Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three #8 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE No. 8, December 2023

As a “series finale over thirty years in the making” goes, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s storyline for Issue Eight of “Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three” certainly seems to successfully strike home, courtesy of an outrageously audacious scheme by Ra's al Ghul to convince the Dark Knight into retirement by secretly incarcerating the super-hero’s Rogues Gallery in an underground prison. In fact, the Detective’s discovery of his potential father-in-law’s plan genuinely provides this twenty-page-periodical with a jaw-dropping revelation, especially once Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego learns that the super-villain’s solution to worldwide famine will actually cause sterility within a few generations.

Furthermore, the comic contains plenty of fisticuffs and punch-ups to keep the adrenalin-junkies content, as the Caped Crusaders face-off against a veritable army of zombie dogs and undead assassins. This notion that the sickly Dragon’s Head would readily take over the Court of Owls following the demise of its original council, is an easy plot-twist to accept, and resultantly provides the writers with more than enough Talons for the Bat-Family to sporadically battle as they tensely travel deeper into Gotham City’s maze-like system of subterranean tunnels; “My guess is the Owls brought you this way.”

Perhaps therefore this book’s sole disappointment might arguably come in the lack of limelight given to so many of Batman’s most notorious opponents. Admittedly, the likes of Talia al Ghul, Selina Kyle, Kirk Langstrom and Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot do well enough with each criminal actually contributing to the overall narrative. But Clayface, Killer Croc, Two-Face, the Black Mask and the Scarecrow regrettably are given just enough panel space for a brief cameo, potentially making some of the Dark Knight’s greatest adversaries appear as little more than afterthoughts.

So minor (and understandable) a quibble though is soon forgotten thanks to the stellar artistic contribution of Ty Templeton, Jacob Edgar, and Monica Kubina, who together produce a fantastic feast for the eyes with their prodigious pencilling, inking and colour choices. Indeed, the sheer grandeur of Ra's al Ghul’s hush-hush head-quarters really helps sell the scope of the international mastermind’s evil machinations, and provides an excellent backdrop to this masterwork’s cataclysmic conclusion once Catwoman has freed all the long-lived felon’s numerous prisoners.

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE" #8 by Ty Templeton

The Incredible Hulk [2023] #5 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 5, December 2023

Considering the sheer size of the malevolent swamp siren confronted by this comic’s titular anti-hero, some Hulk-heads may well have been anticipating “an epic brawl” between the Jade Giant, Man-Thing and the formidably-strong, multi-limbed, Floridan monstrosity. But whilst that may well arguably be the case, much of the battle’s impact is disappointingly lost as a result of Travel Foreman’s crude drawing style. In fact, many of this twenty-page-periodical’s harsher critics might even go so far as to suggest that the Honolulu-born artist’s inexpert illustrations wouldn’t look out of place inside an adolescent’s homemade fanzine rather than within the cover of a magazine produced by the current “comic book specialty market's top publisher.”

This disconcerting visualisation of Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script also debatably distracts the reader from emotionally connecting with poor Charlie Tidwell, when the young girl relives the trauma of her ‘baby’ brother Earl dying at the hands of their abusive father. Charny’s despair is so tragically deep that it actually forces the onlooking Defender to painfully revert back to Bruce Banner. Yet due to the quality of the layouts any perusing bibliophile may well struggle to find even the smallest amount of sympathy for the unsatisfactorily sketched schoolboy's second demise; “If I wasn’t so… so clumsy, maybe he wouldn’t’ve… sniff. You didn’t even do anything…”

Perhaps this book’s biggest mystery though lies in precisely what threat the siren poses to the Nexus of Realities. Ted Sallis is very clear that the “mindless avatar of hatred and grief” is both “old and angry”. However, Man-Thing never explains how the wretched creature is physically threatening the cross-dimensional gateway, and eventually just resorts to informing an unconvinced Hulk that if the founding Avenger doesn’t help him, it’ll eat the Green Goliath’s unlikely companion. 

Somewhat more successfully delivered is this comic’s “backup story featuring a surprise guest character to honour Latin and Latinx characters and creators!” Penned by Vita Ayala, this unlikely fist-fight between the “World-Breaker” and Victor Alvarez initially appears to be little more than a staged set-piece to show-off Power Man’s impressive Chi-manipulating super-powers. However, once the Hero-For-Hire passes out and is temporarily cared for by the Hulk’s somewhat emaciated alter-ego, the storyline quickly transforms into a tolerable tale which focuses upon “Goggles” insecurities about being “nothing but a bootleg copy of a C-lister…”

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #5 by Nic Klein

Conan The Barbarian #4 - Titan Comics

CONAN THE BARBARIAN No. 4, November 2023

It’s easy to see with his script for Issue Four of “Conan The Barbarian” that Jim Zub is clearly “a lifelong fan of the [titular] character”, if not an entirely devoted scholar of all things penned by Robert E. Howard. Yet whilst “Bound In Black Stone” enthrallingly smacks of something taken straight from the pages of a Forties pulp magazine, it’s reliance upon the reader needing to have a much broader knowledge of the Hyborian Age mythos to fully appreciate its cleverness, may well dissuade some perusing bibliophiles from seeing this title as a ‘jumping on point’ for the Sword and Sorcery hero.   

True, the Canadian author does spend a considerable amount of this twenty-two-page periodical explaining just why a drowning Cimmerian might suddenly encounter the ghost of a long-dead Pictish Chieftain, courtesy of a spell-binding flashback. However, despite this sequence somewhat enjoyably mirroring Conan’s encounter with Epemitreus in the 1932 short story “The Phoenix on the Sword”, its appearance arguably comes completely out of nowhere, and rather contrivingly seems to be solely based upon the adventurer just happening to have Brule’s mystical blade about his loincloth.

Perhaps this comic’s biggest disappointment though, rests with the off-screen demise of poor Brissa, who apparently rushes back to aid her heavily-muscled lover in the Black Tower only for the evil spire to fatally collapse upon her. Doubtless many within this comic’s audience will be hoping that so dismal a death for one of the tale’s foremost protagonists is simply a ploy by the Eisner Award-nominee to establish a sensational future return. But even if this proves to be the case, as it is the brave scout’s abrupt passing implies a disconcertingly lethargic way to end the book within its allotted sheet-space; “…One more victim of the Baneful Black.”

Fortunately, such quibbles are easily set aside once Rob De La Torre begins his pulse-pounding pencilling. The artist’s dynamic layouts for the aforementioned trip back to the days neighbouring King Kull’s pre-cataclysmic Atlantis are visually stunning, and should genuinely make many within this publication’s audience yearn for this comic’s creative team to produce a magazine solely based upon the supernatural exploits of the Borni Tribe’s leader too.

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

Titans #4 - DC Comics

TITANS No. 4, December 2023

Intriguingly treading the line between low-level crime-fighting and international terrorism, Tom Taylor’s narrative for “Out Of The Shadows” certainly seems to start well, courtesy of a touchingly intimate focus upon Beast Boy and Raven as the couple reconcile Garfield Logan’s doubts about the future of humanity by defeating a pair of knife-wielding neighbourhood bullies. But whilst this somewhat tongue-in-cheek transformation into a talking tiger proves entertaining enough, some within this comic’s audience might be left scratching their heads in bemusement at the rest of the book’s plot.

For starters the notion that the Teen Titans should suddenly decide to return to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo at precisely the same location as one of its settlements is being forcibly removed by the gun-toting Demolition Team is arguably a little too manufactured, considering that it appears to occur solely upon Changeling’s whim to “lead a reforestation effort” with the agencies there. Admittedly, the young vigilante has been badly affected by the recent deaths of the area’s wildlife in a mysterious fire. But to immediately convince the rest of his friends to abandon investigating the Flash’s imminent death sadly smacks of the “New York Times bestselling author” sluggishly contriving the super-group’s separation simply so Wally West proves an easier target for his enigmatic assassin.

In addition, the sudden disappearance of both Nightwing and the Scarlet Speedster just when an alien-influenced Tempest arrives at the Titan’s headquarters also appears incredibly fortuitous for the extra-terrestrial invader. Indeed, the pair’s absence, weakly explained as being due to them “being off somewhere” arguing seems unlikely considering Linda Park-West has already made it crystal clear her husband won’t be participating in any adventures for at least the next twenty-four hours; “I wouldn’t say I’m a secret weapon. But you’re going to listen to Donna and Dick…”

Happily however, what this twenty-page periodical debatably lacks in convincing penmanship it makes up for with prodigious pencilling. Whether it be Nicola Scott and colorist Annette Kwok’s awesome-looking regular cover illustration, featuring Beast Boy being surrounded by a veritable menagerie of birds and animals, or a grumpy Peacemaker scrutinising the satellite images of Donna Troy’s battle against the Demolition Team, each and every panel within this comic is incredibly well drawn.

Writer: Tom Taylor, Artist: Nicola Scott, and Colorist: Annette Kwok

Blade #4 - Marvel Comics

BLADE No. 4, December 2023

Arguably using Stephen Strange’s guest star appearance as an opportunity to bring any new readers to this ongoing series bang up to speed with the storyline’s past events and characters, this comic’s “high-speed heist” certainly promises plenty of sense-shattering shenanigans. But whilst the vast majority of the twenty-page periodical does focus upon a bullet train whose “chassis is made of adamantium” and which “rarely slows below 180 miles per hour”, its perplexing plot may well prove just a little too bemusing for many a perusing bibliophile to properly enjoy.

Foremost of these oddities in "Mother Of Evil" is probably the absence of the Master of the Mystic Arts himself, who despite conjuring up a portal to allow Blade access “into the armoured fortress of a weapons collector”, doesn’t actually then fight alongside the vampire. Instead, the Sorcerer Supreme simply informs the titular character from a notable distance that Adana will “destroy reality as we know it” if not stopped, and then later adds that the only “sword of unknown power” which can apparently kill her will prove equally as dangerous to the Daywalker if he succeeds in appropriating it.

Similarly as disappointing though has to be the much-anticipated confrontation between Eric Brooks and Hamilton Achilles, which ends with the powerful, master criminal somewhat ridiculously tearing his own head in half as a sacrifice to Adana. Considering that the thick-set blood-drinker clearly doesn’t want this comic’s titular character to steal Lucifer’s infamous hand-weapon, this suicidal behaviour is debatably an incredibly peculiar move, and one that sadly smacks of contrivance so as to simply propel Blade into the lengthy narrative’s final instalment suitably well-armed; “That weapon has the will of the Lightbringer. It will change you…”

Sadly, such a confounding scenario also seemingly appears to have detrimentally affected the book’s illustration team, with both Valentina Pinta and Elena Casagrande pencilling a series of surprisingly stagnant layouts featuring wooden figures and lack-lustre action scenes. Indeed, Achilles’ aforementioned death may well strike many within this publication’s audience as appearing like something out of a cartoony Japanese anime show, with the wide-eyed vampire’s inexplicable self-immolation being difficult to visualise without repeated visits to the panel apparently depicting it.

The regular cover art to "BLADE" #4 by Elena Casagrande & Jordie Bellaire

Creepshow [2023] #2 - Image Comics

CREEPSHOW No. 2, October 2023

Initially providing his audience with a genuinely relatable depiction of a lonely youngster desperate to find companionship with their favourite television programmes when left alone for the night, Michael Walsh’s wonderful “The Man With No Eyes” must surely have caused many a bibliophile to have had some considerable sympathy for both Dan and his “down-on-his-luck dad” as they desperately try to survive a week of gruelling night shifts before “things’ll be easier.”

As well pencilled as it penned by the Eisner Award-winner, this terrifying ten-pager soon turns even more tragic though as the completely innocent child totally falls under the sinister spell of a malignant magician who horrifically has his ghoulish heart set on the friendless lad’s eyeballs, and causes the boy’s father to lose his crucial, bill-paying job through absolutely no fault of his own. Disconcertingly haunting, the tale’s subsequent conclusion is genuinely upsetting, as the minor’s remorseful parent appears about to make amends for smashing up their sole telly in a drunken temper only to face a grotesquely disfigured Dan desperate for revenge and armed with a jagged piece of their smashed set’s glass screen.

Slightly less hard-hitting, though perfectly entertaining in its own right, is “Keep It Down” by Dan Watters, which rather intriguingly taps into the life of a woman who can communicate with the dead. This supernatural ability is ofttimes presented as being something of a boon to those who possess it, and initially the London-born writer follows just such a path with the young woman responsibly listening to all the spirits’ different plights. However, once the sheer number of unwanted souls starts to impact upon poor Amy’s day-to-day life the desperate medium decides to take a very drastic step to ensure she obtains a good night’s sleep.

Interestingly however, it soon turns out that the lady’s keen hearing has actually been keeping her safe from a much darker demonic monstrosity than artist Abigail Larson’s well-sketched spectre who persistently enquires about what Tik Tok is all about. This deadly threat neatly ties in with the yarn’s opening too, so rather impressively helps bookend the petrifying piece too; “In the end, her pleas for quiet really fell on deaf ears.”

Writers: Michael Walsh and Dan Watters, and Artists: Michael Walsh and Abigail Larson

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three #7 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE No. 7, October 2023

Packed full of suspicion, intrigue and potential duplicity, there was surely a lot for Bat-fans to enjoy with this second instalment to Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s “The Offer” storyline. Indeed, the sheer scope of the narrative is beguilingly large, as Bruce Wayne seriously considers Ra’s al Ghul’s suspiciously generous offer to take control of the super-villain’s worldwide organisation whilst simultaneously battling a metropolis-wide incursion by the diabolically deadly Court of Owls.

Furthermore, the inclusion of Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman and Talia al Ghul as potential allies against Gotham City’s nefarious secret society adds plenty of tension between the Dark Knight and his family – especially when Selina Kyle makes it abundantly clear that the burglar would very much like to rekindle her romantic relationship with the Caped Crusader despite the daughter of the Demon's Head declaring she has a similar goal; “If you ask me, when she calls, the only one who’s going to be in trouble is you.”

Happily however, this twenty-page periodical isn’t simply content to weave a sedentary web of conspiracy and double-dealings, but also provides plenty of pulse-pounding action whenever the Talons make a dramatic appearance. These bone-crunching interludes genuinely help spice up the narrative’s pace, and also add an extra plot-thread in the shape of Doctor Kirk Langstrom’s hideous alter-ego, the Man-Bat, who somehow appears to have become an imprisoned pawn of the Court despite the scientist’s promise to his good wife that’ll he’ll never undergo his transmutation again.

By far this book’s biggest success though is arguably the team effort behind it’s artwork. Featuring the illustrations of regular Ty Templeton with Norm Rapmund and Jacob Edgar, as well as colours by Monica Kubina, this comic’s layouts are a visual feast for the eyes. Furthermore, whether it be Harley Quinn literally lopping off an assassin’s head with a bloody scythe once she’s informed the black-garbed ghoul is an ‘undead soldier’ or the Boy Wonder’s repeated looks at Batman whenever his mentor becomes the focus of Selina’s intimate desire, there always seems to be a prodigiously-pencilled panel just around the corner ready to make a reader involuntarily giggle.

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE" #7 by Juan Ferreyra