It's unfair to judge the book by these standards but by choosing a real, very politicized setting Jordan invites this critique. Sombra #1 is not a smart book, and the fact that so much of it is comprised of really boneheaded dialogue drags the whole thing down. I would be interested in reading the rest of this mini-series and maybe some of my gripes with this issue would be resolved but based on this issue, I don't recommend this comic book at all.

There's no attempt to enlighten the readers as to the what the point of this is, there's a handful of character moments which are interesting but this arc has been completely vapid. This issue in particular felt like filler.

Cyborg: Rebirth tries to do a lot (it has to) but it doesn't accomplish much. There are some interesting fluorishes to both the writing and the art but I just feel like the approach is all wrong.

Even with consistently good art, uneven pacing and a lack of focus has made Night of Monster Men a mediocre story.

Sombra is one of the most deeply flawed comic books that I've read. This issue is an improvement over the previous one but it doesn't fix the problems that the first one had. Even if I can't understand the appeal, I know there are people who will be interested in this sort of narrative. Recommended for fans of Heart of Darkness.

While Marquez's art was outstanding, the plot left me really cold. I wouldn't be comfortable dismissing this entirely, J.R. Ryan might have interesting things to say going forward but he needs to figure out a way to tell them in a more engaging manner.

Overall this still had some positives, it wasn't so bad that I would drop the series entirely but maybe I'll skip next issue. Apocalypse Wars has gone on for too long, In hindsight, I would recommend skipping All-New X-Men for the duration of the crossover unless you are a fan of either Beast or Evan.

All-New X-Men #12 is on par with the rest of the series, it's an OK book if you already like the characters here. But at the same time Hopeless is taking a lot of time building up the team, as a reader figuring out who gets featured on each issue is basically a wild guess.

Batgirl #2 is a bit of let-down. There's still a lot to like here, so hopefully the series will pick up with the next few issues.

Detective Comics #942 brings Night of the Monster Men to a close. Despite being released within 4 weeks and having good art from start to finish, this story felt too long. It delivered a lot of action and a heavy-handed reflection on What Batman Means, so on some level it does what you would expect but neither of those things are particularly exciting on their own, especially since they aren't all that well-executed.

I think the issue ends up falling flat, it does alright getting its point across but there's too much hinted at that's left unexplained in the end and the art doesn't draw you in. There's something here but it just didn't pique my interest enough.

As with Batman #7, I think the story on Nightwing #5 could be better. That being said, there are some good things on both of these comics. You'll probably like this crossover if the idea of it strongly appeals to you beforehand, if you are on the fence about it, you should probably skip it.

Even though this is one of the most visually accomplished books coming out at the moment, it doesn't work well at all in a monthly format. It remains to be seen whether this first arc reads better when collected but its flaws are amplified when reading it on an issue-by-issue basis.

Aside from the art, which was a very pleasant surprise, the side of Night of the Monster Men that I'm most invested in are the characters that I already liked from Detective Comics. It's not like this comic book is a trainwreck but all things considered, most of Batman #7 feels meandering and unfocused.

The book doesn't break new ground but at a 1.99 price point, it's worth taking a flyer on if you are looking for a new series to read.

This is shaping up to be a good Spider-Man story. Even if it might not be essential to this event, it looks like it'll be more measured than the mangling this character got during the first Civil War. Still not sure whether I'll pick this up next month but it might be worth giving it a shot.

I didn't enjoy this issue of Detective Comics as much as the previous ones but I'm still on board. The “Monster Men” crossover might get skipped by me because I'm not reading Batman and I'm on the fence about Nightwing but this first arc single-handedly made me care about this cast of characters, it's definitely worth reading.

Between Night of the Monster Men and the death of Tim Drake, Detective Comics has been spinning its wheels for the past few issues. Hopefully once this arc kicks into its second act the book goes back to being as engaging as the Rise of the Batmen was.

As it has become usual in the last few months for the X-Men titles, this issue has some good ideas but sub-par execution. Lemire and Bunn might be some of the best writers working for Marvel right now but neither of their X-books have had great art and they are about to spend the better part of a year tied up in events, which is ultimately what is limiting these books from achieving their potential.

Despite sub-par art and lettering, the ending of Apocalypse Wars was satisfying. Even though the issue is really lacking on some areas, Lemire finishes this event with an intriguing set-up for the future of this series.

To sum up, while this isn't as strong of an issue as some of the previous ones and the back-up story was a bit of let-down, Crook is great on this as usual and I think the next few issues have the potential to be better and really cement Bernice and Emmy as great characters.

I liked reading Nightwing: Rebirth a lot, and this book does enough to keep me interested in the series but in the end I found it lacking. Nightwing #1 repeats a lot of beats from the Rebirth one-shot, hopefully next issue picks up the pace.

Maybe long-time fans of the character will appreciate this more than I do but the book lacks the playful tone that I liked so much from Grayson and the Rebirth one-shot. The art by Javier Fernández improves from last issue but it still has its problems. On the other hand, Chris Sotomayor's coloring is fantastic and Mangual's lettering is perfect. The book has a good team so hopefully next issue will be better.

Although Ewing's writing was still effective and Rocafort's art was still great, this issue was a let-down. It is not too different from earlier chapters of this series, which I had loved or at the very least liked a lot but a lot of tiny things add up to make this the least appealing version of The Ultimates to me.

This issue is bloated, rushing to tie a lot of loose ends together. Christian Ward's art is still very good but after that wonderful first arc, The Ultimates has been one of the most underwhelming comics of the year.

The B.P.R.D. team deliver another solid book. While the story could be stronger, the art is outstanding as always in this series. We're nearing the end of the Hell on Earth cycle so there's not a lot we know about the direction this is going to take moving forward but I hope we'll be able to see Ashley again soon.

Backstagers #1 is a very entertaining read. The story is cheerful and light-hearted and the art is lovely. Definitely a comic to look for if you are a fan of BOOM! Box or if you are just looking for something fun to read.

In the midst of all the controversy around Barbara Gordon, it is really refreshing to read a book this good with a lighter tone. The art and coloring are outstanding, while the writing plants the seeds for what promises to be a unique run. This is another Rebirth comic that I'll be adding to my pull list.

It's hard to judge this issue in the strength of its story, since Lemire doesn't show us a lot of the characters' past or drops many hints about their future, but he does enough to craft intriguing relationships between them. The real strength of the book lies on its gorgeous art, Black Hammer has some of Stewart's best colouring work and Ormston's art isn't far behind.

Black Panther continues to be one of the more interesting books out there, it is really engaging thematically and recently it has managed to couple that with being more consistently fun. However, I found the art to be a bit lacking in this issue.

Without the option to draw on and allude to a Vertigo title, Gerard Way and Jon Rivera tell a more orthodox story. However, Cave Carson #1 still feels bizarre and inventive like the rest of the Young Animal line, while also maintaining the quality in art, coloring and lettering seen in Shade and Doom Patrol.

All things considered, I'm not sure whether this is any better than All-New All-Different Avengers. Champions has a good premise but even though Waid and Ramos' work here is fine, but this first issue doesn't do anything but the bare minimum. Waid introduces a strong team dynamic but it remains to be seen whether this will be anything other than an above-average superhero team book.

The amount of attention that has been placed on Clash is very strange for a new supporting character, he's gotten 2 books dedicated to him with really good creators on them. Perez and Herring's work for Learning to Crawl was probably the best art that we've seen in a Spidey book and while Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man doesn't quite reach those heights but this made for a solid mini-series.

This issue takes CW II: Kingpin on a different direction than what I expected, I think it suffers from being too unfocused plot-wise but I really enjoy the way the book looks from Lopez Ortiz's lines to Lopes' coloring and Lanham's letters.

For all its flaws, Monster Men really did get better with this issue, with an intriguing cliffhanger and outstanding art. Andy MacDonald is truly one of the best artists working for DC even if he doesn't have that many credits. MacDonald also drew Detective Comics #942 so I'll be looking forwards to reading that and hoping the whole crossover maintains this newfound level of quality.

Doom Patrol is a very surreal and weird comic. I'd even call it inaccesible to a degree. But despite having never read any of the previous runs, I think the marriage of Way's eccentric writing, Derington's smooth art, Bonvillain's striking colors and Klein's bold lettering make this book a really enjoyable and welcoming read.

Between Ibañez's art and Lemire's improved handle on his X-Men, reading the past 2 issues of this series has been very refreshing. I hadn't enjoyed every part of an X-book this much in a while. It took a while but it seems like Extraordinary X-Men is finally taking off.

With this issue, Harrow County regains some momentum but regardless of what ends up happening with these characters, I really appreciate the craft that the creators put into this series. Crook and Bunn are really good at all the little details that make a good comic book.

Harrow County delivers another issue with great art with Carla Speed McNeil and Jenn Manley Lee filling in for Tyler Crook. However, the storytelling continues to be a bit hit-or-miss.

Overall, I had some qualms with this issue but it still had a lot of good things going for it. The world-building is great and the characters are very endearing. More importantly, it is a lot of fun.

Seeley's writing has been very tonally different from Grayson, and part of that comes down to how different Raptor is from The Tiger. I really enjoyed how he subverts the Suyolak speech though. It's a tiny moment but I appreciate that he lets that sense of humour shine through but unlike Grayson, the humour in Nightwing is usually very understated. Nightwing has also retained some of the thriller vibe from Grayson, with members from Spyral sticking around and now rival spy agencies are starting to show up.This issue is a satisfying conclusion to “Better than Batman”, I still feel this arc was mostly underwhelming, this comic could be something really special, but it was an enjoyable read overall. I hope this team sticks together and is allowed to grow, which might be downright impossible given the double-shipping.

Nightwing: Rebirth definitely has that charm and swagger that a lot of fans appreciate about this character. It does a lot in 20 pages, revisting Grayson's supporting cast and even hyping the Birds of Prey series debuting next week with the appearance of Huntress. Even then, I thought it was enjoyable enough on its own and it does set up what should be a good Nightwing series. With this and Detective Comics, the Batfamily are having a great moment.

I enjoyed myself a lot reading Rise of the Black Flame #1. There might be nothing that wins readers new to the Mignolaverse here, but there's compelling writing and very good art.

The Skeptics #1 is a book full of intrigue and mystery. I loved the style of the art in this book, but I thought certain beats could've been done more effectively. It did leave me puzzled and with a lot of questions about where this is going, so I'll be looking forward to the second issue.

The WicDiv crew find a way to highlight the characters even during the climax of the showdown that has been built up for the past few months. But there's still more to look forward to, as the issue left me with a lot of questions about what would happen next.

This one-shot is astonishingly well-crafted but it isn't what I usually expect from the series so I feel like I didn't fully grasp it. That's on me though. I still enjoyed it but I recognize that there a lot of layers here and that I'll end up revisiting it in the future.

The artist and letterer do some fantastic, inventive work on this issue and the writing did make me curious about where the series will go but I found some of the plot confusing, fleshing out the story with later issues should help with that. If you are interested in a story espionage and conspiracies, it's definitely worth your while.

Civil War II has been kind of a bummer but this repackages the strengths of the event without its weaknesses. Ewing avoids the usual pitfalls of big crossovers as he manages to integrate the topics of the event almost seamlessly into The Ultimates. Also, I seriously want more Xarggu.

Ewing and co. tell an entertaining story and the pages by Rocafort are fantastically drawn, but this book is still doing something completely different from what made me start reading it, while also taking a dip in quality overall. I'm somewhat dissapointed but this is still a very solid comic.

I've said this on previous reviews for this title but I'm not as invested in the meta-textual commentary, which this issue has a lot, as I am in the cast of characters. Thankfully, Black Hammer #4 goes a long way to show us a really interesting dynamic between this family.

I haven't written about the role that public perception and leaked information has played in this series and I think that's very interesting. I think the reason that this has become so immensely despite all its idiosyncrasies is that it strikes at a lot of themes that concern a great deal of people currently. And while Coates' story hasn't had many big fist pump moments (last page of this issue being one of a handful), all parts of Black Panther are very accomplished, from Coates' layered prose and dialogue to Stelfreeze and Sprouse's versatile art.

The portrayal of Wilson Fisk is really solid here, but the true highlight of the book is how Kingpin #1 gathers some of the most distinctive talents currently working at Marvel and builds a very interesting character in Janus. Oh, and Kingpin wears a tracksuit.

Al Ewing was able to make a very enjoyable series out of a mobile game tie-in. He manages to build good, interesting characters in the midst of an out-and-out action story. It's understandable that this is ending as its sales were never great but the series was always surprisingly entertaining.

This book is a blast, it feels like a great movie blockbuster. It's thought of as an axiom that the quality of a series will drop when double-shipped but so far Tynion and the 'Tec team have kept a really high standard, taking full advantage of their amazing cast and clearly placing this book as one of the better things happening in superhero comics.

Anyways, this series just doesn't let up, Tynion and co. leave us with another exciting cliffhanger after a fun issue. The whole arc has been fantastic. I'm excited to see how "Rise of the Batmen" reads all together after the final issue comes out next month.

Harrow County keeps getting better and better with each issue of this arc. Bunn and Crook play more to their strengths and visually this is one of my favorite chapters of the series so far.

One of the books I look forward to the most every month, Harrow County delivers another quality issue. Tyler Crook's art keeps getting better and better with every issue, and his lines alone are worth the price of admission.

Hip Hop Family Tree's attention to detail and research has always been mesmerizing and Piskor's art is unique and fantastic. Even though the series has started to portray the time period during which hip hop became massified, it still feels close and intimate. Definitely a book worth picking up.

Kim & Kim #1 is a great first issue. I want to know more about these characters and this universe as much as I want to see more of Cabrera and Aguirre's joyously colorful art. I was excited to read this book based on how fun it looked and it amply met my expectations. Definitely excited to read the next chapters of this book.

Ms. Marvel offers a unique take on the conflict at the crux of Marvel's latest event as G. Willow Wilson keeps delivering one of the best books in the big 2. I definitely recommend picking this up regardless of your feelings about Civil War II.

Featuring great art by Marley Zarcone and Kelly Fitzpatrick, Shade the Changing Girl is a very stylish comic book. While it seems that the book doesn't try to adapt to appeal to new readers who might not be familiar with the Shade mythos, this first issue is a worthwile read just because of the creative's team attention to detail in art and story.

While this is not as action-packed as last issue, it does a perfect job tying up some loose ends from the previous arc and it sets up what should be a great issue next month. I already can't wait for it.

The Wicked + The Divine still feels as exhilarating as it did at first, the art by McKelvie and the coloring are arguably even better now than back then, it's all excellent. The series will take a break until November (nooo!) but there's a mysterious one-shot coming out next month. Either way, you should read this.

The Wicked + The Divine #23 is a really daring issue and the WicDiv team almost effortlessly pull off a format which could've gone wrong in any number of ways.

4 Kids Walk Into A Bank has raced out of the gate with 2 great issues. The tone on this book is perfect for its subject matter, with the almost palpable danger of an impending confrontation being balanced out by an ever-present unique sense of humour. Combined with the incredible art, it definitely makes this a comic you should be reading.

If you were on the fence about Black Hammer after the first issue, I think you should definitely seek this book out. After reading this issue, there are very few comics that I'm as excited about as Black Hammer.

I wasn't too excited about Black Hammer's premise at first but the all-star creative team has surpassed my expectations. This issue is as great as the last one. I really can't recommend this book enough.

Black Panther #4 is the best issue of the series so far. Coates' writing is outstanding and Stelfreeze's vibrant art brings it to life. The visuals and the story complement each other perfectly and the book offers some interesting thoughts on leadership and government. There's a lot of thing that could spoil a book that deals with such complicated topics but I think so far it has been undeniably great.

This is yet another outstanding issue. I understand how a series like this can be divisive but it's really been flawless so far. First trade came out on Wednesday, go pick that up if you haven't read this.

The whole issue is a thrill from beginning to end. The art feels like a step-up from previous weeks and Tynion's story is very gripping, while making compelling, three-dimensional characters out of every single character. Always looking forward to more of this series.

Ms. Marvel has been an amazing title since it launched 2 years ago, and this Civil War II tie-in maintained that same level of quality, even though the tone of it was somewhat a departure from the previous issues. Since the relaunch, there's been real growth to Kamala Khan and I hope that it gets explored more on the next few issues.

Ms. Marvel #12 is another great issue in one of the best runs in recent memory. G. Willow Wilson tackles complicated topics with remarkable ease and the art by Mirka Andolfo is a seamless fit with the book.