Retro review: Action Comics #454

This isn’t a (very) late review, it’s a look at a recent facsimile edition, saving this website from a pretty dull fifth week of comics. There’s no obvious reason Action Comics #454 is getting the reprint treatment – there’s no big character debut, or anniversary – but I’m told people are amused by the glorious […]

Zatanna #1 review

It’s a new era for Zatanna as she takes on a fresh role – Prime Magus of the mystical realms, the first in a millennium. Based in ‘the wandering Shadowcrest theatre’ – apparently an Art Deco spin-out of her ancestral home – she’s ready to protect mortals, gods and monsters alike. And her first mission […]

Justice League Unlimited #18 review

Letting villains join Justice League Unlimited is a terrible idea Justice League Unlimited #18 is my favourite issue of the series so far. A day in the life issue, writer Mark Waid uses it as an opportunity to address the questions that would arise when a society for good opens its doors to people who […]

Superman #37 review

Just imagine you suddenly found yourself a superhero in the DC Universe, what would you do? Knuckle down in the day-to-day while waiting for the inevitable supervillain to show up? Or tour the weird and wonderful sites the comic book world has to offer. The latter, obviously, which is exactly how Superboy Prime prefers to […]

Podcast Plugtime – DC Secret Files Podcast Vol. XII: DC Comics Presents The Atom & Hawkman

… and Hawkwoman and Animal Man and Shadow Thief and more besides. Diabolu Frank has been journeying through the DC Universe via the medium of Secret Files, those Who’s Who-style profile pages that showed up in annuals and dedicated specials from the Nineties onwards. Also on the menu, a couple of comics spotlighting the key […]

New Titans #34 review

Wake up and smell the coffee, that’s the advice Nightwing took very literally last issue when he noticed the days and nights at Titans Tower were seeming very repetitive. This issue he finds out more as a different group of heroes calling themselves the New Titans arrive and… people start dropping dead. First it’s Donna […]

Superman Unlimited #12 review

That’s a very sinister Jon Kent on Taurin Clarke’s impressive cover. The Red Eyes of Anger seem rather inappropriate when your beloved mother is reaching out to you. Inside the comic, Jon hits several emotional beats, from confusion to fear to joy, but not anger. If you missed last month’s issue, or my bletherings on […]

Podcast Plugtime: Digging for Kryptonite – Supergirl in the Bronze Age

You know I love Supergirl. From the original Silver Age series by Otto Binder, Jim Mooney and co to the current book by Sophie Campbell via the excellence of Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle, Kara has had some fantastic runs. And the Daring New Adventures of Supergirl has a very special place in my heart. […]

Supergirl #12 review

Now, generally I get a kick out of seeing new looks for Supergirl. Not this time… poor Kara has been remade into a robotic heroine after last month’s brutal battle with Black Flame in the Bottle City of Kandor. Behind the cybernetics and bionics is a stalwart of Krypton’s last community, Kim-Da. Kara and Kim-Da […]

Action Comics #1097 review

The ‘Reign of the Superboys’ stamp is on the cover, but as with last issue I don’t see how the phrase is reflected inside the book. What I do see is a thoroughly engaging comic as Mary Marvel, Booster Gold and Martian Manhunter J’onn J’onzz spend a day with Clark, Jonathan and Martha Kent. Before […]