Tag Clayton Henry

An Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #3 Miro-Review – Doing More

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

Adventures of Superman Jon Kent 3, cover, May 2023, Clayton Henry, Marcelo MaioloTITLE: Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #3
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Cover by Henry & Marcelo Maiolo.
RELEASED: May 2, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

By and large, I don’t like the story of the Injustice: Gods Among Us game. Particularly, what it does to Superman and Wonder Woman as characters. That said, if you can buy that two of the greatest and most moralistic heroes in the world can become dictators, this is a pretty good issue from a character standpoint.

Tom Taylor drops in a great reference to something said in the first issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El about why Superman doesn’t “do more” for the world. I like that connection, and hope it gets explored more in the coming issues.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@Yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter and TikTok.

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2 Micro-Review – Compassion and Weakness

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

Adventures of Superman Jon Kent 1, cover, April 2023, Clayton Henry, Marcelo MaioloTITLE: Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Cover by Henry & Marcelo Maiolo
RELEASED: April 4, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue does a great job making Ultraman look like a despicable bad guy. It doesn’t amount to a great deal by the end, though…

Taylor writes gives Jon a great line here: “You think compassion is a weakness? I can’t think of anything weaker than caring only for yourself.”

I’m digging the look of this Red Tornado/Lois Lane hybrid character they’ve created. I’m hoping we see more of her.

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

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1 Micro-Review – The Death of Supermen

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

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

Adventures of Superman Jon Kent 1, cover, March 2023, Clayton HenryTITLE: Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #1
AUTHOR:  Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Colorist). Cover by Henry & Marcelo Maiolo. 
RELEASED: March 7, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Apparently Jon doesn’t have a cape anymore. That kinda sucks. Superman should have a cape.

The Earth didn’t move for me on this one. Nor do I expect it to, as I’m not a fan of the Injustice game. That’s not to say this story, about Jon Kent traveling the multiverse to find the person that’s killing various different iterations of Kal-El, doesn’t have potential.It just starts a little flat for my tastes. But given Tom Taylor’s obvious history with the character, I’m willing to give it some time.

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

An Action Comics #1050 Micro-Review – Back to Normal

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

Action Comics 1050, cover, December 2022, Steve BeachTITLE: Action Comics #1050
AUTHORS: Philip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Mike Perkins, Clayton Henry, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Cover by Steve Beach.
RELEASED: December 27, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue undoes what might have been the biggest longterm effect of Brian Michael Bendis’ work with Superman’s world. It’s not necessarily surprising, as we pretty much knew it wasn’t going to last anyway. In effect, things are back to normal for Superman and Clark Kent.

Perry White has a minor stroke/heart episode in this issue. It makes you wonder, if Perry is so old and frail, how is he able to run The Daily Planet? As someone who’s worked as a journalist, if you think that’s not a stressful job, think again.

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

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Green Arrow #1 Micro-Review – Better Together

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

TITLE: Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Green Arrow #1
AUTHORS: Stephanie Phillips, Dennis Culver
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Nik Virella, Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer). Cover by Henry& Maiolo.

RELEASED: October 11, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue’s feature is supposed to be about Green Arrow, with a back-up that’s about Green Arrow and Black Canary as a couple. But in truth, both stories are more or less about Ollie and Dinah. So they may as well have told one larger story about the two of them, as opposed to a larger one and a smaller one.

Artistically, both stories look great. But from a character insight perspective the back-up is stronger, as Pariah learns that he’s better off imprisoning Ollie and Dinah together than apart…

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

A Superman: Son of Kal-El #13 Micro-Review – Death and Dreamer

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

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

Superman Son of Kal-El 13, cover, 2022, Travis Moore, Tamra BonvillainTITLE: Superman: Son of Kal-El #13
AUTHORS: Nicole Maines, Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo & Matt Herms (Colorists), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Cover by Travis Moore & Tamra Bonvillain.

RELEASED: July 12, 2022

Dreamer doesn’t get the most dynamic debut I’ve ever seen. But she intrigues me enough that I want to see more. There’s a lot to be said for that.

This issue has a “death of the Justice League” fantasy (not to be confused with the “Death of the Justice League” storyline). It’s fine. But when you’ve been reading comics as long as I have, you know that when you’ve seen one of these sequences, you’ve pretty much seen them all. Not much to write home about.

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

A Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual Micro-Review – A Silly Game

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

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

Superman Son of Kal-El Annual 2021, cover, John TimmsTITLE: Superman: Son of Kal-El 2021 Annual
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Steve Pugh, Clayton Henry, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Steve Buccelato (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Cover by John Timms, Pugh, & Fajardo Jr.

RELEASED: December 7, 2021

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I don’t like when superheroes act chummy with their villains. Case in point, Superman playing a game of chess with Lex Luthor in this issue. Even by superhero standards, it’s silly. Plus, the metaphor is beyond obvious and Tom Taylor is a better writer than that.

On the up side, we get a pretty cool flashback sequence with Superman, Lex, and the Justice League that feels classic and cool. Especially with Romulo Fajardo Jr’s colors. It’s actually reminiscent of an episode of the Justice League cartoon.

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

A Shazam! #4 Micro-Review – Lightning and Exposition

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Shazam 4, cover, 2021, Clayton HenryTITLE: Shazam #4
AUTHOR: Tim Sheridan
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer).
RELEASED: October 19, 2021

Considering this is a finale, there’s an awful lot of talking and exposition up front. But that can be forgiven if you plan on sticking around for what this mini is setting up over in Teen Titans Academy. On its own, however, these four issues only stand up so-so.

Clayton Henry’s work is consistently a joy. He’s got what I consider to be an animated and cartoony style. But at the same time, he knows his way around an imposing monster. He’s a tremendous fit for superhero comics in general.

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

A Shazam! #2 Micro-Review – The Finest Casino in Hell

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Shazam 2, cover, 2021, Rafa Sandoval, Alejandro SanchezTITLE: Shazam #2
AUTHOR: Tim Sheridan
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Cover by Rafa Sandoval & Alejandro Sanchez.
RELEASED: August 17, 2021

Reading this mini thus far, and reflecting back on the brief run the Geoff Johns book had, I’m starting to appreciate that the magic and fantasy elements in Shazam’s stories. You can do a lot with him that wouldn’t work as well with, for instance, Superman.

In this issue, for instance, Billy Batson dresses up in a nice suit and goes to what is essentially the finest casino in all of hell. I like the creativity there. This is turning out to be a nice companion to Teen Titans Academy.

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

A Shazam! #1 Micro-Review – An Elective Course

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

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

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Shazam 1, cover, 2021, Clayton HenryTITLE: Shazam #1 (of 4)
AUTHOR: Tim Sheridan
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Marcelo Maiolo (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: July 20, 2021

Underplayed in Teen Titans Academy has been that one of the students is none other than Shazam, whose powers have been malfunctioning. This four-issue mini by Academy author Tim Sheridan is a nice way to zoom in on this Billy Batson story without having it pull focus in the main book.

So far, this feels more like an Academy story than a Shazam story, as we see a lot of Billy interacting with his peers at school than doing supehero stuff himself. Academy readers should be pleased. As should fans of Clayton Henry’s highly expressive, animated art style.

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