AJ Comic Reviews

The art in this issue is by Giuseppe Camuncoli, with inks by Cam Smith, colours by Antonia Fabela and letters by Chris Eliopoulos. The art is pretty typical of the series, done in the Marvel house-style and I really don't have any complaints about any of it, though I will say that Giuseppe's Silk looks quite different from how she usually is, and the colours don't really seem to do her justice either. Still, by and large the art here is excellent, and that is what matters in the end.

Nowhere near as good a start to the series as I was expecting, but early days yet.

Next issue is going to be the final piece of this puzzle I think, but either way we are not far from the end, and I'm damn excited to see how it is all going to shake out.

Not as good baseline as the previous issues because of all the recap from the show, but still a solid issue.

Joe Bennett's pencils felt a little off in this issue as some of the characters were a bit too bulky with wide faces, such as Oliver and Diggle, and Thea and Malcolm didn't exactly look like I expected them too. But thankfully, that's really all the complaints I have against this one where the art is concerned, because the rest of the issue is damn good. I really loved how the scenes in Starling were contrasted against the scenes in Corto Maltese and how the whole vibe changed once we stepped into Kahndaq and witnessed a fanatic doing his thing. Good stuff.

The cliffhanger at the end really messes with your head and I can't wait to see what Marc and Keto have in store for the next issue. Hopefully it is going to kick even more ass!!

The artists for this issue are Neil Edwards, Joe Bennett & Craig Yeung, Beni Lobel, Angel Hernandez, Elena Casagrande and Rod Reis, with colours by Jim Charalampidis & Rod Reis, and letters by Deron Bennett. The switch in the artwork as we progress from one character to the another is something that is handled really well. The characters match up as they were on the show for the most part and their interactions with Oliver are definitely something that I loved seeing. After all, any moment where Oliver is getting beaten up by Helena for his past hypocrisy is a good moment as far as I'm concerned. And the backup art by Szymon Kudranski is much better this time around, especially where Lyla is concerned and the new character introduced is someone who definitely fits the bill for mental crazies as required by the Suicide Squad, crazies who also happen to be quite-perfect killing machines.

As before, we have Joe Bennett, Craig Yeung, Jim Charalampidis and Deron Bennett on the main story art with Szymon Kudranski doing the honours on the sub-story. There were a few scenes where Joe Bennett didn't deliver as much as I wanted him to, such as the scenes where Sara fights Ollie with the characters being drawn in weird poses, but past that, this was still another solid issue from the team. And however Sara might have been drawn, there's still a certain confidence radiating off from her that can get you excited about what's coming. The backup with Szymon was a bit light this week, and Floyd Lawton's face looked really off too, but him and Bronze Tiger fighting against ARGUS soldiers in a training exercise was fun to watch nonetheless.

With the artwork, it was fairly decent, as it has been in the recent issues. Since there are no major twists or anything this time around, the artists don't get to do any major moments, but we do get the occasional slice of awesomeness, such as Oliver's nightmares, which are really the only scenes to have some kind of action in them. A bit too much flexibility in the characters' bodies there, very unrealistic even, but still a good composition I think.

As always, we have Joe Bennett, Craig Yeung, Jim Charalampidis on the main story art, with Syzmon Kudranski taking over for the backup. In a rather general way, this was a much smoother experience, by far. I loved seeing Kord Industries cameo once again as far as Arrow is concerned, and even Walter looked really cool, though he kind of has the same general facial structure as Oliver, which is odd since the actor who plays him has a much leaner and sharper face. But, by the by. Nothing especially major here, so this was a fairly straight issue on the art, and I liked that.

Overall though, I loved this issue. Easily my pick for the best issue of the week, you can be certain of that, if nothing else.

All in all, this was a much better experience than I expected, though I also wish that we'd been able to see more and that Len Wein had dialed down the campiness a little bit. Other than that, smooth sailing all the way!

Dietrich Smith's pencils are fairly good in this issue and they certainly evoke images of the classic show, given what I see in this issue and what I've seen of the old show in stills and random videos. And that's perfect since it helps pull me into the story and I just can't let go as a result. There can be some panels where the characters' faces are a over-exaggerated or the dimensions are just wrong, but by and large Dietrich brings a strong vitality to this issue that is then perfectly reflected in the colours by Frank Gamboa.

I expected a lot of this issue and it sadly failed to deliver.

Excellent, excellent stuff and Nathan's penchant for shocking endings continued in this one as we got to see something really shocking, which really had me on the edge of my seat, truth be told.

Damn good issue to close out on what has been a fantastic year for Black Widow and Natasha Romanoff.

Phil Noto once again delivers some gorgeous art. The camouflage scene early on was particularly well-done, as was another one later where she goes undercover in a sort of a classic spy-situation. The true poignancy of the artwork is never lost in the shuffle, and as always, the action scenes really do stand out in the second half, once Natasha deals with the CHAOS agents on a cruise ship and is looking to escape. That whole fight was really well-executed, far better than I expected it to, and my expectations were already quite high as well.

Phil Noto is the artist on this, with VC's Clayton Cowles on the letters. Right from the start of the issue, and all the way to the jaw-dropping end, Phil puts out one great page after another. His portrayal of the guest star this issue was also great, having already brought in the Punisher and Hawkeye. In particular, I'd point out that his characterwork is beyond excellent, as can be seen in the scenes where Natasha gets out of the water and back on the cruise ship, or even later in the tense scenes between her and the guest star of the issue.

Joelle Jones, Nick Filardi and CRANK! are back as artists for this issue, and they do some right incredible stuff here. Whether it is the flashback scenes dealing with the spae-witches' origins, or Rikard fighting other undead monsters or even his particular mode of sea-transport, one thing remains that the artwork is darn beautiful. It starts off a little rough but the artists are back in their groove almost immediately and the rest of the ride through is great indeed.

A superb diversion from the main story which stands on its own and also contributes to the greater whole.

I'm gonna say this: this issue reminded me of the silly, sometimes really goofy nature of comics. DC has created New 52 to be a very super-serious place all the time and there is not much in the way of humour for the rebooted DCU, with only Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis' Larfleeze providing any strong humour vibes at all, and that title is still in its infancy, just five issues thus far. So in all of that, getting this silly and goofy title from John Layman gave me an even deeper appreciation for it. There are some minor plot holes here and there, but the writing is such that you don't focus on them all that much.

Garry Brown is the artist here with Lee Loughridge on colours and lettering duties shared by Sal Cipriano and Taylor Esposito while Jae Lee and June Chung provide the cover. The combination of Garry and Lee means that the art on this issue veers close to awesome. There are some panels where the female characters, particularly Selina and her female cousin look too alike and the differentiation really is lacking, but overall the art was quite solid. Gone is Selina's "cat-walk", now she is a bold and confident major player in Gotham's hidden politics and she has the body language to match all of that. Plus the artists are really able to capture how she feels about being a major mob boss really well, so I'm definitely not complaining in any way.

Garry Brown's art and Lee Loughridge's colours really elevate Genevieve's story. The moody, dark tones, not to mention the particular pencil-work, it all lends to a bold new Catwoman where the characters are the central objects of the visual story, rather than anything flashy that perhaps does the characters disservice. I like Garry's Selina. She is so different from how she used to be before, and now she stands tall and confident, alongside some really good supporting cast members. The suspense and tension of the story are built up really well and I couldn't be happier really.

This new creative team continues being awesome, and that's all I really want out of all of them.

Garry Brown is the artist here with Lee Loughridge on the colours, Carlos M. Mangual on the letters and Jae Lee and June Chung on the cover. There were some bits here and there where the minimal art really didn't work so well, but apart from these small handful of instances, the art was phenomenal as usual. The wordless panels here are really brilliant, showing a story without any kind of overriding dialogue and the more" popular and familiar characters of the city are also rendered really nicely so nothing to complain about.

Garry Brown is the artist here, with Lee Loughridge on the colours, Travis Lanham on the letters, and the duo of Jae Lee and June Chung on the cover. One of the really striking things here is how the Black Mask has been portrayed. He is usually quite" evil, but in this issue he seemed to be positively demonic, perhaps because of the turn the story took, but I think that the artists really did a number on him this time around, and I like it. And the scene with Selina and Eiko is also tastefully done and it puts you right in the zone to appreciate that you are privy to a very personal moment. Again, no titillation here.

Dan Panosian is the artist here with Dave Stewart on the colours and letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft. The art here is quite stylized at times and has a very rough look to it, but I loved it all the same because the action scenes were pretty amazing. And there are a lot of them too. After all, this is Conan and Red Sonja we are talking about, so that is all expected of the art here. And the artists do deliver handsomely. Sonja here is very different from how she is on Red Sonja, and the same goes forConan and Conan the Barbarian but that ultimately matters little since this art team has left its own mark on these characters and this setting, and it is a good thing too.

Dan is the artist here who also does the cover art, while Dave handles the colours, and the letters are by Richard Starkings & Comicraft. The art here is unbelievably good, same as before. There's a certain angular stylishness to the pencils, and the colours are often slightly muted, adding to the whole mood of the whole thing, and when things go to hell in the middle of the book and then again towards the end, the pencils and colours and inks really stand out, resulting in some excellent visuals that I keep looking at again and again.

There are few major comics characters whose death I have seen played out in comics, and I think that aside from Superman's first death last year when I read the original Doomsday arc, no death has affected me like this. There's something very visceral, violent and heroic about Logan's death.

So far, this one-shot has been much better than the Death of Wolverine: Logan Legacy, and I can't wait to see more along the same lines.

So, in the end, a pretty decent anthology altogether. Surprising in some ways, and nicely celebrative of who Logan was and what he meant to the people around him.

A grand start for sure and I'll be tuning in for the next issue.

A good solid issue as the mini-series moves towards the finale.

The first issue challenged my perceptions and each issue has thankfully built on that to do new and interesting things. This book is way better than just "good enough". It is excellent!

And the art, well, nothing to really say about the art, again, except that it is amazing and poignant. Lots of action, lots of suicidal bravery, lots of surprised and expressive faces and great body language. Seriously, at this point, there's nothing you can really about the art except regurgitate previous stuff. I love the art, that's all there is to it, truly. And it all comes down to that final moment, a showdown between Bernie and… someone I'd rather not spoil for those who haven't read the issue yet.

This would be the first issue of the series where I feel that we are finally moving to a huge conclusion, and I certainly can't wait to see what the next issue brings!

If you are looking for a new Deathstroke series then this one isn't all that bad really. It suffers from being confusing in a few places and with the supporting cast not being all that memorable, but it is all still good enough to continue on with.

Max Dunbar is the artist here, with colours by John-Paul Bove and letters by Neil Uyetake. The bold and colourful artwork matches well with Jim's script and is also very appealing too. The comical expressions on Delina and Minsc's faces really help sell the humour of the script, and the magic scenes are also handled very nicely. And the hamster Boo is just too cute for words… so yeah. The art is overall very energetic, particularly since a lot of it revolves around either Delina running from a bunch of monsters or Minsc fighting them off, so there's that too.

So yes, another great issue in the making that provides more fuel for the next one!

As things progress further for the characters, we are starting to see some things fall in place, and it is a pretty exciting time to get on this comic if you haven't yet.

Max Dunbar is the artist here with John-Paul Bove on the colours, Neil Uyetake on the letters and Sarah Stone on the cover I believe. Apart from what is yet another great cover for the series, the inside art was also pretty spectacular. The flashbacks to Delina and Deniak's childhood well-executed, and the slow degradation of Deniak is also quite horrifying, what with his features becoming more and more twist as his plans unfold. Looking at it overall, I think the art is hardly an improvement over the last issue, and that's saying something since the last in Legends of Baldur's Gate #3 was pretty damn good.

The promise is still there, but I'm not really getting invested in this title any more than I did last week.

Cary Nord's pencils and Brian Reber's colours are absolutely fantastic here. The painted quality to the artwork lends itself well to the kind of story that Peter is telling and I enjoyed every scene with Gilad. He has a… presence and the artists are able to capture that. And the action scenes, well, they are something else too. Speed and ferocity in equal measure that really get across how skilled a man Gilad is, given his endless years of experience in the art of killing. And the period scenes, involving the fights between the Franks and the Magyars also strike me as rather authentic, helping to pull me further into the story.

Next month will tell us what's gonna happen next.

Leonard Kirk is on the pencils for this issue, with Karl Kesel on the inks and Jesus Aburtov on the colours with VC's Clayton Cowles on the letters and Leonard and Jesus on the cover itself. This issue is visually a lot of fun, especially when you throw in Peter Parker, since there are a lot of fun gags to be had between the characters. And I liked how Leonard made Ben's face really expressive, despite his outward appearance. There's also a splash page depicting the destruction that Sue caused in Latveria in Fantastic Four Annual #1 a few weeks ago that really conveys the scale of what she did there. Fantastic stuff altogether. Moody and expressive and also uplifting.

Too fast-paced at times, this issue is still damn good and it is nice to see that James Robinson is moving towards a climactic and definitive finish as he wraps up the series.

Overall, I'm concerned with where the mini-series is going story-wise, but on its own, it remains a fun little book.

Hopefully next time we get to see what happened to Olive in the summer and what happened with her mom!

After the way this issue ends, I really can't wait to find out what's gonna happen next!

The mysteries deepen but we are also closer to finding out the truths!

The art here is by Stephen Mooney, with colours by Jeromy Cox, letters by Carlos M. Mangual and cover by Mikel Janin. Stephen's art here seems to want to echo Mikel's own on the series, and at times it proved to be really good, but there were also moments where it didn't seem to be anywhere as good, and those scenes had more to do with body language and expressions rather than the story flow or anything like that. It is nice to see that Jeromy is on the issue since it helps bring a certain stability that otherwise was lacking in the artwork, and he turns in some gorgeous visuals with Stephen, that's for sure.

Mikel Janin is the artist here with Jeromy Cox on colours and Carlos M. Mangual on the letters. The art this time around is very lively on point, in keeping with the story of the issue. I liked the energetic pace of the visuals, as well as some of the neat stuff that Mikel and Jeromy did with facial expressions and body language, not to mention the cool things like Helena slapping a candy out of Dick's hands early on, etc. The art here is definitely one of the biggest sells of this series and the only negative here is Midnighter's Stormwatch teammate, who looks a bit too generic to really stand out in a crowd.

Some small missteps early on are redeemed as the issue progresses, and the writers definitely end on a strong note here.

No changes on the art team and that's just as well since Mikel Janin, Jeromy Cox and Carlos M. Mangual are superb in every way. Even though the characterwork and the backgrounds are second to none in this issue, I think the best part is when Dick and Helena are attacked by a zombie orca with scorpion legs. That's an utterly terrifying image to imagine and to see the execution of the idea, well that's something else. In other things, the fight between Dick and Midnighter is pretty good too, fluid and fast-moving. Loved every second of it. And the artists end on a great note too, with a great panel showing off the location of the Midnighter's HQ.

Really can't wait to see what's coming next, given some of the big revelations here and the ending of this issue.

For my money's worth, this was a really good issue in pretty much all respects and I can't wait to see what the entire team has in store for next month's issue and where the story goes. I want to learn more about these clans that Lemire has introduced, the sword clan, the shield clan, the arrow clan, and so on. Seems like a very intriguing take on the Green Arrow lore.

But that all aside, this was still a great issue, and next month things are really going to kick off once we get to see more of Hailey, so looking forward to that!

There are some big changes to the status quo at Arcane Acre in this issue, even a character death that leaves the others wrong-footed. Pat Shand does not shy away from taking any big risks like this, proving that everything that is happening here is quite serious and with some big consequences in store for the characters down the line. That's really what it all comes down to it, and its pretty great, when seen in the larger context of the story that he is trying to develop and build-upon here.

Kind of a disappointing start to the new year, but I'm holding out hope.

Andrea Meloni is back on art duties for this one, with Erick Arciniega on colours, Ghost Glyph Studios on letters and the duo of Sean Chen and Ylenia Di Napoli on the cover. I've loved Andrea on the art for this issue since the #101 issue, and this is more of the same goodness. There's this edge of hard vulnerability to the characters brought about by the narrative and Andrea's art with Erick's colours really seems to capture that, not to mention that the visual flow is aces here. The artists switch between a lot of different combinations and the end result is fantastic.

This was a seriously good issue and I highly recommend it for the sheer fun value of it.

A great start to a new phase in DC's He-Man franchise, and I hope that it sticks around for a good while!

Pop Mhan is the artist here with Mark Roberts on colours and Deron Bennett on letters. The Serpent-Men army is incredibly diverse and the artists bring all of that to incredible life here. Different types of Serpent-Men, different war-beasts, different colours, everything can be found in these pages. Pop Mhan has been with the franchise for a good time now and all I can say is that as he puts out more issues, the better he seems to get. The visual spectacle in this issue is amazing and Pop is well-complemented by Mark and Deron.

Pop is the artist here with Mark on the colours and Deron Bennett on the letters. Given that much of this issue has action and little in the way of the quieter, contemplative scenes, you would expect to see some frenetic energy to the art, and that holds true in all ways. It is clear that Pop and Mark have a ton of fun for these characters. It certainly feels that way to me. The characterwork is excellent and the action choreography is also good, as far as the medium goes.

Given how the issue ends up, I can't wait to read the next issue!

If there's anything really missing from this issue, it is what exactly is Lineage doing in New Attilan and how he knows the things that he does about Black Bolt's whereabouts. Hopefully that will be addressed soon.

Quite a different turn to the story than I was expecting, but good nonetheless.

A great issue by any measure. And after that final page, looks like the status quo is changing once again.

This is fairly good, but it could also be a bit better I think. Some great moments here, but the execution is slightly lacking.

Clayton Henry is the artist here with Brian Reber on art, Robert Gill doing the World War One sequences and Dave Sharpe on the letters. The cover art is by Raul Allen. I love the art here. At times it can be a bit simplistic but most of the time there are a hell of a lot of details packed into every page, and some of the expression-work for the characters is just amazing, such as when a (relatively) giant dragonfly comes after Neela while they are in the Carboniferous period, or even later when she is confronted with the very real possibility of being able to kill Hitler.

Superb beginning to the new series. Can't wait for more!

Stjepan's art here is really dynamic and vivid, as it has always been across his many different books. It amazes me to see that not only is he turning out some great artwork on IXth Generation, but that he's also doing the same on his creator-owned titled Death Vigil, which was a breakout hit for me last year and continues to be awesome. The scenes of the fight against the monsters of The Darkness, the facial expressions among the IXs whenever they get together for their meetings, and the general characterwork and backgrounds are impressive as well. This comic is a must-read just because of the art alone.

Abhishek Malsuni handles the artwork in this new series, with colours by Nanjan Jamberi and letters by Rob Steen. Bart Sears does the cover here, which is the "B" cover for this issue. Right off the bat, I loved Abhishek's artwork here. He draws a pretty great John, Tars, Woola, and Dejah and his sense of action and camera angles is similarly excellent. The visual flow of the story is unhindered at all times and he neatly mixes in the splash pages with the regular pages. There's one splash page in particular, which shows off the different forms of life found on Barsoom, whether intelligent or bestial, that I think is one of the best pages in this entire issue. And Nanjan's colours are also excellent, imbuing the issue with rich and varied tones that bring Abhishek's pencils to life.

A strong sophomore issue, which only leaves me wanting more!

Great work once again and a strong start to a new year.

Abhishek is the artist here with Zsolt H. Garisa on inks, Nanjan Jamberi on colours, Rob Steen on letters, and the main cover by Ed Benes and Dinei Ribeiro. We don't have any action scenes with Dejah in this issue, but we do get to see her act as the daughter of nobility she is, all poise and decorum even in the face of an impending execution. I think the artists really nailed that part well. The flashbacks to the days of the 1860s war were also good, with cavalry charges and infantry assaults all over the place and some great characterwork with Carter and Clark. Good art as usual.

Jason Fabok is the artist here with Brad Anderson on colours, Carlos M. Mangual on the letters and Jason and Brad on the cover itself. Putting aside the awesome cover for now, I really liked the artwork here. Jason has a big challenge here in portraying the high and mighty of the DCverse and he doesn't disappoint with his fantastic designs and action scenes and the facial expressions on the characters. And the same thing goes for Brad's colours, which too are fantastic. As Jason's art packs so much energy, so do Brad's colours pack a whole lot of awesome. Perfect contrasts, great mood-setting, and so on.

As before, Jason Fabok is the artist here, with Brad Anderson on colours and Carlos M. Mangual on the letters. The art here is top-notch yet again. Jason Fabok is absolutely aces with his pencils and Brad's no slouch either. All the super-action that Wonder Woman gets up to is great and very dynamic too. Plus there are all the scenes that contrast modern-day Metropolis to ancient Athens, and the juxtaposition of those panels is handled really well. Plus, the expressions on Lex's face all throughout the comic, that's just gold right there. Poor Lex. And Captain Cold rocked his panels, that suave charmer.

With all the new stuff that the creative team brings in here, and also the callbacks to all the old stuff, Justice League #40 is definitely among the best the series has to offer.

Klaus Janson is the artist here along with John Stanisci with Steve Buccellato on colours, Dezi Sienty on letters and the cover by the Guillem March and Tomeu Morey duo. The artwork here is pretty decent, with some really good action sequences in the middle of the issue, but the characterwork is often lacking since the characters change from page to page quite often and the consistency just isn't there, not like it should be. And this is disappointing. The colours are pretty good, of that there's no doubt, and the pencils are decent as well, but they could definitely be much better I think.

An excellent new arc that I can't wait to see more of.

This arc seems to be headed in a good direction and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next.

Andres Guinaldo is the penciller here with Walden Wong on inks, Chris Sotomayor on colours, Taylor Esposito on letters, and the duo of Guillem March and Tomeu Morey on the cover. I don't know why, but the art this time wasn't as impressive as I've come to expect. The characterwork just seemed rushed this time since often the characters had weird expressions on their faces or the camera angles themselves were weird. The inks and colours are pretty straightforward and decent, but the pencilwork wasn't to the usual high standards here.

Definitely one of the most promising new series out this year!

Overall, a solid issue. I want more.

The art here is by Eman Casallos, with colours by Adriano Augusto, letters by Rob Steen, and the cover by Butch Guice and Alex Guimaraes. Given that these heroes are some of the more hard-hitting of Dynamite's line-up, and that the story overall has a distinctive noir feeling to it, the art matches up to that very well. The action all takes place during night-time, but that doesn't mean that the characters are shrouded in shadows or anything. There's good use of lighting throughout, and the action scenes are pretty thrilling as well. Not to mention that all these characters in one place makes for a great visual feast.

Adrian Alphona, Ian Herring and VC's Joe Caramagna are on the art once again, and they turn in some fantastic work. The only problem I had with this issue was that Medusa was inconsistent and even a bit too cartoony here. I'm certainly not expecting the Ryan Stegman version from Inhuman but even then, it didn't work as much as I'd hoped it would. Other than that though, the artwork here was fantastic, and the first half with the school battle really is incredible, such as the scene where Kamala embiggens and jumps at the robot, crashing her fists down on the robot in a very WWE style of top-rope jump. That was awesome.

A strong end to the title's first calendar year!

Adrian Alphona is the artist here with Ian Herring on colours and VC's Joe Caramagna on letters with Kris Anka on the art. As usual, I loved the artwork. The body language is just too good, and the coolest thing is the design of The Inventor, being both quirky and nice at the same time. His head can sometimes make it difficult to get a read on him in the context of the story, but then that's where Adrian and Ian's art really shines, to use one example. The action scenes too are fairly good, and when you put it all together, you get something genuinely impressive.

A nice time-out story you should definitely read. And it has a great message too about people making mistakes. Recommended read.

Fantastic issue! The only question is how Vic Sage ties into the pre-New 52 identity of The Question, also known as Vic Sage.

I liked this one well enough, and would recommend it as a background piece to the event itself.

Thankfully, Painkiller Jane avoids the dreaded sophomore slump and continues at pace with the new issue. I was expecting it to be good, and it was definitely that. Now to just wait another month, when the third issue comes out.

Not something that I would want to read, given the kind of writing we had here. This was pretty much a boring RPG story about fighting demons and little else.

Christopher Mooneyham's art and Dan Brown's colours combine to really bring Williamson's story to life, in a very mesmerizing way. The art is dark and gritty, and their vision of the Predator, an ugly old thing but no less deadly for that, is also something to be admired. They really nail the characters and the monster himself, who I believe is brought over from the other books. It makes sense since there is apparently a larger story at work, given the Fire and Stone subtitling of all the titles. And the cover art by Lucas Graciano is definitely among the best covers of the year as well. No doubt about it. Loved it.

Christian Mooneyham's art and Dan Brown's colours really make it all come alive. The cover by Lucas Graciano is top-notch of course, as I expected it to be, and the internal art matches that awesomeness. We get all the ferocity of the Predator in each scene he is in, and the threats of both the Engineer and the Xenomorphs. The scene with the hordes of Xenomorphs is quite a striking one, as I said above, so that's also something you can look forward to in this issue. But really though, it is the Predator who is the absolute star of this issue, as he should be.

We are now a third of the way into the series and things are really, really heating up now.

Another exciting, awesome installment!

Sami Kivela is the artist with Maxflan Araujo on the colours, Jim Campbell on the letters, and the cover by Paolo Pantalena and Ula Moss. The art was utterly fantastic here. It is one of the biggest reasons why I buy this comic month after month and the new issue is no different to that really. The action scenes, the body language, the expressions, the details, the backgrounds, everything is A-grade here, without a doubt. And those scenes that do offer some typical Zenescope titillation are also handled rather artfully, so that was a big plus.

Walter and Adriano and Simon are assisted in this issue with covers from Jenny Frison and Renae De Liz, both of whom deliver some really captivating images, especially Renae's utterly badass variant. In the second half, when Sonja gets drunk, Walter plays a bit with the camera angles to reflect her state and those are some fun panels indeed. As before on this series, the primary focus is on the characters themselves, and Walter's characterwork is excellent. He poses his character without going into body contortions and keeps things realistic. The same extends for his backgrounds as well in a way since he doesn't go flashy with them but keeps things impactful and minimal. That works for me.

Gail and Walter definitely start off the new year on an incredible high with this issue.

Fritz Casas is the artist on this, with Adriano Lucas on colours, Joshua Cozine on the letters, and that fantastic badass cover by Jay Anacleto and Ivan Nunes. The art in the first few pages is pretty grim and forbidding for the most part since the artists are working up on building the evil that is taking root in the Temple of Set, but once we hit the story with Sonja and her academy, things are much more… uplifting. We get some flashbacks to Sonja's days as a mercenary and warrior of course, but the scenes in the "present" are very laid-back and easy. The artists do a right job of mixing everything together and the colours really help sell the art by Fritz Casas, which is great on its own.

The internal art itself is damn cool, just as I mentioned in the review for the first issue last month. Fritz and Adriano's portrayal of Old Sonja is great, and her body language often conveys a lot. Plus there's the fact that she is still battling some old wounds, and that kind of takes things to the next level. And the colours are generally as good too, especially the scenes with Sutekh and his army, and Sonja's fight against one of the demi-god's monsters.

Lots of things going to be happening soon that I can't wait for!

Carlos is the penciller here with Mariano Taibo and Jason Paz on the inks, Dono Almara on the colours, and Julian Totino Tedesco on the cover. As I said above, I loved the artwork here. Mark Waid went absolutely nuts on the story, and the art team delivers handily, drawing all sorts of heroes and villains; Iron Man, Hyperion, (new) Thor, Blue Marvel, Hulk, Agent May, Maria Hill, Jemma Simmons, fire demons, storm giants, and so on. The colours are also often quite… light-hearted and bright, which just adds to the fantastic overall atmosphere of this debut issue.

Humberto Ramos is the artist in this issue, with Victor Olazaba on the inks, Edgar Delgado on the colours, VC's Joe Sabino on the letters, and the cover by Julian Totino Tedesco. The art team is, as I said before, completely different from the previous one, but that's fine since the strengths of this team suit the story that Mark Waid tells. And I won't deny that it is a LOT of fun to see Ramos and the others working on something other than Spider-Man and doing it so well too. Sure, their visual designs don't match up so well with how the same characters have been portrayed elsewhere, but that's a very minor complaint and doesn't really have much of a bearing in the final accounting. I still loved all the action scenes and the expressions and body-language too were superb, so I call this a win.

Things are really heating up in this new arc and next month's installment should be most interesting.

Given teh cliffhanger ending here, some big things are in story for Jack in the next issue and I can't wait for whatever is going to happen next. Trust in Team Jack!

As always, Andy Suriano is the artist here, with colours by Josh Burcham and letters by Shawn Lee. With this being the end to another arc from this trio, we see some of their best work to date. I know, I know, I say this a lot, but then that's the thing. They are a damn solid team when working together so they deserve all the praise that they (can) get. The scenes with Jack standing up to Aku, and then defying him with the help of the cosmic beings who have found him worthy, those scenes are incredibly stirring as a reader. They give you a punchy thrill.

Paco Diaz is the artist here with Israel Silva on colours, VC's Travis Lanham on letters and David Nakayama on the cover. For the most part, I really liked the artwork here. Paco's characters are a bit too gaunt at times with some of their features needlessly exaggerated, but each character has a different body language, and the facial expressions are really good. Plus I love Jessica and Ben's costumes. On the cover side, David's art is a bit flimsy since he chooses to emphasize some features in a particular character and de-emphasizes features in another character, but it is still a good, decent composition.

This is another Marvel series ending the 2014 calendar year on a high, and I'm pretty pleased to see that happening. This issue is also the start of a new arc on the series, though the story carries on from what has happened before very directly, so keep that in mind if this is your first issue!

Michael Walsh is thea rtist here with Matthew Wilson on colours, VC's Clayton Cowles on the letters and Tradd Moore and Matthew on the cover. The art here really was excellent. So much absurdity here (there's that word again), especially in the scenes set on Tln, where Black Widow and Lady Bullseye come up against a wholly unexpected threat. Or in the scenes where Modok reveals his elaborate scenes and the facial expressions and body language of everyone involved really pull you into the narrative. Pretty damn good work all around.

Not a bad anthology this time around, but the first two could have definitely used some more work, especially the middle one, which was almost lazy. Still, Jeff Parker came out trumps, and it was nice to see such a different side to Mera.

Overall, this was a great issue, a great look at three different heroes and villains. Now I'm more inclined to check out the previous issues and add it to my regular pull-list as well. Oh and that cover featuring Wonder Woman, by Lee Bermejo, is absolutely excellent as well. Ferocity and elegance both.

I think this issue is a good start for the series, and I'm looking forward to the next installment. And it is so, so different from DC's other supervillain team-up, New Suicide Squad!!

Ken is the artist on this, with inks by him and Drew Geraci, colours by Jason Wright, letters by Carlos M. Mangual, and the cover itself by Dale Eaglesham and Jason. As before, the art in this issue is really good. In typical Ken lashley style, the inks can be a bit heavy and dark, which is where Drew comes in no doubt, to soften the overall effect, and the pencils themselves are phenomenal with the free-form style chosen by Ken. And as for the colours, they lend a nice water-colour feel to the whole thing that I really like.

As I said above, Gabriel is the artist on this issue, with colours by Jordan Boyd and letters by Saida Temafonte. Gabriel and Jordan's style is very different to that of other artists on this series and it is also one of the best that I've seen. It is a bit free-flowing in its execution, and that works well with the kind of story being told here. And the action scenes are all grand and flashy, just as I expected them to be given that Gabriel is the artist here. He really brings the same kind of energy to the title that I saw from him on Star Wars: Legacy and I really couldn't be happier.

Not so bad an issue after all. It kind of doesn't add much to the event itself, but it is a good read still.

I might give the second issue a try, but I'm not particularly looking forward to it anymore.

The art here is by Rachael Stott, with colours by Charlie Kirchoff and Tom B. Long. And the art is pretty fantastic by any measure. There's a certain cleanness to the artwork, with there being a lot of colour positivity to it. It lends well to the narrative feel since the story is set in the early years of The Original Series and is thus part of that setting when things were overall very positive and uplifting and grandiose. And the Klingons have their old designs too, without the whole head-ridge thing going on, so that's a nice nostalgia trip as well.

John Cassaday is the artist here with Laura Martin on colours, Chris Eliopoulos on the letters, and Cassaday and Martin on the cover. That cover isn't in the same league as the awesome covers that Alex Ross did for Dark Horse's version, but it is still a decent cover, and I think we can well leave it at that. A bit more static than I'd wanted it to be, but eh, small potatoes. The internal art is where you get sold on the series I think. The characters, whether major or minor, are all easily identifiable and the body language and visual design in general is on the good side of the scales. There were some panels where the inking was a bit much or the expressions didn't match well, but those were thankfully few in number.

Salvador is the artist here with Edgar Delgado on colours, VC's Joe Caramagna on letters and Adi Granov on the cover. Adi's cover is great as always, and I love his composition with Vader in action-mode. And the internal art is definitely impressive as well. Salvador and Edgar have a good understanding of the characters. The only thing that I didn't like so much was that some of the action felt too… posed, as if the artists were trying to capture some scene from the movie, or some action style or something, and it doesn't look quite right. Looks really awkward actually, and this is common for Vader's lightsaber scenes.

Salvador Larroca is the artist here with Edgar Delgado on colours, VC's Joe Caramagna on letters and Adi Granov on the cover. As I said the last time, the artwork is mostly good. There are some panels where there's a bit of a shine on Tagge's face or some of the characters really scrunch up their eyes when talking, but by and large, serviceable artwork. The main thing here is that I'm just not all that excited about the artwork. It seems okay for me, when it really should be amazing. This is Darth Vader we are talking about after all!

Not quite the issue I was hoping for, but still decent.

Emanuela is the artist here, with Ray on inks, Hi-Fi on colours and Rob on the letters with Emanuela and Tomeu on the cover. At times, the art is pretty brutal, especially in the fight scenes, but then it is also quite fun and easy-going in the moments when we are initially with Kon in Italy and he is attending Roma Con with all the cosplayers around. There's a really great juxtaposition at work here, and since the overall tone of the story is upbeat, it filters down into the art as well, and really firms it all up.

Not all that bad a start, but it could have been better I suppose.

Javi Pina is the artist here with June Chung on colours, Travis Lanham on the letters and Jesus Saiz on the cover. A different art team this time, but one that is still pretty damn consistent with the output of the previous one. Lots of action here so the team has its work cut out, and the different locations we visit each have their own charm and place in the grand scheme of things. I particularly liked how the team presented the fight between the titular hero and the character on the cover there, in an action-match that really shows Swamp Thing's many weaknesses.

As before, Jesus Saiz is the artist on this issue, with June Chung on colours and Travis Lanham on the letters. The Alec Holland monstrosity created by the Machine Queen definitely stands out, as do the rest of the characters, especially in that kickass ending when the shit really hits the fan and Swamp Thing confronts Anton Arcane after all. The colours too are incredible and I think that both Jesus and June make for a really solid art team, one that deserves all the praise that it can get, and then some more on top of that. The visual story flow is great, the changes in the panel structure is great, everything is great basically.

The artist here is Sergio Davila, with colours by Jorge Sutil and letters by Erica Schultz. The cover is by J. Scott Campbell, who is no stranger to drawing female characters for various publishers, and while I kind of have an issue with how Jungle Girl and Dejah are posed in the cover, it is a fairly good composition overall. What really matters here is the interior artwork which is beyond amazing. Given how these characters are generally drawn, and their character designs, you'd expect some NSFW art inside. But that's not the case. Davila has a good eye for how to pose his characters so as to get the best results and at no point do you feel as if they are… supermodels. No buttshots or spinebreakers that I could tell. Its all natural. And the colours are great too, helping each heroine stand out from the rest, and really bringing out a lot of the details that Davila has put in.

There isn't a whole lot of action in here, despite the rather explosive start in the first few pages, but it is all in the simmering stage yet, and that's fine with me. First, get the readers familiar with the character(s) and then throw them off the deep end. That works for me, and I can certainly see myself becoming a regular reader here, and also going back to read the first volume.

A decent issue that sets up the next quite admirably and in a good fashion as well.

Quite unexpectedly so, this series is turning out to be some good fun indeed.

Ming is the artist here, with Jordie Bellaire on colours, Clem Robins on letters and Becky Cloonan on the cover. Superb artwork once again. The inclusion of Tommy means that things take a rather brutal turn, and the opening pages definitely make that plain, especially when Tommy just straight up kills the blackmailer Nicky by shooting him in the face and then cuts his body up into little pieces to dispose of his corpse without a trace. Chilling indeed and the expression on Tommy's face definitely sells it as well. Even in the other pages, the art and the colours are always great, and I had a blast flipping through the issue.

A decent enough issue, and I'll admit that I'm kind of curious for more too.

Paolo Rivera is the artist here, with colours by Joe Rivera and letters by Dave Lanphear. The art in this issue is absolutely stunning. It is primarily Gilad through the ages, fighting one enemy after another in a seemingly endless struggle for dominance over his world, but at the same time, the artists capture the character's hopes and desperation really well. And when Bloodshot gets on the scene, the action really ramps up since the character is all about the big flashy action sequences. Kay can seem a bit odd at first but by pairing her up with Armstrong in her first scenes, the artists and the writers do an incredible job of contrasting and developing both characters.

Paolo Rivera is the artist here with Joe Rivera assisting and Dave Lanphear on the letters. The art here is pretty killing. The artists have a pretty good sense of how to best portray the characters, whether they are standing around talking or doing some sort of an action scene. The visuals really are gorgeous, irrespective of the location being portrayed, and I think the standout scenes are those with Kay and the Immortal Enemy, with the whole horror-vibe going on, something that gets really creepy the further it all goes on.

Daniel Selma is back in the artist's saddle for this new arc it seems, with Juan Gedeon on inks, Michael Atiyeh on colours and Michael Heisler on the letters. Derlis Santacruz and Andy Owens proved to be a rather capable team with the last arc, but it great to have the original art team back for the new arc. And the refinements and improvements in their work are pretty clear now. The characters are more expressive for one, and the scenes are much more detailed as well. That's solid progress right there!

Right away, I'll say that this issue is a good step-up from the previous issue. It has a better pacing for one, and it also really spends some time with its characters and truly fleshes out the story. With two writers working on the issue, it can all easily turn out to be not good, but Rhianna and Gail definitely know what they are doing here and though the execution has suffered a bit of late, the overall experience has been very positive.

Great stuff all around, and I want more! Hopefully this will fill the void left by The Phantom Stranger and Pandora getting cancelled and we finally have The Question in an ongoing!

Still, Trinity of Sin #2 tells a pretty great and grand story, and I'm still onboard for the next few issues.

Decent enough story and art, though you can unfortunately give it a miss for sure.

Damn good issue, but I feel that we as readers are ready for some damn answers by now.

Steve Cummings is the artist here with John Rauch and Tamra Bonvillain on the colours, Marshall Dillon the letters, and the cover art by Steve and Ross A. Campbell. The art here is pretty damn fantastic. Steve is a master with the expressive faces and body language, and the colours too rock it all out, producing a really smooth and easy-going atmosphere despite the storm on the horizon, both metaphorical and otherwise. What really sold me in this issue was the action sequence in the second half, which is really awesome and showcases some of the best that Shirai and Ayane can do when called to it.

Pretty good issue with the only downside being that Sara seemed a little too reluctant to use the Witchblade in her defense, which isn't all that big a deal really when you come to think of it and consider the cliffhanger ending.

Nick Bradshaw is the penciller for this issue, with Andres Mossa on the colours and Clayton Cowles on the letters. In comparison to Wolverine and the X-Men #38, the art in this issue was much better. Bradshaw has a huge scope in this issue and he has to do a lot of the creative world-building, given all the diversity of the Shi'ar that needs to be shown for the pages set in the Imperial Academy and then the battles later on when Kid Gladiator battles the Builder fleets alongside his father and other allies. Of the latter, they are all instantly recognizable and familiar, so its great that Bradshaw stays true to how they are portrayed elsewhere. Mossa's rich and vibrant colours enhance the entire affect, but they are a bit too" spotless, clean, especially in the battle scenes. Some roughing up everywhere would have been far better.

The art here is by Drew Johnson, with colours by Romulo Fajardo Jr., letters by Wes Abbott and the cover by Nicola and Annette. The art team here is pretty stellar actually. While I loved the attention to characterwork detail that Drew brought with his pencils, I think it was Romulo's colours that really shined here. I mean, there's this nice flashy/glossy look to the artwork at times, and I think it works well in the second half at the nightclub. And of course, the characters do resemble their real-life/show counterparts so it is easy to pick out who is who.

Another disappointing issue that is really testing my limits on whether I'm going to stick with the new arc.

Next up is the start of a new arc, Armorines, and I'm excited to see what happens there and whether Aric's ruminations of his old days and the friends he lost have any significant on it.