It was another big week for comics this week! We get out first taste at a second issue of one of the new Absolute comics, and there were a pair of big first issues, like the much-anticipated G.I. Joe from the Energon Universe.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Power Rangers Prime #1 for the better of the two launch issues, at least in my opinion.

Meanwhile, life continues as well as can be expected. The Penguin finale was great. Star Trek: Lower Decks is halfway through its final season. Arcane’s second chapter comes out today, so I’m excited about that. And I’m in the process of wrapping up two Baldur’s Gate 3 campaigns. I’m thinking of switching to Dragon Age: The Veilguard next.

Comic Reviews: Absolute Batman #2, G.I. Joe #1 and Power Rangers Prime #1.

Absolute Batman #2
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Nick Dragotta
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Do the second issues hold up to the quality of the first? So far, yeah!

Batman continues his assault on the Party Animals, and he gets some intel and help from his friends at their poker game. Meanwhile, Alfred continues to want to help in the field, especially after Batman walks into a trap at the campaign office of mayoral candidate Hill.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Like all of the Absolute books have been so far, this is another rock and rolling issue of pure superhero action. Take a clean slate Batman, rearrange some of the familiar pieces, and then just put him to work with some awesome art and some super cool moments. And it totally works for me! Who doesn’t love Batman stripped down to his purest essence, just kicking butt and taking names on the page? This issue definitely delivers that much. Batman has some great fight scenes and some great action, and of course it’s cool as heck when he perfectly sets up an explosion of his own base to make the building look like himself. I’m only human. I’m not made of stone, people!

I’m not yet sold on the idea that most of the classic villains are all Bruce Wayne’s childhood friends, and they get together for poker and to rib each other. I’ll admit it’s a new and unique choice, at least, and the banter is pretty fun. I’m eager to see where Snyder goes with it. I really enjoy the new take on Alfred, and he provides excellent narration to carry us through the story. So that part definitely works. And this issue also features some nice moments of sneaking around and detective work, so it’s not just crazy action. Though there is a lot of crazy action.

TL;DR: Second issue holds up to the first, keeping the story going, while delivering its own crazy action and world-building.

G.I. Joe #1
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Tom Reilly
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Rus Wooton

I’m excited for this comic. I’ve read almost everything in the Energon Universe so far — with the exception of the Destro comic — so let’s see what it’s all been building towards.

The G.I. Joes are assembled, but they’re not yet a fighting force or even a cohesive team. Doesn’t matter, though, because they’ve got their first mission: a piece of Transformers tech has been recovered from their recent battle in the ocean, and the Joes need to protect it while it’s being transferred to a secure facility. COBRA attacks and the Joes are pretty much overwhelmed.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This is a somewhat subdued, but still well-crafted first issue of the new, united G.I. Joe series. Personally, I don’t think it’s bombastic enough to launch this new series, but it works nonetheless and has a lot of room to grow. For me, the biggest issue is that we don’t spend enough time getting to know the characters. Everybody gets a line of dialogue or two, but it’s just light banter around the mission briefing table or while in the field. And, to be frank, it’s not Avengers enough. This whole experiment started with some solo series, but this issue doesn’t even feature Scarlett. This is more a continuation of the Duke comic — which was excellent — than it is bringing everyone together. Maybe there should have been more of those prologue comics? I dunno.

The second problem is that the missions aren’t as interesting as they could be. The issue opens with a big action scene…but it’s quickly revealed to be a training session. I’m all for the Joes getting team training, but this first issue could have been bigger in that regard. Then their actual first mission is a cast off from the Transformers comic. And while I get that they really want these universes to collide, it’s a little low key for the first G.I. Joe team mission to be picking up another comic’s leftovers.

The comic itself is still good. Like I said, all of the characters get some attention, there’s plenty of action and good character development for Duke. I like the first encounter between the Joes and COBRA. And like I said, there’s plenty of room to grow. The artwork is awesome, but I do not enjoy this new coloring style that some comics are taking on. It looks…like one of those red/blue 3D stories, only without the glasses. Like a little blurry and a little color awkward. Not a fan.

TL;DR: While still a solid issue, I would have personally liked more bombastic action for the first issue of the new G.I. Joe comic, as well as more connections to the other prologue comics. This should have been an Avengers movie-style event, considering all the build up.

Power Rangers Prime #1
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Michael Yg
Colorist: Fabi Marques
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Here we go! Power Rangers kicks off brand new from BOOM! and I am here for it. I liked Melissa Flores when she wrapped up the last series, and I’m excited to see a fresh take on things.

Roughly 70 years ago, the Eltarians saved the Earth from the Beast Brigade of Gamma VII and then they decided to stay and colonize the planet. Now Earth is a futuristic utopia with all sorts of alien races living together in relative harmony, though the police force is a little hardcore. The Power Rangers used to exist, but the Eltarians outlawed them and have been hunting them down ever since. Lauren Shiba, the red Samurai Ranger, is nearly caught, but she’s saved and hidden by a local college student named Mark and his roommate Orion. We also meet other college students in their circle, like Ryan, his girlfriend Valentina, and Jun, the Eltarian son of Admiral Janessa. So we meet our cast of characters.

And then at the end of the issue, it seems like a brand new Rita Repulsa crashes from the moon onto Earth and escapes her dumpster.

Also, it seems like the VR Troopers exist…either as a real life fighting force or a TV show. I’m not sure which.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I feel this is an excellent start to the new series, giving us a long, measured look at our new cast, while doing some excellent world-building. I feel I understand pretty much everything about this new setting, while slowly getting to know our new (and old?) cast. Personally, I wish there had been more of a clean break from existing Power Rangers, but that’s a small, personal gripe. Considering I couldn’t name a single Ranger after the Zeo era, they’re all new enough to me. And like I said, this issue does an excellent job introducing everyone and letting us get to know them, at least a little bit. That’s what I like in a series like this one, and that’s why I enjoyed this issue a bit more than I did the first issue of G.I. Joe. In case the different scores needed an explanation.

I love the world-building. I like this cool, futuristic, colonized, police state of an Earth, complete with Angel Grove University. This is a great setting in which to bring forth a new team of Power Rangers. Hopefully they’re original Rangers and not just a copy of an existing team. Give me comic original Rangers! This issue does a great job introducing us to the new characters, most of whom get ongoing subplots in this first issue as they slowly come together into a unit. They’re very disparate for now, and that’s a good thing. The issue also helpfully explains the various aliens and lineages and whatnot, so I don’t feel lost. The kids are a mix of humans, aliens and hybrids. That’s pretty cool. And then a new, young Rita revealed at the end should be a solid bad guy choice. Which I guess means the Mighty Morphin crew never existed in this universe, which is fine by me!

It means we can do a brand new Green Ranger Saga!

TL;DR: I very much enjoyed this first issue of the new relaunch because it does an excellent job introducing our new characters and all of the fun, creative world-building of this new universe.

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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