Knight and Squire #6 review

Time to stop play, just for today, Jarvis is saying goodbye … goodbye … Would Jarvis Poker the British Joker survive the unexpected and unwanted visit by his role model? That was the question that concerned me as I approached the final issue of this six-part series. For creators Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton have […]

Knight and Squire #5 review

Jarvis Poker, the British Joker, is dying. Realising that he’s more of a joke than a Joker, Poker embarks on one last spectacular crime spree. One last spectacularly inept crime spree, that makes him a bigger joke than ever. Deducing that the Rose & Crown Prince of Crime’s jig is nearly up, Knight and Squire […]

Action Comics #897 review

Lex Luthor leers monstrously from David Finch and Peter Steigerwald’s striking DC Icons cover, but it’s the Joker who steals the show this issue. The story sees Lex track down a Black Lantern sphere to the Joker’s cell in Arkham Asylum and try to prise out of him whatever he knows. Which turns out to […]

Batman and Robin #19 review

Batman and Robin #19 comes with a stirring cover by upcoming penciller Patrick Gleason, working with Mark Irwin. Anyone else hear the opening bars of the Adam West TV show? The heart of this issue is a conversation between Una Nemo – the woman with the large hole in her head who calls herself The […]

Knight and Squire #4 review

It’s the fourth issue of the Knight and Squire mini-series and I’m depressed. Depressed because there are only two more issues to go starring Cyril and Beryl, the UK’s answer to Batman and Robin. I adore this book, just adore it. Still, let’s not dwell on the bad, it’s just not British. Let’s be happy […]

Action Comics #896 review

Crivvens, there’s a lot going on this issue as the Secret Six bids to protect Lex Luthor from Vandal Savage. The immortal villain, you may recall, is trying to decipher the meaning of a prophecy that Lex will make him very happy. He’s focussing on Lex’s knowledge of the mysterious black spheres, which is the […]

Batman and Robin #18 review

It isn’t easy for a new Batman villain to bed in. Most creators seem dead set on giving us their Joker story, followed by their Joker story sequel, and maybe a smattering of Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler and Scarecrow tales. It’s rare that new characters are used often enough to become staples of Batman’s rogues’ gallery. […]

Action Comics Annual #13 review

Two tales from the early years of Lex Luthor, one Earth-bound but looking to the stars, the other taking us to another world, one that may eventually rule Earth. Two tales, and three father figures for the man who murdered his own father. The opening story, ‘Father Box’, shows us Lex’s first day in Metropolis, soon after […]

Batman and Robin #17 review

If this is a fill-in, could we put off the main event another couple of years? Paul Cornell takes over as Batman and Robin writer for three issues and produces an instant classic, honouring the tradition of entertainingly psychotic villains while somehow managing to find an original angle. What that is, I won’t spoil, as […]

Knight and Squire #2 review

I can’t remember the last time, while reading a comic, that I paused at every other panel to share a moment with my non-comics reading pal Steve*. That’s how it was with this issue, which sees Beryl – Squire in civvies – on hand as a newsagent sends a rubbish supervillain packing. It seems that […]