More characters are brought to this world that mixes the industrial revolution with super-heroics, and it's a good deal of fun to see new spins on familiar figures. The artwork is as clean and imaginative as ever, but this concluding issue lacks something the first one did not. Tantimedh's script tends to more just on the super-hero genre elements this time around, leaving the sociological impacts of both science and super-heroes behind. It's still a fun read, but it's not as intellectually stimulating as the opening chapter.
Since Superman's apparent death, tycoon Lex Luthor has risen to the office of Secretary of Defense, a rather key position in 1911, with much of the world embroiled in the Great War. The League of Science has added to its numbers in that time as well, while other unaffiliated heroes -- like the Bat-Man -- have appeared. Luthor has allied himself with another superhuman powerhouse, but this time, it's a woman... an Amazon princess who has sought out America's help to free her sisters from German enslavement. As war continues to brew in Europe, so do Luthor's ambitions.
The character designs stand out as the greatest strength when it comes to the visual elements of the book. I love how the designs for Batman, the Atom, Wonder Woman and Plastic Man vary from only subtly changed from their mainstream-continuity counterparts to radical depatures from the model. The colors are vibrant, and the linework reminds me at times of the styles of such artists as Mike (Hellboy) Mignola and Eric (Age of Bronze) Shanower.
I rather enjoyed Luthor's unrepentant, war-mongering manipulations in this story, but what was more interesting was Wonder Woman in the role of easily duped pawn. The notion of the Amazons being discovered by German forces and exploited is a fascinating premise, one that could have easily supported its own Elseworlds series.
In the end, though, while this was a fun super-hero story, it wasn't anything more than that. That's a bit disappointing, since the first issue explored the profound impacts -- positive and negative -- that technological advances have on society, and on individuals. The limited length of the series precludes any deep exploration of some of the supporting characters; the Atom and Plastic Man, for example, aren't developed as characters much at all, really.
