TOMASSIS TAKESIf this sounds slightly familiar, youre not alone. Besides the obvious connection thematically to Marvels famous Civil War event, this story plot was actually touched on recently in the Charles Soule Daredevil run. In the Soule series Fisk as mayor outlaws vigilantes from New York. To be fair the Devils Reign series appears to be taking the story in a much larger epic event than the Soule story.

Maybe the hardest part of the art to get used to is the depiction of Bruce Wayne. As with the last issue, the grey sideburns are distracting and make Bruce seem older. This issue has Bruce wearing glasses when meeting up with Harvey Dent. Yes, Michael Keaton wore glasses in the movie. But for the most part, they were more reading glasses than something he wore regularly. Also between the glasses and those sideburns, Bruce looks nothing like the playboy we know him to pretend to be in the main Bat-books, which is fine. I like seeing variations on BATMAN/Bruce Wayne. It's one of the things that have kept the character fresh for 80 plus years. Keaton didn't play him as a playboy in the movies. Yet here, it's way too distracting.

Daredevil #31 is delicately balancing several plotlines at once. While Matt in prison does feel slightly like a retread, this issue begins to develop some urgency for Matt. It's almost like he has something to do besides serving his time. Elektra and Fisk remain the most interesting parts of the comic. The series continues a more grounded Daredevil, not unlike the Netflix series.

The Flash 2021 Annual brings a satisfying conclusion and a new starting point for Wally West as the Flash. Plus, it's nice to have a great art team on an annual. The final pages feel like we as the readers are expected to move on from the baggage of recent years and just once again embrace Wally West as the Flash.

There is a back up story focusing on the new character Punchline. I did not read the back up as to be honest Punchline holds no interest to me.

Harvey is beginning a campaign to make Batman enemy #1 in Gotham City. The issue ends with Harvey and the Police attempting to capture Batman. Nevertheless, we don't spend much time on this issue from Batman or Bruce Wayne's point of view.

I know I sound like I'm down on Daredevil right now but I'm really not. Daredevil #34 was actually much better than the past few issues. Several plot points are finally coming together. The Cole and Matt fight is by far the best aspect of the issue. And, with the series planning to end or go on hiatus with issue #36, it feels like things are coming together to make an enjoyable finale.

Flash #772 is a great starting point in the next chapter for Wally West and his family. His new job has the potential to lead to some interesting directions. You don't need to have read the previous storyline in order to dive right in, which I highly recommend.

Without giving any of the plot points away, as the cover teases the Surfer teams up with the Marvels Original Captain Marvel (or Mar-vell). How and why this happens I wont give away (its still a mystery after the first issue anyway). This is already a great team-up. The Silver Surfer can sometimes come across as a snob, as he does early in this issue. His dialogue is very over the top and almost Shakespearian. Thats not necessarily a criticism of the character. Its actually great to hear him have a distinctive voice. The Silver Surfer has never been known to be subtle in his dialogue. When he says his trademark to me, my board! it made me smile.

The Death of Doctor Strange #3 is the halfway point of the main miniseries. There are some nice moments between rookie Doc and his supporting cast, mainly Clea. So far we haven't had a chance to see this version of Doctor Strange in battle. In fact previously for the most part he seemed to avoid getting involved. As he saw himself as more there to investigate his own death and settle affairs rather than fight. As mentioned earlier, it was nice to see him displaying how powerful he could be when attacking Mordo. I just wish the main villains came across as less a carbon copy of Galactus.

Snyders new publishing company has an interesting business model. All of the books release digital-first and at some point will be collected in print by Dark Horse Comics. But if you have Comixology or Kindle unlimited, or even Amazon Prime Reading, you can read each issue for free. That alone makes it worth checking out. The art is crisp and exciting, but it does feel like there is an info dump covering a lot of material for one issue. If you like a good Demon hunting team story, We Have Demons #2 might be up your alley, especially if you can try it out for free.

This story features Green Arrow and Grell creation Shado (think Daredevil's Elektra but more polite) taking down human traffickers. Grell doing both the writing and the art shows he hasn't lost a step in either area. If you desire A more grounded Green Arrow story this is one you're want to check out.

This first issue is part one of a three part story. Or two of the six digital chapters as this story has recently already concluded as a digital first series. The first issue does a great job of moving the story along fast. It is shaping up to be a nice timeless Batman story without the need to understand continuity. If you want a quick Batman story that doesn't try to reinvent everything you know about Batman, then this is a good place to start.

Moon Knight #5 continues to impress with its moody atmosphere and strong character rebuilding of Marc Spectre. There is a great examination of why Marc does the things he does while also reflecting on the cost of his actions. This does not mean there isn't any action of course. The cliffhanger ending of the villain revealed sets up what I'm sure will be an interesting next issue.

As the issue, and decades, go on it is interesting to see Jonah struggle with his demons. While he never truly accepts what he did to Spider-man was wrong, he does learn how his hatred destroyed his relationship with his son and grandchildren. The prison visit between Jonah and his son is particularly heartbreaking.

Death of Doctor Strange #2 is more action-packed than the first issue. That being said considering how much story we got in issue one this issue felt slower in pacing. This "new" Doctor is not quite as experienced and therefore it will be interesting to see where this series goes with that. His interactions with the other characters are great and I hope that gets explored more.

The Death of Doctor Strange #5 is a nice end to a surprisingly well-done mini-event. For what it's worth, you don't have to read all the tie-in issues to this story. The main series presents the story without needing all the back matter. However, I will miss Ditko Doc as he was just starting to get his own distinctive voice.

The Nice House on The Lake opens with an interesting setup. Almost like an episode of the Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. Plus, it feels timely unlike many comics today with the subtle COVID references. Hopefully, the following issues can build on what was started with this first issue.

The Nice House on the Lake #2 starts to explore the house and the group more. Plus, we learn Walter has been involved in their lives for a lot longer than we thought in the first issue. The mystery of what happened to the world and what will happen to the Lake group is still in the early stages. However, so far, it is a mystery worth following.

The Wrong Earth: Night & Day # 5 is the penultimate issue of a great miniseries. It introduced who may be the overall villain right from the start of the first Wrong Earth mini-series. Furthermore, the art continues to shine and the characters are all coming together. There hasn't been word yet if there is a planned follow-up to this series. However, I sincerely hope there is. These characters and their respective worlds deserve more exploring.

The plot itself doesn't move ahead far from the previous issues. Man-Dragonfly escapes to another Earth while our heroes discover that there are many Earths with hints of versions of the Dragonflies we haven't seen yet. This may lack giving an ending to the saga that began way back in the first Wrong Earth series as The Wrong Earth: Night and Day #6 is more a preview of where future series are going to go.

The reason why Wally is immune to the anger sweeping the city might be a tad “zen' for some. But it does show some growth in his character and also why he's a different Flash than Barry is.

Batman/Grendel is a tight fast-paced story that places two characters that feel like a perfect counterpoint to each other together flawlessly. While DC and Dark Horse have reprinted other intercompany crossovers in trade, there is not one for this currently available. There is a long out-of-print trade that collects this story and its sequel. Yes, there is a sequel with a different person wearing the Grendel mask. After Hunter Rose, there would be several people to wear his mask. To explain Grendels long history would require a much longer article. That being said, you dont need to know Grendels history to read this first mini-series. Everything is easily in place for the reader to follow.

Between the Flash and the current Nightwing series, DC seems to be quietly bringing back easier to access and just plain fun superhero comics. The Flash #777 continues this trend. While it continues the current storyline, it doesn't feel decompressed for a trade. You get plenty of story in this issue.

Moon Knight #8 despite being a spotlight on someone other than Moon Knightstill continues the great story building since issue one. It really is a great done-in-one issue that you dont have to have read the previous 7 issues to follow. Especially if you want to read a story with a character that is still new and a little back story that you need to know before going in. Also, I want to call out my favorite line in the issue that actually made me chuckle: MY GOD HAS NO ANGELS. ONLY FISTS

Coming off the heels of the last issue, Doctor Stranges time-displaced younger self is ready to attack suspect #1 Baron Mordo. In a nice twist what ends up happening is instead of a battle we get an engaging conversation. Even though this is a younger version of Doctor Strange, he stills has a history with the Baron. They did both train under the Ancient One. So it makes sense that instead of a fight the Baron defiantly explains why he couldnt have killed Doctor Strange.