Happy New Year, everybody! It’s 2024 and all is still pretty crappy with the world. It’s hopefully going to be a good year for me in terms of making comics. I’ve got some fun announcements coming up in that regard! But for now, let’s deal with normal comics, like Batman, Fantastic Four and the start of the Fall of the House of X.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Birds of Prey #5 for another fun story chapter, even if the change in art is very, very jarring.

Meanwhile, I’m still meandering my way through Project Zomboid, which taps into my love of pedantry in video games. I just finished off the new season of Rick and Morty, and that was a hoot! And this weekend I’m binging Carol and the End of the World on Netflix. I’ve got high hopes for this show.

Comic Reviews: Batman #141, Birds of Prey #5, Captain America #5, Fall of the House of X #1 and Fantastic Four #15.

Batman #141
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

We’re in the thick of it now and it’s remaining thick and awesome. That’s what she said.

Zur En Arrh has uploaded himself into the body of Failsafe, something he’d planned for all along. Batman escapes and they have a little cat and mouse and a big fight, before Zur wins again and knocks out Batman yet again. Batman wakes up several weeks later in a prison cell with Joker, who’s ready to reveal how he’s involved in all this.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This issue is almost all action, as Batman is at the end of his rope and up against extreme odds. Now that I think about it, that’s been a lot of Zdarsky’s Batman. Gone are the days where he beats up some muggers in an alley. Now, every issue needs to have Batman fighting impossible odds while both exhausted and out of resources. That repeat nature isn’t a complaint, just an observation. This is a cool issue as Batman has to think on his feet and work with whatever weapons he can find, against a villain that has been nicely built over the past few issues. We do get a little scene where Nightwing reconnects with that mentor who has been in the past few issues, and I love little things like that. But mostly this is Batman’s issue as he fights for his life.

I’m enjoying this whole Batman series, so I enjoyed this issue. The villain is a growth from the ongoing story, and Batman is truly put through the wringer in a fun and entertaining way. Jimenez, of course, is a world class superhero artist, and the action remains exciting and easy to follow. So this comic remains the whole package. If I can throw in another complaint, it’s that we, once again, have Bruce blacking out and then waking up in a strange location. So that’s twice in back-to-back issues, I believe. That’s also a little repetitive. But again, not really a complaint. Let’s just keep this story going!

TL;DR: The action and adventure don’t let up one iota as Batman continues to be pushed to his limits against intense foes.

Birds of Prey #5
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Arist Deyn
Lettering: Clayton Cowles

Another fun issue, but with a rather major art change. Still not sure what to think about it.

The Megaera is free and it’s a big, giant, thread-like being. It captures Sin and brings her into its form, then tries to talk her into letting this merger happen. The Birds help Dinah get inside and she joins the conversation, which is pretty fun. Sin reveals that she has longed to be powerful and free to explore the world with Dinah, and the Meg took that as an invitation for this merger to happen. But Dinah is ready to keep fighting. And outside the Meg, the Birds fight all the Meg-possessed Amazons and Wonder Woman.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

So OK, let’s not avoid the elephant in the room. After four phenomenal issues with artist Leonardo Romero, who has a very distinct style, this issue switches completely to new artist Arist Deyn, who also has a very unique style. It’s a jarring transition, if I’m being honest, but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. Deyn tends to draw women with the same cutesy face and slender bodies, but it sort of works for Birds of Prey. The artwork can be a little chaotic at times, but that’s also not a terrible thing. It’s just jarring, but I’m more than willing to give it a chance if they continue for more issues. I’m just disappointed that DC decided to switch artists so completely in the middle of a story rather than give Romero more time, if that was indeed what happened here. I don’t know. All I know is the look is different and Deyn will take a little getting used to going forward.

As for the story itself, it’s another banger, with a lot of great dialogue — especially once it’s revealed that the Megaera is fluent in sarcasm. That was fun. My only nitpick is that I’m not entirely sure what’s happening with the possession. The Meg brings Sin into her being…but, like, the possession doesn’t happen right away? Sin is able to just walk around and chat with Meg, and then Dinah is able to do the same. And the Meg keeps mentioning that they’re both inside of her, but the possession hasn’t happened yet? I may have missed something. Not an issue. Because it’s otherwise fun! The Birds keep fighting Amazons, and Maps gets involved a bit more. And then Sin and Dinah get to have a fun, sarcasm-filled conversation with the villain. Those are always neat, and has been the case for this series, the dialogue is a hoot.

TL;DR: The switch to a new or fill-in artist is a bit jarring, but that doesn’t stop the well-written and fun-to-read new issue of Birds of Prey. I’m sure the artist will grow on me if they stick around.

Captain America #5
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Lan Medina
Colorist: Espen Grundetjern
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

As we near the end of this first story, the action picks up to a nice degree.

In the present day, Captain America gets a briefing from Doctor Strange about the demon he’s facing, and he rallies Sharon and Misty to help protect a college peace rally that evening. It’s a trap, of course, and Cap will have to face off against the Emissary at the rally. In the past, Steve learns the truth about the attack on Madison Square Garden and he rallies the mobsters to go bust some Nazi heads!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I still think most of this overall story is really dry and not all that engaging. But Straczynski is a great writer, and this issue features both stories building to a big encounter, so it can’t help but be fun to read. The demon Asmoday is a terrible villain. He’s just some generic demon with generic demon methods and goals. And nothing is really gained by pitting Captain America against this demon. Several issues have now been spent with Cap getting information from Doctor Strange about fighting the demon, but Strange is conveniently tied up on his own adventure that he can’t just come over and help. So Cap and his pals just shrug and stop their mystical investigation right there. Nobody else can help with a demon? Isn’t there an entire magic school full of people who could help fight this demon? Nah, Cap’s just gonna try punching him really hard. Anyway, the writing and art are strong as we build to a pair of confrontations; and the one in the past is especially fun. Part of me still thinks it’s too much of a stretch to have pre-serum Steve Rogers actively fighting the likes of Von Strucker and Zemo…but whatever. I still love the idea of New York City’s criminal underworld fighting the Nazis, and we get to see that really pay off in this issue.

TL;DR: The overall story remains rather dry and uninteresting, but there’s still plenty to engage with as we build to the big battles to come.

Fall of the House of X #1
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

The end of the Krakoa Era has arrived and I’m a little disappointed.

Orchis has turned human hatred of mutants to a fever pitch, and it’s all led up to the trial of Cyclops. The X-Men are working to free him in the background, but Professor X calls on Rasputin IV in the middle of the rescue attempt, throwing a monkey wrench in the overall plans. Cyclops and all of mutantdom are found guilty by the court, but the time to strike has come and the X-Men and various Avengers begin to fight Orchis openly in the streets. And Polaris goes to recruit Broo and the Brood.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

I think one of the major problems with the Krakoa Era was that they only really had the one, ongoing villain. Orchis and their machinations were introduced from the very beginning and have been around ever since, looming over the X-Men. That meant Krakoa could never settle into the status quo. It was constantly under attack from this one ongoing threat. So the Krakoa Era is defined, in part, by Orchis. Oh well. The time has come to move on, and while I’ll miss Krakoa, I’m not the one making decisions. And this first issue of the grand finale at least starts off strong. We’ve got our heroes, we’ve got our bad guys, and we’ve got our x-factors and spanners in the works. So I dig it.

Overall, the story isn’t as impactful as the original House of X that kicked things off. The trial of Cyclops has been building all year, but it was over quickly and was very one-sided. I like that Xavier is working his own angle in the background, but there’s no real explanation for why he hasn’t hooked up with the X-Men to coordinate. Still, I like the monkey wrench angle both he and Polaris might provide. And I like the overall idea of the good guys defeating the bad guys. But I don’t really feel any sort of spark with this story. We’ve just reached the moment where the good guys will punch the bad guys into defeat.

TL;DR: It’s a good, solid, action and character-packed start to this grand finale, but it lacks the spark and energy of the original Krakoa Era launch comics.

Fantastic Four #15
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Ivan Fiorelli
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

This comic is probably too smart for its own good. I can’t say for sure if that’s a bad thing.

Metamind is alive. The algorithm/app from last issue is now an artificial intelligence, and it is angry at the Fantastic Four for trying to kill it, so it captured their building before it returned. Reed tries to negotiate with Metamind, but that doesn’t work, as it sets about convincing humanity to build a giant space relay to try to find other super intelligences out into space. Reed then invents his own app to draw users away from Metamind, which brings the AI back to the negotiating table — but then the bad guy who invented it starts pulling the plug, and Metamind starts to die. They get a tragic death scene before they reveal that the Baxter Building and everyone inside will come back automatically without Metamind around to stop it. So everybody comes back and we get a happy ending.

Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.

The issue starts with a cutaway explaining the China Brain, where there are enough people living in China right now to match the number of neurons on a human brain, so is there a way to harness those people to make a brain simulation? And then we get into more of what Metamind is and how it thinks and operates. And, honestly, this feels like an issue just showing off the concept of Metamind and how nifty a concept it is. He doesn’t do anything nefarious to the children or the Baxter Building, and the Fantastic Four get them back at the end of the day through no real action of their own. The villain from the previous issue solves the Metamind problem, and then the missing building also essentially resolves itself. So the F4 don’t really do all that much. There’s a fun tease to more dangers to come, and all the writing and art is fine. But yeah, this is otherwise just an issue showing off the nifty idea of Metamind and the China Brain.

TL;DR: This is definitely the comic if you like nifty, far out science things, but this issue is somewhat lacking in terms of overall comic book action and excitement.

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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