The Best Comic of the Week:
Flash #794 – I was sad to learn this week that Jeremy Adams will be departing Flash soon. I’ve been really enjoying his approach to this series, as it’s pulled in so many of the aspects I liked most about Mark Waid’s legendary run. I see that Simon Spurrier is taking over, and I like his writing and so will stick around, but I wish this run could last longer. The One Minute War continues in this issue, with Irey coming into her own as a hero, and Jay proving why he’s always going to be the best Flash. This storyline has been really exciting and tightly plotted, and I’m digging it.
Quick Takes:
Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 – I was loving Tom Taylor’s Son of Kal-El series that featured Jon, and wish it had continued. I am happy to support this series, but since it looks like it will be sending Jon into the Multiverse with Val-Zod, and what I most enjoy about Jon is watching him try to live up to his father and interact with his supporting cast. Still, Clayton Henry’s art is nice, and Jon is a likeable character, so I’m on board for this. I see that this is being marketed as tying into the Injustice series that I know absolutely nothing about, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Almighty #2 – I’m enjoying Edward Laroche’s latest Image series. Del has been rescued from the biker gang that kidnapped her in a wasted post-American landscape. Fale is the woman who rescued her, and as they arrive in a city, we see that Fale, with her strange eyes and considerable skill as a fighter, is a pretty complicated character. Laroche’s art is gorgeous, and I like how this story unfolds slowly, while still having plenty of stuff happening. I’m glad I decided to pick this up, as I almost missed the first issue.
Batman #133 – Batman continues to work to figure out a way home from the world he’s found himself in, and to do that, he’s put together a new Bat-suit, and is systematically going after some of the judges who, back on his world, were his rogue’s gallery. Chip Zdarsky’s writing is sharp here, but I’ll admit that I’m very tired of multiversal stories these days, and am looking forward to seeing Bruce get home.
Black Panther #15 – John Ridley’s run on Black Panther started off great, but the latter arcs never really connected for me. I feel like some of the steps he took with T’Challa were not necessary, and now I think he was doing nothing more than setting up Eve Ewing’s upcoming relaunch. Still, as much as I haven’t been liking this book, this final issue was actually pretty good, as T’Challa’s final confrontation with the mastermind of his downfall is pretty intense. This ends with T’Challa entering his exile, and establishes the new democratic direction for the country. I’m curious to see what Ewing is going to do with this book, and I feel bad for the people of Wakanda, who seem to go through leaders and rulers faster than any country on Earth… German Peralta’s art in this issue is gorgeous – he’s really leveled up lately.
The Ends #1-3 – I wasn’t too happy to see that the David and Maria Lapham series was coming out through Bad Idea, given that their comics aren’t all that easy to come by where I live. Still, I was able to get a set, and I’m pleased that I did. The Laphams often set their series in the mid-80s, but this story is just as much about today. The Ends are a family of racists, living a working class existence full of domestic abuse, distemper, and for the two kids, Jennifer and Jack, engagement in early neo-Nazi message boards. The thing is, while staying with her grandparents in Oceanside, Jennifer has fallen for Angel, a Mexican-American boy. When she moves back to help look after her grandparents, and her brother finds out about her relationship, he organizes a huge skinhead rally at the beach, and things quickly fall into total chaos. Lapham’s story includes a group of WWII veterans who are not happy to see the swastika flying in their town, and they’ve still got access to weapons. This is a good series that could be seen as a cautionary tale about where we are heading as a society today. It’s also just nuts and fun.
Fantastic Four #5 – An odd encounter with Nicholas Scratch and the Salem’s Seven leaves the Fantastic Four in a new state of peril, which requires some elevated thinking from Reed to save the day. Ryan North is taking a unique approach to this run, which has the Fantastic Four largely discredited and disliked across America. You can tell that North is reading up on some very obscure science as a way of giving Reed cause to try new things, and I find it interesting. It’s wild that five issues in, and regular artist Iban Coelho needs a break (or is off the book – you can never tell with Marvel). Ivan Fiorelli does a fine job of stepping in, but I think that North’s writing needs an equally offbeat approach to art, which Coelho’s been doing well.
Moon Knight #21 – Reese, Scout, and some vampire friends go clubbing for a change, and end up stumbling across a new threat in the form of the DJ. This is a good issue – I like that Jed MacKay is continuing to build the supporting cast of this book, while also building the mystery of the latest threat coming after Marc.
New Mutants: Lethal Legion #1 – Of all the relaunched Krakoan era X-books, I feel like New Mutants is the one that has struggled the most to find its voice and direction. The series has had a few writers, and each time, they’ve shifted the focus of the book in a new direction. Now, it seems that the title was canceled and has been replaced by this miniseries, written by Charlie Jane Anders and drawn by Enid Balám. Like in the last arc of the series, the focus is on Escapade and Cerebella. It appears that Shela is really interested in making Martha happy, and so suggests they carry out a heist on Count Nefaria, which does seem like a dangerous idea. Marvel is really pushing Escapade, a trans character with rather confusing powers, and it does feel a little forced in places. Anders does a good job writing these characters though, and the story is kind of fun, so I’m on board.
Nightcrawlers #2 – The Sins of Sinister storyline jumps ahead some nine hundred years, and we learn that Earth has been abandoned. Mother Righteous continues her fight against Sinister, while her Nightkin soldiers find their doubts about the religion she created for them growing, especially as their numbers continue to dwindle. Simon Spurrier has made this a very cerebral and conceptual book, and while I’m enjoying it, it does feel a little like Spurrier and Kieron Gillen are just trying to write an event Jonathan Hickman-style, and I’m not sure it’s necessary. I imagine this whole thing is going to be erased in the end when someone finally gets access to Sinister’s lab.
Predator #1 – I’m glad to see a new Predator series starting, and Ed Brisson writing it again. This time around, we are somewhere forested, where a group of people who mostly don’t know one another find themselves on the run from an unknown number of Predators and the other creatures they’ve released in their hunting grounds. We learn that the humans were taken from different places and at different times, and the last page holds a nice surprise. I liked Kev Walker’s art on the last arc more than I do Netho Diaz’s work here, but it’s still a nice looking book.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #32 – The standard cast is being chased by an Imperial squad, and to hide from them they head into an asteroid field. The problem is that events of Hidden Empire take out Zuckuss, who is their navigator. We get some backstory on the Findsman, who has been a mysterious character to this point. This series took forever to come together, but lately I’ve been enjoying it.
Star Wars: Sana Starros #2 – I’m intrigued by this series, which is helping to flesh out Sana Starros’s family, who are running some kind of scam against the Empire involving Sana’s cousin, who has married an officer and is about to have his babies. The writing, by Justina Ireland, balances the usual components of a Star Wars story perfectly, and Pere Pérez’s art is pretty nice.
X-Men #20 – The X-Men continue their fight against the Brood, while Jean and Illyana track down Broo and try to figure out how he’s lost control of much of his empire (without even knowing it). We also check in on Forge and M on Knowhere. I’m happy to see that Gerry Duggan is starting to write this book with various subplots, as it reminds me of the X-Men’s heyday. I’m especially intrigued about the two new citizens of Krakoa that show up on the last few pages. This series is really starting to click.
Bargain Comics:
Marvel Voices: Heritage #1 – The 2022 edition of this title that showcases Indigenous creators and characters is a decent read, but none of the stories really stuck with me. I felt like most of the stories were too short, and could have used more space to breathe and grow, with the exception of the American Eagle story by Steven Paul Judd and David Cutler, which was basically perfect.
Marvel Voices: Legacy #1 – The 2022 collection of stories showcasing Black characters, by Black creators, is entertaining, but again, the stories are a little short to really do much. The single page character portraits, with some internal monologue, are nice tributes, and serve to introduce new readers to Black characters, but a couple days after reading this, nothing has really stuck with me.
Marvel Voices: Pride #1 – The 2021 Pride one-shot is a fun celebration of queer superheroes with a strong sense of history to it. Most of Marvel’s more prominent LGBTQ+ characters make an appearance, and the stories never feel particularly heavy-handed or like they’re pandering. I think this is a good example of how to best create these types of projects, and I enjoyed the balance between established and emerging artists and writers.
Marvel Voices: Pride #1 – The 2022 anthology is maybe the best of these Marvel Voices books I’ve read yet. The stories are longer, and either focus on some very obscure characters (D-Man, Taku, Venomm) or introduce new characters (Escapade, the kids who go to Super Trans, the support group for trans hero youth). I know that Marvel is putting a big push behind Escapade (see the New Mutants series above), so I wanted to read her first appearance, and it did help clear some things up. I do like the fact that at a time when so many people in North America are making trans rights a culture war battle, that Marvel is doubling down on providing very visible representation of queer characters, but are also not taking themselves too seriously. This was a good comic. I’d like to suggest that in future, they create some one-shots that tell a single, longer story, maybe featuring a number of characters from the represented groups working together, as this format is starting to feel a little tired.
