Nightwing #125 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 125, June 2025

It is probably a safe bet that quite a few readers did a double take when they first opened up Issue One Hundred And Twenty Five of “Nightwing”, fearing that they had somehow missed a previous instalment or two. For whilst Dan Watter’s script for “Good Cop/Bad Cop” does actually continue the titular character’s fight against the sinister Spheric Solutions’ increasing grip upon Blüdhaven’s Police Department, the entire feel of this particular twenty-two-page periodical is arguably very different from what has taken place before.

For starter’s the comic exclusively focuses upon the murder of Frank Dietrich just after the cop has finished drinking inside Hogan’s Alley bar. This cold-blooded killing undeniably provides the English writer with an opportunity to explore the growing tension between the titular character and Commissioner Maggie Sawyer. But rather intriguingly also allows him to side-line Dick Grayson in order to tell much of the story from the perspective of Superman's former primary police contact instead – something which rather cleverly allows the narrative to emit a palpable sense of distrust amongst the officers in her district.

In addition, on the face of it this book contains a good old-fashioned ghost story, which rests upon the basic premise of a long dead police office returning from beyond the grave to “strike down those who betray Blüdhaven’s law.” Such a plot genuinely smacks of the boogey-man, and whilst many within the publication’s audience will already be anticipating that the gunman will eventually be revealed as someone entirely mortal, the suggestion of long-dead Captain Hallow being a spectral assassin makes for some enthralling entertainment.

Lastly, it is impossible not to mention the prodigiously pencilled layouts of Francesco Francavilla, whose instantly recognisable art style undeniably adds an extra layer of the macabre to all of this comic’s events. Of particular note has to be the design of the mask-wearing murderer who envelopes his victims in a swirling smog, before shooting them at point-blank range with a revolver. However, the Italian illustrator is also extremely good at imbuing so many of this story’s characters with the odd side look and uncertain glance which should make any bibliophiles doubt the sincerity of their words and actions; "Heading out, Commish..?"

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #125 by Dexter Soy with Adriano Lucas

Conan: The Barbarian Free Comic Book Day May 2026 - Titan Comics

CONAN: THE BARBARIAN FREE COMIC BOOK DAY MAY 2026

Considering that this twelve-page-periodical is supposed to foreshadow the return of Thulsa Doom, it’s probably a safe bet that many of its readers actually came away from the Free Comic Book Day edition of “Conan: Tides Of The Tyrant King” wondering what Jim Zub’s latest mini-series featuring Robert E. Howard’s Sword and Sorcery hero was all about. Indeed, seeing as a good portion of the publication actually follows the exploits of Stephen Costigan during the Texan’s dark days fighting in World War One, it’s much more likely the Canadian’s audience were anticipating some sort of time-travelling team-up between the two characters on the blood-soaked fields of Cambrai, Aisne or the Second Battle of the Somme, rather than the Cimmerian once again encountering the Necromancer of Ancient Atlantis in the Hyborian Age.

To make matters even more confusing though, it is arguably the exploits of the shell-shocked soldier which grabs the most attention, as the understandably horrified Doughboy desperately attempts to make his way through numerous Germans whilst penetrating “a murderous maze he will never forget.” This ‘kill or be killed’ environment appears to be as brutal during the fighting as it is once its survivors are recuperating in a field hospital afterwards, and genuinely helps sell the motivation behind just why the man would become a slave to hashish in the near future; “Costigan’s temper simmers. But he doesn’t feel steady enough to make the bully eat his words.”

Unfortunately the same can’t debatably be said for the short-lived yarn concerning Conan, who is once again shown fighting in some nameless skirmish along the Borderlands between Zingara and Argos, where his superhuman strength allows him to ‘shrug off’ a spear to his left shoulder and keep swinging his sword. Furthermore, despite this significant injury the Barbarian is then depicted unconvincingly beating up a much larger mercenary who had planned on bedding a local’s unwilling daughter. Such a sketch really does add nothing to the Cimmerian’s story, and certainly doesn’t act as the aforementioned “Prelude” to him once again facing Thulsa Doom.

What does catch the eye with this comic though is the artwork of “Howling Jesus Merino”. The Spanish illustrator does a fine job depicting the Cimmerian’s exploits against “the gutter-cur raiders we put in the ground this day.” But it’s his awesome pencilling of Costigan’s time in the mud and the blood which really should capture any bibliophiles imagination, and definitely cause them to desire a standalone series of comics depicting Stephen’s time during the Great War.

Writer: Jim Zub, Artist: Jesus Merino, and Color Artist: Jao Canola

Nightwing #124 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 124, May 2025

Whilst “DC Comics” solicitation synopsis for Issue One Hundred and Twenty Four of “Nightwing” might bare little resemblance to the comic’s actual contents, Dan Watters’ narrative for the book probably still managed to successfully maintain the interest of its readers. In fact, “Ringmaster” contains a rather clever plot device to ensure that the titular character’s usual aura of invincibility is well and truly shattered by the time Dick Grayson makes an unwise stand against Spheric Solutions latest fully-automated police robot; “Hey, Big Boy. I know your CPU is a test animal, so I’d rather go easy on you…”

Furthermore, the English writer quite cleverly brings the Zanni and his nefarious sounding Cirque du Sin to the fore by penning that the Fifth Dimensional Imp can now be clearly seen by the original Robin due to the super-hero’s severe blood loss. Such a move really helps to raise the already high stakes for the ongoing tale’s overall storyline, as well as making it crystal clear that Batman’s former Boy Wonder is no longer facing just a mortal adversary who wants to take over Blüdhaven. But rather a far more omnipotent “ancient conceptual being born from humanity’s earliest attempts at performance.”

In addition, despite there being no sign of the “heist” upon Olivia Pearce’s sinister Corporation as promised by its Burbank-based publisher, this twenty-two-page periodical still manages to include a little bit of adrenaline-fuelled action towards its end during Nightwing’s aforementioned fight against a Wanderer-01s Robot. Admittedly some critics of this particular publication might suggest the short-lived battle is rather ‘too little, too late.’ However, due to Grayson’s weakened condition, the confrontation’s build-up is arguably just as exciting as the fracas which follows Dick’s impetuous motorbike ride, and also provides Watters with the opportunity to give his audience a bit of a shock ending – courtesy of little Bryce.

Of course so much of the anticipation behind these final panels would be far less if it wasn’t for Dexter Soy’s attention-grabbing pencilling. The artist proves particularly prodigious at providing any onlooker with a tantalising insight into the shadowy world of the Zanni, most notably when Blüdhaven’s protector is either racing to save the Teddy Gang from a well-orchestrated massacre, or later when he sees a circus elephant charging straight at him rather than Spheric Solutions’ killer automaton.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #124 by Dexter Soy with Veronica Gandini

Conan The Barbarian #30 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 30, April 2026

Arguably dripping in plenty of exasperating plot armour, Jim Zub’s narrative for Issue Thirty of “Conan The Barbarian” will probably quickly frustrate many of its readers by having its central antagonist repeatedly put off his assassination attempt of the titular character because the cold-blooded killer has surprisingly taken an interest in the Cimmerian’s view of life.?! Sure, the Canadian writer attempts to assure his audience at this comic’s end, that the black-maned adventurer supposedly knew all about his would-be murderer’s presence since the oily cloaked outsider first ‘stuck to the shadows’ inside the trade city of Khoraja. But such omnipotence on behalf of Robert E. Howard’s character isn’t particularly convincing – especially when he’s busy either repeatedly fighting for his life on the streets, or making love to a woman throughout the night.

Indeed, this book seems to be rather irritatingly happy just depicting The Son of the Tooth repeatedly passing up a series of ideal opportunities to slay his target and rid the Hyborian Age of “the man who slew Thulsa Doom” just because this “deadly new foe” can’t believe the drunken oaf before him so badly vexes the Cult of the Black Stone. As the author points out himself such behaviour is entirely unprofessional on the part of one who has successfully slaughtered so many in the past. Yet this amateurish conduct is precisely what all bibliophiles are supposed to believe in order for an otherwise rather mundane tale about a local petty thief’s bruised ego populating a twenty-two-page periodical; “So he will take what he has learned and wait a spell longer.”

Far more believable is this publication’s conclusion as it shows Conan confronting his hunter down a dark alleyway sword in hand. This face-to-face conflict is far more plausible than anything else in the comic, even if Zub does fruitlessly attempt to fool any onlookers that the Cimmerian waited so long to tackle his adversary because he was curious if the man meant to “simply walk away.”

What does work well for “Trail Warrior” though are the layouts of Doug Braithwaite. The British artist somehow manages to make even his well-pencilled panels showing the Son of the Tooth’s scratchy searches amongst his prey’s deserted campfires rather intriguing, as well as clearly depicting just how busy the market area in Khoraja is. Furthermore, when the future king of Aquilonia does finally make his stand, his defiance is entirely palpable, and surely caused many a fan to quickly ensure that they had this ongoing title’s next instalment pre-ordered at their neighbourhood bookstore.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #30 by Ivan Gil

Nightwing #123 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 123, April 2025

Despite Issue One Hundred and Twenty Three of “Nightwing” not containing many of the fanciful, acrobatic assaults fans of Dick Grayson’s alter-ego are most likely used to, Dan Watters’ script for “Dropping Like Flies” should still have kept the majority of its readers absolutely hooked upon the titular character’s “plan to save Blüdhaven’s streets from a bloody war.” Indeed, the Teen Titan’s claustrophobic encroachment of the Flyboiz new underground lair provides plenty of pulse-pounding moments, even when the former Boy Wonder is simply rifling through some long-forgotten, heavily eradiated caskets; “I think the city secretly put them here. Under ten feet of concrete so they wouldn’t soak into the earth.”

Naturally, this sequence does ultimately lead to the original Robin facing off against a heavily mutated monster which is both physically unimpressed by the super-hero’s feisty kick to its neck area, as well as subsequently joined by a disconcerting horde of equally formidable-looking creatures. But the actual build-up to this terrifying confrontation is incredibly well-penned by the English author, and would arguably be no less enthralling if the central protagonist didn’t encounter anything more deadly than the surprisingly cute Bugdog – “One of Dr. Probozzcizz’z early experimentzz.”

Similarly as scintillating as these subterranean spectacles though is the palpable energy generated by Spheric Solutions overt squeezing of Mayor Grayson-Lin in view of the politician’s decreasing popularity with her municipal’s voters. Obviously the company’s insanely advanced technology appears to be the simple answer to the mayor's problems. However, considering that Dick’s sister somewhat suspects that Olivia Pearce is as untrustworthy as they come, it’s still entirely plausible that Melinda will take some disagreeable steps in order to “protect those in my care”; especially with an election just around the corner.

Lastly, artist Dexter Soy’s contribution to this twenty-two page periodical’s success cannot be overstated either. Along with Colorist Veronica Gandini, the illustrator provides a suitably dank and dire bunker for Nightwing to explore. In addition, the almost comatose, vegetating Flyboiz which litter the hideout are very well envisaged, and add a great deal to the almost profound stench of death which haunts all of the unholy facility’s nightmarish scenes.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #123 by Dexter Soy with Veronica Gandini

DC K.O. Knightfight #4 - DC Comics

DC K.O. KNIGHTFIGHT No. 4, April 2026

Whilst many a bibliophile may well get the impression from this comic’s rather lengthy foreword that writer Joshua Williamson was a bit worried the mini-series’ long-term readers might now be struggling as to what its overall narrative actually was, the American author doesn’t appear to dwell too much on the problem when it comes to Issue Four of “DC K.O. Knightfight” itself. Indeed, this particular twenty-two page periodical seems to spend no time at all in explaining just how Damian Wayne became Gotham City’s future Batman, and instead simply has its most pre-eminent members of the Bat-Family unconvincingly accept that they live in an alternate reality which will cease to exist when the all-powerful Heart of Apokolips decides to end it.

To make matters even more confusing though – especially for those fans who have somehow managed to stick with this spin-off title, the California-born writer also appears to have suddenly changed its goal posts by penning that the sentient machine disconcertingly now wants Bruce Wayne to return to its “deadly tournament” and become its victorious King Omega. Sure, the device still wants to punish the Caped Crusader for supposedly ‘cheating’ in its deadly contest. But its original plan now appears to have been side-lined in order to give the Dark Knight a greater purpose.

In addition, it may well strike some within this book’s audience that a clearly aged, costumed crime-fighter is given plenty of time with which to train both his brain and brawn before having to fight his son ‘to the death’. Everyone appears fairly causal about the World’s Greatest Detective shockingly coming back from the dead and being told that they’re not real, and this lack of haste badly affects Batman’s final bout of fisticuffs against Damian once it starts. Furthermore, the story doesn’t even end, as having shown Wayne admitting he can’t defeat a much younger, seasoned ‘keeper of the cowl’, this publication abruptly informs any onlookers to purchase another instalment of the “Crisis of Absolute Proportions” crossover event to find out what happens next.!?!

Disappointingly even artist Dan Mora appears utterly befuddled by this comic’s script, and appears desperate to finish the project as quickly as possible by utilising negative space for his backgrounds as much as he can. In fact, this sense of disinterest debatably even extends to the aforementioned highly-anticipated conclusion, where the Costa Rican illustrator desperately attempts to use lots of movement lines to cover over his rather basic-looking, poorly-detailed combatants.

The regular cover art of "DC K.O. KNIGHTFIGHT" #4 by Dan Mora

Deadly Hands Of K'un-Lun #2 - Marvel Comics

DEADLY HANDS OF K'UN-LUN No. 2, May 2026

Whilst there can surely be no doubt that Issue Two of “Deadly Hands Of K’un-Lun” is absolutely packed full of martial arts mayhem, Yifan Jiang’s script for the twenty-page periodical probably still serves as a good example of an author failing to provide his audience with any actual meaningful substance behind all the flash, bangs and wallops. In fact, despite many a fan inevitably enjoying the Inhuman Karnak giving General Davos a welcome beating at this comic’s very end, there isn’t debatably much else inside the book which will truly hook any perusing bibliophiles

By far this publication’s biggest problem is that the action takes place so fast that the narrative itself appears to repeatedly fail to inform any onlookers as to how or why the adrenalin-fuelled punch-ups are actually taking place – such as when Pei-Ya apparently decides to use Uncle Fooh’s Randall Gate 'off-screen' to transport herself and Ami to the City Outskirts of K’un-Lun. Admittedly, “one of the writers of the hit video game Marvel Rivals” does try to steer his ship by utilising the comic’s foreword to update any customers as to what supposedly occurred within this mini-series’ opening instalment. But such context is soon thrown aside once the dethroned ruler of K’un-Lun unsuccessfully attempts to assassinate her successor; “Did you really think it’d be that easy, Yu-Ti Sparrow..?”

Furthermore, it is not made particularly clear just why Lin Feng’s search for the last of Chiyou’s Soul Orbs has led his forces to New York, nor how they first encountered both Elektra (Daredevil) and the White Tiger. Instead, everyone is simply expected to hop aboard the violent bandwagon careening through Hell’s Kitchen, and just enjoy all the combatants exchanging super-charged attacks like it was an early episode of the 1989 Japanese animated series “Dragon Ball Z”.

Luckily, far more engrossing than Jiang’s penmanship is Paco Medina and Alessandro Miracolo’s artwork, which manages to convincingly convey the sheer physical violence needed for this somewhat senseless storyline. Of particular note has to be the sheer suddenness of General Davos’ aforementioned defeat at the hands of Karnak, and Lin Feng’s palpable shock at discovering that the next kingdom he needs to conquer is none other than that owned by the mighty Inhumans.

Writer: Yifan Jiang, and Artists: Paco Medina & Alessandro Miracolo