As of today, I’m on vacation! Got a week off from work to just relax and not experience the winter anymore. Should be nice. And we get to start out with a bunch of good comics, like Iron Man and Absolute Martian Manhunter.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Absolute Wonder Woman because that comic can do no wrong.

Meanwhile, I started playing Subnautica: Below Zero, because it was recently free on Playstation Plus. I’ve never played the original Subnautica, but free is free. I’m enjoying it, because I like these gathering/building/exploring games. I can throw on some YouTube on the side and just mosey around. Fun so far. All my anticipated games are coming out in the fall. I’ve also started watching the recent TV adaptation of The Rainmaker, which is my all-time favorite book, at least it was when I was a teenager getting into grown up books. I don’t have a lot of faith in this show, because I’m going to be too much of a stickler.

Comic Reviews: Absolute Martian Manhunter #9, Absolute Wonder Woman #17, Iron Man #2 and Void Rivals #27.

Absolute Martian Manhunter #9
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Javier Rodriguez
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Anyone reading my reviews of Absolute Martian Manhunter needs to keep in mind that I am a dummy who is very bad at catching subtext. So it’s very likely this comic isn’t hitting me as strongly as it might other people. That’s entirely on me.

While the bad guys vivisect the Martian, John Jones goes around to people who dreamed about him to see what they know — not much. And now he’s got Despero as a psychic sidekick, who is all about negativity. John heads to marriage counseling with his wife, but Despero keeps filling his head with bad vibes, so it goes very poorly.

Also, the internet caught that the therapist is the Absolute version of Doctor Trap.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

Fortunately for me, most of this issue was pretty easy to follow, so I really enjoyed myself. We’ve got the two parallel stories of the bad guys vivisecting the Martian and playing with all the colorful goop in his body, and then we’ve got John Jones going to therapy with his wife, all while Despero toys with his mind. It all worked for me as storytelling, so I enjoyed this issue. I don’t normally go for the trippy stuff, and I would never suggest Camp and Rodriguez should reign it in, but I like it when they reign it in enough that even a dummy like me can understand. This was another entertaining issue as John Jones deals with all manner of weirdness.

The artwork gets to go to a whole different level this issue, as Rodriguez really embraces Despero. I like how Absolute Martian Manhunter, even with all its creative weirdness, is still finding ways to introduce Absolute versions of classic characters. That’s always a fun part of these alternate universe stories — as seen in the new Wonder Woman issue — and I’m glad Martian Manhunter gets to join in the fun. Despero definitely brings a cool new vibe to this comic, both in terms of storytelling and what Rodriguez can do with the artwork. The creative team really found a fun way to level things up for the second storyline.

TL;DR: This second storyline is really ramping up, with story choices that let the creative team truly shine.

Absolute Wonder Woman #17
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey

It’s time for a good, old-fashioned, classic character slobberknocker!

Now that Zatanna has Diana’s magic, she uses it to immediately purge herself of the Starro-esque parasite that Veronica Cale was using to control her. Zatanna teleports away, but Wonder Woman still has to fight Cheetah, the Mer-Queen, Dr. Poison and especially Giganta. Diana deals with the first three rather easily; it’s Giganta that puts up a real fight. Diana uses her magic to match Giganta’s size, even as she keeps growing, and we’ve soon got two kaijua-sized warriors duking it out on the streets! And then Veronica Cale sends in an even more vicious replacement magician!

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

While I’m a little disappointed at how quickly Zatanna disembarks this issue, the fight against classic baddie Giganta more than makes up for the loss. I’m no longtime Wonder Woman fan, but it’s still a hoot to see these classic characters brought into the Absolute Universe. Giganta is fantastic! We don’t get too much depth, but her personality and punch easily drive the issue. And it’s super fun seeing Wonder Woman fight back the way she does. I really like seeing Diana whip out nifty spells in the middle of a fight; it’s a nice addition to her character. Granted, she often does seem to have the perfect spell for whatever she may encounter, but I don’t care. The spell results in Sherman drawing two giant warriors fighting in the middle of a crowded city street, and the double-page spread is incredible!

The rest of the artwork, of course, is just as incredible. Sherman has really come into his own with this series, making him a top name in the industry and making it look easy. Wonder Woman looks amazing. The villains look amazing. The action looks amazing. And then Thompson continues to do such a wonderful job fleshing out the world. We find out that the Cheetah on the Suicide Squad is indeed Priscilla, who was the first Cheetah in the comics. And wouldn’t you know it, enough ground is laid to show Barbara Minerva hanging around the fight…can’t wait! All the characters are juggled so well. This comic is the whole package and then some.

And now that Zatanna is free, can’t wait to see what else she’s going to do in this storyline!

TL;DR: The bad guys were introduced last issue, and this issue makes the absolute most out of all of them! Writing, characters, storytelling and especially artwork make this issue the whole package.

Iron Man #2
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Carmen Carnero
Colorist: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

We’ll see where this Iron Man series goes.

In a moment of quiet intimacy after banging, Tony Stark once revealed to Madame Masque that his greatest fear — his nightmare — was that some other super genius would undergo a trial by fire like he did and come out having built a very bad weapon for evil. This is why Masque has now kidnapped a bunch of super geniuses and is holding them in a prison, to see what they might invent to try to escape. Iron Man spends his time trying to track down any links to AIM and he finds MODOK in Madripoor, but AIM shows up to kill MODOK before he talks!

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Right up front, I’m a little disappointed at the ‘big reveal’ in this issue. The first issue set up some kind of Tower of Babel situation, as if Iron Man had some very specific plans on how to take down superheroes and Madame Masque got her hands on it. But it turns out, this storyline is built around the vague idea that Tony Stark figures some other super genius might get tested like he did once upon a time, and come up with a bad weapon like the Iron Man armor. On the other hand, it’s not the worst overall villain scheme I’ve ever heard. This story provides us with a bunch of new NPCs who could be turned into ongoing supporting characters, and makes it a bit more personal for Tony himself. I don’t buy into the idea that her’s personally responsible for these geniuses being kidnapped just because they were finalists for his genius award, but I’ll roll with that idea.

The real driving point of the comic is the great characterization of Tony Stark. He’s fun and entertaining to follow, with a solid supporting cast around him. The Captain America cameo is a hoot. Pepper Potts and Melinda May should make for a good team. I enjoy how Williamson uses minor villains, like Grizzly, and he has a lot of fun with MODOK in this issue. Madame Masque is also being set up as a solid antagonist. So the building blocks are all there for an entertaining Iron Man story, and it is working well thus far.

TL;DR: This new story hums along nicely with great character work, but not much in the way so far to really knock my socks off.

Void Rivals #27
Writer: Robert Kirkman
Artist: Andrei Bressan
Colorist: Patricio Delpeche
Letterer: Rus Wooton

Merrily we roll along with more Void Rivals! Though I’m sour that we’ve gone several issues now without checking in on Skuxxoid or that Cobra-La dude trapped with the Junkions.

Darak and Solila travel to Darak’s father, and Darak has the bright idea to charge up their soldiers with Energon to repel the Sharkticons. It works and Solila brings this solution to her people on the other side of the Ring…but the healing nature of the Energon has some unexpected side effects!

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Honestly, Void Rivals remains consistently good and entertaining, and the action continues to ramp up nicely. It’s at a steady place, where the characters are fun, the adventure is rolling and the stakes keep getting higher. Maybe these characters could use some downtime, now that I think about it. Darak and Solila get to sort of interact in this issue…but when was the last time they had an actual conversation? When was the last time everybody wasn’t running around dealing with a crisis…how much time has passed since the start of the comic? I’m getting off topic. My desire for more R&R for these characters does not outweigh the genuine enjoyment of this latest issue.

I don’t remember when Energon was revealed to boost the citizens of the Ring, but I’m sure it happened, and I’m sure it’s a nice payoff in this issue as they turn the tide against the Sharkticons. And then some more stuff happens. And yeah, this is mainly just an issue where characters run around, stuff happens and the story moves along. Not much chance for anyone to stop and smell the roses or flesh out their character. The ending cliffhanger seems promising. Have Darak and Solila fallen in love yet? Are they a romantic subplot? I can’t remember if they ever smooched or the like.

TL;DR: Another exciting and entertaining issue of Void Rivals keeps the action and story rolling along nicely.

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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