A lukewarm start for Worlds Without End. We have the Birds running around in front a gray background for 20 pages and... Yeah, that about covers it. I get the feeling this will be one of those 6-issue plotlines that could be told in 2 or 3. We'll see. I went back and read #1 again, and that arc opening was so much better; this issue looks even worse by comparison.

This is a review for #1 to the annual, so 9 books total. As of the time of this writing, it covers all the releases for the series thus far. There are new things and good things in this Flash run. The good things are not new. The new things are not good. I appreciate what Mr. Spurrier is trying to do, and at first glance, it looks like a great idea: Let's mess around with hard sci-fi concepts for this one! After all, the Flash family has been breaking the laws of physics more than most for decades. So how about we make the laws a little harder and with a little more consequence? While this is a nifty concept, the result we have so far is atrocious. There are simply too many ideas thrown in the blender, and they all need lengthy explanations. Suddenly, the books grow verbose, slow, and exposition dumps become the norm. The characters turn into hideous mouthpieces. On and off it turns into a novella. Are there cool ideas in here? There are, but most of them are not actually used in the plot and are not worth the cost or the pain. They never manage to coax it into a good, entertaining story. Too often, the pages serve as a gallery of ideas the creative team probably likes and wants to use but doesn't really know how, so they don't. They just throw it in there completely raw to prove to us, the readers, they have ideas, but that's about as far as it goes. The result is a convoluted, drudging mess. I feel the editor failed the creative team and us by allowing such excess to make its way to the final product. And then we have Mr. Deodato Jr. coming in to illustrate this mare's nest and what a blunder that is. It's not the artist's fault. Some artists are better suited to certain books. MDJ is not the guy to draw The Flash. His figures have a statuary quality to them. They're heavy, gloomy, always partially buried in darkness. Bringing that quality to a hero whose symbol is a bolt of lightning might not be the sharpest move ever made. The decision to slice full illustrations with panels is odd, unwarranted, and simply quite ugly. So, in the end, we have both the artwork and the writing being a detriment to what is trying to accomplish. It's supposed to be a hard sci-fi horror story. It has elements of both things, but it fails to be interesting or entertaining. I gave this run more than I felt it deserved. They didn't wrap it up in the annual, so I'm firing it. I appreciate the attempt, but it simply didn't work. It's time to move on.

After reading each issue of JSA, I would tell myself, 'Well, it certainly wasn't good, but there's a lot to juggle here, so maybe they just need more time.' Welp, that's it for me, folks. This is not good, and it won't get good. It's just one huge to-do list. Issue #6's cover summarizes this series pretty well. A bunch of guys are leaning over a table, looking at a bunch of DC characters, trying to figure out who goes where. There isn't a proper story here; it's just one long and boring inventory list. The villain is wishy-washy, and his motivations are bland. No sense of danger or drama, barely any action. Everything in these books feels like what it is: dressing for a laundry list. The artwork is solid, and it deserved a better script. I really appreciate Mr. Johns's writing (His Geiger is one of the best things I've read in a long time), but this is a mess. On to better things!

A choppy and scattered start for Man's Best, with sanctimonious and complacent dialogue coming from the humans, while the animals quarrel with each other, desperate for some characterization, and with very limited success. Then the animals go about destroying stuff they don't understand, making the dialogue at the beginning even more sour. I'm sure the plot will justify their actions but it fails to be entertaining. The artwork is OK but for a book that depends so much on cool machinery/mecha/tech designs it was lacking. The tech stuff looks uninspired and forgettable. The writing is unfortunately atrocious. I'll pass this one.

The writing is atrocious. You follow a phone call for 40 pages, and the characterization it accomplishes by then could've been done in less than half of that space without the pain. Artwork is self-indulgent, forgoing comic book conventions to go its own way in a scraggly and unattractive manner. The plot itself doesn't seem too bad, but the dialogue smothers it in the crib.

I'm being a little unfair to this series because I have good things to say about the first two issues, yet my first review for this Titan run of Savage Sword of Conan is to criticize an issue. Before I start, I want to say this has been a terrific Conan magazine, perhaps the most interesting product involving the Conan IP I've seen in a long while. That said, let me point out what a step down this third issue is from the previous one. Like I said, this mag is one of the cooler products involving Conan in a while. Likewise, the first and longest story in this issue, 'Wolves of the Tundra', has to be one of the laziest Conan stories I've read in a while. Starting with the artwork. Not a single panel in this 36-page story looks like it belongs to Hyboria or Sword & Sorcery in general. The buildings, objects, clothing, and general atmosphere of every page are painfully generic and uninspired. I didn't feel like spending more than a few seconds on each page. The previous issue I spent a long time admiring Mr. Pace artwork. Yes, it was rough, perhaps a little too rough at points for some people, but the whole thing has soul to it. In 'Wolves of the Tundra' however, nothing stands out, except a general indifference to it all. I would not be surprised if Mr. Nord was on a tight schedule and rushed the whole thing out the door, being content to phone it in. He fades to black all the action, shying from actually showing any fights. Instead, we get a black page with a few 'RARRRHs' and 'KRASHs' and that's it. Absolutely ridiculous and lazy. In fact, he shies away from showing any of the interesting moments and conflicts in the story. What a terrible, lame decision, especially for Conan. I can't remember the last time I've seen a Conan story so awfully illustrated. The story itself doesn't help, either. We know Conan has plot armor, but this is not an excuse to simply forego any sense of danger. The Hyborian Age is a dangerous period, even for someone like Conan, but here, all you get is this phony world where every conflict feels poorly staged. There's no sense of fear in this story, despite being pretty much a horror tale. It's weird; it's as if all the enemies are there, just waiting to be defeated by Conan. They have no personality, no charm, nothing. They serve as the ingredients for chunky salsa, and that's it. And that's pretty much the story, by the way. Conan goes from page to page, making chunky salsa out of everything and everybody. Just like the artwork, it is terribly uninspired and boring. Dialogue is awful, mundane, and lacking in any flavor or enthusiasm. Next up, we get an excerpt from the book Conan: City of the Dead. I'm not particularly fond of Mr. Hocking's writing, but his stuff reads like Shakespeare after trudging through Wolves of the Tundra. After the book excerpt, we get the last part of Master of the Hunt, a Solomon Kane story, and that has been a fun and decent read. The other Conan story we get is Mr. Quah's Lure of the Pit Creature. It's a Monster of the Week type of tale. It's fun enough for what it is, and you can tell, unlike Mr. Tieri and Mr. Nord, Mr. Quah actually cared about what he was doing. The editors should've given him the main story instead. I bet he would have written and/or drawn something way better than what we got for the main course. The pin-ups are amazing. It's good that they are there to remind you what this stuff should look like. Mr. Horley's pin-up depicts Kull and a party of angry Serpent people. Very evocative and alluring. The second pin-up is by Mr. De La Torre, and nothing I can say will praise his style enough. Just let the man illustrate the whole magazine, and you're golden. Mr. Zub's accompanying poem is not bad and carries the right flavor and punch sorely lacking in the main story for this issue. Hopefully, the next issue is a lot better than this.

This WW run has been verbose, heavy-handed, and crass. Every book has enormous amounts of overweening, superfluous monologue dumps, yet it reduces the titular character to babbling two words over and over again in virtually every scene she's in. Poor Wonder Woman! She's a lot more intelligent than she appears to be in this book. What a dreadful shipwreck this has been. Comic books are all about concision. Tell a good and fun story, failing that, a fun story, in a lean and efficient manner. This is not good, fun or concise. And yet the overall plot is not all bad. I would like to see WW and the Amazons dealing with tyrants and evil political practices. Just give it to me in a concise and elegant manner! Please, kill your darlings! The artwork is absolutely beautiful and a perfect 10/10! At this point, just release the books without the text on them. It's not fair to bury the illustrations under such garrulous writing.

The cover made me chuckle, so I picked it up. The comedy reads pretty much like the cover looks like, so you it's hard to be accidentally frustrated or surprised by it. It delivers pretty much what it promises, but not a pinch more. The hero is very much a one-note character (not a problem, as the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie perfectly demonstrates), giving ample space for the villain and the sidekick to shine, yet they fell short somewhat, being less entertaining than the half-cyborg host who's in for just a couple of pages at the intro. We need a smart sidekick here, a more clearheaded character to keep the toilet and schlock in check and balance things out. The #1 lacks that balance, going headstrong and too much in a single direction. The second issue is make-or-break. I guess we'll see.

An incredibly safe start for Space Ghost. It seems like this is all Space Ghost really needs, as I've seen a lot of people go, 'Oh, look, it's Space Ghost!' and pick it up immediately. It's interesting how many people easily forget about Space Ghost and how they seem to have only fond memories of him once something jolts their memories. Don't let the 6 rating fool you. The team behind this one delivers a solid comic book experience. The artwork is good, and the writing is OK. The issue introduces our caped hero, Jan, Jace, Blip, and a small cast of familiar villains. But it is so very, very safe, with SG saving the kids in a milquetoast and unabashed, by the numbers manner. The writing goes smoothly but automatically and very much uninspired. However, this is just the first issue, maybe they're just warming up. I'll pick up the second issue and see.

Solid comic book. Everything is in the right place, and it runs smoothly. The team behind this one is made up of seasoned pros. It's possibly your favorite type of comic book ride—the one you went to many times before. Here's a chance to do it again. There's nothing wrong with this book, there's nothing new either, but that's not a problem. By the cover, you know what you'll get: It's going to be a three-issue battle with Wolverine and Deadpool. That's exactly what it delivers. Adam Kubert's artwork is beautiful and engaging, so it gets points for that, making it just above staple. I can't imagine anyone expecting this to be more than what it is, unless you're new to this whole comic book thing. Lots of Wolverine, lots of Deadpool. Yup. Nuff said.

The cover struck me as the writer and artists have a fondness for the good old schlocky comic booky fun and I was right. It’s a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, mixing some fun modern fantasy tropes and artwork that is giving me a sense of nostalgia for something I can’t quite pin it down. This is a fast food type of comic, fast pacing, lots of action and likable characters. Not much to think about but super fun to go through. It does a very good job at establishing its characters right off the bat with minimal text and space, something I love. It’s the sign of a good comic book right there. The plot is simple and it’s pieced together from well known tropes. Our hero, Tanner "Griz", his koala companion Cuddles and a necromancer named Hillary live in the Flooded Zone, helping people in need, facing all sorts of Lovecraftian abominations. It’s very refreshing in a way, which is weird because there’s nothing particularly new in this book. The art and the writing have an enthusiasm for the medium that is contagious and I had a lot of fun reading it. Looking forward to the second issue.

Griz, Cuddles, and Hillary continue their fast-paced, schlocky-fun adventures. This time, we get a car chase, a depressed monster riddled with loneliness and self-doubt (poor guy!), a huge and menacing abomination with a fragile ego, and there's yet one more surprise for you in there. From all the books I'm reading right now, this title is the one I feel the creative team is having the most fun with, and their fun rubs on you. It's very trope, but you really don't need to be groundbreaking to be fun. This is the type of work that brings 'comic' to comic book. I'm looking forward to issue #3.

Satan's son is dying, and now he has to choose one of his children to inherit the crown. Six pages in, we have the premise fully presented to us, and Mr. Morgenstern, one of the main characters, flashed out and was ready for action. That's good writing right there. Next, we go around town, meeting the rest of the cast in a concise and entertaining manner. The introduction for Bee, Satan's granddaughter, is really funny and effective at imparting the ominous atmosphere this family is all about. The Infernals is not my type of story, but it's impossible not to appreciate quality writing when it presents itself. The artwork matches the satanic plot and enhances the experience of going through this book. We'll see how Satan's family solves their inheritance problems. I'm sure it will all go smoothly and in a civilized manner.

Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Javier Fernández debut in this issue, picking up after the solid run by Joshua Willianson and Simone Di Meo. The new creative team continues to explore the Waynes' multifarious father and son relationship. Damian is a difficult brat to deal with but can you really blame him? Guy was brought up in an assassin's den and had his physiology altered by her outlandish mother. Their relationship now feels like a roller-coaster. Last issue Bruce and Damian were in excellent terms but now Damian is back to antagonize his dad and whine how they could be engaging in vigilantism 24/7 instead of all this socializing and talking about feelings and s*&%! When Batman tells you there's more to life than fighting crime, it's probably time to take a step back. Art is solid, the story is fast-paced and there are some funny moments in there. The plot itself seems to be leaning towards hinging on a mystery and I certainly hope we'll be able to see Batman and Robin engaging in some detective work instead of just punching the bad guys. Some Damian fans are pointing out this issue feels like a step back on his progress as a person and hero but I feel like that's the nature of comic book characters. New writer comes in and breaks the character a little bit so he can go on and fix it again. We can only hope it's a fun ride and I feel like it will be.

Petrol Head packs a whole lot of charm, beautiful artwork, and a very enjoyable story. The first issue managed to infuse a little bit of everything, both in the characters and the world they live in, from tragedy to comedy, in a perfectly balanced mix. The result is incredibly entertaining and, God forbid, intelligent. It manages to paint a picture of the devilish ways of humanity, its stupidity and shallowness, while telling a story of sentient robots and humans living together, blissfully oppressed in an oddly endearing dystopia. What else can you ask from a comic book?

Mr. Johns and Mr. Frank play the tropes here like masters, and the result is an incredibly fun and engaging comic book. You have your desert, desolate world with the remnants of civilization scattered across the land. The survivors barely get by, constantly in conflict with each other and the harsh environment, the result of a nuclear war. Roaming the radioactive sands enters our hero, Geiger (with a cape and everything!), a man who doesn't consider himself a hero despite his heroics, a sure sign of a true hero. He's the silent type, because of course he is. A grim man with a heart of gold. To counterbalance our silent badass, we get Nate, The Nuclear Knight, a perfect name with a perfect sidekick quest: A bastard on a path to redemption. He won't shut up, much to the delight of the readers and the vexations of Geiger. This is the most fun interpretation of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza I've seen in comics for a long time. This book manages to balance all its elements incredibly well, never taking itself too seriously but having just the right punch to get the drama, the action, and the humor across. Western after the bombs fell, a pinch of medieval salt, fun dialogue, and cool characters on a quest! Yup, in case you can't tell, I really like this one. Also, I can't praise the artwork enough, so I'll just say I think it's absolutely fantastic. And the cherry on the cake is that Geiger, our hero, looks just like Peter Weller of Robocop fame! What more can you ask for? Great work, guys!

A hero needs an interesting, cool villain. It's the dualistic balance upon which comic books exist, for the most part. Lo and behold, here enters our villain, exploiting the disillusioned and disenfranchised of our society! His goals are elusive, and the rules by which he and the hero exist are very odd indeed. See, this is the charm of this book right here. Playing offbeat, it walks a thin line between super hero antics, social critique, and humor, managing to do it all in a very heartfelt manner. All the characters are well grounded in reality, but then they witness something strange. I have a feeling they're not even sure how dangerous the situation really is. This book is not woven in a common, superhero fashion; the magic of fiction is manifested in the most peculiar ways in The Pedestrian. It's fresh, it's interesting, dare I say, it's something new.