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.

Logan

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #2 (DC) – The sentiment that you can see someone’s character by how they treat animals rings true is at the core of Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #2 from Ryan North, Mike Norton, and Ian Herring. This is a painful read, and I’m glad North or the editors included a content warning at the beginning because Lex Luthor abuses Krypto throughout the issue while monologuing about how he’s going to run Metropolis beginning by getting his relatives’ life insurance. Norton’s visuals show the lack of a bond between Lex and Krypto building up to a tragic climax, but thankfully it’s not all depressing, and there are moments of escape and relief. Because animals can’t speak and are the best listener, the Krypto series continues to provide insight into key figures from Superman’s life, including his parents in the previous issue and Luthor in this one. I love the seasonal motif to match the tone of the series and the passing of time. While not a “fun read”, Krypto #2 is a powerful chapter in this soon to be evergreen series. Overall: 8.4 Verdict: Buy

Toxie Team-Up #2 (Ahoy!) – The Toxic Avenger, the Jersey Devil, and a shitty diner are a brilliant match in Toxie Team-Up #2 from Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly. The story pulls at the heart strings with a greytone flashback showing Toxie in his pre-acid days trying to make connections with his quiz bowl teams before being bullied yet again. What follows is chaos, slop flying, and lots of New Jersey references. Toxie fighting crime and talking trash with the help of some hopped up sodas that are probably the hot new thing on BYU’s campus makes for solid reading, and it’s always a treat to have some new Kelly interior art. Overall: 7.6 Verdict: Read

Absolute Batman #10 (DC) – Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin take Batman to his utter breaking point before kind of, sort of building him up in Absolute Batman #10. Batman is probably where he belongs in the private prison of Ark M, and Snyder’s gift for dry, dark humor comes out in the narrative captions describing what he brought to the jail. However, this isn’t a funny comic, but a physically draining one that ends a half-moment of triumph. Flashbacks break up the ordeals that Bruce goes through and sharpen his relationship with his future villains, especially Waylon Jones, who is also a prisoner at Ark M. The camaraderie they had running scams and watching boxing matches together as young men definitely comes in handy in this issue. Also, I can’t continue to heap enough praise on Dragotta’s art and page design. His splash pages are climaxes, and it’s insane how much detail and character he can cram into these multi-panel grid pages. Overall: 8.9 Verdict: Buy

Post Malone’s Big Rig #1 (Vault) – I didn’t know what to expect from recording artist Post Malone‘s venture into comics other than some kind of vehicle, and surprisingly, this was a gonzo good time if you can suspend your disbelief a little bit. Co-written by Malone and Adrian Wassel with gorgeous black and white art from Nate Gooden, Big Rig #1 is about face-tatted priest named John who must save a medieval village from demons with the help of a 18-wheeler that fell from the sky. It has big Devilman energy while keeping things PG-13, and I love how Post Malone and Wassel use the extended page count to flesh out John’s supporting cast. Some of the worldbuilding seems willy-nilly, and the villains are one note, but Big Rig #1 is a ride worth going on, especially if you consider your lucky trucker hat to be Excalibur. The whole vibe of Post Malone’s self-insert character was like someone from GTA popping up in Elden Ring or Dark Souls. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy

Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #1 (Marvel) – Just an absolute fun time of a comic! Gerry Duggan and Javier Garron revel in Godzilla’s insane powers and set the tone by having him solo a Celestial in the first few pages. Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #1 is an all-fight comic, but there is some visual cleverness to it like a fun, cutaway style layout of Quicksilver evacuating a building or the result of Captain America’s shield blocking Godzilla’s nuclear breath. This issue features all the scientists and heavy hitters so looking forward to next issue’s street level-centric battle even more. Overall: 8.6 Verdict: Buy