Star Wars: Crimson Reign #2
Written by Charles Soule; Art by Steven Cummings
Published by Marvel Comics
Crimson Reign should be much better than it is, but it’s bogged down by painfully wordy dialogue that leaves absolutely nothing to the audience’s imagination. Especially this sophomore issue.
Despite this fundamental flaw, there are some nice moments. A highlight being Qi’ra’s eloquent observation on the three types of people who kill.
The most important thing that happens here however, involves the ongoing Star Wars: Bounty Hunters story line’s search for Cadeliah, heir to two family crime syndicates, hiding out with the Rebel Alliance. Now I can’t wait for the installment of Star Wars: Bounty Hunters. This plot thread is the best reason to pick up this issue. ( – Anthony Sword)
Grade: C+
Star Wars: Galactic Cruiser #1
Written by Ethan Sacks; Art by Will Sliney
Published by Marvel Comics
Galactic Cruiser is about what you’d expect, an advertisement for Disney’s Galactic Cruiser vacation resort.
I had some hopes given that writer Ethan Sacks routinely delivers outstanding issues for the Star Wars: Bounty Hunters series. However, I can’t really fault Sacks for the obvious constraints inherent in such material. And I think he did the material much better justice than it deserves.
This inaugural issue begins during events of the New Republic and flashes back 265 years to the early years of the Galactic Cruiser’s voyages and the High Republic. The flashbacks are defiantly the draw, focusing on Jedi Master Nib Assek and her Wookie Padawan Burryaga, one of my favorites from the High Republic material.
Had it not been for the book-end, gimmicky New Republic storyline, I would have given this issue a much higher grade. ( – Anthony Sword)
Grade: C
Arkham City: The Order of the World #5
Written by Dan Watters; Art by Dani
Published by DC Comics
This mini-series is turning out better than expected. I didn’t have much in the way of high hopes for it. But the script by Dan Watters seems to be hitting all of the right marks. It is a fun and suspenseful ride thus far reading this book and this issue really does deliver the goods. It also sets up the ending of this series.
Dr. Joy finally comes face to face with the demons that have been circling around her. She has to come to some decisions. Those decisions involve both Azrael and Detective Stone. The citizens of Arkham Asylum are also faced with something major headed their way. This leads to a heck of a cliffhanger. The story is good and the art by Dani is exceptional. (– Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: B+
One-Star Squadron #3
Written by Mark Russell; Art by Steve Lieber
Published by DC Comics
This book really is a hoot and a half. I love Mark Russell’s writing and I have to say that he is doing yet another fantastic job on this book. It is pretty fun to see Red Tornado put in a leadership role and trying to make it through the various situations that come up.
This issue is pretty hilarious as well as Red Tornado goes up against the board. The Board isn’t that happy with the Red Tornado at the moment. The prices of stocks are plummeting due to his actions. He has to figure out a way to not only become a better superhero but only to be a better leader for his team. But can he?
The script goes to some really funny places and the artwork is very good on this. I’m enjoying this book very much. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Geiger 80-Page Giant #1
Written by Geoff Johns, Jay Faerber, Sterling Gates, Leon Hendrix III,
Pornsak Pichetshote, Peter J. Tomasi
Art by Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, Staz Johnson, Kelley Jones,
Megan Levens, Paul Pelletier, Joe Prado, Peter Snejbjerg
Published by Image Comics
Geiger is an interesting creator owned book by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank that came out last year. I have to say it has a lot of creativity in it. This book picks up elements from that series and gives us a big lead story from Johns and artist Bryan Hitch. It is about the character known as Redcoat and it is thrilling throughout.
The lead story is the best one. It shows Redcoat’s entire story and it is very thorough and fun. I love all of the intricate details in this story. There are also a bunch of short stories in this as well that are enjoyable for the most part and contain mostly peripheral characters. But they work and are entertaining. We also get a preview of Johns and Frank’s next series called Junkyard Joe and it pretty awesome. \
This book is packed with good stuff. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
Justice League Incarnate #4
Written by Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver
Art by Andrei Bressan, Chris Burnham, Mike Norton
Published by DC Comics
I wasn’t too sure how this series was going to go honestly. It started off okay and it didn’t seem that it was going anywhere too interesting. That changes a bit with this issue. It is the most interesting issue of the series thus far and it even has a death of a character that really is a bit shocking. This is a good issue indeed.
Doctor Multiverse realizes that there is a bigger threat out there than Darkseid.
The threat is revealed to be bigger than anyone thought possible. So the Justice League have to do the unthinkable which is to team up with Darkseid to defeat this enemy. The story goes into some really interesting places from there. The artwork is particularly good in this issue as the guest artists are pretty awesome. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: B+
Fantastic Four: Life Story #6
Written by Mark Russell; Art by Seam Izaakse
Published by Marvel Comics
Man, I just love Mark Russell as a writer. I think he does a great job with everything that he touches. This book is no different as it is a really great tale that he has written. I would love it if he took on more Fantastic Four books. This series was great and showed us that there is still a lot of surprising work that can be done with these characters.
This issue has the Fantastic Four going up against their greatest foe: Doctor Doom. This is Doom at his finest and it is really great to watch his interactions with the team. Yet, it is unlike any fight they have had before as everyone is older and they are all different people. The story then has one of the most unbelievably cool endings ever. The story is great and the artwork is tops.
This was a real great series, one to remember.( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
X-Cellent #1
Written by Peter Milligan; Art by Michael Allred
Published by Marvel Comics
The team of writer Peter Milligan and artist Michael Allred are back together for this book!
Years ago, they worked on an X-Men title called X-Statix and now they are reunited for this title. This book takes those old characters from the X-Static title and they come back to them! The adventures are as fun as ever and it really is great to see the creative team pick up where they left off. This issue shows us what happened to the crew from X-Statix.
We get to see their transformation from the old team into the new team. The two creators set up a whole new set of rules and a whole new setting to give these characters some real challenges. It pays off for the most part. The writing and directing are fantastic and it has a good sense of fun to it all. I had a real good time reading this. ( – Lenny Schwartz)
Grade: A
World of Krypton #3
Written by Robert Venditti; Art by Michael Avon Oeming
Published by DC Comics
Because the story jumped two years in the previous issue, now we get to see a toddler-aged Kara Zor-El. The future Supergirl is precocious and being interviewed for the Krypton’s history academy. Its administrator mentions the desire to know our history until we have it beaten out of us, and that’s when the danger happens.
The idea of history weighs heavily in this chapter of the story: General Zod, now head of planetary security, chooses make new history by ignoring the old; Jor-El calls on Kryptonians’ millennia of advances to save their deteriorating planet; and World of Krypton itself exists as a history for a planet long gone. The art of this book is sleek and angular, and Nick Filardi’s colors pop.
This is a lovely book and I look forward not to what happens next – Jor-El and Zod will have a falling out, Krypton will perish, and the House of El’s newest generation will find Earth – but how it unfolds in this new telling. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B+
Nocterra #7
Story by Scott Snyder & Tony S. Daniel; Art by Tony S. Daniel
Published by Image Comics
This was a way more fun read than anything in the first arc of this title. This is an apocalyptic world where the sun no longer shines and the dark turns all living things into ravenous monsters, but as Snyder and Daniel shift the narration from hard-boiled Val/Sundog to the younger Bailey/Piper, the tone feels far less overwrought, even breezy, despite horrific things happening in this issue.
Val has assembled her own convoy, and we get to meet them all over a wager about what several species of animal a certain shade used to be. An awesome splash page shows all the tractor trailers, lit up like Christmas trees to ward off the monsters, and it’s both beautiful and ridiculous in the way comic books are meant to be. Meanwhile, Blacktop Bill continues on the hunt for Sundog, not knowing that her convoy is now searching for him as they attempt to turn back on the light. And we get more lore that begs new questions. I hope this momentum shift keeps going. (– Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B
Alien #9
Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson; Art by Salvador Larroca
Published by Marvel Comics
Ambrose reveals himself as a synthetic working covertly for Weyland-Yutani, and Jane attempts to gather the Spinner community to leave the terraformed moon.
Without giving any spoilers, this story arc appears ready to jettison the idea of a lone survivor, because things look especially grim for everyone. Kennedy Johnson uses this issue to explore ideas of faith and betrayal. The Spinners made a devil’s bargain with the company to live free of modern technology even in the face of certain death. Weyland-Yutani furthers its own designs on the Xenomorph as a corporate weapon.
And Ambrose embraces the Xenomorph as a perfect being – of unrelenting destruction. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B
Mega #2
Words & Art by Salvador Sanz
Translation by Leandro Paolini Somers
Published by Red 5 Comics
After the kaiju called Salamander makes landfall in Montevideo, Uruguay, and builds a fortress, another giant monster, Mega, emerges from the ocean. It answers the call to fight the bad ones locked away at the bottom of the sea, and chase them back into their prisons. Tina blew the horn to call Mega, as instructed by her grandfather in a dream.
Sanz delivers a tense read that goes wordless during the centerpiece battle between Mega and Salamander, and Tina’s father starts to dig and we learn the identity of the young man baking cakes in the shapes of land masses, with a similarly alien-looking key at his side. An unsettling read with cinematic aims that mostly pays off. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B
The Marvels #8
Written by Kurt Busiek; Art by Yildiray Cinar
Published by Marvel Comics
Things slow down a bit for Warbird to tell us her life story as a half-Jabari Wakandan, half-Shi’ar teenager with superpowers – or, as Iron Man calls her, “a freaked-out flying Wolverine.”
Our heroes are captured by Lady Lotus after Warbird broke ranks from Captain America’s battle plan because she sensed her long-missing father in Siancong. Busiek’s dialogue remains snappy and brisk, and Cinar draws phenomenal, classic-looking superhero comic figures with creative panels. The cosmic beings Ace and Threadneedle feel totally out of place, though, and I need that for that thread to mean something fast.
But otherwise, this comic continues to deliver thrills, chills, and a mystery that grows ever deeper. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: B
Speed Republic #1
Written by Ryan K. Lindsay; Art by Emanuele Parascandolo
Published by Mad Cave Studios
Self-styled as Cannonball Run-meets-Mad Max, this dystopian future tale uses the idea of a street race across Europe to comment on the socioecomic ladder. Sure, it can be brutal and dangerous, but there’s comedy too in Parascandolo’s art work and the interpersonal interactions of how people live day-to-day. Because live they do, as people do. Meanwhile, our hero with a checkered past may be on a journey similar to Gi-hun in Squid Game. Buckle up and hit the pedal for a grabby first issue. ( – Marvin Pittman)
Grade: A-
Savage Spider-Man #1
Written by Joe Kelly; Art by Gerardo Sandoval
Published by Marvel Comics
Throughout the years we have seen Spider-Man go through many iterations. And while propping one writer’s version over another could be misconstrued as the antithesis of inclusiveness, something went very wrong with the think tank that came up with Savage Spider-Man. The artwork by Gerardo Sandoval is compelling. He truly captures the baseness of Peter Parker’s new reality as a giant spider. Writer Joe Kelly also sticks to the bestial tone with his dialogue which is really a lack of dialogue.
For me, the premise of the story does not make much sense. For a first issue more context is needed. Hopefully the story will improve, but I am not sure that this is a book I want to continue to read. Aside from the impressive artwork, the story is not grabbing me at all. ( – Eugene Johnson)
Grade: C-
Sabertooth #1
Written by Victor LaValle; Art by Leonard Kirk
Published by Marvel Comics
Finally, Sabretooth is back!
The last time we heard from Victor Creed, one of Wolverine’s nastiest of enemies, he was serving a life sentence of exile within Krakoa. While his mutant buddies built a new community founded on mutual respect, empathy and kinship. Creed was placed in timeout. Writer Victor LaValle, captures both the cynicism and violence that has always made Sabretooth provocative. I am sure it will only be a matter of time before Creed escapes for exile.
If you are a fan of the X titles, you will want to check out this series. While the premise is far from original, Kirk’s artwork and LaValle’s pacing are well executed. ( – Eugene Johnson)
Grade: B+
Primos #1
Written by Al Madrigal; Art by Carlo Barberi
Published by AWA Studios
Primos, which is the Spanish word for cousins, offers some interesting twists on well worn tropes. It remains to be seen whether this title will develop its own fresh style. But this first issue introduces interesting concepts but wraps them in a stale plot.
Ricky Pascal is a good kid who, as most kids, gets himself into trouble from time to time. In one wild night, he finds he’s from a line of Mayans who have traveled to space. This puts him in the position of having to save Earth.
While the story relies on the “Chosen One” cliche, it has characters that are normally not given the opportunity. The story starts with action, but quickly gives us a night in the life of Ricky Pascal, and just as quickly introduces him to this new world. Future issues might let things breathe a bit, but this first issue quickly rushed.
The art is bright and clean, but a bit generic. Everyone is already built like a 90’s superhero. So while it’s great to get representation in superheroes, they still don’t look like real people.
Primos is a first issue that shows a series with promise. I just don’t think it quite hit it’s mark. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: B-
X Lives Of Wolverine #2
Written by Benjamin Percy; Art by Joshua Cassara
Published by Marvel Comics
X Lives of Wolverine is basically Quantum Leap, but Logan travels to past versions of himself. In a quest that somehow ties in to saving Professor Xavier. Omega Red is also time hopping in a quest to kill Xavier.
The story has some moments that capture the attention, but it still feels withholding from the reader. At best, it’s only for the most astute fan of X Men.
I’m really not sure how we’re going from Wolverine in Japan to Wolverine in a Colombian jungle and back again. There are great time travel stories that are convoluted, but sweep you up in the spectacle.
The spectacle in X Lives doesn’t last long enough to keep you engaged. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: C
Batman #120
Written by Joshua Williamson; Art by Jorge Molina and Mikel Janin
Published by DC Comics
A blinded Batman confronts the members of Batman Inc in an issue full of twists and turns.Joshua Williamson has scripted a tense, tightly plotted adventure. It’s hard to tell where it’s going, but it’s fast paced. Lex Luthor’s use in Batman is intriguing.
The back up tale Karl Kerschl features Maps from Gotham Academy. His Batman reminds me of Alan Davis’ Batman work. This is one back up just as good as the main story. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
Detective Comics #1051
Written by Mariko Tamaki; Art by Max Raynor
Published by DC Comics
Initially I was intrigued by Mariko Tamaki getting a shot at featuring other members of the Bat family in a Gotham without Batman. Somehow, we still end up with Dick Grayson, who has his own title, being a large part of this story.
That’s before I even get into the idea of Arkham Tower being such a prominent part of the story. Arkham Tower never makes sense, not even in the regular madness that is part of Gotham.
The Psycho Pirate’s portion of the story shakes things up a bit, but this far in and this post Batman tale in Detective Comics feels like a missed opportunity. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: B-
Dark Knights Of Steel #4
Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Bengal
Published by DC Comics
The Sword and Sorcery genre is generally not for me. I’m the one person who could never make it past the first episode of Game of Thrones. Just not for me.
So when I say, Dark Knights of Steel has been a blast, I mean it. Credit goes to Tom Taylor. It would’ve been easy to just plant a Batman story that was in a drawer, change the setting, and just publish it as an alternate world story.
Instead we get well crafted world building, fully formed characters, and a story full of adventure. Bengal’s art is rich with detail and bright. A genuinely surprising book and a great issue. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
Monkey Prince #1
Written by Gene Luen Yang; Art by Bernard Chang
Published by DC Comics
This first issue does exactly what a first issue should do. We’re introduced to Marcus Sun, a kid who’s moved around a lot. His parents career assisting super villains gives him an opportunity to see Batman in a traumatic experience. Now on a Gotham City high school, he finds himself as the Monkey Prince.
Gene Luen Yang has given us a kid who has had a very unique early life experience with Batman, and parents who have not always been up front with him. It takes the right amount of time to set things up, yet delivers the action.
Bernard Chang takes full advantage and really shows what he can do. His characters are full of expression, his action scenes are kinetic and fun.
Gene Luen Yang is a name that has consistently delivered. With Monkey King, he’s doing it again. ( – Alex Vaello)
Grade: A
