Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Death #3
Written by Tom Peyer, Bryce Abood; Art by Greg Scott, Rick Geary
Published by Ahoy Comics
This is a fun anthology book that offers a bunch of fun in each and every issue. Writer Bryce Abood and artist Rick Geary have a story that is basically about what happens when a serial killer is murdering the classic monsters. It is funny and has few really funny moments.
The second story is by writer Tom Peter and artist Greg Scott. It has to do with a bunch of 19th century doctors and it shows us just how dumb everyone was. This is a funny story and Tom Peyer never disappoints with his scripts. The artwork by Greg Scott is pretty damn good as well. This was a lot of fun. (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Robin and Batman #2
Written by Jeff Lemire; Art by Dustin Nguyen
Published by DC Comics
I really enjoy this fresh take on the dynamic duo by this team. It really shows a different side to these characters. It is really fascinating to see Dick Grayson struggling in his training to be Robin. This issue starts off by showing us that. It also shows us his development in a way we haven’t seen before this.
Batman decides that the poor boy needs a break and takes Dick to meet the Justice League! He also gets to meet all of their sidekicks. This is the beginnings of the Teen Titans, of course. It is exciting and fun to see this and Lemire writes a cool script. The art by Nguyen is tops here too. A well done book overall. (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Adventureman #7
Written by Matt Fraction; Art by Terry Dodson
Published by Image Comics
This book is one of the most fun comic books on the market. Every issue fills me with a sense of wonder and I love the way the series is structured. This latest storyline takes our heroine and puts her into some really crazy circumstances. Claire Connell better get it together quick or it might be curtains for her!
Claire finds a giant buried secret underneath Manhattan. This secret may be something that leads to the end of the world as we know it. But there are other people after this secret as well. Can Claire deal with it all in time? Matt Fraction writes a really fun script here. The art by Terry Dodson is pretty great and the best work of his career. Overall, this is pretty well done! (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Batgirls #1
Written by Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan; Art by Jorge Corona
Published by DC Comics
This is a great start to this new series! I wasn’t sure about the concept when I first heard about it, but seeing it all laid out in this first issue was quite exciting. I have to commend the creative team on making an excellent first issue and I am excited to see where they take us from here.
The Batgirls move to the other side of Gotham in this debut issue. Oracle is mentoring them and we get to see some of that pan out. We also get to see them go on missions. The whole thing has a sense of playfulness established by the writers that really works. The art by Jorge Corona is fantastic as well. This is a great debut issue for sure. (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Tis the Season to be Freezin #1
Written by Rich Bernatovech, Tee Franklin, Tara Roberts, Andrew Wheeler
Art by Eric Battle, Meghan Hetrick, Yancey Labat, Travis Mercer
Published by DC Comics
This is yet another anthology book that DC is putting out to celebrate the season. These books are getting particularly hard to stomach, just because there are so many of them that DC is pushing out. And man, are they pushing them out. There are maybe two stories in here that are mildly amusing and the rest feel like holiday chores.
The opening story is pretty good. That one is written by Alan Burnett and Paul Dini and it features Mr. Freeze and Robin. It is pretty inventive and fun and it has good animated style artwork by Jordan Gibson. The Flash and Captain Cold story was fun too and it is written by Bobby Moynihan and drawn by Pop Mhan. I enjoyed that. The rest of the book was second strong stories at best making the price tag a tad high. (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: C
Archie’s Holiday Magic #1
Written by Michael Northrop, Micol Ostow, J. Torres;
Art by Matt Herms, Arielle Jovellanos, Gretel Lusky, Jack Morelli, Dan Schoening
Published by Archie Comics
Once in a while, the Archie line of comics come out with something really fun and inventive for their characters and their lines of books. This issue here is very entertaining and I liked what they came up with. The concept here is a variation of It’s A Wonderful Life, but it shows us the past, present, and future of Archie. It is all very well handled.
This book shows Archie where he might be headed in his life. Archie is questioning his existence and wondering if things will chance. The various creative teams show the possibilities of what may lay ahead for him and the locals. It is funny and sweet and it is full of a lot of emotion. It does threaten to get a little too overly sentimental at times but it’s the holidays. Happy holidays, Archie and Gang. (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Wonder Woman #782
Written by Michael W. Conrad & Becky Cloonan; Art by Marcio Takara
Published by DC Comics
Part two of “Through A Glass Darkly” brings us deeper into the rising threat, as a legion of fake Wonder Women attack the flight carrying Diana and Deadman to Iceland. The duplicates feature wide eyes and empty grins, can only say “I am Wonder Woman,” and they shatter like glass when punched. Meanwhile, Doctor Psycho – I’m sorry, Dr. Cizko – is on TV pushing his book about connecting with the afterlife. In a time where anti-democratic and anti-feminist sentiments are repackaged as free-thinking, Conrad and Cloonan are rebuilding Dr. Psycho into a walking Reddit page of manipulative hooey for the “well, actually” crowd. (It’s effective and a solid move given the popular take on the character known in the Harley Quinn cartoon series.)
And just as Dr. Psycho has made a comeback in Wonder Woman pages in this post-Infinite Frontier continuity, longtime fans will be delighted by the reveal at issue’s end about the power behind the duplicates. All I’ll say is, find the famous cover to 1962’s Wonder Woman #134 for a clue.
The backmatter story from Vita Ayala and Skyler Patridge is billed as the “Road to the Trial of the Amazons,” and it delivering page after page of gnarly combat and growing tensions. The Bana-Mighdall are fighting and suffering against creatures of Tartarus that are escaping from Doom’s Doorway, the gateway to hell upon which Themyscira stands. If you missed some seriously badass Artemis action, look no further. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Wonder Girl #5
Written by Joëlle Jones; Art by Leila Del Duca
Published by DC Comics
After turning down Hera’s offer to drink the ambrosia and become her immortal champion – or weapon, depending on your POV – Yara Flor is cast into Tartarus. In Yara fashion, things don’t start off well. The big thing in this series is how Yara is always out of her depth and doesn’t quite grasp what she’s up against or the forces moving around her. Does this ignorance explain her irreverent and quippy nature in the face of mind-bending adventures? She doesn’t even know how the golden bola works yet, though we finally see it in action during a moment of need. However, we do get what Yara does know: she’s never quite fit in anywhere, but she’s herself.
“I would rather die a mortal knowing I was true to who I was rather than live forever in a place I don’t belong,” she tells Eros. Meanwhile, Potira and her tribe of Brazilian warrior women take Cassie Sandsmark to Donna Troy, who is waiting for her. How exciting to find another tribe of fightin’ women, right? But the Esquecida have marched to the gates of Olympus, demanding satisfaction after Hera’s plot with Yara. And just as Yara stands on the other side of the gates, trying to escape, the ominous soldiers from dreams of a hazy past have emerged from a hillside. Is it Ares and his sons, Phobos and Deimos? Come with it, Jones! Del Duca’s art does a fine job, though it’s a bit weird how much her and Adriana Melo’s art looks like Jones’. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Newburn #2
Written by Chip Zdarsky; Art by Jacob Phillips
Published by Image Comics
The straightforward thing would have been to just keep the focus on Easton Newburn, the hardened ex-cop and free-agent private eye for the underworld, as he keeps digging on gangland crime with the bystander who turns out to be far more savvy. Instead, Zdarsky smartly shifts this issue to focus on Emily the neighbor as our POV character. We even get entries from her journal alongside everyone she asks about Newburn, who tell her it all ends in a casket with that guy.
Phillips’ art often keeps the panels tight, with lots of headshots allowing for extensive character work and subtlety of expressions. I don’t know how Phillips does it, but Newburn’s stern face changes just enough panel to panel, depending on angles and viewpoints, that you can see when he’s thinking, when he’s observing and calculating, and then the hard man turns his eyes upon you and seals your doom. Deeply enjoyable stuff! ( – Marvin Pittman)
Batman: The Imposter #3
Written by Mattson Tomlin; Art by Andrea Sorrentino
Published by DC Comics
Batman remains determined to uncover the identity of his imposter, who has killed a dozen criminals. Part of getting deeper into the case involved getting close to the police officer also on the case, Detective Blair Wong. But he didn’t count on Bruce Wayne falling in love, and that inevitably he’d hurt her. The storyline of finding the imposter pays off, as do the scenes between Wong and Batman, especially once he reveals that he’s Bruce.
In a story about ambiguity, the literal ambiguity of whether Batman was the actual murderer is replaced by the reveal of the imposter’s identity and flipping the uncertainty to the reputational damage around Batman and what he stands for. The Batman as a symbol is corrupted, apparently, by this copycat. Sometimes this one goes dark for darkness’ sake (Bruce takes so many catastrophic beatings in this!) more than organic storytelling, and the detective story is very straightforward with no twists at all. But kudos for a sparse script allowing for Sorrentino and colorist Jordie Bellaire’s work to soar, particularly in the silences and un-captioned fights. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Mazebook #4
Written and Illustrated by Jeff Lemire
Published by Dark Horse Comics
The maze is real! Or at least it’s as real as we’re told. Will found his way inside the maze, and is greeted by his neighbor’s missing dog. Lemire uses crossword-styled panel work to follow Will and the dog as they traverse the maze, which looks like the city. As they travel, more details about Will’s life with Wendy and her mother emerge.
My only real complaint is that the themes – of losing someone, of losing yourself, of losing one’s way – are already to clear and they don’t get to live as subtext here. How many conversations about loss and rescue can there be? And how long can this story go before we meet a true antagonist? If you know your Greek mythology about a labyrinth, you can guess the enemy. That said, Lemire reveals that enemy in the highly effective, horror-flavored fashion that you’d expect. ( – Marvin Pittman)
BRZRKR #6
Written by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt; Art by Ron Garney
Published by BOOM! Studios
Reeves and Kindt take us away from usual bloody pyrotechnics and keep layering in the character work, motivations and lives of Unute aka Berserker. After a mission in Ukraine goes awry, Berserker and a fellow soldier are stuck out in the mountains and must travel to an extraction point. The soldier, who is gravely wounded, suggests a boat, but Berserker declines after recalling a memory of swimming to shore from winter to spring in 800 A.D. after his Viking ship was swallowed up in a storm.
The story works because we see the immortal healing quickly from his wounds, while his partner is growing more and more ill. The soldier asks what it’s like to live without consequences, and Berserker replies, “Everything has consequences.” You can almost put that on the poster, right? As we learn more of Berserker’s motivations to find his father and understand why he exists, his government handlers grow impatient and fearful that he’ll bolt before they unlock the secrets of his abilities. Things are about to get popping for whole other reasons, soon. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #2
Written by Christopher Cantwell; Art by Luca Casalanguida
Published by BOOM! Studios
As you can expect, this motley crew of expendable misfits was going to run into a bunch of trouble and idiosyncratic flirtations with death and serious injury, right? The conspiracy team is assembled but they don’t know what for; meanwhile we can guess that they are finding replacement bodies for Lee Harvey Oswald, who at this point may or may not have shot JFK.
Casalanguida puts together a ton of widescreen panels, which, again, I don’t care for all the time, but it works here fine. I would appreciate more work on the faces because they’re not all that expressive here and at times don’t match the dialog. Cantwell’s writing is tight, the characters not flowery or writerly in their speech, and already we’re starting to see the separation between the hard-luck cases and the downright scumbags. It’s only going to get worse, hopefully in some off-beat funny ways. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Hulk #2
Written by Donny Cates; Art by Ryan Ottley
Published by Marvel Comics
Sometimes I wish Marvel would the same expositionary effort they do in their little summary pages as they did in the actual work. Because in this second issue, the summary succinctly explains Banner’s insane feat of turning the Hulk’s body into a starship that his mind pilots, while taking the Hulk’s mind and trapping it as an engine by tricking it into endless VR battles.
I don’t remember the first issue mentioning that Banner is taking Hulk to some pocket dimension because Banner says the Hulk is turning into something else that the world’s heroes cannot handle. I don’t know. How about more grisly action from Ottley, both IRL and virtual? He serves it up hot, as Starship Hulk flies through some Invincible-looking interdimensional protector heroes, and Engine Hulk goes gnarly on a Giant Wolverine first by punching his ding-dang eye out. What is this threat to the world that Banner sees Hulk becoming? Who knows! Maybe they’ll say in the next issue’s actual story, or just in the recap? ( – Marvin Pittman)
Batman Urban Legends #10
Written by Meghan Fitzmartin, Sam Johns, Dan Watters, Tini Howard
Art by Alberto Albuquerque Jimenez, Karl Mostert, Nikola Cizmesija, Chiristian Duce
Published by DC Comics
This issue has two pretty great Christmas stories, and two stories that feel like filler and are ultimately forgettable.
The opener highlights Tim Drake. His recent self discovery and how he shares it with Batman during this holiday season. It really dispels the notion that Batman is a jerk to those closest to him. It really manages to give us the state of Gotham, Tim Drake, and Batman and wraps it in a holiday bow.
The Nightwing tale that closes out the book uses the Dickens Christmas Carol format, and gives us a Dick Grayson visited by the Christmas Ghosts. It’s not earth shattering. But it’s filled with Nat family members in the holiday spirit.
As for the other two tales, if you like Azrael it might be up your alley. A tale featuring Tweedlee and Tweedledum did not move the needle for me.
With two Holiday tales that I could see rereading in future Holiday seasons, this issue is a solid pick up. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: B
Black Manta #4
Written by Chuck Brown; Art by Matthew Dow Smith
Published by DC Comics
Things escalate for Black Manta. Yet this series feels oddly static. Usually when a villain gets his own series, you feel the character expanded. Here he feels one note.
The art and colors that should be opening up for this setting and this villain just feel bland. The action sequences don’t quite flow and feel muddied as a result. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: C+
Future State: Gotham #8
Written by Dennis Culver; Art by Nikola Cizmesija
Published by DC Comics
I am genuinely kind of surprised to see this particular book still running. Every time I see this a new issue of this title, I am reminded this exists.
This particular issue feels awful slight. Grifter meets the Next Joker. His brief appearance gives the hint that he may be more superpowered than the original recipe Joker.
This particular issue feels like three pages of action spread out to fill the whole book. This gives it a light feel that made me lose interest. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: C
The Joker #10
Written by Matthew Rosenberg and James Tynion IV; Art by Francesco Francavilla
Published by DC Comics
This issue flashes back to the immediate aftermath of the events of The Killing Joke.
The Gordon family is devastated. Commissioner Gordon is refusing time off and assistance. A disturbed James Jr returns to Gotham. And the Joker is always nearby.
I have enjoyed how every few issues this series pauses and gives us a flashback tale. Just like previous issues, we get a clearer view of James Gordon. And we see how The Joker has always been in his orbit. This series makes the argument that the Joker might have been far more harmful to the Gordon family than to Batman and Gotham itself.
Francavilla plays with the shadows and lights to just create the right feeling of discomfort. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
I Am Batman #4
Written by John Ridley; Art by Stephen Segovia and Christian Duce
Published by DC Comics
This issue feels like a lot of set up. But you also get the hint that a character that has been built up in the main Bat title for many months is being quickly dispatched.
We also see Detective Chubb, a character introduced in recent issues being transferred from Gotham to New York City. I guess in the DC Universe Police Departments have intercity transfers.
This book continues to be a tight, tense tale. This particular issue just feels like chairs being rearranged at a party. And we are left with one heck of a cliffhanger. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
Titans United #4
Written by Cavan Scott; Art by Jose Luis
Published by DC Comics
This Titans book continues feeling utterly generic.
There’s nothing outright wrong with this book or this issue, but there isn’t anything particularly urgent about it.
If you know someone who, after watching Titans on HBO, wants to read a Titans book, there are better options. In light of the recent George Perez news, point him to his classic New Teen Titans run.
To be fair, Scott has the repartee between characters figured out. The art is doing a solid job.
Titans United isn’t bad, but it settles for not being bad. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: C+
Primordial #4
Written by Jeff Lemire; Art by Andrea Sorrentino
Published by Image Comics
This issue is this creative team hitting on all cylinders. A story like this in lesser hands could get too lost in its style.
Jeff Lemire takes three dimensional characters, in this case even the animals are full characters, and puts them through the wringer. Andrea Sorrentino’s work takes the reader on a trip, but we are along for the ride.
Primordial balances a Cold War thriller, trippy sci fi, and cute lost animals. It does this all without losing its way. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
