War of Kings?

Attack of the arses, more like. What are Crystal and Lilandra doing? Apart from putting their backs out. Well done Brandon Peterson, you must be proud.

R.E.B.E.L.S. 1 review

Over the last few years it’s been the habit of Legion of Super-Heroes writers to characterise Brainiac 5 as snooty and manipulative. Well, that’s not Brainy at all. That’s his ancestor Vril Dox, a character so much fun that after his titles, L.E.G.I.O.N. and R.E.B.E.L.S. were cancelled in the Nineties, writers grafted his personality on […]

Batman 686 review

‘Whatever happened to the Caped Crusader?’ That’s the question Neil Gaiman challenges us to work out in a two-part, extra-length story. And at first, it seems obvious. Batman is in the Dreaming, or he’s dead and with Death of the Endless. Both these scenarios are denied as an unseen Batman questions his unknown guide. Gaiman […]

Batman and the Outsiders Special 1 review

So, what happened to the Wayne fortune when Batman (comic-book) died? Alfred spent it on hair plugs. Seriously, have you ever seen such a luxuriant mane on the faithful manservant (below)? The ghost of Bruce Wayne isn’t half making him work for it, though, asking Alfred to get the Outsiders back in the game. Well, […]

Battle for the Cowl – why?

The marvellous Comic Book Resources this week posted a transcript of a New York Comic Con panel regarding upcoming Batman event Battle for the Cowl. Here’s an excerpt: All of the combatants in “Cowl” have “different beliefs,” Daniel said in response to the question of why Dick Grayson is not the anointed successor. For their […]

Secret Warriors 1 review

I like the subtitle of this book, Nick Fury: Agent of Nothing. And that’s about it. Spun out of Secret Invasion, this is the former SHIELD chief’s personal strike force, originally dedicated to take down the Skrulls, now keen to smash Norman Osborn’s SHIELD replacement, HAMMER. They didn’t actually do much in the SI crossover, […]

Secret Six 6 review

One of DC’s most consistently entertaining series, Secret Six delivers once more this month. Yes, the storyline around the ‘Get out of Hell free’ card storyline begun in issue 1 shows no signs of wrapping, but neither is there evidence of flagging. As a maguffin to motivate action and character dynamics, the card is first-rate. […]

Adventure Comics 0 review

Good on DC for a cheap reprint of the first appearance by the Legion of Super-Heroes, from Adventure Comics 247. I’m sure everyone reading this is familiar with the story – three mysterious kids with super-powers play mindgames with Superboy in the 20th century as a precursor to playing mindgames with him in the 30th […]

Jesus, Keith, it’s Superman 684!

I’m not reviewing Superman 684 – it was great, but most issues written by James Robinson are great; a post-New Krypton story it featured a teasing focus on the Parasite (I think he’s pining for his time as Lex Luthor’s loving Lois), a rallying call from the Guardian and the eschewing of grammatical contractions by […]

Justice Society of America 23 review

Oh nasty Isis . . . really, she’s back from the dead and getting her revenge on Felix Faust for his actions in the Black Adam mini series which followed 52. Which I never read, as I’m not keen on the way he’s been presented over the last few years as an anti-hero, when he’s […]