Ugh, what a week. I caught a nasty cold last weekend and have spent this whole week in some state of crumminess. Hopefully by the time you read these reviews I’ll be feeling better, but while I’m writing them, everything is crummy!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Transformers #6 because Daniel Warren Johnson just goes all out with the insane action!

Meanwhile, my two comic book Kickstarters both came to an end this week, both successful! So this year I will be making Gamer Girl & Vixen: Tyrant Lizard Queen, and a short story of mine will appear in The Cloakroom, a collection of shorts from students in Scott Snyder’s My Best Jacket Substack class. And I’m also finally getting to work on making that Cover Bard project I mentioned a long time ago. So this is gonna be a good year for me making my own comics!

Comic Reviews: ThunderCats #2, Transformers #6 and Ultimate Black Panther #2.

ThunderCats #2
Writer: Declan Shalvey
Artist: Drew Moss
Colorists: Chiara Di Francia & Martina Pignedoli
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry

I figure I’ll stick with ThunderCats a bit longer, see where it goes.

While everybody recovers from the battle — both good guys and bad guys — Lion-O mostly sulks, because the Sword of Omens in destroyed. The other Thundercats explore the bad guys’ ship and find Calica, another Thunderian in the brig. They bring her back to base and she tells their story, and Lion-O is instantly smitten with her, while the others are very suspicious. Meanwhile, the bad guys are in search of a camp and draw ever close to Mumm-Ra.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

I think this is a strong follow-up to the first issue. I especially like the introduction of Calica. I did a Google search on her, and she’s an original character created for this series. I like that this ThunderCats comic is willing to do something like that so soon, introduce an entirely new character. It’s a bold choice, and this comic needs bold choices. She fits in well, though I wish we, the reader, didn’t already know that she’s super evil. That takes away some of the intrigue of her character, but I like how she’s creating a rift already. It makes sense that Lion-O, once a child, now thrust into the body of an adult, can’t control his sudden infatuation with the pretty lady, while the real adults instantly clock her as a bad guy. It’s funny and makes for good conflict.

I also like how the issue is taking time to explore the bad guys as well. I don’t remember much about Slithe from the actual cartoon. Was he just a dumb henchman character? Or was he a legit bad dude? Either way, he’s great in this series so far as a legitimate threat, with a position worthy of following. And I like that the comic is following him and his army, adding an extra layer to the storytelling. But even with all these things I like, ThunderCats is still just a good comic and nothing truly special, at least not yet. It’s just humming along nicely and hopefully has a chance to reach all the places it clearly wants to go.

TL;DR: This second issue takes some really interesting swerves that will hopefully lead to some great storytelling places.

Transformers #6
Writer and Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Rus Wooton

The suplex to end all suplexes!

It’s all all-out battle! The Autobots flee into the Ark to escape Devastator, who really wallops Optimus Prime something good. It’s crazy, y’all! Optimus is dying and he takes out the All-Spark(or whatever it’s called), and Sparky decides to sacrifice himself by entering the All-Spark and using his lifeforce to revive both it and Prime. So Optimus just goes hog wild on Devastator by himself in some of the gnarliest action you’ve ever seen in a comic! There’s all sorts of little bits and pieces throughout, like Carly and Cliffjumper taking on Starscream, the suplex to end all suplexes and then the day is largely saved as the Decepticons retreat. Man, this is a comic!

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

When you hire Daniel Warren Johnson to do your comic, you best believe you’re getting some awesome action scenes. With all the build-up we’ve had so far, Johnson really lets loose with this new issue, pitting Autobot against Decepticon, with Devastator wrecking house and getting wrecked. There’s so much going on in this issue that I didn’t think I could sum it all up in a coherent manner. It all takes place largely at the same site, but there are multiple characters doing multiple things, and all of it is exciting. Optimus Prime vs. Devastator is just one of the highlights.

Sparky’s sacrifice is crazy and I did not see that coming. Carly and Cliffjumper, who have been great together so far, have some great moments as well. And, like I said, the artwork is on fire. Johnson pulls out all the stops, not only with the action, but making the sound effects really work for him as well. Not every issue can go to the wall like this one, but when you’ve got an action-packed issue, you want a creator like Daniel Warren Johnson making your comic. This dude is taking comic book action to another level, and that takes this Transformers comic to another level. I’ll be very sad when that guest artist takes over.

TL;DR: There is no comic book action like Daniel Warren Johnson action, and he puts all of his skills on full display in this exciting issue.

Ultimate Black Panther #2
Writer: Bryan Hill
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

While this is a fine comic, it’s still just…a Black Panther comic.

There is a traitor in Wakanda, feeding information to Moon Knight, with a desire to see King T’Challa fall. The king is cracking down on his citizenry, but is no closer to rooting out this traitor. Meanwhile, his spies believe they have located Moon Knight’s HQ, so T’Challa goes alone to find out. His plane is shot down and he’s surrounded by guards, only to be rescued by Storm.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

As with most comics, there are good things about it and there are not-so-good things about it. On the one hand, Ultimate Black Panther is a solid comic, with solid and interesting characters. The artwork is great, and I like the chance for Marvel to tell a new story about BP and Storm from the ground up. On the other hand, this is still just a pretty standard Black Panther comic. T’Challa is king, he’s got his normal supporting cast around him, Wakanda is the same as it ever is; the only real new and interesting element is Storm, and how this is a Storm with no connection to the X-Men. There isn’t anything that exciting to do with the Black Panther himself. And that’s just a bit disappointing.

TL;DR: While this remains a good comic, there isn’t anything really new or exciting to make it stand out as an Ultimate comic, especially not when compared to the other Ultimate titles.

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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