Welcome back to another edition of our comic book reviews round-up! October is already getting off to a hot start with a ton of great comic books released. For this edition of the comic book reviews round-up we are taking a look at Batman #153, Birds of Prey #14, Daredevil #14, DC All In Special #1, Immortal Thor #16, Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #6, and Ultraman x Avengers #2. Find out how these turned out with our first comic book reviews round-up for the month of October.
ABSOLUTE POWER #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Absolute Power #4 was an amazing way to conclude the latest DC Universe. From character arcs to storylines, Mark Waid and Dan Mora did an incredible job paying off everything that was built during the Dawn of DC direction. When all was said and done it truly felt like the end of a giant story and the beginning of a brand new and exciting journey. Leaving the reader feeling that way makes Absolute Power exemplify what big comic book events should be. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
BATMAN #153
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Batman #153 acts both as a new starting point and continuation of the narrative Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez have been working on during their creative run. There is a feeling that Gotham City has entered an entire new era with the decisions made by Bruce Wayne and Edward Nygma. The business decisions made by both are things that can shape the way things operate from both the public and underground levels of Gotham City. Add in the continued developments with Vandal Savage as the GCPD Commissioner and Mayor Nakano launch right back into the Court of Owls revamp. It all comes together to create a lot intrigue around Gotham City’s future.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
BIRDS OF PREY #14
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Sami Basri
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Whether it was intended or not Birds of Prey #14 sells the idea that now is the time for Cassandra Cain to get a new ongoing Batgirl series. This is no surprise since Cassandra Cain had a long running ongoing Batgirl series in the past. She shows how she is able stand on her own with solo undercover mission Black Canary and Oracle give her to go undercover. Throughout the mission she comes across as a cool and adaptable person, exactly what is needed for the mission. Cassandra carrying her mission out so well allows Big Barda, Grace Choi, and Onyx Adams to develop their chemistry as a team before they fully join the mission. That all allows the bigger mystery around the current situation the Amazons face to naturally build in a way to capture your interest.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
DAREDEVIL #14
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Saladin Ahmed
Artist: Luigi Zagaria
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Daredevil #14 is a very introspective issue that deals with the aftermath of both Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins they’ve dealt with. With that Saladin Ahmed proves he can tackle personal storytelling well. That personal storytelling gives strong ramifications for how Matt chose to deal with his return and how Elektra moves on as well. While the art is solid Lueigi Zagaria style wasn’t much of a match for the tone of story. Zagaria’s art style is would be more at home with a Spider-Man title than a gritty and grounded series like Daredevil. Not nailing the tone made moments not hit as hard as they could’ve. It did not take away from the overall momentum of this ongoing story but it is a reminder of how important writing and artwork complimenting one another is to fully tap into the potential of a story.
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
DC ALL IN SPECIAL #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Scott Snyder and Joshua Willaimson
Artists: Daniel Sampere, Dan Mora, and Wes Craig
Colorists: Alejandro Sanchez, Tamra Bonvillain, and Mike Spicer
Letterer: Steve Wands
DC All In Special accomplishes everything it sets out to do in creating the new foundation for the DC Universe. Reforming the DCU’s premiere team as the Justice League Unlimited gives a wider scope to every character in the universe. The immediate threat the Justice League Unlimited face in the reborn Darkseid showcases how strong of a concept this is. It also works to give a new, exciting direction for the DCU as what we see Darkseid do is Multiverse changing. The ending in particular builds all sorts of hype for what will potentially happen in both the immediate and far future.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
THE IMMORTAL THOR #16
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Jan Bazaldua
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Coming off the previous story arc Immoral Thor ##16 lacks something to hit as one would hope. Once we got away from Asgard in Immortal Thor #16 everything in the story started here feels like filler. Ultimately that comes down to Al Ewing and Jan Bazaldua being judge by their own success with this title so far. The drama and action are just not there because we’ve seen things on a much grander and important scale. Maybe things will change in future chapters of this story but right now the feeling of this being a filler story hurts the overall momentum of this series.
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
SPIDER-GWEN: THE GHOST-SPIDER #6
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Paolo Villanelli
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #6 is an example of how long-term villain plots aren’t always for the best. Unsurprisingly when this issue is at its best it is when we see Spider-Gwen learning how to operate on Earth-616. The bar fight she gets into is great example of how she operates differently from her peers like Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Adding Jessica Jones to the mix for Gwen to interact with shows how she can naturally build chemistry with different characters. Its to bad that we will be stuck in the same Black Tarantula plotline because it is already feeling old as this is an approach way to many new ongoings make. Hopefully we see some new elements added so that the villain side of things don’t hurt the long-term potential of this series.
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
STORM #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Murewa Ayodele
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Colorist: Alex Guimaraes ad Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Storm #1 does an excellent job at showcasing what makes Ororo Munroe one of Marvel’s most compelling characters. The depth of character goes beyond her Omega-Level mutant powers. How she utilizes her leadership and compassion to inspire others provides a strong foundation for what is to be expected from this series. That foundation provides Storm with strong potential to be a top-tier solo series. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
ULTRAMAN X THE AVENGERS #2
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom
Artist: Francesco Manna
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom, and Francesco Manna know exactly what they have in his crossover between Ultraman and the Avengers. They just need to capture the scale and show how the Avengers tackle a world filled with kaiju-level threats. Keeping the story action focused with Manna’s artwork carrying the show is a smart choice by Higgins and Groom. There are enough major developments in the story to keep things moving forward to set up the escalating scale of the battles we will see in future issues of Ultraman x The Avengers.
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
X-MEN #5
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Ryan Stegman
Inker: JP Mayer, Livesay, and Ryan Stegman
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
X-Men #5 does a great job at giving Psylocke and Kid Omega the spotlight while establishing the greater threat our heroes are facing. Ryan Stegman’s artwork stuck out with how the psychic adventure turned into having a horror movie tone with what was discovered. Now that the X-Men have learned about the threat they are facing it’ll be interesting to see where things will go from here. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
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