Batman #17 review

Last month’s Batman Family titles pointed towards a tragic conclusion to the Death of the Family crossover, as the Joker – apparently a fan of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? -brandished a dome-covered silver platter, some unseen atrocity beneath. This wrap-up opens with the revelation that there’s no single plate, but one for each of […]

Green Arrow #17 review

… or perhaps, Green Arrow #1, take three, what with this being the book’s second relaunch in its short existence. The new creative team is writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino, both of whom have proven able to negotiate the choppy waters of DC’s ongoing New 52 promotion and produce quality comic books with […]

Young Romance Valentine’s Day Special #1

Young Romance was one of DC’s titles aimed at female readers, an anthology of one-offs and serials that ran from the Forties until the Seventies, notching up an impressive 208 issues. Here’s the title revived for the new millennium, and the new millennium audience; instead of college girls, nurses and young wives, it’s all superheroes […]

The Fearless Defenders #1 review

Sword-slinging shieldmaiden Valkyrie and bionic urban detective Misty Knight make for unlikely partners, but on the evidence of this debut issue, it just might work. They come together when an Asgardian relic begins singing, summoning the dishonoured dead – Viking rogues not fit for Valhalla. Instead, they’ve been lying in a grave on Earth, and […]

Superman Family Adventures #9 review

Brainiac arrives on Earth and persuades Lex Luthor to team up with him for an attack on the Fortress of Solitude. Well, I say ‘persuades’ but in truth, he kidnaps Lex, putting him in charge of his shrink ray. Meanwhile, Metropolis is revelling in the super-efficient Brainiac tech that’s been popping up without explanation. Perry […]

Superman #16 review

As the Justice League tries to reclaim Superman’s Fortress of Solitude from him, H’el tells Supergirl his tale. He’d already given the bare bones, but now she gets a richer narrative of his beginnings as an astronaut sent into space by Superman’s father Jor-El in a bid to save Krypton’s people from dying with their […]

Hawkeye #7 review

What can a guy who shoots arrows do against a cataclysmic storm? Very little, as Hawkeye admits in this rush-release issue set against last October’s Superstorm Sandy. Clint Barton, though, can do his bit, helping neighbour Grills get his father out of his Rockaway Beach home and to safety. And junior Hawkeye Kate Bishop gets […]

Geek Girl #0 review and Mr Mash-Up #0 review

When Ruby Kaye lands a pair of hi-tech glasses invented by a brainiac student in a game of strip poker, she’s granted flight, super-strength, and – due to a flaw in the specs’ programming – super-klutziness! That’s the set-up for this indie comic by Sam Johnson and Sally Stone-Thompson, first published last October but back […]

Avengers #3 review

In which the expanded Avengers team reaches Mars, fights world transformers Ex Nihilo, Abyss and Aleph, and a Damascene conversion occurs. Said change of heart comes courtesy of new Avenger Captain Universe. I have no idea who she is – writer Jonathan Hickman doesn’t deign to tell us here – but she has a thing […]

Supergirl #16 review

We’re still in the Superman Family’s H’el on Earth crossover, with the Flash trying to rescue Supergirl from the influence of creepy Kryptonian H’el. Kara, though, doesn’t believe she needs rescuing. She’s bought H’el’s claims that together they can go back in time and rescue her homeworld and thinks that Superman is having his Justice […]