo to make one of the strongest visual presentations of the whole anthology. Enrica Eren Angiolini brings the chill of Jack Frost to the page with some very clever color work that also brings out a beautiful blue in Diana’s eyes in the Wonder Woman story.
Seasonal one-shots with DC can be rather hit-or-miss. Legion of Bloom is a particularly nice embrace of a new season. It feels a bit like a feverishly packed spring break from the big crossover with the Lazarus Planet and the emerging Dawn of DC shake-ups that seem to be coming down the line in the months to come. It’s a nice little break with a whole bunch of stories before things get serious again this coming summer and beyond.
