by J.M DeMatteis, Jason Gorder, and Yvel Guichet
What has been a looooooonnngggg time coming, then passed, then kept on passing away has come at last; a book starring the Trinity of Sin.
Composed of the Phantom Stranger, Pandora, and the Question; the Trinity of Sin was a trio of people judged by the Council of Wizards (waayyy back in the 2011 FCBD DC issue) to have committed the worst crimes in history. Each was cursed with immortality and sent off to reflect on their crimes; the Stranger for killing his friend and the Savoir of Man, Pandora to watch the 7 Deadly Sins ruin the world before her eyes, and the Question to forever search for his identity that was stripped away by the council.
The issue starts out with the Question introducing his quest for identity, before he and the rest of the Trinity are each attacked by a different demon by an unknown mastermind. And that’s about it. Each member is sort of attacked in the midst of them relaxing from their curses in unique ways, but how they’re attacked and how it’s resolved are devoid of tension. Each member has magical powers, with the Question said to be of particular strength but that’s never shown why.
The Phantom Stranger comes off as the strongest character despite the fact that I’ve read more from Pandora’s series. He comes across as a character trying to do good and has found a way to do that, by fighting magic-related threats. Pandora and Question are left sort of blank as to what they’ve been doing this whole time.
The art is serviceable but unremarkable. If you enjoyed the interiors on Phantom Stranger then I imagine you would enjoy this art.
As it stands 2/3’s of this time lacks a sense of identity and compelling traits. Desire for this series is likely at an all-time low so Dematteis has his work cut out for him. I was left bored by the issue and remembering better stories starring the Stranger and Question, and I suspect this series will be DC’s next cancellation. Nonetheless, it is not a bad issue per se and I will buy the next one to see if Dematteis finds a way to make this series more interesting.
Rating: Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent.
Nothing But Comics 
Doesn’t sound like I missed much on this one.
DeMatteis was doing a pretty good job of turning around the Phantom Stranger solo series, until it got bogged down in crossovers and I gave up on it. (Hmm, sound familiar?)
From what I’ve seen of the New 52 Question, I have zero interest in him. DC has every right to revise/reboot characters, but this one isn’t for me. He can’t compare with O’Neil’s fabulous take on the character . . .
I picked up a handful of Phantom Stranger comics recently at a small local convention for 10 cents and I have to agree. I was glad I didn’t pay full price for it.
Rick Vietch and Tommy Lee Edwards did a pretty fantastic mini I’ve been trying to collect; with The Question being able to “talk” to cities and be lead where trouble is.
I liked this version in Trinity War (what little we saw of him) but so far nothing else has been done with him. I sort of like the idea of The Question being a blank character but I don’t see the execution of that being entertaining.
I saw that Vietch series in back issue bins at the convention, but am waiting until I finish the O’Neil run before picking it up . . .
I always thought Pandora was a failsafe character in case the new 52 tanked and DC could reset the clock on Flashpoint but I guess that’s no longer the case.
I was a big fan of the pre 52 Phantom and Question but just like the majority of the 52 characters, I can’t find the reason to care for these newer versions.
I might have been suckered into getting this one if I had seen it on the shelf but with your review I’ll be passing on it now and save the $3.99 on those cool event series that I can’t get enough of.
It’s actually $2.99, but I think you’re making the right call nonetheless.