Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger #10 Review

Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger #10 offers one last chance for the Stranger to wrap up unfinished business before Trinity War kicks off. That process unfolds as Stranger is escorted to Heaven by his canine overseer and is given one last opportunity to reconnect with the souls of his late family. The issue is fairly sappy and predictable, but still a nice way to cap off the book's first major storyline.

For an issue set almost exclusively in the afterlife, J.M. DeMatteis is able to keep the story from veering into overtly sectarian territory. His depiction of the DCU's Heaven is one that evolves to meet the needs of the individual soul and is reflective of all faiths and creeds. A necessary approach if DC wants this series to continue appealing to the widest possible readership. Fernando Blanco's artwork also seems to do a better job of bringing this realm to life than it did Hell in the previous issue.

There is the sappy, predictable quality to the writing. Many readers can probably call all the major beats of this issue before they happen. Aside from that, one frustrating quality is the lack of progression on the earthbound front. Doctor Thirteen and the Question appear, but no further progress is made as far as revealing the Question's intentions or building towards the imminent Trinity War. Despite the newly revamped title of the series, Trinity War still seems like a distant conflict rather than one that will envelope Phantom Stranger in a matter of weeks.

As the Stranger finds absolution for certain crimes and even a shred of happiness at the end of this particular journey, this issue could easily have functioned as a series finale if the sales demanded it. But there's still plenty more ground to cover, and luckily the numbers seem to be just high enough to justify Phantom Stranger's continued existence.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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