Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger, Vol. 3: The Crack in Creation

Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger

by J.M. DeMatteis, Fernando Blanco (Illustrations), Brad Anderson (Illustrations)

With the Justice League missing and the villains in control, Phantom Stranger finds himself with the Justice League Dark in an attempt to stop FOREVER EVIL by destroying the very embodiment of evil -- EVIL ITSELF!

Phantom Stranger, Pandora, Swamp Thing, Constantine, Nightmare Curse and Deadman find themselves in a different plane of existence trying to destroy the very embodiment of evil. But to stop the Crime Syndicate, Deadman must possess the Sea King's body and strike an unholy truce with him if they are going to make it out alive!

Collects TRINITY OF SIN: PHANTOM STRANGER #12-22 and Trinity of Sin: Futures End #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2015

About the author

Also Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally

Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.

Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.

Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why, DC?! Yet another perfectly decent graphic novel ruined by not including *all* of the chapters of a multi title crossover. Want to see what happens at Nanda Parbat? Sorry, but that chapter isn’t in this book, and it's not the only one missing …

I’m not going to attempt to summarize the plot since this is volume three of an ongoing series. If you're not already on board, this is a poor place to begin. I only started here because I’m insane … or, you, know, a comics fan since the mid-seventies; they're more similar than you’d think. So I went in knowing who most of the characters are even if I’m not familiar with this specific series. J.M. Dematteis does a good job of keeping the supernatural adventure fresh and interesting. When dealing with magic, it's difficult to get the tone right. It's a tightrope walk between utter nonsense and just magicking problems away. Dematteis is an old pro at this, and keeps things moving at a brisk pace.

For the most part, this book is pretty average. It's not the worst supernatural heroics book I’ve ever read, nor is it the best. I’d give it three stars were it not for those glaringly obvious missing chapters. The perceived audience for this book is apparently not interested in complete stories, only in owning a trade paperback collection of all of the stories originally published as single issues of The Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger comic book. So it's for archivists, not readers. Not recommended for the latter ...

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, not a bad attempt to update the Phantom Stranger for a New (52) generation of comics readers. Originally launched simply as The Phantom Stranger, it later underwent a name change when the Trinity of Sin storyline began.
And here it wraps up, with changes upon changes given to the Stranger. But the tales are well thought-out with strong characters and good illustration. The two drawbacks are that this reanimation came late in the New 52, and that the first gew stories in this volume are discombobulated by being transferred around between Justice League Dark, Volume 4: The Rebirth of Evil and Trinity of Sin: Pandora, Volume 2: Choices, messing up continuity.

[READERS RETREAT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, Enjoyed this book again

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zawiera materiały z serii: TRINITY OF SIN: PHANTOM STRANGER #12-22 (2011) oraz Trinity of Sin: Futures End #1.

Phantom Stranger zawsze ma pod górkę. Na szyi nosi łańcuch z monet, które przypominają mu o dawnym grzechu, dotyczącym zdrady swojego przyjaciela i mentora. Jednocześnie tuła się po Ziemi, wykonując różne zadania zlecane przez opatrzność.

I wszystko by grało, gdyby nie fakt, iż wlodarze z DC to masochiści, którzy lubią psuć własne serie, których ofiarą pada i ten tytuł. Chodzi o to, że praktycznie połowę zawartości tego tomu to zeszyty wchodzące w skład sporego wydarzenia towarzyszącemu tzw. Forever Evil. Zło przejmuje Ziemię, a towarzyszą mu jeszcze gorsze pomioty. W tym przypadku Justice League Dark musi się zmierzyć z niejakim Blight, czyli uosobieniem mroku panującemu w ludzkich sercach.

Zatem ci nie tak do końca dobrzy, czyli Constantine, Swamp Thing, Pandorą, Nightmare Nurse, Deadman w ciele Aquaman z Earth-3 czy właśnie nasz Phantom Stranger muszą połączyć siły i dać odpór złu. A także starym znajomym, bo momentami możemy podziwiać też takiego Felixa Fausta. I są to sprawnie opisane zeszyty, tyle, że kończą się w takich momentach, iż wypada... Tylko kupić albo zbiorcze wydanie tych wydarzeń, albo inne serie składające się na te wydarzenie. Bo nie poznacie połowy (albo i więcej) historii. Świńskie zagranie.

Dalej jest już lepiej, bo dostajemy spójna fabulę. Najpierw o tytułowym "Pęknięciu w kreacji" Phantom napotka Supermana, którego nękają stare dusze, za którymi jak się okaże stoi inny wróg, z którym nareszcie dojdzie do konfrontacji. W całym tym zamieszaniu bohatera wspomoże, nie kto inny jak Spectre. Przyjdzie nam też obserwować wydarzenia powiązane z pewnym aniołem, mocno związanym z figurą bohatera serii.

DeMatteis prowadzi tą trzecioligową postać zaskakująco dobrze, rozwijając jego charakter dosyć znacząco, na tyle satysfakcjonująco, że niejako z ulgą przyjąłem zeszyt z serii Futures End, gdzie w końcu Nieznajomy doznaje odkupienia, udowadniając, że wraz z żalem, pokutą i chęcią zadośćuczynienia przychodzi rozgrzeszenie i nierzadko do pełni szczęścia nie stoi nam sam grzech, a obwinianie się za jego popełnienie, do tego stopnia, że nie zazna się spokoju.

Pod względem kreski komiks jest też naprawdę w porządku. Czasami tylko jak wchodzą te mary czy demony, to widać że są mniej szczegółowe, ale taki ich urok.

Seria kończy się na trzecim tomie i jest to w pełni satysfakcjonujące mnie jako czytalnika, że nie przedłuża się jej zbędnie, serwując niezły, aczkolwiek zapomniany tytuł.

[Cale · Rating 2 out of 5]

AKA - Stick the rest of the issues in one volume so we lose less money on the printing...

You've got 12 issues collected here, with a couple different story lines, none of which is great, but all are at least a minor step up from the previous volume. Several issues are spent cleaning up all the dangling plot threads from volume 2 (the whole Sin Eater and Stranger's attempt at humanity), as well as crossovers with the Forever Evil:Blight story, which then also have to be cleaned up. But by issue 18, we're back to a mostly standalone story, as the devil/dog Non (god and the devil are manifested as dogs in this series, it's a thing) is trying to break into the world using unhappy ghosts. There's a poorly developed issue with Superman, then a better-developed issue with Madame Xanadu and then the Spectre. And then the series ends with a 2-issue redemption of Zauriel while everyone tells the Phantom Stranger he's got to forgive himself.
None of it is really terrible, but I still find the whole use of Christian symbols and characters without naming them a weird line - especially when they're calling Jesus 'The Lamb' on one panel, and then someone uses 'Jesus' as a term of surprise on the next page. If you want God to be a dog, and The Phantom Stranger to be Judas, don't tiptoe around it, own the decision. That whole lack of... faith in their characters bugs me more than anything else. Maybe there are outside factors to explain it, but if so, maybe retcon your characters to be someone you actually can refer to by name once in a while.
Ultimately, there's a lot in here, and most of it is middling to okay. The art is pretty good throughout, and it does some interesting things with characters like Nightmare Nurse and Zauriel that increases their standing in my opinion. But unless you're really into the Justice League Dark/Mystical side of DC, and aren't bothered/offended by Christian characters and symbols, there's nothing here to make it worth seeking out.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cool and heavy and I like magical stuff in comics, but the god thing gets kind of strange. Like having god seem like he's frustrated by the decisions that the Stranger makes is kinda silly since he would know exactly what the Stranger was going to do and say, even with "free will". Trying to write omnipotent characters is just no fun.

Also the Stranger isn't exactly anyone I would invite to a party. He's a total downer. He needs to hang out with Spider-man or something ... oh wait that would have to be a crossover event, maybe Lobo.

[Paweł · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dalsze losy tułaczki Phantom Strangera. Ten tom dołącza się do fabuły forever evil I Justice League Dark.
Poza tym Stranger próbuje naprawiać swoje błędy i przewinienia, które ciągle go nękają. A jego pracodawca jest na niego zły za te ostatnie wybryki. Wraz z zeszytem futures end, ta seria o przygodach nieśmiertelnego podróżnika się kończy, a nawet zaczyna.

[Francisco Becerra · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can feel that there was a lot of struggling for DeMatteis to set the right course again for this marvellous character. Alas, it was not enough. A lot of good ideas rushed into a very unsatisfying end, that was almost a rip off from Alan Moore's run of the Swamp Thing. A very sad way of concluding a mess.

[Devero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Legata a doppio filo al crossover Forever Evil con tutto ciò che ne consegue, questa storia non fila liscia senza gli altri pezzi del puzzle. Forse è per questo che mi sembra ancora più scarsa e insensata dei numeri precedenti, nonostante DeMatteis cerchi in tutti i modi di fare un buon lavoro.
Colori troppo pesanti per disegni comunque non all'altezza.
1 stella e mezza.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah, this collection shouldn't exist. Its got a ton of missing pieces as its part of a larger crossover. Its also very repetitive. Its unfortunate as it had potential. Blanco's art is very good. Overall, this was a tedious read that is very incomplete.

[John Reimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely love the end to the new 52 phantom stranger, has become one of my favorites. The art has been beautiful throughout it all and the story just kept building amazingly. I was at the edge of my seat reading this book the whole way through

[Beelzefuzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad. 1/3 of the book is crossover fodder, confusing without the crossover and in the crossover itself, these are the most pointless books. The rest is boring. Glad this is over now.

[superhero fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the whole series this last volume felt disjointed, as if the story moved between it and the Pandora/ Justice League Dark series.

[Xavi Luzu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremadamente bueno, muy bien trabajado todo y tiene un gran mensaje sobre redención, me gustó una banda, es el final que esperaba.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series for the most part...until now. Things seem to slow to a crawl, with the plot becoming an overly wordy holding pattern until it hits the Future's End crossover, which I didn't read. While the following issue after that does a brief dialogue style recap of what happened, a Marvel-style text recap page placed between those issues would have helped smooth things out. As it is I had to go back and double check to make sure that I didn't miss anything the night before. The writing is mostly solid and the artwork is serviceable.

Once we get past that things get really good. The series cancellation was announced and so DeMatteis sought to wrap things up and go out with a bang. Who else should The Phantom Stranger face but the very “Presence” who has been guiding both he and the New 52 version of The Spectre (featured here as well)? We get as close as a happy ending as Judas Iscariot can get. While I am sad to see this series end I will be happy to save my money, so...thanks, DC?

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this volume is part of the Forever Evil: Blight crossover that ran through Phantom Stranger, Constantine, Pandora, and Justice League Dark. My advice is to find a reading order guide and read the stories in order, otherwise, these books will not make sense. There is also a volume that collects just the Blight story, but this last volume of Phantom Stranger goes beyond those.

This is a large collection of 12 issues, and we see the Phantom Stranger struggle with his guilt and his need for redemption. The Stranger helps defeat the Blight, then has to find a way to reconcile the love of the angel Zauriel with the Stranger's rejection of God.

Phantom Stranger deals a lot with Judeo-Christian mythology, which has long been a part of the Spectre's story (a guest star in the book), but not so much for the Stranger before the advent of the New 52. Overall, writer JM DeMatteis does a pretty good job handling this without going too far in one direction or the other.

The art is pretty decent and fits the feel of the book.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the Phantom Stranger, and the whole Trinity of Sin, for that matter. But I disliked this volume, because it was such a big crossover event between multiple series, and you have to read THEM ALL to get it. You have to at least read Constantine and Justice League Dark, both of which I read, but there's even crossovers with Superman and more.

I am sick of big crossover events.

For the parts that were actually about the Phantom Stranger - three point five stars. For the rest of the volume (as in, 90% of it) - one point five stars.

Meh.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

More 2.5 than 2, but maybe more like 2.25.

The first half of this collection contains parts of a much larger story which was published across multiple titles, making this volume rather disjointed at times.

Once we get past that crossover, the issues flow a little better and I enjoyed reading a little more. All-in-all I feel like this title was a waste for the most part, as the Phantom Stranger could be, should be, a very interesting character; Instead we get a superhero mashup with the JLD, Heaven/Hell and a few other randos thrown in.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another DC volume ruined by having some of its issues as part of a three title crossover event. These make absolutely no sense taken out of context and bring an otherwise pretty interesting volume down a notch. I like all the metaphysical mumbo jumbo here, and the inclusion of the Spectre in some issues. This is really my first exposure to the Stranger, and while I find his moral dilemma interesting, he comes off as a bit of a self-obsessed whiner times. I might try to read some earlier incarnations of the character.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, one of my favourite DC Comics series until it finished but it's good to see that it won't be the last of the Phantom Stranger as we'll be getting a new Trinity of Sin series that I can't wait for. JM DeMatteis is one of DC's most underrated writers and this is a series that I can strongly recommend.