Welcome back to another edition of comic book reviews round-up! This was another packed week of releases. It is exciting to see the year begin with so many back-to-back weeks of major releases. With that in mind, this week we are looking at Absolute Wonder Woman #4, Amazing Spider-Man #66, Detective Comics #1093, Justice League Unlimited #3, Power Rangers Prime #3, Scarlet Witch #8, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #2, Ultimate Spider-Man #13, Uncanny X-Men #9, Void Rivals #16, and Wolverine: Revenge #4. Find out how these turned out with our comic book reviews round-up for January 22nd.
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jordan Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
Absolute Wonder Woman #4 does such a wonderful job finding creativity in the unknown. Kelly Thompson and Hayden really captures how this is a version of Wonder Woman we’ve never seen before. This is best shown in the captivating scene with Diana regenerating her arm and how that makes Circe’s scene even more important to the overall narrative. It all comes together to create a strong balance between telling a character focused story within an epic tale.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #66
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Justina Ireland
Artist: Andrea Broccardo
Colorist: Marcio Menyz and Erick Arciniega
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Justina Ireland returns to continue to step into “The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man” to tell the emotional toll this story is taking on Peter Parker. The most recent battle was the toughest on Peter as it truly made him quit being Spider-Man. Ireland makes sure to not just make this another “Spider-Man No More” retread. Instead, it is an examination of how death makes a person helpless, especially to the extreme degree Peter was forced to experience.
The only thing that got in the way of Amazing Spider-Man #66 being a grand slam was the forced way the X-Men are integrated. Their presence should have been teased much earlier on so it didn’t feel so forced. This leaves a lot for the next chapter of “The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man” to make up ground for so the X-Men feel a natural part of the story.
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
DETECTIVE COMICS #1093
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Mikel Janin
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin nail how the way Gotham City changes challenge the Batman Family to evolve with the city they protect. We see this with how Batman quickly recruits and deploys Oracle, the Robins, Red Hood, and Signal to help monitor possible targets of the newest Gotham City villain in a unique way. This along with the connections this new threat has to Bruce Wayne’s personal life makes the end result be something that could be game changing. What Detective Comics #1083 hook ending leads to will be very intriguing.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #3
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Justice League Unlimited #3 drives home why the current state of the DC Universe requires the heroes to be united under the JLU banner. The efficient way the JLU dealt with the magical wildfire gave big event vibes for a monthly ongoing series. It is exactly how a Justice League comic book should come across. The additional sub-plots helped get across this is DC Comics most important comic book. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
POWER RANGERS PRIME #3
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Michael YG
Colorist: Fabi Marques
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Power Rangers Prime #3 does a great job at bringing together the character arcs of Lauren Shiba and Rita Repulsa. The way these two characters are brought together continued to build out this new continuity in ways that creates a greater connection to all characters involved. Those connections made the final few pages of this issue hit the game changing aura for the hook ending to be as impactful as possible. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
SCARLET WITCH #8
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Lorenzo Tammetta
Colorist: Ruth Redmond
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Being a mentor after spending so much time either as an Avenger or solo hero isn’t an easy transition. That is something Wanda Maximoff learns in Scarlet Witch #8 as she brings the young witch Amaranth under her wing. Steve Orlando and Lorenzo Tammetta doe a great job emphasizing how new this mentor-protégé dynamic is for both Wanda and Amaranth. It will take time for them to understand each other. Though in the fast-paced moving Marvel Universe they live in. Establishing this through a one-shot style superhero adventure drove home the room for potential growth this new responsibility Wanda has.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES X NARUTO #2
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Caleb Goellner
Artist: Hendry Prasetya
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #2 is a great example of how creating a unique universe for a crossover between two different brands is the way to go. Caleb Goellner and Hendry Prasentya create a sense of immersion that makes the Ninja Turtles and Naruto characters’ interactions a natural part of the world. Even when we get a slight origin story it is done in a way that does not break the immersion. Focusing on Team 7 and Hamato Clan bonding does so much to the moment when things turn south your fully invested in what is going on in this universe.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #13
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
Ultimate Spider-Man #13 is a phenomenal must-read comic book. From the moment you open this comic book there is a tension created by the visual of the Black Suit Spider-Man. It is a tension that turns into great concern when learning about the dangerous predicament Peter Parker and Harry Osborn are in. It’s a predicament that can have great ramifications for the entire Ultimate Universe. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
UNCANNY X-MEN #9
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Andrei Bressan
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
With the series getting right into a crossover after its first story arc we didn’t get much time to see new kids, The Outliers, get development time. Uncanny X-Men #9 fixes that by having The Outliers take the lead that includes them going on a classic mall trip. Spending time to get to know the new kids was certainly needed to help get a deeper connection to them. The way the focus on the new kids transitions into dealing with the fallout to the Raid of Graymalkin sets up a more natural transition to the upcoming X-Manhunt storyline.
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
VOID RIVALS #16
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Lorenzo De Felici
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Void Rivals #16 finally gives the spotlight to villains Skuxxoid and Pythona. This is a long time coming as both characters had a slow build to their respective villain arcs. The fact those arcs led them to clash with one another led to big results that elevate the victor of their battle to another level. But as good as the villain vs villain fight was the stories around Darak and Solila were at a standstill even with the attention they each get. That keeps this from being as balanced of an experience as previous issues of this series.
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
WOLVERINE: REVENGE #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Greg Capullo
Inker: Tim Townsend
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Cory Petit
Wolverine: Revenge #4 arrives after a two-month break with a continuation to a story that we have moved on from. This leads to this return coming across as a sequel to a story that didn’t need one. It is unfortunate because there was so much potential with this mini-series. All that we can hope for is that the finale can nail the landing this penultimate issue awkwardly pushes it towards. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 5.5 Night Girls out of 10
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