Big to medium week in comics this week, folks! Frankly, any week with a new Absolute Wonder Woman is a big week, but we’ve also got the new Spider-Man/Superman crossover from Marvel! The last crossover of this big celebration period!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Absolute Wonder Woman #19, though, for a pretty much perfect comic. This one is on fire as Absolute Batman.

Meanwhile, I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of Crimson Desert. I splurged on the game because I knew it was a big, open world RPG and that’s exactly what I’m getting! But it’s almost too big! I spend a lot of time seeking treasure and new outfits, while progressing story and side quests at a nice pace. Quality game; glad I bought it, hopefully it’ll sustain me all the way until Wolverine in September.

Comic Reviews: Absolute Wonder Woman #19, Captain America #9 and Spider-Man/Superman #1.

Absolute Wonder Woman #19
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey

Every new issue is a reminder of why the Absolute comics are the absolute top of the industry right now. Just, hot damn, people, it’s all so good.

In an opening prologue, we learn that Aphrodite gave Diana a bit of her power to have people love her, which she fears will cause Diana immense heartbreak in the future. Probably true. In the present, Diana uses her dark lasso to trap Giovanni Zatara in the Crossroads to try to free his mind, but they’re interrupted by Zatanna, who just pops in to pull her dad out (and she succeeds!). But interrupting Diana’s spell like that has trapped Diana, so Zatanna goes back in to get her as well (While her dad fights Giganta in the background!). When everyone is safe, Cale sends the Iron Maiden giant robot to get Zatara back, but Diana ain’t having none of that!

Comic Rating: 10/10 – Fantastic.

There’s a lot going on in this issue and Thompson and the art team juggle all of it perfectly. The showdown between Diana and Zatara is a strong one, especially with the twist that Zatanna disrupts Diana’s magic. Thompson has done some fantastic work with Absolute Zatanna and this issue pays it off perfectly. I just love the idea that Diana cast one spell to save the day, and Zatanna just sort of interrupted with her own spell to save the day her way…and then Zatanna had to go back and do another spell to save Diana from Zatnana’s mistake! Such a layered and fascinating use of magic that, ultimately, ends with the day saved. I love the heroism, I love the teamwork and I absolutely ‘ship Diana and Zatanna, like the rest of the internet. Absolute Steve Trevor does get a badass moment in this issue, but man, what Thompson is doing with Wonder Woman and Zatanna is the stuff epic poems are made of.

The rest of the issue is just as good. Giganta remains a real hoot and she gets some funny scenes. Watching Zatara fight Giganta in the background while Zatanna saves Diana was a great choice and added some wonderful levity. Verona Cale gets some strong villain moments, Steve Trevor gets a great hero moment and Barbara’s story takes a turn I didn’t see coming, at least not in this regard. The only thing I probably didn’t like was the ending. The day is saved, Zatara is rescued, but then Veronica Cale just happens to have a giant super robot she can send to pick him back up? Just a stretch too far for me, though I do love how Wonder Woman just goes to punch it because her hero work is never done.

TL;DR: There’s a lot going on in the latest issue and the Absolute Wonder Woman creative team juggles all of it perfectly for another fantastic chapter.

Captain America #9
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Ton Lima
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

I’m still not digging this story, but I kinda wanna pay attention to Armageddon for some reason, despite my general disdain for Big Events these days.

After finding the mass graves, Captain America has broken off from his SHIELD buddies to join Alina in taking the fight directly to Salvation. They campaign among the people and gather a grassroots army to take on their foes, and Steve is able to convince to of the SHIELD people to join them as well. But Salvation won’t go down without a fight!

Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.

The same problems that have plagued this story all along remain, but this issue is marginally better than previous ones because it’s got some solid hero moments, I suppose. The biggest problem I have with this story is that we haven’t had any time to really flesh out this political story, especially since all of the drama rests in characters that are not fleshed out. So Doctor Doom has been ousted and now various factions are trying to take political control of Latveria, and Captain America is stuck in the middle. That has the makings for a really good story…but there’s no nuance, no depth, no exploration. There’s Salvation, a straight forward bad guy, and there’s Alina ,a straight forward good guy, and there’s no depth to either of them or their factions…and I’m pretty sure there was a third faction at some point?

And then the SHIELD agents remain just as boring. They’ve got colorful costumes now, but why is everyone so afraid of making these characters into actual superheroes? Captain America is as bright and colorful as ever. But Salvation is barely a Doctor Doom knockoff with a terrible name (Doctor Salvation was right there!). And couldn’t Alina be somebody? Captain Latveria?! The world is overdue for a Latveria-themed superhero. But instead, the characters and the conflict remain skin deep, it feels. And Captain America feels so detached from it all because he’s never really had stake in Latveria.

Also, when Alina was giving her big speech and via loudspeaker to rally the people…why does she do it out in the open, on a rooftop, with zero protection? She’s not standing anywhere near the people to serve as a rallying visage, so why not use the loudspeaker in a safe, secure location?

TL;DR: The conflict and the characters still feel skin deep, but then I suppose modern comics don’t allow the time it would take to really build this political struggle into something real.

Marvel/DC: Spider-Man/Superman #1
Writer: Brad Meltzer and others
Artist: Pepe Larraz and others
Colorist: Matthew Wilson and others
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles and others

I missed reviewing the DC Superman/Spider-Man chapter of this crossover because that was the week I was sick. I don’t think I even read it all the way through. But thankfully I’m not going to miss this one!

Spider-Man and Superman are trapped under some rubble by Lex Luthor and the Green Goblin, and Venom is slipped in to take over Superman. Our heroes escape and save the day, then have a big family dinner with the Kents and Aunt May.

Then there are a bunch of backup stories that are mostly just short meetings, like Miles meets Superman, Gwen Stacy gossips with Lana Lang, Steel and Thor fight Hobgoblin, and the Thing learns a good lesson from Superman…among other stories I may have forgotten.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Honestly, I don’t think I was overly impressed with any of these crossover stories, between Batman, Deadpool, Superman and Spider-Man. I think I like Grant Morrison’s story the best. The Superman/Spider-Man ones just rang kind of hollow, just an excuse to hit all the expected cues and not really say anything new about any of the characters involved. Granted, the extra stories were probably too short to do anything greater than that, but I guess I hoped for more. An interesting story, perhaps. A new wrinkle that each character brings out in the other. Of course Aunt May is going to get along with the Kents. Of course Superman and Spider-Man are going to get along. I think I liked the other story a bit more than this one. The artwork throughout both issues, though, is top notch. So that’s nice.

My favorite story was the one about the Thing, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. That one actually touched upon what I was hoping. It’s a story about the Thing feeling bad about himself and working with the other heroes to fight a Hulk juiced up by a Red Lantern, which is a nice crossover angle. The story features a lot of cameos, which I liked. And, ultimately, it was a story of how Superman and his actions helped the Thing reconsider a couple of things about himself. That really touched upon what I was hoping these stories would be, that these crossovers and characters might bring something new out of each other. Also, Gary Frank draws an amazing Thing.

Also, where the hell is the announcement of new Amalgam comics, you cowards!

TL;DR: I am all in favor of these types of crossovers, but I don’t think they were very strong in this issue. Some fun little gems, some unnecessary ones, and the whole endeavor was pretty fun overall. But I feel like they could have done so much more.

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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