This was both a weird and good week for me. I had some trouble sleeping, which sucked. But this was also the week of the Grand Theft Auto VI: Extended Look, and that can raise any week back up! As can good comics, like Amazing Spider-Man!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Absolute Wonder Woman #23 for a powerhouse performance by our beloved Amazon warrior woman.

Meanwhile, like I said, I had some fun this week. Grand Theft Auto VI looks amazing! Can’t wait! I also started up Star Wars: Zero Company last night and it’s fun so far! I’ve got a 3-day weekend and I’m going to enjoy the heck out of this new game. I also went and saw Coyote vs. Acme and it was a hoot and a half! Lovely, super fun film. Glad we all got the chance to see it.

Comic Reviews: Absolute Catwoman #3, Absolute Wonder Woman #23, Amazing Spider-Man #999, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3 and Next Level – One Shot #1.

Absolute Catwoman #3
Writers: Scott Snyder and Che Grayson
Artist: Bengal
Colorist: Giovanna Niro
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni

My interest in Absolute Catwoman is waning because I don’t see how it stands out as all that unique.

Catwoman, Victoria and Helena regroup at the Cat Cave after fighting off some cloaked bad guys. We then get an extended sequence of them figuring out what the MacGuffin is, and then Victoria and Helena suiting up like the Question and Huntress using some of Selena’s old gear. They then launch a mission to get the MacGuffin. We also see a flashback to the final mission of the Calico Crew and how it’s tied to Cassandra Cain.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

While I like the energy and art style of this comic, the simple fact is that not a whole lot happens in this issue to move things along. It’s mostly about the girls just hanging out in the Catcave and going over some of the basics or expositing a lot of exposition. It’s still good, and the characters are written well, even if the focus is taken off of Catwoman by her new partners. But the MacGuffin sounds a little too extreme for what I thought this comic was about — which is on me, I suppose. I just don’t like the sound of the thing. And despite all the exposition, we’re still only slowly piecing together what, so far, doesn’t seem to be all that interesting of a mystery. The Calico Crew had a run-in with a young Cassandra back in the day, and now she’s grown up and, I guess, getting her revenge?

It all works on a relatively fine level. I guess I just need to get on this book’s vibe. It’s going for some degree of international woman of mystery stuff, and I can dig that. I just think the team is taking too much focus away from Selina and getting to know her better in her own comic. And the mission seems a like a little too high of stakes. But the writing is solid, the artwork fits well enough, and there’s enough energy to keep everything moving forward. It’s just not capturing me as completely as, say, Absolute Wonder Woman.

TL;DR: Writing and artwork remain solid, but I think Absolute Catwoman is not spending enough time establishing itself without being distracted by excess bits.

Absolute Wonder Woman #23
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey

New storyline begins here, and it’s a whopper!

Diana is headed back home and she’s going straight to the government facility to rescue Barbara Minerva, armed with new gear and technology. But the facility is empty, so she trashes the place and flies right to Veronica Cale’s office, just smashing her way in. Diana is a creature of barely controlled rage now and we get an awesome scene where a panicked Cale tries to hold off an angry Diana. Eventually, Cale does offer what she knows, and Diana breaks into her secret room/lab, where Cale’s daughter is preserved as a statue after a spell from Zatanna. Diana might be able to help with that…but Zeus has come to Keystone City.

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

Hot damn, this was a super fun issue! The highlight is the confrontation between Wonder Woman and Cale, her arch nemesis. It’s a powerful scene that is built upon all of the work that has been done before. This is Wonder Woman on the edge, and she has no problem showing Cale her strength. We also get some insight into Cale’s thoughts on this whole thing, or at least what she tells Diana, who can see through her true thoughts about the whole thing. Regardless, it works great as a way to really establish the foundational battle between Wonder Woman and Cale — and then the thing with the daughter adds a whole extra level. It will be fun to see that explored.

This issue is a real highlight of Wonder Woman with a new attitude, and I love it. She’s on a mission to rescue a friend, and she’s not gonna hold back right now. It’s a great build on everything that’s come before. And the artwork doesn’t slouch, obviously. I’m excited to see Sherman on the new Legion of Super-Heroes comic. Especially after his design for Zeus. This dude has been killing it with all the god designs! And he’s killed it again with a new, tougher Wonder Woman design. I’m not sure if we’ve seen the high tech, AI-powered shoulder pad she’s got before…but it’s cool and it works just fine for this issue.

And if you’ve seen the preview images of Absolute Cheetah, holy hell, we are in for one heck of a story!

TL;DR: Wonder Woman is a total badass in this issue, setting up what should be an exciting new story!

Amazing Spider-Man #999
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Francesco Manna
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

I’ve been rather lukewarm on Joe Kelly’s Amazing Spider-Man run, but I rather enjoyed this issue and then saw that it was the issue before the big #1,000! So I decided to give it a full review.

Peter Parker has been pulling away from Aunt May because her biological son is now in the picture, and Aunt May won’t stand for it. So she goes to Peter directly and they talk it out, with her confirming her love for him in all the ways Peter needs to hear. Then while out doing some web-swinging, Peter finds Ghost Spider on a rampage and he gets her to snap out of it. Damage Control shows up to help clean up the area…and take Gwen into custody for the rampage. Spider-Man has been very very chummy with Damage Control lately, but he can’t let them take one of his Spider-People, and it’s a nice confrontation — that gets interrupted by a phone call for Peter: Aunt May has had a stroke.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

This was just a really good issue with some very well-written scenes that I think actually worked quite well. The scene where Peter finally admits to Aunt May what’s been bothering him was nice. I like the open communication. And it’s been building for some time. I like that Aunt May took the initiative to confront Peter for once about his nonsense. So it worked out really well. Then I looooved the scene at the end, where Peter stands up against his buddies in Damage Control to protect Gwen. Kelly has done a great job setting up this new friendship between Peter and the new head of Damage Control, and I really like how it’s tested here. The Spiders aren’t exactly an organized team (at least not one where Peter is in charge), but he’s got the connections that would make him pick easy sides. So I like how Kelly is testing this friendship/partnership he’s been building.

Then we get that big ending and I dig it! I didn’t know this was issue #999 while reading (because the main number is 30-something). So when we got to that big bomb, I had to do a double take. I think it’s a great way to lead us into the big anniversary issue. Let’s do something big and meaningful and emotional! Poor Aunt May, though. But this comic needed a big kick in the butt to get really exciting.

Also, I hope Kelly does something soon with the three aliens living in Peter’s apartment. Either do something with them or ditch them. I like Raelith and I love that Peter has a badass alien girlfriend…but his secret identity means that she can’t interact with anything or anyone on Earth. Tell people she’s a mutant or something! Glitch spends all his time complaining about being there, to the point one has to wonder why he doesn’t just go home. And Symbie is never going to happen. Stop trying to make Symbie happen.

TL;DR: Some really great scenes make for a very entertaining issue, then the big issue #1,000 gets an appropriate cliffhanger in this issue to take us in.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3
Writer: Marguerite Bennett
Artist: Phillip Sevy
Colorist: Joshua Jensen
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

I’m out.

Kimberly and Trini have decided to find a house together, and they settle in with some random lady so the three of them can be housemates — but they very quickly start getting on each other’s nerves. Even when the other Rangers show up for a housewarming party, the mood is bleak. Then Kimberly finally goes into the attic, where she finds a Rita monster living and sucking the energy from their lives. Then for some reason, only Kimberly and Trini morph and call their Zords to defeat the monster. Then the vibe/energy is restored to the home and all the nearby neighborhoods.

Comic Rating: 1/10 – Terrible.

I have very few redeeming things to say about this comic. I don’t like it. And that’s especially weird, because it’s doing one of the things I enjoy most in these types of comics: letting the characters be people first. I love the idea of our superheroes spending time trying to find a new house. And I like some of the focus on Kimberly trying to sort out her life after her gymnastics career ended. But man did I hate the execution of pretty much everything in this issue. I hate how it doesn’t even try to pay lip-service to the larger foundation that’s been laid, and even then, it’s barely a foundation. I hate how this comic isn’t trying to be as deep or as human as the previous Power Rangers comics from BOOM! I hate how this feels like a paper thin recreation of the original TV show, as if BOOM! has given up on telling interesting, character-driven Power Rangers stories. Just surface level tripe.

Let’s get into the nitty gritty. First of all, why are they trying to find a new house? Have they simply abandoned their previous living arrangements just because they’re Power Rangers again? Trini is supposed to be a diplomat. She needed new housing? And then why settle for a house where somebody was already living? Why move into this random woman’s house and make her a supporting character? The conflict is pretty basic and done a million times. There’s a monster to blame for everybody sniping at each other? Why not just deal with the real human emotions? Why is the mystery of the baby’s father such a thing? Hasn’t that been done to death? I dunno. None of the story choices worked for me at all. We’re three issues in and we’re barely exploring the larger ideas behind this relaunch.

Also, I’ve nitpicked this before, but it happened again: lawyers are people too. Zach comes to the housewarming party and Billy sheepishly apologizes for inviting him? Asks if an “Angela” is handling things back at the office? Lawyers are allowed to have social lives. They can attend parties. They can clock out for the day and go do normal human things. Also, are the other Rangers trying to find new housing or are they allowed to continue living their previous lives?

TL;DR: Every story and character choice in this new relaunch feels so shallow and uninteresting.

Shorter Reviews:

Next Level – One Shot #1 by Gerry Duggan, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire and Buddy Beudoin

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Despite my overall love and high praise for everything DC Comics is doing these days, I haven’t been into their Big Event crossovers simply because I’m largely burnt out on those. But I like Deadshot after his Secret Six appearances, and I thought this was going to be like the other All In/Next Level books, just a oneshot. Nah, it’s a prologue to the third (and I believe final) big event for Snyder and Co’s overarching narrative. To that end, it’s solid. It’s mostly just constant internal narration as we tease the new threat, ending with a big threat reveal. The art is good for Deadshot, even if it’s a little too dark and gritty for his hilariously bright costume. And Deadshot is written well. So it definitely works and works just fine as a prologue with a solid lead character.

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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