Review: Deathstroke Vol. 1- Gods of War

Quick Summary

Pros: It is very easy to become invested in the story. The fights are exciting and expertly choreographed. The story does a great job in balancing action with exposition. The artwork looks wonderful and makes the action sequences feel even more vibrant and substantial.

Cons: There are more than a few errors in word choice, which cause momentary confusion.

Overall: This book does a fantastic job in combining an entertaining story with gorgeous artwork, producing truly effective results. In it, readers meet a plethora of great characters, uncover a compelling mystery, and witness plenty of action-packed moments in between. The few errors found here are minimal and only momentarily distract from the otherwise high-quality volume. This is a volume for anyone who enjoys compelling narratives, exciting battles, and beautiful artwork.

Story

Often times, Deathstroke’s exploits are written to be as brutal and flashy as possible, with little concern to the quality of story being told. Deathstroke Vol. 1: Gods of War, by Tony S. Daniel, manages to hold on to the excitement while refusing to compromise on storytelling. This is a book that will pull readers in from the start, presenting a complex mystery that is compelling all the way through. This mystery is then paired with well-written fights and tense segments of action. A pairing like this proves highly successful and produces an all-around good volume.

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Gods of War is kicked off with an exciting Deathstroke mission that instantly grabs readers’ attention. It provides a solid and informative introduction, while never feeling boring or dipping too far into exposition. This effective combination of introduction and excitement is continued throughout the volume, as new story elements are spaced out between entertaining pieces of action. This ensures that the book’s narrative is deep but never boring.

Structure aside, it also helps that the narrative itself is compelling all on its own. Seeing Deathstroke uncover a complex and enigmatic mystery is very satisfying. This allows readers to connect with Deathstroke’s quest for the truth because they are likely to be just as interested in discovering it for themselves.

Another major positive comes from the book’s use of action and fighting. Deathstroke takes on a number of enemies throughout the text, giving Daniel plenty of opportunities to show off the assassin’s abilities. These fights are well written and full of excitement, with the fight against Batman being especially entertaining. Every action is meaningful and demonstrates expert planning by both characters. Their brutal clash may very well be the highlight of the volume and nearly makes the collection worth it on its own.

The only real negatives, in Gods of War, come from a few small mistakes. Editing errors occur far too frequently and can occasionally be confusing. For example, the word “brother” is used instead of “son” and the word “aboard” is used instead of “abroad”. These mistakes mar the otherwise wonderfully polished nature of the book.

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Art

While the story makes Gods of War a good volume, the artwork is what makes it a great volume. Tony S. Daniel’s pencils look fantastic and retain a high level of quality throughout the entire volume. Characters, locations, and even backgrounds are creatively designed and contain an awesome level of  detail. All of this gives the comic a feeling of vibrant life and substance, which is further enhanced by Sandu Florea’s inks and Tomeu Morey’s colors.

However, the most satisfying artistic moments can be found in the volume’s numerous two-page spreads. These pages highlight important or intense pieces of action, giving the reader a chance to step back and truly absorb what is happening in the narrative. Daniel also does a great job in spacing these splash pages out properly so that the book has plenty, but not so many that their impact is diluted. All in all, these moments look great and add a lot to the volume as a whole.

Continuity

Deathstroke Vol. 1: Gods of War starts a new Deathstroke series. Though it can technically be viewed as a successor to the previous series, which ended in Deathstroke Vol. 2: Lobo Hunt (Review), the two series have very little to do with each other. In fact, most of this volume retcons significant pieces of the previous series. Fans can feel free to begin reading here with little prior Deathstroke experience.

The story here continues in Deathstroke Vol. 2: God Killer (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• Deathstroke’s time on the Suicide Squad is mentioned a few times. His adventures with this team are detailed in New Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Pure Insanity.
• Ra’s al Ghul’s recent disappearance is brought up. This is likely a reference to his actions in Robin Rises: Omega, which is collected in Batman And Robin Vol. 6: The Hunt For Robin.