Feature Story Written by Kurt Busiek. Feature Art by Mark Bagley; Art Thibert; Pete Pantazis; & Pat Brosseau.
Back-Up Story Written by Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza. Back-Up Art by Scott McDaniel; Andy Owens; Allen Passalaqua; & Ken Lopez.
Cover Art by Andy Kubert & Edgar Delgado.
SUMMARY:
Published for July 23, 2008, this issue’s feature in the fifty-two week Trinity saga is provocatively entitled “Have You Tied Him Up Yet?” On the Krechin moon off the planet Itatoq, Morgaine Le Fey and Enigma make their pitch to Despero to join their ominous alliance.
Meanwhile, in Gotham City, amidst a high-profile outdoor political fundraiser at Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne senses a likely nefarious connection amongst a series of global robberies. Yet, villainous alien sentries may catch even him off-guard.
During downtime at a shopping mall, Diana Prince ponders Etta Candy’s insightful response to her question about the differences in public perception of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. In Africa, after disposing of an alien robot, Superman and his wife, Lois Lane, are investigating a link among these mysterious thefts.
In a correlating back-up tale entitled “Dreams of Power,” Morgaine Le Fey and Despero are in their alien stronghold are busy conspiring and contemplating their new mystic pawn: Tarot. This back-up is evidently a continuing series itself.
Note: Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Alfred Pennyworth, & Barbara “Oracle” Gordon make minor appearances.
REVIEW:
Writer Kurt Busiek’s main storyline plods along fairly well, with a solid division of screen time amongst DC’s ‘Trinity.’ His plotting isn’t all that remarkable, as the concept of a villainous ‘Trinity’ plotting to eliminate the trio of Superman, Wonder Woman, & Batman is virtually a cliché. As to this story’s double-entendre title, Etta Candy’s playfully suggestive inference re: Tom Tresser (i.e. what might else a briefly mortified Diana could do with her magic lasso) likely makes this issue inappropriate for kids. At least, Busiek’s primary effort is somewhat entertaining, as compared to his ultra-blah back-up, which apparently occurs between scenes.
Unsurprisingly, this same distinction applies to the inconsistent artwork. The feature’s visual quality mostly looks pretty good, especially to a rather unimpressive (at best, it’s serviceable) effort illustrating “Dreams of Power.” If anything, Batman’s cover image proves a ho-hum Trinity # 8’s best selling point to fans.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
The “DC Nation” column honors the late Michael Turner. Thumbnail cover reveals are for Trinity # 9; Joker’s Asylum: Scarecrow # 1; Superman/Batman # 50; and Ambush Bug: Year None # 1.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5 Stars
