The secret origin of Jezebel Jet

Currently making a big impact – on Bruce Wayne at least – in Grant Morrison’s Batman RIP storyline, is fashion model Jezebel Jet. She appeared from nowhere, captured Bruce’s interest very quickly, saw through his secret ID and is now his confidante. Almost as if she’s a mind manipulating telepath. Meanwhile, over in Grant Morrison’s […]

Amazing Spider-Man 561

And this is how to wrap up a story – Dan Slott, Marcus Martin and crew, you just hit the jackpot – or rather, we readers did, courtesy of said creators. Spidey’s battle with Paper Doll comes to a satisfying conclusion, with our hero just avoiding a permanently squished arm while saving the villain’s life […]

Robin/Spoiler Special 1

Spoiler having been revealed to have survived War Games in Robin 174 this month, here’s a one-off focusing on Stephanie Brown. Yes, Stephanie, not Stephanie and Tim – the title’s a misnomer, with Robin not even appearing in the second story, bar one panel. Which is fine by me; much as I like Tim Drake […]

All-New Atom 24

After a few issues of Ryan Choi tackling sub-atomic monsters from his own blood, the focus shifts here to Silver Age Atom villain Chronos. He’s appeared a few times in this run, variously as an ally and antagonist. Here, though, he’s all-bad, as he claims that the longterm correspondence between SA Atom Ray Palmer and […]

Ms Marvel 27

Look at that cover by Greg Horn (devoid of background on my copy). It may look like nothing more than a cheesecake shot of a ragged Ms Marvel, but it’s rather clever. Notice, she’s worn out, pissed off, abused and – no ankles – hobbled! Just as this supposed solo series has been hobbled by […]

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS 5: STATURE

Here’s the latest one-off from Marvel reminding us that there’s a team of heroes named the Young Avengers. Heaven knows why they don’t just assign someone to create a new series featuring the whole team; co-creator Allan Heinberg gave us some lovely scripts, but so did Stan Lee on Fantastic Four back in the Sixties […]

Action Comics 865 review

In which Winslow P Schott, the original Toyman going back to the Forties, returns to set the record straight about the little matter of his murdering Adam Grant, son of Cat Grant, several years ago. The witness he chooses to record his tale is a kidnapped Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet’s youthful photo-journalist. Why Jimmy? […]

The Brave and the Bold 13

I enjoyed the longform plotline of the first year, but boy, it’s great to have a done-in-one, and a team-up we’ve never seen – Batman and the original Flash. Story and art are by Mark Waid and Jerry Ordway, and it’s a masterclass in how to tell an engaging, attractive story in a single issue. […]

The Flash 240

Hey, that’s 20 years of Wally West. And hasn’t he grown, moving from self-interested whiner to caring dad. So how is his anniversary issue? Better than expected. The first two Tom Peyer-written issues were disappointing, dominated by Wally’s not-very-believable money problems and the worst Flash villain since Colonel Computron back in the Barry Allen days. […]

BIRDS OF PREY 118

This is a historic issue. A big moment in DC Universe history . . . . . . Zinda wears pants. It’s wrong, I tell you – Lady Blackhawk’s is one of the best-looking outfits in comicdom and has been since the Silver Age. How can you beat a black leather flying jacket and mini […]