West Coast Avengers [2024] #4 - Marvel Comics

WEST COAST AVENGERS No. 4, April 2025

As personality-driven pieces go Gerry Duggan’s writing for Issue Four of “West Coast Avengers” certainly must have caught a fair few of its readers off-guard by momentarily depicting a “romance” between the deeply disturbed Firestar and “the newest and least-tested member” of Iron Man’s team. Indeed, despite the New York City-based publisher’s overt declaration that this particular twenty-page periodical would depict Angelica Jones smooching with the disagreeable Blue Bolt, the actual moment the two characters kiss is still arguably rather surprising.

For starters, the former New Warrior appears to make it crystal clear beforehand that she doesn’t want anything to do with Tommy Watt, and even reprimands the rehabilitating super-villain for addressing her as “Red”. She then spends the vast majority of this comic pushing the people around her further away with her excessive drinking, paranoid delusion that Tony Stark is not to be trusted, and misguided, alcohol-fuelled belief that the "Whackos" leader would rather have Ultron on his squad’s roster than her.

All of these misconceptions cause Firestar to seemingly depart the West Coast Avengers for a solitary existence with just her drunken demons. However, within moments of Blue Bolt chasing after her, the clearly vulnerable heroine is shockingly embracing a man who previously joined Hydra under Flag-Smasher’s rule. Of course, Watt does apparently manage to penetrate poor Angelica’s brain fog with his PTSD diagnosis, and offers her a shoulder to cry upon. But even so, the unlikely pair’s night-time smooch debatably just seems to have been penned by Duggan for its shock value, rather than anything else; “Please don’t call me Red. Please don’t call me anything Killerwat.”

Disappointingly, Danny Kim’s pencilling also appears to be just as unconvincing as this book’s narrative, despite the artist at least providing it with some much-needed dynamism when Iron Man and War Machine tackle the “nasty member of the Technarch race named” Shradram the Breaker. Much of this ‘unease’ stems from some almost amateurish-looking panels featuring Jim Rhodes and Stark, where the two armour-reliant protagonists genuinely appear to have been sketched by someone different to whoever is drawing Jones' facial features. In fact, even Firestar’s appearance occasionally suffers from a disconcerting lack of detail, such as when she starts drinking from a hip flask right in front of the billionaire industrialist.

The regular cover art of "WEST COAST AVENGERS" #4 by Ben Harvey

Alien Verses Captain America #3 - Marvel Comics

ALIEN VERSES CAPTAIN AMERICA No. 3, March 2026

Packed full of planetwide invasions, grisly infestations and some seriously scintillating close combat, those readers who enjoy witnessing Xenomorphs massacre both heavily-armed soldiers and hapless civilians with the same deadly precision will doubtless have enjoyed Issue Three of “Alien Verses Captain America”. Indeed, Frank Tieri’s plot for this twenty-page periodical races along at a truly breath-taking pace, and only occasionally pauses to allow the likes of Sergeant Nick Fury to momentarily mourn the deaths of his Howling Commandos before throwing its audience back into a writhing mass of all-devouring aliens.

However, such unrelenting storytelling does arguably result in the American author taking a few somewhat jarring short-cuts when it comes to explaining some pretty important events, like the Kree’s Supreme Intelligence being ruthlessly slaughtered by a heavily-mutated chestburster. Sure, this comic’s opening does a grand job in depicting the Empire’s initial fall before the razor sharp teeth and spiked tails of the extra-terrestrials on the planet Hala. But there’s no explanation as to how the ‘militaristic, blue-skinned humanoids’ subsequently manage to vanquish their merciless foes under the leadership of Supremor Mar-Vell.

In fact, apart from the Kree clearly assuming the mantle of galactic defenders against the Xenomorph hordes, this book doesn’t debatably provide all that much information about them at all – and seemingly supposes that any onlookers already know about their large, interstellar civilisation. Such an assumption can prove a little problematic at times, such as when Tieri suddenly introduces Yon-Rogg into the narrative from completely out of the blue, and due to the commander’s physical similarity to Mar-Vell, could easily be mistaken for the “decorated captain” himself – an oversight which isn’t clarified until Steve Rogers calls him by name several panels later.

Easily doing most of the publication’s heavy-lifting though has to be Stefano Raffaele and colour artist Neeraj Menon. Together the creative pair provide some gobsmackingly good layouts, and provide so many intriguing insights into the fall of Hala, that some perusing bibliophiles may well wish that this particular instalment of the mini-series went into much further detail as to the aforementioned fall of the Kree’s artificial intelligence; “The Gods of Pama were unkind to us that day. Many lives were lost.”

Writer: Frank Tieri, Artist: Stefano Raffaele, and Color Artist: Neeraj Menon

West Coast Avengers [2024] #3 - Marvel Comics

WEST COAST AVENGERS No. 3, March 2025

Advertised as being the comic in which Iron Man and War Machine finally reveal just “how their Ultron became a hero”, Gerry Duggan’s storyline for Issue Three of “West Coast Avengers” probably didn’t live up to its audience’s expectations. Sure, the twenty-page periodical does provide its readers with some sort of insight into why one of Hank Pym’s mechanical monstrosities suddenly decided to join Tony Stark’s super-team whilst the convalescing artificial intelligence was orbiting the Earth. But precisely what the motivation for so shocking a change in behaviour could be is never debatably disclosed; “I will find out enemies, the Avengers, and make them allies. I will live to serve.”

Instead, the majority of this magazine has the “veteran of Deadpool, X-Men, Star Wars, and Gotham City” depicting just how dangerously dysfunctional this particular incarnation of the “Wackos” is, with the likes of both Blue Bolt and Firestar appearing to be utterly incapable of following their team leader’s instructions. Indeed, arguably the highlight of this book is Tommy Watt’s repeated attempts to best the One and his cyborg-cultists against Iron Man's wishes, only to keep being continually flattened by them.

Furthermore, Angelica Jones’ complete inability to pull her fire-laced punches, even though her opponents are still partially human, shows just how far down the slippery slope of alcoholism the former New Warrior has sadly fallen. However, rather than make the reader sympathetic to the young woman’s plight, Duggan pens her with such arrogance and hubris that the character becomes increasingly disagreeable – most notably when Firestar shows no remorse for burning a chap who is subsequently almost killed by the One as a punishment for hitting Blue Bolt into a lamp post.  

With such ‘choppy’ writing, it is therefore perhaps not too unexpected to find Danny Kim’s layouts rather disappointing too. This comic’s aforementioned opening featuring a number of Ultron’s holding court on the Moon’s surface debatably lacks any sense of true drama, whilst many of the artist’s panels appear to alternate between some rather impressively detailed close-ups – such as when Spider-Woman realises one of the One’s followers is terminally ill Meredith, to some rather bland, almost amateurish figures – as seen when a rather disconcertingly rotund War Machine decides to deploy his riot package in mid-air.

The regular cover art of "WEST COAST AVENGERS" #3 by Ben Harvey

The Golem #1 - Mutant Farm Comics

THE GOLEM No. 1, September 2025

Offered as an add-on during the June 2025 kickstarter for Issue Two of “Unholy Nightmare” by “Mutant Farm Comics”, Dolan Waddick’s storyline for “The Golem” must surely have delighted any of the campaign’s backers who added it to their pledge. Indeed, the comic book creator’s take on so iconic a mythical monster from Jewish folklore is incredibly emotional, and should readily tug upon the heartstrings of even the most cold-blooded of readers; “I love you, Bissel. Happy Birthday. Someday soon, we’ll celebrate on a beach.”

This genuine sense of attachment to both the pitiable Jerome Abrahams and his deeply endearing eight-year-old son, Adam, is undoubtedly the highlight of this short-story, and proves particularly impressive given that the writer achieves it within the space of just a handful of panels. In addition, it makes the second part of this horror tale all the more impactive, and easily explains just why the boy’s father readily loses all interest in life once the ‘apple of his eye’ has been so cruelly taken from him.

Of course, those bibliophiles more interested in action than careful character building will doubtless have soon found plenty of adrenaline-fuelled terror and physical mutilation to keep them happy in this comic too – courtesy of the titular character rising from its remains and taking a truly terrible revenge upon the Nazi soldiers responsible for running the Concentration Camp. These scenes don’t suffer from any unnecessary dialogue or exposition, and are simply allowed to run their course as the almost silent behemoth tears all of his former captors asunder, whilst simultaneously tenderly mourning the demise of his recently executed father.

Adding an incredible amount of depth, tenderness and all-too understandable savagery to these enthrallingly-penned proceedings are the incredibly well-detailed layouts of Vu Danh. The decision to simply utilise the Vietnamese concept artist’s black and white pencils really adds to the sombre, almost hopeless existence experienced by Abrahams and his fellow prisoners. It also allows the audience to witness the tragic, physical frailty of the death camp’s inmates, as well as later emphasise the sheer hopelessness of their Nazi captors when the tables are well and truly turned against the vile regime.

Writer: Dolan Waddick, and Illustrator: Vu Danh

Planet Of The Apes Verses Fantastic Four #1 - Marvel Comics

PLANET OF THE APES VS. FANTASTIC FOUR No. 1, April 2026

Described by its New York City based publisher as “an exciting new chapter in Marvel Comics’ storied history with Planet of the Apes” when it was first announced in November 2025, Josh Trujillo’s plot for this four-part mini-series’ opening instalment probably caught quite a few of its readers off-guard by stripping Reed Richards’ famous super-team of their special powers. Indeed, for those bibliophiles expecting to witness the Fantastic Four dynamically going toe-to-toe against the gorilla soldiers of human-hating General Ursus, this particular twenty-five page publication will undoubtedly strike them as being rather sedentary in its storytelling; “Your quality remains undetermined, but you leave this tribunal with many questions.”

True, the American author’s narrative isn’t entirely confined to being a dialogue-driven courtroom drama, and does – courtesy of an adrenalin-fuelled flashback sequence – provide a genuinely scintillating bout of fisticuffs between Stan Lee’s co-creations and the Red Ghost. However, just how Ivan Kragoff managed to penetrate the well-documented security systems of the Baxter Building with his Super-Apes, let alone activated Mister Fantastic’s Di-Quantum Stabilizer is never explained, and may well resultantly strike some in the audience as simply providing this comic with some much-needed “Thok!” before the book gets too bogged down with a seemingly never ending carousel of conversations.

Perhaps this publication’s best moment therefore occurs just after a de-powered Fantastic Four miraculously arrive in one of the large crop fields belonging to Ape City, and are quickly captured by a handful of soldiers. This sequence does a good job of acknowledging one of the defining scenes in Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1968 movie “Planet of the Apes”, and certainly brings back memories of actor Charlton Heston deftly dodging one of the gorillas’ nets as they unsuccessfully tried to ensnare his silver screen alter-ego.

Likewise, Andrea Di Vito does a first-rate job in capturing all of Twentieth Century Studio’s science fiction characters – such as “Cornelius, Zira, Ursus, and of course Dr. Zaius!” Furthermore, the illustrator's backgrounds make it is very easy to imagine the increasing roar of a hostile crowd as the leading member of the Ape National Assembly, Minister of Science and also Chief Defender of the Faith desperately attempts to “follow the rules set forth by the Lawgiver” so as to ascertain just who these (new) talking humans actually are.

The regular cover art of "PLANET OF THE APES VS. FANTASTIC FOUR" #1 by Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg

Space Ghost #12 - Dynamite Entertainment

SPACE GHOST No. 12, April 2025

Considering that at the start of this twenty-two page periodical both “Ghost Planet lies in ruins” and “Space Ghost clings to life”, many a bibliophile were probably excitedly wondering just how David Pepose’s subsequent plot would show the titular character still saving the day. Indeed, with Moltar’s seismic resonator threatening to blow the entire place apart in less than an hour, and Dax literally bleeding out from a grisly wound to his side, it’s debatable whether things have ever looked quite so bleak for Hanna-Barbera Productions’ costumed cartoon super-hero; “This is bad, Jan… What’re we gonna do?! Space Ghost is down, the bad guys already stole Blip…”

Unfortunately, having created such a dramatically tense dilemma for the central protagonist to overcome, the American author arguably then simply decides to rely upon a series of unconvincing contrivances to ensure that the day is well and truly saved. Foremost of these has to be the notion that Alex Toth’s co-creation can just shrug off all of his numerous injuries at the hands of the savage Council of Doom by having one of his sidekicks partially-roast him alive using the flame-thrower on his Power Band. This solution is understandably incredibly painful. But afterwards seems to result in the brutalized cosmic vigilante being perfectly able to withstand “nearly the level of a nuclear bomb” single-handedly.

In addition, the Ringo Award-nominee would have his audience believe that Doctor Kander Ibal’s band of murderous renegades would throw away their victory just because Metallus destroyed some “magnificently coloured flames” conjured up by Jace, much to the great anger of Moltar. This internal squabble-turned-dissolution of Brak's fellow team-mates appears extremely petty, and whilst it does perhaps show just how obsessed with fire “one of the main antagonists of the Space Ghost franchise” has become. It doesn’t debatably ring all that true for a reason as to why the murderous band of villains would unceremoniously splinter apart just as they are on the cusp of a resounding, planet-wide victory.

Far more compelling than this publication’s penmanship is its layouts, with Jonathan Lau arguably providing all of this comic’s considerably-sized cast with plenty of spotlight. In fact, even poor little Blip, bound and gagged with Widow Web’s vines, is given a moment or two at Robo Corp Tower, even if any explanation as to just how the little monkey's cybernetically-enhanced brain powers the decidedly deadly Project Ultima isn’t terribly forthcoming.

The regular cover art of "SPACE GHOST" #12 by Francesco Mattina

Absolute Batman #13 - DC Comics

ABSOLUTE BATMAN No. 13, December 2025

Described by its Burbank-based publisher as “Batman’s final showdown with the monstrous Bane”, Scott Snyder’s narrative for “Abomination” probably left many of its readers scratching their heads in mild bewilderment due to Bruce Wayne’s arch-nemesis barely making an actual appearance in the book. In fact, the Venom-enriched psychopath only features in a handful of panels, and during these the masked behemoth is simply depicted sedentarily sat whilst a small team of surgeons rather disconcertingly work on his cybernetically-enhanced spinal cord; “Soon you’ll have my replacement, and he’ll have his new Bane. Then, I’ll finally go home.”

Instead this eighteen-page periodical largely focuses upon Catwoman, and her apparent ‘on-and-off relationship’ with the titular character. Admittedly, this largely dialogue-driven encounter proves pretty interesting at first, especially when it appears that the young woman’s helmet “looks a lot like the gear Black Mask uses”. But this insight also reveals a decidedly disconcerting difference between the American author’s incarnation of Batman to that co-created by Bob Kane, in that the titular character will “cut a deal” will the villainous Falcone to rig a boxing match, just because he doesn’t have any faith that his friend Waylon can win it fair and square.

Quite possibly this comic therefore only comes into its own once the Dark Knight and Kyle team-up together to penetrate the Red Hood Gang’s headquarters at a seaside funfair. This confrontation shows just how formidable a partnership the fighting duo make and contains a pretty surprising revelation in that the criminal gang are led by a shaven-headed Harley Quinn. In addition, Snyder finally hints at just what physical metamorphosis his version of Batman has undertaken having almost been broken “in a place called Ark M, where they do make monsters.”

Setting aside any criticisms of the storyline though, it’s doubtful many bibliophiles will find Nick Dragotta’s pencils for this publication underwhelming. The illustrator definitely channels his inner Frank Miller for some of his panels – most notably a splash page showing this book’s lead pair leaping through a sunset-lit sky, as well as providing a genuine laugh-out-loud moment when Catwoman captures Alfred Pennyworth and almost strangles him with her tail.

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE BATMAN" #13 by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin

Conan The Barbarian: Scourge Of The Serpent #1 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT No.1, October 2025

Despite being proudly proclaimed by “Titan Comics” as the start of a “new Conan epic”, those readers well acquainted with the prose works of Robert E. Howard will doubtless find everything which occurs within this twenty-two page periodical disconcertingly familiar – especially those scenes depicting a young Cimmerian getting caught stealing from the museum of hapless Kallian Publico. Frustratingly, this is primarily due to almost all of “Stealing Faces And Finery” simply being an adaption of three of the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre’s short stories, rather than anything new which the Jim Zub has penned himself.

Indeed, apart from the odd piece of tinkering, such as the Nemedian curator actually being seen desperately trying to open up the gift which will soon bring about his grisly death, there’s arguably little to be found within this publication that isn’t inside the opening stages of “The Shadow Kingdom”, “The God In The Bowl” and “The Haunter Of The Ring”. Of course such reworkings are perfectly legitimate for the officially licenced British Publisher to undertake. Yet such re-treads, especially of a tale as well-known as Conan’s brush with the magistrate Demetrio in Numalia, arguably smacks of this mini-series relying far too much on Howard’s old yarns, as opposed to the Canadian author enthralling his audience with something altogether new.

Furthermore, Conan isn’t debatably even the lead protagonist of this book, with that role surely falling to Kull the Conqueror seeing as it’s the Atlantean’s adventure whose footsteps are the first to be followed. In fact, Issue One of “Scourge Of The Serpent” is quite neatly book-ended by the King of Valusia, as the monarch is joined by the Pict Brule the Spear-Slayer as they uncover a plot to assassinate the incredulous sovereign by shape-shifting serpent people.; “You have shown great skill and bravery. But it is only the beginning.”

Sadly even the pencilling of “Ironclad” Ivan Gil may well leave some bibliophiles wanting a bit more help to make sense of some of the storytelling, as the Canadian author leaps between the three different plot threads with little apparent reverence as to whether his audience has had time to take in what has just transpired. Of particular note are the opening panels depicting James Gordon’s extreme physical reaction to Michael O’Donnel showing him an ancient blade - a scene which will doubtless require a couple of rereads to make any sense, and even then it's only later on in the comic that his extraordinary outburst appears semi-convincing.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT" #1 by Roberto De La Torre

Space Ghost #11 - Dynamite Entertainment

SPACE GHOST No. 11, March 2025

There’s a lot of all too familiar plot points to David Pepose’s narrative for Issue Eleven of “Space Ghost” which arguably suggest that the American author has disconcertingly run out of fresh ideas for his “Defenders of the Spaceways” before the ongoing title is even a year old. Indeed, considering that this twenty-two page periodical opens with the titular character once again leaving his three demoralised sidekicks behind for fear of them being injured during one of his adventures, some readers probably thought it prudent to check to ensure that this particular tome wasn’t somehow chronologically set in the central protagonists’ past; “Do you remember what he said when he agreed to make us his partners?”

In addition, the former crime reporter simply regurgitates a number of the cosmic vigilante’s most formidable enemies without even bothering to explain to the audience just how the majority of them ever managed to escape custody, or join forces with the ever evil Doctor Xander Ibal. Such evident omissions genuinely make it almost impossible for Pepose’s penmanship to prove even semi-convincing; especially when it concerns the supposedly dead Zorak who shockingly just turns up alive and well on the planet Orkon having viciously slain poor Commander Kovacs.

Similarly as unsettling though has to be the sheer serendipity of Space Ghost’s latest full-blown argument with his proteges, which results in the trio angrily departing their home in a spaceship just as the giant space mantis arrives to kill his arch-nemesis. This rather obvious manufactured moment provides the “award-winning writer of Punisher” with the opportunity to once again recycle one of his seemingly favourite twists, by having the adolescents dash back to their badly-beaten mentor just as he’s about to succumb to the injuries caused by his unrelenting enemies.

Fortunately for those who picked this particular publication up off the spinner rack, Jonathan Lau and Andrew Dalhouse are on top form, with both artists imbuing this rather fast-paced affair with all the pulse-pounding panels its script requires. In fact, it’s debatably a pity that the pair weren’t given the sheet space of a second issue to work with, as so many thoroughly enjoyable clashes between Dax and his ‘Rogues Gallery’ are frustratingly crammed into just a couple of pictures rather than be given the room they deserve – such as when he cleverly uses the Widow’s Web to smash the woman straight into an over-confident Brak.

The regular cover art of "SPACE GHOST" #11 by Francesco Mattina

Bring On The Bad Guys: Loki #1 - Marvel Comics

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: LOKI No. 1, September 2025

The fourth of “seven villainous one-shots”, Anthony Oliveira’s narrative for “Bring On The Bad Guys: Loki” probably proved a bit too sedentary with fans of the God of Mischief. In fact, seeing as the central plot thread revolves around the creation of “The King In Yellow” anthology novel (by Robert W. Chambers) in 1895 A.D., the Lord of Lies doesn’t really have a great deal to actually do until the story’s very end when he mercilessly stabs “a poor, lost descendant of Khonshu’s crumbled order” to death inside a packed French theatre house.

Up until this moment of cold-blooded murder, the Asgardian is largely consigned to the side-lines, with much of this twenty-page long yarn sadly becoming bogged down with the dialogue-driven relationship between Swedish baritone Jonathan Nilsson and the play’s nightmare-troubled writer. So stationary a script really doesn’t seem to do the duplicitous Laufeyson much justice at all, and even tries to convince its audience that the deity’s sole motivation for not killing the lad straight away, and thus ridding himself of his debt to Mephisto, is simply because he wants to hear the youth’s finished yarn; “Oh, forgive my ill manners. I am the Vicomte De Farbauti, and I think I can spare more than that, boy.”

Arguably far more successful than this comic’s penmanship, are the layouts of Jethro Morales – at least at first. The visual artist does a solid job of depicting the menacing fate awaiting Loki should Thor Odinson invade the Dread Lord’s realm and take him back to Asgard. But debatably by the time the illustrator is busy pencilling the hapless Nilsson’s demise at the hands of Sister Sorrow, some of his line-art appears a little rigid and rough around the edges. Indeed, some of the panels appear so cartoony, that some bibliophiles might even look twice to see whether a second person was brought in by Senior Editor Tom Brevoort to help with the interiors.

Much more pulse-pounding and action-packed is this publication’s secondary tale entitled “The Last Lord Of Darkness”. Written by Marc Guggenheim and drawn by Michael Sta Maria, this five-pager rather succinctly shows a deeply sorrowful Sorana being momentarily tempted to betray Mephisto with the help of K’un-Lun Master Guo. Together, the creative team do a great job in showing the ferociously-fast close combat skills of the two fighters, and ultimately just how far under Hell’s malign influence the Latverian-born sorceress has fallen.

The regular cover art of "BRING ON THE BAD GUYS: LOKI" #1 by Lee Bermejo

Absolute Batman #12 - DC Comics

ABSOLUTE BATMAN No. 12, November 2025

Fully focused upon the frightening fate of Bruce Wayne’s closest friends at the hands of a totally deranged Bane, Scott Snyder’s script for Issue Twelve of “Absolute Batman” is perhaps understandably a bit of a choppily-paced affair. Indeed, every time the titular character opens a hospital room’s door and gasps in shock at the bed-ridden body before him, the storytelling arguably resets itself in an attempt to outdo the gratuitous, physical mutilation which has just preceded it; “Eddie, We need to get you to a hospital. You – AAAGH!”

Unfortunately though, so unstoppable an assault upon the audience’s senses – following up so closely upon the body horror inflicted upon both Waylon Jones and the Dark Knight himself, is arguably much too much all at once, and resultantly doesn’t leave any time for the reader to dwell upon each supporting cast members’ life-changing injuries. Furthermore, even once the ghoulish carousel of broken bones, badly burnt flesh and partial lobotomy is over, the American author debatably doesn't allow any of the trauma to actually sink in, before throwing the Venom-poisoned Caped Crusader head-on into a confrontation with Catwoman instead.

Admittedly, such a scintillating speed of events definitely holds the attention throughout the eighteen-page periodical. But the impact of so much bloodshed would surely have been far more poignant if perhaps poor Ozzie, Harv and Eddie’s fortunes had been delivered in a far more piecemeal fashion throughout this multi-part narrative. As it is, few bibliophiles will probably have even had the time to process Jones’ future as a giant crocodile before they’re inundated with Oswald brutally being “almost two feet shorter” and Harvey suffering “third-to fourth-degree burns across the left side of his body.”

What is impressive about “Abomination” are Nick Dragotta’s pencils, which somehow manage to capture all the distress caused by Bane within the confines of a single comic book. This is a publication which has little room to spare for double-splashes or even a handful of panels per page. So when the artist does deliver a single picture, such as Batman and Alfred Pennyworth standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the darkness awaiting an unseen assailant, it should cause any onlookers to pause momentarily to admire the moment, before plunging on back into the morass of tiny pictures.

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE BATMAN" #12 by Nick Dragotta & Frank Martin

Fantastic Four #12 - Marvel Comics

FANTASTIC FOUR (FACSIMILE EDITION) No. 12, February 2026

“Arguably one of the first Marvel Crossovers between titles”, Stan Lee’s script for Issue Twelve of “Fantastic Four” clearly contains a number of mesmerising moments – not least of which is the eventual battle between the titular characters and Bruce Banner’s gamma green alter-ego. However, the twenty-three page long narrative does seem to take an eternity to reach so cataclysmic a confrontation, and also features a fair few eye-raising scenes which make it very much of its time; “Miss Storm, a pretty young lady can always be of help -- just by keeping the men’s morale up!”

Foremost of these early Sixties setbacks has to be the treatment of Invisible Girl and her inability to even stay visible whilst watching recorded footage of the Incredible Hulk. Sue’s entire development arc throughout the comic is simply to stand on the side-lines and only step in when either a befuddled armed soldier gets close to shooting at anything which moves, or an utterly oblivious Russian spy is about to blow away Aunt Petunia's ever-loving blue eyed nephew with a handy "atomic-powered weapon". Indeed, Mister Fantastic’s eventual wife doesn’t even fight the founding Avenger, preferring instead to impotently run away from the behemoth whenever she gets within arm's reach.

Similarly as disconcerting has to be the American author’s depiction of the Thing and Human Torch – both of which debatably come across as being disagreeable and dislikeable. Admittedly, Ben Grimm's hot-headed attitude to show-off his great strength does result in him rather enjoyably duking it out with “a company of infantrymen” directly outside the City Symphony Auditorium. But this clash is soon resolved courtesy of a lungful of sleeping gas, and quickly gets swallowed up amidst a series of increasingly dialogue-driven scenes featuring General “Thunderbolt” Ross.

Luckily Jack Kirby appears to be desperate to imbue as much of this “book-length epic” with his legendary, pulse-pounding pencils as his panels can take. The aforementioned punch-ups between the super-group and Hulk, as well as the Thing’s bout against the American military are packed full of adrenalin-fuelled action. Furthermore, the prolific artist does a first-rate job in depicting the mental aspirations of Reed Richards’ team-mates once they meet their formidably-strong adversary, and even manages to make the re-designed Fantasti-Car appear as “impressive-looking” as Captain Nelson’s superior officer suggests.

Script: Stan Lee, Art: Jack Kirby, Inking Dick Ayers, and Lettering: Art Simek

DC K.O. (Local Comic Shop Day 2025 Ashcan Edition) #1 - DC Comics

DC K.O. (LOCAL COMIC SHOP DAY 2025 ASHCAN EDITION) No. 1, November 2025

Unashamedly acting as a promotional gimmick for “DC Comics” major comic book event “DC K.O.”, this five-page pamphlet probably utterly bemused those readers who knew absolutely nothing about Darkseid somehow destroying the future. For rather than providing them with any sort of explanation as to how “a universe-shaking five-level gladiatorial arena” has shockingly emerged on Earth, Scott Snyder simply throws his audience straight into Superman’s preparation for his opening bout, before suddenly dragging them back to a time when the Man of Steel was still oblivious to the sense-shattering machinations of Apokolips’ absolute ruler.

Indeed, the vast majority of this “exclusive Ashcan special edition” focuses upon Clark Kent, Diana of Themyscira, Lois Lane and Bruce Wayne all sitting around a boardgame harmlessly ribbing one another as the dice rolls flow. So idyllic a moment is genuinely heart-warming, as it’s nice to see the Burbank-based publisher’s Trinity enjoying one another’s company. But a fair few bibliophiles would surely have preferred some sort of account as to how Darkseid acquired “his ever-growing Omega powers”, or an explanation as to just why so many of the “greatest superheroes in the universe” are willing to “enter the arena in a thunderous tournament where the stakes are sky-high.”

Of course, the main aim of this publication is to generate curiosity in the actual mini-series, and as a teaser this title performs that role rather well. Of particular interest has to be the American author having Superman choose to ‘up’ his power levels even more than normal by wearing some “knuckles with miniature suns raging inside” – something which strongly suggests that the ‘Boy Scout’ is taking absolutely no chances during the imminent tournament.

Quite possibly less satisfactory though are some of Javi Fernandez’s layouts, which debatably make it hard to ascertain just who is who inside Lane’ apartment. Clark is pretty recognisable. However, Diana’s dark hair so closely resembles that of the award-winning journalist for the Daily Planet, that when Lois does emerge from the kitchen as a brown-haired, rather homely-looking lady, it’ll probably take a few onlookers a moment or two to realise just who she is. In addition, Bruce Wayne simply melts into the background due to a complete lack of facial detail, and disappointingly doesn’t even make an impact once inside the Bat-Wing racing to confront Darkseid.

Writer: Scott Snyder, Artist: Javi Fernandez, and Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez

Alien Verses Captain America #2 - Marvel Comics

ALIEN VERSES CAPTAIN AMERICA No. 2, February 2026

For those Marvelites expecting to get knee-deep in Xenomorphs with Sergeant Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos, Frank Tieri’s script for Issue Two of “Alien Verses Captain America” probably landed somewhat flatly. True, the American author does pen the elite special unit entering an alien-infested Hydra Stronghold in Occupied France. But by the time this twenty-page periodical is just halfway finished, only the World War Two squad’s veteran leader is still alive; “Bullets have no effect, Sarge! And it’s whipping that tail around again --”

Instead, the Eisner Award-winner moves away from writing a gritty, down-to-earth battle between some of the Allies’ finest soldiers and “the destructive might” of the Red Skull’s latest acquisitions, and ramps up this mini-series’ science-fiction flavour with the sudden appearance of Captain Mar-Vell. So swift a move, courtesy of a Kree Sentry robot crashing feet-first amongst the deadly extra-terrestrials just in the nick of time, must genuinely have taken many within this comic’s audience by complete surprise, and certainly ends any notion some bibliophiles might have had that this “Twentieth Century Studios” tie-in was going to at least be somewhat grounded using contemporary weaponry.

Up until this moment however, this publication proves remarkably similar in plot to the events of James Cameron’s 1986 feature film “Aliens”, with Captain American and Bucky Barnes desperately searching an underground complex-turned-Xenomorph nest for a lost comrade-in-arms. Whether such parallels are a good thing or not is rather debatable, but the fact that the Sentinel of Liberty’s shield is the only item standing between the war heroes and an acid blood bath definitely makes for some exciting, adrenalin-fuelled action – especially once its established that even the likes of "Dum Dum" Dugan are not safe from suffering a truly, gratuitously graphic demise.

Also helping to add to this comic’s ‘old school’ feel is arguably the layouts of Stefano Raffaele, who provides some wonderfully claustrophobic for the Howling Commandos as they’re voraciously devoured by the aliens one-by-one. In addition, Color Artist Neeraj Menon provides the panels with some very atmospheric muted greys, blues and browns, which resultantly really helps make the combatants’ blood and guts genuinely pop off the printed page.

Writer: Frank Tieri, Artist: Stefano Raffaele, and Color Artist: Neeraj Menon