Nightwing #139 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 139, August 2026

Arguably coming across more like a televised crime drama than a comic book thanks to the soap opera police procedural tone of its narrative, Issue One Hundred And Thirty Nine of “Nightwing” surely held the attention of much of its audience. In fact considering just how closely the titular character is shown working alongside Blüdhaven’s autopsy specialist it’s easy to forget that a Judge has actually supplied the authorities with an arrest warrant for the masked vigilante, ; “I used to work as a pathologist in Gotham. Assisted Batman a few times back in the day. How far have you gotten?”

In addition, Dick Grayson’s investigation into one final unnamed corpse definitely leads the original Boy Wonder down a route few bibliophiles will have seen coming. True, the Catholic priest Bruce Wayne’s heir meets during a stormy night does appear to be particularly insightful – quickly deducing that the millionaire is really the Teen Titan whilst taking his confession. But the notion that the white-haired 'Man of God' is responsible for the cold-blooded murder of Nightwing’s final ‘sodden corpse’ definitely comes straight out of the blue, as does the costumed crimefighter's desperate plea for “an excuse to let you go free.”

Finally, this twenty-two-page periodical’s aforementioned opening in which the city’s “new prosecutor” boldy announces that she believes Grayson’s alter-ego to be a liar and a killer makes for a compulsive read, with the lady's fury at the hero daring to be “seen fraternizing with Superman” genuinely being palpable. Furthermore, it seems very clear that Miss Eastbourne’s contempt for the original Robin is already blinding her to just how thoughtful the man actually is – something which is shown when she brazenly declares he probably doesn’t even know the victims’ names who died in the recent pile-up on the super-highway, and Nightwing unthinkingly lists them off in his mind.

Lastly, Denys Cowan’s gritty-looking pencils really seem to suit this style of storytelling, with all the various sub-plots being pulled together by Francesco Segala’s sombre choice of colours. Of particular note is the sheer arrogance shown upon Miss Eastbourne’s face when she contemptuously makes her statement to the media which should make most onlookers instantly despise her, and definitely look forward to the solicitor’s fall from grace in an upcoming edition.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #139 by Jorge Fornes

Star Wars: Jedi Knights #7 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS No. 7, November 2025

Falsely claiming that “Qui-Gon Jinn is dead!” at the beginning of this comic’s solicitation synopsis, it’s arguably difficult to therefore treat anything found within Issue Seven of “Star Wars: Jedi Knights” as implausible, sensationalist storytelling. Indeed, the very premise of its central plot appears to make no sense whatsoever when its revealed that the deadly assassin who previously cut down Count Dooku’s old padawan in the title's preceding instalment didn’t then just finish the job with one of his hand-weapons. But rather went to all the trouble of injecting his victim with the self-same, poison used to previously murder Jedi Master Fondar Etzis instead.

Furthermore, in using the now recognisable violet-coloured, slow-acting substance, as well as permitting an almost deceased Jinn to utter the name of the one planet where it's antidote is made, Marc Guggenheim is also able to manufacture Mace Windu and Aayla Secura’s desperate mission to a mysterious world where “Jedi are [apparently] forbidden.” Such a complicated contrivance should surely tax the willingness of any bibliophile to believe in the American author's subsequent penmanship, especially when he then has the two seasoned Force Users land their spacecraft at the one location where an inhabitant will dispense with the ramifications of Horomeeda, and tell the pair everything they need to know over a cup of tea.

Of course, this conversation luckily leads on to Windu and Secura needing to embark upon another assignment to convince the uncivilised thieves of “the most dangerous planet you’ve never heard of” to give them the rare cure before it’s too late – and subsequently chop down a gigantic Kaijura in the process. So clunky a narrative debatably doesn’t do the popular characters concerned any justice at all, and frustratingly even goes so far as to ignore perhaps this publication’s biggest draw which is to explore what the Jedi did to be banned from an entire world in the first place; “I… don’t know what that is.”

Fortunately, at least Madibek Musabekov’s artwork provides some prodigiously pencilled panels for this comic's audience to enjoy as the awkwardly-told yarn progresses. Although it does appear that the Kazakhstan-born illustrator ran out of room towards this adventure’s end, as one minute the titular characters have somewhat dubiously carried out King Gara’s demand and then in the very next instant they are disconcertingly back on Coruscant getting a medical update on Qui-Gon’s condition from Doctor Rig Nema.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS" #7 by Madibek Musabekov & Jesus Aburtov

White Widow #1 - Marvel Comics

WHITE WIDOW No. 1, January 2024

Perhaps a little surprisingly weighing in as the twenty-second best-selling comic of November 2023, and featuring an impressive opening which sees the titular character face-off against Captain America, things certainly seemed to be going in the right direction for Issue One of “White Widow” when the mini-series first hit the spinner-racks. Indeed, Yelena Belova’s initial interaction with the First Avenger, along with the appearance of the Superspy’s mentee Marthe appears to promise plenty of future skirmishes between the rogue agent and the finest super-heroes that the Marvel Universe can offer.

Disappointingly however, this notion seems to go completely out of the window once Sarah Gailey’s storytelling begins in earnest within the somewhat sleepy town limits of Idylhaven, and the American author rather unimpressively throws more information about the titular character’s new neighbours at her audience than any reader can possibly assimilate with even a couple of perusals. True, rattling off a number of lists concerning people’s ages, jobs and motivations, as well as those detailing the titular character’s loves, likes, dislikes and hates, certainly helps establish some sort of context for this book’s adventure in quick order. But it also arguably brings the publication’s pace down to that of a snail's crawl too.

Finally, any hope for Belova’s fans that this twenty-five-page periodical will show the Shadow of the Black Widow knee-deep in a yarn about international espionage, or simply tell of the deadly assassin’s code of conduct inexorably crashing into the moral virtues of the World's Mightiest Heroes are soon disconcertingly dashed when its revealed that the former Thunderbolt will just be confronting a somewhat small-time extortion racket in her own back yard; “I wanted someplace where things aren’t so much happening all the time, you know?” This underwhelming plot development must genuinely have frustrated those onlookers expecting so much more from a comic dedicated to “one of Marvel’s most enigmatic anti-heroes” and caused a fair few to refrain from pre-ordering its second instalment.

Unhappily, Alessandro Miracolo’s layouts don’t debatably live up to this “groundbreaking new chapter” in Yelena’s life either, despite the Italian illustrator demonstrating so much promise with his pencilling of the White Widow’s aforementioned skirmish with Captain America. Much of this frustration is undoubtedly due to the comic’s rather clunky script rather than anything else though, as whenever the artist is asked to sketch a punch-up or pulse-pounding panel he ramps up the adrenalin-fuelled violence in spades.

Writer: Sarah Gailey, Artist: Alessandro Miracolo & Color Artist: Matt Milla

Dungeons Of Doom #2 - Marvel Comics

DUNGEONS OF DOOM No. 2, April 2026

It’s debatably a little difficult for anyone perusing this thirty-page periodical to shake off the notion that they’re somehow participating in a game of “Dungeons & Dragons” rather than simply reading a comic penned by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Benjamin Percy. Indeed, this mini-series’ second instalment throws so many of Gary Gygax’s well known tropes at its audience, whether that be the all-seeing Eye of Khonshu, a mysterious Skull-Shaped Herb and the well-named Hammer of Treachery, that with each passing challenge any and all bibliophiles will feel that they’ve somehow outwitted another of Doctor Doom’s deeply buried dangers.

Perhaps foremost of these short-lived episodes is the one following Major Simmons and his depleted squad of American soldiers. Desperate to regroup alongside the formidably strong Red Hulk, this party of adventurers arguably appear to have the most humanity of the different “warring global factions” inadvertently hurled into “Doom’s most secret, most forbidden dungeons.” However, if any onlooker thought such a motivation was somehow going to protect them from the horrors trapped behind brick and mortar, they are soon put right – courtesy of their commanding officers’ well-meaning move to allow a limbless cadaver to somehow once again speak its words of magic.

Likewise, despite solely consisting of a lone Wakandan, the story of Umbra bravely diving into so ghastly a pit of unholy terrors appears just as riveting. Admittedly to begin with the white-clad operative does appear to be little more than a “thief” transgressing Latveria’s sovereign territory for their own ends. But such a label soon falls flat when its revealed that the agent’s mission is to penetrate a chamber packed full of T'Challa’s national treasures which Doctor Victor Von Doom has clearly stolen from the Black Panther's kingdom over a period of time.

Finally, the notion that a single publication featuring the work of five different artists would ordinarily be somewhat scoffed at by most comic book critics. And yet the illustrations of Justin Mason, Robert Gill, Carlos Magno, Georges Jeanty and Karl Story all seem to blend together quite magnificently, with only the odd strangely-sketched image of General Thunderbolt Ross’ colourfully-skinned alter-ego making those perusing Issue Two of “Dungeons Of Doom” momentarily doubt Senior Editor Jordan D. White’s decision to utilise so many talents all together.

The regular cover art of "DUNGEONS OF DOOM" #2 by Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Farardo Jr.

Nightwing #138 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 138, July 2026

Initially seeming to pit Dick Grayson’s alter-ego against “something bestial lurking in the forests just outside of Blüdhaven”, Dan Watters’ narrative for Issue One Hundred And Thirty Eight of “Nightwing” appears to be about to dip its toes into one of the intriguing mysteries currently haunting the city’s new super-highway. Indeed, the notion of farmer Jones fending off some deadly bipedal fiend with his shotgun and disconcertingly still coming off second-best suggests that the English writer is rather enthrallingly planning to take his audience on a trip down memory lane for the former whaling town which will raise another unpleasant supernatural link between its violent past and concrete structure obsessed present.

Unfortunately though, a quick blood test at ‘the scene of the last crime’ soon has this fascinating notion shelved for a much more straightforward storyline featuring a crash-landed alien from the Vega system, and resultantly so much of this script’s mystery arguably evaporates almost instantaneously. Now admittedly, the presence of an extra-terrestrial known to have subjugated and experimented upon Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran does lead to a surprise cameo by Starfire herself. But the powerful Teen Titans’ presence also means that the lone Psion invader is quickly dispatched.

Perhaps therefore a much more interesting sub-plot is the notion of Nightwing being sued for Manslaughter by “the families of eight of the deceased” from the recent pile-up upon Blüdhaven’s new super-highway. This private investigation and vilification by Miss Eastbourne appears to be packed full of just the sort of legal casework which could see the titular character lose his vigilante status, and even worse make him a target of the city’s law enforcement department which he has spent so long building up a working relationship with; “If you’re here to intimidate me out of taking this case against you. You’re very much barking up the wrong tree.”

This book’s disappointing departure from the place’s paranormal history also debatably appears to detrimentally affect the layouts of Denys Cowan too, with so much of the twenty-two page periodical becoming a somewhat sedentary, dialogue-drive yarn. To begin with the American artist’s pencilling appears to work so well with farmer Jones’ aforementioned clash with a hungry Psion. Yet as soon as the much more wordy side of the storytelling starts, the poor illustrator is repeatedly tasked with just depicting Nightwing and Starfire in profile making conversation.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #138 by Jorge Fornes

Conan The Barbarian #31 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 31, June 2026

Essentially comprising of a tussle between this ongoing series’ titular character and his latest adversary, there is unquestionably a lot for its readers to enjoy inside Issue Thirty One of "Conan The Barbarian". Indeed, for much of this comic Jim Zub actually appears to pen the mighty Cimmerian as nothing more than an experienced, and impressively strong warrior who appears to be facing a paranormal foe whose power clearly exceeds his own; “Which means the only advantage Conan has is his battle instincts.”

This reluctance to imbue Robert E. Howard’s creation with some implausible superhuman attribute not arguably ever seen in the character's prose stories genuinely provides the contest with a palpable sense of intriguing danger, and adds an alarming air of deadliness to The Son of the Tooth which would certainly have been missing had the Canadian writer simply made the sword and sorcery hero just as extraordinarily strong as his otherworldly opponent. In addition, it soon becomes clear just how badly the Cimmerian is being outmatched, and these extra deaths of innocent bystanders raises the stakes even more so as Conan understandably tries to save as many of their lives as he can.

Unfortunately, the resultant blood bath whilst entertaining, does though also raise the issue as to just why a trained assassin would suddenly risk so many people knowing of both his memorable looks and presence in Khoraja. True, it appears clear that the cut-throat soon realises he might be outfought by his prey if he doesn’t quickly ‘juice himself up’ with some additional souls. But the sheer pandemonium the mass-murderer causes in the frontier trade city will apparently be spoken of for years to come – something some within this publication’s audience might feel is a little odd for a cold-blooded slayer who ordinarily sticks to the shadows before dispatching his target.

Lastly, having refrained from falling into the common trap of making the titular barbarian unconvincingly ‘shrug off’ a plethora of deadly knife cuts and physical injuries for so much of this twenty-two page periodical, the Animex Honorary Award-winner debatably does just that at its very end by having artist Doug Braithwaite pencil the Cimmerian inexplicably recover from a good half-dozen wounds so he can stab his would-be-killer straight in the throat with one swift movement. This opportune reversal just doesn’t sit right after such a beating, especially when its apparently caused by The Son of the Tooth bizarrely refraining from delivering his final blow so he can look up at an alignment of the Moon within the clouds.

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN" #31 by Mahmud Asrar

Batwoman #1 - DC Comics

BATWOMAN No. 1, May 2026

Whilst there were doubtless a fair few comic book fans who were excited with Greg Rucka returning to a character he hadn’t written for “after almost twenty years”, it is arguably highly unlikely that this particular twenty-two-page periodical will successfully “bring Kate to a new generation of thrill seekers.” Indeed, despite the Eisner Award-Winner desperately hoping that this publication is “new reader friendly”, it is probably a safe bet that if anything “Eschatology” will lose the ongoing solo series fans rather than attract many new ones; “You look much better today. Hopefully the pain has passed.?”

To be honest though, a lot of this story’s accessibility doesn’t really lie in its penmanship, as the “co-creator of the modern Batwoman” definitely provides his audience with an intriguing insight into the costumed crime-fighter’s emotional psyche by placing her deep inside a Greek Sanatorium. There the vigilante has clearly been both mentally and physically traumatised by her recent battle with her identical twin sister Elisabeth, and is understandably struggling to overcome her injuries, as well as the notion of her sibling falling to her death.

Furthermore, Kate Kane’s welfare interview with Doctor Zena Sidaris is neatly interspersed with some pulse-pounding panels packed full of action-packed gun-play, punches and knife-blows. These adrenalin-fuelled flashbacks genuinely make the book much more of a joy to read, as the notion of Batwoman failing to stop Alice from setting off the fire pit and killing millions of innocent people is surprisingly palpable – especially when the central protagonist is stabbed and shot early on in the proceedings.

Disappointingly however, what does debatably interfere with this tale’s success is the pencilling of “visionary artist DaNi”, which despite the illustrator’s reputation doesn’t really work when it comes to the aforementioned sedentary scenes set inside the mental clinic and then later at Eschaton Tower. Admittedly, the Athens-born artist’s drawings during Kate’s desperate struggle against her sister certainly does its job well enough. But the lady’s somewhat sketchy-looking style is something of an acquired taste, and appears to make some pictures rather hard to discern – such as one presumably depicting the Monks of the Stone practicing somewhere along the Mediterranean coastline.

Writer: Greg Rucka, Artist: DaNi, and Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Nightwing #137 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 137, June 2026

Whilst many a bibliophile will doubtless agree it’s always enjoyable to see the original Caped Crusaders working together, those who read Issue One Hundred And Thirty Seven of “Nightwing” will also surely believe that Batman’s presence throughout this comic is also the only good thing about it. Sure, the notion of two snipers besieging Bludhaven Bridge from opposite ends definitely sounds like a solid basis for a modern-day, no-nonsense storyline. But the implausible purpose behind one of the shooters’ actions, and supposed unwillingness to actually kill anyone makes the entire situation rather lack-lustre and unconvincing.; “Even the woman she shot was probably a lucky hit.”

To begin with, this book’s audience are meant to believe that when Ioana gunned down a “public defender” with a single bullet to the head just as she was leaving a taxi, the markswoman was actually purposedly missing her fiancée who was busy working on the flyover’s infrastructure. Such a notion just smacks of Dan Watters being desperate to pen a reason for Commissioner Sawyer to call in her city’s masked vigilante for aid, and then later explain just how Dick Grayson’s alter-ego is only nicked in the face when he subsequently makes himself a plain target by standing still on the viaduct.

Furthermore, it’s not arguably all that clear why the Romanian woman ever agreed to her brother’s plan in the beginning, if she wasn’t going to go through with it and murder the man she loved. The English writer appears determined to mask this misguided motivation with a ghost tale about the pair’s great grand-father being buried alive in the bridge’s foundation as a sacrifice to its stability. However, none of this reasoning is ever properly explored or even shown to be true and debatably makes any spectral machinations behind the gunplay disappointingly meaningless – even if Nightwing does anxiously attempt to convince Batman that without the cold-blooded killings a fatal hairline fissure in the structure would never have been discovered.

Slightly more credible than this periodical’s plot are Denys Cowan’s pencils, which at least help imbue a somewhat statically-based script with a bit of vigour here and there. The comic’s opening view of Bludhaven Bridge being scanned by both Nightwing and Batman is particularly well drawn. Though it does raise the question as to why the Police need to call in the likes of the Dynamic Duo for something that they’re clearly trained to deal with on their own..?

Writer: Dan Watters, Pencils: Denys Cowan, Inks: Norm Rapmund and Colors: Francesco Segala

Star Wars: Jedi Knights #6 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS No. 6, October 2025

Whilst there’s undoubtedly something akin to an acceptable adventure lurking within this publication’s twenty-page plot, the way Marc Guggenheim delivers his narrative for Issue Six of “Star Wars: Jedi Knights” will probably disappoint a fair few fans of the science fiction franchise. Furthermore, the notion of starting this tale after Jedi Master Fondar Etzis has already been assassinated on Mina-Rau will surely give many a bibliophile the unshakeable feeling that they’ve disappointingly missed the yarn’s true beginning; “He was instrumental in dealing with a group of bandits who had been stealing our crop yield.”

To make matters even worse though, the American screenwriter appears to utterly waste the characters of Mace Windu and Aayla Secura, relegating the top tier Jedi Masters to insensitive bumpkins who can neither feel the “darkness surrounding Master Etzis’ remains”, or anticipate the imminent attack upon them by Corlis Rath. Admittedly, this lack of basic Force powers does allow Qui-Gon Jinn with the opportunity to face his mysterious attacker single-handed. But it doesn’t arguably say much for the likes of Windu – the so-called “ greatest champion of The Jedi Order.”

Lastly, this comic shows Count Dooku’s protégé getting rather easily out-witted by his Sinsaran opponent when he has the dual-blade wielding hit man on the ropes. Such a shocking and seemingly fatal blow to the innards, certainly seems to set the scene for this ongoing series’ next instalment – something which hasn’t really happened before. Yet, it also debatably begs the question just why Rath risked tackling three of the Jedi Council’s top tier operatives alone and head-on, when he could surely have just poisoned Jinn when he was on Coruscant in a similar almost untraceable fashion to that used to murder Fondar..?

Far more successful than this book’s penmanship is Madibek Musabekov’s pencilling, which really comes into its fore during the ‘sword-fight’ between Qui-Gon and Corlis across a humongous, fully-functioning agricultural machine as it busily reaps the annual harvest. This adrenalin-fuelled action sequence is extremely well drawn with both participants exchanging blows as they leap amongst all the deadly working parts, and it’s genuinely a shame that this frantically-paced fray is ultimately so short-lived as the pair attain some level of safety on the combine’s topmost section.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS" #6 by Madibek Musabekov & Jesus Aburtov

Nightwing #136 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 136, May 2026

Described by its Burbank-based publisher as “one of the hottest books in the DC Universe”, Dan Watters’ script for Issue One Hundred And Thirty Six of “Nightwing” probably kept the majority of its audience entertained thanks to its intriguing mix of supernatural noir and modern-day motorway mayhem rather than anything its titular character accomplishes. In fact, considering that so much of this twenty-two page periodical is based upon the premise of its lead protagonist simply driving along Blüdhaven’s new super-highway and talking to his mysterious passenger, it’s arguably impressive that the comic is as good as it is.

For one thing, Dick Grayson’s alter-ego doesn’t actually do anything in this book apart from attempt to rationalise (and debatably patronise) the erratic behaviour of the Woman in White he picked up from the centre of the road. This attitude towards his distinctly witchlike companion may well irk some readers, but it rather surprisingly puts them in a better position to understand the lady’s plight than the supposed ‘hero of the hour’ – especially once the publication begins depicting her backstory via flashbacks, which clearly shows her death occurring during a much earlier time, maybe even in the dark, puritan days of the country's colonisation by Europe.

This additional knowledge will doubtless have the odd bibliophile shouting at Nightwing to stop underestimating his eerie passenger right up until the moment the Teen Titan is called upon to help evacuate several injured motorists. Admittedly, some onlookers may well argue that the original Boy Wonder wasn’t responsible for the mass pile-up which occurs following him planning to drive his bloody companion to a hospital. But if the super-hero hadn’t badly miscalculated the paranormal powers clearly at work, he might not have deviated from the route to the “crossroads” which the woman was clearly determined for him to take.

Disappointingly, the layouts of “legendary artist Denys Cowan” don’t debatably do the story justice either, despite the American illustrator apparently doing his best to make a tale set inside the front of a car as dynamic as possible. What does impress though is the subsequent mass crash which sees various vehicles slam into one another from all sorts of horrible angles. Indeed, one can genuinely hear the screech of tyres, the crunch of metal and the smashing of so many glass windscreens from his well-pencilled panels covering this horrendous event.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #136 by Jorge Fornes

Planet Of The Apes Verses Fantastic Four #4 - Marvel Comics

PLANET OF THE APES VS. FANTASTIC FOUR No. 4, July 2026

Whilst this twenty-page-periodical probably does provide “Marvel’s first crossover with the Planet of the Apes” with “a stunning and startling conclusion”, perhaps the comic’s biggest shock will actually come in it making its regular readers think they might have somehow missed an instalment of the mini-series somewhere down the line. Indeed, Reed Richards’ miraculous invention of a gauntlet which “should transfer the cosmic energy from the target to the wearer via touch” comes completely out of the blue, and may well cause many a bibliophile to pick up this title’s previous edition to double-check just where the conveniently useful device has mysteriously come from.

Furthermore, some within this publication’s audience may also become a little confused when it’s revealed that the Red Ghost has actually wiped Gaius’ memory of his attack upon the Orangutan's political stronghold, so that the President will rather handily believe his previous confrontation with the super-villain was just a “dream”. This unconvincing plot point was admittedly hinted at towards the end of this limited run’s last issue. But many onlookers will doubtless still point out that Josh Trujillo desperately needs to clarify the ape’s wavering position via both the book’s opening synopsis, as well as Ivan Kragoff’s detailed exposition at the magazine's start.

Lastly, the notion of Doctor Doom providing the Fantastic Four with the very means of their successful return to our modern-day world somewhat grates upon the nerves too. The Monarch of Latveria is well known for using his mechanical Doombots to save him from having to place his own person in physical danger. Yet in this adventure the American author would have his fans believe that the fully-armoured megalomaniac would fit one of his automatons with just the sort of in-built Di-Quantum Stabilizer and co-ordinates needed to get his greatest enemies home.

Far more agreeable than this comic’s writing is therefore the incredibly well pencilled layouts of Andrea Di Vito, which must genuinely have caught some by surprise when the Red Ghost’s Super-Apes suddenly turn upon their human master. Of particular note has to be Mikhlo absolutely socking Kragoff into the next century with a jaw-breaking wallop, as well the nostalgic use of the exercise pen as a background for Johnny Storm’s fight against General Ursus; “Climb up and get me if you want me so badly!”

The regular cover art of "PLANET OF THE APES VS. FANTASTIC FOUR" #4 by Greg Land & Rachelle Rosenberg

Nightwing #135 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 135, April 2026

To be fair, Issue One Hundred And Thirty-Five of “Nightwing” does debatably bring Dan Watters’ “Cirque Du Sin” multi-part storyline to a pretty satisfactory conclusion. Indeed, with the exception of Blüdhaven City’s mayor now being the villainous Bernard Bisogni, and large chunks of the metropolis being in ruins due to “the biggest quake to hit the East Coast since the Cataclysm”, Dick Grayson’s life as a costumed crime-fighter is pretty much back to where it was before he re-encountered the Zanni.

Admittedly, having Barabara Gordon simply state that Spheric Solutions and Olivia Pearce are “gone” isn’t the most convincing explanation as to how a multi-billion dollar advanced weapons company and its headless, zombie owner have disappeared. But at least it helps provide the Justice League, the Flyboiz and the Teddy Gang with an opportunity to work together so as to assist “people in the wake” of the conurbation’s massive misfortune; “My friends prove once more that they have my Town’s back when I need them.”

Furthermore, poor Nightwing-Prime’s sacrifice to stay locked within the Fifth Dimension so he can eternally battle the Zanni seems to be a fairly well thought out solution to bring Grayson’s worries about having to mentor a Superman-like protégé to a rather quick end. Poor Bryce Moran’s presence on Earth was always going to cause a multitude of problems for anyone penning adventures set within the former Whaling Town, as anything other than a Kryptonite-laced disaster could easily be fixed by the meta-human swooping down to save everyone – including Dick. Now though, the youngster can safely develop his special abilities in isolation, whilst simultaneously keeping his fellow children’s dreams free of the sinister clown’s influence.

Lastly, regular artist Dexter Soy returns to provide plenty of tension with his pencils as Nightwing attempts to valiantly escape the Fifth Dimension with all of Blüdhaven’s stolen youngsters via a terrifyingly tall ladder. This ultimate confrontation between the two supposedly long-time adversaries is laced with drama and danger. It’s just a pity that so much of this atmosphere is then debatably lost once Bryce flies in and blasts the disconcerting, spider-like Zanni away from the original Boy Wonder just as things are looking bleak for Grayson.

The regular cover art of "NIGHTWING" #135 by Dexter Soy

The Infernal Hulk #7 - Marvel Comics

THE INFERNAL HULK No. 7, July 2026

Whilst it’s never ever really explained just how the Infernal Hulk suddenly “exerts [a] mysterious control over all mutantkind” and begins “drawing them to his growing army in the horrific Living City”, it’s probably a safe bet that many a fan of this ongoing series will give Phillip Kennedy Johnson a pass due to the unconvincing notion setting up a scintillating scrap between the titular character and the X-Men. True, the confrontation only features those super-heroes located at the Factory Merle in Alaska – so doesn’t include such notable team members such as Wolverine, Rogue, Emma Frost and Ice Man. But this comic does still show Cyclops, Magneto and Magik doing their best against Eldest’s host body.

Furthermore, having horribly killed Marrow when the firstborn of Vinruviel kidnapped the Morlock Leech, the tense atmosphere inside the Sentinel manufacturing plant is arguably pretty palpable during the fight, with a few of the lesser known mutants certainly seeming to be close to a grim, grisly death whenever the Hulk turns his attention upon them. Indeed, at one point even Illyana Rasputina genuinely appears to be upon the cusp of being cut in two by the ‘daughter of horrors’ when the sorceress' Soulsword is taken from her; “This blade is bound… to your life force. Yes? What would happen, then… If I took your head with it?”

Perhaps far less impressive though is how the American author depicts the rest of the leading members of the Marvel Universe, who seem to be huddled up within the safety of the Baxter Building. Only Iron Man has actively challenged the might of the Hulk face-to-face so far, yet the way Reed Richards talks to such untried power-houses like Carol Danvers, Spider-Man, the Scarlet Witch and the Vision, any resistance against Eldest is disappointingly already doomed before it’s even begun.

Likewise, Adam Gorham’s artwork debatably doesn’t do the pulse-pounding punch-up much good either, with poor Sarah’s aforementioned death appearing to be overly gratuitous for no obvious reason. In fact, if it wasn’t for a hastily-sketch Pyro calling her by name some readers might even struggle to recognise that the figure sketched in the comic is actually Marrow, and not some other poor unknown Morlock. Furthermore the illustrator tries to cram in so much action into such thin panels, that there’s little room to really see who is doing what to each other when the action heats up – e.g. Magik actually stabling Hulk through the heart area with her hand-weapon.

The regular cover art of "INFERNAL HULK" #7 by Nic Klein

Nightwing #134 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 134, March 2026

There’s arguably a lot to enjoy with Dan Watters’ storyline for Issue One Hundred And Thirty-Four of “Nightwing”. The comic has the titular character thinking somewhat out of the box in order to defeat his arrogant adversary, there’s a peculiar high-stakes game to be “played for the souls of Bludhaven’s children” which would make both the Joker and Riddler proud, and the book also contains the surprising team-up of the Martian Manhunter and Bat-Girl. But sadly, the notion that the Zanni is disconcertingly able to destroy large parts of Dick Grayson’s metropolis by simply throwing a ball at some tin cans debatably proves a little too super-powered to fit in with the rest of the narrative.

Indeed, if the Fifth Dimensional imp really has such a destructive ability and can level vast swathes of the New Jersey city with a single action, many a bibliophile will surely be asking themselves why he went to such bizarre lengths as to covertly infiltrate the place via Olivia Pearce’s sinister Spheric Solutions in the first place, when he could surely have just smashed a few blocks of real estate into rubble and then informed the original Boy Wonder that he wanted him for his Cirque du Sin’s Ringmaster once the acrobat-turned-crimefighter showed up.?

Furthermore, the Zanni only appears to be defeated by Grayson towards the end of this book because he’s partially disintegrated by Nite-Mite’s gloopy soup first. This solution seems reasonably clever to begin with. However, it will debatably soon dawn upon the audience that it was the “godlike force” who brought “Nightwing's self-declared biggest fan" into the fray in the first place - and seemingly for no obvious reason other than to subsequently provide Batman's former sidekick with the means with which to defeat him.!?!

Fortunately, what does keep the eye riveted are V Ken Marion’s layouts, which genuinely add an aura of tension to the tent scene involving the Zanni and Nightwing throwing balls at a mock replica of Bludhaven. In addition, the aforementioned fully costumed appearance of J'onn J'onzz and Barbara Gordon amidst all the damage and destruction is extremely impactive, and probably caused more than a few of this ongoing series’ readers to suddenly wish for a mini-series featuring the two protagonists; “I think some help has just arrived.”

Writer: Dan Watters, Artist: V Ken Marion, and Colors: Veronica Gandini

Conan The Barbarian: Scourge Of The Serpent #4 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT No.4, February 2026

It probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone purchasing this twenty-two-page periodical that contributor Jeffrey Shanks saw the need to actually explain this mini-series’ climax as part of his final back-page article “In The Coils Of Set – The Origin And Legacy Of The Great Serpent”. For whilst Jim Zub’s narrative certainly depicts the Hyborian Age deity telling the likes of Conan, King Kull and John Kirowan what it wants from them, it’s rather trivial needs could easily get lost amongst all the inter-dimensional, planetwide fighting which revolves around it.

Indeed, Set’s apparent desire to mate with this title’s three leading antagonists so as to create “a perfect hybrid race” is debatably far from convincingly delivered, especially when “the arch-enemy of the gods of light” appears before the trio as multiple snake-headed assassins, a huge gorgon and the murderous wife of the Professor’s latest client. These forms, and resultant attempts upon the heroes’ lives don’t seem to be the best way of wooing a lover into the Great Serpent’s arms – no matter how alluring its final, semi-naked astral form may appear.

Furthermore, “Titan Comics” attempt to try to hoodwink this comic’s audience into accepting that such an overriding purpose is “very much drawn from themes in Robert E. Howard’s original tales” will surely put the backs up of any of the 1930’s pulp writer’s purists - no matter how hard Shanks’ aforementioned lengthy essay tries to convince them otherwise. Perhaps therefore this book’s most intriguing element only comes at its very end when it becomes clear that, in the Canadian author’s canon at least, Set sees itself as the planet’s saviour from various “terrors undreamed of”, and apparently wants to rescue Mankind, rather than simply dominant it like so many other one-dimensional, evil tyrants.

Unfortunately, Ivan Gil’s layouts don’t seem to help show what is truly happening throughout this publication either. It doesn’t matter how proficient a penciller the illustrator is at depicting Conan, Kull and Kirowan as somewhat decrepit, older versions of themselves, nor how much ghostly green ink colour artist Jao Canola throws at the multiple supernatural sequences. It is never made clear whether the leading characters can ever actually see (and therefore work) together, nor why they become so drastically aged in the first place..?

The regular cover art of "CONAN THE BARBARIAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT" #4 by Roberto De La Torre

Nightwing #133 - DC Comics

NIGHTWING No. 133, February 2026

If Dan Watters’ motivation behind penning the narrative for Issue One Hundred and Thirty Three of “Nightwing” was to give the more brassic bibliophiles buying his book a bit of a financial break for a month by not needing purchase this particular publication, then the English writer’s plan certainly seems to work. True, any fans of the ongoing series will miss a rather unexpected cameo by the Martian Manhunter. But other than the Justice Leaguer helping Dick Grayson’s alter-ego step foot into the Fifth Dimension, arguably nothing else happens of any interest within this entire twenty-two page periodical.

Instead, readers are simply asked to witness a variety of this title’s supporting cast sat around poor Bryce Moran’s rehabilitation bed repeatedly telling the original Boy Wonder that the media’s belief he beheaded Olivia Pearce on local television wasn’t really his fault, and that his reputation would eventually recover. Indeed, perhaps the only one of these sedentary scenes which contains any real plot progression is the apparent imminent departure of Bludhaven’s former mayor who plans to leave the city in order to get “a fresh start.”

By far this comic’s most soporific moment however, debatably comes with the sudden appearance of J'onn J'onzz, who takes a whopping twenty-seven panels to provide Grayson with a gateway leading to the mysterious Cirque du Sin. The pair obviously discuss other matters during this scene, such as what the Zanni did to Nightwing-Prime. Yet so much of their dialogue may still strike this book’s audience as simply 'treading water' so that the lead protagonist can encounter a ghoulish incarnation of Pearce in Nite-Mite’s inter-dimensional reality at this instalment’s end; “And here he is. The Ringmaster. At long last.”

Significantly more scintillating than the script for “A Thing That Should Not Be” has to be V Ken Marion’s layouts, with the concept artist desperately attempting to imbue as much of the magazine as he can with some semblance of life. This approach appears to mainly stem from the illustrator pencilling all the talk around Bryce’s body from as many different angles as possible. Albeit every now and then the man manages to take any onlookers onto the very streets of Bludhaven where Spheric Solutions’ technologically advanced law enforcement officers are dynamically battling the conurbation’s criminal gangs, or its young children are being abducted by the Zanni’s circus.

Writer: Dan Watters, Artist: V Ken Marion, and Colors: Veronica Gandini