Thursday, February 13, 2025

Green Lantern Corps #1 Review




  • Written by: Morgan Hampton, Jeremy Adams (story assist)

  • Art by: Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert

  • Colors by: Arif Prianto

  • Letters by: Dave Sharpe

  • Cover art by: Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Arif Prianto

  • Cover price: $3.99

  • Release date: February 12, 2025


Green Lantern Corps #1, by DC Comics on 2/12/25, follows John Stewart and the renewed Green Lantern Corps as they deal with threats around the galaxy due to an Emotional Spectrum running wild.



Is Green Lantern Corps #1 Good?


Recap


When we last left the reformed Green Lantern Corps in Green Lantern: Fractured Spectrum, Nate Broome, aka Sorrow Lantern, stole an early version of the Book of OA from Guy Gardner. The ancient tome carried the instructions for creating a Power Battery. If Broome succeeds in building a Sorrow Battery for his powers, born of a fracture in the Emotional Spectrum, he will fracture the Spectrum permanently. The reformed Corps departed with a new mission - find the components Broome needs to build a Sorrow Power Battery before Broome does. Little do the Lanterns know that the Sorrow Lantern answers to a greater power - Starbreaker

Plot Synopsis


Green Lantern Corps #1 begins with longtime Justice League space villain Kanjar Ro intercepting a freighter to raid the ship for goods and sell its passengers into slavery. His act of piracy is quickly thwarted when the Green Lanterns, led by John Stewart, arrive to arrest him.

Later, John speaks with Jo Mullein on OA as he brings Kanjar Ro in for processing. Jo notices John is troubled, but he's not ready to talk about it. After John drops Kanjar Ro off at the Sciencells, he answers a summons to the Duty Room for a new mission. A large spike in Fear energy is detected on Tamaran, and John is assigned to squelch the flare-up. He's ordered to take a team with him, including the recently reformed Sinestro.

When the team arrives on Tamaran, they find Queen Blackfire battling a giant yellow construct of their god, X'Hal. At first, Blackfire resists help from the Green Lanterns due to their ruined reputation, but she ultimately accepts when the construct proves uncontrollable. While John and the team contain the construct, Sinestro searches for the person overcome by fear great enough to manifest yellow construct powers. 

Sinestro finds a Tamaranian woman named Vexar'u, who is a fervent acolyte of X'Hal, overcome with the fear that she is not worthy to survive the prophesied return of her god. Sinestro talks her down and shows her how to overcome her fear with will. The construct disappears, so the crisis is averted, and Vexar'u proves she has the will to overcome overwhelming fear and become an excellent Green Lantern candidate. 

The issue ends with the team returning to OA with a new Lantern for a new mission. Next up, John has to help the surviving refugees from a shattered Thanagar, and he's ordered to work with their ambassador and former lover of John, Shayera Hol, aka Hawkgirl.

First Impressions


Green Lantern Corps #1 is perfectly fine. It's not the best Green Lantern comic you'll ever read, and there isn't inherently anything wrong with it. As a member of Weird Science's Get Fresh Crew put it, Green Lantern Corps #1 is "a good supplementary book," for the ongoing Green Lantern comic starring Hal Jordan.

How’s the Art?


Admittedly, the art by Fernando Pasarin and Oclair Albert is impressively detailed. In particular, the visit to Tamaran looks impressive. There's a lot of movement and energy happening behind and around the foreground characters to give you the impression of busyness and life as the scenes play out.

What’s great about Green Lantern Corps #1?


If it wasn't obvious from the description, it appears Green Lantern Corps #1 starts an episodic model for the series, and that may be a good thing if you prefer to think of Green Lanterns as space cops. Problems are happening all around the galaxy, so it makes sense to reboot the Corps with a series that gets the Lanterns back to their roots as patrollers of the spaceways. The one-and-done nature of John's mission is a perfectly serviceable mix of action, mild tension, drama, and an appropriate level of wit.

What’s not great about Green Lantern Corps #1?


It seems like an odd creative choice to put the Sorrow Lantern's threat to the side when the risk of destruction is so great. Yes, problems are popping up across the galaxy, but wouldn't it make more sense to have all hands on deck to address the highest-priority mission? When you create a supplemental title, you run the risk of assuming a position of less importance. That's what it feels like is happening here.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter



Final Thoughts


Green Lantern Corps #1 is a decent beginning to a new series that follows the renewed Green Lantern Corps as they undertake monthly missions to protect the galaxy. Morgan Hampton and Jeremy Adams's script is a solid complement to the ongoing Green Lantern title, and Fernando Pasarin and Oclair Albert's impressively detailed artwork is excellent. That said, the big threat of the Sorrow Lantern, established in the previous one-shot, takes an odd back seat.

7/10



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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Action Comics #1083 Review




  • Written by: John Ridley

  • Art by: Inaki Miranda

  • Colors by: Eva De La Cruz

  • Letters by: Dave Sharpe

  • Cover art by: Gleb Melnikov

  • Cover price: $4.99

  • Release date: February 12, 2025


Action Comics #1083, by DC Comics on 2/12/25, enters the second stage of Clark Kent's investigation when he finds out the man killed in Major Disaster's robbery wasn't a random citizen.



Is Action Comics #1083 Good?


Recap


When we last left Clark Kent in Action Comics #1082, the reporter struggled to find the answers to one of life's greatest mysteries - what makes a person with power go bad, and can they be truly redeemed? Clark's search was prompted by the supposedly reformed Major Disaster falling off the criminal wagon. Clark didn't find any answers by interviewing Major Disaster's friends and allies. The issue ended with Clark getting assaulted while walking by a dark alley (???).

Plot Synopsis


Action Comics #1083 begins with Clark waking up in the Batcave, bathed in solar lamps to help the healing process. Batman explains Lois called him to help after he was attacked in the last issue, and the Dark Knight deduced Clark was attacked by somebody who knew Clark had a connection to Superman and used a weapon that emits Red Solar Energy. Batman offers to help with the investigation, but Clark refuses... because of "reasons."

Later, Clark visits the police station on a hunch and discovers a connection between the man who was killed in Major Disaster's robbery, Max Boykin, was a therapist who helped criminals get back on the straight and narrow. Clark looks up a list of Boykin's clients, which leads him to Atomic Skull in prison.

Atomic Skull seems as hopeless and devoid of life as Major Disaster. Atomic Skull admits he connected Major Disaster and Mighty Max with Boykin, so Clark decides to revisit Scorch for a follow-up. When Superman finds Scorch, he asks about the attack on Clark Kent and the expanding web of connections between Boykin and the growing list of powered criminals exhibiting hopelessness.

When it's clear Scorch isn't telling the whole truth, she magically teleports Superman and herself to a pocket dimension run by Bruno Mannheim. The Intergang gangster explains he's running a donation program where criminals offer bits of their DNA for an anti-aging process he charges wealthy clients for in exchange for money. The side effect of the donation causes the criminals to become hopeless and return to their criminal ways.

Technically, Mannheim's business is legal, but Superman threatens to shut it down because it's dangerous. Scorch has orders to kill Superman if he tries anything, but Superman convinces Scorch to side with him. Mannheim summons a squad of mercenaries wearing jetpacks to kill Superman, but he disables the mercenaries easily. The issue ends with a Plan B team coming to take Superman out.

First Impressions


How can a Superman story in Action Comics be convoluted and boring at the same time? John Ridley attempts to intermingle a criminal conspiracy with out-of-nowhere theatrics, and the whole thing falls flat. 

How’s the Art?


The art is fine for a dialog-heavy issue. Inaki Miranda has the unenviable task of showing Superman and Clark Kent hopping from place to place, while asking a bunch of questions, look interesting. Thankfully, there are superhero shenanigans and a weird, alien dimension in the last act, so there is some visual interest.

What’s great about Action Comics #1083?


A scheme to take bits of DNA from willing criminals for cash could be the core of an interesting tale. John Ridley latches onto the idea that a unique transfusion could lengthen or shorten life and uses that concept to create a criminal conspiracy thriller. If nothing else, the idea is original.

What’s not great about Action Comics #1083?


Ridley's script gets convoluted and boring in a hurry. The crux of the mystery's beginning is the death of Boykin, but there's no clear explanation as to how or why Boykin's death is connected to the conspiracy. Was Boykin's death an accident, and it made Major Disaster super sad? Was it intentional, and if so, how could Major Disaster predict that Boykin would get killed by falling debris? Ridley tries to put the pieces together but fumbles the assembly.

Further, things happen out of the blue to add superhero spectacle, but it doesn't make sense. Why would Scorch bring Superman to Mannheim? Why is Mannheim hanging out in a pocket dimension? Why would Mannheim spill the beans on his entire plan? Why is a squad of jetpacked mercenaries just hanging out in a pocket dimension? Who is the flying supergroup of semi-mythical beings flying at Superman in the last pages?

It's as if an editor said, "Hey, John Ridley. This is a Superman comic. You've written a crime thriller, so you have to throw in something for Superman to punch," and that's exactly what he did.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter



Final Thoughts


Action Comics #1083 pulls back the curtain on the "mystery" surrounding Major Disaster's fall from recovery. John Ridley's criminal conspiracy is an even mix of convoluted plot and boring execution with a hefty dash of plot holes sprinkled on top. The art's decent enough, but the story is a mess.

5/10



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Absolute Batman #5 Review




  • Written by: Scott Snyder

  • Art by: Nick Dragotta

  • Colors by: Frank Martin

  • Letters by: Clayton Cowles

  • Cover art by: Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin

  • Cover price: $4.99

  • Release date: February 12, 2025


Absolute Batman #5, by DC Comics on 2/12/25, turns Black Mask's offer of money in exchange for immunity on its head when Batman decides to sacrifice himself to warn the public.



Is Absolute Batman #5 Good?


Recap


When we last left Bruce Wayne in Absolute Batman #4, we received an issue-long series of flashbacks detailing the life lessons taught to young Bruce Wayne by his father. Bruce incorporated those life lessons into a series of design iterations for his school project as a boy and designs for his Batman persona in the present. 

Plot Synopsis


In Absolute Batman #5, Gotham City is about to experience its first Purge... maybe. The issue begins with young Bruce Wayne receiving condolences and help from the adults in his inner circle after his father's death. Dr. Leslie Thompkins administers aid after Bruce is "attacked" by bats at the zoo where his father was killed. Commissioner Gordon offers a word of condolence at the funeral and explains to Bruce that the zoo will be torn down to honor everyone killed in the mass shooting. Instead, young Bruce tells Commissioner Gordon that he wants the zoo to remain as a symbol.


In the present, Batman arrives at the meeting place with Black Mask atop a large parking garage. Black Mask makes good on his promise to wire the money to Batman (see Absolute Batman #3) in exchange for Batman's agreement to stay out of the way of the Party Animals.


Batman turns the tables by activating a Bat-Signal made out of a spotlight from the zoo and 200 million dollars arranged in the shape of a bat. The signal only lasts as long as the money burns. Black Mask shouts to the Party Animals that Batman canceled the deal, prompting the gang to attack. Batman handles the crowd as well as every past issue, but this time, Black Mask came prepared.


Black Mask orders his henchman to launch net guns to trap Batman in place. What follows is a series of abuses that knock Batman back on his heels as the Party Animals stab him with his cowl knives and beat him with his Bat-axe, eventually knocking him over the ledge to the street below. Batman is saved at the last minute by his cape, but he's badly injured. Batman manages to escape down a sewer drain with a little help from Officer Barbara Gordon.


Despite the damage, Batman believes he made progress because he transmitted the attack and Black Mask's confession that he's behind the Party Animals' crime spree. Unfortunately, Black Mask makes use of the revelation to deliver an impromptu speech to the news crew arriving on the scene. The issue ends with Black Mask opening Party Animals membership to all the downtrodden and disaffected of Gotham City.


First Impressions


Hmm, this is the kind of issue that needs to sit with you for a bit before you decide if it's a banger or not. Scott Snyder absolutely (*heh*) demonstrates a mastery of momentum and tension as the entire issue builds to a point where you're convinced some big twist is about to happen. Unfortunately, that twist never comes, but it might pay off in the next issue. Everything hinges on what happens next, so we'll call it a tentative banger.

How’s the Art?


Nick Dragotta returns to art duties as the regular artist for an action-heavy issue that isn't afraid to lean into violence and a bit of gore. Can we definitively say somebody died in this issue? No, but several Party Animals get pretty darn close. Further, Batman's survival in this issue, after taking a lot of stabbings and a high-impact fall, looks cool as heck but strains credibility to the Nth degree. In other words, it looks great and implausible at the same time.

What’s great about Absolute Batman #5?


Beyond the basics we expect to see in a story, Scott Snyder nails the growing atmosphere of anticipation and urgency as Batman's gambit against Black Mask goes right, then wrong, then right again, and finally, wrong... maybe. Absolute Batman #5 is a roller-coaster that grabs your attention and doesn't let go.

What’s not great about Absolute Batman #5?


Scott Snyder winds the plot up tighter than a coiled snake, but the issue ends before the tension is fully paid off. In fairness, the next issue could make the buildup all worth it, and the prospect of a Gotham City-styled Purge event does sound intriguing, but Scott Snyder doesn't quite end the issue on a satisfying note.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter



Final Thoughts


Absolute Batman #5 may or may not be a banger issue, depending on your point of view. Scott Snyder's script draws you into a roller-coaster of tension and anticipation, and Nick Dragotta's return to art duties is a surprisingly brutal return to form. That said, Snyder's tale of woe builds up more than it pays off, so readers may feel unsatisfied by the ending.

8.5/10



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Aquaman #2 Review

 



  • Written by: Jeremy Adams

  • Art by: John Timms

  • Colors by: Rex Lokus

  • Letters by: Dave Sharpe

  • Cover art by: John Timms (cover A)

  • Cover price: $3.99

  • Release date: February 12, 2025


Aquaman #2, by DC Comics on 2/12/25, finds Arthur Curry in a desolate world where the connection to the Blue has been cut off, and the parasites will take water from any source, including the living.



Is Aquaman #2 Good?


Recap


When we last left the King of Atlantis in Aquaman #1, Arthur Curry was called away from his mundane duties to stop an attack of a Kaiju-sized water monster near the coast of a Drylander city. Arthur defeated the beast, but he soon realized the monster was a distraction to pull Arthur away from Atlantis. When Arthur returned, his city was destroyed and all inhabitants were gone. Arthur sought magical help from the Justice League, which led him to an ancient portal under the sea that took him to parts unknown.

Plot Synopsis


Aquaman #2 begins with Arthur Curry emerging from the mud on a distant world after leaping through the Omega-shaped portal at the end of issue #1. His people are nowhere in sight, but he sees shipwrecks and debris strewn about as if the land he now stands on used to be an ocean or riverbed gone dry.

In the distance, a large lizard approaches, ridden by a group of troll-sized amphibian men. They order Arthur to surrender on behalf of their mistress. Arthur uses his new hydrokinetic abilities to blind the amphibian men with the nearby mud, giving him a distraction to beat their giant lizard with his super strength.

Arthur rides the lizard back to its source with the amphibian men trussed in vines. He arrives at a large, makeshift castle built of debris. Inside, he meets Jenny Greenteeth, the mistress who sent the amphibian men to capture Arthur. She magically subdues Arthur with strangleweed and sends him down to a pit with a cistern designed to collect blood from her captors. The only other being still alive in the collection chamber is an older, bearded man who "saw" Arthur's arrival and his ability to wield water. He encourages Arthur to manipulate the blood in the water in the collection cistern below them to create constructs that will cut their bonds and free them.

Arthur succeeds in freeing himself and his new ally, rises to the upper chamber, and uses the blood constructs inside Jenny to remove the parasite controlling her. The issue ends with the surprising identity of Arthur's ally, a prophecy foretelling Arthur's arrival, and the name of a Lovecraftian horror.

First Impressions


I love what Jeremy Adams is doing in Aquaman #2, but I can foresee not everyone will be sold on the direction. Adams takes a kingly approach with Arthur by drawing from an Old World tone and feeling that makes it read more like a European legend than a typical superhero comic. That's not a bad thing, but for some readers, it may not be what you're used to for an Aquaman story.

How’s the Art?


John Timms's artwork is phenomenal. The antagonist, Jenny Greenteeth, complements the Arthurian nature of the story (think of Meg Mucklebones from Ridley Scott's Legend (1985)), Arthur's hydrokinetic power displays are cool, made cooler by his newfound use of "Bloodbending," and the visual impact of the alien setting enhances the atmosphere of the story.

What’s great about Aquaman #2?


Adams is, as kids today would say, cooking. All the foundational pieces of storytelling are front and center, such as the journey and challenges. Adams adds an unexpected twist to this hero's journey with parallels to epic poems. Plus, the Lovecraft reference is an attention-grabber.

What’s not great about Aquaman #2?


Admittedly, Adams's script is so far afield from what you'd expect in an Aquaman comic that newer readers may be lost or unsure of what's happening. To be blunt, the story might be too weird.



About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter



Final Thoughts


Aquaman #2 is a weird epic, in the classical sense, that pits Arthur against monsters, trolls, and evil queens. Jeremy Adams draws inspiration from a myriad of legends for a fascinating and intriguing tale, and John Timms's art looks gorgeous.

9/10



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