The good news is that even though Infinite Crisis has yet to come to a close, this Crisis Aftermath limited series doesn't given anything away from the final ending. As the title suggests, this story revolves around the city of Bludhaven, decimated by super-villains earlier in Infinite Crisis. That even really had nothing to do with the crossover event, serving only to set up this story, which in turns serves to set up other new characters, and presumably new titles. There are some interesting elements in the plot, not the least of which is an easy comparison to how the U.S. government failed the poorer residents of New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina. I like that the writers resurrect some old and obscure character concepts, casting aside the better known icons of the DC Universe. I'm a fan of Dan Jurgens's art as well, but unfortunately, his traditional approach doesn't suit the subject matter at all.
The villainous Society has turned the city of Bludhaven into a radioactive wasteland. The federal government has sealed metropolis off from the rest of the world, and even America's super-heroes have been ousted. New versions of the members of the Force of July are the metahumans in charge in Bludhaven now, and the new government-controlled super-team has been dubbed Freedom's Ring. The relief effort seemed just what the doctor ordered, but months later, the government's priorities seem to have changed, and the people ousted from their homes want back in and they want answers. Meanwhile, the Society dispatches a group of nuclear-powered criminals to retrieve something from within the hot zone.
Dan Jurgens is a consummate super-hero artist. He makes the characters seem larger than life and full of power. His tenure as both a writer and artist on the Superman titles is one that's ingrained in the minds of comics readers from the 1990s. Nevertheless, the story behind The Battle for Bludhaven is one that's cynical, edgy and dark, and thosejust aren't qualities that Jurgens normally captures with his work. His style is more action-oriented, suited to convey wondrous sights rather than ugly ones. Ugliness is what's called for here, though I must give him credit for his new interpretations of post-apocalyptic Silver Age heroes at the end of the issue.
When I saw the Force of July characters in the promotional images released for this series, I questioned as to whether or not the book would be all that interesting with them as pivotal characters. It turns out that the newer versions aren't nearly as corny as their predecessors. Furthermore, the writers' effort to touch upon real-world urban disaster issues gives this super-hero/sci-fi story a certain degree of credibility. Still, the plotting gets abit over the top by the middle of the issue. Secret experiments on metahumans? Father Time? This is a character name that's meant to sound cool and/or intimidating? I don't think so.
One alternate title for this limited series could have been The Coming of the New Freedom Fighters, as new versions of Firebrand and the Human Bomb are introduced in this script. Clearly, the deaths of the original Freedom Fighters in Infinite Crisis were simply to eliminate the Golden Age origins and elderly incarnations of former Quality Comics characters. I must admit I liked the edgy quality we see in the new Firebrand, who's something of a political radical rather than a proper super-hero. Still, with the introduction of the new characters and re-imagining of old company properties, I came away from the book feeling as though this wasn't so much a story as an exercise in preserving trademarks. 5/10
