Comic Books/Graphic Novels – Primary Ignition

A Robin 2021 Annual Micro-Review – Robin in Love…or Not?

Posted on 12/03/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Robin Annual 2021
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Roger Cruz, Victor Olazaba (Inker), Luis Guerrero (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer). Cover by Jorge Corona & Guerrero.
 RELEASED: November 30, 2021

A very well written and drawn, but mostly missable annual that dives into the backstory of some of our supporting characters.

See how it says “Robin in love?!” on the cover? I was hoping this issue would dive head-first into that. Has Damian ever had a love interest? I don’t think he has…

Williamson continues to give Connor Hawke more care and page time than he’s had in decades. Apparently his time with the Justice League is once again canon? I dunno. It’s DC. Check back next week and it might be out of continuity again.

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A Teen Titans Academy #8 Micro-Review – Buncha Bullies!

Posted on 12/01/202112/01/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Teen Titans Academy #8
AUTHOR: Tim Sheridan
ARTISTS: Mike Norton, Hi-Fi (Colors), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Cover by Rafa Sandoval & Alejandro Sanchez.
 RELEASED: November 30, 2021

I actually came away from this issue disappointed in some of the new characters, i.e. the Academy students. They steal something from another student, and then when they’re caught they refuse to give it back. Buncha bullies is what they look like…

I was pleasantly surprised to see Mike Norton’s name on this issue. I’ve enjoyed his work since his days on Green Arrow/Black Canary.

So Wally West is the official, canonical Flash again, huh? That’s interesting. He shows up here, and the only downside is that we’re reminded of Heroes in Crisis.

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Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

A Black Panther #1 Micro-Review – Hitting the Ground Running

Posted on 11/27/202112/01/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Black Panther #1
AUTHOR: John Ridley
ARTISTS: Juann Cabal, Federico Blee (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Letterer). Cover by Alex Ross.
 RELEASED: November 24, 2021

A strong first outing that’s largely about change. We’ve got T’Challa adjusting to Wakanda’s switch to a parliamentary government and his new (?) role as leader of the Avengers. John Ridley hits the ground running.

When Marvel or DC put out a new series for one of their pillar characters, I typically judge it based on how accessible it is to new readers. To that end, Black Panther #1 works pretty well. Even as someone who doesn’t read T’Challa’s adventures on a regular basis, I just might stick around for this one…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

A Hulk #1 Micro-Review – Bruce Banner…Madman?

Posted on 11/25/202112/01/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Hulk #1
AUTHOR: Donny Cates
ARTISTS: Ryan Ottley, Frank Martin (Colorist), Cory Petit (Letterer)
 RELEASED: November 24, 2021

So…aren’t we supposed to like Bruce Banner? It looks like this series is going to portray him as a mad scientist type for the foreseeable future. It’s almost like they’re going for a World War Hulk vibe, but without the sympathy for our title character.

This issue makes multiple references to some big event happening with Hulk in El Paso. But what exactly happened is never explained. A little bit of exposition on that front would have been nice.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

A Deathstroke Inc. #3 Micro-Review – Deathstroke on a Unicorn?!?

Posted on 11/24/202111/24/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Deathstroke Inc. #3
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Howard Porter, Hi-Fi (Colors), Steve Wands
 RELEASED: November 23, 2021

Last time we were in space. This month we’re in medieval times, with Deathstroke on the cover wearing knight type armor and riding a unicorn. My theory about Williamson using this book as an excuse to do batty, off the wall stuff definitely has validity…

Pro: Deathstroke fights Cheetah in this issue. That’s a fight we don’t get to see often, if ever.

Con: Deathstroke defeats 100 henchmen off-panel. Kinda lame.

Also lame: Black Canary now has a canary type symbol on her chest. Not unlike the Batman insignia.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

A Robin #8 Micro-Review – The Connor Hawke Show

Posted on 11/24/202111/24/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Robin #8
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Gleb Melnikov, Max Dunbar, Hi-Fi (Colors), Troy Peteri (Letterer). Cover by Simone di Meo.
 RELEASED: November 23, 2021

Most of this issue consists of a big fight between Damian and Connor Hawke. It’s pretty good, and puts Hawke over stronger than we’ve seen in years.

It’s looking like our supporting cast for this island story will be sticking around for a little while. That pleases me. Particularly in the case of Hawke and Ravager.

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Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

A Superman ’78 #4 Micro-Review – The Superman III That Could Have Been…

Posted on 11/24/202111/23/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Superman ’78 #4 
AUTHOR: Robert Venditti
ARTISTS: Wilfredo Torres, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Dave Lanphear (Letterer). Cover by Brad Walker & Nathan Fairbairn.
 RELEASED: November 23, 2021

Superman ’78 feels very much in line with Superman II. Specifically, the Richard Donner cut. In both stories, Clark gets a taste of a different sort of life. In the movie, it’s life without super powers. Here, it’s life as a member of a Kryptonian society. In that sense, Venditti’s script offers us a great consistency.

Take that, along with Torres’ excellent renderings of the characters, and Venditti’s spot-on takes on Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, and Superman ’78 feels like it could have been Superman III. All things considered, that’s probably the best compliment it can receive.

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Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

A Batman #117 Micro-Review – The End of a Run

Posted on 11/22/202111/23/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Batman #117
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV, Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad
ARTISTS: Jorge Jimenez, Jorge Corona, Tomeu Morey (Colorist), Sarah Stern (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer) Becca Carey (Letterer). Variant cover by Jorge Molina.
RELEASED: November 16, 2021

With this being Tynion’s last issue on Batman, I feel pretty confident saying he had a good run. Although, he didn’t end on the strongest note. “Fear State” ran a couple issues too long. But he had a lot of cool ideas, and really did right by Scarecrow. He turned in something to be proud of.

It speaks volumes that the best part of these last few issues of Batman, one of DC’s biggest and most lucrative books, has been the preview content for Batgirls. I’ve got high hopes for that series.

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Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews

The Joker #9 Micro-Review – A Funhouse of Ideas

Posted on 11/15/202111/15/2021 by Rob Siebert

TITLE: The Joker #9
AUTHORS: James Tynion IV, Sam Johns
ARTISTS: Stefano Raffaele, Rosi Kampe, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Marissa Louise (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer) Ariana Maher (Letterer). Cover by Guillem March & Arif Prianto.
RELEASED: November 9, 2021

The scope of this story has widened significantly. Beyond Joker and Gordon, we’ve now got Vengeance (i.e. Lady Bane), a bizarre cloning facility, the Court of Owls, and more. It’s clear Tynion has a lot of ideas here. I just hope he gets a chance to explore them all to their fullest.

Is it weird that after last issue I wanted Gordon and Vengeance to have a fling? Yes. I’m going to say yes it is weird. But you certainly wouldn’t have seen it coming.

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Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Micro-Reviews, Power Rangers

A Mighty Morphin #13 Micro-Review- Getting Faces Right

Posted on 11/13/202111/13/2021 by Rob Siebert

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: Mighty Morphin #13
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Marco Renna, Walter Baiamonte (Colorist), Sara Antonellini & Katia Ranalli (Color Assistants), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by InHyuk Lee.
RELEASED: November 10, 2021

Great cover by InHyuk Lee. Not just because of the coolness with Zedd’s staff, but the rendering of Billy/David Yost’s face.

I tend to say that if an artist can’t get Darth Vader’s face mask right, then it ruins a big portion of the book. The same can be said for Lord Zedd. Thankfully, Marco Renna gets it right here in a really cool scene at the moon palace between Zedd and one of the Eltarians.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.