Author Archives: Logan Dalton

Mini Reviews: Captain America #4, Krypto : The Last Dog of Krypton #5, Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #4, Adventures of Lumen N #2

Posted on by
Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #5

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

Captain America #4 (Marvel) – Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti‘s Captain America run continues to explore the grey areas of being an American symbol using its early 2000s setting and (becoming less) clandestine missions in Latveria. There’s lots of punching and action sequences, but the real conflict is Steve Rogers realizing what the true cost of wearing the red, white, and blue is during the “War” on “Terror” with Dave Colton, the replacement Captain America acting as a foil. Seeing Rogers sock Dr. Doom on the jaw like he did to Adolf Hitler decades ago is a triumphant moment, but should it be? I liked the previous issue that dug into the role of Latveria during different World Wars, and how Cap inspired Doom a little better, but the series continues to be solid. Overall: 7.8 Verdict: Buy

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #5 (DC) – Krypto #5 is a beautiful conclusion to this heartwarming miniseries from Ryan North, Mike Norton, and Ian Herring. This issue brings everything full circle with Krypto landing in Smallville and immediately righting wrongs like the town’s protector, Superboy. Krypto #5 is a contemporary love letter to those classic Silver Age Superboy where the young Man of Steel’s loneliness was assuaged by a dog who was also a refugee from his planet. Watching Krypto save the day and then forging a permanent bond with the Kent family brought tears to my eyes and was just the perfect ending to one of my favorite comics of 2025. North, Norton, and Herring have truly created the definitive Krypto comic, and it’s honestly a comic I would recommend to anyone. (Although, I’d pair it with a box of tissues with the House of El crest.) Overall: 10 Verdict: Buy

Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #4 (Marvel) – Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe continues to be a well-paced, ass kicking good time and still hasn’t worn out its welcome. After fighting the X-Men to a standstill in the previous issue, the King of Monster turns his sights to a Wakandan tech/Pym particles enhanced Hulk for a big damn monster vs monster throwdown. Writer Gerry Duggan keeps the patter to a minimum while letting big panels from artists Javier Garron and Paco Medina and colorist Jesus Aburtov carry the title. I do love the interactions between Hulk and Namor as the misunderstood Defenders/anti-heroes may be the Marvel Universe final hope. Also, let’s just say tokusatsu enthusiasts will love parts of this issue as Godzilla Destroys charges to a megazord conclusion. Overall: 8.8 Verdict: Buy

Adventures of Lumen N #2 (Dark Horse) – In the second installment of The Adventures of Lumen N, James Robinson, Phil Hester, Marc Deering, and Bill Crabtree reveal more information about the mysterious Captain Nemo and his granddaughter as well as setting up the series’ Big Bad. It’s an exposition-heavy issue, but full of fantastical steampunk compositions from Hester and never neglects the family relationship between Lumen and Nemo, who is getting use to relationships again. I love how Robinson re-figures Nemo as a positive, anti-imperialist and environmentalist figure and uses the domestic bits to differentiate him from Alan Moore’s take on the character in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This issue is the yin to the first issue’s action-heavy yang, and I feel like I care about Lumen and Nemo going into an even more epic battle. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy

Mini Reviews: Marvel Knights: Punisher #1, Marian Heretic #1, Absolute Batman #13

Posted on by
Marian Heretic #1

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

Marvel Knights: Punisher #1 (Marvel) – This is an average, middle of the road Punisher story with brutal art from Dan Panosian and a phone-it-in kind of script from Jimmy Palmiotti. (I guess Garth Ennis didn’t want to come back.) The obituaries for the dead characters at the end is a fun touch and does humanize the thinly written casualties in Frank Castle’s war on crime. Marvel Knights: Punisher is guns, explosions, and minimal depth feeling more like a video game than a comic. Overall: 6.1 Verdict: Pass

Marian Heretic #1 (BOOM! Studios) – Catholicism, paganism, and nunsploitation ass kicking all blend into the engaging brew that is Tini Howard and Joe Jaro‘s new Marian Heretic series. The Witchblade/Magdalena influence is pronounced, but I love the worldbuilding that Howard does finding a middle path between the Trinitarian patriarchy of The City of Vespers and the witches in the wilds. God totally is a woman because Ariana Grande (and Kevin Smith in Dogma) said so. Jaro brings 90s-tinged art with big action and expressions, but moves the story along smoothly as the protagonist tries to comes to grips with grey areas in a black and white world. Marian Heretic #1 is religious trauma, but make it badass, and I look forward to learning more about this intense world and the women that make it tick. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy

Absolute Batman #13 (DC) – Absolute Batman #13 is like the movie The Dark Knight Rises was actually good and didn’t have lame, ineffectual, pro-cop politics. Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin weave together the story of Bruce and Selina’s romantic relationship with a setup for a final showdown between Bane and Batman with venom coursing through both their veins. Dragotta’s bulkier, jacked take on Batman pays off in this story as Batman comes face to face with being the monster that Gotham needs to protect them. He and Martin continue to bring bone-shattering power and passion to the fight scenes in this issue. (And also one sex scene.) In the plot department, Snyder is skillfully connecting the story of Waylon Jones’ big boxing match in the past to the Batman/Bane battle royale raising the stakes. Overall: 8.6 Verdict: Buy

Mini Reviews: The Last Day of HP Lovecraft #1, Gotham Academy: First Year #1, Umbrella Academy: Plan B #3, Bytchcraft #4, and Batman #2

Posted on by
Gotham Academy: First Year #1

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

The Last Day of HP Lovecraft #1 (BOOM!) – A translation of a French graphic novel by Romuald Giulivo and Jakub Rebelka, The Last Day of HP Lovecraft #1 delves into the final day of the racist, anti-Semitic, yet highly influential horror writer. Rebelka visualizes the author’s imagination through strange, feverish dreamscapes narrated by the recurring Mythos character Randolph Carter. The book critiques, pays homage to, and riffs on the works of Lovecraft and attempts to answer what kind of person would invent cosmic horror. The characterization of Carter is enjoyable as a puckish, nigh-omniscient protagonist as he both trolls and fanboys over HP Lovecraft. As an added bonus, there’s a handwritten letter from a dying Lovecraft to a dead Robert E. Howard about death. Overall: 7.9 Verdict: Buy

Gotham Academy: First Year #1 (DC) – After too long of a hiatus, Gotham Academy is back with a prequel focusing on Olive Silverlock’s first year at the boarding school. Writers Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, and Karl Kerschl zero in Olive’s Batman-induced trauma as well as the general awkwardness of the first day at a preppy boarding school finding humor from the school’s strange aristocratic conditions. On the art side, Marco Ferrari and Eva De La Cruz capture the lush, dark academia before dark academia was a thing tone of the school and add some memorable flourishes like a monstrous portrayal of Batman. Olive Silverlock is a relatable outside character, and the prominent role of Arkham Asylum might bring folks from the superhero world into the Goth YA universe. Overall: 8.3 Verdict: Buy

Umbrella Academy: Plan B #3 (Dark Horse) – Just like My Chemical Romance’s current Long Live the Black Parade tour, Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba engage with the contemporary rise/reign of fascism in a cheeky, theatrical way. But unlike the concerts, which recontextualizes MCR’s 2006 album The Black Parade into a satirical look at an authoritarian regime in a focused way using that album’s song as the spine, let’s just say Umbrella Academy Plan B continues to be all over the place storywise. There are some memorable moments like Klaus having an NA meeting with ghosts, Luther’s hero St. Zero pleading with him to return from the Moon to Earth and save it from the Sparrow Academy, and the Sparrows spreading chaos on national TV. But the various threads never cohere together like the previous issue, which was centered around a fight between the Umbrella and Sparrow Academies. Maybe, the bigger picture will be more clear in the next 3 issues, but for now, Umbrella Academy is a beautiful drawn, colored, and lettered (By DRAAG’s own Nate Pieko) mess. Overall: 6.1 Verdict: Pass

Bytchcraft #4 (Mad Cave) – The penultimate issue of Bytchcraft is rich, dense occult fantasy storytelling from Aaron Reese, Lema Carril, and Bex Glendining. I love how they interweave the theme of found family and matriarchy with a blockbuster, world ending threat. Also, there’s plenty of quips and humor (Especially from my personal favorite character Em.) to balance out the apocalypse of it all like the coven coming up with a game plan in a diner in Queens. Bytchcraft is a gorgeous and immersive comic, and I’m sad to see it end next month, but it continues to be a lasting legacy for the late Reese. Overall: 8.4 Verdict: Buy

Batman #2 (DC) – Batman and Robin are more ACAB than ever in the 2nd issue of Matt Fraction, Jorge Jimenez, and Tomeu Morey‘s Batman run. This issue focuses on the relationship between Batman and Tim Drake using a flashback framing narrative of the Caped Crusader teaching Robin how to drive stick/the Batmobile. Fraction and Jimenez strike a balance between vulnerability and badassery, cool gadgets and heroes down on their luck. The fight sequences are full of piss and vinegar, and I love how Matt Fraction writes Batman and Tim Drake’s relationship like a parent and an adult child while the heat continues to come down on them in the ongoing plotline. Overall: 8.9 Verdict: Buy

Adventure Time: Bubbline College Special is slow burn, enemies to lovers goodness

Posted on by
Adventure Time: The Bubbline College Special

Adventure Time: The Bubbline College Special took me back to the time of Tumblr, shipping, fan fiction, and of course, being a college student (Which was when I got into Adventure Time.) and features 48 pages of hilarious and colorful interior art from Caroline Cash of PeePeePooPoo and Nancy fame. The story is set in an alternate universe in the Adventure Time where Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen fell in love as undergrads not in the series finale, and Finn and Jake also attended college to keep an eye on Bubblegum from any assassins. It’s filled with plenty of hijinks like roommates (Or princesses.) from hell, late night study sessions, raging parties, life-altering concerts, and beautiful human connection.

Bubbline College Special is slow burn, enemies to lovers goodness from Bubblegum and Marceline’s first meeting when she sees the vampire strumming on top of a tower while remarking that it’s probably a fire code violation. Princess Bubblegum is all about studying and STEM while Marceline is all about rocking out, flirting, and taking things easy. I love how Cash draws the push and pull of attraction in their body language using simple, yet memorable gestures. She also has a lot of fun with the side plots featuring Bubblegum’s entitled roommate Lumpy Space Princess (Honestly one of the funniest characters on the cartoon ; she invented the concept of “brat”) and the neurotic Peppermint Butler, who is in some of kind of candy-themed Game of Thrones show not a sapphic romance. There’s a chaos to these moments while Caroline Cash drops the text out and uses wide panels for more tender scenes like Marceline and Bubblegum’s first kiss.

I also enjoy how Bubbline Special isn’t all feelings and butterflies, but Cash actually sets up a kind of road map for Bubblegum and Marceline to be in a relationship. As mentioned earlier, Bubblegum’s main goal is to succeed at school and her science experiments, and that’s impossible to do with Lumpy Space Princess throwing parties every night so Marceline opens up her dorm for rest and study, while she does her nocturnal vampire rocker thing. They might have an opposite aesthetic, but there’s a foundation of empathy and caring in their interactions, which is definitely smile-inducing. The panel of Bubblegum after her first good night’s sleep might be just as romantic as their first kiss or the big concert.

Speaking of concert, I love Caroline Cash’s use of color in Bubbline Special to convey emotions, energy, and characters’ personalities. There’s the luminous night sky during Marceline’s first appearance where she strums her literal axe and more washed out tones of the class rooms, cafes, and typical college spaces that offset the colorful characters. Finally, there’s the tapestry of colors for the Marceline and the Scream Queens with plenty of red, black, and pink to bring the focus on our star-crossed lovers. Adventure Time has some of the most memorable character designs in 21st century animation, and Cash does them justice while adding her own flair like using lines and squiggles to show Princess Bubblegum’s rage and stress.

Bubbline Special is sapphic romance at its finest set in the trippy, yet wholesome world of Adventure Time. Bubblegum and Marceline are iconic characters, but the typical college setting makes them relatable and down-to-Earth also adding to the nostalgia factor. I’ve been a fan of the Marceline/Bubblegum pairing for years so reading this was like a dream come true and proof that maybe once in a while humanities/STEM relationships work out.

Story/Art: Caroline Cash
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.4 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy

Oni Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Starship Godzilla #1 transports monster stories to another galaxy

Posted on by
Starship Godzilla #1

Godzilla has found his way to outer space in several films, but Starship Godzilla #1 doesn’t feature the titular monster and instead is a Cowboy Bebop-type saga of a crew of scrappers in the titular ship, which bears a resemblance to Mechagodzilla. Chris Gooch and Oliver Ono‘s first installment is heavy on the action beginning at an intergalactic auction where protagonists Captain Rohan, Ayan, and their “person in the chair” Ilsa are snagging kaiju eggs to sell for a tidy profit. These various exciting sequences set up the crew’s dynamic without being dragged down by exposition. There’s also a cute cat named Ralphy involved that could give Jonesy or Ein a run for their money.

Ono’s line art and colors continues the anarchic feel of the Kai-Sei era while bringing a unique sci-fi flair out of bande desinees or manga/anime like the aforementioned Cowboy Bebop, Space Battleship Yamamoto, and Captain Harlock. I love his adorable, yet creepy creature design, and how he makes the color palette explode on the page, especially during one of the many chase scenes. However, Oliver Ono also does some killer splash pages like the initial reveal of Starship Godzilla establishing Rohan and company as a well-heeled group although Gooch’s script keeps most character backstory and information close to its chest. There’s enough information to run through the original plot and keep the action going, but plenty of mystery for this ongoing series to unlock.

Starship Godzilla #1 transports monster stories to another galaxy as Chris Gooch and Oliver Ono craft an interstellar black market to offset what’s going on the ground in this new era of GodzillaI like the unique personalities they craft for this book’s lead characters as they understand that a good sci-fi story lives and dies by the chemistry of its crew. As well as having fast-paced action, Starship Godzilla also shows the reactions of various individuals to the kaiju phenomenon from profit to keeping them as pets or even killing ’em all. With its combination of the kaiju and space opera genres, Starship Godzilla might be my favorite launch title of the Kai-Sei era and its physical distance from other events in this universe make it fairly standalone too if you’ve ever read a comic or watched a movie, TV show, or anime with a spaceship or giant monster in it.

Story: Chris Gooch Art: Oliver Ono Letters: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.3 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Street Sharks #1 is pure joy and entertainment, escape from the outside world comic

Posted on by
Street Sharks #1

Stephanie Williams, Ariel Medel, and Valentina Pinto bring back the 1990s cartoon Street Sharks for a new generation and medium in a power-packed launch issue. This comic is a love letter to cheesy catchphrases, wrestling holds, wanton destruction, and sibling love. It definitely mines some of the same things as the more, let’s just say, respected X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchises, but Street Sharks takes these ideas of kicking mutant criminal butt and helping a world that hates and fears you to 11. I think a lot of that is that walking, talking sharks are genuinely more terrifying than sexy humans (Or blue furries) and turtles.

Williams and Medel pace out Street Sharks #1 like an episode of a Saturday morning: a killer and no filler. There’s minimal backstory and talking sequences and plenty of Fission City-spanning mayhem. However, Ripster, Slammu, Streex, and Jab aren’t one-dimensional, and their fights against the villainous Seaviates brings out their personalities, interests, and relationships to the forefront. For example, Streex and Jab use an old trick they used to get out of their dad’s bear hug holds to get out of a tight situation. This establishes rapport and chemistry better than a long monologue about their origins.

As mentioned earlier, Street Sharks is mostly fighting, but it succeeds thanks to an onslaught of color from Pinto and creative layout choices from Ariel Medel beginning with a whirling dervish of a double page spread of the Street Sharks fighting the Seaviates before telling the comic’s story. Medel is great a simulating motion in this first salvo and understands the assignment with plenty of exaggerated character designs, expressions, and gestures. There’s more biting, punching, spearing, and creative uses of predatory fish abilities than a UFC fight in the Georgia Aquarium, and the variety in the enemies’ look and abilities keeps the battles fresh and not frozen. (Fish puns are so fun, guys!)

I love that Stephanie Williams and Ariel Medel show the Street Sharks straddling a line between traditional heroes and anti-heroes as they save a kid, but also obliterate Fission City in the process. They really need a Master Splinter for marine life in their lives, but science grad students Bends and Lena will do for now. In fact, these 2 brainiacs are the tenacious intellectualism to the over-the-top violence of the Sharks, and it’s cool to see a Black female scientist play such a pivotal role in the story without the plot making a big deal about it. Not every scientist has to be a nerdy white dude.

Street Sharks #1 is all about fun, action, and family and doesn’t get steeped in trying to deconstruct or be overly clever with the original property. The title evokes violent anthropomorphic marine animals wreaking havoc in an urban landscape, and Wiliams and Medel deliver this while having a relatable family dynamic and building to a bigger throwdown between the Sharks and Seaviates led by the eugenicist Dr. Paradigm. I never saw an episode of Street Sharks, but this is definitely how I expected an episode to play out from the clips and memes from the Internet. (Apparently, the show is available on the world’s greatest streaming service, Tubi.) This is my pure joy and entertainment, escape from the outside world comic, and I can’t wait to see more cool fighting moves and one-liners in upcoming issues.

Story: Stephanie Williams Art: Ariel Medel
Color: Valentina Pinto Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Mini Reviews: Comic Book History of Cocktails, Godzilla #2, Powers 25 #1, Red Hood #1, Absolute Batman #12

Posted on by
Absolute Batman #12

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

Comic Book History of Cocktails (Ten Speed Press) – Really interesting concept, but David Wondrich’s newness to the comics medium shows as his rambling text overwhelms Dean Kotz’s images. The sequences where fictional bartenders make historical cocktails are cute, and this could have worked as an illustrated recipe book. As a PBR, bourbon on the rocks, vodka cranberry (Especially at Goth clubs because it looks like you’re drinking blood.) swiller, maybe I wasn’t the target audience for this, but maybe worth a flip through if you’re a fancy cocktail drinker. Overall: 5.0 Verdict: Pass

Godzilla #2 (IDW Publishing) – Tim Seeley and Nicola Cizmesija‘s Godzilla series continues to have tons of moving parts and a large ensemble cast, but the heart of the series is the “chosen one” type figure Jacen, who seems destined to throw down with Godzilla. I love his interactions with his telepathic teammate Rumi, and how they symbolize Japanese and American attitudes about Godzilla as well as the world as a whole. However, Godzilla #2 isn’t all talking heads, and Cizemsija and colorist Francesco Segala serve up a freakish monster to give G-Force some grief and test Jacen’s abilities. The comic is a dark, slow burn, but still has some time for levity aka every Jet Jaguar shows up. Overall: 7.8 Verdict: Buy

Powers 25 #1 (Dark Horse) – Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming‘s Powers is back and still has the juice! There’s still the rapid fire dialogue and Alex Toth-meets-The Wire visuals, but this new series interrogates what it’s like for a universe filled with superheroes and also live streaming and ever changing laws . And it’s all told the POV of a rookie cop that has a history with Powers although some familiar faces from the previous series pop up and play key roles in Powers 25. I also enjoyed the series’ underlying them of why after all the technology and changes in the world, it still hasn’t gotten any better. It really resonates, and Bendis and Oeming set up one hell of a (grotesque) mystery. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy

Red Hood #1 (DC) – Due to the cowardice of DC Comics in their firing of its writer Gretchen Felker-Martin, Red Hood #1 is the first thread in a violent mystery saga that sadly won’t be fully unraveled. There’s a muscularity to Jeff Spokes‘ line work and crimson red palette, and his New Angelique has real character to it that matches Felker-Martin’s lyrical narration. I love how much inner turmoil she gives Jason Todd, and how she lets Spokes cook on the fight sequences as the bullets fly and bodies fall. Jason Todd is a cool, complex character ripe for this kind of genre story, and it’s sad that we’ll never see the end of this. Overall: 8.4 Verdict: Buy

Absolute Batman #12 (DC) – There’s an idea floating around that Batman created his villains, and Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, and Frank Martin take this idea literally in Absolute Batman #12. In the big picture of the series, this will probably be seen as a pivotal issue as Snyder and Dragotta channel Dante’s Inferno and give each member of Bruce Wayne’s friend group a contrapasso of their own. Although told mainly in flashback, the scenes of transformation of Oswald Cobblepot, Edward Nygma, and Harvey Dent are like infusions of psychic torture straight to the brain as Bruce almost reaches a breaking point. (Emphasis on almost.) Nick Dragotta’s art is powerful and extreme as ever from the opening subway chase with Batman and Killer Croc to a certain character packing heat in a way Rob Liefeld only dreamed of. This reckless, riverboat gambler Batman continues to be the car crash I keep returning to, and Absolute Batman #12 is no exception and takes the concept to eleven. Overall: 9.2 Verdict: Buy

Mini Reviews: Closer, Monster High: House Haunters #1, Adventures of Lumen N #1, Spider-Man ’94 #1, Bytchcraft #3

Posted on by
Closer #1

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

Closer (Image) – Closer #1 is the equivalent of a haunting pop single from one of your favorite artists, in this case, Kieron Gillen, Steve Lieber, and Tamra Bonvillain. They construct a universe that has gone to shit because a man’s relationship with a woman didn’t live up to the poetry of a Burt Bacharach song. There’s big Phonogram curse song energy to this issue as strange happenings dot its pages, and its sensible protagonist Marigold tries to make sense of what going on. I enjoyed the increasing frustration of the facial expressions Lieber gives in contrast to the idealized version of her from her ex. Sometimes, we don’t share the same connection with another person, and that’s not the end of the world, but it makes for an interesting comic. Overall: 9.1 Verdict: Buy

Monster High: House Haunters #1 (IDW Publishing) – A ScareBnB trip goes horribly awry in Ben Kahn, Sonia Liao, and Rebecca Nalty‘s Monster High: House Haunters #1. I love how this issue balances adorable art, witty jokes, and a genuinely terrifying situation. Seriously, this comic is laugh out loud funny, especially at a bit where this universe’s equivalent of a YouTube essayist makes some amazing puns on horror director’s names. The monstrous nature of the characters makes for some hilarious situations too, but especially as the comic reaches its final pages, Kahn and Liao inject some real suspense into the story. All in all, Monster High: House Haunters #1 is an enjoyable horror comedy comic for fierce fiends of all ages. Overall: 8.4 Verdict: Buy

Adventures of Lumen N #1 (Dark Horse) – James Robinson, Phil Hester, Marc Deering, and Jim Campbell‘s new series Adventures of Lumen N #1 starts out on its front foot with a little mystery and a lot of action. Its titular character, a young girl living in India at the turn of the 20th century, suddenly begins to figure out why she’s been trained in languages, ship navigation, and combat unlike her peers. This first issue establishes the premise of the series and is filled with the always lovely shapes of Hester with Robinson’s script oozing retro charm. I can’t wait to see more of Lumen and her mysterious grandfather’s relationship, which seems to be at the heart of the series. I’ve definitely seen comics similar to this one, but James Robinson and Phil Hester definitely have a special synergy, and I’m excited to see more angular, retrofuturism. Overall: 7.9 Verdict: Buy

Spider-Man ’94 #1 (Marvel) – J.M. DeMatteis, Jim Towe, and Jim Campbell‘s Spider-Man ’94 #1 is truly a bittersweet. There’s the sweetness of the bright colors and vibrant, yet cheesy in a 90s cartoon way banter between Spider-Man and Molten Man as well as the authentic emotionality of his interactions with Mary Jane, especially with how the animated series ended. But then there’s the bitterness of DeMatteis and Towe’s wholesale transposition of the spider totem part of JMS’ Amazing Spider-Man run, Morlun, and all. Morlun worked in the Spider-Verse so he might work here too, but he’s a personality-free villain, who just is evil for evil’s sake. I understand wanting to use a bad guy that didn’t exist during the original cartoon’s run, but Morlun and company ain’t it, chief. However, it’s nice to see Mary Jane and Peter in a mature, if not healthy relationship, and J.M. DeMatteis nails the voice of Christopher David Barnes’ Spidey so I’ll give the next issue or two a shot. Overall: 7.0 Verdict: Read

Bytchcraft #3 (Mad Cave Studios) – Aaron Reese, Lema Carril, and Bex Glendining take Em, Adri, and Michele out of the city and into the Sacred Green where they deal with beings beyond our comprehension. I love the blend of cosmological world-building and character interactions as Reese does an intriguing riff on Judeo-Christian concepts to set up the backbone of their universe. The tension between the coven is relatable for anyone with a longterm friend group that’s started to drift apart, but more apocalyptic. However, Bytchcraft #3 isn’t just yapping and has epic god vs god, magickal battle royales that Glendining’s majestic color palette elevates to epic levels. It’s Biblical literally and figuratively, but also bittersweet because magic always has a cost. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy

Batman #1 has high flying visuals, sleek designs, and a color palette that pops while not being afraid to probe its protagonist’s wounded psyche

Posted on by
Batman #1

The only constant is change. Except if it’s in Marvel or DC superhero comics published monthly that are “canon”, and then we only get the “illusion of change” according to the late Stan Lee. In Batman #1, Matt Fraction, Jorge Jimenez, and Tomeu Morey play with the idea of changing a character that’s been dealing with the trauma around his parents’ murder for 86 years, but they don’t swing for the fences like Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta did in last year’s Absolute Batman transforming the Dark Knight’s inciting incident, his relationship to his rogues’ gallery, and even his social class. Instead, they go for the solid base hit and poke at the status quo they’ve been given by their predecessors (Vandal Savage police commissioner/Jim Gordon beat cop, Alfred still dead, no Wayne Manor/yet cool gadgets) while telling a first chapter of an entertaining Batman story and switching up how some characters are portrayed (Killer Croc in this case) just a little bit.

Time will tell if he writes the character for 4 years, but in this very early going, Matt Fraction’s Batman reminds me a lot of his Invincible Iron Man run where he deconstructed the title character, dealt with his legacy and his story, and also crafted fresh, memorable moments like giving Pepper Potts her own armor as Rescue. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Batman #1 asks the question if someone can truly change using the title character and Killer Croc as case studies. Fraction and Jimenez answer with a solid “maybe” as Batman actually listens to a therapist for once in his dealings with Killer Croc in a touching moment reminiscent of a popular panel from fellow PNW-er Brian Michael Bendis and Nick Derington’s Batman Giant featuring Green Lantern and a prehistoric creature. There’s a build-up to a fight, but no punches are thrown, only a conversation had between a skin-shedding, potentially reborn-like-a-newborn-babe Killer Croc and the Batman Who Listens. I do love that Jimenez and Morey still flash one of Batman’s gadgets and use a composition that could work for a fight scene, which adds to the tension between violence and rehabilitation.

Speaking of Jorge Jimenez, his art makes everything dynamic and cool as hell with Tomeu Morey going for a deep neon palette. He used a similar aesthetic for his work with James Tynion on Batman, but there are some curveballs in the Batmobile and Killer Croc design. Plus Jimenez and Fraction leave room for nostalgia with homages to the Arkham Asylum video games (Or the late 1990s/early 2000s Batman comics era they were influenced by.) and The Dark Knight Returns. They create humor and subtext through TV screens and kickstart a low-boiling subplot reminiscent of the mutant gang, but quirkier. But flashy designs aside, Jorge Jimenez also draws moments that will stab at your psyche using a ghostly line for the voice/image of Alfred that is in Batman’s head as he drives the Gotham streets adding to his mental unstability. To quote a once and future foe of the Caped Crusader, Batman #1 isn’t afraid to get nuts, and the details in Jimenez’s depiction of Gotham create an overstimulating effect of a city with a corrupt police force and a protector who’s not as well-heeled as he used to be.

With the exception of (I don’t even think he’s an officer.) Gordon, Batman #1 is police-critical, which totally resonates in a world where ICE agents waylay people of color at highways, restaurants, places of worship, and apartment complex, and the president of the United States sends national guards to cities that didn’t vote for him under false pretense. The enemy in this issue is militarization and the private sector taking over an office that should serve the public. But Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez don’t explore this in a preachy way using high tech armor and gadget and superheroes and supervillains to help escape reality while also facing society’s problems. At this point, I’m too afraid to ask why Vandal Savage is the police commissioner, but it fits the overall tone of sci-fi despair in Gotham.

Batman #1 has high flying visuals, sleek designs, and a color palette that pops while not being afraid to probe its protagonist’s wounded psyche (The Alfred appearances!) and get away from a typical hero vs villain showdown. It’s not a status quo upending/everything changes #1, but Fraction and Jimenez definitely stack the deck against Batman with foes both physical and mental. The cool gadgets should help though.

Story: Matt Fraction Art: Jorge Jimenez
Colors: Tomeu Morey Letters: Clayton Cowles
Story: 7.7 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Mini Reviews: Catacomb of Torment #2, Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #2, Black Cat #1, Umbrella Academy: Plan B #2, Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #3

Posted on by
Black Cat #1

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

Catacomb of Torment #2 (Oni Press) – Catacomb of Torment #2 takes the actual horror of our current late capitalist reality and turns it up to 11 transforming it to the horror genre. In “Red Blend”, Evan Dorkin and Lukas Ketner go straight for the jugular taking shots at rich white men who have inherited all their wealth and exploit their workers while selling it for spare parts to private equity investor. Ketner is kind of the master of the reaction shot showing the protagonist Jud’s kind younger sister Grace get more and more horrified at his action until his comeuppance. Let’s just say you’ll never look at wine in the same way after reading this short story. Featuring a fashion illustration visual style from Fabiana Mascolo, her and Jeremy Lambert‘s “The Dressmaker” continues the anthology’s eat the rich vibe with an up and coming fashionista (over)matching wits with a boring rich guy. The fits are immaculate in this comic, and I love how they match the protagonist’s personality as Lambert and Mascolo dig into how women are treated differently depending on how they dress. The anthology wraps up with Matt Bors and Kano‘s “Hostile Architecture” where urban designer Desmond takes spikes on ledges, bars on benches, and sharp bits on subway turnstiles to a sadistic, high tech extreme. A series of panels where a grinding skateboarder goes flying made me gasp big-time, and the scenarios get even more and more extreme. I love the horror franchise that this story ends up being a riff on, and Kano’s art is a tortuous delight. If you like classic horror, hate capitalism, and maybe are just a little sick and twisted, then you’ll enjoy Catacomb of Torment #2. Overall: 8.6 Verdict: Buy

Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #2 (Marvel) – Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe continues to be too much fun thanks to Gerry Duggan, Javier Garron, Juann Cabal, and Paco Medina, whose art style blend seamlessly for some giant monster versus superheroes action. After a framing flash forward to 2099, his issue focuses on various scientific and magical ways to take out Godzilla, including Pym particles, the crimson bands of Cytorrak, and Thor riding Fin Fang Foom. Of course, these all fail, and the fight against the King of Monsters turns into a delay of the inevitable. I love that Duggan’s signature humor doesn’t go away during this mammoth-sized story with some of C-list supervillains reacting pricelessly to Godzilla destroying their favorite bar. Overall: 7.9 Verdict: Buy

Black Cat #1 (Marvel) – Felicia Hardy is trying to live a more heroic life in the new Black Cat series from G. Willow Wilson, Gleb Melnikov, and Brian Reber. Having a female writer on Black Cat does wonders for her characterization, and I love the insights into what makes her tick while she runs from the cops and supervillains, who have become more bold and dangerous since Spider-Man is dealing with something over in his book. On the visual side, Melnikov’s art is sexy and stylized, and he continues to have a real knack for fight choreography as Black Cat and the Lizard throw down in this one. His comedy chops are too as I got a laugh out of just seeing all the random heroes and villains in Night Nurse’s waiting room. Overall: 8.5 Verdict: Buy

Umbrella Academy: Plan B #2 (Dark Horse) – The conflict between our titular heroes and the Sparrow Academy in Umbrella Academy: Plan B #2 has some Justice League vs The Authority, but with that signature Gerard Way/Gabriel Ba/Dave Stewart quirkiness. Way and Ba’s gift for pitch black humor is still intact as demonstrated in a flashback of a Sparrow Academy training exercise (I definitely watched this past weekend’s English Premier League matches differently.), Klaus’ new status quo, and a raygun obsessed US president. The anti-fascist satire is on fire this issue as Way and Ba begin to expand the plot of the series while still having time to check in with the individual members of the Umbrella Academy. To be honest, I couldn’t pick anyone from the Sparrow Academy in a lineup except for their version of Space Boy. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy

Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #3 (DC Comics) – Krypto #3 is a touching, standalone story of heroism from Ryan North and Mike Norton. I love how Norton and colorist Ian Herring show the windswept winter landscapes that turn from idyllic to dangerous and progress the story through body language and context clues. Nothing is stronger than a bond between and kid and their pet, and Krypto #3 reinforces that while building up Krypto’s legacy as a hero in his own right. I love how this book is basically Superman: For All Seasons, but with Krypto. Overall: 9.5 Verdict: Buy

« Older Entries Recent Entries »