A Green Lantern #1 Micro-Review – Back to Basics

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

Green Lantern 1, cover, May 2023, XermanicoTITLE: Green Lantern #1
AUTHORS: Jeremy Adams, Philip Kennedy Johnson
ARTISTS: Xermanico, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer), Montos, Adriano Lucas (Colorist)
RELEASED: May 9, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue references specific songs by both Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones. I like me a good classic rock soundtrack.

This is very much a “back to basics” approach to a Green Lantern book. Hal Jordan is our star, we’re back in Coast City, he’s back at Ferris Air, etc. Nothing wrong with that. Hopefully it proves to be a good jumping-on point for newbies.

Not sure if John Stewart is getting the same approach with his back-up feature. But that certainly seems to be the case thus far. Gotta love a man who takes care of his mother…

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A Nightwing #103 Micro-Review – The Computers in Hell

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

Nightwing 103, cover, April 2023, Bruno RedondoTITLE: Nightwing #103
AUTHORS: Tom Taylor, C.S. Pacat
ARTISTS: Travis Moore, Vasco Georgiev, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer), Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira (Inker). Cover by Bruno Redondo & Lucas.
RELEASED: April 18, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

There’s a point in this issue that’s pretty ridiculous even by comic book standards. Nightwing and the Titans have journeyed to hell, and are searching for a demon’s collection of soul contracts. They’re told he has a record-keeping computer inside a tower. Because demons from hell are very proficient with computers, apparently…

What’s more, we then see Cyborg rooting through said computer electronically. Apparently hell needs to update its computer system, as this thing appears to be from the ’80s.

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A Detective Comics #1070 Micro-Review – A Question of Anger

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

Detective Comics 1070, cover, March 2023, Stefano RaffaeleTITLE: Detective Comics #1070
AUTHORS: Ram V, Simon Spurrier
ARTISTS: Stefano Raffaele, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer), Caspar Wijngaaard, Steve Wands (Letterer)
RELEASED: March 28, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

By and large, I’m still having trouble getting invested in Detective Comics these days. And considering this has been the book’s direction for many months now, I’m doubting that will change any time soon.

There is, however, a decent passage in here where Bruce wonders if the anger and rage he feels as Batman are what define him as a person, and if he truly needs his darkness to function as Batman. That’s more interesting than virtually anything Detective has given us for awhile now.

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A Nightwing #102 Micro-Review – Detective Superman

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

TITLE: Nightwing #102
AUTHORS: Tom Taylor, C.S. Pacat
ARTISTS:  Travis Moore, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira (Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Cover by Bruno Redondo.
RELEASED: March 21, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Continuing the pattern from last issue, this one feels a little bit like an appetizer for the upcoming Titans series, which Tom Taylor is also writing. Nothing wrong with that in the grand scheme of things. Though I’ll be glad if/when things get back to business as usual.

C.S. Pacat’s backup with Nightwing and Jon Kent stole this issue for me, despite me not being enamored with how Jon is drawn. We get a little bit of Dick mentoring him on the ins and outs of detective work. That’s cool to see.

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A Detective Comics #1069 Micro-Review – Friends and Comrades

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

Detective Comics 1069, cover, February 2023, Evan CagleTITLE: Detective Comics #1069
AUTHORS: Ram V, Simon Spurrier
ARTISTS:
Dexter Soy, Stefano Raffaele, Miguel Mendonca, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer), Caspar Winjgaard, Steve Wands (Letterer). Cover by Evan Cagle.
RELEASED:
February 28, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

These back-up stories we get in Detective Comics are hit-or-miss for me. This month we start a new one centered around Mr. Freeze. Thankfully, it looks like it’s a hit. Especially when it comes to Caspar Winjgaard’s art.

Meanwhile, Ram V is gradually adding a newish dimension to Batman’s relationship with Jim Gordon, expanding on their relationship as friends and comrades. While his larger story isn’t landing for me, his take on the Batman/Gordon dynamic is interesting.

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

A Nightwing #101 Micro-Review – The Glad King

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

Nightwing 101, cover, February 2023, Bruno RedondoTITLE: Nightwing #101
AUTHORS: Tom Taylor, C.S. Pacat
ARTISTS:
Travis Moore, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer), Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira (Inker). Cover by Bruno Redondo. 
RELEASED: 
February 21, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I got a little lost on this one.  Am I supposed to know who the king of Vlatava is…?

You guys see that horror flick Smile, last year? Said king takes a page out of that movie’s book as far as villainous features are concerned. Whether on the page or on film, it’s damn unnerving.

This feels a little more like a Titans issue than a Nightwing issue. To an extent I suppose that’s inevitable, what with the reemphasis the Titans are seeing these days. It’s not the worst thing in the world, so long as the book remains Nightwing-centric.

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A Nightwing #99 Micro-Review – A Feel-Good Bat-Book

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

TITLE: Nightwing #99
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Bruno Redondo, Geraldo Borges, Caio Filipe (Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Cover by Redondo.

RELEASED: December 20, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This feels like a set-up issue. As in, what happens here is meant to set up whatever’s coming our way in future issues of Nightwing. In that sense, I’m definitely intrigued.

What’s consistently been interesting to me about this Taylor/Redondo run on Nightwing is that it’s largely become a feel-good title. It has a tone and feel more akin to, say, a Superman book. As it’s theoretically a book in the Batman family, you wouldn’t necessarily expect that. But the approach has helped Nightwing stand out from the crowd. So it’s clearly working. It’s certainly fitting around the holidays.

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

A Nightwing 2022 Annual Micro-Review – A Little Training…

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

Nightwing 2022 Annual, cover, November 2022, Eduardo PansicaTITLE: Nightwing 2022 Annual
AUTHORS: Tom Taylor, Jay Kristoff, C.S. Pacat
ARTISTS:
Eduardo Pansica, Inaki Miranda, Julio Ferreira (Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Cover by Pansica, Ferreria, & Lucas.

RELEASED: November 29, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

In addition to an origin story for Heartless (shown on the cover), this issue gives us a really cute story about Haley/Bitewing. Quality stuff.

But my favorite of the three short stories we get in this Annual is about Nightwing doing a little training with Jon Kent. By and large, I think their friendship is a little bit forced. But C.S. Pacat, Inaki Miranda, and the creative team still manage to tell us an insightful story about Nightwing’s teaching methods compared to the one he grew up with under Batman.

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A Nightwing #98 Micro-Review – Oh, Thank God…

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

Nightwing 98, variant cover, 2022, Brian StelfreezeTITLE: Nightwing #98
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS:
Daniele Di Nicuolo, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Variant cover by Brian Stelfreeze.

RELEASED: November 15, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Oh, thank God. They’re not actually going back to the Ric Grayson stuff, as the end of last issue suggested. It was a set-up for the introduction of Nite-Mite, Nightwing’s equivalent to Bat-Mite. (I might have gone with the name Mite-Wing. But Nite-Mite works too.)

Daniele Di Nicuolo has guest artist duties this month. He shows off his versatility by going suitably cartoony for the Nite-Mite stuff, and then also being able to depict scary demons straight from hell (literally). At the same time, Adriano Lucas offers a nice consistency. Great looking issue.

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A Nightwing #97 Micro-Review – The Return of [Redacted]

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

TITLE: Nightwing #97
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS:
Bruno Redondo, Geraldo Borges, Caio Filipe (Co-Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer)

RELEASED: October 18, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The ending of this issue really surprised me. We see the return of a character from an era on this Nightwing title that I didn’t think we were going to touch on again. At least not so soon. I kind of thought we were all just going to pretend like it never happened.

On another note entirely, this issue sees Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon have intimate relations while a mobster sits in the next room. Kinda hot, though I doubt Batman would approve.

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