Saturday, March 29, 2008

High-interest Conflict: Salvation Run #5


Conflict! Everybody loves conflict, right? Without conflict, you can't really have much of a story. A book about people sitting around having amiable conversations would get old pretty fast. Throw in some good, old-fashioned conflict, and things start to get interesting.

Super-villains are notorious conflict starters. They run around stealing things, trying to take over the world, or punching good guys in the face. Generally, this behavior creates conflict and super-powered mayhem ensues. So what would happen if all the villains of the DC Universe were gathered up and sent to an alien planet together? No heroes, no innocents to victimize, just bunches and bunches of villains. Do they gather around the alien bonfire, sing songs, and tell evil anecdotes? No! They bring the conflict and start punching the daylights out of each other!

That is pretty much what happens in Salvation Run # 5 from Matthew Sturges and Joe Bennett. The villains have all been gathered up and sent to Hell Planet. (Probably not the name on the time-share brochures.) Of course, some of them would like to work together and go home, but career criminals and sociopaths tend not to play well with others. Some leaders have emerged from the crowd, like Lex Luthor and the Joker, but they don't get along very well either. Throw in a few potential spies from Earth, and you've got conflict aplenty! (Though I imagine the heroes back home are all pretty bored. With no bad guys around, I assume they just appear at car shows and sign autographs.)

If you haven't been feeling conflicted enough recently, check out Salvation Run #5. It is guaranteed this week at Four Color Fantasies, so give it a read. If you don't, we might have to come rough you up a little. You don't want that do ya? Huh? Do ya? I didn't think so. (Aaahh, sweet, sweet conflict.)

No comments: