Trinity #15

After the shocking disappointment of Countdown, it would have been easy to discount the next weekly comic from DC. But with Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley at the helm, it seemed like a sure bet.

Busiek is one of the most talented comic book writers around, and Bagley is an outstanding artist - and one of the few pencillers fast enough to be able to produce 12 pages of artwork every week.

The series started out strong, with some excellent characterization of the "Big Three" (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, of course), and lots of guest stars sprinkled throughout.

The book was (and is) sort of a flashback to the "split" comics Marvel put out in the '60s, like Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish, with two heroes in separate stories splitting the page counts.

With Trinity, the big three get the opening 12 pages, and the other eight pages are dedicated to supporting characters. All well and good, but after the strong start, the comic seemed to lose its way. More characters were piled on, more subplots added, and soon you needed a scorecard just to get through an issue.

To be honest, I was about to give up on the series - until this issue. With this issue, the book kicks into high gear, as the story of the Trinity - and the trio of villains who've been plotting against them - comes into sharp focus.

A sure sign of an entertaining story is when the heroes and the villains both show their intelligence, and we see that in spades in this issue. The art, as always, is outstanding, and Bagley manages to breath new life into characters who have been around a long, long time.

There are lots of other characters hanging around the edges, but the series has its focus back - and my attention, as well. Grade: B+