Unholy Nightmare #1 - Mutant Farm Comics

UNHOLY NIGHTMARE No. 1, December 2024

It’s probably a safe bet that the 183 backers who pledged $6,786 on Kickstarter to make Issue One of “Unholy Nightmare” a reality were more than pleased when they finally received a copy of their comic book. Indeed, Dolan Waddick’s script for this twenty-six page fright-fest, genuinely lives up to its pre-publication promise of being a “new terrifying horror adventure” by taking its readers on an adrenalin-fuelled roller-coaster ride crammed full of sense-shattering shoot-outs, grisly bone-ripping dismemberment, and blood-soaked gory mutilation; “You may call me Vlad. I wish to extend my greetings… and welcome you both to the club."

Of particular note though has to be the way the author wastes absolutely no time in bringing his audience bang up to date with the Windy City’s current crime wave, as well as how both a masked vigilante and an undercover police officer have formed an unlikely alliance to battle such evil. These flashbacks are as fascinatingly informative as they are short-lived, and impressively allow the writer to quickly get any perusing bibliophile fully immersed in a highly lucrative drug deal taking place during the dead of night.

In addition, Waddick is also very good at suddenly transforming what initially appears to be a police procedural piece into an utterly insane monster mash-up that repeatedly calls for more human body parts to be thrown into its panels. So sudden (and shocking) a metamorphosis really should catch a fair few onlookers off-guard, as it arrives just as everyone is doubtless expecting the colourfully-costumed crime-fighter skulking in the shadows to make his move – rather than a somewhat nervous Jenny painfully shape-shifting into a truly terrifying, savage beast.

Equally as up to scratch as this comic’s storyline however, are Aurelio Mazzara’s mesmerising layouts, which immediately capture the eye with the illustrator’s impressive attention to detail and ability to inject every action sequence with raw energy. The disagreeable arrogance of Clyde Bishop, the largest narcotics dealer in Chicago, is also a great example of the artist’s ability to pencil plenty of personality into his figures, with the False Prophet’s leader clearly swaggering his way through the exchange and subsequent firefight with all the hubris one might expect from someone so high up in the trafficking business.

Writer: Dolan Waddick, Illustrator: Aurelio Mazzara, and Colorist: Gene Jimenez

Space Ghost #7 - Dynamite Entertainment

SPACE GHOST No. 7, November 2024

Definitely managing to keep this ongoing series’ storylines refreshingly different, David Pepose’s twenty-two page plot for Issue Seven of “Space Ghost” must surely have thoroughly entertained the comic’s audience back in November 2024 with its heartfelt spotlight upon Blip. True, Jan and Jace's pet primate is admittedly changed into an English-speaking animal for the vast majority of this publication in order to help facilitate its readers understanding him. But such is the American author’s convincing delivery of the Creature King’s nefarious Encephala-Ray, that few onlookers won’t be convinced by the Robo Corp built beam’s temporary transformation; “Don’t worry, old friend -- You’ve taken care of me long enough. Now it’s my turn to take care of you.” 

In addition, this book’s basic narrative of “our human heroes” being imprisoned upon a mysterious planet where its intriguingly eclectic menagerie of beasts rule with an iron paw proves incredibly enthralling; especially once it becomes clear that the titular character’s powerful wrist gauntlets are apparently no longer functioning. Coupled with the disconcerting notion that the cosmic vigilante is rapidly degenerating into some sort of lesser-functioning sub-human, and events really do not look too bright for “Hanna-Barbera Productions” costumed creation.

Furthermore, Blip isn’t simply depicted as being some all-powerful protagonist either. But rather still a somewhat physically frail Capuchin monkey who very much needs the help of a badly-battered Jace, as well as a sizeable slice of luck, to succeed in toppling the tower housing the aforementioned Encephala-Ray. This vulnerability arguably makes the tiny sidekick’s mission all the more exciting, and genuinely suggests the possibility in the mind’s eye that the little fellow could actually fail at any moment.

Lastly, it’s difficult to find any fault with Jonathan Lau’s artwork for this periodical, with “the resident artist at Dynamite Entertainment for more than a decade” appearing to take a page out of Jack “King” Kirby’s notebook when it comes to quickly creating a wealth of varied and colourful extra-terrestrial life-forms. Indeed, the first splash page to feature the so-called Creature King upon his throne, surrounded by multi-eyed monsters and a wooden cage filled with ragged-looking people, instantly establishes that the Space Ghost has landed on a world unlike any other he has so far encountered.

The regular cover art of "SPACE GHOST" #7 by Francesco Mattina

Absolute Batman #5 - DC Comics

ABSOLUTE BATMAN No. 5, April 2025

Apparently the best-selling comic book in February 2025, few Bat-fans were probably expecting Scott Snyder to pen Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego suffering such as painful-looking smackdown as the one he receives in this particular twenty-page publication. Sure, the young, costumed crime-fighter ultimately manages to survive his severe beating at the hands of Black Mask’s most notorious, heavily-armed followers. But in doing so some bibliophiles might argue that this title’s American author was seriously pushing up against any onlooker’s willing suspension of disbelief as to just how many physical injuries the human body can take; “My god. You actually think you achieved something here, don’t you.?”

Minor quibble aside though, this entire adrenalin-fuelled action sequence does make for a truly marvellous read, with Batman actually appearing to have the upper-hand for most of the fight. Indeed, the impressively armoured vigilante initially seems to anticipate every assault before it occurs – with the one-handed, meat-cleaver wielding maniac who unwittingly impales himself upon the super-hero’s shoulder-spikes whilst charging from behind probably being the best moment of the battle.

In addition, the “broken, beaten and ultimately defeated” Caped Crusader’s subsequent flight also allows this comic’s writer to show Officer Gordon is having her doubts as to whether Batman is a public menace, as well as demonstrate just how strong Roman Sionis’ grip upon the population of Gotham City may actually be. These sub-plots are neatly crowbarred into all the much more pulse-pounding proceedings, and resultantly don’t arguably appear to slow down the periodical’s quite frantic pace one iota. In fact, they just provide this comic’s audience with a necessary breather, before the book delivers its somewhat jaw-dropping conclusion concerning Mayor Jim Gordon and Martha Wayne.

Also adding an incredible amount of tension and vigour to Issue Five of “Absolute Batman” is Nick Dragotta. Of particular note has to be the way the artist holds everyone’s attention with a single, splash-page of the Dark Knight stood out against the metropolis’ skyline, before pencilling a ton of small-sized panels showing him subsequently battering every member of the Party Animals he can get his gloves on. However, such is the “highly acclaimed” illustrator’s ability to quickly establish a scene, that you can additionally almost hear the sigh in Barbara’s voice over her police car’s sirens, as she lowers her hand-gun and refrains from shooting a fleeing “avenger of the night”.

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE BATMAN" #5 by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2024] #10 - IDW Publishing

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES No. 10, July 2025

Whilst District Attorney Hieronymus Hale’s hours long opening speech might not have got a single member of the captivated jury yawning, the same can probably not be said for those bibliophiles perusing Issue Ten of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. Indeed, apart from a couple of all-too brief moments of action, Jason Aaron’s predominantly sedentary script surely had a fair portion of this comic’s audience switching off in their droves as the titular characters do nothing but bicker with one another, as well as quietly sit through a lengthy show trial; “Anybody know a good lawyer.”

Infuriatingly though, the Alabama-born writer arguably makes things appear even more lethargic by raising his readers’ hopes at the start of this book, that the likes of Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo might finally be coming together again as a team. This somewhat sentimental scene, which depicts the half-shelled heroes embracing one another in a zoo cell, genuinely appears to promise that the quartet are about to make a dramatic come-back after they all “got beat up by the cops.” However, within seconds two of the brothers Hamato are at one another’s throats again, and the entire ‘magical moment’ is replaced by the aforementioned lacklustre court room antics.

So disappointing a decision by the American author really does just leave Raph’s recognition of three Foot Clan members who “killed the warden” as this twenty-two page periodical’s sole source of fast-paced fisticuffs, and even this potentially pulse-pounding punch-up during the trial is reduced to a single splash page. Such a missed opportunity seriously seems to sap any remaining life out of the book’s atmosphere, to the point where even the appearance of a hockey-stick wielding April O'Neil at the publication’s conclusion isn’t likely to generate that loud a cheer by any remaining onlookers.

Instead, this comic’s biggest asset lies with Juan Ferreyra’s layouts. The Argentinian artist clearly has a lot of work to do with Aaron’s soporific script. Yet still manages to pencil some truly memorable visual moments, such as when Raphael flashbacks to his time fighting inmates at the San Quentin State Prison and the Turtles’ group-hug. In addition, the illustrator is also able to imbue the magazine with a few laugh-out-loud moments, with the Judge’s stupefied reaction to Donnie’s extremely short defence statement debatably being the best of the bunch.

The regular cover art to "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" #10 by Jorge Fornes

Astonishing Tales #33 - Marvel Comics

ASTONISHING TALES No.33, January 1976

Buried beneath a veritable ton of hard to read white coloured text upon an inky black background, Bill Mantlo’s script for Issue Thirty Three of “Astonishing Tales” probably still managed to please most of its audience. In fact, the eighteen-page periodical contains a genuinely perturbing series of sub-plots which range from Deathlok slowly dying from a “partial drainage of life-support fluid”, through to the revelation that the despicable Major Simon Ryker apparently has an equally-evil brother who is known as the Homo-Ascendant!”

Disappointingly though, very few of these story-threads are arguably given the time they need to fully develop, and instead are seemingly just hurled together without much in the way of rhyme or reason. One such sequence involves the villainous Ryker himself undergoing some sort of surgical operation which results in the maniac being completely sedated and connected to his all-power Omni-Computer. It seems abundantly clear that the terrified doctors transforming the military officer into “the Saviour Machine” could easily assassinate him during the complicated procedure by “a slight adjustment in its programming” and escape. Yet even though this option is voiced aloud, the general consensus is that the moustached monster would apparently still somehow survive, and then simply take a terrible revenge upon them.

In addition, the sudden appearance of Hellinger (Harlan Ryker) inside a guarded estate belonging to the man-turned-machine’s sibling, debatably makes little sense whatsoever either. Just why the major would knowingly allow so dangerous an adversary access to his futuristic computer systems, create a clone of Luther Manning, and reside next to a room packed full of state-of-the-art laser weapons is never explained. Nor just how the shady character somehow manages to convince the Demolisher to hand-cuff himself to a bomb so as to blow up a castle containing Mike Travers and Nina Ferry; “Hey! The cable! It’s still on! It hasn’t released! That dirty, double-crossin’ son of a -- It’s gonna blow any second, ‘puter!”

What does work however, at least for the majority of this comic book, are Rich Buckler’s layouts. The creator of Deathlok appears to be particularly good at pencilling the inner turmoil taking place behind the resurrected soldier’s eyes, as well as the six-hundred pound cyborg’s physicality – even if he’s simply striding across a grass-covered lawn breaking its blades wherever he steps, or deciding whether to gun someone down.

Script: Bill Mantlo, Pencils: Rich Butler, & Inks/Colors: Klaus Janson

Conan The Barbarian #23 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 23, September 2025

Despite containing a momentary glimpse of the titular character’s sword-fighting skills early on when Conan just about overcomes a rival sorcerer’s two bodyguards during the dead of night, the vast majority of Jim Zub’s narrative for this particular twenty-two page periodical consists of the barbarian conversing with either Zula, or his arch-nemesis Thoth-Amon. In fact, in many ways the Canadian author arguably appears to be utterly obsessed with penning Robert E. Howard’s literary creation just standing still and listening to all manner of bizarre, god-led machinations and grand schemes for the Hyborian Age’s future; “We move toward a time where lines will be drawn between the weak and the strong.”

By far the biggest (and debatably bemusing) of these dialogue-heavy discussions occurs within Thoth-Amon’s own Inner Sanctum, where Set’s foremost magician rather conveniently explains all of his plans to both the heavily-muscled, black-haired Cimmerian and his shape-shifting friend. To be frank, much of what the beetle-eating warlock spouts doesn’t debatably make all that much sense, though its general gist suggests the Great Serpent’s 'most loyal servant' requires allies to help Stygia bring its foes to heel.

However, as if Zubkavich himself realised that by this point many a bibliophile might have started to slowly nod off, the dark-hearted sorcerer suddenly decides that the heavily-disguised Guardian of the Grasslands might be a threat, and makes a move to eradicate Zula with a truly horrific, spiritual effigy of fang-filled skulls. Admittedly, even though this inexplicable attack comes completely out of the blue, it should – even for a mere instant – jar this comic’s audience awake. But then frustratingly, the owner of the Black Ring of Set completely changes his mind for no rational reason, and even forgives Conan for being about to stab him to death with his sword.

Desperately attempting to make so many of these head-scratching sequences at least attractive to the eye is Fernando Dagnino, who at least manages to imbue the Cimmerian with many of his more well-known physical mannerisms – most notably his uneasiness when in the presence of magic. In addition, colour artist Diego Rodriguez deserves an enthusiastic pat on the back for transforming Thoth-Amon’s private chamber into a genuinely disturbing realm packed full of sinister, serpent-shaped shadows and coiled, green-hued ghosts.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #23 by Dan Panosian

Absolute Batman #4 - DC Comics

ABSOLUTE BATMAN No. 4, March 2025

Fully focused upon establishing just how “Absolute Batman has established himself as an extremely large force to be reckoned with”, Scott Snyder’s storyline for this particular twenty-five page publication probably frustrated a fair few within the comic’s audience. Indeed, for any bibliophiles solely interested in just the Dark Knight’s battle against Roman Sionis’ metropolis-wide criminal organisation, this entire so-called “pivotal” issue could easily be missed out entirely – as regrettably little in the way of the ongoing title’s overarching narrative is actually progressed; “It’s unconventional, but given the extraordinary nature of this case, I’ve granted you that right.”

Instead, this book’s American author pens a hefty flashback to a time when an adolescent Bruce Wayne apparently continually overthinks his entry for the Young Engineers Competition, and later takes his first tentative steps as a pistol-packing Caped Crusader following “the tragic events of his childhood”. Of course, the crime-fighter’s first foray out into Gotham City’s night-time skyline is pretty engrossing, especially as the costumed vigilante is depicted wearing “silicon fangs loaded with paralytic” and pointing a hand-gun. Yet such adrenalin-fuelled sequences soon debatably become lost amidst the suffocating morass of this publication’s word-heavy exposition, rather than simply adding to an already engrossing read.

Sadly, just as unclear and choppily penned is young Bruce’s competition entry, which initially appears to be some sort of animal-influenced bridge that has adjustable pilings and extendable girders. The boy appears to constantly rework the actual design throughout this comic, and rather unconvincingly eventually creates some sort of flying, origami-like bridge which can supposedly “be dropped from a plane and parachute down” to where it is most needed.   

By far this book’s biggest disappointment though surely lies in the layouts of “guest artist Gabriel Walta”, who alongside colorist Frank Martin, arguably provides its proceedings with an inauspicious, almost amateurish look. This substandard ‘style’ seems especially disagreeable to the eye during Batman’s first ever mission, with the lead protagonist appearing strangely awkward and slightly misshapen. Admittedly, things do seem to increasingly improve as the adventure continues. But overall it would seem that the penciller is far better at sketching sedentary figures stood talking, than anyone involved in a little bit of action.

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE BATMAN" #4 by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin