Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #17
Written by Alyssa Wong; Art by Minkyu Jung
Published by Marvel Comics
Flying severed arms! Enough said.
This month finds our rouge archeologist tracking down dark powered Ascendant artifacts and tangoing with a twisted rival who has beat her to the punch. What resonates, aside from Aphra’s irreverent charm, is the exploration of the myth of both the light and Dark Side of The Force and its seduction over non-force users. Wong naturally builds upon the mythology of Star Wars itself, which is what any great Star Wars story should do.
I’m also digging the design of the new antagonist, Kho Phon Farrus, as well. A visual treat. ( – Anthony Sword)
Grade: B+
Arkham City: The Order of the World #4
Written by Dan Watters; Art by Dani
Published by DC Comics
This has been a pretty decent series from DC so far. It has taken some of the classic Batman characters and has put a new spin on them. Dr. Joy is now face to face with the ghost of Amadeus Arkham and she has to come to terms with a lot of her actions. Needless to say, things don’t go too well for her.
She now finds herself in a place where she is questioning everything. She has questions about her delusions and how everything may not actually be real. This discovery leads her to encounter some of Batman’s villains. But we do get to learn about the bigger forces at play in this issue as well. The story and artwork are both pretty good here! ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: B
One-Star Squadron #2
Written by Mark Russell; Art by Steve Lieber
Published by DC Comics
Writer Mark Russell has another hit on his hands with this book. It is a funny and very well written look at a different kind of team of heroes. I love that it focuses on Red Tornado and how he is trying to just pay these superheroes that he is in charge of. It is very funny how he doesn’t have his stuff together.
In this issue, we get to meet Minute Man, who has a special need for pills to make his super powers work. It is funny what he needs to do to get them. We get to see the One-Star Squadron go up against him. It is a decent issue and the art by Steve Lieber is tops.
Well done. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Superman: Son Of Kal-El #6
Written by Tom Taylor; Art by John Timms
Published by DC Comics
This is one of the best books out right now. Tom Taylor is writing one heck of a superhero epic. He is also writing about topics that feel like a a natural progression of the story rather than something that is tacked on. I love where he has gone with this series and I commend the chances that he is taking.
After the events of last issue, Jon and Jay are ready to fight back. They have to go up against a villain that they might not be able to defeat. It is exciting to see them go up against that villain and the fight that happens as a result of it. This issue ends on a really good note. The story is well done as I love the artwork of John Timms. Overall, this was a really great issue. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Frontiersman #4
Written by Patrick Kindlon; Art by Marco Ferrari
Published by Image Comics
This book has been vaguely interesting for the most part. I feel like it has a lot of untapped potential that isn’t being used. As a result of that, the stories feel a bit lacking and not as fun as they could be. I wish this was a lot more enjoyable. Instead, it is starting to feel like there isn’t much of a point to it.
The Frontiersman is visited from another person from his past in this issue. It is an Amazonian who doesn’t mind blending the different lines between lover or enemy! There is a lot of craziness that happens but most of it feels pretty forced.
Oh well. The art is the real only good part of this book as far as I can see. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: C
Justice League Incarnate #3
Written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver; Art by Mikel Janin and Andrei Bressan
Published by DC Comics
This book has been pretty interesting for the most part. I am still trying to determine why this book needed to exist, but it isn’t too bad for the most part. Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver are writing a pretty decent script here and the artwork has been decent for the most part. I am just wondering where it’s all going.
Doctor Multiverse is caught in the clutches of Darkseid. A team then forms to try to get her back. Can they reclaim her? Also, a bad guy from the Multiversity shows up and causes some problems. Can they be stopped? All of this leads to a pretty decent ending, but nothing too exciting really. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: B
Detective Comics #1047
Written by Mariko Tamaki and Matthew Rosenberg
Art by Ivan Reid and Fernando Blanco
Published by DC Comics
The “Hey Arkham Asylum didn’t work so let’s put them in a skyscraper” idea requires quite a suspension of disbelief.
While the idea allows for Ivan Reid to provide great visuals, the story doesn’t make the idea any more reasonable. Look, I get that we’re talking a city that has suffered serial killer clowns, but Arkham Tower is so daft that you’d have to believe every lever of city government is self destructively stupid.
But Mariko Tamaki writes the Bat family with deftness and flair.
The back up story features a young kid who suffers a traumatic loss. It looks like an intriguing story that will delve into what this means in Gotham. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: B-
Batman #119
Written by Joshua Williamson and Karl Kerschl
Art by Jorge Molina, Adriano DiBenedetto, Mikel Janin and Karl Kerschl
Published by DC Comics
A meeting of rivals between Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor, along with the reveal of newest villain, the Abyss, should be highlights. While this issue features those moments, having multiple artists takes away from what Joshua Williamson is trying to build.
There’s a really sharp story here, but it would’ve benefited from the flow that having one artist brings.
But that last page cliffhanger is one that has me excited for the next issue.
Karl Kerschl is back with characters from the fun Gotham Academy. The back up has the same energy as Gotham Academy. I miss that book so the back up tale hits the spot. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: B+
Justice League Infinity #7
Written by JM DeMatteis and James Tucker; Art By Ethen Beavers
Published by DC Comics
With this issue serving as a fitting conclusion, I don’t know if we will get to see these characters in this form again. But this series was quite a thrill ride.
The universe hangs in the balance, but somehow this book gives every character motivation and makes every scene worthwhile.
Ethen Beavers art is clean, and just keeps the reader engaged. With a script that juggles the characters without seeming flat, Beavers adds a dimension. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
Dark Knights of Steel #3
Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Yasmine Putri
Published by DC Comics
This series is setting DC Heroes in a genre I’m not instinctively a fan of, full of sorcery and various kingdoms. So I was initially skeptical. But the creative team makes it work.
King Jefferson (Black Lightning) goes to Themysciara to negotiate. While Zalá Jor El is causing havoc in the kingdom.
The secrets and intrigue, laced with action, is a blast. This type of story can easily be gray and muddy, but Yasmine Putri’s art keeps things light and fun, without losing its sense of drama. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
Elektra: Black, White, and Blood #1
Written by Charles Soule, Leonardo Romero, Declan Shalvey
Art by Mark Bagley, Leonardo Romero, Simone D’Armini
Published by Marvel Comics
This issue might be the most blood soaked of these tricolor anthologies Marvel has produced. While the others had Deadpool’s humor, or Wolverine’s dark morbid humor, Elektra as written in this first issue appears lacking in humor.
The best of this first batch is Charles Soule writing an Elektra vs Vampires story. The ending is quite fitting for the assassin. It carries a sense of sadness that I wasn’t quite expecting.
The other two stories have their moments, but really don’t show us anything new or revelatory about this carry.
Overall it’s a decent first issue but I hope we get to see other creators really expand on Elektra. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: B-
World of Krypton #2
Written by Robert Venditti; Art by Michael Avon Oeming
Published by DC Comics
How long could this series, about Superman’s family with patriarch Jor-El and his friend, General Dru-Zod, go on before mentioning the Phantom Zone? Not long, evidently.
The discovery of that dimension via Jor-El’s projector arrives here in this second issue and plays a central part in the burgeoning rift between the two friends. Set two years after an attempt on the lives of himself, his brother Zor and infant niece Kara by lower House of El member Kru, Jor is caught between condemnation of the attack and consternation over the sensationalized attention the attack is receiving while the ecological disasters on Krypton continue.
It’s a time when perhaps the most powerful man on Krypton feels increasingly powerless, as times on Krypton grow tense and society turns toward warlike security. It all sound familiar when you read, watch or listen to the news, doesn’t it? Venditti and Avon Oeming show how telling Krypton’s story can be shaped to contemporary times. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Nocterra: Blacktop Bill Special
Written by Scott Snyder & Tony S. Daniel
Art by Denys Cowan & Kent Williams
Published by Image Comics
This special purports to be the origin of Nocterra’s nightmare protagonist Blacktop Bill, a scourge of the highways in this world of permanent darkness. Not only is Blacktop Bill feared as a sadistic hired killer and holder of vendettas, but also for his image – his body completely encased in a tarlike substance that renders him nigh-undetectable by the shade creatures.
Titled “Hall of Mirrors,” this special may not really get at Bill’s origins, as we overhear ferrymen networkers Mother Hubbard and Bellwether’s conversation about the who, why and how of Bill now that he’s hunting down Valentina and is employed by main protagonist (so far) Tiberius McCray. The two discuss what they’ve heard about Bill, so none of this is definitive about his origin story, but we do get more details about how and why he kills.
The special overall is more tell than show, more conjecture than fact, but it works as a ghost story or penny dreadful. I’m forever happy to see Denys Cowan working his magic to create images that ground the sci-fi horror of Nocterra in something a lot closer to the real world. And if there’s anything this special gets right, the image of Bill in the world before it went dark as a Florida Man in a blacked-out Ford truck is among the scariest figures in America today. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Apache Delivery Service #1
Written by Matt Kindt; Art by Tyler Jenkins
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics appears to be leaning ever more into the “dark” part of the company name with another horror tale. Set in the jungle during the Vietnam War, a young Native American soldier is dropped onto the chess board of this story. The synopsis in the promos for this new miniseries tell more of what this story’s about than the actual first issue does, but quickly we’re dropped into themes of hunting, respect/disrespect, and fear of unknown forces beyond humanity lurking, waiting, killing.
For one, “Apache Delivery Service” is painted on the bombs dropping on Viet Cong forces scouted by the Native soldier. His commanding officer calls him Apache, even though the soldier tells him he’s Navajo. At work in the series already is the juxtaposition of an indigenous man pressed into service for the country that oppresses his people, in a battle against a foreign land’s own indigenous people twisted by colonial power. And amid all that, get ready for a hunt for Nazi gold as well. Let the game commence. ( – Marvin Pittman)
The Marvels #7
Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Yildiray Cinar
Published by Marvel Comics
When this series said it will comb through all of Marvel Comics history, they truly weren’t kidding! We already saw the original Human Torch android, ties emerge between Golden Age mad scientists and the nephew of The Tinkerer, and interdimensional and cosmic monsters and entities. And now we’re getting the Golden Age, original Vision – Aarkus of the Smokeworld dimension!
Busiek is leaning hard on the Marvel characteristics of teamwork and huddling a panoply of characters together against an emerging crisis, everyone with different motives and soap opera-style trapdoors ready to juice the drama.
Captain America, Iron Man, Storm and others team up to take on Lady Lotus in Siancong, and the new Warbird acts as the wild card whose secret is just ready to explode. This is a deeply enjoyable read, and after the Lotus-centered storyline in the previous issue, I am looking forward to even more fun stuff with our villain in the next. ( – Marvin Pittman)
