Welcome back to another edition of comic book reviews round-up! This week we’ll be covering Absolute Flash #3, Amazing Spider-Man #4, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39, Detective Comics #1097, Nightwing #126, Titans #23, The Ultimates #12, The Vision & The Scarlet Witch #1, and Zatanna #4. Find out how these comic books turned out with the latest comic book reviews round-up below.
ABSOLUTE FLASH #3
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Nick Robles
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Absolute Flash #3 does an excellent job providing the payoff to what has been built so far in these first three issues. Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles nail getting the reader to feel the life changing journey Wally West has been on as he comes to accept his powers. The way one of the classic Flash antagonist plays an important role in Wally embracing his superhero identity was a cool twist on the origin. By the end your left excited for what will come next for the Absolute Universe’s Flash. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Amazing Spider-Man #4 is Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz at their best as a creative team. This issue really showcases what we can really expect from them now that they have established their direction for the series. While the direction is still taking shape they get the most important things right. They take Spider-Man on a journey that helps inform what their approach to showcasing Peter Parker as a person. All the while they drive home why Hobgoblin is such a dangerous villain. That bodes well for what we can expect from not just the rest of this arc but what else is to come as other classic Spider-Man villains are brought in.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #39
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Clayton Henry
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Steve Wands
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #39 doesn’t do a whole lot in terms of progressing the “We Are Yesterday” crossover. Honestly, this feels like mostly a filler chapter. That said, Mark Waid and Clayton Henry find the fun to be had with inserting Batman, Superman, and Robin from their early years into the modern DC Universe. They go all in on what a shock experiencing the DC All In status quo would be compared to their early years. It certainly makes the battles with the Legion of Doom more interesting as the villains use their experience against the younger version of the heroes they have lost to for years. That said, hopefully the next chapter of the “We Are Yesterday” crossover progress the greater story more than this did.
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
DETECTIVE COMICS #1097
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Lee Garbett
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Wes Abbott
With the direction of the other Batman titles it is refreshing to see Detective Comics #1097 live up to the name of its title. Tom Taylor leaning into the detective side of Batman makes all the interactions that are had even more engaging. How continuity is used to have Batman and Harvey Bullock now allies helped to inform the new things we learn about Gotham City’s underground. It is a reminder of Harvey have as deep of a history with the city as Batman and anyone else. This in turn, makes the antagonist come across as immediate threats. It all comes together for a comic book that maximizes the page count given.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
NIGHTWING #126
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Francesco Francavilla
Letterer: Wes Abbott
This second arc is where we really see Dan Watters find his grove on Nightwing. By having this two part story arc Watters is able to explore what the ramifications of Mayor Melinda Grayson-Lin is on a street-level. So while the story is very much driven by Nightwing and Commissioner Sawyer it is how Bludhaven has taken on a whole new character as a city that is the star. Francesco Francavilla’s artwork adds to how Bludhaven’s character is on display as the city is taking on a whole new shape. Which makes how Nightwing and Commissioner Sawyer adapt to these changes what will keep you wanting to return to read what happens next.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
TITANS #23
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: John Layman
Artist: Pete Woods
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Titans #23 is a comic book that John Layman has been building towards since the start of his run. The direction the Justice League Unlimited have left the Titans in a tough spot as they are no longer the premiere superhero team. This interaction did a good job balancing Donna as the leader of the team, with Nightwing firmly backing her up. That tension helped to further develop Vanadia as the new member and what that means for the team dynamic having to train a rookie. That said, this issue does nothing to build investment for Deathstroke’s Crime Syndicate story. Even the hook ending just seemed more like Layman remembered that was the series long-term story that needed some addressing. It was a fumble for an otherwise enjoyable comic book.
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
THE ULTIMATES #12
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Juan Frigeri
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Reading The Ultimates #12 was like Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri were directly addressing all the problems I’ve had with this series. It was certainly a weird feeling to have the first time going through this comic book. But it is in addressing The Ultimates approach to take the fight to The Maker’s Council that shows the team understands why they’ve had such major losses. The revelations by Ultimate Doctor Doom does a great job incorporating him being Reed Richards and inform the 3.0 direction the team needs to take moving forward. All of that leads to an unexpected ending that once you see it felt so obvious. More of this and The Ultimates will start possibly being on par with its sibling Ultimate Universe titles.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
THE VISION & THE SCARLET WITCH #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Lorenzo Tammetta
Colorist: Ruth Redmond
Letterer: Travis Lanham
The Vision & The Scarlet Witch #1 continues the magical run that Steve Orlando has been having writing Wanda Maximoff’s character. While this new mini-series is a continuation of Orlando’s Scarlet Witch run, adding Vision to the main narrative helps provide a new wild card to everything. It’s especially interesting to see how Vision operates in Scarlet Witch’s world as Wanda has been dealing with greater magical threats during this period in her life. Vision entering this world leads to some choices that will be very interesting to see what the ramifications are for our two series’ leads.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
ZATANNA #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer & Artist: Jamal Campbell
Letterer: Ariana Maher
As has been the case of the first three issues Zatanna #4 is yet another wonderous journey through DC Universe magical realm. Jamal Campbell’s visual storytelling is just on another level. For all the wild visuals we get what stood out from Campbell’s storytelling was the emotional reactions. The way Zatanna and all the other characters she confronts take the dialogue to another level. It all gets across the desperate struggle that Zatanna is facing as her magic abilities are pushed to their limits. Which leads to a badass ending that does an excellent job setting the stage for the third act of this mini-series.
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
For more opinions on anime, comic book, movies, and sports you can follow Kevin on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X.