Thor [2020] #34 - Marvel Comics

THOR No. 34, July 2023

It’s hard to believe that many readers of Torunn Gronbekk’s convoluted script for Issue Thirty-Four of “Thor” will actually have much of a clue as to just what is going on within this twenty-page periodical. Indeed, the Norwegian author’s seemingly merciless obsession to cram as many Asgardian gods, kings, werewolves, warriors and super-villains as she can messily muster within this single comic may well have given the odd bibliophile a debilitating Marvel-flavoured migraine; “We need to get out of here! It’s… weird out there… like, bonkers weird.”

Foremost of these utterly puzzling bemusements is probably the unlikely meeting of this publication’s titular character with Doctor Doom, Thanos, Laussa Odinsdottir, Hela and Bor Burison in Nifflehein. “Blood Of The Fathers” clearly plays it fast and loose when it comes to converging timelines and personalities bumping into one another out of chronological order. But how the monarch of Latveria is able to calmly step across reality from his Earth-bound kingdom into Bor’s Vault just as the Mad Titan is about to stab an infant Goddess of Death is never explained, nor is the Thunder God’s ability to intercede on Victor’s behalf with Mjolnir when the armoured monarch is savagely wounded by “one of the last sons of A'Lars.”

Almost as disconcerting is debatably this publication’s dialogue, which disappointingly may remind some bibliophiles of something penned in a fanzine. The second born daughter of All-Mother Freyja seems to particularly struggle with her words, nervously uttering “Eh, Hullo!” when as an adult she meets Thor at the lowest level of the universe and then later fangirling “Whaaaat?! Wolf-sword… Awesome!” over a possessed blade when she effortlessly hacks apart the supposedly great supernatural fighter Varg. 

Even this comic’s illustrations appear somewhat confusing with Juan Gedeon’s rudimentary pencils later being replaced by the much more stylish sketchings of Sergio Davila. The Buenos Aires-born professional’s panels disappointingly lack any real sense of movement, apart from when the Avenger is thwacking Thanos in the face with his hammer, and this lethargy sadly undermines any sense of tension during the “all-out war” which occurs. However, as soon as the sequential artist from Barcelona takes over the entire ensemble appear to jump into life, with a much younger Odinson clobbering a pack of unruly, blue-skinned trolls in an enthralling flashback sequence.

The regular cover art of "THOR" #34 by Nic Klein

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three #5 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE No. 5, July 2023

Considering the sheer number of anti-heroes permeating this conclusion to Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s “Crack-Up” narrative, many a bibliophile might find the twenty-page-periodical’s plot a little too rushed. Indeed, the entirety of Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad are surprisingly easily taken out twice during this particular publication, despite the Wall’s team comprising of some significantly powerful combatants such as Deadshot, Katana, Captain Boomerang and King Shark; “Said he was gonna make his own gang of mindless mercs -- The J-Team!”

This somewhat frustratingly fast-paced storytelling sadly also surrounds the tale’s central character, Straightman, who despite being on the run from the authorities is all-too quickly located by Batman and Robin roasting a pair of rats for his supper down one of Gotham City’s lesser-frequented alleyways. The Joker’s former bodyguard is still depicted as having the strength of several normal men. But that doesn’t stop him somewhat shockingly being taken straight down by the Boy Wonder and a trusty bat-a-rang within moments of the Dynamic Duo trundling up to his location in the Batmobile.

Perhaps therefore this comic’s most impressive moment comes when General Joker launches a full-on frontal assault against the military hospital where Professor Hugo Strange is attempting to save Captain Finley’s “almost unsalvageable” mind. This set-piece initially appears to contain all the elements necessary for some truly memorable pulse-pounding panels, especially once the Clown Prince of Crime has the brain-washed Suicide Squad capture a formidably sized tank for him to use as a command vehicle. However, once again the action is cut frustratingly short by the Bat Family, in order to save plenty of sheet space for a ‘sickeningly sweet’ series of heavily narrated epilogues.

Of course, some within the audience may well argue that this publication is probably worth its cover price just for Ty Templeton’s dynamic pencilling and Monica Kubina’s eye-catching colours. The artists do a cracking job of imbuing the Joker with all the deadly zaniness a reader would expect of Jerry Robinson’s co-creation, as well as include the odd Easter egg within their artwork - not least of which is a spine-chilling Funtime Freddy look-a-like sat on a display shelf in the deserted Pizza Clown Family Restaurant at the start of the book.

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE" #5 by Scott Godlewski

The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries #8 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 8, July 2023

Arguably containing some of the corniest and contrived subplots imaginable, even for a narrative partially based upon one of Hanna-Barbera’s most successful animated franchises, many a bibliophile may well have been put off by Sholly Fisch’s storyline for Issue Eight of “The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries". In fact, the comic’s opening featuring an utterly disagreeable Dark Knight and his second-rate Mystery Incorporated rip-offs is genuinely unappealing, particularly when it’s made crystal clear by the Caped Crusader that he no longer values the original “meddling kids” anymore; “No! This is our case, and we’ll handle it. Have a safe trip home.”

But for those readers who manage to clamber over this hurtful hurdle and dig deeper into the twenty-page periodical, the desire to discover just what on earth is going on in Gotham City to cause such a notable change in its cowled vigilante actually becomes enjoyably palpable.

Foremost of these ‘hooks’ is debatably just how unconvincing the thieving Bat Spirit is which is behind all the book’s supposedly spooky shenanigans. It seems reasonably clear straight from the start that ‘Batman’s most fearsome foe’ is an utter fraud, notably once the giant flying mammal starts waxing lyrical about “ridding the world of these pretender bats” and subsequently steals “Rube Bluth’s historic baseball bat!” However, the revelation that it’s actually “one of the greatest and deadliest assassins in the DC Universe” comes as a complete, jaw-droppingly genuine surprise, as does the cold-hearted criminal’s main mission to mercilessly murder Fred, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma and Scooby Doo if given half the chance.

Similarly as surreal are the American author’s Wraith Wranglers, who bear such a striking resemblance to the real Mystery Machine’s crew, that it’s difficult to take any of the “paranormal investigators who recently came to Gotham” seriously in any shape or form. Erich Owen’s pencils admittedly imbue the quintet with a modicum of interest, courtesy of some different hairstyles, clothing and skin colour swaps. Yet, it is the burning question as to just why Batman has teamed-up with the implausible party to fight the metropolis’ supernatural menace which remains at the forefront of the audience’s mind throughout, with Duke, Sensei, Specs, Bongo and Ranger’s origin never being explained until the publication’s very end.

Written by: Sholly Fisch, Drawn and Colored by: Erich Owen

Ultimate Invasion #1 - Marvel Comics

ULTIMATE INVASION No. 1, August 2023

Apparently penned “in the bold tradition of the Ultimate Comics line,” Jonathan Hickman’s “new vision of the Marvel Universe” certainly should have caught the imagination of its readers with its pulse-pounding opening and the sensational gunplay which it entails. In fact, the four-person team’s outrageously upfront attempt to simply walk into the heavily fortified Damage Control Remote Prison 42 and brazenly wipe out its hapless inhabitants is wonderfully written, especially as the South Carolina-born author uses mercenary replacement Jackson to ask all the questions which are doubtless occurring to the audience as the murderous action ensues.

Perhaps somewhat disappointingly however, this enthralling narrative slows down quite considerably once Dominic Green, Mischa Slope and Randall West remove their masks at the behest of their one-billion-dollar prize. The Maker has always arguably been a bit of a dialogue-driven super-villain, even before the terrorist’s Earth-1610 was destroyed when the Multiverse perished. Yet in this oversized forty-page-periodical, the “Human Mutate altered by the N-Zone” simply doesn’t stop waxing lyrical about his grand scheme, even towards the end of the book when he faces the combined might of the Illuminati; “How can you stop me when you know neither where I’m going nor what I’m going to do.?”

Frustratingly, the 'real' Reed Richards isn’t shy of ratcheting up the word count either, most notably when he briefs the rest of the planet’s disconcertingly impotent “covert think-tank” as to what his devious interdimensional duplicate has been up to since escaping custody. The Fantastic Four founder’s summary of the criminal’s various thefts from Wakanda, New Arctilan, the Sanctum Sanctorum and the ruins of Atlantis is probably this publication’s biggest missed opportunity as Hickman simply has Mister Fantastic gloss over these cataclysmic events with a few well-populated text balloons, rather than providing the book’s bibliophiles with some much needed frantic fighting and high-octane battle sequences.

Ultimately therefore, the success of this comic rests upon the shoulders of Bryan Hitch, whose layouts, especially during the aforementioned jail break, are top notch. Indeed, perhaps the biggest motivation for purchasing this publication lies in its behind-the-scenes article featuring the British artist’s raw pencils, which provide a terrific insight into just how much detail the illustrator crams into each and every one of his prodigious panels.

Writer: Jonathan Hickman, Penciler: Bryan Hitch, and Inker: Andrew Currie

Predator #4 - Marvel Comics

PREDATOR No. 4, January 2023

Despite depicting some genuinely pulse-pounding predicaments for young Theta Nedra Berwick as she “goes head-to-head in an all-out dogfight” against two Predators on the frozen planet of Tusket. It is quite possible that some within this twenty-page-periodical’s audience might find the sole survivor’s persistent brushes with death all a bit too unbelievable by the comic’s climax; “I gave him the advantage. Served myself up on a platter. Useless. Weak. An injured animal… screaming… Here I am! Kill me!”

Foremost of these unconvincing contrivances occurs straight from the start when Ed Brisson proposes that the woman’s clunky-looking Astar Industries spaceship is capable of outmanoeuvring a pair of Yautja attack craft for long enough to allow its drunk pilot to clamber outside onto the hull and destroy one of her fast-paced pursuers with a hand-held surface-to-air rocket launcher. Sure, some bibliophiles may well argue that the human hunter has doubtless upgraded her interstellar vessel since she first seized control of it in order to track down her parents’ extra-terrestrial killers. But considering that Theta is supposedly 'the worse from drink' having consumed an entire bottle of booze from Port Medway, it’s debatably difficult to comprehend how she maintains either her balance or deadly one-shot aim.

Perhaps just as unpersuasive is Berwick’s subsequent decision to go toe-to-toe with the remaining Predator. Ed Brisson goes to some quite considerable lengths to inform the reader just how inebriated this comic’s central protagonist has become, as well as how badly the unaccustomed alcohol is affecting both her decision-making and fighting abilities. So, it comes as no surprise when “the daughter of botanists” is outmatched by her superior opponent despite initially gaining the upper hand. However, rather than being filleted by her foe, the Joe Shuster Award-nominee has the ‘Damara dropout’ conveniently rescued in the very nick of time by a team of gun-toting Astar employees who appear completely out of the blue.

Much more credible are Kev Walker’s layouts, which do a really good job of showing just how chaotic Theta’s actions are forced to become during her efforts to elude capture. The panels depicting the Sandpiper being buffeted whilst its pilot desperately tries to lock her weapon onto the Yautja will doubtless cause some to uncontrollably sway in sympathy of the ship’s sickening movements. Whilst others may well feel the anger emanating off of Sandy’s ward as Berwick realises the folly of her confrontation and that the woman’s fifteen year-long revenge mission is about to come to naught.

Writer: Ed Brisson, Artist: Kev Walker, and Colorist: Frank D'Armata

DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #8 - DC Comics

DCEASED: WAR OF THE UNDEAD GODS  No. 7, May 2023

Poignantly penned straight from its start, this “final, cataclysmic conclusion” to “DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods” definitely delivers a fitting end to an “epic saga that began over three years ago”. Indeed, despite the mini-series’ heroes seemingly deducing just how to emphatically defeat Erebos within mere moments of them celebrating their initial victory over the “primordial deity” on the surface of Earth-2, the ‘sword of Damocles’ palpably still hangs over all the sizeable cast’s heads as their skilfully steer Warworld straight through the giant personification of darkness’s near impregnable flesh.

Much of this enthralling atmosphere is arguably due to the way Tom Taylor pens Damian Wayne as ever the secretive caped crusader, who trusts no-one except the personification of Death with the actual details of his suicidal plan. This distrustful intrigue repeatedly causes the reader to question whether or not the young Batman’s grand scheme is actually going to work, especially when it involves both an alliance with “the tyrannical Lord of Apokolips” and the mission’s super-powered strike team physically dying for a whole minute so as to allow the likes of Kal-El to be carried though a deadly Doom Tube.

Somewhat disappointingly though, there may well be the odd bibliophile who feels the Dark Knight’s eventual demise is a tad drawn out, thanks to the Spectre surprisingly deciding to allow Superboy to visit his doomed friend until the very last moment. This tearful goodbye is debatably a bit too sickly sweet and contrived considering just how long it takes for “the heart of the anti-life equation and the life equation” to collide, and perhaps the sheet space might have been put to better use depicting Ares' ultimately fatal fight against Erebos in outer space rather than a sedentary Damian being told how great a costumed vigilante he’d become.

Happily however, pencillers Trevor Hairsine and Lucas Meyer still manage to keep the readers’ attention with their excellent layouts, even whilst Batman is simply sat on the floor of Warworld alongside a tearful Jon Kent awaiting his fate. In fact, one of the highlights of this comic is the creative team’s decision to have Bruce Wayne’s son don a shining all-white Batsuit, which is subsequently wonderfully inked by Andy Lanning and coloured by Rain Beredo.

The regular cover art of "DCEASED: WAR OF THE UNDEAD GODS" #7 by Howard Porter & Rain Beredo

Terrorwar #3 - Image Comics

TERRORWAR No. 3, June 2023

Predominantly consisting of Muhammad Cho holding a series of conversations with various representatives of Blue City’s security forces, this twenty-page-periodical’s plot arguably contains little to maintain its audience’s attention, apart from a flurry of activity at the comic’s very start. Sure, the introduction of Central Command’s shock troopers and live ammunition certainly raises the stakes for this book’s main cast, especially when the “low-rent team” are threatened with instant execution if they don’t surrender themselves to the authorities immediately. But the crew’s resistance in the face of such lethal, strong-arm shenanigans is as frustratingly fleeting as this publication’s subsequent dialogue is perturbingly long-winded.

In addition, those bibliophiles who abhor unnecessary expletives will invariably struggle to wade their way through the sheer avalanche of f-bombs which Issue Three of “Terrorwar” disappointingly contains. Of course, considering the deadly danger faced by “the man who just might be the best terrorfighter in all of Blue City”, the odd swear word is perhaps perfectly understandable. However, the bad language inside this comic is so infuriatingly endemic that it soon starts to debatably suggest that every time Saladin Ahmed was at a lost for one of his characters to say something smart, he simply penned them boorishly blaspheming; “You lower ward people sure are direct.”

Sadly, this all-pervading unpleasantness resultantly poisons poor Muhammad’s personality too, and seemingly transforms the somewhat likeable do-gooder into a truly, foul-mouthed lout who brutally backtalks the polite, well-spoken woman who currently leads his people’s conurbation. Indeed, the protagonist’s improper behaviour towards the “powerful politician” appears to be more in line with that of the villainous Paolo’s Poachers, than this series’ supposed hero. 

Adding little apart from an extensive carousel of close-ups and angry facial expressions is “horror star Dave Acosta”, whose proficient pencilling does just enough to push each conversational piece into the next. “Best known for his work on Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark”, the illustrator does a first-rate job of depicting the raw energy on show whilst Cho’s crew attempt to slug their way out of Central Command’s custody. Yet, due to this comic’s sedentary script, these panels are short-lived and soon replaced with little more than figures stood talking to one another.

Written by: Saladin Ahmed, Pencils by: Dave Acosta, Inks by: Jay Leisten, and Colors by: Walter Pereyra