WORLD’S FINEST: TEEN TITANS #2 DC COMICS
Mark Waid and Emanuela Lupacchino prove that the first issue was not a fluke! Revisiting those weirdie stories from the early 1970’s before the original Teen Titans title took that 4 year hiatus. Even Chris Samnee and Matheus Lopes’s cover takes some inspiration for issue #34. The best part of this title is the characterizations of the young Titans. Speedy messing with Aqualad, Wonder Girl’s fascination with all things, the return of Lilith and Gnarrk (WHO DOESN”T LOVE GNARRK?!) But beyond all the Titan tomfoolery, this is a story about real people dealing with real problems. And the best part is there is a happy ending, of sorts. These are the kind of tales that I grew up on and because of this title, I realise how much I’ve lost over the years. 10 out of 10 Grahams.
BATMAN INCORPORATED #11 DC COMICS
Ok! We are all in with the full on battle with Joker Incorporated! And with Ed Brisson’s take no prisoners story illustrated by John Timms, Sergio Acuna, and Nikola Cizmesija this one gets gritty fast! But that is what this title should be and I am glad to see the story being split up into sections and bouncing us between them. I am also glad to see the Batman Inc. crew developing into really well rounded characters with less focus on Ghost-Maker. My only complaint is that we really need to get a cooler name for Bat-Man of Japan. That hyphen is just not doing it for me. Less then 30 minutes on the clock and more actions and backstory then you can shake a stick at. I give it a 9 out of 10 Grahams.
GODZILLA HERE THERE BE DRAGONS #2 IDW COMICS
While no one can deny that artist Inaki Miranda’s sea vessels are things of beauty, what Frank Tieri was given to work with is not a Godzilla story. More a version of Jules Verne’s novel, Mysterious Island with a cameo by Godzilla. But to be fair, I put this issue to the test. First, remove the name Godzilla from the title. Now replace the images of Godzilla (who only appears in six pages) with any sea serpent from mythology. And you know what you have? An excellent story with beautiful art that I would have read without the Godzilla part. You want to impress me, have the series end with the revelation that our captive pirate did eat the mushrooms before getting rescued from the island. (Totally off the wall Matango reference! But there is some similarities. Godzilla title, 4 out of 10 Grahams. Cool Jules Verne-ish pirate story, 7 out of 10 Grahams.
DANGER STREET #8 DC COMICS
Tom King has definitely done his homework. And while 13 issues isn’t a lot, his story reveals his dedication to the deep dive. And seeing that most of these characters never got past their first appearances, the back stories he’s coming up with are spot on and entertaining. Book 8 reveals some more of the backstory of the Green Team and the Outsiders including the origins of the groups’ names. As the Helm of Nabu continues to weave it’s tale and Lady Cop gets to punch out the drunk Creeper. The battle lines are drawn in pen now and the groups are coming together. With a wonderfully bizarre cover by Jorge Fornes that I just love. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #925 MARVEL COMICS
Sigh! Another Legacy numbered issue! Why can’t we just make next issue #926? And yet another modern comic wedding that completely fails before it even starts. Our special wedding issue is definitely full of comic cliches and multiple plot points for future storylines. And multiple covers, oh boy, have you got the multiple covers. And then we fill the pages up with multiple short stories to fill up the page count for this deluxe edition. Been there, done that for decades. Now, in all fairness, Zeb Wells does keep the wedding and pre-wedding story interesting up until a point and there are some truly touching moments but all in all I expected more. And while ok, the only short filler story that really caught my attention was Albert Monteys’s Perry Thomas story. Another example of comic publishers falling back on the good old days to make a special issue. While spending the rest of the time worried about the “next big thing”. Thank Perry Thomas for the 7 out of 10 Grahams.
