The Big Event: Rotworld

This post won't be like my usual 'Big Event' posts. These posts usually consist of a spoiler-y plot synopsis and my thoughts on the whole thing. The problem is that I usually go back and re-read the whole arc before writing the blog post, and after almost 20 issues (including the Frankenstein tie-ins), I really just can't be bothered to re-read, and then write full spoilers with this one. I shall however, give my humble opinions.

So, overall, Rotworld was a decent read, and a really cool idea. Set in a DCU roughly a year from now, Anton Arcane has managed to turn the world to rot. Most of the heroes in the DCU are his 'rotlings', and it's up to Swamp Thing and Animal Man to travel to the future and stop him. Obviously there is much more to it over the 18 or so books in the arc, but I'm deliberately keeping this post spoiler-free for a change.

Swamp thing and Animal man are great characters, and with Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire at their respective helms, there was no reason to think Rotworld would be bad, and it wasn't at all. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the payoff just wasn't worth the effort.

Don't get me wrong, month-to-month the books have actually been really good. Swamp Thing is one of the highlights of my pull list, and Animal Man gave me a chance to read a character I wasn't too familiar with before. Unfortunately, after 18 issues, the whole thing just started to wear a little thin, and I honestly thought the big finale fell flat on it's face. The epilogue issues last week were a slight saving grace, and the Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. tie-ins were brilliant, but again, by the end of this arc I was definitely ready for something else. I guess you could say the rot was setting in? GUFFAW!

I would recommend reading Rotworld as a collected volume when it comes out. My main problem is really more to do with my current gripe about the sheer number of large crossovers DC has been publishing recently. Reading this arc as monthly issues simply grew tiresome, despite the general high quality of the books.