New comics

Aliens vs Avengers 4

God, what a massive letdown from a promising beginning.  This is why I’m surprised whenever Jonathan Hickman writes something good for any extended period of time.  This is just a nihilistic exercise in “none of this matters, I was not satisfied or entertained in any way, why did I read this?”  Even Esad Ribic is a disappointment here.  A complete fail by the end.  

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton 1

Ryan North writing Krypto is enough to get me on board.  I don’t know how there’s enough here for a full series, but I have faith in him.

Battle Beast 2

I’m so glad Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley are back in this universe!!!  This is good, clean, comic book fun at the highest level of execution.  A+, recommend. 

Absolute Flash 3-4

Things get more interesting w/ the introduction of Monkey Grodd.  Things are still new enough in an Ultimate Universe kind of way for me to want to stick around.

Absolute Green Lantern 3

Jon Stewart discovers the Lantern’s gold weakness, and Al Ewing somehow manages to make it not sound that stupid.  I still don’t know why they’re fighting Boo from Dragonball Z.  

DC vs Vampires: World War V 10

As I’ve said before, not a fan of the New Gods in general, but with the twist here, Matthew Rosenberg at least keeps things interesting enough for me to want to know what happens next. 

New comics

I’m only a month behind?  Feels like a lot more.  Time to make a dent in the deficit.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 9

Resolute is the word I’d use to describe Kelly Thompson’s Wonder Woman.  She acts with a certitude in everything that she does, an absolute faith that she is correct and she will prevail.  It’s magnificent to behold.  I love this Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman 22

I love Tom King’s Wonder Woman just as much.  In this issue, she has a morning-after DTR with Steve Trevor as she fights giant-sized mice.  It’s very sweet.  Fill-in artist Caitlin Yarsky does a fine job, and channels some Terry Moore perfectly in the mouse conversation scene.  

Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman 1

Trinity gets into time travel hijinks with three versions of herself and Super-Corgi puppies.  Is there anything Tom King can’t write?

Fantastic Four 33

This volume of Fantastic Four ends with H.E.R.B.I.E. saving the universe while Ben Grimm gets his powers back.  Ryan North’s hit rate is impressively high given the sheer number of ideas he throws out there.  This one’s definitely of the multi-base variety.  North returns next with a new volume of FF.  Hopefully, they’ll find a better artist for him.  

Ultimate Spider-Man 18

I don’t know why I’m still so surprised at how consistently great this book is month in and month out.  Maybe because it’s Jonathan Hickman.  I like Peter and Harry teaming up, but I’m dreading the inevitable Harry heel turn.  

Absolute Martian Manhunter 4

Javier Rodriguez may have done the best job I’ve ever seen of conveying the sweltering heat of a New York CIty (?) summer.  It’s claustrophobic, sticky, oppressive, and altogether unbearable.  It’s sheer artistry.  

Mr Terrific 2

Michael Holt meets the Spectre, which gives Al Letson an opportunity to recap Mr Terrific’s origin story up to this point.  It’s perfectly fine, and I’m not sad to be sticking around for more.  

Detective Comics 1098

Tom Taylor writes from pretty good quips for Penguin.  There’s really nothing memorable about this arc, but for all that, it’s still a fun enough caper for Batman.  

Ballerina

Ballerina

Ana de Armas does a fine job here.  Not enough to make this a rewatchable movie for me, but I’d certainly tune in for a sequel.  There are a few scenes that did make me giggle with delight:

1. Grenade fight!  She doesn’t even pick up a firearm as a secondary weapon; she deliberately opts for a bandolier of grenades and nothing else.

2. Ice skate fight!  Specifically, there’s one shot where she swings them in the most beautiful motion I’ve ever seen.

3. FLAMETHROWER FIGHT!!!  One of those all-too-rare batshit crazy action moments that are unlike anything else I’ve ever seen before.  So effing awesome.  And special kudos to all the stunt people; I’m sure a ton of that was practical.

Things I didn’t like:

1. Ana is so less efficient than Keanu when it comes to one-shot kills.  I get that they end fights prematurely and make them less fun to watch, but there are way too many cases where I either thought, “How is that person still alive” or “She totally missed a chance to kill the person right there.”

2. There’s no way she survives against a whole town that’s out to kill her.

3. Keanu’s presence was totally unnecessary, and felt like a hedge against the filmmakers’ confidence in the film’s ability to stand on its own.  

4. Dude who fought w/ his leg on fire was a total ripoff of Tony Jaa in Ong Bak.  (And it was way cooler the first time around.)

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1097

Batman and Bullock investigate a new super secret mysterious organization.  Nothing special so far.  Lee Garbett is on art, but he isn’t given anything that really lets him shine.  

Batman 160

Hush 2 part 3.  That’s it, I’m done.  No one’s on top of their game here, not even Jim Lee.  Jeph Loeb?  He’s nowhere close.  

Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell 2

Nothing new to say, but this is still a really fun read.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 3

Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez up the psychic visions, and it makes for a gorgeous, psychedelic read.  It’s a surprisingly standard story underneath it all, but that doesn’t detract from the quality of the book.

Mr Terrific: Year One 1

I’ve actually read very few comics w/ Mr Terrific, but I’ve always loved his concept and his look.  This mini by Al Letson and Valentine De Landro isn’t spectacular, but it’s good enough for me to keep reading.

Ultimate Spider-Man 17

Stuff’s happening.  Harry’s daddy issues get worse (who in the world chooses their horrible dad to be their AI?), his wife is starting to stomp all over him, and they’re starting to make their move on Kingpin.  I wish Jonathan Hickman wrote more things like this.

Absolute Wonder Woman 8

Blah blah Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman are phenomenal blah blah.  I’m not feeling Doctor Poison so far, but it’s early.

It’s Jeff: Jeff Week 1

I’m mostly getting this for my daughter, but it’s a fun 30-second read for me as well.  That said, this only works w/ Gurihiru doing the art; the Gustavo Duarte backups aren’t nearly as good.  

Wonder Woman 21

Tom King wraps up this tidy little mystery w/out a fuss.  Bruce and Diana have some sweet, heartfelt conversations about grief.  It’s all platonic here, but I’d love to see King’s take on a romance between the two.  Heck, he got me to root for Selina/Bruce, I’m sure he’d do an even better job w/ this pairing.  

Fantastic Four 32

Valeria manages to save Ben from last issue’s idiotic screwup.  It’s amazing how much Ryan North is always able to squeeze into one issue.

New comics

Detective Comics Annual 2025

I was not happy when I found out that Tom Taylor wasn’t the writer on this.  I wouldn’t have bought it if I’d known.  But luckily, Al Ewing writes a fun little mystery here.  I wouldn’t buy it again, but it wasn’t a total waste of money.

Black Canary: Best of the Best 6

This story failed on so many levels.  This was just a very long fight scene, and Ryan Sook was not the best choice for it; I’m not a fan of his faces.  At all.  And considering Shiva and Black Canary are supposed to be the two best martial artists in the world, I would have liked fewer pro wrestling moves.  The story also lacks the mother/daughter poignancy that Tom King was probably hoping for, and while I appreciate him writing a straightforward story, I wish there was more to it than just a resurrection.  Definitely one of his weaker efforts.  (And the fight commentary!  Ugh.)

Absolute Green Lantern 2

Why does Abin Sur look exactly like Evil Boo from Dragonball Z?

There still isn’t much to go on for this title yet, but it’s still got enough potential for me to keep reading.

Absolute Batman 8

A really good fight scene between Batman and Freeze.  Also, Scott Snyder rips apart the potential for a super sweet Justice League of Batman Villains with the abduction and presumed upcoming transformation of Waylon Jones into Absolute Killer Croc.

DC vs Vampires: World War V 9

My interest in this world is waning.  It’s always tricky once the New Gods show up.  And despite all the action, this issue feels like setup.

Battle Beast 1

Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley return to the Invincible universe!  This issue is basically an extended fight scene, but only as that pair can do.  So much fun, it’s wonderful to be in this world again.

New comics

I’ve got like a month of new comics to catch up on.

Batgirl 7

The origin of Lady Shiva.  It’s nothing special, and I’m pretty sure I’m done after the arc finishes next issue.

Absolute Superman 7

The origin of Absolute Braniac.  Jason Aaron and Carmine Di Giandomenico have created something terrifying here.  This is quality stuff.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 7

I’m still not sure how The Lady and the Tiger is relevant in this story, but for all that, it’s well-written and beautifully drawn.  I need to find more things by Mattia De Iulis, I love his work.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 2

This so reminds me of another comic that’s equally dreamlike, but I can’t put my finger on it.  Maybe it’s because I recently saw Javier Rodriguez’s work in Zatanna?  Anyway, this is still a nice deviation from the usual comic book fare.

Batman 159

Hush 2 part 2.  As much as I love Jim Lee, this certainly isn’t his best work, and the story by Jeph Loeb is as unreadable as his stuff over in Last Halloween.  One more issue, I think, and then I’m done.  

One World Under Doom 3-4

In issue 3, we learn that the world’s leaders voluntarily agreed to go along w/ Doom for various reasons.  I totally saw it coming, but I still like how it was done.  In issue 4, Dormammu takes advantage of Doom’s short-sighted thinking.  (Where planetary defense from the magical world is concerned.  He’s doing a pretty good job of whupping the heroes.)

I’ve been pretty pleased with this event so far.  The main title is telling a self-contained story, and the tie-ins are exploring the tangents.  It’s how you should run something big like this.  

Batman: The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween 7

The best thing I can say is that there are only three issues left.  And I don’t even like Becky Cloonan’s art, so next month is a waste too.  Dave Johnson’s a lot better on covers than he is on interiors.

Fantastic Four 31

The FF travel to different multiverses in an attempt to bombard Ben Grimm with cosmic rays and return him to his rocky state.  Things go wrong, of course, and the FF are wiped from existence.  A very nice issue by Ryan North.

Ultimate Spider-Man 16

So my prediction from a few months ago was incorrect, Gwen Stacy does not end up as the new Green Goblin.  But she is Mysterio, and Jonathan Hickman makes that twist very nifty indeed.  I can’t get over how good this title is. 

Library comics

Some comics I borrowed from the library.

Moonbound

A retelling of the Apollo 11 mission, interspersed with a summary of humanity’s journey to the moon.  Not bad, but it didn’t add to my knowledge of the topic.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Fine

Something is Killing the Children 1-5

A great title for a book.  James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera have crafted a solid comic here.  Monsters that only kids can see are very real, and one of the survivors meets a Buffy-esque slayer who’s part of a bigger shadowy organization.  It’s not good enough to buy, but I’ve borrowed the rest of the trades, so it’s certainly got something going for it.  

Regret reading: No

Would read again: Yes

Would buy: No

Rating: Nice

The Nice House on the Lake 1-12

Another James Tynion IV production, drawn by Alvaro Martinez Bueno.  Once again, I was drawn in by the nifty title.  I never got around to reading this when I first borrowed it, and I was literally sitting in the car in the garage on my way to return it when I thought I’d give it a shot.  After two issues, I drove to the library and finished the series.

This is an engrossing “everyone’s trapped in one location” mystery that involves the end of the world, aliens, and a spin on The Good Place.  I was totally going to buy this until the ending, which falls off a little bit.  There’s a followup series, The Nice House by the Sea, that covers a different cohort of people.  I definitely want to give that a try when the trade is available.

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Pretty good