We are back with another week of a ton of comic books released this past New Comic Book Day. There were a lot of major releases this week to talk about. With that in mind this week we’ll be covering Absolute Batman #21, Absolute Green Arrow #2, G.I. JOE #23, Hello Darkness #22, Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #10, New Titans #36, Nightwing #139, Sorcerer Supreme #7, Uncanny X-Men #30. Find out how these comic books turned out with the latest comic book reviews round-up below.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #21
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Nick Dragotta
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
We’ve gotten to a point in the pacing for Absolute Batman that Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta are trying to top what they did before. That is the genuine feeling created by everything that happens in Absolute Batman #21. Starting with Batman vs the Robins created a focused chaos momentum to the structure of how things unfold. Then throughout this issue we have major developments for every character from Barbara Gordon to Bruce’s inner circle. That all leads to a memorable meeting between Batman and Joker that sets the stage for a lot of interesting possibilities for where this series can go next.
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #2
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote
Artist: Rafael Albuquerque
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Jeff Powell
Absolute Green Arrow #2 does a fantastic job continuing to explore the legacy of Oliver Queen through Dinah Lance’s investigation. The deeper we get into the Absolute Green Arrow lore the more intriguing the mystery around the killer is. Dinah helps keep everything together as we see Mia Dearden and other Green Arrow characters explored through the Absolute Universe lenses. Dinah’s flexibility with how she interacts with different characters and settings does so much for the story’s pacing. It certainly helps that Rafael Albuquerque does an excellent job at giving this series a noir detective vibe with the artwork. It all comes together for a strong follow up to the previous successful debut.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
G.I. JOE #23
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Andrea Milana
Colorist: Lee Louridge
Letterer: Rus Wooton
G.I. JOE #23 is a very action forward story with Baroness vs Destro and Risk vs Mercer being the big headliners. For the latter, it is certainly helpful that this story invests more time in building up Risk’s character and why he is part of the team. On the Baroness vs Destro side there are a lot of seeds planted with where there fight goes. We see how a lot of the things being done in the shadows up to this point will catch up to both the JOEs and Cobra. Seeing where things go because of what discoveries are made continue to keep you hooked on this series.
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
HELLO DARKNESS #22
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: John Arcudi, Losty, Robert Hack, Ryan North, and Fred Van Lente
Artists: Ryan Sook, Lauren Knight, Robert Hack, Giada Belviso, and Luca Pizzari
Colorists: Roman Stevens and Adam Guzowski
Letterers: Becca Carey and Jodie Troutman
Hello Darkness #22 is at its best when the stories focus on the variety of horror experiences it has. That is certainly the case for John Arcudi, Ryan Sook, Robert Hack, Ryan North, Giada Belviso, Fred Van Lente, and Luca Pizzari’s stories. They all keep a tight focus on their themes to make sure the characters are at the forefront with the horror amplifying their narratives. Which is where Losty and Lauren Knight’s story stands out as why it doesn’t hit because the focus feels more on the blood and body horror in comparison. That said, there is one or more stories that will definitely be for fans of the genre here.
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE: BATTLE BEAST #10
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Ryan Ottley
Colorist: Annalisa Leoni
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #10 delivers exactly what fans where looking forward to with the showdown with Conquest. Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley maximize the tension around having these two powerful combatants fighting it out. Ottley is especially in his bag with this fight as there is nothing held back when Battle Beast and Conquest start fighting. The power shown keeps you wondering who will win and if the residents of the planet they are fighting on will survive. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
NEW TITANS #36
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tate Brombal
Artist: Marcus To
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
New Titans #36 feels like the true debut for the new series direction with the previous story arc serving as a prelude for Tate Brombal’s creative run. Right away there is a focus on establishing a new team with the Titans in Nightwing and Cyborg that stick around. This leads to a major decision for Starfire that hopefully will be meaningful for her character. Starfire and other Titans exit leaves the door open for the new class of Titans to shine. Brombal does an effective job establishing how the team all balance each other out. It makes the story of this latest arc feel familiar but fresh because of the new cast involved.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
NIGHTWING #139
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Denys Cowan
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Letterer: Wes Abbottt
Nightwing #139 does a great job at how a hero’s status quo can be reflective of the city they protect. Dan Watters and Denys Cowan play with this concept well with the how when it comes to Nightwing becoming public enemy number one in Bludhaven. The haunting experience Nightwing is going through is similar to what is going on from the shadows of Bludhaven. As the mystery behind what is going on Bludhaven is dug into more the more it impacts everything going on in the city. Seeing how that is leading to Dick Grayson is having to deal with this in and out of his Nightwing persona is fascinating.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
SORCERER SUPREME #7
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Francesco Mortarino
Colorist: Ruth Redmond
Letterer: Joe Sabino
The further we progress with Sorcerer Supreme the more we see that having that title is more than just power. Sorcerer Supreme #7 is a great example of this as Scarlet Witch can’t simply overpower the situation, she is. Because if she could than her and the Sorcerer Supreme from the Quantum Realm could’ve overcome the world ending situation they are in. Seeing how far they both must do just to simply stop one stage of the threat the world is under helps elevate the sense of danger they are dealing with.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
UNCANNY X-MEN #30
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Roge Antonio
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Uncanny X-Men #30 spotlights how the greatest strength to Gail Simone’s writing in this series is how she juggles an ensemble cast. From the Uncanny X-Men to the new mutant students to Graymalkin Prison cast that pulls you into the soap opera of all these characters’ lives. The addition of an alien invasion story is a nice twist that Roge Antonio does a really good job at getting over the surprise with how characters react to this sudden development.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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