I don’t know what’s happened, but work has been really busy lately. Your favorite blogger is being run ragged! But I made it through another week and am taking this week to really relax. Thankfully, I got to enjoy some nice comics this week, like Batman and Void Rivals.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Birds of Prey #7 for a confident and fun kick off to their next story.

Meanwhile, it’s the final few days to pre-order Gamer Girl & Vixen vol. 2: Tyrant Lizard Queen! Pop on over to the Kickstarter and order your copy today! I’m making comics! Beyond that, I’m looking to finally finish off Super Mario Bros. Wonder this weekend, and will be trying the free Mortal Kombat 1 play demo as well.

Comic Reviews: Batman #145, Birds of Prey #7, Sensational She-Hulk #6, Ultimate X-Men #1 and Void Rivals #7.

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Batman #145
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

I skipped over the previous three issues detailing the secret origin of the Joker because I don’t care for the Joker and I don’t care for experimental, artsy comics. That’s on me.

Zur-En-Arrh has uploaded himself into Failsafe and he’s taken over as Batman in Gotham City, going so far as to announce himself to the people of Gotham via public broadcast. The Bat-Family aren’t sure what to make of this, though Damian, on his own, is lured into thinking Zur is his dad. Meanwhile, Zur has trapped Batman and Joker in the bowels of Blackgate Prison, and Joker has spent the past few issues telling his origin story to Batman. They are all being pitted against one another by Daniel Captio, one of Bruce’s former mentors who also trained the Joker to be his opposite. Zur has put Daniel in charge of the prison.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Zdarsky has done a fine job of building everything up to this story. I don’t know if this is his grand finale, but the stage is set for something truly epic. Batman is at rock bottom, surrounded by the likes of the Joker, Vandal Savage and other criminals, and Gotham City is at the mercy of a deranged version of himself. It’s neat! The Bat-Family is at a loss, though Zdarsky thankfully finds ways to splinter them. I like the idea of Damian going with Zur, though he’s also clearly being duped. It raises the stakes.

This is a successfully exciting Batman story, with some great artwork, as always. The villain is very interesting and has been properly built over the course of this story. Batman is up against some truly overwhelming odds. Everybody is in play in one way or another. It’s a complete and exciting package, and we’re only just getting started.

TL;DR: We return to our regularly scheduled storyline and it’s just as fun and exciting as before. The stakes are laid our nicely in this issue.

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Birds of Prey #7
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Javier Pina
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Moving on to the next story and Birds of Prey doesn’t miss a beat.

Barbara Gordon has officially joined the Birds of Prey to help track down this mysterious time traveler. She’s discovered that Meridian travels through time using the Green, while the villain travels through time using the Red. So they go consult with Vixen to learn more about the Red, but first she has a case for them: there’s a crime wave of thieves in the city who have all been caught wearing her clothing brand. And she, herself, was mind-controlled into committing a heist, and only snapped out of it when her clothing got torn. Babs suspects their villain is somehow behind this new crime, so it’s all hands on deck! Vixen orchestrates a trap for the villain by having the Birds all walk the runway in designer lingerie!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

A new storyline kicks off in this issue and it’s super fun, with a great use of the cast. I hope Thompson is really enjoying herself writing all of these characters bouncing off one another. And this time around, we ditch Harley Quinn, so she’s not there stealing the spotlight, and we add Vixen, who is a fun new perspective. I absolutely do not mind switching to a mostly unrelated Vixen mystery, and the issue has a lot of fun with that. I’m not made of stone, I enjoy a little cheesecake from time to time, especially when the book has a tongue-in-cheek humor about it.

But yeah, this is a super fun cast of characters and now they not only get to embark on the next leg of their journey, but get a side mission as well. I’m totally down for that. The new artist is exceptional, and does a great job with everyone. We mostly get characters hanging out and chatting, which I enjoy. The one action scene is neat, and I look forward to more development with Sin. I’m not a fan of the color scheme, though. I think the idea is trying to replicate old school, newsprint comic printing? It’s not working for me and is actually rather distracting. But it’s a stylistic choice, and it’s not the end of the world.

I am rather tickled pink by the continued use of Maps though. Babs talks to her like they’re old friends. Has Babs ever interacted on page with the younger Maps? How well-known is she to the Bat-Family? Also, I wonder if this series will ever include younger Maps. Like, how will any of them treat her now that they’ve been partners with her future self? It’s a shame she won’t get to be Robin, but I’ll take Meridian any day!

TL;DR: Lot of fun to be had as these great characters kick off a mostly new storyline.

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Sensational She-Hulk #6
Writer: Rainbow Rowell
Artist: Ig Guara
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe

Holy weird, unexpected crossover, everybody!

After Mallory suspends She-Hulk for two weeks for all the recent carnage, she and Jack of Hearts decide to take a vacation to a resort that’s very close to the sun. The idea is that Jack will be able to absorb enough radiation at all times to not have to wear his containment suit, and then they can just be normal together (Jen leaves her apartment to Karkas and Ransak, the two Deviants we met a few issues ago. They’ve been kicked out of their apartment and need a place to crash). Once they arrive, Jen gets dolled up and heads to the bar, while Jack puts his theory to the test. And who should Jen meet at the bar but…Ganymede!

If you recall, Ganymede recently appeared in an issue of Scarlet Witch. She’s a cosmic character from the 90s who is the last surviving member of the Archsisterhood of warriors. Scarlet Witch helped her get revenge on the Blood Skrulls who killed her people, and now she has no purpose, so she’s kind of just wallowing in her sorrows at this bar. Jen talks her into cheering up, and then Ganymede is surprised to see her ex-boyfriend, Jack of Hearts! They were a thing back in 90s cosmic comics!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

As I’ve stated many times in the past, I love Rainbow Rowell comic that just has the characters hanging out and being fun people. And this issue is another such corker. Personally, as longtime review readers know, I really, really don’t like the She-Hulk/Jack of Hearts relationship. So when it’s just the two of them hanging out and being fun people, I’m a little disappointed in the issue as a whole. But that’s a me thing. It doesn’t take away from the fun of the issue. From the law office to the apartment to the bar, this issue is full of fun, human character moments that I very much enjoy.

And then it’s just a special sort of fun that Rowell is using Ganymede! I was unfamiliar with the character and, honestly, I thought she was an original creation for that Scarlet Witch issue. It was a fun issue! A Google search revealed the truth and now I know! I wonder if Rowell already had Ganymede in mind before she was used in Scarlet Witch. There aren’t exactly a lot of characters who have such a connection to Jack of Hearts. I enjoy the synergy between the two comics! And I look forward to an obscure character to show up and throw a monkey wrench into this relationship! Break them up, Ganymede!

TL;DR: Another enjoyable issue that focuses more on character than superheroics. I also very much enjoyed the random character cameo, who is apparently having a bit of a comeback across multiple comics at Marvel.

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Ultimate X-Men #1
Writer and Artist: Peach Momoko
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

I was very excited for his new Ultimate X-Men, because I enjoy the X-Men and a fresh start is always fun.

Hisako Ichiki is a teenage girl who has just graduated middle school in Japan, and she gets a secret note from a boy to meet him behind the temple after school. The boy turns out to be some kind of shadow demon who taunts her about the recent death of her friend, Tsubasa, who appears to have either been killed or killed himself due to bullying that Hisako did nothing to prevent. As the issue goes on, the taunting from the shadow dude continues, while Hisako, in turn, is protected by a big, ready, armor-like Shogun warrior.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This issue didn’t do a whole lot for me. On the one hand, it’s very creative, wonderfully drawn and is telling its own unique little story. On the other hand, it has so very, very little to do with the X-Men. The previous two new books, Spider-Man and Black Panther, were very much about those characters. Heck, I even dinged the Black Panther comic for being too much like regular, 616 Black Panther. But Ultimate X-Men has nothing to do with the X-Men other than Armor being the main character. But even then, she’s different enough that it’s hard to even tell this is a mutant story. Her red armor comes off as some type of Japanese spirit rather than her mutant power. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that in the story, it’s just not the X-Men or the Ultimate X-Men.

So with that bitching out of the way, how about the actual story? It’s a nice little thing, like I said. The character of Hisako is presented well and the set up, while a bit confusing at times, is all there. I’m not sure if the shadow spirit is Tsubasa or just using his death to taunt her. And then I’m not sure why she’s being targeted? It’s all very interesting and I’m sure will be explored going forward. It’s just none of it is very X-Men or mutant-related, which is a choice.

I’m not saying I need this comic to be all about a superhero team of mutants called the X-Men. In fact, I was very much looking forward to a comic about mutants in a world where the X-Men don’t exist as a team. But this issue goes even further away than that and is really just a story about a young girl struggling with spirits.

TL;DR: It’s a quaint start to what could be an intriguing little story, but it has very, very little to do with the X-Men or mutants in general.

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Void Rivals #7
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Lorenzo De Felici
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton

Wow, we haven’t had a Void Rivals issue since November! How time flies. Jeez, now I need to look up the character names again.

Darak and Solila have fled to the Wasteland between their two worlds on the ring. Darak has been here before, as we see briefly in a flashback to when he was a laborer who crashed there some 10 years ago. While they make their way across, Zalilak, leader of Zertonia, hires cyborg warrior Proximus to go after them.

Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.

Not a whole lot happened in this issue. At least nothing to really write home about. Our two main characters are thrust out into the wasteland, and Darak has a plan, but we don’t see anything of that plan by the end of the issue. Just typical wasteland hazards, like wind storms. Most of the issue is spent introducing us to Proximus, the new hunter character. He’s got a cool story, with some great visuals in his introduction, but he only really sets out on his journey in this issue. And then the last page itself was just an abrupt ending wherein the issue just stopped. So yeah, just a whole bunch of table setting and no real meal in this specific issue of Void Rivals.

TL;DR: Not the most eventful issue of Void Rivals.

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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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