Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.

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Metamorpho: The Element Man #1 (DC) – Oh my god, this comic was so fun! Al Ewing DC Comics series debut, Metamorpho #1, is a Silver Age throwback complete with an omnipresent Stan Lee type approach to narration, thought bubbles, wacky comic book science, and of course, plenty of action and love triangles. On the art side, Steve Lieber and Lee Loughridge bring a bright, jaunty approach except when the mysterious Agent 3 is involved. This comics feels like discovering a long lost Lee/Ditko Metamorpho comic that they wrote to piss off Martin Goodman with its jabs at Rex Mason’s employer Silas Stagg and the flower power-meets-disco vibe of Jump City. Also, it’s super engaging that Metamorpho has more actual chemistry with Element Woman instead of the default love interest, Sapphire Stagg. It honestly feels like an Amazing Spider-Man letters page debate in the late 1960s/early 1970s between fans of Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy, but Element Woman is a kick-ass character in her own right and connected to the series’ overall mystery. If you want to end your 2024 with a guaranteed groovy good time, then Metamorpho #1 is the comic book for you. Overall: 9.7 Verdict: Buy

Timeslide #1 (Marvel) – Cable and Bishop fight one of the Children of the Vault throughout time in a skippable one-shot from Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli. Foxe writes some fun banter between the two men from the future, but it’s just mindless shooting through trailers for other, probably not good comics until time-stopper Tempus comes to save the day. Cable and Bishop’s adventure is self-contained in the end and a backdoor pilot for a Cable and Bishop miniseries, but supposedly there are ramifications for the whole Marvel Universe. In the end, the comic has okay action and some Easter Eggs for the hardcore fans, but is a lightweight, forgettable read. Overall: 5.7 Verdict: Pass

Exceptional X-Men #4 (Marvel) – We find out what Iceman’s really doing in Chicago, and Bronze must balance high school play auditions with being a mutant in the final issue of Exceptional X-Men for 2024. After the previous issue focused on Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost’s students as an ensemble, Eve Ewing and Carmen Carnero focus on Bronze individually as she struggles with her abilities and regular high school things like getting out of her comfort zone to be closer to her crush. Bronze gets an action-packed mini arc in this issue while Kitty gets to further her story and set some boundaries between her and the two other X-Men teams. I love that Ewing takes this seriously and has Kitty call out Iceman in a powerful sequence that demonstrates how deadly she is. But this is still the fun, more slice of life X-Men title with memorable moments like the kids trying to figure out a musical theatre actress to compare Bronze to, or Iceman awkwardly talking about his past dating life with Kitty. Overall: 7.7 Verdict: Buy

Black Canary: Best of the Best #2 (DC) – Dinah Lance takes a physical and psychological beating in the second installment of Tom King, Ryan Sook, and Dave Stewart‘s Black Canary: Best of the Best. The narrative cuts from her fight against Lady Shiva to training with her mother Dinah Drake and finally her childhood focusing on an especially dark night for Dinah’s mother, the original Black Canary. Sook doesn’t flinch from showing the punishment Dinah Lance takes in the ring as well as the physical strain of her training regimen. He and King draw parallels between both Black Canaries and their tenacity in the face of great odds that might lead to their deaths or being physically incapacitated. I love when Tom King tells these small, intimate family stories, and there’s also the tension between Dinah wanting to win for her mother and also lose to treat her mother’s cancer. One thing that does take me out of the flow of the story is the generic sports commentator narration of the fight announcers that adds noise to the quiet emotion of the flashbacks and training sequences. Overall: 8.3 Verdict: Buy

Absolute Wonder Woman #3 (DC) – Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, and Jordie Bellaire weave together past and present and show the sacrifices it takes to become a hero. Bellaire’s reds are powerful and permeate the story from Diana’s battle with the fear-inducing, nigh-unbeatable Tetracide to the way she’s able to save Steve Trevor from Hell in the flashback. Absolute Wonder Woman continues to meld the mythical and modern with Sherman using ancient Greek black figure type pottery to elucidate the Tetracide’s backstory and then cutting to a news report later in the story. The only knock on Absolute Wonder Woman #3 is its world feels lessed lived in and fleshed out than its Absolute Universe compatriots, but Thompson and Hayden Sherman start to remedy that with the introduction of Barbara Minerva, who provides a human perspective on the gods and monsters. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy