New comics

New comics!

Absolute Wonder Woman 23

It’s so nice to have Hayden Sherman back.  He’s so perfect on this book.  And angry Diana’s awesome too.  Don’t fuck with her.  

Dark Knights of Steel II 2

Amanda Waller continues to execute her nefarious plans, and the only reason it’s not pissing me off is because of my anticipation of her inevitable comeuppance.  Otto Schmidt always rocks.  

Batman: Bad Seeds: Sunset 1

The start of a mega Bat-crossover that I only got because Matt Fraction did half the writing.  (With G. Willow Wilson on the other half.)  TLDR: Poison Ivy (Mayor of Gotham somehow) surrenders Gotham to the Parliament of Trees to terraform into a prehistoric floral mess.  Vandal Savage (GCPD Commissioner somehow) sets out to oppose her and cement his authoritarian control of the city.  It’s fine, but I won’t be picking anything up outside of Batman and Detective, which I’m already getting.  Oh, and Greg Rucka is doing a Gotham General two-parter that I’m trying out for sure.  (Hoping it’ll be in the same vein as Gotham Central.)

Peter Cullen, Library books

RIP Peter Cullen.  What a world we live in where the top headline of the day is that the voice of a 1980s cartoon character passed away.  It’s well deserved.  Thank you, sir, for the joy you brought to 5-year-old me and 45-year-old me.  

Some library books:

WildCATs 1-12

I tried this out because Matthew Rosenberg has a really good success rate.  So apparently he is capable of writing crap.  This reads like the worst of the 90s Image comics.  It’s even worse, because it doesn’t have the art of a Jim Lee or Marc Silvestri to go with it.  I was ready to quit three issues in, but forced myself to finish out of some morbid curiosity and hope that it would get better.  It never did.  

Regret reading: Yes

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Hated

Push the Wall

Frank Miller’s memoirs and lessons learned over one of the most brilliant careers in the history of the medium.  It’s a little boilerplate in terms of the lessons, nothing that hasn’t been said before.  But it’s still fun to hear them in the context of creating Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, and all of the other classics he’s created over the years.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Fine

New comics

More new comics!

What If: Runaways 1

I picked this up because Rainbow Rowell wrote it.  Unfortunately, it falls into the same two-prong trap of many What Ifs.

1. With only a single issue to tell the story, there isn’t enough space to properly explore the posited alternative scenario.  The story feels thin and superficial.

2. The heroes end up where they do in the primary timeline, maybe with a few minor modifications.  Which is what happens here.  

Five Years 1-5

Picked this up used for five bucks.  Totally worth it.  Terry Moore is just so easy to read.  He’s such a good writer, and an even better artist.  His stories flow so smoothly and completely engage me.  This induced me to go out and get more of the Moore comics that I’m missing from my collection.  (Serial and Parker Girls.)

Absolute Catwoman 3

The MacGuffin is lame and the tech in this story is advanced beyond reasonable believability.  But it’s fun enough and I miss reading an all-women team.  It’s been too long since Birds of Prey was good.  

Detective Comics 1112

Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin almost make me believe that the retconned-into-their-lives Prion is worth the emotional weight that Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary assign to him.  This is the best issue of the arc, and while I doubt Prion will ever be mentioned by anyone ever again, he was worth the introduction.

Flash 36

I shouldn’t have doubted Ryan North.  Green Arrow calls out the creepy nature of Wally’s new application of his powers.  It does feel a little out of character for Wally to not see it himself.  I’m going to chalk it up to him being excited by what’s essentially a pretty cool new toy, and that he’ll come to his senses pretty quickly.  

Powers 25 12

Brian Michael Bendis neatly wraps up the mystery, but as with most of his Powers stories, the fun was in the journey.  I’m super happy he came back to this with Michael Avon Oeming, and hope they’ll continue to produce more Powers.  

Last Driver 1

I’ll try anything that Sean Murphy writes and draws.  This story’s got fast cars and lots of action, so he’s definitely writing to his strengths.  I’ll stick around.  

Death Vigil 1

I never read volume 1 of this series by the legendary Stjepan Sejic.  This is more plot driven than the usual character-heavy fare of Sunstone and Fine Print, but I’ll stay with it for a while longer.  (And I’ll also try out the earlier story as well.)

New comics

New comics!

Absolute Batman 23

Conspiracy Bruce Wayne who doesn’t trust his friends or family gets really old really quickly.  I hope he snaps out of it soon, because I’m not interested in reading about this Batman.  The Clayface/Batman/Robins sequence was pretty cool, but the nonstop grimness of this series is starting to wear on me.  

DIE: Loaded 8

Okay, I think I’m done.  I didn’t even read this, just skimmed it.

100 Bullets: US of Anger 2

Same with this.  Buying it out of force of habit, time to buckle down and break the cycle.  

Fantastic Four 15

Another wonderful time travelling story from Ryan North, and the tribute to FF artists past was a lovely touch for this 65th anniversary issue.  And truly, RIP to Johnny’s glorious moustache.

Battle Beast 12

Yesss.  More insane fight sequences from the immortal Ryan Ottley.  I’d like to see his R-rated take on some Marvel characters.  Maybe a Wolverine/Sabretooth fight.  With this brief cessation in hostilities, the title goes on hiatus until next March.

Daredevil 5

I can’t bring myself to drop three titles in a week.  And Lee Garbett gets at least the beginning of arc number 2 from me.  I hope Stephanie Phillips finds her footing and brings something better next month.  This story was maybe replacement level.  

Wonder Woman 36

The second half of this title’s version of The Contest.  It’s pretty good, but I’ll always wish for Miken Janin’s art.  Looking forward to Tom King’s return next month.

Batman 12

A number of assassins come to town.  Batman fights a couple of them and Verity Pennyworth (the new butler) proves her worth.  She’s not as cool as Alfred (I mean, who is?), but she shows promise.  She’s got a ways to go though.  

Supergirl: Survive 3

Every issue of this title zigs a different zag, and it’s frankly mind boggling that Ethan S Parker and Griffin Sheridan haven’t driven the whole thing off the road yet.  In fact, they’ve kept it super fun and engaging.  Kara does the “Hal Jordan creating a lost city with a power ring in Emerald Twilight” thing while Mr Mxyzptlk looks on.  (And it’s one of the few times he’s not infuriating.).  And the cliffhanger promises a fourth new direction in as many issues.  Can’t wait. 

Assorted things

Last few new comics: 

DIE: Loaded 7

I know it’s been like three weeks since I read this, but I had to read it again to recall anything about it.  I should really cut the cord with this thing, but I don’t know what’s keeping me from doing so.  It’s strangely compelling despite not being all that memorable.  

Punisher vs Amazing Spider-Man 1

An iFanboy pick.  Certainly a well-made comic, with good art by Matteo Della Fonte and a fun 80’s style story by Dan Abnett. But it doesn’t grab, and I won’t be picking up the next issue.  

Stuff from the library:

Original Sin 

By Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson.  It explores the events that led up to and followed President Joe Biden’s decision to not run for a second term.  Ignoring the politics of it all, and assuming it’s factually correct, I enjoyed reading this in-depth account of a crazy presidential election and the personalities involved with how it all went down.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: Yes

Would buy: No

Rating: Pretty good

Alison

By Lizzy Stewart.  This graphic novel tells the story of an emerging artist in London during the 1980s.  It delves into her relationships, her growth, and her struggle to find herself. It’s fine, but nothing I’m going to remember

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

New comics

Battle Beast 11

It’s a fighting issue, which means it’s a good issue.

Fantastic Four 14

This is Ryan North at his best, a one-shot with a clever problem and an even more clever twist/solution.  Absolutely love it.  

Detective Comics 1111

Tom Taylor reveals how Prion died, and Batman unravels another twist.  Probably not worth buying w/out Mikel Janin’s art, but the combination is enough to keep me reading.  

Flash 35

So….basically Wally needs to make the city a surveillance state with himself as the camera in order to prevent all the crime.  How is this not creepy?  I’m surprised North hasn’t addressed the concern yet.  

Dark Knights of Steel II 1

Tom Taylor comes back to this universe, this time drawn by Otto Schmidt.  (Woots!)  A good start to this arc.  I’m not as invested in this Elseworld as I was with Taylor’s DCeased and Injustice, but there’s no denying he knows how to do an alternate reality.

New comics

I’ve got like 3 weeks of comics to recap here.  

Detective Comics Annual 2026

Batman teams up with Lobo (?!?), but it’s really an excuse for Tom Taylor to do his spin on Batman’s Black Mercy hallucination.  It’s not all that different from what you’d expect: married to Selina, kids, parents and Alfred still alive.  It’s competently done, but nothing that’s must-read.  

The backup story is a twisted little Pyg story that wasn’t bad at all, but still missable.  Not a waste of money, but I wouldn’t buy this again.  

Super Creepshow 1, 3-5

An anthology series I picked up on iFanboy’s recommendation.  It’s a bunch of creatives doing their EC Comics spin on superheroes.  Very Twilight Zone.  A fun read, and while I’m not going to go out of my way to find the missing second issue, I’d pick it up if it was convenient to do so.

Doomquest 3

Hee, Doom as George Washington.  Ryan North’s having so much fun with this, and he’s taking us along for the ride.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 22

Barbara succumbs to temptation and accepts the Cheetah spirit into her life.  Diana rescues Circe from Scylla.  Dillon Snook does a fine job, but I obviously miss Hayden Sherman.  

Absolute Batman 22

Absolute Harley Quinn’s origin is well told by Scott Snyder.  Batman eludes the Robins.  Joker adds a twist to the story at the end.  (Thomas Wayne is alive.  We think.)

Absolute Catwoman 2

Some well done action scenes, and I like what Snyder and Che Grayson are doing with some Bat-Universe staples.  No reason to quit yet.  

Daredevil 4

Is this worth picking up for the Lee Garbett art?  Because the story is very mid for me.  There’s some promise with the detective freezing in the middle of a crisis, but that’s not enough.  Maybe another issue or two.  

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 3

Really not living up to the promise of the premise.  It’s off after this issue.

Assorted Crisis Events 9

A down-on-his-luck guy has no choice but to become a temporal soldier, trapped in a shitty existence.  It’s not Deniz Camp’s best work, but it doesn’t suck.  

Powers 25 11

The mystery continues as the killer is possibly revealed.  Standard good Bendis/Oeming material here.

Wonder Woman 35

Stephanie Williams does her take on Diana’s contest victory, the one that won her the mantle of Wonder Woman.  I wonder how much of this is plotted out by Tom King. It’s well done, and goes a little deeper into Diana’s psychology at the time, but it’s not required reading or anything.