Justice League Unlimited #12 is another one of these DCKO tie-ins that did zero for me. This whole concept of evacuating the planet Earth is preposterous and this comic just kept beating that drum. It’s written as if the Justice League are Gods overlooking the human race and the humans are just mindless lemmings following the will of the “heroes”. The major plot of the over powered super villains is quickly explained on one page and then on the next page, there is another silly concept featuring alternate/earlier versions of key League members. There is very little to latch on to or care about in this book. If this KO event was supposed to pull me into these DC titles … it’s failing miserably. more

First off the art in this book was simply amazing - easily one of the best drawn books I’ve seen this year. The story was tight and well written … if not a little too familiar. I enjoyed every page of this comic. I was honestly ready to jump right into issue 2. The coloring is a little muddled in some spots … but all in all a near perfect comic reading experience. Books like this validate comics as a unique and beautiful form of entertainment. Highly recommend!
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The silliness of the DC KO event has slipped into the monthly DC books. Nothing wrong with the writing or the art - but conceptually it’s bonkers. The whole story is predicated on heroes having to duke it out to claim the Heart of Apokolips and become King Omega for some very convoluted reasons and now how that goofiness effects the Superman family. I feel bad for the creative team on this book having to wedge this preposterous concept into their monthly title. Evacuating the entire planet Earth … please … only in comics I guess. Also the last page reveal … meh.

Feels like if you are reading DC KO … you could skip this book. more

Star Wars: Jedi Knights #7 was a slight step down from the previous issue - but still strong. Mace & Aalya go on a quest to find the antidote for the poison that is killing Qui-Gon. It’s a fun romp with some AMAZING art and three splash pages (making it a quicker read). If you had never seen the prequel Star Wars films you might be under the impression that Qui-Gon might actually be on death’s door … but … no spoilers. The art alone makes this book worth the price of admission … but the book provides a solid and fun story - even if Mace & Aalya do a morally questionable thing. Still the best Star Wars comic on the market.
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The Flash #26 was a fine comic, well paced and fun but ultimately - middle of the road. At the end of the day for all of the over written narration it felt a bit pointless. I picked up this issue because it was a DC KO tie-in and it served that purpose flawlessly. Gave us all the info about the event showed the story from a different point of view … but then it does what most event cross-overs do - launches a side-quest. There was a bunch of speed-force / time travel stuff at play that ultimately takes a few characters off the board and drops them into a story that most likely will have zero impact on the overall event. It’s not likely that I will be picking up issue 27. more

Star Wars: Jedi Knights #6 was another excellent prequel era story! Three Jedi investigating the death of a fallen master - exactly what I would want from a comic set in this time period! Mace Windu, Qui-Gon, and Aayla Secura are all on point, especially Qui-Gon Jinn. Things go sideways … as is tradition, and suddenly we are thrust into the larger plot that has been in the background of this series since issue one. Guggenheim’s writing and Musabekov’s art echo the finest work done by Dark Horse back in the day. Also (I had to look it up) the planet they visit in this pre-Episode One story will later be important to the Andor series … I love connections like that.

My only complaint was that in one panel Qui-Gon says “I don’t know” … that didn’t fit his normal cadence - I believe the character would have said “ I do not know.” - #NitPick

This is still the BEST Star Wars comic being published! If you were a fan of the Star Wars comics that came out post Phantom Menace - this series is for YOU. more

I don’t feel I got my money’s worth with Blue Falcon and Dynomutt #2 - 20 pages of story and 12 pages of ads feel very uneven to me at $4.99. If this were some random indie-book, I would completely understand … though they would only print 20 or 24 pages not 36. This is a licensed comic from a very well established publisher … I expected a little more bang for my buck … or rather FIVE bucks. It was explained by my retailer how Dynamite is suffering due to Diamond comics distributors owing them a serious amount of money … so I will give a bit of leniency … if the book is good … hence where the problem lies.

The story feels very short and a bit silly and nothing really happens until the literal last page. Pasquale Qualando’s art on some pages is eye catching and captivating, on other’s its drab and boring, very inconsistent. The writing by Jimmy Palmiotti is well done with rich narration and strong dialog … however there is a serious lettering mistake the no one caught. I hate to harp on this … but I did pay $4.99 for this book, these sort of mistakes shouldn’t get passed the editor. Again if it were a smaller publisher - I wouldn’t mind.

All in all - I expected better and hope that Dynamite will do better - I’ll come back for issue 3, with hope in my heart. more

15th Book of October - G.I. Joe #12 - felt like a Special Missions story, a small group of Joes (this time Night Force) on a single mission to rescue a sniper by the name of Shooter. Points off for using that name, it was put into the original G.I. Joe #1 in the 80s as a tribute to Marvel EIC Jim Shooter who recently passed away … they should have just retired the name. Personal feelings aside - the writing was tight and fun - had an action film vibe … the art was a little rough … seemed like in a few panels they just colored over the pencils. Though it did very little to add to the overall Joe story and even less to add to the Energon Universe … it was still a nice one-off. more

DC KO #1 was a ridiculous mess. The story was an overly complicated plot device to have the DC heroes fight each other. I don’t know what I was expecting from such a silly concept. It’s well written and that alone might have me return for the next issue … the art was decent … though it seemed a bit sketchy and during the final pages was a tad confusing. The concept that in a real fist fight Superman might lose is a bit ludicrous - looking at the heroes (and villains) they are using for this story … he could punch half of their heads off without even trying. This is by far the silliest Crisis or event DC has put forth since the original … however - it’s already better than Final Crisis or Heroes in Crisis or Dark Crisis … and I bought all of those issues. All that being said - I guess I’ll stick around for the next issue. more

This is one of those comics where I keep getting stuck staring at panels to try to make sense of what's happening in them. The art's way too busy and sketchy for a story that has dozens of cameos that need to be identifiable. As an example, without the speech bubble where he identifies himself, Damage would have been just a black shape and a weirdly-colored partial figure (mostly arm). The coloring also makes it hard to distinguish who's who and what they're doing, with whole panels just being similar shades of unnatural colors.

The story, eh, it's silly; really just a gobbledegook working-backwards to justify the bracket tournament which is the core. It peaks when Mister Terrific captures every super-villain on Earth in a few pages (granted, it doesn't stick), which begs a LOT of questions if it's taken more seriously than the most ridiculous Golden Age story gimmick.
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Blood & Thunder #6 - while not horrible makes a great jumping off point. The book was intentionally anticlimactic … with nothing too important to say. I don’t mind a good bait & switch, but the switched out segment needs to at least mean something … not just “see ya next issue”. When I first started reading this series I felt that the writer was just making things up as he went along, now I’m pretty sure. 

I’m out. more

Star Wars: Jedi Knight #5 was a coda for the 4th episode of the cartoon - Tales of the Jedi on Disney+. It only serves to add more context to that episode even opening with 2 pages pulled right from the cartoon. If read before seeing that episode … it spoils it, if read after that episode (and Attack of the Clones) it hints at things you already know are going to happen. So ultimately the story is pointless outside of just being another short Star Wars tale. All that criticism aside, it was another well written and beautifully illustrated comic, that still remains the BEST Star Wars book being pumped out by the Marvel/Disney machine. more

While I enjoyed Aquaman #10, I miss the straight forward adventure story that was presented in the first arc. I felt a lot of the supporting cast, especially Nemo are being sidelined in favor of exploring Arthur’s new powers. While this is fine and understandable I do miss the “Justice League: Blue” and the nuances they gave to the book. I did think Aquaman fighting ghost pirates was super fun, the only thing missing was Topo to make this a true classic. The mystery surrounding Atlantis and now Aquaman’s daughter are interesting … but not exactly intriguing. I’m still squarely behind this title, but am worried it might be drifting out to sea a little. more

Transformers #25 was exactly what it needed to be … it executed the story spectacularly - every beat was played to perfection. It’s strange … one can easily say “not much happened in this issue” while a the same time saying that “so much happened in this issue”. All the pieces were rearranged on the board to set a new status quo going forward and did so with out discounting anything that has come before. The characters were on point (though Prime was a little quite at parts). Not only did this book refocus the Energon Universe … it also expanded it’s world by introducing … no … that would be spoilers.

All in all Kirkman, Mora, and Corona delivered what they promised and then some. I am ready to see where the story goes from here and HIGHLY recommend this issue. Even if you didn’t read the first 24 issues … Transformers #25 is a great place to jump in. more

I am so close to dumping this series … but there is just something here that keeps me hanging on. I enjoyed last issue and where this issue started - but once Akeldama (Blood) showed up in the story again … I started to lose interest. The profanity and childish dialogue takes a book that features a somewhat intriguing plot and knocks it down a few pegs. I have the next issue waiting in my pull-box … it could be my last. more

Star Wars: Jedi Knights #4 was the weakest entry thus far. While the storytelling was competent, it lacked a bit of the prequel era vibe. This story focuses on a criminal - Phaedra who makes her first canonical appearance here, she first appeared in the Han Solo and Chewbacca series (also by Guggenheim) a few years back. I have zero attachment to the character and this book did very little to endear her to me. As a throwaway character I guess she’s adequate - but I felt her design was distracting, she looked more like a 2000’s junkie than an alien from a galaxy far far away.

Qui-Gon and Shaak Ti were the Jedi featured in this story … though they were just pawns for the “much smarter” Phaedra. There were appearances from some prequel era favorites like Aurra Sing, Zan Wesell, and Jango Fett, but they weren’t give enough to do. This should have been bounty hunter focused or Jedi focused … not both … as there wasn’t enough time for either.

There was a nice hint at the larger story arc, so I have to applaud Guggenheim’s ability to weave a new interesting tapestry in the middle of an already explored timeline. This is still the best Star Wars comic being published today and I still recommend it. more

I’m honestly shocked and very much confused by the positive comments from the Critic Reviews that are saying great things about Starship Godzilla #1. IDW keeps letting me down with these Godzilla comics and Starship Godzilla was no different. It read and looked like a low tier, self-published effort as opposed to an extremely popular licensed property from a “major” publisher. Outside of the “passable cover” nothing about this book seemed professional in the slightest, honestly feels like they are cranking out these books to try and justify the licensing cost.

I do NOT recommend Starship Godzilla #1. more

Absolute Evil was well written and clearly well thought out … but boring as heck. All this book did was expand the “Absolute Universe” giving it a history that resembles an upside down version of the standard DC Universe … and that’s ALL it did. Yes there are some well written character pieces and they did knock off an Absolute version of one of my favorite DC characters to up the flatlined drama. Clearly this book is setting up something that will come into play in the other Absolute books … but six bucks for a backstory that I’m sure will be retold down the road felt a bit like a grift. more

Fantastic Four #3 was better than the previous issue ... but that’s not saying much. The plot was fine and the “defeat” of Doom was interesting - but apparently will have zero affect on the Doom crossover event. The book was competently written and the plot made sense (even though it was tied to time-travel) however the characters (with a few exceptions) are entirely off. If you changed the costumes and names - a reader couldn’t tell this was the Fantastic Four. For decades the characters could clearly be tied to their Lee/Kirby origins, writers respected what had come before … but in the 21st century I guess anything goes. If you want to read a perfect take on Ben Grimm, The Thing - avoid this series and check out the recent Thing limited series by Tony Fleecs and Justin Mason - it’s so good.

Also why is Sue flying the Fantasti-Car instead of Ben, when did she learn how to fly? more

Batman #2 was a solid second issue, not as tight as the first. It was a little too Tim Drake - Robin focused … with an unwelcome side of Damian Wayne. The narrative was a little loose with flashbacks cut into the main attraction. Frankly the book would have been just fine without the flashbacks, the crooked-ish cop plot should have been enough carry the book. It’s a slight step down from the first issue, but I still recommend it, I’ll come back for issue three. more

Cold Slither #1 was fun … but not as fun as I thought it could be. The story seems set in the animated universe and that’s fine … but it was a weird story that I didn’t feel went deep enough into the lunacy surrounding the concept. All in all it’s very forgettable, unless you are a hardcore G.I. Joe fan, there isn’t much here for you.

Speed Racer #3 was as fun as the first two - Pepose & Tinto clearly know how to capture speed and motion on the comic page. The races always feel exciting. This issue gave more depth to the cartoony plot … but the Racer X spin-off book undercut all of the intrigue this story had to offer and frankly didn’t really mesh with the vibe of this comic. My only other complaint is how many times the character of Ace Deucey said his own name … that was weird. All-in-all … Speed Racer is delivering a fun and well written comic that anyone can enjoy, if you like all-ages escapism … Speed Racer is the book for you. more

Though not tied to the larger story, I found Star Wars: Jedi Knights #3 to be quite enjoyable. The story was told through beautifully rendered splash pages by Madibek Musabekov, each one a work of art. The story was pretty much all action and I was fine with that. The central characters were Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan … my two favorite Jedi so I was pleased to read another adventure with them. I still HIGHLY recommend this series … its the BEST Star Wars comic being published right now (at least up to issue 3 … I’m still catching up). more

I don’t want to trash this book … it’s clearly written for very little children and they deserve to have comics too, I just expected more, I also think that the target audience might be a little brighter than the writer is giving them credit for. I stopped reading at the staple.

Immortal Legend Batman #2 was 100% NOT written for readers with my sensibilities. There is very little character depth and the story just sort of happens. Innocent people die and Bruce/Batman sits and does nothing … this is the “hero” of the story? All flash and very little substance. I have no idea (outside of sales) why this character is named Batman … he hardly resembles any other version of the character … and this time he has a special-bat-sense … WHY? I’m out with this issue. more

Tony Fleecs and Justin Mason stuck the landing perfectly! This was a straight up street-level Thing story from beginning to end - not a Marvel Knight type of tale … this was much more fun! This is the best Thing (and FF) story I have read in years and hope to see these two return for a second helping. If you missed the single issues grab it when it’s collected - just good comics - highly recommend. more

Void Rivals #23 was a bit of a letdown ... the first in this series … it seems that Kirkman was racing towards an epic climax only to have the rug pulled out from under us. The Skuxxoid storyline is fun and somewhat interesting … but should not have been part of this issue - everything should have been focused on the Unity story. The Pythona and Wheelie meet up was over shadowed by what was happening (or NOT happening) in plot A. Still a well written issue … just wasn’t what was promised in the previous 22 issues. more

This series continues to impress me with its prequel era vibe. Another one-and-done Jedi focused story with a continuing plot thread. I even told my son how impressed with this book I am. Star Wars: Jedi Knights is so much better than the main Star Wars title. I highly recommend it!

I’m sorry … but Deadpool / Batman was a huge letdown … maybe I’m just not the right audience for Deadpool, as I found the dull and unfunny dialog a chore to read. The story is tired and uninspired. The rest of the stories were hit and miss - but none are really memorable. You would think with such a high profile book it would be so much better. There is a lot of great talent in this book ��� I feel no one brought their a-game.
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G.I. Joe #11 wrapped up the Baroness / Cover Girl plot nicely - leaving Major Bludd in a way that I’m not sure how the writers will handle the character going forward. The other plots wrap-up in a satisfying way, yet still have me wanting more. Plenty of fun, plenty of action, a great ending that sets the stage for what’s to come in issue 12. I continue to recommend this title along with ALL of the Energon Universe books.
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