Batman/Superman #18 review

Superman has his own Joker, an adversary who doesn’t want to rule the world so much as watch him suffer. And how do you make an invulnerable man hurt? By attacking the people who matter to him. Not just friends, but those he’s saved over the years, folk who have gone on to make more […]

The Phantom Stranger #4 review

The witty cover from illustrator Jae Lee and colourist June Chung says it all. The Phantom Stranger is dragged unwillingly into the murky business of Justice League Dark. On the coat-tails of John Constantine, no less. And all he wanted to do was get through a tedious shopping trip with his wife (click on image […]

Batgirl #13 review

The gimmick cover promises that this is a Death of the Family Prologue. And if one page counts as prologue, that it is. For the rest, though, this is the continuation of Batgirl’s battle with Knightfall, and that’s fine by me – we’re in the middle of a gripping storyline and I don’t want it […]

Batgirl #0 review

Here’s the DC New 52 origin of Batgirl. Bang goes the daft-but-charming costume party business, in comes a moment of desperate bravery during a tour of Gotham police headquarters. It’s still the same old Barbara Gordon, though: bright, bold, with a few good self-defence moves and the element of surprise – well, what massive thug […]

Justice League Dark #10 review

John Constantine and his ragtag Justice League Dark dare to enter the House of Mystery. Not that getting in is difficult – Constantine has a key, and proprietorial privileges to the property, ‘one of two twin [sic] houses that exist at the cross section of all space and time’. Specifically, he has a demon servant, […]

Justice League Dark #9 review

In the Amazon jungle, longtime Justice League foe Felix Faust is gathering an army. The magician is stronger than ever, having gained control of a devastatingly powerful mystic artefact. US Government mage Dr Mist has been captured after being sent by Colonel Steve Trevor to learn Faust’s plans. Who ya gonna call? Justice League Dark, […]

Justice League Dark #4 review

Good Lord, this is dark stuff. Of course, the clue’s in the title, but I’ve rarely seen a non-‘mature’ book play with such disturbing imagery. Scalping, killer kids, women losing their heads … The opening serial of this DC New 52 series sees a bunch of supernatural players – ‘heroes’ might be overstating it, in […]

Batgirl #4 review

“Oh Barbara, get over it. Really, it’s beyond tiresome. An assault put you in a wheelchair, but you’ve had a miracle cure. Stop whining about it. Sure, there are still thousands of wheelchair users in the world, but you’re not betraying them by regaining the use of your legs – you never asked to be […]

Batgirl #2 review

There comes a time in every cover’s life when the logo has to be compromised. For the Batgirl masthead, this issue is it. OK, so it’s only #2, but look at that gathering of verticles … there’s Batgirl, tombstone, villain and logo shadow, it’s like a flaming totem pole. Lose the bat-background, move the ‘Batgirl’ […]

Justice League Dark #1 review

Super-heroine the Enchantress is broken. Gone mad, her gnarled form hurls hideous spells at the Justice League of America. Elsewhere, simulcra of her former host, June Moone, walk into the path of motorway traffic, dying horribly. Watching from afar, tarot reader Madame Xanadu tells alien madman Shade the Changing Man that only specialists can repair […]