Welcome to this week’s new comic book reviews! I’m not able to review everything that comes out each week, but I try to write a quick blurb about some of the biggest titles from Marvel, DC, Image, BOOM!, and more.

As always, I hope you enjoy any book you picked up this week! Let me know what you read and which ones were your favorites!

MARVEL COMICS

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #38

Spider-Man and Rek-Rap’s team-up adventure concludes here as the Gang War crossover event awaits us and this was another fun and exciting entry from Zeb Wells, even if it was more silly than serious. Rek-Rap Storytime Adventures were a fun plot tool used throughout this arc and I loved the Insidious Six’s desire to rid themselves of Rek-Rap’s stories even if it meant helping the good guys. Just a great bit of fun all around, including the interactins between Rek-Rap and Peter Parker as they made their escape by crawling through Re-Po’s insides. The Gang War backstories continue to feel completely out of place within these issues, but perhaps we’ll be looking back on them as helpful set up once we get into the main crux of the event itself.

Rating: 7.5/10

CARNAGE #1

I was intrigued when it was announced this new Carnage run from Torunn Grønbekk was receiving a Parental Advisory warning, and the initial setup of the issue asking who would worship a god like Carnage offered a fascinating thesis. However, the issue fails to adequately begin answering that question and instead focuses on the gruesomeness of Carnage’s murderous march to godhood. Some of the most obscene panels veered towards Saw-style torture porn that was off-putting. Pepe Pérez art felt like a traditional Spider-Man comic, but Erck Arciniega’s color palette was too subtle and washed-out to match the tone of the book. There’s plenty of room to craft an interesting story here if the creative team can come together and focus on telling us an interesting story rather than trying to shock us with showing the limitless bounds to Carnage’s brutality.

Rating: 5/10

IMMORTAL X-MEN #17

Each issue of Immortal X-Men since this year’s Hellfire Gala has felt a lot like an episode of Game of Thrones. There are so many different stories included, individual issues/episodes aren’t able to always do each one justice. For this issue, the Exodus, Hope, Jean, & Apocalypse scenes and the Mother Righteous vs. Destiny scenes were the weakest ones for me for different reasons.

The Exodus/Hope/Jean/Apocalypse story felt too rushed and was weighed down by a head-scratching narrative decision. Fans who didn’t read the Jean Grey miniseries are likely missing out on a lot of context around Jean’s current mental state which Kieron Gillen shows us, without much background, in this latest issue of Immortal X-Men. That miniseries helps this issue’s narration make a lot more sense, though I was still left questioning Gillen’s decision to leave so much room for ambiguity and confusion if someone reading this issue hadn’t invested in that miniseries — it’s practically gibberish on it’s own. Mother Righteous began as a caricature villain and has only gotten worse. Here scenes are painful to read due to how shallow her character remains this long after being introduced. Her arrival to this series has been one of the worst parts of the current arc.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the interactions between Xavier and the remnants of Mr. Sinister left within his psyche. It was a very tense and meaningful conversation between the two former Quiet Council members, with ample moments of one-upmanship which were very well done. It took one of the worst moment in mutant history to bring it out, but I love the new mentality Charles has adopted in his current state. It’ll be very interesting to see how he fits into Krakoa’s final days and I wouldn’t be shocked if we end up seeing him make a very meaningful sacrifice before things wrap up.

Juan José Ryp handled a lot of X-Title art this week and I can’t say it landed well in this issue. It’s too bright and modern, making it unable to convey the necessary emotion needed to help land some of the heaviest moments of the issue. There were also some inconsistencies from panel to panel that took me out of the moment.

Rating: 8/10

INCREDIBLE HULK #6

Nic Klein is back on art after a two-issue break and it was like reconnecting with an old friend after some time apart. He wasn’t gone long, but Klein’s designs have been as much of a reason why this series has been so successful as Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s story. In his return issue, we’re treated to a two-page montage where Bruce transforms into Hulk that is one of the wildest, most gruesome interpretations of the transition that I have ever seen and it worked brilliantly. It is exactly the reason why Klein has been a revelation on this book. It appears we’re getting a detour from the Eldest’s story in this mini arc featuring a new Spirit of Vengeance, but I trust Johnson to get us back on track in short order.

Rating: 9/10

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #12

Tony Stark’s plans are finally starting to come together and the inclusion of Riri Williams in this issue was a great way to add some additional complexity to the former billionaire. They have such a great chemistry together and Duggan does an amazing job showing how Riri’s presence can humanize Tony and allow him to re-focus his plans on why they are so important. The Riri vs. Emma showdown was also so fun to read and Ig Guara’s art really shined throughout those panels. It’s not a true X-Men title, but this has been such a major part of the Fall of X arc and honestly, one of the more consistently interesting ones outside the core 3 (X-Men, X-Men Red, Immortal X-Men).

Rating: 9/10

WOLVERINE #39

Logan continues to live in his own little world crafted by Benjamin Percy as he goes on his episodic tag-team adventures which feel completely removed from Fall of X. Taking one of the most popular and recognizable mutants out of the main titles will never make sense to me, but hey what do I know? As an individual issue there was nothing wrong here, but it is entirely skippable if you want to be budget conscious and only read issues that move the Fall of X needle. I thought Juan José Ryp’s art here was a lot more effective compared to his work on this week’s Immortal X-Men. His designs allowed Black Panther’s new costume to shine.

Rating: 6/10

UNCANNY SPIDER-MAN #4

Spurrier’s assassination of Mystique’s character continues with the former Quiet Council members continuing to be reduced to a vengeful mother out for blood. I don’t know who at Marvel allowed this to happen to such a beloved character, but shame on them. If this is really the set up for X-Men Blue: Origins, I may need to skip it. I don’t need to see Mystique continue to be presented as nothing more than a broken down mother.

I still don’t find Spurrier’s version of Kurt to be compelling or thought-provoking and I continued to be completely uncomfortable with the Kurt/Silver Sable “romance.” Those two together are all sorts of ick. The real Spider-Man is the best part of this issue by a mile.

Rating: 3/10

DC COMICS

BATMAN: OFF-WORLD #1

Someone at DC must have been thinking, "gee...how do we make Jason Aaron's return to DC seem special?" To which someone else shouted, "A Batman miniseries! But make it in space!" And thus, Batman: Off-World was born. This debut issue lacked a punch or a reason for existence, other than to give Jason Aaron's return some extra pomp and circumstances. I never really felt like I was being informed why this was being written.

Aaron's exposition carried most of the issue, trying to will a reason into existence. But what new idea around Batman's character is this telling us? Nothing, as of yet. The new characters came off as hollow and nothing more than plot devices to move things along. Doug Mahnke's art was fine. It felt like a traditional Batman comic, with little to make this standout out from the countless other Batman stories DC has put out.

Overall, the book was fine. Nothing was terrible, but it didn't wow me. It was better than the debut of one of the other current Batman miniseries, Gargoyle of Gotham, but paled in comparison to yet one of the other current Batman miniseries, City of Madness.

Rating: 6/10

CATWOMAN #59

What the heck was this? Catwoman lived through the end of Gotham War, which itself isn’t surprising but the way it was handled in this issue (i.e. full-speed ahead without more than a passing reference to Vandal Savage) makes it seem like the DC Editors realized how bad the event was and wanted to distance themselves from it as fast as possible. Not that the start to Selina’s next arc was much better. Howard’s set up for this new story was extremely rushed with pieces being taped together when a reasoning was needed for a specific part of the plot. Nothing made sense, from the literal cat burglary to Selina’s new scars. A chaotic start to a series that badly needs a strong arc to recalibrate things sooner rather than later.

Rating: 4/10

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #2

A little kid striking out in a tee ball game. A basketball player laying a bring on a breakaway dunk. A DC comic book involving the Justice League, Godzilla, and King Kong. What do all three of thees have in common? Completely screwing up what seems to be the easiest thing possible.

A comic book about superheroes and a giant lizard and ape should have been non-stop action with insane displays of power and strength. Yet we get SO MUCH talking, very littler monster fighting, and at this point I had to remind myself if we’ve even seen King Kong yet after two issues. The plot thread involving the LoD being responsible for time/multiverse traveling is too convoluted to make any sense and takes away from what should be epic battles between Earth’s defenders and mutant animals. The art of the issue makes up for some of the writing’s imperfections but Godzilla felt stationary the entire issue. It looked like he was in the same exact location in all his panels. Is he not moving around? Is he not destroying buildings left and right? The inconsistency took me out of the moment and what little I was invested in this story. This really needs to pick up soon before it becomes a complete miss. It’s a travesty for this title to be so boring.

Rating: 4/10

NIGHTWING #108

This pirate arc is reaching its final sea legs in terms of keeping my interest. The issue’s plot plays out in predictable succession with forced humor mixed in to produce a slog of an entry into of the more mediocre arcs Tom Taylor’s run on the series to date. Taylor hasn’t done enough to make Bea’s role as pirate lord (or her apparent influence over Haven’s political infrastructure as revealed here) feel earned, nor does it allow the issue’s climactic final seen to payoff in the way it was likely intended. Stephen Byrne’s art is the highlight of this issue, with many callbacks to earlier designs from Bruno Redondo’s approach to depicting moving scenes into single panels. We’ll see how this arc concludes soon, but I’m ready to make port and get back on land.

Rating: 6/10

WONDER WOMAN #3

Tom King’s take on Wonder Woman continues its strong start, though this issue took the smallest step back from the absolutely perfect first two issues. I still love the uneasy dichotomy King creates with the exposition-rich, third-person narration occurring during the tension-heavy scenes featuring Wonder Woman hunting for info on Emelie’s case and the evil man-behind-the-curtain showcasing the Lasso of Lies full power. Where my slight dislike of the issue came in some of Daniel Sampere’s Wonder Woman designs and reactions. A few of the early panels made the character appear too aloof and sassy for what we’d expect, but Sampere more than made up for it with some of the best non-action, action sequences around. His panel transitions throughout Wonder Woman’s confrontation with the armed forces unit was spectacular. This is a Tom King book through and through and will definitely have its detractors because of it, not too mention how much the toxic comic male culture will have fits with the overtly feminist tone. But for this reader, it’s everything I could ask for!

I also loved, loved, loved the backup story with Jon, Damian, and young Lizzie. It was so much fun and did a lot of work setting the stage for how the trio’s relationship will transform over the course of their lives. I can’t wait to see more of these three together! Also, two words: WONDER ROBIN! Adorbs!

Rating: 8.5/10

IMAGE COMICS

THE HOLY ROLLER #1

This oversized first issue to the new series from Andy Samberg, Joe Trohman, and Rick Remender may have been better served with a traditional comic-book length. The extra twenty or so pages weren’t used to effectively and it resulted in an extremely drawn out opening that became a chore to get through before the story felt like it was hitting its groove. The dialogue was also full of poorly executed humor which felt outdated and unnatural. The interactions between Levi, the main character, and the small-town bumpkins verged on cringe-worthy and not just because of how antisemitic they were, but just how forced the writing came across. Some of the brighter moments occurred during the heartfelt, yet subdued reunion between Levi and his father. Hopefully Remender can reign in what seems to be the unrefined writing instincts of Samberg and Trohman in future issues to allow a more nuanced and subtle approach allow the seriousness of the topics at hand to be more of the focus.

Rating: 6/10

DRACULA #2

This is the perfect story for Martin Simmonds’ art to take center stage. The world of Bram Stoker is beautifully brought to life in all its horrific glory via Simmonds’ distortedly complex designs. James Tynion IV’s writing is no slouch, though the author smartly keeps the words on the page to a minimum and trusts his artist to carry the story visually. This creative duo is clearly well suited for each other and readers should sit back and enjoy this genius output for all it’s worth.

Rating: 9/10

DSTLRY

SOMNA #1

I actually liked the story itself, but the issue felt like intended specifically for fellow comic book creators and the old guard of comic book review sites who bend over backwards to applaud creators no matter wha, in order to keep their connections. The book came off as self-flattering and self-indulgent in its execution. At the end of the day this was a cookie-cutter “women who were seen as rebels or untowardly were considered witches” story done in (extremely beautiful) high-brow artistry. Yes, this was visually appealing (Tula Lotay’s dream sequences are breathtaking), but I’m sure there will be certain reviewers who fall over themselves gushing about this issue in an effort to win brownie points with the big-name creators associated with the publisher. However, I would be shocked if this was a hit outside the comic industry’s inner-circle.

Rating: 7/10