Tag David Marquez

A Lazarus Planet: Alpha Micro-Review – Sexuality on Display

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.***

Lazarus Planet Alpha, cover, January 2023, David Marquez, Alejandro SanchezTITLE: Lazarus Planet: Alpha
AUTHORS: Mark Waid, Gene Luen Yang
ARTISTS: Riccardo Federici, Billy Tan, Brad Anderson (Colorist), Sebastian Cheng (Colorist), Steve Wands (Letterer), Janice Chiang (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez & Alejandro Sanchez.
RELEASED: January 10, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue is gorgeously drawn by Riccardo Federici. Perhaps too well drawn in the case of Power Girl. Her sexuality is very much on display in this issue, and it…pulled focus. I can’t decide if that’s Federici accentuating it, or if that’s just her costume.

Supergirl’s newer costume, however, is great. The Girl of Steel actually stole the issue for me when she got pissed at a minion and (literally) clapped back.

I can’t say I’m super invested in this Lazarus Planet stuff. But this issue piqued my interest enough to bring me back for at least one more issue.

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

A Justice League #62 Micro-Review – Flash and…No Subtance?

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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.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Justice League 62, cover, 2021, David MarquezTITLE: Justice League #62
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V
ARTISTS: David Marquez, Xermanico, Ivan Plascencia (Colorist), Romulo Fajardo Jr., Josh Reed (Letterer), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Cover by Marquez & Alejandro Sanchez.
RELEASED: June 1, 2021

I’m liking how Naomi-centric Bendis’ Justice League run is, thus far. That said, much of this issue consists of a big fight between the League and Brutus, Bendis’ banter-spouting villain. So there’s not much of substance in this particular issue.

On the upside, we get a nice little character moment for Hippolyta, Wonder Woman’s mother, as she confides in the Flash.

The Justice League Dark back-up still does nothing for me. *sigh* Is it me? Did I do something wrong?

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Justice League #60

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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.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Justice League #60
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: David Marquez, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Josh Reed (Letterer)
RELEASED: April 20, 2021

Having “Bendis banter” in a Justice League book takes a little getting used to. But all in all I think Bendis is proving to be a good fit for the League, just like he was a good fit for Superman.

On that topic, David Marquez draws a hell of a Man of Steel. Pay attention to him in the group shots. There’s an earnestness to him that you don’t often see, but suits the character perfectly.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Justice League #59

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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.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Justice League #59
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis, Ram V
ARTISTS: David Marquez, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Josh Reed (Letterer) Xermanico, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: March 16, 2021

If you thought Brian Michael Bendis was going to fill Justice League with quippy “Bendis banter,” I’ve got news for you…you were right.

The best selling point I’ve heard thus far for this early portion of Bendis’ Justice League run is made in-issue by Green Arrow: New voices in the League. In this case, Black Adam (not Shazadam…yet!) and the title character from Bendis’ Naomi miniseries. There’s enough intrigue there to bring me back for more.

I really wish I cared about Justice League Dark. But I don’t. I just don’t. Sorry.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Batman, Bendis’ Superman Finale, Spider-Man, and More!

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***”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

TITLE: Batman: The Adventures Continue #16
AUTHORS: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini
ARTISTS: Ty Templeton, Monica Cubina (Colorist), Josh Reed (Letterer). Cover by Mirka Andolfo.
RELEASED: December 18, 2020

This issue and issue #15 are weird in that they essentially repeat a story from the New Batman Adventures episode “Double Talk.” Arnold Wesker, the Ventriloquist, tries to reform and ultimately fails. That’s a really strange thing to have happen, as these guys obviously worked on the old shows as well…

This story seems primarily like an excuse to put Harley and Ivy together. On the upside, we get a cool villain Christmas party at the Iceberg Lounge with plenty of cameos. Including, oddly enough, a panel where Captain Boomerang and Roxy Rocket are making out.

TITLE: Superman #28
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Ivan Reis, Danny Miki (Inker), Alex Sinclair (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Variant cover by Kael Ngu.
RELEASED: December 15, 2020

I’d love to know when Bendis’ run on the Superman books was originally supposed to end. Or if they even had an endpoint in mind. In the grand scheme of things, this feels like a fairly abrupt finale. But at the end of the day, Bendis did right by Superman. That’s more than a lot of writers can say. I respect him that much more for that.

Reis and the artistic team did too. There’s a beautiful panel in here of Lois looking lovingly at her husband. Amongst all the space alien grandeur in this issue, it’s an unlikely highlight.

TITLE: Power Rangers #2
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Matteo Scalera & Moreno Dinisio.
RELEASED: December 16, 2020

A neat issue, conceptually. Jason, Zack, and Trini against a bunch of space vampires. But this series is having trouble holding my attention even earlier than I anticipated. The foundations of a good book are there, but I think Power Rangers needs a stronger hook. Here’s hoping this book can up its game in a big way soon.

There’s a pretty cool splash page early in this issue. It’s just Jason posing with a sword. But between the pose, the framing, and the lighting, it’s got an epic feel to it that works really well.

TITLE: Spider-Man #5 (of 5)
AUTHORS: J.J. Abrams, Henry Abrams
ARTISTS: Sara Pichelli, Elizabetta D’Amico (Inking Assisant), Dave Stewart (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer). Cover by Olivier Coipel & Stewart.
RELEASED: December 9, 2020

This story was compelling enough, and the premise was enjoyable. Plus, Sara Pichelli was apparently born to draw Spider-Man. But I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it: The presence of the Iron Man characters took away from Ben Parker’s journey as Spider-Man. Especially here in this final issue. This was supposed to be a family story about Peter Parker, his son, and the passing of the proverbial Spider-Man torch. Instead, the waters got a little too muddied.

TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #112
AUTHORS: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz (Story), Sophie Campbell (Script)
ARTISTS: Jodi Nishijima, Ronda Pattison (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer)
RELEASED: December 9, 2020

Just when I think these TMNT issues can’t add any more depth, we get a story about a fight breaking out during an “I used to be a  human, but now I’m a mutant” support group meeting. Love it.

To help differentiate between the Turtles without their multi-colored bandanas, Ronda Pattison is giving them different skin tones. The IDW Turtles have had different skin tones since issue #1. But note they aren’t given such tones on this otherwise pretty cool cover.

TITLE: Star Wars #9
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Jan Bazaldua, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: December 9, 2020

You’d think a story about Lando and friends trying to break into a museum on Coruscant would be a lot more fun than this. But somehow this issue managed to bore me with it.

I’ve been on the brink of dropping this Star Wars title for a long time. This might have been the issue to push me over the edge. There’s a certain fun, a certain spark, that’s missing here.

TITLE: Suicide Squad #11
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Variant cover by Jeremy Roberts.
RELEASED: November 24, 2020

I’m not a Harley Quinn mark the way a lot of people are. But even I’ve got to admit: That’s an awesome cover.

In hindsight, this series was better than it had any right to be. As expected, Taylor leaves the door open to work more with the characters he created in Suicide Squad. He and Redondo are about to start a run on Nightwing. So I expect we might see them there.

In the end, this may go down as one of the more underrated runs Suicide Squad has ever seen.

TITLE: Batman/Superman #14
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Max Raynor, Alejandro Sanchez (Colorist), John J. Hill (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez & Sanchez.
RELEASED: November 24, 2020

“I’m calling for my Bat-spaceship to come get us.”

*cringe* That feels like a line out of a post-Wertham comic in the ’50s.

Still, while this story looks uninspired on the surface, it manages to be a decent amount of fun in its execution. A fairly interesting take on the composite Superman/Batman concept, with some fun art by Max Raynor and beautiful coloring by Alejandro Sanchez. I’ve seen much better. But in all fairness, it could have been much worse.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Power Rangers Double-Feature, Crossover, and More!

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***”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

TITLE: Power Rangers #1
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Variant cover by Jung-Geun Yoon.
RELEASED: November 11, 2020

There’s a really cool scene in here between Jason and Rocky, where they talk about the latter being the Red Ranger, but not the team leader. Parrott is so good at creating character moments for characters who were pretty thinly written to begin with.

That being said, Mortarino draws Rocky like…there’s no other way to put it…a whiny little bitch.

Adding Drakkon to this book is smart. Between BOOM’s two new Power Rangers titles, I suspect this is the one that’s going to have more trouble staying afloat, simply because the characters aren’t the iconic Power Rangers.

TITLE: Wonder Woman #766
AUTHOR: Mariko Tamaki
ARTISTS: Steve Pugh, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Pat Brosseau (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez & Alejandro Sanchez.
RELEASED: November 10, 2020

Tamaki is taking a page out of Greg Rucka’s playbook and blinding Wonder Woman. For a few issues, at least. I’ll say this much: It makes for a pretty cool fight sequence in this issue.

It seems like they’re wrapping up the story of the reluctant Wondie/Maxwell Lord team, which is a shame. For my money, the concept had a lot more mileage to it. It had become something I looked forward to seeing with each new issue.

I know I’m a broken record, but I still miss Mikel Janin on this book…

TITLE: Darth Vader #7
AUTHOR: Greg Pak
ARTISTS: Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer). Cover by Daniel Acuna.
RELEASED: November 11, 2020

Boy, some of this is really dumb.

I like the idea of the Emperor giving Vader a sadistic test by leaving him to die on Mustafar. But early in the issue we once again backtrack to a location from the prequels, and literally see Nute Gunray’s corpse. Is that all this series has to offer? “Hey! This is something you remember from the movies!”

This character, and this universe, deserve better.

TITLE: Detective Comics #1030
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Bilquis Evely, Mat Lopes (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Variant cover by Lee Bermejo.
RELEASED: November 10, 2020

I think this is the first time I’ve seen Evely’s art. It’s got a cool sketchy look to it that doesn’t always go well with Batman’s world. But paired with Lopes’ colors, it works. Evely really gets to flex in this issue, drawing much of Batman’s surrogate family.

Tomasi is looping Damian into things, which bodes well for the book’s immediate future. His work with Bruce and Damian on Batman & Robin is some of his best. I’m interested to see if he can recreate some of that magic.

TITLE: Champions #2
AUTHOR: Al Ewing
ARTISTS: Simone Di Meo, Bob Quinn, Federico Blee
RELEASED: November 11, 2020

The division among civilians over Kamala’s Law, the law against teen superheroes, is really compelling. Mostly because it’s such an unsettling reflection of the actual division we’re seeing in the United States. It’s a tremendous example of how superhero comics can reflect what we see in the real world.

We open up this issue in a “reeducation center” that’s straight up chilling. It’s actually downright dystopian. I can’t remember the last time a comic book left me this unsettled.

TITLE: Superman #27
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: Ivan Reis, Danny Miki (Inker), Alex Sinclair (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Cover by Tony Daniel.
RELEASED: November 11, 2020

Superman spends a small portion of this issue trying to avoid hitting the big scary alien. Imagine that. A superhero trying to dodge conflict with someone who looks and talks differently. God damn, Superman is so the hero this world needs right now. While I may not be in love with his work over on Action Comics, make no mistake about it, Bendis gets Superman. That’s so important, as the vast majority of writers don’t.

Reis, Miki, and Sinclair have been killing it, giving us some of the best art we’ve seen in Superman in years. Don’t sleep on them here.

TITLE: Crossover #1
AUTHORS: Donny Cates, Mark Waid (Story Edits)
ARTISTS: Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe (Colorist), John J. Hill (Letterer). Cover by Shaw & Dave Stewart.
RELEASED: November 4, 2020

There’s a character in this book wearing a shirt that says “Wertham was right.” That’s a pretty cool Easter egg for people up on their comic book history.

Crossover is a book about comic book characters coming to life in the real world. All of them. It’s a silly concept, but the book treats it pretty seriously. As such, we have a series that people with a passion for the comic book medium will likely enjoy, but more casual fans may find a little too out there. Heck, I’m passionate about comics and it’s pretty far out even for me…

TITLE: Mighty Morphin #1
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Marco Renna, Walter Baiamonte (Colorist), Katia Ranalli (Color Assistant), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Variant cover by Daniele Di Nicuolo.
RELEASED: November 4, 2020

The way Parrott writes Zordon in this issue is a departure from how we’re used to seeing him. Less a wise sage and more of a friendly uncle. It’s a risk that doesn’t pay off, in my opinion.

So wait…Drakkon’s not the Green Ranger? I’m confused…

I prefer Marco Renna’s work on this book to what we’re seeing in Power Rangers, particularly when it comes to action sequences. His panels with the Green and White Rangers are particularly strong, and the colors really pop. I’m hopeful this book will keep building momentum going forward.

TITLE: Batman #102
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Carlo Pagulayan, Carlos D’Anda, Danny Miki (Inker), David Baron (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey. Variant cover by Francesco Mattina.
RELEASED: November 3, 2020

Tynion says he came up with this new Ghost-Maker villain while he was writing back-up stories for Zero Year. That counts as a strike against him, in my book…

I’m not crazy about the name Ghost-Maker. But he’s pretty cool nonetheless. He’s got a cool costume, and a nice ninja aesthetic.

Carlos D’Anda pops up for a few pages in this issue to draw a scene where Harley Quinn gets a new apartment. It feels randomly dropped in. But I’m assuming that means Harley is sticking around in Batman for the near future.

TITLE: Star Wars #8
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Ramon Rosanas, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: November 4, 2020

I’m in awe of just how much detail some artists put into these starships and the machinery. It’s a credit to not only to the talent of the artists they get on these Star Wars books, but the devotion they have to the franchise.

The writing, on the other hand, has been fairly stale across the entire line. In this book’s case, Commaner Zahra, a disciple of Grand Moff Tarkin, is a fairly interesting villain. But this just isn’t a terribly interesting story. She’s after Leia. Big whoop.

On the bright side, it’s not another story about a damn lightsaber…

TITLE: Young Justice #20
AUTHORS: Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker
ARTISTS: Scott Godlewski, Gabe Eltaeb (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Cover by John Timms & Eltaeb.
RELEASED: November 3, 2020

Teen Lantern gets a nice spotlight here. Now if only this weren’t the final issue.

It’s an honest-to-God crime that this series is ending at only 20 issues. It’s one of the best teenage superhero books I’ve read in a long time, in that it delivers on both the action front and the teen angst front. I dig the expansive roster, as well. Sort of a Young Justice League Unlimited feel. If there’s any justice in this world, this team will be back with a vengeance.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Three Jokers, Marvels X, Spider-Man, and More!

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***”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

TITLE: Three Jokers #2
AUTHOR: Geoff Johns
ARTISTS: Jason Fabok, Brad Anderson (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: September 29, 2020

Three Jokers is much more about Jason Todd than I imagined it would be. That’s not a bad thing.

This issue contains a romantic moment between Jason and Barbara Gordon. That is a bad thing.

Johns tries to tie the events of this story back to the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, which I find forced. I’d much rather spend those pages exploring the fact that there are, y’know, three Jokers!

Still, Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson present us with one of the most beautiful Batman books we’ve seen in a long time.

TITLE: Marvels X #5
AUTHOR: Alex Ross (Story), Jim Krueger (Script)
ARTISTS: Well-Bee, Cory Petit (Letterer). Cover by Ross.
RELEASED: September 30, 2020

There’s a page in here that’s particularly poignant, given the times we’re living in today. Our main character is talking to the Falcon about Captain America.

Falcon says it’s hard to be Cap’s friend at the moment, given all the anger in the country. As a hero, he has to worry about controlling his fellow citizens, as opposed to protecting them.

“It’s not a democracy anymore. It’s not about different voices. It’s about one voice. An angry, frightened one.”

Powerful stuff.

TITLE: Wonder Woman #763
AUTHOR: Mariko Tamaki
ARTISTS: Carlo Barberi, Matt Santorelli (Inker), Alejandro Sanchez (Colorist), Pat Brosseau (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez & Sanchez.
RELEASED: September 29, 2020

First and foremost, Liar Liar is a really stupid name for a villain. Better that she just go by Emma Lord.

Indeed, we found out last issue that Maxwell Lord has a daughter. I can’t say I saw that coming.

Carlo Barberi’s art is growing on me. He turns in some really dynamic and attractive work here. But I still can’t help but miss Mikel Janin, who’s not an easy act to follow for anybody.

This Diana partnership is growing on me too. Enough to get me to start picking up Wonder Woman again.

TITLE: Spider-Man #4
AUTHORS: J.J. Abrams, Henry Abrams
ARTISTS: Sara Pichelli, Elisabetta D’Amico (Inking Assistant), Dave Stewart (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer). Cover by Olivier Coipel.
RELEASED: September 23, 2020

On the whole, I’m liking this book. Especially the “sketchy” looking art, which is different than a lot of what Sara Pichelli has put out over the years. I really only have one major issue: Tony Stark.

Iron Man pulls focus. It’s a rule that’s osmosed into the comics from the movies. Thus, Tony’s presence in this story, even as a supporting character, takes some much-needed emphasis off this new Ben Parker character. We’ve only got one issue left in this mini. All the more reason to keep this a Spider-Man story.

TITLE: Suicide Squad #9
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Variant cover by Travis Moore & Alejandro Sanchez.
RELEASED: September 22, 2020

We get a guest appearance from Superman in this issue, and I’ve gotta say, Redondo draws a hell of a Man of Steel.

The decision to make Ted Kord a villain in this series is an interesting one. He’s not a character that long-time readers would be inclined to hate, or even dislike.

It feels like Taylor wanted to do more in this series with Deadshot and his daughter. Here’s hoping he gets another chance somewhere down the line

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Iron Man #1, Star Wars, and More!

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***”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

TITLE: Iron Man #1
AUTHOR: Christopher Cantwell
ARTISTS: Cafu, Frank D’Armata (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer). Cover by Alex Ross
RELEASED: September 16, 2020

The premise of this book is that Tony Stark is going back to basics. Good ol’ fashioned super-heroing. He does this in his classic costume, which is pretty cool. Cafu and D’Armata give us an amazing page of him “suiting up.”

Cantwell’s dialogue, particularly between Iron Man and Hellcat, is pretty funny. It may get to be grating as the issues go on. But for now I dig it.

Cool use of sign language in this issue. It’s only one panel. But it’s memorable.

TITLE: Seven Secrets #2
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Daniele Di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte & Katia Ranalli (Colorists), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer)
RELEASED: September 16, 2020

This second issue is basically a big exposition dump. But there’s some interesting stuff in here. Especially what basically amounts to a ninja school for youngsters. Then the emotional stakes raise when we start to see our main character, Caspar, interact with his parents.

In a perfect world, we could have spent the entire first arc of the book on the content in this issue. Whether the speed-through was worth it or not depends on the quality of the story they end up telling.

Meanwhile, Daniele Di Nicuolo remains at home in a story about youngsters doing martial arts.

TITLE: Star Wars #6
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Jesus Saiz, Arif Prianto (Co-Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by R.B. Silva and Guru-eFX
RELEASED: September 16, 2020

Six issues in, this book finally starts to get interesting here. We finally finish the ridiculous business of finding Luke an intermediate lightsaber, and then we jump right into something cool at an old Jedi temple.

Story notwithstanding, I certainly can’t complain about Jesus Saiz and Arif Prianto’s art. Saiz captures the likenesses of the actors very well. This issue in particular has a wonderful closing splash page.

TITLE: Giant-Size X-Men: Storm
AUTHOR: Jonathan Hickman
ARTISTS: Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer)
RELEASED: September 16, 2020

Emma Frost steals this issue within the first few pages. Storm laments the fact that she might be dying, and Emma lays into her for being dramatic. “After all, we’re just going to resurrect you, dear.”

I love when even the characters themselves know how death works in comics.

Actually, we wind up returning to the “Why not just die and come back?” question later. It’s the most interesting part of the story, but we don’t dive into it to any sort of satisfaction. By and large this book, like the other Giant-Size X-Men books, is very missable.

TITLE: Darth Vader #5
AUTHOR: Greg Pak
ARTISTS: Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letter). Cover by InHyuk Lee.
RELEASED: September 16, 2020

Some of the art in this book is really awkward. Case in point, a flashback panel where we see Obi-Wan cut Anakin’s limbs off in Revenge of the Sith. The figure rendering itself is fine. But some of the posing is just weird.

Thankfully, they do not in fact exhume Padme’s corpse in this issue. That’s where it looks like it’s going for a few pages…

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

Weekly Comic 100s: “Joker War,” Billionaire Island, Fantastic Four, and More!

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***”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

TITLE: Red Hood: Outlaw #48
AUTHOR: Scott Lobdell
ARTISTS: Brett Booth, Danny Miki (Inker), Arif Prianto (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letterer). Cover by Dan Mora & Tamra Bonvillain.
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

These “Joker War” tie-ins are giving me New 52 flashbacks. When “A Death in the Family” was running in Batman, it seemed like they couldn’t crank out enough tie-in issues.

But as far as Joker-themed tie-in issues go, this is a pretty decent one. It’s suitably focused on Jason, pits another Bat-family character against him, and incorporates a location that’s been a mainstay in the book.

On the downside, they kill off a character for no good reason. One that I thought had a decent fan following too…?

TITLE: Detective Comics #1026
AUTHOR: Peter Tomasi
ARTISTS: Kenneth Rocafort, Daniel Brown (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

There’s a panel on the opening page of this issue that’s markedly similar to an Alex Ross painting of Batman standing between stone gargoyles. Anyone else notice that? Or am I just an Alex Ross buff?

Actual exclamation in this issue: “Murderize him!”

I’m not the biggest Kenneth Rocafort fan. But in this atmosphere, Batman vs. Killer Croc in the Gotham sewers, he’s at home. His work here is enjoyable.

Tomasi, who has run hot and cold on Detective, is on his game too. This is the best issue this series has seen in many weeks.

TITLE: Batgirl #48
AUTHOR: Cecil Castellucci
ARTISTS: Robbi Rodriguez, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Andworld Design (Letters). Cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli.
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

I’ve been away for awhile (mostly because I don’t like Batgirl’s current costume)…since when does Commissioner Gordon call his daughter “Babs?” That feels weird to me.

After reading this issue, I feel bad sleeping on Cecil Castellucci. She writes a damn good Barbara Gordon. Robbi Rodriguez and Jordie Bellaire are a great team too. There’s a really nice fluidity to the work here. And as this issue happens to be the first of a new story, I just might stick around.

For all the good it’ll do. This series ends with issue #50.

TITLE: Billionaire Island #5
AUTHOR: Mark Russel
ARTISTS: Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry (Colorist), Rob Steen (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 26, 2020

The art by Steve Pugh and Chris Chuckry has highlighted Billionaire Island for me. Almost every expression is exaggerated to the point of caricature. But in a dark comedy you can do that.

I’m not sure who that’s supposed to be on the cover. I mean, it’s the President of the United States, obviously. But I thought Billionaire Island had cast a Kid Rock stand-in as POTUS. This guy looks more like Carrot Top with blond locks. *shudders*

I wouldn’t say this book has maintained the same level of interest from me, but it’s still worth a look.

TITLE: Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1
AUTHOR: Mark Waid
ARTISTS: Neal Adams, Mark Farmer (Inker), Laura Martin (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 26, 2020

This book gave me not-so-nice flashbacks to Adams’ recent Batman work. That’s a shame, as Adams is legitimately an innovator who’s earned his place in American comic book history. His art looks great here (though Thing’s face looks a little awkward), and Laura Martin’s colors pop beautifully. I just wouldn’t hire Adams as a writer.

Thankfully, you won’t find many writers (if any) better than Mark Waid. So Adams is in good hands for what is apparently his first-ever full-length FF story.

TITLE: Suicide Squad #8
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Daniel Sampere, Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

Deadshot has a puppy named Dogshot? That is absolute perfection, and needs to be in both the new video game and the new movie.

Given both the announcements we just got at DC Fandome, it’s surprising this book is on the recent list of casualties over at DC. It’s a shame for so many reasons, not the least of which is the effort the creative team have put into the creation of new characters. Case in point, this issue, in which we dive into some backstories. Hopefully we can bring them back at some point.

TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #108
AUTHORS: Sophie Campbell (Story), Ronda Pattison (Script), Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz (Story Consultants)
ARTISTS: Nelson Daniel, Pattison (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 26, 2020

This issue brings up something I never, ever thought we’d have in a TMNT story. With Mutant Town now existing essentially it’s own city within a city, our heroes are now pondering if they should form their own government and police force. Are the Turtles getting into politics? By God, some things are too evil for even the boys in green to take on…

For whatever reason, since issue #101 the Turtles have been wearing clothes more. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.

TITLE: Wonder Woman #761
AUTHOR: Mariko Tamaki
ARTISTS: Carlo Barberi, Matt Santorelli (Inker), Alejandro Sanchez (Colorist), Pat Brosseau (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez & Sanchez.
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

Barberi does a fine job on this issue. To the point that I wouldn’t mind him being the regular artist. But because he drew the last two issues, I quickly found myself missing Mikel Janin.

As for Tamaki, she gives Maxwell Lord a great “history is controlled by the victors” speech. Diana refers to him as the villain, and she talks about the Justice League controlling “the flow of justice in this world.” In the context of the story it’s very convincing, and a great character moment for Max.

Then I got to the last page, and my heart broke.

TITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #53
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrott
ARTISTS: Moises Hidalgo, Walter Baiamonte & Katia Ranalli (Colorists), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Jamal Campbell
RELEASED: August 26, 2020

I’m diggin’ the designs of these new Dark Ranger suits. Their identities seem like a missed opportunity to introduce new characters. But then again, this series is ending soon. That seems to be a theme this week…

This is the first issue where Moises Hidalgo impressed me. He gets a nice, long battle sequence between our good and evil Ranger teams. So he’s able to really spread his wings, and it shows.

Grace (Remember her?) makes a truly stupid suggestion in this issue. So stupid, in fact, that I’m sure it’ll come to pass.

TITLE: Action Comics #1024
AUTHOR: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTISTS: John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson (Inker), Brad Anderson (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

There are a lot of Super-people in this book. We’re up to five. If the “Superman family” gets too big, it pretty much makes the Justice League obsolete, doesn’t it? Plus, they spend part of the issue flying over Metropolis, scanning it with X-Ray vision. Creepy much? We’ve also got all the usual problems with John Romita Jr’s sloppy art.

Why am I still buying this book?

TITLE: Batman/Superman #11
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Alejandro Sanchez (Colorist), John J. Hill (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez.
RELEASED: August 25, 2020

This story about the Ultra-Humanite and Atomic Skull is essentially three issues of filler. But it’s good filler, I’ll give it that. Clayton Henry and Alejandro Sanchez turn in work that crackles with that great comic book superhero energy.

There’s a subplot in here about Superman not asking for Batman’s advice before he revealed his true identity to the world. It’s a little too far in the background for my taste, though. I’d have liked to see them explore that with some of the page space they used for textbook hero/villain dialogue with the Ultra-Humanite.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: TMNT Double-Feature, Wonder Woman #759, and More!

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***”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

TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #107
AUTHOR: Sophie Campbell (Story), Ronda Pattison (Script), Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz (Story Consultants)
ARTISTS: Nelson Daniel, Pattison (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer). Variant cover by Eastman.
RELEASED: July 29, 2020

The Turtles have an “old days” moment here where they head down to the sewers and fight a bunch of Mousers. It’s just a couple of cutesy lines. But it does serve as a reminder of just how different this series is from the standard TMNT status quo. Instead of four Turtles striking from the shadows, we’ve got five Turtles living openly in a town full of mutants.

As they roam the sewers, the Turtles mix it up with what basically amounts to an undersea monster. It’s played like a horror movie. Kinda fun.

TITLE: TMNT Annual 2020
AUTHOR: Tom Waltz
ARTISTS: Adam Gorham, John Rauch & Michael Garland (Colorists), Shawn Lee (Letterer). Variant cover by Kevin Eastman and Fahriza Kamputra (Colorist).
RELEASED: July 29, 2020

This annual mainly serves as a check-in with our villains. Most notably Shredder, who we haven’t heard much from since issue #100. They color his costume purple and silver, like the old cartoon. I won’t complain about that…

As the cover indicates, they’re doing a symbiosis story with Krang and Leatherhead. Yet another example of how this series continues to bring these characters into uncharted waters. Given how much has been done with the Ninja Turtles universe, it’s pretty amazing to see how much hasn’t been done.

TITLE: Wonder Woman #759
AUTHOR: Mariko Tamaki
ARTISTS: Mikel Janin, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Pat Brosseau (Letterer). Cover by David Marquez.
RELEASED: July 28, 2020

So we’ve got Mariko Tamaki, who wrote Supergirl: Being Super, and Mikel Janin, one of the stars of Tom King’s Batman run. On paper, this new team should be great.

Their first issue is pretty ground level. Lots of flowery narration about what a hero is, what heroes do, etc. My only big problem is that Tamaki gives in to the temptation of putting Wondie in an everyday situation, shopping for furniture, and making it seem foreign to her. She’s been in “man’s world” for so long, yet she has no idea how to shop for furniture? Yeah, right.

TITLE: Darth Vader #3
AUTHOR: Greg Pak
ARTISTS: Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon (Colorist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer). Cover by Inhyuk Lee.
RELEASED: July 29, 2020

How many times have we seen Darth Vader cross paths with characters from the prequels and then get all feelingsy? Enough that I rolled my eyes when Captain Typho showed up in this issue.

However, as someone who read Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston, I appreciated the inclusion of Sabe and another character from that book. It’s a nice little tie-in that doesn’t take anything away from the story being told here.

TITLE: Batman: The Adventures Continue #9
AUTHORS: Alan Burnett, Paul Dini
ARTISTS: Ty Templeton, Monica Cubina (Colorist), Joshua Reed (Letterer). Cover by Paolo Rivera & Joe Rivera.
RELEASED: July 30, 2020

In this issue we finally get into Jason Todd’s origin story, his connection to Batman, etc. It’s not drastically altered from the comics. But it’s altered just enough to distinguish it. I liked what I saw.

Frankly, I hope they portray Jason Todd as having been with Batman for only a short time. In the DCAU I’d like to see him portrayed more as a tragically failed experiment than a lost son. Again, it would be different. But not so much that it’s unrecognizable. That’s the formula that seems to work best.

TITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #52
AUTHOR: Ryan Parrot
ARTISTS: Moises Hidalgo, Walter Baiamonte (Colorist), Katia Ranalli (Color Assistant), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer). Cover by Jamal Campbell.
RELEASED: July 29, 2020

We’re still following Jason, Zack, and Trini, despite the events of this issue occurring after “The Power Transfer.” Not a bad thing, but not what I expected either. Especially since they’re getting their own book in a few months.

I’m not sure how I feel about the way Jamal Campbell posed Aisha on the cover. It’s like she’s showing off her butt or something…

We introduce a civilian character in this issue who worries about the holding the Rangers accountable for their actions. Sort of a “don’t trust the Power Rangers” mindset. Very curious to see where that goes.

TITLE: Batman/Superman #9
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson
ARTISTS: Clayton Henry, Alejandro Sanchez (Colorist), John J. Hill (Letterer)
RELEASED: July 28, 2020

In almost 20 years, I can count the number of Ultra-Humanite stories I’ve read on one hand. So this story is cool for me in that sense.

This issue, and this team, have a really nice energy. Joshua Williamson is often hit-or-miss. But he, Clayton Henry, and Alejandro Sanchez make for a winning combination with these characters. Not a perfect combination per se, but a winning one.

TITLE: Suicide Squad #7
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran (Inker), Adriano Lucas (Colorist), Wes Abbott (Letterer). Variant cover by Jeremy Roberts.
RELEASED: July 28, 2020

Our Tom Taylor original characters get a new team name in this issue: The Revolutionaries. Not bad. I don’t know how much of a life they’ll have out from under the Suicide Squad name. But still, not bad.

For at least one issue, Taylor brings Floyd Lawton’s young daughter into the sandbox and gives her a a bow and arrow and a hero name: Liveshot. She almost reminds me of a kid version of the Kate Bishop Hawkeye. Interesting…

TITLE: Billionaire Island #2
AUTHOR: Mark Russell
ARTISTS: Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry (Colorist), Rob Steen (Letterer)
RELEASED: July 2, 2020

It seems that in addition to the absurdly rich, Billionaire Island is home certain rich, famous, and disgraced. We get an actual Kevin Spacey cameo in this issue. Yes, I wretched. But it’s also a funny little moment.

We haven’t gotten into the bloodshed yet. But the book does crank up the action a little bit with this issue. Something tells me it’s going to be worth the wait.

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