***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Raising a glass to Dan DiDio, who’s gone from DC as of last week.

The way some people are talking about this, you’d think he’d died or something. That’s obviously not the case. But it does feel like the end of an era. DiDio had been with DC for 18 years, starting as a vice president in 2002, then moving up to executive editor in 2004, before becoming co-publisher in 2010.

Coincidentally, 2002 was also the year I started buying comics on a weekly basis. So for yours truly, DiDio is particularly synonymous with DC. I remember reading his old “DC Nation” columns as far back as my college years, God help me.

So here’s to you, good sir. Thank you for the memories.

TITLE: Leviathan Dawn #1
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Alex Maleev, Joshua Reed (Letterer)
RELEASED: February 26, 2020

Despite the reveal of Leviathan’s identity being a letdown, Event Leviathan was a fun read. So I’m happy to see Bendis and Maleev back at it.

This issue sees the reformation of a group longtime DC readers will be familiar with. (The cover makes it pretty obvious.) The lineup is an odd assortment. Not characters you’d expect to see working together. But strange teams often make for compelling books.

The only person I might remove from the group is the Question. He’s better as a lone wolf.

TITLE: Star Wars #3
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Jesus Saiz, Arif Prianto (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by R.B. Silva and Guru-eFX.
RELEASED: February 26, 2020

This whole “going back to Cloud City” thing is still really stupid. Not quite as stupid as Luke getting a between-movies lightsaber. But close.

But we do get pretty great scene in this issue. One of our villains, Commander Zahra, reveals that the crew of her Star Destroyer consists of those who lost someone close to them on the Death Star. She frames the destruction of the space station as a massive tragedy caused by an act of cruelty from the other side. It’s much like Leia frames the destruction of Alderaan. It’s a really nice switch in perspective.

TITLE: Detective Comics #1020
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy (Inker), Brad Anderson (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Variant cover by Lee Bermejo.
RELEASED: February 26, 2020

The other night a co-worker of mine, about 22-year-old, sees this cover. She then asks me: “Why does Batman look so fancy?” Oye. Kids…

For yours truly, Brad Walker’s stock is rising. Particularly as a Batman artist. He’s not a favorite of mine, per se. But he’s on his way.

Tomasi is doing a religion-themed story with Two-Face. We don’t get into the meat of it. Just a little scene as the issue ends. But I’m a sucker for that kinda stuff. So I’m anxious to see what the “Church of the Two” is about.

TITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #46
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Daniele Di Nicuolo. Walter Baiamonte (Colorist). Katia Ranalli (Color Assistant), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Jamal Campbell.
RELEASED: February 26, 2020

In an issue that features the return of the Ranger Slayer (the cover pretty much gave it away) and the Gravezord, a very tense “sparring session” between Tommy and Jason, and a fight in an asteroid field, Zack and Adam steal the show with a single page of heart-to-heart conversation.

Sadly, via his Twitter Daniele Di Nicuolo has announced he’s ending his Power Rangers run soon. That’s a big loss, as he’s arguably the best artists BOOM! has had on this line. Not sure what issue is his last, but #50 seems as opportune a time as any.

TITLE: Action Comics #1020
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson (Inker), Brad Anderson (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Variant cover by Lucio Parillo.

Ugh. They dragged Young Justice into this?

Yeah, Action Comics is a little bit of a mess right now. Primarily because Romita is on a cold streak with these last several issues. But also, look at all the heavy hitters we’ve got in this story. The Justice League, the Legion of Doom, Leviathan, and now Young Justice. Metropolis is being decimated. Yet the high stakes aren’t coming across. It almost feels like business as usual. We also have Batman in another big dumb robot suit, which doesn’t help.

But next issue, the fight drags on. And I do mean drags.

TITLE: X-Men/Fantastic Four #2
AUTHOR: Chip Zdarsky
ARTISTS: Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson with Karl Story and Ransom Getty (Inkers), Laura Martin (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer).
RELEASED: February 26, 2020

What’s surprising me is how political this book is. Not in a real-world sense. But we’ve got the X-Men on their little island nation of Krakoa, and the fallout that comes from the Fantastic Four “invading.” Then we’ve got Doctor Doom on Latveria, and the risk of starting a war with Krakoa. The scope seems so much bigger than you’d think it would be.

Valera Richards refers to Doctor Doom as Uncle Doom? Well, it’s not like she was ever going to have a normal childhood…

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