Category Archives: Comics

Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/17/16

Brace yourselves, people, this week is a wild one. What will be the fate of Tim Drake? Dare we keep reading and find out? Robin is one of my all-time favorite comic book characters, and Tim Drake is my favorite Robin. Can I even stand to read the new issue of Detective Comics?

You’re gosh darn right I am! It wins Comic Book of the Week for a blowout issue, but you’re going to have to keep reading to find out why.

That's right, Tim, drop the word 'Red'

That’s right, Tim, drop the word ‘Red’

This week also saw a large release of a lot of non-Big Two comics that I’m reading. So even though DC Comics had a few other treats this week, I’ve decided to forgo them all and focus on some indie darlings like Faith and Kaijumax! This week’s reviews feature four different publishers!

Comic Reviews: Detective Comics #940, Faith #3, Kaijumax #4, Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy #4, and Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers — Pink #3.

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Comic Review: Teen Titans #24

And so we arrive at the end of the Teen Titans in the New 52. It has been an incredible journey, from the heights of potential, to horrendous mediocrity, to these past few limped along months. For reasons that are unknown to me, DC Comics decided to stick with the core team and concept for the New 52 Titans for the entire five year span of the imprint, despite shaking things up pretty much everywhere else at the company. Heck, this comic has even survived past the New 52 itself, with Rebirth all anyone is talking about. Yet we come not to bury Teen Titans, but to honor it.

Because Teen Titans goes out with an issue I always wanted from this series, but never got. In fact, Teen Titans #24 proves there was a good comic hiding in these pages all along.

ntt24-01

Comic Review: 7/10 – Good.

But even as we try to say goodbye to Teen Titans, I still get to hang my head and sigh one last time. Because this isn’t really the finale of Teen Titans, it’s an epilogue/tie-in to this week’s Detective Comics #940. So despite everything this comic has done for itself after all these years, despite keeping the core team and concept together all this time, Teen Titans doesn’t actually get to end on its own merits. The finale is just a follow up to another, much better comic. How embarrassing.

I will be spoiling the big news in Detective Comics #940, so don’t read ahead if you don’t want to be spoiled — though I’m not sure why someone would read my review of Teen Titans before reading that phenomenal Detective Comics issue.

Suffice to say, Teen Titans #24 is a series of vignettes as the remaining Titans recall some of their favorite moments with one of their favorite team members. The scenes have real character to them, the sort of character that was almost entirely missing from Teen Titans as a series. If we had anything in the comic even approaching the scenes mentioned in this final issue, Teen Titans could have been pretty good.

Instead, we bid everybody goodbye and will likely speak no more about this version of the Teen Titans. Let’s hope the next people do a better job.

Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and review!

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/10/16

Anybody else get real lazy on a vacation? And I don’t mean a vacation where you go on an awesome trip and have great adventures. I mean a staycation, where you largely spend the time sitting at home playing video games, reading comics and occasionally venturing out to catch Pokemon. That’s the kind of vacation I just had, and it was pretty neat. But man, did it take a lot of effort to actually write comic book reviews this week. But I got it done!

Some quality comics this week, including Iron Man, Nightwing and Doctor Strange, even. But Comic Book of the Week easily and handily goes to Harley Quinn #3, for bringing joy and romance to all of comics! There is no better relationship these days than Harley and Ivy!

What was she going to say?!

What was she going to say?!

They are a shining beacon in all of comics. If only Nightwing was this much fun. Or Iron Man. And the new Supergirl Rebirth would have greatly benefited from some of that charisma.

Comic Reviews: Doctor Strange #11, Harley Quinn #3, Invincible Iron Man #13, Nightwing #4 and Supergirl #1. 

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/3/16

I’m on vacation again! I love me a good work vacation. I get a whole week to just hang out and relax. Read some comics. Watch some movies. I’ve got a whole list of stuff to do this week. Hopefully I get around to at least half of it and I don’t just spend the week playing video games. That could happen.

But until then, how about this week’s comics? We’ve got some good ones, like Kim & Kim and Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. We’ve also got a comic that breaks my little heart. Stupid Amazing Spider-Man #17!

Fortunately, writer Dan Slott almost redeems himself with a stellar Silver Surfer #200 anniversary issue! He wins Comic Book of the Week, but the guy is damn good at toying with my emotions.

I’ve read that comic, it’s really good

Saga also returned this week, but I’ve decided to stop reviewing that comic. Saga is an amazing story, and part of me thinks it’s meant to be read issue-by-issue, but I just don’t think I can be fair to the series that way. Some issues might be duller than others, but that does not bring down Saga as a whole. It’s a tough decision, but the only decision that matters is that you should be reading Saga.

Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #17, Astonishing Ant-Man #11, Kim & Kim #2, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #6, Ms. Marvel #10 and Silver Surfer #200.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/27/16

Another great week of comics is upon us! But this one is tinged with a bit of sadness and fear. We’ve got amazing comics like Batgirl and Patsy Walker, but the new issue of Detective Comics has me shaking in my henchman-issued boots. Can DC Comics really go through with the unthinkable? Dare they do this to me and all of the fans out there?

I guess we’ll find out next month.

For now, let us all join hands and celebrate the brilliance that is Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #11. Writer Ryan North takes us to class in more ways than one, producing one of the most ingenious comic books of the year so far! Instant masterpiece, instant Comic Book of the Week. Here’s a quick lesson in how to count to 31 on one hand!

You are all now a little bit smarter

I know so much more about dactylonomy than I ever did before! It’ll make more sense once you read the issue.

Comic Reviews: Batgirl #2, Captain America – Steve Rogers #4, Detective Comics #939, Patsy Walker a.k.a. Hellcat #9 and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #11.

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