Tag Romulo Fajardo Jr

Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface #1 Micro-Review – Getting Cute with Clay

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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.***

Batman One Bad Day Clayface 1, cover, February 2023, XermanicoTITLE: Batman – One Bad Day: Clayface #1
AUTHOR: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
ARTISTS:  Xermanico, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer)
RELEASED: February 21, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue gets cutesy at certain points, with Basil Karlo working on movies based on The Killing Joke, and then the Grey Ghost from Batman: The Animated Series. Actually, this issue reminds me a lot of a B:TAS episode.

All in all, this is pretty solid. Definitely one of the better One Bad Day issues. It dives in the bitter actor/artist side of Clayface as he tries to get his big break as a performer. It all goes about the way you’d expect. But that isn’t a bad thing. Xermanico and Fajardo also make it look great.

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

The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5 Micro-Review – Those Around the Clown

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.***

The Joker the Man Who Stopped Laughing 5, cover, February 2023, Carmine Di GiandomenicoTITLE: The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #5
AUTHOR: Matthew Rosenberg
ARTISTS: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Tom Napolitano (Letterer)
RELEASED: February 7, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

As was the case with James Tynion IV’s Joker series, with The Man Who Stopped Laughing I find myself more interested in the characters around the Joker than the clown himself. Most specifically, the Red Hood’s quest to finally end the Joker once and for all. To me, that’s much more interesting than this faux Joker story we’re in the middle of.

These Rosenberg/Francavilla backups continue to be bizarre and surreal. In this issue, the Demon Etrigan almost calls Joker the C-word, which I’ll admit is kind of hilarious…

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

The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #4 Micro-Review – Sick Kid Jokes

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.***

The Joker the Man Who Stopped Laughing 4, variant cover, January 2023, Lee BermejoTITLE: The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #4
AUTHOR: Matthew Rosenberg
ARTISTS: Carmine Di Giandomenico, Francesco Francavilla, Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Nick Filardi (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer). Variant cover by Lee Bermejo.
RELEASED: January 3, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This issue turned me off early on. The main story takes place in a hospital, and we see a group of kids in what is presumably a cancer ward. So, as this is a Joker comic, we get a lot of sick kid jokes. That’s not really my cup of tea.

These Rosenberg/Francavilla back-ups continue to be weird as hell. But they’re also genuinely amusing and funny. Case in point, this one sees Joker swallow a bunch of mud, then vomit up a mud creature that he and his henchmen have to chase around.

See what I mean? Weird.

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

A Superman: Son of Kal-El #18 Micro-Review – Superman vs. Twitter?

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.***

TITLE: Superman: Son of Kal-El #18
AUTHOR: Tom Taylor
ARTISTS: Cian Tormey, Ruairi Coleman, Scott Hanna (Co-Inker), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Dave Sharpe (Letterer). Cover by Travis Moore & Tamra Bonvillain.

RELEASED: December 13, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We learn in this issue that Red Sin, Jon Kent’s new enemy, has been posting hateful stuff about him on social media. Does that mean we’ve got Superman fighting a Twitter troll? Hey, seems like a perfectly despicable villain to me. Especially after all the fake outrage that was generated on social media after the revelation that Jon was bi.

The Justice League are rebuilding Jonathan and Martha Kent’s house when we open the issue. Martha wonders if the Justice League should be prioritizing them, and Wonder Woman replies that they are Justice League. I love that.

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

A Sword of Azrael #3 Micro-Review – A Hero’s Mental Anguish

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.***

Sword of Azrael 3, cover, 2022, Nikola Cizmesija, Romulo Fajardo Jr.TITLE: Sword of Azrael #3
AUTHOR: Dan Watters
ARTISTS: Nikola Cizmesija, Marissa Louise (Colorist), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer). Cover by Cizmesija & Romulo Fajardo Jr.

RELEASED: October 4, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

There’s a great page in this issue that depicts Jean-Paul Valley’s inner struggle with Azrael. The line work is great. But what really makes it pop are Marissa Louise’s colors. She gives  us a blaze of clashing hues that wonderfully depict our hero’s mental anguish.

Speaking of anguish, we see some dead bodies in this issue that have been hacked up by Azrael’s flaming sword. Call me a sick man, but I kind of like that. It shows us there are consequences when he lights up that sword and starts going to town.

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

A Batman #111 Micro-Review – Harley (Almost) Ruins the Moment

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

Batman 111, cover, 2021, Jorge JimenezTITLE: Batman #111
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Jorge Jimenez, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Tomeu Morey (Colorist), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 3, 2021

There’s a hot spread in this issue of Batman, Ghost-Maker and Harley Quinn. Though Harley almost ruins it by making a crack about being a member of the Bat-family. *sigh* I still maintain she has no place there…

We find out in this issue that a villain is operating from Arkham Asylum, which has been shut down thanks to a Joker gas bombing. Even in Gotham City, how that happens is beyond me. If I’m Batman, I’ve got that place under 24/7 surveillance for that very reason.

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

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

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

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.

A Joker #3 Micro-Review – Wrong Turns

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

TITLE: The Joker #3
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV, Sam Johns
ARTISTS: Guillem March, Mirka Andolfo, Arif Prianto (Colorist), Romulo Fajardo Jr., Tom Napolitano (Letterer). Variant cover by Gary Frank.
RELEASED: May 11, 2021

The main story in Joker takes a couple of turns in issue #3 that I’m not too fond of at first glance. The first is that it rehashes The Killing Joke, which is a trick that’s beyond tired at this point. The second is bringing Jim Gordon and the Joker together too soon. I was hoping to see the Gordon’s manhunt continue for another one or two issues.

Still, the book is still on track. And there is plenty of intrigue in the Jim Gordon and Joker team-up we’re about to see…

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

Weekly Comic 100s: Batman #108

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

Batman 108, cover, 2021, Jorge JimenezTITLE: Batman #108
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Jorge Jimenez, Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Tomeu Morey (Colorist), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist) Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: May 4, 2021

This issue got a nice little sales bump out of the debut of Miracle Molly, whose wardrobe looks like it might have come out of Batman Beyond had the show been made in the ’80s.

She makes a nice first impression though, educating Batman/Matches Malone about the philosophy and values of the Unsanity Collective. Tynion writes a lot of really poignant  dialogue for her.

One nitpick: Molly figures out Matches Malone and Batman are the same person thanks to something pretty obvious and easy. Even on a reduced budget, Batman’s tricks shouldn’t be so easy to see through.

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

Weekly Comic 100s: The Joker #2

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

TITLE: The Joker #2
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV, Sam Johns
ARTISTS: Guillem March, Mirka Andolfo, Arif Prianto (Colorist), Romulo Fajardo Jr., (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer) Ariana Maher (Letterer). Cover by March & Tomeu Morey.
RELEASED: April 13, 2021

In two issues, The Joker has become the most interesting thing James Tynion IV is writing right now. It’s more interesting than his Batman run. I say that despite not really caring much about Punchline’s back-up feature.

Last time I compared this book to Mindhunter. But because of the Gotham City influence, these first two issues have also felt a little like Gotham Central. And God help me, it just occurred to me that book came out almost 20 years ago.

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