Ms. Marvel & Moon Knight #1 - Marvel Comics

MS. MARVEL & MOON KNIGHT No. 1, October 2022

Touted as “the super hero spectacle of the summer” by “Marvel Worldwide”, Jody Houser’s narrative for Issue One of "Ms. Marvel And Moon Knight" definitely delivers a ferociously-paced fright-fest, which barely slows down the moment Kamala Khan nervously enters the Midnight Mission and asks its smartly-dressed owner for help dealing with “swarms of tiny robots in your neighbourhood.” Indeed, many a perusing bibliophile will probably have found themselves hooked just as soon as they saw this publication’s opening page depicting some hapless New Yorker being chased down an alleyway by a horde of apparently tiny, unseen nightmares.

Enjoyably, this thirty-page periodical doesn’t simply contain dynamic fight sequences just for the sake of it either, courtesy of the “New York Times best-seller” thickening her plot with ever-adapting, intelligent automatons which repeatedly threaten to overwhelm the titular characters with a terrifying tide of metallic claws and teeth. This overriding mystery as to the purpose of the relentless rats genuinely manages to hold all this comic’s set-pieces firmly together, and even allows for the audience to be potentially wrong-footed on occasion, such as when the highly anticipated second wave of rodents diverts away from Marc Spector in order to attack the city’s other Fist of Khonshu.

Ultimately however, this comic will probably be primarily judged on its portrayal of pulse-pounding pugilism, and it’s definitely not lacking in this department. The American author is seemingly at the very top of her game penning Ms. Marvel’s team-up with Moon Knight, and isn’t at all stingy in giving both crime-fighters plenty of spotlight to demonstrate their significantly contrasting close combat skills. In fact, Houser even manages to squeeze in a brief altercation between the Crescent Crusader and a local dealer, who stupidly catches the cowled vigilante’s ire just as this book’s adventure is starting; “There’s been a man lurking on our corner. Trying to push drugs on the neighbourhood kids.”

Helping Jody not pull any punches with this book is Ibraim Roberson, whose awesome pencilling adds an extra element of adrenalin-laced action to its proceedings. The visual artist is particularly impressive sketching all the razor-fanged, red-eyed rats scampering around the different locations, and imbuing Khan’s giant-sized fists with plenty of pulverising power whenever she throws a hefty haymaker.

The regular cover art to "MS. MARVEL & MOON KNIGHT" #1 by Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee

DC Vs. Vampires #8 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 8, October 2022

Admirably living up to its pre-publication blurb of continuing “this bloodthirsty series”, James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s script for Issue Eight of “DC Vs. Vampires” certainly tries to cover a lot of different plot-threads within this twenty-two-page periodical. However, whilst the writing duo are enthrallingly successful with both the Birds of Prey heading back “into the heart of the vampire kingdom”, and Supergirl’s action-packed crossing of “a vampire-infested ocean”, Green Arrow’s mission is disappointingly barely touched upon, with the authors instead disconcertingly depicting Oliver Queen squandering eighteen panels simply arguing with his partner, Black Canary; “They’ve got blood farms, Dinah. Humans kept in cages to feed on. I can’t let that go. You can’t ask me to.”

Fortunately though, this dialogue driven interlude is easily forgiven considering the quality of the penmanship surrounding it, most notably Kara Zor-El’s terrifying trek towards Australia and her subsequent battle with a sea full of homicidal fish-people. Indeed, the Atlantean’s attack upon the Kryptonian’s small-sized fishing trawler is debatably the highlight of this comic, as both John Henry Irons and Jayna demonstrate just how truly desperate the super-heroes are by quite literally tearing their scaly foes apart with their bare hands.

Similarly as gruesome is this publication’s portrayal of Jason Blood’s apparent massacre at the House of Mystery, and a badly wounded John Constantine’s miraculous escape. Admittedly, much of this harrowing confrontation sadly occurs ‘off-screen’, just as the world’s “leading expert on the occult and demonology” politely introduces himself to a startled Phantom Stranger, Spectre and Doctor Fate. But Otto Schmidt’s marvellous pencilling of an open-mouthed Barbara Gordon when she discovers Hellblazer’s mutilated form in the battle’s aftermath speaks a thousand words as to the fiery carnage which must have taken place inside the Kentucky-based residency.

Seemingly sat on the side-lines, repeatedly throwing a bucketful of gore over the printed proceedings in every other scene, is this book’s artistic team of Schmidt and Daniele Di Nicuolo, who together genuinely appear to completely splatter anyone in ‘claret’ whenever the opportunity arises. In fact, bibliophiles will probably be hard-pressed to recollect a title sporting so much evisceration and disembowelment this side of a Teen Plus reader rating.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #8 by Guillem March

Batgirls #5 - DC Comics

BATGIRLS No.5, June 2022

Finally providing Oracle with something more to do than simply communicate across a commlink or devise technological devices, Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad’s narrative for Issue Five of “Batgirls” certainly must have hooked many a perusing bibliophile with its fast-paced opening. In fact, the titular trio’s awesome fracas with the horribly heinous Saints genuinely sets this comic up with a seriously scintillating start as Barbara Gordon once again dons her bat-suit and demonstrates just why her incarnation of the cowled character was so popular “during the Silver Age of Comic Books.”

Disappointingly however, things do then seem to wane once the Bird of Prey roars away on her “classic” bat-bike and leaves her two protégés to yet again face the increasingly tedious, reoccurring antagonist known as the Tutor. This confrontation, which at least somewhat excitingly occurs inside “the creepy, abandoned Arkham Asylum”, arguably feels like little more than a re-tread of the writing team’s prior instalment, and only differs from what has previously been penned before when Cassandra Cain breaks off from her tête-à-tête with Stephanie Brown to singlehandedly confront “a scene out of a zombie movie.”

Luckily, for those booklovers able to navigate Spoiler’s extremely text-heavy investigation into Cody Kline’s patient records, there is some light at the end of the tunnel in the guise of a civilian-clothed “Babs” visiting her evil ex-boyfriend Charles Dante to discern just how Gotham City’s homicidal underground artist escaped the psychiatrist’s custody. Regular readers will already know that the art therapist is actually the supervillain Spellbinder, so much of the palpable tension presented in this predicament is cleverly generated simply by them waiting for the hypnotist to strike at his prey, rather than them discovering his secret identity.

Proficiently pencilling this twenty-two-page periodical’s panels is Jorge Corona, whose ability to depict Gordon speeding her way through the trials and tribulations posed by the Saints is genuinely scene-stealing. Indeed, it’s a pity that the red-haired crime-fighter isn’t made more prominent throughout this publication, or her battle against “these nasty ex-operatives” of the Magistrate lengthened, so that the Venezuelan artist can sketch her just a little bit more; “They may be seasoned killers, but they’re outclassed. And easily manipulated. Kinda tragic, actually.”

Story: Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad, Art: Jorge Corona, and Colors: Sarah Stern

Book Of Shadows #2 - Valiant Entertainment

BOOK OF SHADOWS No. 2, August 2022

Despite primarily comprising of a lengthy battle between the “first-ever supernatural heroes team for the Valiant Universe” and the seemingly unstoppable Exarch Fane, Cullen Bunn’s storyline for this twenty-page periodical still manages to imbue its audience with plenty of exposition as to why “death and destruction” are suddenly raining down upon our planet in the shape of a werewolf army. In fact, at times, the Ghastly Award-winner crams so much information into this harrowing action-sequence, that it’s arguably difficult for a bibliophile to comprehend everything which is occurring upon an initial reading, and thus warrants a subsequent secondary perusal to better understand just what is taking place; “He’s… It can’t be… He’s fighting it!”  

Foremost of these hurdles to overcome is debatably the sheer number of arcane-powered artefacts which are almost causally thrown about the battlefield during the cast’s titanic tussle with “a villain from the Veil.” Obviously, the all-mysterious Book of Shadows takes centre stage, courtesy of this “tome of terrible magic” evidently being capable of single-handedly warding off anything which the likes of Shadowman, Punk Mambo, Doctor Mirage, Persephone and even Eternal Warrior can throw at its owner. But then there’s also the pocket-dimension housing Ring of Solomon, the portal cleaving Abyssal Sword, and Fane’s almost Sith-like hand-axe which this comic’s audience need to appreciate for the colossal close-combat weapon exchanges to make sense.

Thankfully though, once the titular characters have fled their unbeaten foe and Gilad Anni-Padda is given time to further explain just how he came to first encounter their enemy in the Veil, Bunn’s book slows down just enough to tell its scintillating story without throwing in something new every other panel. Indeed, this passage focusing upon “the Fist and Steel of the Earth” is a good opportunity for the publication’s audience to pause, assimilate everything which has come before them, and then follow the paranormal quintet as they heatedly discuss their future course of action to beat the “Dracula wannabe!”

Probably shouldering the Lion’s share of this comic’s workload is Vicente Cifuentes, who manages to cram an incredible amount of mystical magic into every one of his prodigiously pencilled panels. The Spanish illustrator does an especially noteworthy job of imbuing the snake-like chains constantly flailing around Fane with unnatural life. Whilst his vampire thralls, bald-headed, gaunt and disconcertingly fanged, move with all the ungainly athleticism a horror fan might expect from so lowly a minion of Nosferatu.

The regular cover art of "BOOK OF SHADOWS" #2 by Rafael Albuqueque

Alien Annual #1 - Marvel Comics

ALIEN ANNUAL No. 1, September 2022

Steeped in just the sort of Machiavellian machinations fans of the science-fiction horror franchise would expect of Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script for this “double-sized one-shot comic book” certainly shouldn’t have disappointed most of its audience. But whilst “Alien Annual” undeniably contains plenty of deadly, Xenomorph-based action, courtesy of its narrative following the impregnation of a hapless marine through to the extra-terrestrial’s mass slaughtering of the rest of his military unit, the premise of its author trying to tie this title into the plot of both the films and “one of my favourite [video] games in recent memory” does arguably cause some disagreeable inconsistencies.

For starters, having previously established the character of Gabriel Cruz as a caring, devoted family man haunted by his long working relationship with “The Company”, the Eisner-nominated writer disconcertingly portrays the defence agent’s younger incarnation as a merciless, cold-blooded killer who seemingly has no qualms supervising the fertilisation of a fully-conscious political prisoner, nor the release of this ghastly murder’s subsequent offspring upon the unsuspecting dissidents who have taken control of Nishimura Station. True, the Second Hand Movement are terrorists, and this “Alien outbreak perpetrated by Weyland-Yutani” could be just one of the missions the future Security Chief regrets. But there doesn’t appear to be a moment’s hesitation or doubt as to this experiment’s morality in the soldier whilst everything is going to plan.

In addition, the reason things do go off the rails is because the “large British - Japanese multinational conglomerate” don’t supposedly know that one of their own space station’s actually has an offensive launch capability in the guise of anti-aircraft rocket launchers..? This oversight is debatably bizarre, and although it quickly leads to some seriously devious manipulation of fireteam’s survivors by a homicidal synthetic, the manufactured nature of the predicament repeatedly comes back to haunt the overall narrative, especially when Weyland-Yutani suddenly nuke Nishimura Station after it was initially explained one of their main aims was to recover the orbiting facility intact; “What is it? Intel would have known if these guys were packing rockets!”

Plot-holes aside however, Johnson’s tale does contain some excellent moments of classic "Alien" terror, most notably in the treacherous behaviour of Charlie, who obediently sacrifices his crewmates one by one whenever his programming permits. Salvador Larroca’s prodigious pencilling also does a first-rate job of depicting both the gruesome action, as well as the evident horror on the faces of this comic’s cast as they realise the ghastly fate about to befall them.

The regular cover art to "ALIEN ANNUAL" #1 by Salvador Larroca & Guru-eFX

Batgirls #4 - DC Comics

BATGIRLS No.4, May 2022

Firmly focusing upon Oracle’s protégés bringing the facially-disfigured Tutor to justice at his secret headquarters, Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad’s storyline for Issue Four of “Batgirls” certainly seems to bound along at an enjoyable pace. Sure, this comic’s readers arguably have to endure a few mundane moments at its start, whilst Stephanie and Cassandra take the day off from crime-fighting to obtain a book from the local second-hand store. But this dialogue-driven scene helps develop the intriguing relationship blossoming between Cain and the ever-amiable Mister Dhaliwal; “No, No. Absolutely not. The first read is on me. I only ask that you come back to tell me how you liked it.”

Furthermore, once the action does start it does so with plenty of palpable energy, due to Brown (once again) falling under the mesmeric influence of her Fear Gas-utilising opponent. This sudden shift in the battle’s flow against the social revolutionary genuinely gives the fisticuffs an added edge, especially once Cody Kline instructs his latest follower to fight against her fellow caped crusader. Indeed, what initially appears to be a ‘play-by-numbers’ skirmish where the titular characters hold all the game-winning cards, is suddenly transformed into a tense tussle, courtesy of Cassandra having to both dodge her friend’s jaw-breaking punches, as well as evade the rest of the Gotham artist’s zombie-like minions.

Perhaps however, this book’s biggest thrill comes towards the very end when the two masked vigilantes drop a successfully apprehended Tutor off at the home of Charles Dante in order for their prisoner to receive some much needed psychiatric care. Barbara Gordon’s ex-boyfriend has always been depicted as having an air of untrustworthiness about him, and this well-penned subplot is finally brought to the fore when it’s revealed he’s actually the hypnotic super-villain Spellbinder.

Ably aiding and abetting the Batgirls in their war upon crime is Venezuelan sequential illustrator Jorge Corona, whose artwork really helps this publication’s writing team tell an engaging adventure. The almost ungainly quirkiness of Cain’s character is especially well-sketched by the Russ Manning Award-winner, with the black-clad, semi-stitched heroine debatably capturing all the attention in any well-pencilled panel in which she appears – most notably those when she is either soaring across a night-time skyline or dodging the blows of her entranced team-mate.

Story: Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad, Art: Jorge Corona, and Colors: Sarah Stern

The Ether #1 - Matt Garvey Comics

THE ETHER No. 1, June 2017

Arguably combining Alan Moore’s ruthless Rorschach with that of Warren Ellis’ smartly dressed and politely well-spoken Mister Knight, Matt Garvey’s titular character for Issue One of “The Ether” certainly had a lot of violent, hard-hitting personality to project when this comic first hit the spinner racks in June 2017. Happily however, the British author quickly makes it clear that his modern-day anti-hero is very much up to the task at hand, penning a marvellously enigmatic rogue whose propensity for headbutting their opponents into submission is as beguiling as the no-nonsense crime-fighter’s investigation into a seven-year old girl’s bloody murder is disconcerting; “So, maybe, just maybe, using terms like the victim might help me concentrate on doing my job, rather than focusing on the fact that someone could do this to a defenceless child.”

In addition, the masked vigilante’s prickly relationship with the local constabulary proves a major hook straight from the get-go, with the “freak” quickly being established as a necessary investigative tool for Detective Wallace whenever his enquiries require someone “to go where the police fear to tread.” This history between the two parties provides the pair with some significant depth of backstory, and becomes even more absorbing when the  the “self-appointed doer of justice" acknowledges having previously injured Constable Jones’ arm when the officer was once foolish enough to try to arrest them.

Comparably as captivating is Garvey’s wonderfully brutal exploration of London’s notorious underworld and the seedy, money-making nature of its immoral inhabitants. Disreputable film maker Teddy Sherman’s shakedown is particularly well-paced as the mysteriously masked “psycho” manages to obtain a few answers to their questions before having to leap out the criminal’s high-rise office window. But even the low-life Ziggy’s interrogation in a rain-drenched alleyway simply bristles with restrained aggression as the main protagonist threatens and muscles their way through their mark’s protestations to snag a lead or two.

Of course, what really catches the reader’s eye with this publication are the colourful and realistically pencilled layouts of Dizevez. The digital artist does a first-rate job of imbuing the Ether with all the quirkiness an audience might expect from so bizarre a custodian of the Big Smoke’s streets, especially whenever they need to execute an excruciatingly painful blow or arm twist upon an opponent. Perhaps this book’s biggest visual hook though is in the adventure’s big reveal two-thirds of the way through, when the illustrator clearly seeks inspiration in the likeness of a readily recognisable British thespian when it comes to drawing the Ether's blonde-haired secret identity.

The regular cover of "THE ETHER" #1 by Dizevez

Captain Carter #5 - Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN CARTER No. 5, October 2022

Drawing this mini-series to a succinct conclusion, this twenty page periodical’s plot arguably plays out more like something from a “Mission Impossible” motion picture than a comic book, thanks largely to its cast’s attempt to break Peggy Carter out of the supposedly impregnable S.T.R.I.K.E. Containment Facility. In fact, considering Jamie McKelvie neatly utilises almost every trope from that American action spy franchise, ranging from computer hacking, phoney fire alarms, disguises and high-tech gadgetry, some within this comic’s audience were probably half-expecting the former IMF point man Ethan Hunt to make a guest-star appearance.

Thankfully however, none of these resemblances ruin a well-told story, which not only quite merrily motors through its narrative at a steadfast pace. But also enjoyably provides all this title’s numerous characters with something fairly significant to do. Such penmanship really helps imbue this book’s ‘super-team’ with a genuine sense of cooperation and family, even down to Division Chief Lance Hunter, who once convinced of the Prime Minister’s vampirism, becomes a pivot part of Lizzie Braddock’s plan to infiltrate a facility specifically “designed to hold super-powered prisoners.”

Furthermore, many bibliophiles will probably appreciate this publication’s central formidably-strong protagonist using her brains as opposed to her brawn to outwit her centuries-old opponent. Setting aside the debate as to whether the undead Harry Williams would be able to be captured by a modern-day digital camera, the notion of a man elected to high government through the power of the press being subsequently exposed as a blood-drinking monster by the self-same media is rather ingenious, and definitely adds an element of poetic justice to John Falsworth’s fiery downfall.

Illustrator Marika Cresta should also be given some considerable praise for helping make Issue Five of “Captain Carter” a memorable finale for “the recipient of the Super Soldier Serum.” There’s an incredible amount of dialogue and action to cram into this comic’s interior, and alongside color artist Matt Milla, the Ringo Award-Nominee does an excellent job in holding the attention with her prodigious pencilling. Indeed, one of the highlights of this book is debatably the shockingly sudden demise of Lady Jacqueline Falsworth, courtesy of a stake through the chest by Harley Davis.

Writer: Jamie McKelvie, Artist: Marika Cresta, and Color Artist: Matt Milla

Star Trek: The Mirror War #8 - IDW Publishing

STAR TREK: THE MIRROR WAR No. 8, August 2022

Seemingly set to show the I.S.S Enterprise and its blood-thirsty bridge crew attempt a suicidal charge at the formidably fortified Cardassia Prime, Scott and David Tipton’s script for Issue Eight of “Star Trek: The Mirror War” twists and turns like the deadly eel larvae Captain Terrell fatally encountered whilst exploring the wind-ravaged planet of Ceti Alpha V. Indeed, it’s arguably rare to find such a wonderfully winding plot as the one penned by this book’s brothers as William T. Riker confounds all his doubters by not only besting the Stargazer’s former captain, but by also overthrowing Emperor Quinn in his very throne room within the space of a few panels; “Yes. I’m just now receiving word of some upset back at the palace.”

Of course, first and foremost of these shocks is just how quickly the one-time privateer overcomes Jean-Luc Picard to become the Galaxy-class starship’s new skipper. As the android Data himself notes later in this publication, the vessel’s bald, vicious leader had recently become so dangerously erratic that that someone somewhen was bound to attempt to murder him. However, Riker’s successful assassination takes place so early within the twenty-page periodical that its decisive swiftness is bound to take many a perusing bibliophile by complete surprise.

Similarly as well-written though is how this comic’s sizeable cast outwardly rally around their commander to ensure his plans for interplanetary domination reach fruition with minimal fuss. Unlike under Picard’s fiery ‘my might is right’ regime, William provides his crew with plenty of lucrative opportunities to help buy their loyalty, such as Geordi La Forge being offered the administration of the ship-building sphere, Faundori, in return for his unwavering allegiance. Furthermore, Riker’s also not adverse to promoting potentially dangerous opponents into roles which are currently advantageous to him, or even risk the venomous wrath of an ever-jealous Deanna Troi by offering physical favours to the likes of Elizabeth Shelby.

Working hand-in-hand with so devious a tale of traitors and treacherous turncoats are artist Gavin Smith and colourist Charlie Kirchoff. This dynamic duo’s ability to present the destruction of the Klingon Empire’s main fleet is an absolute joy to behold, as is the way they manage to bring a distinct personality to so many of this comic’s considerable cast through facial expressions and body movements.

Writers: Scott & David Tipton, Artist: Gavin Smith, and Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff

Captain Carter #4 - Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN CARTER No. 4, September 2022

Initially grabbing its audience by the scruff of the neck with a no-nonsense punch-up between Peggy Carter, an armourless Iron Man and a veritable vanload of super-powered goons, Jamie McKelvie’s script for Issue Four of “Captain Carter” certainly gets off to a sense-shattering start. But whilst this fistfight genuinely projects an air of potential deadliness for the titular character and her conveniently tech-savvy fighting companion, the rest of the twenty-page periodical’s plot is probably a bit disappointingly pedestrian; “I’ll go with you, Tony. I can’t just sit here being useless.”

Indeed, it’s arguably not until this comic’s cliff-hanger of a conclusion that any reader’s pulse will start pounding again, and then it’s only because the lead protagonist is acting so naively that anyone can see she’s about to be captured by the mini-series’ central villain so are screaming at the “decades-old spy” to stop her solo assassination mission before it’s too late. This situation is doubly infuriating because it comes straight after an extremely well-written sequence where Peggy suddenly pieces together all the clues which the author has previously dropped that the Prime Minister is actually the vampire Lord John Falsworth.

Perhaps this publication’s biggest problem though is just how increasingly insufferable and holier than thou Harley Davis appears throughout the story. Not happy simply having the disagreeable young woman completely tear apart the British Intelligence Service’s most top-secret data files concerning the head of government’s fraudulent background using just a home computer, McKelvie also has her taking Lizzie Braddock to task for not having grown up poor and then suggests despite all the secret agent’s evident hard work, that she only got her position within S.T.R.I.K.E. solely because her father “was the Director General of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s British Division.” In fact, the Brixton-based music streamer even gets the telekinetic to apologise to her for having had a privileged upbringing.

Equally as inconsistent as this book’s penmanship is sadly Marika Cresta’s layouts. The Ringo Award-nominee does a terrific job pencilling Captain Carter’s epic battle against a heavily muscled blood-drinking thrall. Yet seemingly struggles to add anything to the subsequent dialogue-driven scenes, even when one of them ends with a friend of Stark’s killing himself by stepping off the top of a high-rise building.

The regular cover art of "CAPTAIN CARTER" #4 by Jamie McKelvie

King Conan #6 - Marvel Comics

KING CONAN No. 6, September 2022

Having announced in May 2022 that “after just under five years” Robert E. Howard’s creation was once again going to be leaving the Marvel Universe, Jason Aaron’s script for Issue Six of “King Conan” was probably something of a disappointment to the majority of the Cimmerian’s fans. In fact, the Alabama-born author’s narrative for this twenty-page swansong, based upon the unrealistic premise of the barbarian being able to single-handedly best an entire island packed full of the walking undead, is arguably a good example as to just why amongst other criticisms, the sword and sorcery hero’s “fans have complained about Aaron’s run not being true to the character”.

Admittedly, “The Boy In The Tree” does also provide some significant spotlight to the arcane gifts of Thoth-Amon, and the Stygian Wizard’s incredible ability to harness the dark arts to his will. But whilst the emaciated snake-worshipping sorcerer is pivotal to Aquilonia’s former king ultimately besting the maniacal machinations of Princess Prima, one of the plot’s biggest holes is just how the evil-hearted magician is suddenly able to conjure up so much astounding alchemy when for so much of this mini-series’ storyline he has been shown as being utterly impotent; “You see! At last, my rise is imminent! I shall crush entire armies beneath my heel! While clad in the flayed skin of all who mocked me!”

Correspondingly as unconvincing is the Cimmerian’s aforementioned swordplay, which at one point sees the heavily muscled protagonist easily dispatching a good half-dozen murderously sized primates with just his sword. Conan aficionados will doubtless recall the difficulty the barbarian had battling just one giant gorilla in the 1934 short story "Shadows in the Moonlight". Yet in this comic, Aaron would have his audience believe an utterly exhausted hero, who has already spent the past twenty-four hours endlessly fighting, could still easily slaughter an entire, co-ordinated pack of Red Apes from Khitai whilst daydreaming about tree climbing when he was a boy.

Perhaps this publication’s biggest disappointment though, lies in its future glimpses of a heavily-bearded Conn being erroneously informed of his father’s death, which act as a sort of bookend for the periodical. These scenes are debatably as unconvincing as the young monarch is sceptical as to the final fate of his predecessor, and whilst proficiently pencilled by Mahmud Asrar seemingly smacks of an urgent need to pad out the comic to its allotted sheet number rather than actually add anything to the supposed “poignant, powerful and unbelievable chapter that closes out this saga of King Conan.”

The regular cover art of "KING CONAN" #6 by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson

Doctor Who: Origins #3 - Titan Comics

DOCTOR WHO: ORIGINS #3, September 2022

Despite propelling its audience to a significant number of populated planets, not least of which is the titular character’s home world of Gallifrey, there’s debatably not a lot of action going on within Jody Houser’s storyline for Issue Three of “Doctor Who: Origins”. Indeed, the “New York Times bestselling comics writer” doesn’t even pen one of this comic’s cast raising their voice in anger until its very end when the Fugitive Doctor boldly confronts “a member of the Gallifreyan Council and the one pulling the strings behind this so-called mission” in the Citadel.

Up until this point, the book’s plot disappointingly consists of little more than a series of conversational pieces in which the suspicious Division operative casually discusses the destruction of several colony planets with her immediate supervisor, the highly disagreeable Taslo, and representatives of the settlements she is supposed to be destroying with a temporal bombardment from orbit. However, even once the tension does heat up, there’s absolutely no sign of a dynamic diversion or moment of spontaneous drama. Instead, the Doctor simply stands by and impotently watches as the villain of the piece apparently outwits her by remotely blowing up all the so-called cultist strongholds himself.

Similarly bereft of any vitality is the increasingly bizarre relationship between the ‘short-fused’ Time Lord and her latest assistant. Having previously slaughtered a harmless immigrant in this mini-series’ preceding instalment with a cowardly dagger blow to the back without any warning, Houser would still have this book’s audience believe that the Doctor feels Taslo is “nice” and someone she can trust. True, there is the suggestion later within the tome that the Gallifreyan’s treatment of her obnoxious companion is simply a ruse, and that she instinctively knows her ‘friend’ is bound to betray her. But it’s still arguably hard to imagine any incarnation of the time traveller contentedly journeying alongside so stone-cold a killer without any recriminations being levelled at the young girl for her behaviour.

Disconcertingly, even Roberta Ingranata’s artwork appears to suffer from the listlessness of this publication’s script. Many of the Italian illustrator’s panels seemingly contain the bare minimum of background detail, including those scenes set inside the Citadel - which resemble the sparse interior of a traditional Japanese minka rather than some of the splendidly ornate offices first seen in the 1978 televised adventure “The Invasion Of Time”.

The regular cover art of "DOCTOR WHO: ORIGINS" #3 by Priscilla Petraites

Rick And Morty: Crisis On C-137 #1 - Oni Press

RICK AND MORTY: CRISIS ON C-137 No. 1, August 2022

Somewhat misleading with the solicitation pitch that its just “up to Rick, Morty and Noob Noob to defend the galaxy against a threat beyond time”, Stephanie Phillips’ storyline for this twenty-two-page periodical probably pleased many within its audience who were long-term fans of Dan Harmon’s “animated science-fiction sitcom”. But whilst the comic rather enjoyably depicts the galaxy-spanning exploits of Supernova, the Vindicator’s short-lived janitor and even the universe-travelling small white dog known as Snuffles, a few of this book’s plot threads arguably seem to have been thrown into the mix simply to help pad the story out until it reached the required publication length.

Foremost of these sequences is debatably the sudden and completely unconnected resurrection of Rick and Morty’s long-dead alternative selves, which up until this yarn were harmlessly rotting in a pair of shallow graves out in the Smith family’s back garden. The gruesome-looking zombies’ sudden emergence to attack Sanchez whilst the scientist is busy throwing a temper tantrum occurs completely out of the blue and once succinctly resolved, courtesy of a conveniently placed laser gun, is unconvincingly written off as simply being the result of “some ambient space energy that galaxy chick brought to earth with her.”

However, Rick’s decision to create a deadly tournament to identify those heroes capable of joining “the first-ever League of Really Cool Intellectual Properties” is also somewhat suspect, due to the entire scene being glossed over by a handful of splash pages depicting numerous competitors getting eaten, lasered, fried, chopped and mutilated in a variety of different manners. Admittedly, some of these deaths are rather horrifyingly humorous in their execution, as is poor Morty’s reaction to the extraordinarily high kill count when he’s tasked with buying more garbage bags for all the severed body parts. But apart from one extended sketch showing the event’s entire arena, it’s never actually explained what is going on, and whether the participants are meant to be solely tackling the horrendously lethal hurdles before them or battling it out with one another as well.?

Possibly just as off-kilter as some of this comic’s penmanship though is the artwork of Ryan Lee, which debatably depicts the narrative with a little more detailed pencilling than is necessary. Admirably, the illustrator has clearly gone to some considerable lengths in adapting their style so as to mimic that of the cartoon show. Yet by then adding extra lines here and there to the most recognisable cast members, he has caused them to always look slightly different from how a reader might mentally picture them.

Written by: Stephanie Phillips, Illustrated by: Ryan Lee, and Colored by: Doug Garbark

Batgirls #3 - DC Comics

BATGIRLS No.3, April 2022

Considering that a quarter way through this comic Barbara Gordon realises that her super-team are spreading themselves too thin by dealing with multiple problems, it’s difficult not to imagine some readers feeling equally as bamboozled by this publication’s numerous sub-plots. In fact, up until Oracle’s decision to fully focus upon Tutor being “responsible for putting innocent Gothamites under [a] trance”, the titular characters appear to be being pulled all over the place, whether it be from the constant threat of the Seer, another battle with the deadly Saints, Stephanie Brown’s strange susceptibility to the mysterious street artist’s Fear Gas derivative, the bizarre number of street-level thefts occurring within the local neighbourhood, the identity of the mass-murdering Hill Ripper, and even who amongst the central protagonists makes the most drinkable coffee.

Fortuitously though, once writers Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad pen the Batgirls attending an underground art show at an old shipyard, this twenty-two-page periodical’s narrative arguably gains some considerable traction and even manages to shed a little light on one of Babs’ former romantic relationships. Sure, the authors can’t seemingly help themselves muddy up the waters a little bit by having the likes of Tarsus, Valentine and Assisi ‘pop up’ towards the end of this publication simply to serve as a reminder to any perusing bibliophiles of their deadly presence. But at least circumstances ensure that the two opposing groups don’t actually engage one another on this occasion, and instead allow “One Way Or Another” to simply continue its depiction of Tutor’s Machiavellian machinations; “It’s just… After what happened last time, and then again tonight… I feel like the weak link. I just don’t wanna be a liability, ya know?”

Indeed, debatably the highlight of this comic is Brown and Cain’s rematch with the masked wall-scrawler inside a derelict ship, which intriguingly has Cassandra single-handedly fending off the gas-guzzling entertainer’s deadly attacks against her team-mate, after he casually casts 'Spoiler' into another zombie-like trance. This fight sequence is incredibly well pencilled by artist Jorge Corona with plenty of bone-crunching blows and dynamically drawn acrobatics. Furthermore, the action really helps highlight just how savagely tough the previously-named Orphan can be when supposedly cornered, courtesy of the young woman ultimately besting her smart-mouthed foe even when at a major disadvantage.

Story: Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad, Art: Jorge Corona, and Colors: Sarah Stern & Ivan Plascencia

Big F#@k Off Worms #1 - Matt Garvey Comics

BIG F#@K OFF WORMS No. 1, May 2020

Entertainingly mixing science fiction with science fact, courtesy of the storyline being based upon the true story of thousands of worms being sent up to “the international space station so they could see how a worm’s muscles would react in zero gravity”, this twenty-four-page periodical’s plot is arguably as enjoyably insane as its title is eye-catchingly explicit. In fact, the sheer sense of zany fun which emanates from Issue One of “Big F#@k Off Worms” is so palpable that its readers will doubtless be able to easily imagine its creative team of Matt Garvey and J. Francis Totti guffawing away to themselves whilst they were producing the post-apocalyptic publication; “I say people because when the worms returned, the radiation they brought with them mutated every human being on the planet into an… antha… anthro-promo… it mutated them into human/animal hybrids.”

Possibly this comic’s principal ‘hook’ is the sheer grandeur of Petey’s task at hand, and the way the narrative quickly allows it to spiral ‘out of control’ to involve the entire planet. Initially, it appears that the prototype battle suit-wearing hero is simply defending a small, rag-tag settlement of mutant children from just the eighth enormous invertebrate which he has faced. However, events should transpire which indicate that “the only human left” is not only desperately trying to whittle down the worms to ensure that the world’s radiation levels subside back down to a ‘safe’ level. But that he is unknowingly locked in a battle of wits with an unseen villainous mastermind who is ‘controlling’ Frank Herbert’s inspirations for his own devilish ends.

Similarly as successful though is the sense of endearing incompetence Garvey imbues “the last thing standing” with. This idiocy starts straight from the get-go, with Totti prodigiously pencilling Petey blazing away at the supposedly small(ish) worm he’s currently facing, only to discover that he’s so far away from the gigantic monstrosity that his bullets impotently land on the sun-scorched ground long before they reach their target. Such a laugh-out-loud moment is delightfully rather typical of the protagonist’s persistent attempts to fell his foe, and even when he does eventually succeed in killing the small-brained crawler the buffoon forgets that the enormous lifeless corpse will now fall slap down on top of him as a result of gravity.

Written by: Matt Garvey, and Art by: J Francis Totti

King Conan #5 - Marvel Comics

KING CONAN No. 5, July 2022

Providing its audience with an excellent “glimpse into the never-before-revealed past of the Stygian Wizard” Thoth-Amon, Jason Aaron’s narrative for Issue Five of “King Conan” probably captured the attention of many Robert E. Howard fans by predominantly pitching itself shortly after the events depicted in the December 1932 original yarn "The Phoenix on the Sword". Indeed, as an attempt to fill in some of the background gaps concerning “the sorcerer who will strike fear into the Hyborian Age” goes, this twenty-page periodical’s plot does a more than satisfactory job envisaging the rise of the initially unpromising snake worshipping boy; “Whilst everyone was gathered inside the temple, Thoth-Amon bound the doors, doused the stones with the tar and presented his offering to Set.”

In addition, the Alabama-born author also makes a semi-successful attempt to finally explain just how the emaciated-looking magic user came to be shipwrecked upon the same pitifully small “cursed isle” as Aquilonia’s former king. True, this explanation is arguably far less credible than the writer’s flashback “deep within the marshes of the River Styx”, considering that it is seemingly based upon the notion that the great snake deity had decided to sacrifice his prominent priest to a pack of marauding sharks just prior to Ascalante’s one-time slave hearing the Cimmerian’s voice bellowing about rum. But at least the sheer coincidence of the two living legends unlikely meeting in the middle of nowhere was not simply a matter of unconvincing chance and instead as a result of events being manipulated by at least one so-called divinity.

Far less persuasive is Aaron’s penmanship concerning Conan’s heavy-handed bullying of his arch-nemesis following their implausible pact to aid one another until free of the zombie-infested island. The barbarian has always been penned as being highly wary (and even intimidated) by those able to master the arcane dark arts, so the fact he’s seen picking up perhaps his era’s greatest sorcerer by the scruff of his neck at one point in a gesture of disrespectful dominance, smacks of uncharacteristic arrogant contempt, even if the Stygian’s powers are supposedly at something of a low ebb during this story.

Such inconsistency also appears to affect the artwork of Mahmud Asrar, whose opening splash showing a shaven-headed Thoth-Amon being whipped by his fellow acolytes with hooded cobras is one of the comic’s most memorable moments. However, by the time the spotlight returns to Princess Prima’s desolate abode, the Turkish illustrator’s pencilling appears a little tired and is slightly inconsistent when it comes to the skeletal form of the Black Ring’s Master Mage.

The regular cover art of "KING CONAN" #5 by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson

Omega #3 - Cutaway Comics

OMEGA No. 3, July 2021

Featuring a much more prominent presence of this mini-series’ titular antagonist, Mark Griffith’s script for Issue Three of “Omega” probably wrong-footed many of its readers on several occasions, as the comic’s plot arguably delivers surprise after surprise in its efforts to depict “the terrifying extent” of the rogue Time Lord’s nefarious plan for intergalactic vengeance. Indeed, it’s debatably difficult to imagine much more of a rollercoaster ride than the one this twenty-four page publication’s comedy playwright presents as Princess Malika “and her ragtag companions” bravely battle against the gun-toting forces of mass-murdering politician Oxrigi in outer space.

Admittedly, in subverting the expectations of its audience this book does contain a number of shocking deaths, not least of which is the Minyos King suicidally piloting his damaged Concorde-like space-liner straight into the planet’s upper atmosphere so as to save his city’s population. But such a flurry of fatal bombshells quickly establishes a heightened sense of nervousness in the reader whenever it comes time to peruse a new panel, as it’s never clear just which character is still going to be left standing; “Just when you make peace with the universe you suddenly find you’re not dying after all!”

In addition, these twists and turns also help create a palpable sense of sheer desperation in the comic's quite sizeably-sized cast. This pulse-pounding panic is probably best seen during Malika’s reckless raid upon Oxrigi’s battle cruiser following the destruction of her own vessel. One moment the princess is helplessly floating through the airless vacuum of space unable to activate her cellular renewal, and in the next her golden automaton is emotionlessly gunning down a ship full of guards after punching its way through the hull’s airlock and helping her aboard.

Ultimately however, much of this magazine’s success arguably rests with John Ridgway’s layouts, which definitely provide it with both the look and feel of Alex Raymond’s space adventure comic strip “Flash Gordon” from the Thirties. The British illustrator’s excellently envisaged mentally-powered mind-war between Kyril and Minyos’ homicidal ruler is particularly well-pencilled, as both combatants transform themselves into a number of unusual life-forms in an effort to outthink their opponent and extinguish their life force without "a crumb of dignity."

The regular cover art of "OMEGA" #3 by Silvano Beltramo

Batgirls #2 - DC Comics

BATGIRLS No.2, March 2022

Sporting a dynamically-drawn cover illustration of the titular characters' “new secret muscle car” by Jorge Corona and Sarah Stern, as well as a rip-roaring fight-fest between Barbara Gordon’s young protégés and the super-villainous Saints, the start to Issue Two of “Batgirls” certainly must have had many a bibliophile snatching the comic straight off of the spinner-rack in excitement. Indeed, the twenty-two page periodical’s opening quarter is arguably a virtuoso in how to hook an audience and carry them along with a narrative which genuinely looks set to maim or even kill one of its leading cast members; “The main thing here is to not engage head-on. If we’re going to face them, it’ll require strategy, planning, and preparation.”

Sadly however, once Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown have escaped their would-be killers by the skin of their teeth, “One Way Or Another” debatably peters out into a rather sedentary experience, where the most adventurous incident to occur is “the fourth Batgirl” getting her ears pierced so she can “wear her newly upgraded” communications device. Admittedly, this disappointing drop in pace as oracle chops up some food with a kitchen knife is somewhat salvaged later on when Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad pen the ‘dynamic duo’ going back outside to “attach a signal suppressor to the roof”, but by the time this occurs the book has disappointingly almost concluded.

Possibly more successful is the writing team’s ability to maintain this ongoing series’ secondary plot thread of mind-controlled Gothamites being used to construct some bizarre “shrine to the Gods of Stolen Goods” in the docklands. This intriguing notion that someone is able to manipulate both the obnoxious Hill’s Angels and Police into doing their nefarious bidding even seemingly affects “Spoiler", and provides this publication with an excellent cliff-hanger of a conclusion.

Sequential artist Corona also needs a ‘pat on the back’ for helping make even this comic’s more mundane moments palatable, courtesy of Cain’s wonderful facial expressions and the Venezuelan’s attention to minor details like Mister Dhaliwal noticing Cassandra whenever she is out and about in her civilian attire. In addition, the Russ Manning Award-winner provides the Batgirls’ battle against Tarsus, Valentine and Assisi with some breath-taking action sequences, most notably when “Orphan” is temporarily incapacitated by her own bat-wire yet still manages to evade serious injury.

Story: Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad, Art: Jorge Corona, and Colors: Sarah Stern

Book Of Shadows #1 - Valiant Entertainment

BOOK OF SHADOWS No. 1, July 2022

As an opening instalment to an “epic blockbuster event” goes, Cullen Bunn’s narrative for Issue One of “Book Of Shadows” certainly seems to deliver when it comes to sense-shattering soul-devouring and unpleasant, blood-drenched bodily mutilation. Indeed, this twenty-page tome’s depiction of Vernon Common’s hapless population being gratuitously devoured by a pack of sadistically savage werewolves at a local carnival, may well cause even the most die-hard of gore-fans to nervously wonder whether they should have an emesis bag within easy reach just in case they start to feel overly nauseous; “You’re all monsters! St-Stay away! Get away from me!”

Happily however, such barbaric, bestial feasting is reasonably short-lived, and arguably essential to the story projecting just how utterly disagreeable the comic’s central antagonist, Exarch Fane, actually is. Furthermore, there’s so much violent slicing, dicing and beheading contained within this publication that such remorseless savagery soon starts to lose its shock value, and the reader is quickly able to simply focus upon the unification of the Valiant Universe’s supernatural protectors for “the very first time”, as well as the introduction of the Manhattan-founded publisher’s “terrifying new villain”.

Bunn has previously made quite a fuss about his newly created “ancient being from beyond the veil of life and death”, and certainly provides the warlord with an impressive entrance as Fane nonchalantly bests Gilad Anni-Padda with a mighty display of Eldritch powers that leaves the Eternal Warrior devastatingly impotent. Somewhat disappointingly though, the Master of Horror's handling of Punk Mambo is less impressive, with the voodoo priestess suddenly adopting a seriously infuriating holier than thou attitude towards the Shadowman. Sure, Victoria Greaves-Trott’s disdain for Persephone is understandable enough considering the creature has previously attempted to extinguish all life on the planet. But the British magic-user’s persistent self-righteous sniping and sanctimonious disapproval of Jack Boniface allowing the mortal Blight to live does debatably start to wear a little thin after just a few panels.

“Bone-chilling artist Vicente Cifuentes” should also get a notable nod of approval for his layouts, which besides depicting the perilous predicament of a scytheless Shadowman getting bitten by a hairy lycanthrope, also imbues Anni-Padda’s diabolical dual with plenty of dynamic vigour. In addition, the Spanish visual illustrator does a prodigious job in pencilling this comic’s considerably sized cast with some great facial expressions, such as a shocked Gilad when he realises his previously defeated nemesis has significantly upgraded his powers, or the increasingly terrified Laney, as the little girl witnesses first-hand the supernatural abilities of her would-be rescuers.

The regular cover art of "BOOK OF SHADOWS" #1 by Rafael Albuqueque

Dungeons & Dragons: Legends Of Baldur's Gate #3 - IDW Publishing

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: LEGENDS OF BALDUR'S GATE No. 3, December 2014

Despite essentially consisting of a frantically paced, night-time dash across some of the city-state’s most precarious, tile-covered rooves, Issue Three of “Dungeons & Dragons: Legends Of Baldur’s Gate” still provides plenty of intriguing insights into the corruption-riddled world of the Patriar, as well as a bag full of laugh out loud humour. In fact, Jim Zub’s ability to combine super-tense action with a seemingly never-ending carousel of one-liners is arguably this twenty-page periodical’s greatest strength, and certainly helps invigorate its potentially more sedentary scenes with some much-needed sparkle; “Hamster justice cannot be ignored, ugly man!”

Foremost of these sequences is the leading cast’s extraordinary entrance into one of “the upper crust’s" most lavish of social gatherings, in which Minsc somehow manages to convince a startled servant that the heavily muscled adventurer is supposedly a musically-talented troubadour. This somewhat lengthy conversational piece runs on for a good twelve, well-proportioned panels, and could easily have dragged on if it wasn’t for the Canadian author making the doorman extremely dry-witted, and “the beloved ranger” engagingly naïve.

Likewise, the sheer scale of the chaos caused by Delina when she inadvertently bumps into “one of the jerks who ambushed us” is hilarious and demonstrates just how fast things can get out of control when you allow the former bodyguard of the witch Dynaheir into a banquet whilst he’s still armed with his extraordinarily large two-handed broadsword. Whether it be Shandie stuffing her face full of vol-au-vents, Krydle face-palming himself at the sight of his partners-in-crime tearing up his brother’s party, or Coran’s disbelief at finding Boo suddenly squeaking in his hands, it’s doubtful that many of this comic’s 5,563 readers successfully managed to stifle a laugh or two during such well-penned carnage.

Adding enormously to this book’s sheer sense of fun are Max Dunbar’s layouts, which debatably do an incredible job of imbuing the storytelling with lots of energy and dynamism. The swashbuckling swordfights atop some the metropolis’ tallest buildings are particularly noteworthy for their prodigious pencilling, as are the plethora of facial expressions drawn upon every character as they endure a myriad of different emotions during the Dragon Cult’s attempted abduction of their young moon elf team-mate.

Written by: Jim Zub, Art by: Max Dunbar, and Colors by: John-Paul Bove

Simon N. Kirby, The Agent #2 - G-Man Comics

SIMON N. KIRBY, THE AGENT No. 2, October 2020

Pitching the Agent into a titanic head-on tussle with the ultra-violent alter-ego of Henry Rothländer, Rik Offenberger’s script for “Sting Of The Murder Hornet” surely must have delighted the 130 backers who ‘helped bring this project to life’ on the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter. Indeed, this twenty-page periodical’s plot is arguably faultless with its entertaining mix of decidedly deadly night-time doings, political double-dealings and a noble stand against the despicable fascist ideology of the Third Reich; “I don’t kill kids, even punks, for the crime of graffiti.”

Foremost of this book’s successes must be the novel idea of the comic’s central antagonist using a doppelgänger to persistently keep the American authorities at bay, whenever the billionaire industrialist crosses the line and savagely mistreats the street-level criminals who prove such an anathema to his prejudicial philosophy. This ploy proves particularly fruitful following Hornet’s epic fisticuffs with Simon N. Kirby in Boston, when a badly battered Rothländer is just able to swap places with a fully fit Jeffrey Schmitt to avoid incarceration.

The ultra-rich arms dealer’s money-driven manipulation of the American justice system is also intriguingly penned and doesn’t bode well for the future of the Agent, despite him being “a third generation F.B.I. special agent with five years of service to the Bureau.” Debatably one of this publication’s most shocking moments comes when Henry callously stabs Mateo Martinez within an inch of his life, after the feline-themed crime-fighter aggressively objects to Hornet’s treatment of two adolescent shoplifters. Initially, it appears that the legally registered super-hero will be imprisoned for life for attempted murder, but the white supremacist’s lawyer is incredibly slick at using the legislation to condone her client’s near-lethal conduct rather than condemn it.

Similarly as sense-shattering as the penmanship though, is Alan Faria’s awesome-looking layouts, which grab the reader’s attention straight from this issue’s outset and simply don’t let them go until the title’s cataclysmic cliff-hanger of a conclusion. Clean-lined, dynamically drawn, and absolutely packed full of pulse-pounding action, the Brazilian artist’s style wonderfully captures all the storytelling success of the Bronze Age of Comics with Kirby’s initial savage beating by Rothländer proving to debatably be the highlight of the book.

Writer: Rik Offenberger, Artist: Alan Faria, and Letters: Eric N. Bennett