Lots of comics this week, a lot going on, and I read a bunch and reviewed a couple. I wonder if I should start doing mini-reviews for the comics I read but don’t think are worth a full length review…Anyway, here’s Wonder Woman.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Absolute Batman #10 for a pretty gnarly origin story for Absolute Bane.

Meanwhile, I’ve wrapped up Death Stranding 2 and enjoyed that game very much! Now I’m gameless for a month until Ghost of Yokei comes out. I’m enjoying Alien: Earth and loved the first episode of Peacemaker. And soon I will be binging both the new season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the new Netflix show Long Story Short. Can’t wait!

Comic Reviews: Absolute Batman #11, Black Cat #1 and Wonder Woman #24.

Absolute Batman #11
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Clay Mann
Colorist: Ivan Plascencia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Absolute Bane is pretty darn absolute

Narrated by Alfred, we learn the origins of Bane and see a world where Bane defeats Batman and turns him into another version of Bane. But that’s not what actually happens…

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I didn’t personally think Bane’s Absolute origin was all that unique or original, but it worked for what it needed to be, and Snyder found a fun way to telling the origin through Alfred’s narration. Snyder had spoken at length about finding the tone of your storytelling in his Comic Writing 101 class, and I think he nailed it here. Alfred’s narration draws the reader in, and Mann provides some gripping, dangerous artwork. It’s possible I’m missing a deeper layer to Bane that I just didn’t realize; or perhaps he really is just the bastard the issue portrays him as.

The ending is slightly confusing, and a glance online showed me I wasn’t the only reader thrown off by the narrative. But once I figured it out, the twist definitely works and works well. And then sets up a potentially gruesome cliffhanger. So Bane is definitely leaving his mark on this series in a big way, and we even get another look at the upcoming Absolute Joker. Snyder is definitely chomping at the bit to show him off and making the payoff worth it. Can’t wait to see him in action!

TL;DR: The origin of Absolute Bane is not as gripping in and of itself as I would have liked, but the presentation is excellent.

Black Cat #1
Writer: G. Willow Wilson
Artist: Gleb Melnikov
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

I greatly regret giving up on G. Willow Wilson’s Poison Ivy comic, which is still ongoing, and which I very much enjoyed. So I’m going to try not to give on her new Black Cat comic! I also regret giving up on Jed MacKay’s Black Cat comic, so this new series has a lot to make up for.

On one of her capers, Black Cat runs afoul of the Lizard and gets a pretty nasty scrape. She goes to visit the Night Nurse for treatment and comes up with the bright idea that she should be a superhero and fill a gap left by a changed Spider-Man.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Good start. I like the artwork, I like the general vibe of the series so far. It’s got a sitcom style, with Felicia talking to the audience, complete with ‘how did I end up here?’ opening. It’s fine and it works for the character. We get a nice action scene against a classic villain, a glimpse at some of Felicia’s supporting characters — though I could have used a lot more — and then the hook for the new series at the end, that she’s going to now also fight crime, alongside committing crime. It’s a solid hook for a new Black Cat series and I’m eager to see where we go from here.

TL;DR: New series is off to a good start, with fun art and writing, though there isn’t anything particularly groundbreaking with this first issue.

Wonder Woman #24
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Daniel Sampere
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

I was rather harsh on the previous issue because of the weird dialogue gimmick in this story. Thankfully, this issue starts clearing that up.

Wonder Woman has arrived on the island controlled by Mouse Man, and she joins up with the little girl we met last issue. Wonder Woman quickly ferrets out this language barrier and gets as frustrated with it as I am. While she takes the girl home, the authorities track her identity and lay a trap, which Wonder Woman fights through. Then Mouse Man himself is informed that Wonder Woman is on the island.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Now that the actual story is progressing, and the authorities of Mouse Island eventually start to speak English, this issue is a lot better than the previous one. I’m confident now that this “Mouse Man knows”/”Mice have ears” thing is going to be explained quite sufficiently. But until we get there, it’s dragging this story down a great deal. I just can’t get over how dumb it feels overall. It’s probably a metaphor for fascism or something, and I hope it has that strong of a payoff. But until then, it’s more an annoyance than anything else. Of course, the issue also has Wonder Woman getting annoyed at the gimmick, so at least we’ve got that in common.

The issue itself is a good read. Wonder Woman is in a foreign land doing her best to figure out all the weirdness going on, while working alongside a teenage girl who understands the weirdness but can’t simply explain it to her. It’s especially weird that Wonder Woman brought her baby along, considering all the times guns go off right next to the baby’s ears in this issue…but perhaps that will also have a satisfying payoff. The issue itself has strong payoffs. I like Wonder Woman slowly learning the weirdness, while also getting super pissed off about it. I liked it when the bad guys actually spoke English and I could understand what the hell was going on. And then the reveal of Mouse Man himself at the end was neat.

I do, legitimately, look forward to seeing all this actually play out.

TL;DR: The dialogue gimmick gets a little easier to handle when Wonder Woman herself has to deal with the annoyance. This issue starts moving the story into some good directions.

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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