Search For Ray Palmer - Red Rain #1 Review

COUNTDOWN PRESENTS: THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER: RED RAIN #1
Written by Peter Johnson
Art by Kelley Jones

This issue is exactly what I was hoping for with these Search for Ray Palmer romps through the Multiverse. It's a great done-in-one tale that highlights all the best parts of a unique Earth, giving us just a taste of what that Earth has to offer and keeping us wanting to know more about it while, at the same time, keeping the actual search for the Ray Palmer going.

If you haven't guessed by the cover or title, this issue focuses on an Earth based on the classic Elseworlds tale Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. It's a world where vampires are real and, if it's true to its Elseworlds roots, a world where Batman fought and killed Dracula, but not before he, himself, was turned into a vampire. He continues his unholy crusade against the villains of Gotham as a true Bat-Man.

This issue builds upon the basic premise and gives us a nice murder mystery with some nice nods to our Earth, like Barbara Gordon as a vampire or Dick Grayson as the one seeking vengence on Batman. The Challengers are our window into this mystery and we see the events through their eyes as they piece together the assorted clues until they finally meet up with Dick Grayson, who is about to drive a stake through the resting Batman. Their distraction awakens the Batman who bites Dick and flies off with the dead body. The Challengers, who had believed it was possibly Ray Palmer instead of Dick involved with the mystery let Batman take him away and move on to another Earth to continue their search.

What makes this issue a real treat is the artwork by Jones, who pencilled the original Red Rain. His style fits this issue perfectly and was exceptional in every regard. The final splash page of the Batman and the newly turned Dick Grayson as his new Robin was fantastic.

Verdict - Must Read. Probably my favourite Countdown tie-in to date. If you're unfamiliar to the Red Rain Elseworlds story, you'll more than likely be inticed to pick it up after reading this excellent one-shot.

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