The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries [2024] #3 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 3, May 2024

For those Bat-fans who enjoy seeing the Dark Knight team up with the ever-seductive Catwoman and explore the duo’s complicated love–hate relationship, Ivan Cohen’s script for “Shiny” certainly should have been quite the hit. True, Selina Kyle’s anti-heroic alter-ego is once again “blamed for another string of robberies in Gotham” which she did not commit. But this fairly familiar plot still allows the “media-development executive at DC Comics” to pen a few surprises to catch his audience off-guard - most notably the true identity of the book’s lead antagonist stemming way back to the mid-Eighties and John Byrne’s run on “The Man Of Steel”.

Sadly however, the former editor doesn’t do quite as well writing for Mystery Incorporated. Disappointingly both Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo are practically non-existent. Whilst Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley are incredibly irritating as they repeatedly question the Caped Crusader’s decision-making when it comes to the cat burglar's motivations. Indeed, the two female amateur investigators arguably come across as a right arrogant pair of holier-than-thou do-gooders, who apparently know far more about criminal catching than the Justice Leaguer ever will; “No offense, Batman.”

Commissioner Gordon also appears to fall under the two teenagers’ implausible spell far too willingly, unconvincingly preferring to believe them over the Dark Knight when it comes to Catwoman’s innocence and even relying upon the ‘meddling kids’ to keep Kyle incarcerated overnight rather than ‘one of the greatest comic book superheroes ever created.’ This contrivance genuinely grates upon the senses considering the trust which has built up between the two men since Batman first saved the police officer’s city single-handedly, and subsequently sits rather uncomfortably in the subconscious as the storytelling unsatisfactorily progresses.

Delightfully, what this twenty-page publication lacks in credible drama, it somewhat makes up for with the wonderful layouts of Dario Brizuela. In fact, the Argentinian illustrator’s ability to seamlessly combine aspects of the classic “Hanna-Barbera” cartoons and the “Batman: The Animated Series” together, alongside his own take on the Caped Crusader, debatably makes Issue Three of “The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries” worth the cover price alone. Furthermore, his pencilling of the Penguin is so spot on that many a bibliophile will find it impossible not to hear actor Paul Williams’ voice reading out Oswald Cobblepot’s dialogue.

Written by: Ivan Cohen, Art by: Dario Brizuela, and Color by: Franco Riesco

The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries [2024] #2 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN AND SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERIES No. 2, April 2024

Despite the relative simplicity of Joseph Torres’ script for Issue Two of “The Batman And Scooby-Doo Mysteries”, this comic’s visit to Slaughter Swamp probably still proved something of a hit with fans of the famous media franchise. Indeed, if someone were to swap out the supposed presence of undead villain Solomon Grundy for a much more generic, rancid revenant, then this twenty-page-periodical’s basic plot would probably not have looked too out of place as part of the “Hanna-Barbera” American animated television series’ initial run in 1969; “Well, I would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for these meddling kids…”

Sadly however, as a super-hero book supposedly based upon Batman trying “to save some Gothamites from a zombie disaster”, the publication is debatably far less successful. For starters its narrative divulges far too early on that Cyrus Gold’s alter-ego cannot possibly be stalking the quicksand-infested marshlands because he’s currently incarcerated inside Blackgate Penitentiary. Such a revelation genuinely ruins any build-up of the Caped Crusader eventually encountering Alfred Bester’s co-creation in a fist-fight, and also frustratingly ruins the usual criminal ‘unmasking’ at the tale’s end, by pointing the finger squarely towards the sole character in this story who could be capable of impersonating Grundy.

Likewise, there isn’t an awful lot for the Dark Knight to achieve within this adventure, apart from rescue Shaggy Rogers and Scooby-Doo from a sticky mud bath. Without the threat of Solomon genuinely showing up, Velma Dinkley definitely takes centre-stage, challenging Cyril Gold’s paranormal tourism scam and deducing the con-artist’s motivation for making Slaughter Swamp far from worthless land. In fact, the brainy young woman even manages to instantly guess exactly where some underground tunnels lead whilst exploring the surrounding countryside.  

Easily this comic’s most bemusing aspect though has to be Scott Jeralds’ inconsistent layouts, which at times, most notably when sketching the selfie-obsessed campers, appear to have been pencilled by an entirely different illustrator. There’s no doubt the artist can do a first-rate job of depicting Mystery Incorporated. But his Solomon Grundy repeatedly appears to have been clumsily resized in some panels. Whilst occasionally, a scene’s cast appear so disconnected with their location as to be highly reminiscent of the old Seventies “Super Friends” all-action transfer sets by “Letraset”.

Written by: J. Torres, Drawn by: Scott Jeralds, and Colored by: Carrie Strachan

The Incredible Hulk [2023] #9 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 9, April 2024

Even the hardest to please Hulk-head must surely have enjoyed Philip Kennedy Johnson’s “latest spine-chilling tale” for Issue Nine of “The Incredible Hulk”, due to the American author arguably creating one of the most disturbing homicidal octogenarians depicted in a comic book. Sure, a fair portion of this twenty-page periodical’s plot actually focuses upon Bruce Banner’s rather dialogue-driven melodrama with the Mother of Horror’s incarnation of Betty Ross. But whenever this word-heavy argument is replaced by the elderly supernatural serial killer, the wrinkled Antique shop owner becomes as utterly bewitching as the subsequent mutilations are graphically gratuitous.

In addition, this publication contains some nicely-penned moments for Charlie Tidwell, which highlights the young murder suspect's ability to be both quite fierce and vulnerable in precisely the same moment. This intriguing characteristic is particularly well demonstrated during the girl’s exploration of a run-down second-hand store, whilst its owner calmly covers for her to the ever-circling police upstairs. Many a bibliophile will doubtless be shouting at the book for the runaway to stop walking down into a disturbing cellar which she’s already been warned by her travelling companion shouldn’t actually exist below the water-table. However, the girl manages to control her fear and courageously discovers the fate of one who has previously crossed paths with New Orleans’ “Angel of Death”.

Likewise, this story’s hapless law enforcement officer makes for an interesting cast member, even if his life is cut brutally short once he ill-advisedly decides to verbally threaten a certain “cool, old lady.” The somewhat bullish cop is clearly just doing his duty, having accidentally bumped into Tidwell earlier that evening. So to later witness his severed head being grotesquely carried by Frozen Charlotte in one hand genuinely makes for a truly shocking moment within this magazine; “They who forget their manners… The difference shown to one’s elders… The perils of discourtesy.” 

Regrettably however, the layouts of “guest artist” Danny Earls might well prove something of a barrier to those bibliophiles anticipating another visual feast for the eyes by regular contributor Nic Klein. The “retired professional soccer player” arguably does a solid job pencilling most of this book’s contents, with his version of the Hulk’s eye-wateringly painful transformation proving particularly gruesome. Yet there's also probably little doubt that his raw, cartoon-like style doesn't always work that well, such as when the Harpy makes a surprise appearance.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #9 by Nic Klein

Titans #8 - DC Comics

TITANS No. 8, April 2024

Debatably penning the titular characters as the actual antagonists in Issue Eight of “Titans”, at least in the eyes of “newly established Bureau of Sovereignty” member Sergeant Steel and an utterly ungrateful nameless member of the American public, Tom Taylor’s narrative should most definitely raise the blood pressure of the super-team’s fans. In fact, for some bibliophiles it’s probably difficult to imagine a more enraging tone to a comic as the anti-hero hysteria which permeates this twenty-page-periodical’s plot; “Yeah. I watch the news. We know exactly who you are, and we know exactly what he is. Get the hell away from my kids, Beast!”

Equally as engrossing as this palpable ingratitude towards the group who literally saved the world from the Necrostar’s attack, is the Australian author’s sub-thread depicting Raven as a covert thrall of her utterly evil patriarch, Trigon. This treacherous subterfuge does not bode well for a band of crime-fighting champions already struggling with their public image following the “Beast World” multi-title event, and also hints at some mouth-watering demonically-flavoured fights yet to come should Rachel Roth somehow manage to escape the soul gem within which her horned parent holds her.

Perhaps therefore this book’s sole frustration probably lies in the creation of “the new T-Jet”, which sadly smacks of elements taken from both the Avenger’s Quinjet and the X-Men’s famous Blackbird. Of course the Teen Titans have always been “widely thought of” as DC Comics' “answer to the increasingly popular Uncanny X-Men from Marvel Comics”. But it’s arguably still a little ‘right on the nose’ to see Nightwing piloting so similar a stealth fighter, even if this version can instantaneously travel to its destination via Cyborg’s Boom Box technology.

Ably adding to this publication’s storytelling is Stephen Segovia, whose pencilling of Trigon the Terrible and his dark-hearted daughter is simply ‘spot on’. Sure, the Filipino artist’s somewhat doe-eyed depiction of Sergeant Steel, Melinda Grayson-Lin and their television host somewhat jar the senses. However, such a minor quibble doesn’t long break the book’s overall visual spell, especially once matters move on to Tempest stopping a large flotilla of sea-going vessels from an almighty rogue wave, and the unfounded open hostility etched upon an ungrateful father’s face when a gorilla-shaped Garfield Logan attempts to save his frightened children from a deadly flood.

The regular cover art of "TITANS" #8 by Dan Mora

Blowtorch: Bad Roads #2 - Page1 Comics

BLOWTORCH: BAD ROADS No. 2, February 2024

It’s hard to imagine many readers perusing their local comic book store’s spinner racks and encountering a more downright brutal plot as the one Alfred Paige and Alex De-Gruchy collaboratively pen for Issue Two of “Blowtorch: Bad Roads”. Indeed, this twenty-two-page periodical arguably just picks its audience up by the scruff of the neck with it’s opening scene of a chairbound Richard Kinkaid being battered about the head, and simply never lets go until its blood-soaked bibliophiles are eventually brought back to the relative peacefulness of C.H.E.S.S. Headquarters in Colorado at its very end; “How was Bluegrass Country.? That good, huh…?”

Happily however, this excessive violence isn’t just gratuitous padding to help populate the publication. But actually shows how mercilessly murderous the Crime Cartel are who have abducted Blowtorch, and the sheer deadliness of the ex-Army Ranger they’ve foolishly decided to keep alive for questioning. Furthermore, the sense-shattering shenanigans employed by both sides of this contest to try and eliminate one another makes for some utterly compelling, high-octane action that results in this magazine being impossible to put down until the desperate gun battle is finally finished.

Perhaps this comic’s most compelling feature though, is that its titular character isn’t quite portrayed as an unstoppable, one-man killing machine, and instead actually requires the help of an undercover Drugs Enforcement Agent (DEA) for assistance. Admittedly, Will initially appears to free Kinkaid from a local barn simply to improve his own chances of escape now the investigator is convinced he’s “gonna end up at the bottom of a goddamn quarry.” Yet this basic show of compassion quickly blossoms into the man becoming Richard’s unlikely gun-toting comrade-in-arms – something which helps add to the increasing concern as to whether both government operatives are going to successfully survive the blazing firefight around them.

Likewise, Igor Kurilin’s marvellous black and white layouts do a first-rate job in capturing all the claustrophobic horror of a savage night-time shoot-out in and around a house. In fact, once Blowtorch has finally donned his famous flame-throwers, each prodigiously-pencilled panel provides a terrifying insight into just how dreadful it must be for anyone, even a heartless hoodlum, to be backed into a tiny room, crammed full of everyday furniture, and facing so inhumanly painful a fiery demise.

Creator: Alfred Paige, Script: Alex De-Gruchy, and Art: Igor Kurilin

Terrorwar #8 - Image Comics

TERRORWAR No. 8, December 2023

Just what Saladin Ahmed’s actual intention was for this particular comic’s narrative is arguably up for some debate, due to its storyline seemingly spiralling all over the place before it finally returns to show Muhammad Cho’s team once again facing down Safehaven’s security troopers. In fact, in many ways the “Eisner-winning writer” appears to frustratingly imbue as little strategy into this book’s puzzling plot as the Terrorfighter’s chief does for storming the Upper Levels of Blue City; “I suppose I’m not surprised that you apparently charged in here with no plan. But I do wonder what in the name of the all-merciful you hoped to achieve?”

Leading this bemusing assault upon the reader’s sense of logic is probably the bizarre realisation that having somehow managed to finally confront the “morally bankrupt” Ronali at the very top of the government official’s heavily-armed metropolis, the storyline’s battle-weary central protagonists simply try to scold her into submission. So naïve a scheme genuinely seems laughable with hindsight, but at the time is so unexpected that it probably fooled half the audience into believing the empty-handed contractors were planning some sort of table-turning deception which just never materialises.

What happens next though is debatably even worse, as all of Cho’s comrades-in-arms individually undergo some sort of cerebral attack from the Terrors they’re now trying to protect. This incredibly convoluted scene, which supposedly depicts the sentient creatures eventually merging with their would-be saviours like a certain "sentient alien symbiote" co-created by Todd McFarlane, takes up the vast majority of the twenty-four-page periodical, and probably to the more cynically-minded bibliophile was only penned/pencilled to pad the series out for just one more issue.

Slightly more convincing is Dave Acosta’s pencilling, at least until the battered crew undergo the aforementioned mind games by their eventual psychic partners-in-crime. The “superstar horror artist” does a grand job in imbuing Muhammad’s attempt to out-fly some attack drones in a conveniently stolen jet-car, with all the pomp and pace a person might expect from an adrenalin-packed action sequence. Yet once the likes of Rosie start being assailed by imaginary giant numbers, the sketches disappointingly seem a little lack-lustre – almost as if the illustrator (or perhaps Inker Jay Leisten) needed to get the panels finished within a certain time limit.

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

Daredevil: Black Armor #2 - Marvel Comics

DAREDEVIL: BLACK ARMOR No. 2, February 2024

Barely allowing any member of its audience to pause for breath, this return to Hell’s Kitchen by D.G. Chichester certainly seems to carry the reader along for one exhilarating roller-coaster of a ride, courtesy of its opening potentially promising the adventure to come will tap into the popularity of the Amazing Spider-Man and the web-spinner’s super-popular Seventies’ series “Marvel Team-Up”. Sadly for some though, Peter Parker’s colourfully costumed appearance is simply a short-lived cameo. Yet no sooner has the wall-crawler departed than the American author hurls Daredevil into a vicious fist-fight against both the Hobgoblin and Sabretooth.

This somewhat one-sided battle is particularly well-penned, as alongside the antagonists’ deadly attacks, Matt Murdock must also desperately try to save a train-load of kidnap victims who appear destined to die deep below ground at the whim of “a mysterious foe whose powers trump them all!” Indeed, many a bibliophile’s brain may soon start spinning in bemusement during this action-packed sequence as the blind human mutate juggles all these distractions simultaneously as he continues to investigate just where beneath the Big Apple the fast-paced metro is taking its “scores of vulnerable New Yorkers.”

Equally as enthralling however, is this twenty-page periodical’s momentary pause to focus upon the imprisoned plight of the Fantastic Four’s famous arch-nemesis, Harvey Elder. Intriguingly written as a victim of his own grand designs and his poorly-judged alliance with “one of the leaders of the Hydra terrorist organization”, the muzzled Mole Man’s predicament as a captive may not initially garner all that much sympathy. But it’s clear from Daredevil’s reaction that the super-villain’s sway over the Moloids may well prove to be the solution to the hero’s deadly dilemma in the long run.

Likewise, Netho Diaz’s dynamic layouts ensure that all Chichester’s sense-shattering shenanigans are wonderfully brought to life. The aforementioned scrap between the titular character and the Hobgoblin is a particular highlight of this comic, with the “mainstay at Marvel Comics” beautifully pencilling the strain upon Murdock’s face as he dutifully attempts to save the innocent, whilst batting away numerous pumpkin bombs with his batons; “That ride of yours seems dangerously unbalanced.”

The regular cover art to "DAREDEVIL" #2 by Mark Bagley & Romulo Fajardo Junior