Injustice: Gods Among Us Volume 2 Review

(SPOILER ALERT) I just had the opportunity to review the upcoming Injustice: Gods Among Us volume 2 from DC. This volume collects Injustice comics 7 through 12 and the Injustice Annual #1.   The retail price will be $19.99 (ISBN 9781401246013).  This will save you about $10 off the original prices of the comics (3.99 / ea) and the Annual (4.99).

The Good:

• Interesting prequel series that introduces the events that lead up to the world depicted in Injustice.
• The volume is much darker (especially for Superman and Wonder Woman) than the comics I read as a kid in the 80s.  I found this to be entertaining because it was different than the norm. When Superman, Mr. total-good-guy, starts killing people, well then you know you're in an alternate universe.
• I'm ok with the video game tie in – Explaining the back story on why the heroes are all fighting each other is as good a reason to make a comic as any
• While there are a couple nit picky things below regarding the story, I do like some of the questions the reader is forced to ponder- if you were all powerful, what would you to do to protect your loved ones and the world?  What is the cost of ultimate safety?  Is it freedom?  How many shades of “right” are there?  If you do something bad while justifying it as being for the greater good, is it still bad?  That's good stuff.
• Good value when comparing the cost of the individual issues to the cost of the volume – plus this is hard cover which should mean it'll hold up better.

The Bad:

• Some of the art was just ok for me – I tend to like thinner, detailed lines.  The first example one the left/top, this appeals to my eye.  The next one, less so.  Granted I'm reading this on an electronic device and not on paper but the same basic principle applies.
• The story itself was at least interesting and I imagine that if there were an all powerful humanoid like Superman and even Wonder Woman in the real world, it might be a little difficult to keep sane if you were losing loved ones left and right.  However, there were a couple things i questioned.  I did struggle with A) Batman as the do-gooder and B) when will the supers remember that Martian Manhunter's gig is shape shifting? Seems like that's an easy plot plug-in – (“hey, someone needs to infiltrate something” – “let's use Martian Manhunter to fool them again, never gets old”).

This book gets 3.5 out of 5 stars on my rating scale.  If you're a DC fan or a fan of the game, it's definitely something to consider for your bookshelf/comic collection.