Trinity 5 review

The fight against the horribly named Konvikt and Graak ends with each of the Big Three doing their part. Superman and Wonder Woman biff and bash, while Batman provides the brains, using something from the bad guys' spaceship to end the fight.

The action is good, as drawn by Mark Bagley and Art Thibert, but the characterisation? Good grief, writer Kurt Busiek surprises with surprisingly bad moments for Wondy and Supes. First of all Superman becomes a bit jealous that Diana may get to end the battle against Konvikt, then Wonder Woman gets all flirtatious about whether or not Batman and Superman will tell her to get some cuts checked out, in case she feels patronised. A stupid moment followed by a tremendously stupid moment - Busiek has been writing these characters on and off for decades, so where is this coming from? Is he trying too hard to compare and contrast personalities?

The second strip has more of Tarot and Gangbuster, taking on three obscure but powerful villains, Blindside, Throttle and Whiteout. Rita provides the sage advice, Jose does the hitting, and all works out well, though witch lady Morgaine's beasties are looming at the end. It's a decent enough chapter, with my only complaints being around the art - the usually dependable Mike Norton and Mark Farmer draw Jose as Asian rather than Hispanic; and Tarot isn't a superhero - there's no reason for her to wear the same outfit day after day.

All in all, not a bad issue, but this series has yet to grab me - it's competent, but not terribly exciting.