Fun week in comics for me this week. We’ve got a pair of new issues, and that’s always a hoot. But we’ve also got the second issue of Green Lantern. So it’s one of those weeks.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Void Rivals #1 for a pretty much perfectly structured and told first issue, which sufficiently teases whatever this new Energon Universe is going to be.

Meanwhile, I’ve taken a pause from Tears of the Kingdom to try out Diablo 4 with some friends of mine, and it’s been a fine choice. I love the Diablo games and this one is just as fun as the others. I also watched and enjoyed The Flash movie, so come back on Wednesday for my review/thoughts.

Comic Reviews: Black Panther #1, Green Lantern #2 and Void Rivals #1.

Black Panther #1
Writer: Eve L. Ewing
Artist: Chris Allen
Inkers: Allen and Craig Yeung
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino

I’ve never read a regular, ongoing Black Panther comic, so I might as well start now.

In the previous story, Wakanda became a democracy and T’Challa was sent into exile to help the nation transition. He spent some time away, but has now returned in the shadows. He’s become a Batman-like shadowy vigilante in the city of Birnin T’Chaka, in the northwest. He watches, he listens, he helps out where he can and he stops petty crime. He’s also watching a young lawyer, N’yobi Umaru, the son of his father’s advisor, Changamire. T’Challa goes to visit him to sit and talk with a potentially friendly face. T’Challa is adrift, unsure of himself in a world where he is not king or the symbol of his country. Who is he? Perhaps N’yobi can help.

Meanwhile, there’s all sorts of stuff afoot in Birnin T’Chaka. There’s a cool new thief character, who dresses in white and steals some legal files from N’yobi’s office. And then some other people have gotten their hands on Deathlok.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This first issue does everything a first issue needs to do and it does it well. It builds off the previous story in a way that is not obtrusive to new readers, like me. And it firmly establishes our title character’s new status quo, on multiple levels. We’ve got a new, specific city to deal with, and it’s own unique citizens and problems. We’ve got a new modus operandi for the Black Panther, working from the shadows as a helper and vigilante. And we get a lot of nice scenes of T’Challa himself dealing with his issues, thinking them over in his head and engaging with some supporting characters. This N’yobi fella seems like a nice guy, and I’m sure he’ll do well in support. I really enjoyed the scene where he mistakenly thought the Black Panther was some kid playing vigilante, only to be greeted by his king.

I also liked the introduction of that cool new villain, and the general look at the new bad guys all around. There is some really great, fitting art for this series, and I really like the remodel of the Black Panther costume. It all comes together nicely to tell the story of a man without a purpose, who is determined to find himself one out of duty. It’s a good place to start our main character in this new series. The foundation has been successfully laid for a potentially fun comic, and that’s what really matters in a first issue. I would have liked a stronger stinger at the end, though. Nobody cares about Deathlok.

Also, and maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I feel like the city could have been drawn more…futuristic? I don’t know how a typical Wakandan city is normally portrayed in the comics, but Birnin T’Chaka just sorta felt like a typical urban American place to me. Might as well have just been New York City.

TL;DR: The foundations are laid for this relaunch in a strong, well-written and well-drawn first issue. Everything is put in place where it needs to be, and there’s enough to the characters and the events to hook a new reader, like me.

Green Lantern #2
Writers: Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artists: Xermanico and Montos
Colorists: Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Dave Sharpe

This might be the end for me and this brief run of Green Lantern.

One month ago, Hal Jordan manifested a new Green Lantern ring out of some old Manhunter armor and sheer willpower. He used it to spook a knock-off version of Marvel’s Wrecking Crew, but then he lost power when he flew into space. In the present day, he has a heart-to-heart with Kilowog and then goes to work in the mailroom at Ferris Air the next day. In a montage, we see him charm his way into being co-pilot for the company jet, and he’s flying Carol and her fiance Nathan on a business trip. Hal uses his piloting and his ring to trap Nathan in the bathroom so that he can schmooze with Carol for a bit. Then the plane is attacked by an army of ghosts, I think. Two issues in, and we’re already being directed to now continue this story in Knight Terrors: Green Lantern #1. Uh, OK.

In the back-up, John Stewart is hanging out with his mother on Earth Zero. Which Earth is Earth Zero? Is that not the one Hal is on? His story didn’t get an Earth designation. So he hangs out with his mom, and then we cut over to that “another universe, another time” place, where a Green Lantern named Shepherd is fighting the Revenant Queen. This guy is visited by John Stewart in the middle of the fight, and they talk about the time John was the Watchfire. I dunno. Anyway, Shepherd recites his oath and John turns into an emerald warrior. And then this story will be continued in Green Lantern #3…but that doesn’t come out until September.

Comic Rating: 4/10 – Pretty Bad.

As a clean slate, start at a new #1 relaunch, this series is terrible. Storywise. The writing and art are really good, and the saving grace of this new Green Lantern series. Adams writes a very good Hal Jordan, making the character distinct and unique. He’s got some fun ideas for the Green Lantern powers. And the artwork easily keeps up. There’s nothing wrong on that end. It’s the story. Or the multiple stories. And the way that the stories are being told. If this had been a straight forward story about the Green Lantern, or multiple Green Lanterns, it would probably be really solid. Instead, the main story is told in a weird, non-linear fashion, and is now jumping off into a whole different Knight Terrors series? And then the back-up may or may not involve the characters we already know, but is taking place in two different alternate realities?

This comic is all over the place and none of it benefits the story or the comic. It’s all nonsense. Why does the main story have two timelines? It’s just confusing things. And, again, it’s not going to help that we’re only two issues into this series and we’re already jumping off to a different series with a new #1. What’s up with that? I have no idea what Knight Terrors is and I’m not particularly interested in finding out. Then the back-up stuff is insane. What’s Earth-Zero? Is that the normal universe where Hal is? Or has John Stewart been shunted off to some parallel Earth? Is that even regular John Stewart? And why are we in a different alternate reality with this Lantern Shepherd guy and the Revenant Queen? Why isn’t that taking place in the regular reality so that we can have some sort of grounding? And why has that story been shunted off until September? Am I supposed to still remember and/or care what’s happening by then? It’s gonna be a long summer.

Also, while I fully buy that Hal Jordan is just enough of a creep to hit on Carol Ferris while she’s engaged to another man, including pulling tricks to lock that fiancé in the bathroom while he does it, are they really doing that trope where Carol gets a strawman fiancé offscreen just so that Hal can charm her into dumping the guy to be with him? I feel like this has done before. Does anybody know how many temporary fiancés Carol Ferris has had in the past?

TL;DR: Despite strong writing and art, the stories are all over the place with alternate dimensions, non-linear storytelling and now cliffhangers into completely different comics after only two issues of this one.

Void Rivals #1
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Lorenzo De Felici
Colorist: Matheus Lopes
Letterer: Rus Wooton

I need to read more than just Marvel and DC superhero comics. So I’ve decided to try out this big attempt to reboot and crossover Transformers and G.I. Joe, starting with this Void Rivals comic. Let’s give it a try!

Two humanoid aliens, Darak the Agorrian and Solila the Zertonian crash land on a barren planet after a dogfight in space. Their peoples are engaged in some sacred war, with all sorts of religious decrees about hating each other. They also both wear suits of space armor. But they realize that if they work together, they can use parts from both of their ships to repair one ship and get off the planet. It doesn’t work, but they try. They do some exploring and find Jetfire, a Transformer, who has been on this planet for millions of years. He takes off back to Cybertron.

Returning to their busted ship, Darak realizes that they can cannibalize their space armors to make the necessary repairs to the ship. It will mean violating religious decree to see each other in the flesh, but they both take off their helmets…to discover that they’re both essentially the same species.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Robert Kirkman knows how to write comic books. I bet he could write an excellent first issue in his sleep. The first issue of Void Rivals is simple, sweet and about as perfect as need be. The surprise that the two aliens are more similar than they think is pretty obvious, but Kirkman knows it’s obvious, and has fun with it. From there, it’s a simple story of two people who have been told to hate each other putting aside their differences and learning to work together in fun and life-affirming ways. Both characters already have personality from the get-go, and I’m fully on board with their journey. The artwork by De Felici is perfect for this series, easily capturing the action, the characters and the alien world. This first issue is the whole package.

So what does it mean for the Energon Universe? I have never read any Transformers or G.I. Joe comics. I’m willing to give them a try based on the creative talent that’s been announced. This first issue does practically nothing to set up what’s going to happen, though. We get a Transformer cameo, but he’s gone just as quickly as he shows up, and the two main characters don’t seem to worry too much about him. Did Kirkman pitch something else and Image/Skybound convince him to make it this shared universe? Or did they hire him to start their shared universe with something original? Either way, the cameo didn’t have much impact on the series, and I’m honestly more interested in the two main characters than I am in the Transformers at this point.

Though that can easily change. Let’s see what happens.

TL;DR: As the launch of a big, new combined universe, it doesn’t offer much. But as a standalone comic about new characters and a new conflict, written by one of the modern day greats, Void Rivals is really darn entertaining.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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