Hoo boy. What a god damned week. Thankfully, there were a ton of new and exciting comics this week, to help me deal with the near crippling depression and misanthropy. And if you’re reading this, I’m also probably on my way to the nearest LEGO store to buy the X-Mansion set. So I’m coping.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Absolute Superman #1 because it’s another banger. All of these Absolute books have knocked it out of the park!

Meanwhile, uh, I’m mostly holding on by a thread here. I’m playing through Baldur’s Gate 3 again these days. It’s still a fun game, and a lot of patches have come out in the past year to add more to the game that it didn’t have when I played on release. The new season of Arcane has started. The Penguin finale should be awesome. And I’m also collecting all of Chip Zdarsky’s Daredevil run into a big tpb pile to read one of these days. So I’m coping well in my usual ways.

Comic Reviews: Absolute Superman #1, Batgirl #1, Batman #154, The Ultimates #6, X-Factor #4 and X-Men #7.

---

Absolute Superman #1
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Becca Carey

And so we’re back with the last of the Big Three Absolute comics. Just our luck, Superman is just as good as Batman and Wonder Woman!

Much like those other two comics, Absolute Superman keeps the core of the character and then just moves some of the other pieces around. This issue is split between Krypton and Earth. We spend a lot of time delving into the lore of Krypton, and clearly a lot of work went into mapping out it’s politics, caste system, architecture, technology and more, especially the El family, including a Clark who is a young boy instead of an infant. Then on Earth, we see a young adult Clark using his powers to help overworked miners toiling away for the Lazarus Corporation. He’s got a technologically advanced supersuit now, complete with AI, and he doesn’t have full control of all his powers.

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

This was another banger for Absolute DC Comics! It’s full of life, energy and creativity, while remaining true to all the core tenets of Superman. The Krypton stuff is really interesting, with a strong narration to guide it. Like I said, clearly a lot of work went into designing Krypton society, and it shows. I also enjoyed the deeper glimpses we got into Kal-El’s parents and being able to flesh them out. I hope this remains a parallel storyline throughout the book. The same can’t be said for the Kent family, but we’ll have to wait and see what’s done with that side of the story, if anything. This issue featured a lot of great set-up for what’s to come.

The Earth-based storytelling is also a very good introduction to the new Superman. He’s moodier, he’s grimmer, but he’s still using his power to help people. In this case, he’s helping those crushed beneath the corporate boot, and that’s a good look for a new Superman. He’s got a talking supersuit, so that’s fun, much like Tony Stark’s AI or even the Handroid from Void Rivals. That gives Superman someone to talk to during his adventures, at least. This issue features a lot of Superman fighting soldiers while his powers rage almost out of control, and that makes for a fun first issue to get us into the swing of things.

TL;DR: This is a cool story that expands the core of Superman, with some truly awesome artwork and colors. DC clearly went all out (pun intended) on making these Absolute comics something special, and it definitely shows for the third issue in a row.

---

Batgirl #1
Writer: Tate Bombal
Artist: Takeshi Miyazawa
Colorist: Mike Spicer
Letterer: Tom Napolitano

I have never a big Cassandra Cain fan, simply because I wasn’t reading Batman comics when she debuted. I’ve just never been attached to her. But a first issue is a first issue and I’m always willing to check those out.

Lady Shiva, mother to Cassandra Cain, has summoned her because she claims they are being hunted by a mystical, ancient ninja clan. Batgirl wants no part of it, until they are ambushed and have to spend the whole issue fighting or running.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This issue is a straight forward start to this new series, with an excellent focus on the main character and the new situation. Bombal does a great job focusing in on what makes this Batgirl unique and uses that throughout the issue. And Shiva is used nicely to provide more character to the book, considering Cassie is not a jovial character. They make a great team and easily carry this first issue. No fuss, no real muss; just these two back-to-back against a dangerous threat, while struggling through their own long-standing personal issues.

The artwork is stellar and makes great use of action. It’s a very kinetic issue, and Batgirl looks great in costume. If I had any nitpicking to do, I’d say the adversaries are pretty generic in terms of ancient ninja death cults. We don’t get any insight into them or why any of this is happening. But there is plenty of potential for twists and big reveals. Shiva can’t be trusted, obviously. So there’s plenty of material to work with going forward. Hopefully fans of Batgirl enjoyed this one.

TL;DR: Sharp and sweet first issue of this new series. The story is established quickly and effortlessly, as are the main characters.

---

Batman #154
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

This definitely feels like a whole new Batman series from Zdarsky, and I’m enjoying it so far.

The mayor has been murdered and Batman and his new detective partner, independent P.I. Jim Gordon, are on the case. Leads come and go. Mysteries abound. Dastardly foes stand in their way. There’s a twist ending! And maybe Dr. Thomas Wayne had an affair with a nurse?!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This is a major focus on the detection side of things in this issue, and I really like that. Batman and Gordon do their jobs, deal with suspects and allies, and circle the murder mystery. There’s a big reveal at the end that doesn’t quite land in the way it should, and that threw me for a bit of a loop. Clearly something weird is going on, but it was a little too weird to get across on the comic page. Or maybe I’m wrong and misinterpreted the scene entirely. I’m sure it will be cleared up next issue, so no major worry. And the rest of the issue, all the deep dive detective stuff, more than makes up for the minor confusion. This is a rich Batman comic.

TL;DR: Zdarsky has provided a very fresh start for this Batman comic and it’s a lot of fun. Very focused on the street-level detective side of things.

---

The Ultimates #6
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Juan Frigeri
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

I checked out of Ultimates for a bit and now I’m checking back in for a big issue.

The Ultimates plan to raid a facility where heroes have been imprisoned, but it’s a trap and the Hulk brings them to Ultimate K’un L’un, where he is the Iron Fist and king of all Seven Cities of Heaven. And all the weapons are also gamma-irradiated monsters. And oh boy, the fight does not go well for the Ultimates.

Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.

After several issues spent recruiting new members, this is a big fight issue. The whole team is gathered together to take on some foes and face their first real challenge. And to that degree, it’s pretty fun. The Ultimates are completely unprepared and get their butts whooped, with only a last minute save pulling their butts from the fire. So if you like a good action-packed issue with some good fighting, this is a solid issue. Personally, I think it suffers from having so many team members and not being able to focus on anyone in particular. The Ultimates has a huge roster and, while all the characters are neat, they’re competing against each other for page time. They’re also competing against the Hulk and his team.

My biggest issue with this specific issue is that it’s really just an issue-long speech by the Hulk, who hasn’t been a character in the series so far. Camp likes to write speeches. The previous issue, which introduced the new Ultimate Hawkeye, was also one big character speech during a fight scene. And this issue is just Hulk giving a calm speech about philosophy or something. I can’t even remember what the speech was about. It wasn’t really connected to the Ultimates as characters, and like I said, Hulk is brand new to this series (for the most part), so this wasn’t a big, exciting, climatic confrontation.

The final page twist is pretty ballsy though. We’ll see if it’s real.

TL;DR: Big, fun fight scene with great art that suffers a bit in terms of too many characters and too little meaningful character development.

---

X-Factor #4
Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Bob Quinn
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

X-Factor may be the funnest of the From the Ashes comics that I’m reading. Though I don’t think it’s hit that Mark Russell magic yet. I hope I haven’t put him up on too high of a pedestal.

X-Factor is sent on a mission into the center of the Earth where some scientists have gone missing. They found some nasties down there and get into quite the broohaha. Meanwhile, Cecilia’s ex-boyfriend is the team’s new teleporter, and he explains how and why he ghosted her, for possibly all the right reasons.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Entertaining, fulfilling issue as the team goes on a new mission, alongside some solid social media jokes, and a good character story for Cecilia. I’m a big Cecilia Reyes fan, so I’m glad she’s on a team and has a story. I’m a little disappointed that her ex-boyfriend is a brand new character instead of someone we already know. From the Ashes is flooding the market with new mutants when so many are just sitting around after Krakoa. I think that would have been just a little bit more meaningful, you know? Like maybe reveal some secret relationship she had from Krakoa that is now carrying over, instead of expecting us to get invested in their relationship in his first appearance and in a single issue. But even with that gripe, the issue was still fun, with some more solid comedy and crazy action. So good issue all around.

TL;DR: Another fun, entertaining and quite funny done-in-one issue that whiffs a little bit on the dramatic storyline, but that’s probably due to personal taste.

---

X-Men #7
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Netho Diaz
Inkers: Sean Parsons & Livesay
Colorists: Marte Gracia and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

This remains a very strong X-Men series that I’m really enjoying. I can’t say if it’s my favorite of From the Ashes, and only because Uncanny X-Men has had so few issues come out to compare.

We have two stories: one is a flashback to the Iron Night, to explain that big Sentinel from the end of the first issue. The next is Piper Cobb, a young girl they found in the previous issue, whose mother is one of the protestors. Piper thinks she’s a mutant and they run some tests while giving her a tour. But Hank says the tests show she’s not a mutant…but were the tests correct? Something is afoot!

Meanwhile, in the flashback, we see Magneto visit Cyclops at his family cabin in Alaska as they commiserate the end of Krakoa and what to do next. Then the giant sentinel erupts from the factory and they rush in to save the town. In the process, Magneto loses control of his powers, and it’s determined to be a resurrection-linked degenerative disease, so that’s why he’s always in a floating wheelchair.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

The flashback was quite excellent and accomplished all it needed. I suppose the Sentinel is not as cool or important as the first issue cliffhanger made it out to be, but it worked for the story. It was fun to see Magneto and Cyclops grieving life together, and then stepping up to be X-Men. Great action scene. And then the stuff with Piper Cobb was also good, building on the previous issue. This series does a great job with everybody hanging out as ‘home’ and that really appeals to me. I love day in the life stuff. And it’s fun seeing the X-Men hanging out at home, interacting and carrying out this little mission.

This has been a great X-Men series. The team is good and they get a lot of time to interact. Each one has their own little problems to worry about. Little things are building here and there, like Beast flirting just a little bit with the new character, Jennifer, who I have become instantly attached to for some reason. We’ve got this new wasting disease for Magneto, so there’s another added wrinkle. And it’s something that builds nicely off Krakoa instead of just introducing brand new problems.

TL;DR: I’m very much enjoying this building comic, which nicely balances superhero action, storytelling, flashbacks and character downtime.

---

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.

———————–