Featured Review: Batman: Three Jokers #1

 

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Jason Fabok

Colors: Brad Anderson

Letters: Rob Leigh

Cover: Fabok and Anderson

 The secret to making a good Joker story is to not make it about him. Sure, he is there and a major player, but he should not be the focus. Joker himself is a dull character. He has no ethos, no wants. He has no modus operandi. He is just chaos. He is an inherently one-dimensional character. The focus should be on the ways he interacts with and affects the other characters. Joker should be like the shark in Jaws: rarely seen, but always at the forefront of other characters’ thoughts as they wait for him to strike. The tension that creates drives the story. Three Jokers #1 weaponizes that tension to deliver the best Joker story in at least a decade and explore the traumas of its protagonists.

Comic Reviews 08.25.2020

 

Hey y’all. I’m back this week with an interesting set of comics. There wasn’t a Featured Review yesterday for a number of reasons, but it will be back Sunday with a look at Batman: Three Jokers #1, so it’s time to get hyped. Outside the comics reviewed here, I’m still reading Boruto and am enjoying it a lot. I wish it would move a little faster though. Burn the Witch, Tite Kubo’s new miniseries, also started this week and it had an excellent first chapter. Anyway, let’s get onto the main event!

Cable is good

Spoilers for: Empyre: X-Men #4, Cable #3, Excalibur #10

Featured Review: Secret Seven #1

Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo

Color Artist: Walter Baiamonte

Color Assistance: Katia Ranalli

Letters: Ed Dukeshire

Cover: Di Nicuolo and Baiamonte

Secret Seven is about something. There are seven secrets that need protecting from someone called Amon and his lackies. What are those secrets? I have no idea. What can one do with those secrets? No idea. What is Amon’s goal beyond obtaining said secrets? No idea. Who is the protagonist of this story? No idea. At least some of those questions should be answered in the premiere of a new series. Despite the lack of any sense what this story is or what it is about, this comic is quite good and has me wanting more.

Full Spoilers for the issue. You’ve been warned.

 

Comic Reviews 08.10.2020

 

Hey y’all. We’ve got an all-X-Men edition of reviews this week. Next week also seems like it will be a small week so there may be an older comic in the Featured Review piece. This week I looked at Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which is a bad name, but a good manga and it was a fun review to write. I’m excited to read more and maybe eventually write about it. Anyway, we have new comics to talk about!

I know, in my heart of hearts, Leah Williams wrote this line.

Spoilers for: Empyre: X-Men #2, Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex #1

Featured Review: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Vol. 1

 Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Vol. 1

Writer: Ukyō Kodachi

Artist: Mikio Ikemoto

 

We’re changing it up this week. I only bought two comics this week and it doesn't make sense to split them into two separate posts. Because of that, I'm taking a look at a different kind of comic: Volume 1 of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. While it was not my first anime (That’s Pokémon) or the first one I fell in love with (Gundam Wing), Naruto was the series that acted as my gateway into the anime—and eventually manga—industry as a whole. It holds a very special place in my heart both for that reason and because it is a (mostly) well-crafted story with memorable moments and characters. As I’ve been in the mood for shounen battle manga lately, it seemed like a good opportunity to try out Boruto.

Full Spoilers for the issue. You’ve been warned.

News Roundup 08.07.2020

Hey y’all. There was a bunch of news this week and I’m excited to share the interesting bits with you. First, some quick housekeeping. The first installment of Summer of Shinkai was supposed to release Wednesday but, due to technical difficulties that led to me losing the file, was not. Hopefully, I can get it back up to snuff in time for a Saturday (tomorrow) release. If not, it will be up on Tuesday, the next open day on the schedule. So look forward to that. It’s going to be a fun one. Anyway, there was news.

Comic Reviews 08.03.2020

Hey y’all. Welcome back! We’ve got a fun selection of comics this week, including a lot of X-Men. I promised more X-Men coverage in these reviews, but I never expected it to be this much this fast. Oh well. They were fun reviews to write so I hope you enjoy them. Also, if you haven’t already, check out this week’s Featured Review: Wonder Woman #759, the beginning of Mariko Tamaki and Mikel Janin’s run.

Spoilers for: Cable #2, X-Men #10, X-Factor #1, Saban’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #52

 

Featured Review: Wonder Woman #759

 

Wonder Woman #759

Writer: Mariko Tamaki

Artist: Mikel Janin

Colors: Jordie Bellaire

Letters: Pat Brosseau

Cover: David Marquez

Full Spoilers for the issue. You’ve been warned.