Welcome back to another edition of our comic book reviews round-up! For this edition of the comic book reviews round-up we are looking at Absolute Superman #1, Aliens vs Avengers #2, Batgirl #1, Batman #154, Birds of Prey #15, Green Arrow Annual 2024, Ranger Academy #12, The Ultimates #6, and X-Men #7. Find out how these turned out with our comic book reviews round-up for the first week of the month of November.
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Becca Carey
Absolute Superman #1 is a phenomenal start. Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval provide a lot of depth to Superman’s mythos in the Absolute Universe. The way that we deep dive into Krypton’s class system and how that alters the House of El’s origin created a greater connection between Kal-El and his parents. That connection leaves us with a lot of questions for the present-day status quo of Superman and what is happening on Earth. This all works together for a must-read comic book experience. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
ALIENS VS AVENGERS #2
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Esad Ribic
Colorist: Ive Svorcina
Letterer: Cory Petit
Aliens vs Avengers #2 does such a great job continuing to develop its own unique universe that merges both franchises well. The sense of despair that is felt as the remaining heroes have to do all they can to simply survive. That’s were the ultimate decision an old man Tony Stark and Bruce Banner makes come across even more important. The results of those decisions and what it means for the future of this story is exciting because we are now in an such an unknown spot of what can happen next. That is a refreshing place to be by the end of this second issue.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
BATGIRL #1
Writer: Tate Brombal
Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Batgirl #1 has all the pieces to make it a strong debut. Unfortunately, how all those pieces are assembled makes the structure fall apart even before the final piece is placed. This simply comes down to the overcompensation in Tate Brombal writing trying to prove he knows who Cassandra Cain. This leads to Takeshi Miyazawa never getting the chance to properly compliment the story and showcase Cassaindra Cain as the badass she is through the artwork, creating an uneven reading experience. It’s a shame that it doesn’t all come together as it should because this title certainly has a ton of potential, something that we get many hints of in this first issue. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
BATMAN #154
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Batman #154 is that odd chapters where there are certainly important things that happen but the way it gets there does hit the way it fully intends to. The biggest problem that this issue runs into is the fact that there isn’t that tension that you need from a mystery as big as the Mayor of Gotham City being shot. The lack of tension hampered the detective angle of the story. That said, Chip Zdarsky’s handling of how Batman through this murder mystery and game changing development for his family’s history. That is enough to save the momentum so it continues forward.
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
BIRDS OF PREY #15
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Sami Basri
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Birds of Prey #15 is a great example of how to mix several different storylines with a team titles. Whether it is Cassandra Cain’s undercover mission, Black Canary and Sin’s evolving sister dynamic, or Big Barda, Grace Choi and Onyx bonding every member has a story going. Most importantly, it is all tied together to push forward the Birds of Prey and what makes them unique as a superhero team in the DC Universe. This in turn further solidifies Birds of Prey as being among the best titles from DC Comics.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
GREEN ARROW ANNUAL 2024
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Sean Izaakse and Amancay Nahuelpan
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Green Arrow Annual 2024 is a comic book that if it came after an additional ten to twelve issues to this run it would’ve been a home run. Unfortunately, that is not the case and it is felt with how Joshua Williamson decides to end his run with a look at the past, present, and future of the Green Arrow Family. Between how long we were on the Multiverse adventure and tying into Absolute Power there wasn’t that time for this creative run to fully get over Oliver Queen’s connection with his extended family. Even though Williamson along with artists Sean Izaakse and Amancay Nahuelpan do there best to do just that the timing was just not here for this type of finale to a creative run.
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
RANGER ACADEMY #12
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Maria Ingrande Mora
Artist: Jo Mi-Gyeong
Colorist: Joana Lafuente
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Ranger Academy #12 delivered a conclusion that was reminiscent to a series finale we would get for a Power Rangers TV show. Every character arc we have followed throughout this series had some sort of payoff. It all culminated in a final battle that once again showed why Dark Specter is one of the franchise’s most terrifying villains. If you are a Power Rangers fan and have not read this series make sure to fix that by picking up Ranger Academy when it is collected in trade paperback form. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
THE ULTIMATES #6
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Juan Frigeri
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: Travis Lanham
The Ultimates #6 is easily the best issue of this series thus far. Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri drove home how big of a threat the Maker’s Council is through the overwhelming might shown by The Immortal Weapons of Hulk. This eye-opening experience should be a big wake up call for the Ultimate Universe heroes. Click here to read full review.
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
X-MEN #7
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Netho Diaz
Inker: Sean Parsons and Livesay
Colorist: Marte Gracia and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
X-Men #7 is the fill in the blanks issue that this series needed, specifically for Cyclops and Magneto’s characters. Jed MacKay blends flashback and present-day scenes together well to develop one big narrative of what the big picture for the X-Men are in the From The Ashes direction. How MacKay utilizes the fallout from the Krakoa era to create an important plot point that can and should have impact across the X-Men line was handled extremely well. By the end your left further invested in what is going on with the X-Men now and in the future.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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