Welcome back to another edition of our comic book reviews round-up! August started hot, and many great comic books were released. For this edition of the comic book reviews round-up we are taking a look at Batman #151, Birds of Prey #12, Daredevil #12, Scarlett #3, The Boy Wonder #4, and The Spectacular Spider-Men #6. Find out how these turned out with our first comic book reviews round-up for August.
ABSOLUTE POWER #2
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Alejandro Sánchez
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Absolute Power #1 is a grand slam of a start for the DC Universe’s latest big event. Mark Waid and Dan Mora nailed making this start work as a culmination of all the storytelling with Amanda Waller since Dark Crisis On Infinite Earth #7’s epilogue. This is a must-read comic book for fans of the DC Universe. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
BATMAN #151
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Mike Hawthorne
Inker: Adriano Di Benedetto
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Thanks to how Absolute Power #2 established the overall direction of the story tie-in comic books like Batman #151 have an elevated importance. The way Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne lay out this story there is a vibe that what we are reading is the extended edition of Batman and Catwoman’s mission to steal Amanda Waller’s Boom Tube. This allows Batman #151 to both stand on its own with a story driven by Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle’s dynamic and compliments what’s going on in Absolute Power. It is an example of what tie-in comic books should be in advance both a big event and its series narrative.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
BIRDS OF PREY #12
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artists: Javier Pina, Sophie Campbell, and Gavin Guiday
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Birds of Prey #12 is an instance where Kelly Thompson as the writer knew exactly the art talent she was working with. Right away the tone is established that the writing is here to enhance the excellent artwork by Javier Pina, Sophie Campbell, and Gavin Guiday. The way this story is framed with the Multiverse direction it fits to have three different artists to enhance its narrative. Each world has its unique style, with the chibi world of the Birds of Prey ending up being pure fun. While it is certainly time for this story arc to end when we get chapters like Birds of Prey #12 the fun had supersedes the feeling of how long this arc is.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
DAREDEVIL #12
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Aaron Kuder
Colorist: Jesus Abutov
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
It speaks to the strength of Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder as a creative team that after twelve issues their intro arc is still going strong. Ahmed and Kuder have done a great job utilizing the history created by their predecessors to make sure Matt Murdock deals with the consequences of his actions. And unlike in his past battles with Wilson Fisk, those consequences have made him have to deal with things on a spiritual level rather than a physical one. Seeing how Matt’s religious beliefs end up factoring into how things are resolved made this ending unique to what is making this series special.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
RED BEFORE BLACK #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Goran Sudžuka
Colorist: Ive Svorcina
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Stephanie Phillips and Goran Sudžuka nail capturing the readers’ attention with the presentation of the world where Red Before Black #1 takes place. The way the cat and mouse game involving the series leads, Val and Leo, is developed gets you engaged in their respective stories. Every element of this debut issue works to create questions about the characters and world to make you want to come back to find out what exactly is going on with Val and Leo. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
SCARLETT #3
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Marco Ferrari
Colorist: Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Scarlett #3 delivers exactly the payoff that the first two issues of this series have been building towards. The payoff coming in the form of Scarlett being showcased as the ultimate badass was awesome to see. Throughout the infiltration mission, Clan Arashikage assigns her to prove her loyalty we see Scarlett pull off moves that would make Ethan Hunt and John Wick jealous. Kelly Thompson does a great job at showing trust in Marco Ferrari’s choreographing ability to get over all of Scarlett’s skills and abilities. This in turn leads to an ending that gets you even more excited to see how Scarlett’s time with Clan Arashikage will impact other things going on in the GI JOE side of the Energon Universe.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
THE BOY WONDER #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Juni Ba
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Aditya Bidikar
The Boy Wonder #4 continues to provide a comic book presentation that is brimming with imagination. The presentation does so much for how Juni Ba approaches exploring what it means for Damian Wayne to battle Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul. The way Damian has been impacted by being around the Batman Family is showcased well throughout this battle with his grandfather. That said, the personal stake isn’t as well done as it was in previous issues. The execution in this issue was more about The Boy Wonder being a victim of its own success. The previous three issues set such a high bar that not reaching those same levels was felt.
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #6
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Greg Weisman
Artist: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olazaba and Humberto Ramos
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
It is never a good thing when you are reading a comic book you feel how long this story is going. That is unfortunately what happens with The Spectacular Spider-Men #6. There is no doubt that Greg Weisman knows how to write fun and engaging versions of Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Similarly, Humberto Ramos’s artwork gives a fun vibe to all the action and banter. But even with all those genuinely good elements this first story arc has far outlived its life. Weisman and Ramos’s style as a creative team would be much better with short two to four-issue story arcs. Six issues in and still no end in sight make this feel like every Spider-Man title we are getting in the Earth-616 continuity.
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
UNCANNY X-MEN #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: David Marquez
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Uncanny X-Men #1 is a strong debut for one of the main series in the franchise. The dynamic established between Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine drives the investment in this series. That along with the long-term villain plot quickly made this one of the best X-Men titles in the From The Ashes direction. Click here to read the full review.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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