Ms. Marvel & Moon Knight #1 - Marvel Comics

MS. MARVEL & MOON KNIGHT No. 1, October 2022

Touted as “the super hero spectacle of the summer” by “Marvel Worldwide”, Jody Houser’s narrative for Issue One of "Ms. Marvel And Moon Knight" definitely delivers a ferociously-paced fright-fest, which barely slows down the moment Kamala Khan nervously enters the Midnight Mission and asks its smartly-dressed owner for help dealing with “swarms of tiny robots in your neighbourhood.” Indeed, many a perusing bibliophile will probably have found themselves hooked just as soon as they saw this publication’s opening page depicting some hapless New Yorker being chased down an alleyway by a horde of apparently tiny, unseen nightmares.

Enjoyably, this thirty-page periodical doesn’t simply contain dynamic fight sequences just for the sake of it either, courtesy of the “New York Times best-seller” thickening her plot with ever-adapting, intelligent automatons which repeatedly threaten to overwhelm the titular characters with a terrifying tide of metallic claws and teeth. This overriding mystery as to the purpose of the relentless rats genuinely manages to hold all this comic’s set-pieces firmly together, and even allows for the audience to be potentially wrong-footed on occasion, such as when the highly anticipated second wave of rodents diverts away from Marc Spector in order to attack the city’s other Fist of Khonshu.

Ultimately however, this comic will probably be primarily judged on its portrayal of pulse-pounding pugilism, and it’s definitely not lacking in this department. The American author is seemingly at the very top of her game penning Ms. Marvel’s team-up with Moon Knight, and isn’t at all stingy in giving both crime-fighters plenty of spotlight to demonstrate their significantly contrasting close combat skills. In fact, Houser even manages to squeeze in a brief altercation between the Crescent Crusader and a local dealer, who stupidly catches the cowled vigilante’s ire just as this book’s adventure is starting; “There’s been a man lurking on our corner. Trying to push drugs on the neighbourhood kids.”

Helping Jody not pull any punches with this book is Ibraim Roberson, whose awesome pencilling adds an extra element of adrenalin-laced action to its proceedings. The visual artist is particularly impressive sketching all the razor-fanged, red-eyed rats scampering around the different locations, and imbuing Khan’s giant-sized fists with plenty of pulverising power whenever she throws a hefty haymaker.

The regular cover art to "MS. MARVEL & MOON KNIGHT" #1 by Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee

DC Vs. Vampires #8 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 8, October 2022

Admirably living up to its pre-publication blurb of continuing “this bloodthirsty series”, James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s script for Issue Eight of “DC Vs. Vampires” certainly tries to cover a lot of different plot-threads within this twenty-two-page periodical. However, whilst the writing duo are enthrallingly successful with both the Birds of Prey heading back “into the heart of the vampire kingdom”, and Supergirl’s action-packed crossing of “a vampire-infested ocean”, Green Arrow’s mission is disappointingly barely touched upon, with the authors instead disconcertingly depicting Oliver Queen squandering eighteen panels simply arguing with his partner, Black Canary; “They’ve got blood farms, Dinah. Humans kept in cages to feed on. I can’t let that go. You can’t ask me to.”

Fortunately though, this dialogue driven interlude is easily forgiven considering the quality of the penmanship surrounding it, most notably Kara Zor-El’s terrifying trek towards Australia and her subsequent battle with a sea full of homicidal fish-people. Indeed, the Atlantean’s attack upon the Kryptonian’s small-sized fishing trawler is debatably the highlight of this comic, as both John Henry Irons and Jayna demonstrate just how truly desperate the super-heroes are by quite literally tearing their scaly foes apart with their bare hands.

Similarly as gruesome is this publication’s portrayal of Jason Blood’s apparent massacre at the House of Mystery, and a badly wounded John Constantine’s miraculous escape. Admittedly, much of this harrowing confrontation sadly occurs ‘off-screen’, just as the world’s “leading expert on the occult and demonology” politely introduces himself to a startled Phantom Stranger, Spectre and Doctor Fate. But Otto Schmidt’s marvellous pencilling of an open-mouthed Barbara Gordon when she discovers Hellblazer’s mutilated form in the battle’s aftermath speaks a thousand words as to the fiery carnage which must have taken place inside the Kentucky-based residency.

Seemingly sat on the side-lines, repeatedly throwing a bucketful of gore over the printed proceedings in every other scene, is this book’s artistic team of Schmidt and Daniele Di Nicuolo, who together genuinely appear to completely splatter anyone in ‘claret’ whenever the opportunity arises. In fact, bibliophiles will probably be hard-pressed to recollect a title sporting so much evisceration and disembowelment this side of a Teen Plus reader rating.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #8 by Guillem March

Batgirls #5 - DC Comics

BATGIRLS No.5, June 2022

Finally providing Oracle with something more to do than simply communicate across a commlink or devise technological devices, Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad’s narrative for Issue Five of “Batgirls” certainly must have hooked many a perusing bibliophile with its fast-paced opening. In fact, the titular trio’s awesome fracas with the horribly heinous Saints genuinely sets this comic up with a seriously scintillating start as Barbara Gordon once again dons her bat-suit and demonstrates just why her incarnation of the cowled character was so popular “during the Silver Age of Comic Books.”

Disappointingly however, things do then seem to wane once the Bird of Prey roars away on her “classic” bat-bike and leaves her two protégés to yet again face the increasingly tedious, reoccurring antagonist known as the Tutor. This confrontation, which at least somewhat excitingly occurs inside “the creepy, abandoned Arkham Asylum”, arguably feels like little more than a re-tread of the writing team’s prior instalment, and only differs from what has previously been penned before when Cassandra Cain breaks off from her tête-à-tête with Stephanie Brown to singlehandedly confront “a scene out of a zombie movie.”

Luckily, for those booklovers able to navigate Spoiler’s extremely text-heavy investigation into Cody Kline’s patient records, there is some light at the end of the tunnel in the guise of a civilian-clothed “Babs” visiting her evil ex-boyfriend Charles Dante to discern just how Gotham City’s homicidal underground artist escaped the psychiatrist’s custody. Regular readers will already know that the art therapist is actually the supervillain Spellbinder, so much of the palpable tension presented in this predicament is cleverly generated simply by them waiting for the hypnotist to strike at his prey, rather than them discovering his secret identity.

Proficiently pencilling this twenty-two-page periodical’s panels is Jorge Corona, whose ability to depict Gordon speeding her way through the trials and tribulations posed by the Saints is genuinely scene-stealing. Indeed, it’s a pity that the red-haired crime-fighter isn’t made more prominent throughout this publication, or her battle against “these nasty ex-operatives” of the Magistrate lengthened, so that the Venezuelan artist can sketch her just a little bit more; “They may be seasoned killers, but they’re outclassed. And easily manipulated. Kinda tragic, actually.”

Story: Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad, Art: Jorge Corona, and Colors: Sarah Stern

Book Of Shadows #2 - Valiant Entertainment

BOOK OF SHADOWS No. 2, August 2022

Despite primarily comprising of a lengthy battle between the “first-ever supernatural heroes team for the Valiant Universe” and the seemingly unstoppable Exarch Fane, Cullen Bunn’s storyline for this twenty-page periodical still manages to imbue its audience with plenty of exposition as to why “death and destruction” are suddenly raining down upon our planet in the shape of a werewolf army. In fact, at times, the Ghastly Award-winner crams so much information into this harrowing action-sequence, that it’s arguably difficult for a bibliophile to comprehend everything which is occurring upon an initial reading, and thus warrants a subsequent secondary perusal to better understand just what is taking place; “He’s… It can’t be… He’s fighting it!”  

Foremost of these hurdles to overcome is debatably the sheer number of arcane-powered artefacts which are almost causally thrown about the battlefield during the cast’s titanic tussle with “a villain from the Veil.” Obviously, the all-mysterious Book of Shadows takes centre stage, courtesy of this “tome of terrible magic” evidently being capable of single-handedly warding off anything which the likes of Shadowman, Punk Mambo, Doctor Mirage, Persephone and even Eternal Warrior can throw at its owner. But then there’s also the pocket-dimension housing Ring of Solomon, the portal cleaving Abyssal Sword, and Fane’s almost Sith-like hand-axe which this comic’s audience need to appreciate for the colossal close-combat weapon exchanges to make sense.

Thankfully though, once the titular characters have fled their unbeaten foe and Gilad Anni-Padda is given time to further explain just how he came to first encounter their enemy in the Veil, Bunn’s book slows down just enough to tell its scintillating story without throwing in something new every other panel. Indeed, this passage focusing upon “the Fist and Steel of the Earth” is a good opportunity for the publication’s audience to pause, assimilate everything which has come before them, and then follow the paranormal quintet as they heatedly discuss their future course of action to beat the “Dracula wannabe!”

Probably shouldering the Lion’s share of this comic’s workload is Vicente Cifuentes, who manages to cram an incredible amount of mystical magic into every one of his prodigiously pencilled panels. The Spanish illustrator does an especially noteworthy job of imbuing the snake-like chains constantly flailing around Fane with unnatural life. Whilst his vampire thralls, bald-headed, gaunt and disconcertingly fanged, move with all the ungainly athleticism a horror fan might expect from so lowly a minion of Nosferatu.

The regular cover art of "BOOK OF SHADOWS" #2 by Rafael Albuqueque

Alien Annual #1 - Marvel Comics

ALIEN ANNUAL No. 1, September 2022

Steeped in just the sort of Machiavellian machinations fans of the science-fiction horror franchise would expect of Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s script for this “double-sized one-shot comic book” certainly shouldn’t have disappointed most of its audience. But whilst “Alien Annual” undeniably contains plenty of deadly, Xenomorph-based action, courtesy of its narrative following the impregnation of a hapless marine through to the extra-terrestrial’s mass slaughtering of the rest of his military unit, the premise of its author trying to tie this title into the plot of both the films and “one of my favourite [video] games in recent memory” does arguably cause some disagreeable inconsistencies.

For starters, having previously established the character of Gabriel Cruz as a caring, devoted family man haunted by his long working relationship with “The Company”, the Eisner-nominated writer disconcertingly portrays the defence agent’s younger incarnation as a merciless, cold-blooded killer who seemingly has no qualms supervising the fertilisation of a fully-conscious political prisoner, nor the release of this ghastly murder’s subsequent offspring upon the unsuspecting dissidents who have taken control of Nishimura Station. True, the Second Hand Movement are terrorists, and this “Alien outbreak perpetrated by Weyland-Yutani” could be just one of the missions the future Security Chief regrets. But there doesn’t appear to be a moment’s hesitation or doubt as to this experiment’s morality in the soldier whilst everything is going to plan.

In addition, the reason things do go off the rails is because the “large British - Japanese multinational conglomerate” don’t supposedly know that one of their own space station’s actually has an offensive launch capability in the guise of anti-aircraft rocket launchers..? This oversight is debatably bizarre, and although it quickly leads to some seriously devious manipulation of fireteam’s survivors by a homicidal synthetic, the manufactured nature of the predicament repeatedly comes back to haunt the overall narrative, especially when Weyland-Yutani suddenly nuke Nishimura Station after it was initially explained one of their main aims was to recover the orbiting facility intact; “What is it? Intel would have known if these guys were packing rockets!”

Plot-holes aside however, Johnson’s tale does contain some excellent moments of classic "Alien" terror, most notably in the treacherous behaviour of Charlie, who obediently sacrifices his crewmates one by one whenever his programming permits. Salvador Larroca’s prodigious pencilling also does a first-rate job of depicting both the gruesome action, as well as the evident horror on the faces of this comic’s cast as they realise the ghastly fate about to befall them.

The regular cover art to "ALIEN ANNUAL" #1 by Salvador Larroca & Guru-eFX

Batgirls #4 - DC Comics

BATGIRLS No.4, May 2022

Firmly focusing upon Oracle’s protégés bringing the facially-disfigured Tutor to justice at his secret headquarters, Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad’s storyline for Issue Four of “Batgirls” certainly seems to bound along at an enjoyable pace. Sure, this comic’s readers arguably have to endure a few mundane moments at its start, whilst Stephanie and Cassandra take the day off from crime-fighting to obtain a book from the local second-hand store. But this dialogue-driven scene helps develop the intriguing relationship blossoming between Cain and the ever-amiable Mister Dhaliwal; “No, No. Absolutely not. The first read is on me. I only ask that you come back to tell me how you liked it.”

Furthermore, once the action does start it does so with plenty of palpable energy, due to Brown (once again) falling under the mesmeric influence of her Fear Gas-utilising opponent. This sudden shift in the battle’s flow against the social revolutionary genuinely gives the fisticuffs an added edge, especially once Cody Kline instructs his latest follower to fight against her fellow caped crusader. Indeed, what initially appears to be a ‘play-by-numbers’ skirmish where the titular characters hold all the game-winning cards, is suddenly transformed into a tense tussle, courtesy of Cassandra having to both dodge her friend’s jaw-breaking punches, as well as evade the rest of the Gotham artist’s zombie-like minions.

Perhaps however, this book’s biggest thrill comes towards the very end when the two masked vigilantes drop a successfully apprehended Tutor off at the home of Charles Dante in order for their prisoner to receive some much needed psychiatric care. Barbara Gordon’s ex-boyfriend has always been depicted as having an air of untrustworthiness about him, and this well-penned subplot is finally brought to the fore when it’s revealed he’s actually the hypnotic super-villain Spellbinder.

Ably aiding and abetting the Batgirls in their war upon crime is Venezuelan sequential illustrator Jorge Corona, whose artwork really helps this publication’s writing team tell an engaging adventure. The almost ungainly quirkiness of Cain’s character is especially well-sketched by the Russ Manning Award-winner, with the black-clad, semi-stitched heroine debatably capturing all the attention in any well-pencilled panel in which she appears – most notably those when she is either soaring across a night-time skyline or dodging the blows of her entranced team-mate.

Story: Becky Cloonan & Michael Conrad, Art: Jorge Corona, and Colors: Sarah Stern

The Ether #1 - Matt Garvey Comics

THE ETHER No. 1, June 2017

Arguably combining Alan Moore’s ruthless Rorschach with that of Warren Ellis’ smartly dressed and politely well-spoken Mister Knight, Matt Garvey’s titular character for Issue One of “The Ether” certainly had a lot of violent, hard-hitting personality to project when this comic first hit the spinner racks in June 2017. Happily however, the British author quickly makes it clear that his modern-day anti-hero is very much up to the task at hand, penning a marvellously enigmatic rogue whose propensity for headbutting their opponents into submission is as beguiling as the no-nonsense crime-fighter’s investigation into a seven-year old girl’s bloody murder is disconcerting; “So, maybe, just maybe, using terms like the victim might help me concentrate on doing my job, rather than focusing on the fact that someone could do this to a defenceless child.”

In addition, the masked vigilante’s prickly relationship with the local constabulary proves a major hook straight from the get-go, with the “freak” quickly being established as a necessary investigative tool for Detective Wallace whenever his enquiries require someone “to go where the police fear to tread.” This history between the two parties provides the pair with some significant depth of backstory, and becomes even more absorbing when the  the “self-appointed doer of justice" acknowledges having previously injured Constable Jones’ arm when the officer was once foolish enough to try to arrest them.

Comparably as captivating is Garvey’s wonderfully brutal exploration of London’s notorious underworld and the seedy, money-making nature of its immoral inhabitants. Disreputable film maker Teddy Sherman’s shakedown is particularly well-paced as the mysteriously masked “psycho” manages to obtain a few answers to their questions before having to leap out the criminal’s high-rise office window. But even the low-life Ziggy’s interrogation in a rain-drenched alleyway simply bristles with restrained aggression as the main protagonist threatens and muscles their way through their mark’s protestations to snag a lead or two.

Of course, what really catches the reader’s eye with this publication are the colourful and realistically pencilled layouts of Dizevez. The digital artist does a first-rate job of imbuing the Ether with all the quirkiness an audience might expect from so bizarre a custodian of the Big Smoke’s streets, especially whenever they need to execute an excruciatingly painful blow or arm twist upon an opponent. Perhaps this book’s biggest visual hook though is in the adventure’s big reveal two-thirds of the way through, when the illustrator clearly seeks inspiration in the likeness of a readily recognisable British thespian when it comes to drawing the Ether's blonde-haired secret identity.

The regular cover of "THE ETHER" #1 by Dizevez