Absolute Batman #11 - DC Comics

ABSOLUTE BATMAN No. 11, October 2025

Providing the much anticipated all-new “origin of Bane” according to Scott Snyder’s alternative universe, the heavily worded storyline for Issue Eleven of “Absolute Batman” must have physically exhausted many within the comic’s audience. True, the publication delivers a somewhat compulsive account of the muscle-bound behemoth’s early life upon the tiny island of Santa Prisca. But such is the sheer amount of narration hurled at the reader throughout its twenty-one pages that anyone picking up this book would definitely have had to work to reach the tale’s end; “He’s coming for you at this very moment. Wherever you are, kid, I’m sorry.”

Similarly as exhausting is arguably the pacing of this periodical, which repeatedly relies upon tiny, micro-panels to help tell its plot. These layouts seemingly slow down even the most pulse-pounding of military coups to a soporific speed which disconcertingly induces much of the weariness felt by the rebel fighters whenever they are forced to race across their homeland’s sandy beaches battling the enemy. Indeed, many a bibliophile was probably absolutely elated whenever Clay Mann pencilled a splash page or two, as it momentarily provides an all-too brief respite from the American author’s avalanche of syllables, sentences, and paragraphs.

Such a situation is genuinely disheartening, as this instalment contains several memorable moments – not least of which is Bane brutally breaking the back of his aged father as part of his deal with the Joker. Furthermore, the New York City born writer must have caught the vast majority of onlookers completely off-guard when the cold-hearted Caribbean killer quite literally chops off both of the Dark Knight’s arms with the vigilante’s own axe-blade, and then proceeds to brutally brain the pleading torso which remains.

Possibly just as disappointing as this comic’s penmanship is Mann’s aforementioned scribblings, which for much of the book simply aren’t given any chance to breathe. In fact, it’s not until the artist is able to muscle his sketches into some sensibly-sized frames that he is able to show how truly talented he is - even if  the illustrator’s design for a bare-chested, Venom-enhanced Caped Crusader may well look a little too over-the-top for some Bat-fans.

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE BATMAN" #11 by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2024] #12 - IDW Publishing

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES No. 12, October 2025

For those readers who have successfully navigated the debatable ups and downs of Jason Aaron’s year-long narrative for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, this ongoing series’ twelfth instalment probably proved a bit of an anti-climax to the Alabama-born author’s lengthy storyline. Indeed, considering that a heavily mutilated District Attorney Hale is well and truly defeated just half-way through the twenty-two page periodical, this comic’s ambience genuinely smacks of its creative team simply just wanting the book to be over; “They said they had something important they needed to handle. Just the four of them.”

So disappointing an atmosphere is arguably best seen by the still bickering titular quartet supposedly finally setting aside their differences so as to conjure up a monstrous four-armed turtle spirit, whose ghostly presence in the night sky indicates that the ‘heroes in a half shell’ are once again fully committed brothers-in-arms. Unfortunately, none of this co-operative temperament is actually on show as Raphael continues to angrily ignore Donatello’s plea for a short-loved meeting of minds, Michelangelo repeatedly bad-mouths his fellow fighters, and Leonardo is once again hurled into the action, so his fellow siblings don’t have to listen to him anymore.

Admittedly, this sequence does show the main cast somewhat working together – especially when they employ the aforementioned Leo fastball special. But they simply don’t appear to be any more at peace in one another’s company as they were when they first begrudgingly came back together to fight the injustices overshadowing the Big Apple several issues past, and yet the audience are suddenly told to trust Donny when he conveniently claims “We did it. We fought our way home.”

Perhaps this book’s biggest head-scratcher though is at its very end, when artist Juan Ferreyra has to pencil the dead Master Splinter momentarily appearing before his 'children' during a sewer-based séance. Initially, it appears that the humanoid rodent is about to make some story-stopping proclamation, or perhaps even step back into the physical world from beyond the grave. However, instead Aaron decides to have the Sensei shockingly reform in the secret headquarters of “Jonin of the Foot Clan” after the sorceress has unsuccessfully tried “to pillage the secrets of the Afterlife, the Yomi-No-Kuni!” without any sort of rhyme or reason whatsoever.

The regular cover art to "TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES" #12 by Jorge Fornes

Unholy Nightmare #2 - Mutant Farm Comics

UNHOLY NIGHTMARE No. 2, September 2025

It should probably come as to no surprise to any onlookers that an impressive one hundred and sixty-three backers dared “to continue the descent into darkness” with Issue Two of “Unholy Nightmare” on the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in June 2025. Sure, Dolan Waddick’s script for the thirty-two page plot arguably contains a fair few quieter moments than this title’s previous outing, courtesy of a somewhat romantic interlude between his two central characters back at the Recluse’s secret hideaway. But for the vast majority of this comic there’s still plenty of pulse-pounding action to keep the audience absolutely riveted; “Couldn’t I have gone to jail? Did I deserve to be shot repeatedly?”

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly however, many a bibliophile will also most likely find Lieutenant Magnum’s fiery introduction as the highlight of this book, rather than Jenny and her spiderlike partner-in-crime, with the absolutely no-nonsense Chicago Police Officer dominating every panel in which he appears. Of particular interest is the sheer sense of energy and humour the man adds to an already fast-paced car pursuit down the back roads of Gary, Indiana, with his heated rebuke of a rookie cop who gets their vehicle stuck in a traffic jam genuinely delivering a laugh-out-loud moment.

Furthermore, the author manages to provide every one of this publication’s considerably-sized cast with plenty of unique personality, including a wonderfully penned bald-headed priest who is as quick to throw a painful punch straight to the jaw as he is to amusingly curse using almost every expletive under the sun. Such individuality really helps draw the reader’s attention to each of Vlad’s mysterious minions, and should easily make them eager to peruse a much-desired third instalment of this title once its release is announced.

Similarly as successful as this comic’s writing though is its layouts, with Aurelio Mazzara, inker Gaetano Petrigno and colorist Gene Jimenez doing a fantastic job of bringing all the grim-faced ghouls contained within the narrative to vibrant life. Indeed, this book is absolutely packed full of some truly memorable visuals, such as Magnum’s aforementioned descent into a red-faced rage, or the Recluse’s awesome-looking arachnid-mobile sending the local police cars flying into the hard shoulder as it plunges bonnet-first into the murky depths of Lake Michigan.

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