Here we are in the middle of October and nothing to show for it but some comic book reviews. Oh well. This week sees the first issue of Mystique and the last issue of Tom Taylor’s Nightwing, among other things.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Wonder Woman #14 because I feel like this comic is on a whole different level and it’s not fair to the other comics I’m reviewing.

Meanwhile, I beat Star Wars: Outlaws, and I posted my review/thoughts this past week. The game won’t be missed. In the aftermath, I’ve started getting back into Baldur’s Gate 3. A lot of clean-up patches have come out since I last played a year ago (finally saw the epilogues!) and I’ve decided to maybe finish off a character I dropped and start a new one with a friend. Should be fun.

Comic Reviews: Mystique #1, Nightwing #118, Ultimate Spider-Man #10 and Wonder Woman #14.

Mystique #1
Writer and Artist: Declan Shalvey
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

As a big fan of the original solo Mystique comic all them many years ago (Was it Tsunami?), I’ve gladly checked out the first issue. Declan Shalvey is a right awesome creator, so more power to him!

Mystique is in the wind after Krakoa, working towards something called “Protozoa.” She goes up against Maverick to get info. And meanwhile, Nick Fury Jr. is stuck at a desk job on the ‘mutant beat’ of the new, far less impressive SHIELD. He’s tasked by his dad to go after Mystique.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This was an entertaining read, but I’m not fully on board with everything that happens. It’s a little disjointed…though that might also be on purpose. Shalvey has a lot of fun with Mystique’s shapeshifting powers, but after the initial scene with Maverick, she’s far harder to track on what’s actually happening in the issue. At least she’s written well and feels like Mystique. I’m less enthralled with Nick Fury Jr. I love the idea that SHIELD is now an underfunded branch of the CIA, barely clinging to life, and he’s been reduced to a desk job. But I’ve never cared for the character. Shalvey, at least, does a great job of introducing him and his plight.

I’m torn on the idea that Nick Fury Jr. doesn’t know who Mystique is…but I guess I’ve just got to remind myself that not everybody in the Marvel Universe knows everybody else. And for the sake of the story, he doesn’t know her. I’m very liberal when it comes to creators tweaking parts of continuity to fit their new story. If this is how Shalvey wants to set up the conflict, I need to get on board because it shouldn’t really bother me.

The art, of course, is perfect. Shalvey is great at what he does. His somewhat cartoony style maybe isn’t the best fit for this grim and gritty, cloak and dagger spy stuff. But he makes it work well enough.

TL;DR: A strong is somewhat lacking first issue introduces the main characters well and sets them off on their journeys.

Nightwing #118
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Inker: Caio Filipe
colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Wes Abbott

This is it! The final issue of Tom Taylor’s excellent Nightwing comic! I loved this whole darn thing, for the most part, and now I’m very excited to see what Taylor brings to Detective Comics.

Heartless launches his big attack on the Haven park, but Dick Grayson confronts him out of costume to prove his innocence and just stick it to the guy. The rest of the Bat-Family free Heartless’ hostages, so he flees and Dick gives chase, changing into Nightwing. Haley the dog gets shot for some reason. Heartless kills Zucco, and then he himself dies when his stolen heart gives out during a fight with Nightwing. What a loser. Happy ending for everybody. Haley lives.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

So I’m torn on this issue. On the one hand, it’s a nice wrap up that does everything it needs to do to close off this story in a positive way. And considering how positive and friendly this whole run has been, a happy ending was necessary. And the art is, as usual, glorious. Redondo will hopefully go on to a wonderful career after this star-making run. The characters are written well, Nightwing gets his victory, and we get plenty of character moments throughout. Solid, enjoyable final issue.

I just get tripped up on all the little choices Taylor has made here and there that spoil the whole thing for me, like his retcons and then some standard comic book tropes that also hurt the proceeding. Allow me to list them. I do not like the retcon that Tony Zucco was targeting Dick Grayson when he sabotaged the trapeze in Dick’s origin. I never thought he was targeting anybody; he was just sabotaging the trapeze artists because that seemed like a good way to make his point. It seems silly that Zucco would research who was supposed to go first on the trapeze, not knowing that they changed it last minute, or that Dick would always carry with him some sort of guilt that he should have been the one to die instead of his parents. Nah. That doesn’t fly with me (pun intended).

I don’t like the modern comic trope of having the main villain be this behind-the-scenes guy who takes until the final issue of a run to beat, because ultimately it means they’re defeated in a single issue. So Heartless has been a problem all this time, with all this build up, but he’s easily defeated when he loses his hostages (off screen) and then Dick beats him in a fistfight. He essentially goes out like a chump. And I won’t miss him. Also, after all the drama of Heartless and Tony Zucco learning Dick’s identity, they’re both killed in the end so that it’s protected. Eh.

TL;DR: A nice, pleasant, very awesome looking final issue to a very awesome comic book run, though there are a few nitpicks I’d like to dig at.

Ultimate Spider-Man #10
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

After reading Absolute Batman #1, I am starkly reminded how very similar these comics are. Both star the main character in a pretty standard (though slightly altered fashion), and then all the supporting characters are jumbled up into new roles.

Ben and Jonah spend the whole issue getting to the bottom of the Kingpin of Crime story, which takes them through various shell corporations and even Oscorp.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This is another one of those issues in this that is hyper focused on a single story thread and does a damn good job with that focus. Ben and Jonah as intrepid reporters who are constantly juicing each other up is a wonderful part of this series, and that’s what this entire issue is about. The writing is so much fun, and the artwork keeps it interesting, even though it’s usually just a bunch of old men talking to one another. And as a journalist myself, who doesn’t love a good journalism triumphing over evil story? I have some nitpicks. The story their chasing is that the Kingpin runs New York City and he is controlled by the Maker, but the reader already knows this, so they don’t uncover anything that we don’t already know. And it’s another issue that’s dedicated to the bigger picture being told instead of actual Spider-Maning, which isn’t that big of a problem, just something to note. Also, the big reveal at the end doesn’t really…stop Kingpin from coming after them and their families, I would think.

TL;DR: Excellently written, excellently drawn chapter that focuses on some entertaining side characters, which is becoming the norm for this series sometimes.

Wonder Woman #14
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Daniel Sampere
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Now that Absolute Power is over, we’re back to our regularly scheduled Wonder Woman comics!

In a fit of emotion, the Sovereign shoots and kills Steve Trevor. We see the story play out in various time jumps, with everything settling around Wonder Woman eventually going into seclusion with her grief. Then she goes down into the Underworld to rescue him, but Steve admits that death is permanent. So Wonder Woman returns to Paradise Island, ready to pick up the fight…only to instead use bits of the threads of fate from both her life and Steve’s to create a new baby out of the clay!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I did not see that ending coming. All this time, I thought Trinity was the daughter of the violent Amazon that started this series, and Wonder Woman merely adopted her. But if this is her true origin…neat! I fully approve. Personally, I haven’t really been interested in Trinity as a character or her back-up stories, but that’s largely because I’m just not interested in the Damian Wayne generation of young heroes. I’m sorry. Even after all this time, I still don’t care for Damian. I never read Super Sons. But I digress. That surprise ending really adds a major blow to an already excellent issue, one that really hits some strong emotional beats, given the material.

At first, I was a little confused, that maybe I had missed something in between issues. But then I quickly realized King was going for a bit of a shock with the murder of Steve Trevor, and the non-linear storytelling quickly became apparent. I don’t know for sure if the non-linear storytelling was necessary, but it ultimately worked. It makes total sense that Steve Trevor wouldn’t be safe. And it works for the Sovereign to make such an impulsive decision. So yeah, this is a solid chapter to the story. It’s not as good as King exploring the relationship between Wonder Woman and Cheetah, but it’s still good. And the artwork, of course, is sublime. Sampere is perfect for this comic and perfect for superhero comics in general.

Though now that I think about it, we haven’t seen anything about that violent Amazon since, like, the very first issue. I wonder when we’ll catch back up with her…

TL;DR: Wonder Woman returns to its regularly scheduled storyline with a shock and a surprise, both of which make for a pretty emotional and exciting issue.

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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