*”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Nothing too in-depth here. Just straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Undiscovered Country #1
AUTHORS: Scott Snyder, Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Daniele Orlandini, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Matt Wilson. Lettering by crank!
RELEASED: November 6, 2019

This is one of those stories that’s just close enough to being possible that it’s…unsettling.

The United States of America walled itself off from the rest of the world 30 years ago, with no foreigners coming in or out. Now, as war and disease ravage the rest of the world, an American representative mysteriously invites diplomats behind the wall. What they see is…unexpected.

While it’s got a lot of the standard exposition you need in a first outing, I highly recommend this one . It’s worth the price alone for that first two-page shot of the border wall…

TITLE: Legion of Superheroes #1
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Ryan Sook, Wade Von Grawbadger (Co-Inker), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 6, 2019

I’ve never been able to get into the Legion of Superheroes. Long story short: Too many characters to keep track of, and not enough reasons for me to care about any of them.

This first Legion issue is gorgeous, and there are a few cool ideas in it (most notably what’s happened to the Earth). We even have Superboy as our fish-out-of-water main character. But for me, it ultimately suffers the same fate as every other take on this world. They really needed a strong hook with this first issue. I didn’t see one.

TITLE: Young Justice #10
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: John Timms, Nick Derington, Gabe Eltaeb and Dave Stewart (Colorists), Wes Abbott (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 6, 2019

While Naomi is advertised on the cover, she appears on exactly one page and says nothing. Just sayin’…

Still, Bendis fares much better with this group of teen heroes. Ten issues in, Young Justice is still a lot of fun. This month, Tim Drake gets a new hero name (“Drake”) and costume that the verdict is still out on for me. But at least now he’s got his own identity, independent of his history as Robin.

In addition, our main story is juxtaposed with an origin story for Jinny Hex, which adds a grounded, almost gritty texture to her.

TITLE: Batman #82
AUTHOR: Tom King
ARTISTS: Mikel Janin, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by David Finch and Alex Sinclair.

This cover has a weird gimmick to it. A thin plastic with the logo and the explosions, with the shot of Bane on the inside page. But said page is just another cover. So…what was even the point?

Thankfully, Mikel Janin is back as Batman and Catwoman take on Bane. It’s got all the quips we’ve come to expect from Tom King at this point. Frankly, it’s gotten too over the top for me.

While ambitious, “City of Bane” is starting to feel padded and drawn out. Keep in mind, we’ve got three issues to go.

TITLE: Lois Lane #5
AUTHOR:Greg Rucka
ARTISTS: Mike Perkins, Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist), Simon Bowland (Letterer)
RELEASED: November 6, 2019

The opening pages of this issue are awesome, as Lois talks to another passenger on a plane. Rucka plays devil’s advocate about “fake news.” Later, he actually dives into what terms like “off the record,” “on background,” and “deep background” mean. As a former journalist, I love that stuff.

While Lois Lane is a great read, I admit I’m having trouble keeping track of what the central mystery actually is. The murder of a journalist sparks Lois and Renee Montoya’s investigation into a high-level government conspiracy. Still, they’ve got me coming back for more, and that’s what matters.

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