Nubia and the Amazons #5
Written by Stephanie Williams and Vita Ayala; Art by Alitha Martinez
Published by DC Comics
How often does a superhero comic book invoke ideas of restorative justice?
As Williams, Ayala and Martinez conclude this title’s story arc of Nubia adjusting from champion of Doom’s Doorway to queen of the Themysciran Amazons, growing threats have swirled about and Medusa escaped from beyond the door to hell where myriad monsters are imprisoned. Yet when Nubia travels to meet Medusa, she brings the monster’s head to force Medusa’s spirit from possessing Amazon sister Andromeda.
Sure, some fisticuffs ensue, and Nubia has her own magical weapon of truth to use. But rather than simply subdue Medusa physically – which, let it be known, she can do – Nubia seeks to understand Medusa’s story and offer her a new path as long as she harms no one else.
In Williams and Ayala’s hands, Nubia is a queen of empathy and understanding, and Themyscira becomes a place of healing and restorative justice. Refreshing material! That will be tested, I’m sure, when Trial of the Amazons #1 arrives with the Amazon tribes on the brink of all-out war. I’m here for it if we get more of Martinez’s excellent, detailed art that dazzles with the final-form Medusa as much as Nubia’s gigantic mane of natural Black hair. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: A
Aquaman: The Becoming #6
Written by Brandon Thomas; Art by Serg Acuna & Diego Olortegui
Published by DC Comics
Were you waiting for an entire issue of Jackson just kicking wall-to-wall ass? And with his mother, sister, and Mera beside him? Look no further! Not only do we finally have the family all on the same team, we get pathos and disaster and rage. So much rage in Jackson’s soul, for the more he tries to show how much he’s not like his father Black Manta, the more he risks adopting his ways. This enjoyable read adds more deliberations on revolutionary work, the trap of militant ideals, and life apart from one’s people yet being tasked with defending them.
This title ends and points toward a new Aquamen title, and the cliffhanger promises another new age in our undersea heroes. Stay tuned. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B+
Hulk #4
Written by Donny Cates; Art by Ryan Ottley
Published by Marvel Comics
This issue doesn’t even both to spend any time back in good ol’ Earth-616, instead taking place entirely in this Earth-122. In this reality, Bruce Banner never became the Hulk, and Thunderbolt Ross took Banner’s successful gamma-ray tech and used it to bomb the world and establish the USA as a rule-by-force, autocratic superpower. And all the heroes “our” Banner knows? Gone, way gone – and Ottley gets to draw their horrific demises, of course.
Strap in and feel the g-forces any time you open an issue of this series, because it will blow your hair back with grisly, gonzo action and enormous, monstrous emotion. Pop on some Slayer and enjoy the hell out of this one. It’s definitely not for the kiddos, though.
But since when do kids read regular comics anymore?
That question is both rhetorical and a lament. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B
Regarding the Matter of Oswald’s Body #4
Written by Christopher Cantwell; Art by Luca Casalanguida
Published by BOOM! Studios
Ever since that horrific day in November 1963, American historical study and pop culture have tried to crack the mystery of who is Lee Harvey Oswald. How do you characterize this infamous assassin? He seems virtually unknowable, especially because he was shot dead soon after he shot JFK.
If you’re Cantwell writing this comic book about a group of nobodies wrapped up in a conspiracy to kill the president, you’d have to get to Oswald-the-figure and attempt to give us Oswald-the-man. In what, again, gives super-strong Cohen Brothers vibes: What if Lee Harvey Oswald were an insufferable bore with delusions of grandeur?
In a movie, this would be the role to play, perhaps to an unlisted movie star to surprise the audience.
After our crew secreted Oswald away from Dallas and faked his death, together they’re riding out to a safe house for whatever presumed new lives await from their conspiracy higher-ups. As Oswald drones on and on about his acumen and importance in this history-shaping murder, Casalanguida captures the boredom and annoyance on everyone’s faces.
You know what’s coming before it happens, but it’s tight all the same, in a story about nobodies controlled by others, but it’s nobodies all the way down. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: A
Joe Hill’s Rain #2
Words by Joe Hill & David M. Booher; Art by Zoe Thorogood
Published by Image Comics
When the end of the world is happening, these stories love to form a team and a journey for them to take. A quest, some would call it. Whether The Lord of the Rings or The Stand or Cormac McCarthy’s The Road or The Walking Dead, we see it again and again. After the catastrophic events of the first issue, Rain #2 travels that familiar road.
Honeysuckle decides to walk the 30 miles to Denver to see if her deceased girlfriend’s father is still alive. He’s the one who accepted Honeysuckle and her queerness into his life and encouraged her when her own parents turned away.
And she’s the only one who can tell him that his wife and daughter died in the storm of nails. The story takes us further into Honeysuckle’s grief while also finding a way through, and Thorogood’s characters of long torsos and limbs works for this story, though I hope they can draw other boy types soon. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B
The Sword of Hyperborea #2
Written by Mike Mignola & Rob Williams; Art by Laurence Campbell
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Another dark delight from the world of Hellboy!
Out of the many one-shots and off-shoots that Mike Mignola and Dark Horse have been putting out, I like this one most of all. Campbell’s near-photographic illustration reminds me of Michael Lark and grounds these fantastical happenings in a way that adds to the bone-chiller quality.
Plus the tale of a sword trekking through time remains intriguing. This time we find the titular sword appear in Germany during World War I, and we meet a changeling woman amid themes of duality and choice. It’s tough to talk about choice when a tool of destiny is in your hands, right?
Keep up with this title! So far it’s set up to reach some interesting places. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: A
A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance #5
Written by Rick Remender; Art by André Lima Araújo
Published by Image Comics
Sonny is still on the run with Neva and her son, Xavier, and still trying to protect them. In pursuit of that, sometimes you’re three people of color in the backwoods of British Columbia, hiding out in a car. And you have to walk through a bar full of rednecks – or their Canadian equivalents – in that record-scratch moment.
It doesn’t help, either, that the news just plastered your face on TV as the prime suspect in the deaths of all the bodies dropped in the previous issues. As usual with this title so far, when the action starts, it escalates and turns rotten quickly.
Credit to Remember and Araújo for making you hang on every word and panel. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: A
What’s the Furthest Place From Here? #4
Written by Matthew Rosenburg; Art by Tyler Boss
Published by Image Comics
Let’s go to the Carnival! That can’t be so bad, right?
Rides, games, maybe a make-out partner – all these things await! But it’s not so fun when Alabama and the Academy gang have been captured and brought there, presumably to die after violations of several rules – chief among them, bringing an adult into their camp. The gang splits up on different missions, as more danger encircles them and a mystery of the Carnival yet to be revealed to us readers.
Boss’ art gets to play with much more thanks to the Carnival atmosphere, and it’s just now that I picked up the Mike Allred vibes. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: A
Primordial #6
Written by Jeff Lemire; Art by Andrea Sorrentino
Published by Image Comics
Jeff Lemire’s talent lies in taking stories that are big in scope, yet tied up in real human stakes. The universe may or may not hang in the balance, but there are very real emotions and heart.
Primordial 6’s plot may seem simple, animals that were experimented on and sent to space return. Yet Sorrentino’s art may seem out there but never leaves readers behind.
Lemire and Sorrentino take a huge swing and deliver. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
X Lives of Wolverine #3
Written by Benjamin Percy; Art by Joshua Cassara
Published by Marvel Comics
Having read this issue right after reading Primordial, I can’t help but do a little compare and contrast. In doing so I can’t help nailing why X Lives just does not quite work with me.
In tackling these concepts of time travel chicanery, there has to be something grounding the story or giving it emotional heft. X Lives sorely lacks any emotional resonance. It just swings from time frame to time frame almost at random. It gives us glimpses of Wolverine’s past and his struggles with who he used to be, but as soon as the reader is there with him, we are yanked away.
The third issue of X Lives is a loud spectacle lacking in depth. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: C
Nightwing #89
Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Bruce Redondo
Published by DC Comics
I have to say that I am truly enjoying this creative team’s run on this title. Tom Taylor really writes some of the best scripts out there and he is always consistent. And I can’t say enough about the artwork of Bruce Redondo. His artwork is truly outstanding and he only seems to be getting better with each passing issue.
This is best exemplified by the opening sequence of the book, set in the past. It shows us Dick wearing an older Nightwing costume with Batman talking a bit. They eventually come across Superman and a young Jon Kent. This sets up the rest of the plot of this issue.
In the present, Nightwing finds himself face to face with Jon Kent as Superman. This is the first part of a two-part crossover with the other book that Taylor writes about Jon Kent. The story has to do with the conversation the two of the characters had years ago and how it comes to play in current events.
The writing and artwork are tops here. Well done. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Batman: The Knight #2
Written by Chip Zdarsky; Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico
Published by DC Comics
This story about the early part of Batman’s career is quite excellent and entertaining.
Chip Zdarsky has a great handle on Bruce Wayne and writes the character perfectly. I have to say that I am enjoying the little tidbits that he throws in. The whole thing works really well. This is a chapter of his life that we haven’t seen before this and it really seems vital.
In this issue, we get to see Bruce train with a cat burglar in Paris. The City of Lights is not a place where you would expect Bruce to thrive, yet it is funny to see Bruce doing exactly that.
The Training process that Bruce has to go through is rigorous and it’s all part of the fun. He has to also track down a killer that is hunting some of the richest people in the world. Who is it? Can Bruce figure it out or will he become a target himself. I love the twists that the story took, especially by the end. I loved the artwork that Carmine Di Giandomenico produces here as well. It is his best work to date. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Justice League #72
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Szymon Kudranski, Emanuela Lupacchino, Wade Von Grawbadger
Published by DC Comics
The Bendis run on Justice League has been average, but this issue is slightly better than average. This issue features the Justice League teaming up with their Justice League Dark counterparts.
There are fun moments of banter between League members. But the threat introduced, via possession of one of the more powerful members, actually seems to be worthy of the Justice League.
The book shares three artists, who each handle art duties featuring certain locations. But this book really could’ve gone with one artist, as the result is a bit jarring and uneven. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: B-
The Flash #779
Written by Jeremy Adams
Art by Fernando Pasarin, Matt Ryan, Brent Peeples
Published by DC Comics
This arc, and the Jeremy Adams run, is marked by a devotion to Wally West as family man. Seeing him get tossed around for years, this makes a bright departure from his previous direction. Flash #779 is not the least bit shy of The Flash, Family Man.
This particular arc closes out, and everyone is in on the action. Adams writes a breezy, self assured tale. It’s held back somewhat by having multiple artists, as the action just does not flow cleanly, but it’s still entertaining.
That last page offers a lot of fun in upcoming issues. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: B+
Detective Comics #1053
Written by Mariko Tamaki; Art by Max Raynor
Published by DC Comics
Seven issues in and this particular storyline feels like it’s going in circles. Poorly paced, not quite engrossing. Arkham Tower isn’t working as a story.
Mariko Tamaki knows this supporting cast and I like the touch she brings to the various interactions. But the story lacks a strong plot. I hope they can move on from this particular story, and feature more of these characters, before the invariable return of Bruce Wayne to Gotham. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: C+
Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow #8
Written by Tom King; Art by Bilquis Evely
Published by DC Comics
This run ends appropriately epically Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is the Supergirl story that we didn’t know we needed.
Tom King goes big with Supergirl. Spending these 8 issues seeing her through Ruthye, it managed to Supergirl larger than life, but in this closing chapter he brings back down for heroic and touching moments.
I hope this is not the last of Bilquis Evely and Tom King on Supergirl. At the very least I hope they work together again. After 8 issues, Evely’s art captured the grand adventure Tom King’s script was working for.
We got magic from these two. (– Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
Iron Fist #1
Written by Alyssa Wong; Art by Michael Ye
Published by Marvel Comic
The Iron Fist is back! Just don’t call it a team up ,yet.
The former Iron Fist Danny Land takes a backseat or sorts to new Iron Fist, Lin Lie. There is still a lot to learn about this new Living Weapon. As a first issue, there are several sound moments. Writer Alyssa Wong sets up a nice plot with a lot of layers to unfold in future issues. Michael Ye’s illustrations are also on point. His action sequences leap off the page.
The comedic moments strengthen the story as well. There are still a lot of big questions to answer. Will Danny hang around as the Iron Fist mentor? How will Lin Lie elevate the Iron Fist mythos? Alyssa Wong seems to be up to the challenge, so I will stick with the book a bit longer. ( – Eugene Johnson)
Grade: B+
