I don’t know what’s been up with me lately! This is the least I’ve posted in years! There just aren’t any good trailers to share I guess. Oh well. There will always be new comics to read and review! Like Batman and Void Rivals!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #4 because it remains a consistently great comic!

Meanwhile, I continue to pace my way through Ghost of Yotei. Super fun game. Getting everything I want out of it. Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed for an entire year, so that sucks. And I’ve started playing Dispatch, which is super fun! All around good time! By the time you read this, I’ll also have been to the theater to watch Predator: Badlands. Hopefully that’s good too!

Double meanwhile, the Kickstarter is still ongoing for LobStar #1 from Very Big Comics! It’s made by my amateur comic-making pals and could definitely use some love! They’ve already hit the goal and will definitely be making the comic, and now any additional backers will help fund more of the ongoing story! So check it out, if you don’t mind.

Comic Reviews: Absolute Superman #13, Batman #3, Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #4, Void Rivals #24, Amazing Spider-Man #15 and DC K.O. Knightfight #1.

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Absolute Superman #13
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Becca Carey

The big climax of the first overarching storyline is upon us, and it’s as big as one would expect.

The Battle for Kansas is upon us! The full military might of Lazarus has descended upon this small, Midwestern town, and Superman, Sol, Lois, Jimmy and the townspeople are doing everything they can to hold on and fight back. Superman is pushing himself too far, and Lois notices, but Lazarus is unrelenting. The bad guys eventually manage to break through Sol’s shield and Ra’s al Ghul confronts Superman directly, with a kryptonite broadsword!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

When you’re writing an entire war, it can probably be a little difficult to keep everything contained enough to fit a single comic book issue. Aaron manages the chaos by focusing on Lois Lane’s narration, and it mostly works. He jumps around in time a bit, from weeks ago, when the battle started, to the present day, and that also mostly works. The whole issue mostly works. I found that the strongest stuff came when Lois was describing Superman himself, and the work he was putting in to protect Smallville. I found myself stepping back and appreciating everything he has built so far with Absolute Superman, and that really worked. I really felt the importance of Superman in this issue. And then the nitty gritty of the war and the battles and the character development buoyed all that nicely!

TL;DR: An epic battle comic features an even more epic understanding of Absolute Superman, and that’s what really sold me this issue.

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Batman #3
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

I do very much look forward to this comic each month.

This issue is a lot of little slice of life scenes, like Bruce visiting Tim in the hospital and dealing with Bernard for a moment, or Bruce having a board meeting. The story is mostly about Dr. Zeller and this new brain therapy device she’s invented. The Riddler tries to break in one night and steal it, but Batman stops him and tries to get him help, figuring out from the riddles that Dr. Zeller is using the device on inmates at Arkham Tower. Also, a neighborhood kid filmed Savage planting evidence against Batman from the shooting last issue.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

This issue is a bit too jumbled in places, but is still otherwise a solid, enjoyable chapter. The comic does a lot of jumping around to cover various topics, some of them fun, some of them a bit of a stretch. Thankfully, it’s all mostly filled with strong character writing, of which I’m always a fan. I like the growing infatuation Bruce has with this Dr. Zeller. Honestly, there have probably been a ton of Bruce Wayne romances over the years that I just don’t read about, but I think it’s a fun avenue to explore. If he’s not locked into a relationship with Catwoman, I think it is a cute story to explore to humanize Bruce Wayne as a subplot. So that’s growing nicely.

But at the same time, Zeller’s new device seems silly. But it only seems silly in the larger context of comic books. Like, a science helmet that looks like it does that will cure insanity? We’ve seen that a million times and it never ends well, so I know it’s a silly concept, but it’s treated so earnestly in the comic itself. There’s even a TV interview about it, where Hugo Strange is written as a maniac in his opposition to the helmet. But, again, these types of inventions never end well in comics. Oh well.

Most everything else is fun. I like seeing Bruce do board room stuff in Wayne Enterprises, even if that scene is very brief and is mostly focused on Dr. Zeller’s invention. The scene with Batman, Gordon and Bullock is nifty. And I really like the subplot about this kid wit incriminating footage of Savage, and how he’s doing his own work instead of just connecting that subplot to Batman. That should be fun.

I still don’t care for Bernard, so seeing him isn’t pleasant, but whatever. And I think the idea of Damian Wayne getting accepted to college four years early is a dumb idea. DC has tried for years to put Damian in high school, but can’t seem to make it stick for some reason. Putting him in college instead is not the answer. Heck, Bruce tries to convince Damian that a good reason to go to college is because there are girls…what 17-18-year-old college girl is going to want to date 13-year-old Damian?!

Also, Tim has never been to college. Why not make that a subplot instead of Damian?

TL;DR: The issue is a bit scattershot in terms of subplots and main plots, but most of them are still entertaining, and the character work is very strong.

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Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #4
Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: Nicola Scott
Colorist: Annette Kwok
Letterer: Troy Peteri

My current favorite comic? It’s possible!

Before the heist can begin, Hazard figures out that Wonder Woman will be on watch, and realizes that Cheetah knew…so Cheetah is benched! Lian will take her spot in the heist. We kick things off, pieces start falling into place, Lian gets on board the Watchtower, but then so does Cheetah…

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I daresay, you’re not going to find better character interactions in all of comics right now than Rob the Justice League. I love me a good, grounded superhero tale, where the characters get to act like people first and superheroes (villains) second. And this is that comic! I love them all hanging out and talking up the heist. I love them arguing over Lian taking Cheetah’s place, given Lian’s position as a young superhero. It’s all so wonderful.

And then we get to the start of the heist itself, and the great character writing and artwork gets to include the Justice League. So it’s more of the same greatness, amplified by fun new characters in the mix. And who doesn’t love a good heist story? The planning, pulling off each little step, every character doing their part; this is just an excellent, fun comic.

TL;DR: This already incredibly fun comic finally kicks off the titular heist, so now the fun character writing and artwork is amped up with super fun plot!

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Void Rivals #24
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Conor Hughes
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton

So ends the second year of Void Rivals, and it ends rather nicely, I feel. Best part of the Energon Universe!

The war is over and both the Zertonians and Agorrians know that Unity will destroy them, so there’s a humble peace developing at long last while they rebuild. Darak is getting along with his dad, Solila is in prison, the Transformers have left on good terms, Skuxxoid is kicking off a revolution, and the Quintessons are about to invade, with Cobra-La hitching a ride.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I love Void Rivals. It’s super fun, full of nifty characters, both original and classic, and it’s got a good ongoing story. Robert Kirkman could write an ongoing saga in his sleep. This issue is all about picking up the pieces and setting things in order after the recent climax, and it works splendidly in that regard. We check in with all the major characters, move some of them along, and kick off the next bits. The issue accomplishes all of that pretty flawlessly. No one storyline is lost in the shuffle. It’s all gold.

And I’m quickly discovering that I absolutely love when residents of Cobra-La interact with random oddball Transformers.

I thought the climax of this storyline was abrupt last issue, and then I rather enjoyed the aftermath and clean up. So I’m just fickle. But this is a solid, enjoyable issue that checks in with everybody we care about, with artwork that doesn’t miss a beat. Easily the strongest comic out of the Energon Universe, and I hope Void Rivals isn’t forgotten when we get that animated series.

TL;DR: An expertly crafted transition issue, that cools down the previous big climax and heats up the next big adventure.

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Shorter Reviews:

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Amazing Spider-Man #15 by Joe Kelly, Emilio Laiso, Marcio Menyz, Marte Gracia and Erick Arciniega, and VC’s Joe Caramagna

I got caught up with Amazing Spider-Man and had fun with this one. I’m not usually a fan of when grounded Earth superheroes go on space adventures, but this one is super fun. It’s just a bunch of crazy alien craziness, with a solid Peter Parker at the center, and an excellent cast of supporting characters. So I just gotta let go of my preconceived hang ups and just enjoy some fun comic book shenanigans.

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DC K.O.: Knightfight #1 by Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Triona Farrell and Tom Napolitano

A comic where Batman has to fight grown up versions of his Robins, all of whom have taken over the Batman mantle in one way or another? By Williamson and Mora?! Sign me up! This first issue does a very nice job of setting up the premise and the characters, specifically showing off the Dick Grayson Batman and future Gotham. It works nicely and is a lot of fun, especially using Bruce as the gateway character. There’s a lot of lore dumped onto the reader and onto Bruce with this one, but that’s not a problem. This isn’t meant to be a super serious series. Just give us the set up, give us the adult Robins/Batmens, and let Bruce figure it all out. This is a fun, satisfying start to this weird and hopefully super fun spin-off!

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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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