It’s time for another round of comic book reviews. There were a lot of major releases this week to talk about. With that in mind this week we’ll be covering Absolute Catwoman #3, Absolute Wonder Woman #23, Batman: Bad Seeds – Sunset, Hammerfist #1, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3, Poison Ivy #47, Sorcerer Supreme #9, Stuff of Nightmares: The Cat in the Coffin, Terminal #2, Void Rivals #33, and Zatanna #5. Find out how these comic books turned out with the latest comic book reviews round-up below.
ABSOLUTE CATWOMAN #3
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Scott Snyder and Che Grayson
Artist: Bengal
Colorist: Giovanna Niro
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
While not a perfect reunion for the old friends by the end of Absolute Catwoman #3 we see the Calicos back together stronger than before. Scott Snyder and Che Grayson continued to do a great job blending flashbacks with present day to build up how tightknit the Calicos were. It makes Selina Kyle brought Helena Bertinelli and Victoria Sage back into the fold for a super heist team a whole lot of fun to see play out. The dynamic is great and establishes the Calicos as a rebel group within the Absolute Universe. Now that the band is back together it’ll be interesting to see how Absolute Cassandra Cain and Lady Shiva’s plot plays a bigger role in this series.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #23
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
The sense of urgency that has been created over the last dozen or so issues has helped elevate Absolute Wonder Woman to another level. That was driven home by how Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman construct Absolute Wonder Woman #23. The way that Diana of the Wild Isle goes about confronting Veronica Cale showed how she was driven over the edge. As her actions continue to impact those around her like we saw with Barbara Minerva it’ll be interesting to see how Diana reacts moving forward. Especially with the tease that we got in this issue of Ares and Zeus getting involved in the things going on in the Absolute Universe.
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
BATMAN: BAD SEEDS SUNSET
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli and Cliff Rathburn
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Batman: Bad Seeds Sunset does its job selling why this crossover is going on and how the various tie-ins will factor into the story. The heavy reliance on continuity does hold it back from being friendly to all readers, especially if you haven’t been reading the Batman or Poison Ivy ongoings. That said, how well Poison Ivy and Vandal Savage are spotlighted in their full supervillain selves helps set up a epic mountain that the Batman Family need to overcome to save Gotham City. Now it will be up to all the comics that follow this start to make sure the momentum is picked up with each chapter of this crossover. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
HAMMERFIST #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Steve Epting
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Hammerfist #1 presents us with a deeply flawed series lead in a dark and gritty world of his own making. He is not someone who you are necessarily rooting for as the more we learn about him the more you understand his current life is the one he deserves. That said, it all works to create a compelling narrative that goes from another noir crime thriller to one that will transform into something much crazier. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #3
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Marguerite Bennett
Artist: Phillip Sevy
Colorist: Joshua Jensen
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3 is a jarring shift in tone from how we were introduced to this continuity of the franchise in the first two issues. The focus on Kimberly Hart is an understandable one as one of the most popular characters. Based on her history in the show she has plenty to build off from to be the first character we immediately start digging into her motivation. That said, while it does well to make Kimberly a more compelling character it does nothing for the rest of the cast. Honestly, it makes the others outside of Trini, who plays a supporting role in Kimberly’s spotlight, to be one-dimensional characters. If this series hopes to capture the magic of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers than Margerite Bennett needs to find a way to strike a better balance between how all five core members are showcased as main characters.
Overall Rating: 5.5 Night Girls out of 10
POISON IVY #47
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Leandro Fernandez
Colorist: Arif Prianto
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Poison Ivy #47 focuses on how the series latest arc transitions us into the Batman: Bad Seeds crossover. In that way it does succeed in working as a prelude chapter to the latest Batman event. We see how Gotham City completely turning on Mayor Pamela Isley would trigger her to become one of the main antagonists for Batman: Bad Seeds. Though Batman fans expecting to get the full story because this is marketed as a prelude chapter to Bad Seeds will be disappointed. It is made more for fans of the series rather than bringing in new readers to this series.
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
SORCERER SUPREME #9
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Bernard Chang
Colorist: Ruth Redmond
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Sorcerer Supreme #9 does a great job of further building up the Extinction King as a big bad. Everything that the Extinction King puts Scarlet Witch and Quantumancer inside the Torture Star makes you believe they can’t be defeated by just the Sorcerer Supreme. The villain is such a big threat that it takes Scarlet Witch and Quantumancer all to simply escape the Extinction King’s trap. That helps establish why by the end of Sorcerer Supreme #9 we see the strongest magicians of the Marvel Universe assemble to defeat the big bad of the magical realm.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
STUFF OF NIGHTMARES: THE CAT IN THE COFFIN
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: R.L Stine
Artist: Matthew Dunn
Colorist: Pippa Bowland
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Stuff of Nightmares: The Cat in the Coffin captures the feeling of sitting down watching an episode of a horror anthology series. The introduction from the Nightmare Keeper captures that feeling of the Crypt-Keeper introducing us to a new horror story. From there things get more unsettling, the deeper we get into the story of a broken main character who breaks his promise out of desperation. That desperation seeps into the story becomes darker and creepier. It further shows how much Stuff of Nightmares is doing to showcase how you can tell full, self-contained horror story in one comic book.
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
TERMINAL #2
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey
Artist: Andy Kubert
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Terminal #2 does a good job continues to show the trust in the reader ability to buy into a universe that is fully formed. Even with a lot of the dynamics fully formed Robert Kirkman and Joe Casey are able to have the reader learn more about these characters without losing the plot. They have the learning happen through the way things continue to develop with the crazy end of the world mystery that is going. It does feel like the characters are entering a war that they weren’t prepared for. Which adds to how everyone responds to the conflict and how it is testing them.
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
VOID RIVALS #33
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Conor Hughes
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Robert Kirkman and the team behind the Energon Universe can’t get enough credit how they’ve made sure to integrate so many different franchises together. Rom’s involvement Void Rivals #33 is an example of how to make sure a character’s involvement can be more than a gimmick. Rom was treated as a vital part of where Darak, Solila, and Skuxxoid’s narratives are going. That sense of importance helps keep the momentum pushing forward as Void Rivals continues to expand the Energon Universe.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
ZATANNA #5
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer and Artist: Jamal Campbell
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Jamal Campbell continues to showcase the unlimited potential of exploring the magical realm of the DC Universe with Zatanna #5. The opening of this issue works as if we are starting a folklore tale. This helps set up the Hidden City we explore to be one with many mysteries around the corner. Especially as Zatanna explains how this isn’t her first journey into the Hidden City. Creating that history helps make the way the story develop and Zatanna’s interactions with the Hidden City residents keep up the magic created by this series.
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
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