Final Crisis Secret Files 1 review

There are two covers to this issue, one featuring the villain Libra, the other, Wonder Woman. I prefer the Libra one, not just because I like Frank Quitely’s image more than that of Richard Friend and Randy Mayor, but because it shows a character actually featured in the issue. There’s no real reason for Wonder […]

Secret Invasion: Requiem . . .

. . . or, The Skrulls Got Me Killed and All I Got Was This Lousy Cover. Brrr, that really is a weird illo from Khoi Pham. What’s the Wasp known for? Being a tiny superheroine. What do we have here? A composition that makes Janet Van Dyne look huge. And ugly. Really, the woman […]

Wonder Woman 27 review

Superheroes have a code against killing. Everyone knows that. A lesser known understanding is the Code of Dibs. Members of a heroic family can claim a conflict as their own even if regular, non-powered people are threatened and other heroes are willing and able to help out. The rule is amply demonstrated this issue as […]

Hellblazer 250 review

God help ye merry gentlemen, it’s John Constantine’s 250th issue and it’s a Christmas special to boot. As a treat, many former creators have been invited back and first off we have Dave Gibbons and Sean Phillips with Happy New Fucking Year. Once upon a time Vertigo couldn’t use the old expletive; now they can […]

Final Crisis 5

The battle for Earth continues on various fronts, with the forces of Darkseid threatening to underwhelm the human resistance as DC’s biggest event series for years continues. There are some brilliant moments, surprising turns of events, which I won’t spoil; suffice to say that writer Grant Morrison is having a tremendous time playing in DC’s […]

Green Arrow and Black Canary 15

This comic has everything a first issue should have – an origin recap, a look at the main relationships and an action sequence or two. It’s a shame, then, that this isn’t a first issue. It’s number 15 and it seems new writer Andrew Kreisberg hasn’t noticed. Why else spend pages showing us Ollie’s beginnings […]

Terra 3

It’s the penultimate issue of the four-part mini and we learn just who Terra is, and what her relationship is to the two late heroines who went by that name. There’s a fight between our teenage earthmover and zombie master Deathcoil for the life of Geo-Force in which the main battleground seems to be the […]

Marvels: Eye of the Camera 1

Fourteen years ago Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross made their first real impression on the comics industry with Marvels, a look at the early Marvel Universe through the eyes of news photographer Phil Sheldon. Ross’s next big project was Kingdom Come (with Mark Waid). For the last few months Ross has been revisiting the Kingdom, […]

New Avengers 47

The hell? I bought this issue for the promise of a Hawkeye focus, and got an issue of Alias. And while I enjoyed Alias, it was of its time, and that was a time when Brian Michael Bendis’ never-ending back and forth chitchat seemed fresh. Now it reads like three-day old cheese; here a *!&$?, […]

Justice Society of America 21

Look at that cover – Alex Ross has entered his red period. Oh dear. Following on from last week’s excellent The Kingdom special, this sees the pro and anti-Gog factions of the JSA unite to battle the self-proclaimed god now he has shown his hand. Predictably, but satisfyingly, several members pay the price in a […]