New Comic Book Reviews 10/2/24 - 10/9/24: DC All-In, Absolute Batman, Storm, The Terminator & MORE!

New Comic Book Reviews 10/2/24 – 10/9/24: DC All-In, Absolute Batman, Storm, The Terminator & MORE!

New Comics Reviews for Wednesdays 10/2 – 10/9

Thanks for downloading the show to listen to us discuss (AKA argue about) these comics! But we wanted to give you Listenerds a quick way to keep track of our ratings too. Here are our new comic book reviews, ratings and our choice for the THN Permanent Collection (best of the pile) from Episode 756, featuring DC All-In, Absolute Batman, Storm, The Terminator, and MORE! You still gotta download the show if you want to hear our full discussion though, so….

CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE HERE!

Joe’s Reviews:

10/2

DC All-In Special #1

Cover by Daniel Sampere

DC All-In Special #1
DC Comics
Written by Scott Snyder and Joshua Williamson
Art by Daniel Sampere, Wes Craig, and Dan Mora
Colors by Alejandro Sanchez, Mike Spicer, and Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by Steve Wands
64 pages for $4.99

Solicit: THE NEXT EPIC CHAPTER OF DC HISTORY BEGINS HERE…PRESENTED AS A STARLING, SYMMETRICAL FLIPBOOK! DON’T MISS IT! Following the events of DC’s blockbuster storyline Absolute Power, the heroes of the core DC Universe have fought against the deep divisions in the world around them to usher in a new era of unity. And it’s just in time, too–because Darkseid has returned. Superman must gather every hero on Earth to hold the line against a very different version of the Lord of Apokolips, as they raise our cosmic defenses and prepare for war…and when the first blows land, the shock waves will ripple into every series in the DCU and shake the nature of their reality to its core! But little do they know…the greater threat is still to come. For there is another Earth: the Absolute Universe. Here, DC’s biggest icons are coming of age with fewer advantages and facing greater opposition than ever before…while miraculously retaining the immutable heroism that has inspired fans for decades. But can they really protect the light that shines inside them when the world in which they live is hurtling toward a terrible destiny?

Review: DC All-In is a LOT to process, but it also sets up a lot of things to look forward to in the coming months, maybe even years. We only get a brief glimpse of the Absolute Trinity, but it’s an enticing tease. The two halves of the story weave together seamlessly and the art is top-notch.

Rating: BUY IT.

 

Storm #1

Cover by Mateus Manhanini

Storm #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Murewa Ayodele
Art by Lucas Werneck
Colors by Alex Guimares and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
40 pages for $4.99

Solicit: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST MUTANT, NOW HEADLINING HER OWN SOLO SERIES! Ororo Munroe has lived many lives. She’s been a thief, a goddess, an X-Man, a queen and now an Avenger! She is the most prominent, most respected and most powerful mutant on the world stage; and in that role, she intends to be a force for positive change! First up: A major meltdown at a nuclear facility in Oklahoma City draws Storm from her Sanctuary in Atlanta; and into a moral conflict that will test her iron resolve! Guest-starring X-FACTOR’s FRENZY!

Review: Storm #1 finally corrects a long standing oversight by giving Ororo Munroe her first ongoing series. I wasn’t at all familiar with writer Murewa Ayodele prior to this, but he did a great job selling Ororo as a character worthy of her own solo title, and Lucas Werneck delivers some of the strongest work of his career. I’m looking forward to seeing Storm take her place in the pantheon of Marvel heroes.

Rating: BUY IT.

 

10/9

Action Comics #1070

Cover by Clayton Henry

Action Comics #1070
DC Comics
Written by Mark Waid and Mariko Tamaki
Art by Clayton Henry and Skylar Partridge
Colors by Matt Herms and Marissa Louise
Letters by Dave Sharpe and Becca Carey
40 pages for $4.99

Solicit: THE ACTION COMICS WEEKLY STARTS HERE WITH SUPERMAN SUPERSTARS MARK WAID, CLAYTON HENRY, MARIKO TAMAKI, AND SKYLAR PATRIDGE! An otherworldly horror, tearing its way through Metropolis, has emerged from the Phantom Zone. Something’s wrong in the Zone–something terrible–and Superman must enter alone to find out what! From the pages of Absolute Power and Batman/Superman: World’s Finest comes a new Action epic unlike any you’ve seen before from the visionary creative team of Mark Waid and Clayton Henry! Plus, the Woman of Tomorrow is here today! Supergirl Special’s Mariko Tamaki and Skylar Patridge return to bring Kara to the farthest reaches of space in pursuit of a mysterious threat only she can handle.

Review: Action Comics #1070 features Mark Waid doing what he does best: embrace classic concepts and present them with modern sensibilities. The lead story is a fun, old-school superhero romp with great art that sets up a compelling arc. I’m not quite sold on the backup story yet, but I’m intrigued enough to keep reading.

Rating: BUY IT.

 

Sentinels #1

Cover by Justin Mason

Sentinels #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Alex Paknadel
Pencils by Justin Mason (no inker?)
Color art by Federico Blee
Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
40 pages for $4.99

Solicit: WHO ARE THE NEW SENTINELS? The original Sentinel Program was human supremacy and fear coded into circuitry. But now their legacy falls into the hands of mutantkind! Powered by cutting-edge nanotech, this new generation of Sentinels protects a fragile peace between mutants and humans. But when being a Sentinel is your job – your life – is it possible to stay human? Mount up as Alex Paknadel (CARNAGE) and Justin Mason (SPIDER-PUNK) bring you a brand-new team of heroes that will take on the most heinous mutants! Their first mission: Capture Omega Red!

Review: The biggest problem with Sentinels #1 is that the main characters are the weakest part. Paknadel does make an attempt to humanize them, but we only have five issues to work with, so I kinda need to care about these guys NOW. But the premise is interesting, the action is cool, and the art is neat. It’s only going to be a short ride, but I’m on board.

Rating: STRONG SKIM IT.

 

Matt’s Reviews:

10/2

The Creeping Below #1

Cover by Vanessa Del Rey

The Creeping Below #1
BOOM! Studios
Written by Brian Azzarello
Art by Vanessa Del Rey
Colors by Hillary Jenkins
Letters by Andworld Design
28 pages for $4.99

Solicit: In nature, there are gods older than the devil… Nothing can prepare you for what’s coming in this violent, electrifying descent into this bloody, black metal infused revenge saga. Val, an American metalhead attending a festival in Oslo, begins her penumbrous pilgrimage into the vast depths of vengeance. After her victimization at the hands of a charismatically vile local band, the Old Gods of Norse Mythology guide her along her path in the name of women everywhere. Will she walk a warrior’s path… or become a behemoth beyond human recognition? Harvey and Eisner Award-winning, New York Times bestselling Brian Azzarello brings metal, magic, and mayhem to a revenge story akin to Swamp Thing by way of The Crow, brought to life with breathtaking imagery by acclaimed artist Vanesa R. Del Rey (The Empty Man, Redlands).

Review: It’s been a while since we’ve read horror from Brian Azzarello but he’s brought the same mean-spirited violent storytelling from his recent Blood Brother’s Mother book to Oslo Norway with The Creeping Below. The story takes it’s time building on tension that comes to a head in the wild spaces outside of Oslo rather than the metal clubs where angry young men paint their faces to look like corpses and growl uninspired praise for Satan. Vanessa Del Rey’s chunky spastic art perfectly sells the gloomy graffiti-covered street scenes, spastic head-banging black metal shows, and the deep menacing woods. The first issue sets up a victim’s story but it sets up what will no doubt turn into a violent, magic-fueled revenge story. The Creeping Below is dark slow-burn horror for fans of films like The Witch and Midsommar featuring black metal and even blacker magic.

Rating: BUY IT

 

DC Horror Presents: Creature Commandos #1

Cover by Tirso Cons

DC Horror Presents: Creature Commandos #1
DC Comics
Written by David Dastmalchian
Art by Jesús Hervás
Colors by Alex Guimarães
Letters by Ferran Delgado
40 pages for $3.99

Solicit: A VAMPIRE, A WEREWOLF, A GORGON, AND AN UNDEAD SOLDIER WALK INTO A GROCERY STORE…AND ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! This is the Creature Unit, a team of misfits assembled by a mad…ly talented scientist for a dangerous military mission. In this brand-new era of Creature Commandos penned by Count Crowley creator David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad and Late Night with the Devil), the claws are out, fangs are bared, and blood is spilled–lots of it!

Review: I’m looking forward to James Gunn’s animated Creature Commandos feature but this comic felt like a missed opportunity. There’s no reason a team like this can’t exist in the DCU and what better time than the All In soft launch to introduce them? Instead, we get a snarky update that feels like another Suicide Squad but with all new characters relying on their monster status to be interesting. Dastmalchian’s script is fine, he’s going full absurd, horror, cartoon which is probably close to what we’ll see with the upcoming animated movie. The art is strong, oozes with style, and had some creepy silver-age DC horror feel to some panels with excellent coloring. As a package, this Creature Commandos relaunch was fine but could have benefited from some familiar faces, maybe a Frankenstein or even G.I. Robot would have gotten me a little more excited.

Rating: SKIM IT

 

10/9

The Terminator #1

Cover by Declan Shalvey

The Terminator #1
Dynamite
Written by Declan Shalvey and Sal Crivelli
Art by Luke Sparrow and Colin Craker
Colors by Colin Craker
Letters by Jeff Eckelberry
32 pages for $4.99

Solicit: The plans to kill Sarah Connor and her son John have failed, but the genocidal Skynet isn’t out of options yet. There are still a few more avenues into the past that will allow it to destroy the human resistance that is poised to smash its processors into silicon shrapnel — it just needs to expand its theater of operations. Opening a new front in the war, Terminators are dispatched across the globe and throughout time to target current resistance fighters, their ancestors, and anyone else unlucky enough to be in the strike zones. And while none of these secondary assignments are as straightforward as the missions of the first T-800 and T-1000, time is literally on the machines’ side. When all of history becomes a war zone, nowhere — and nowhen — is safe! Acclaimed creator DECLAN SHALVEY (THUNDERCATS, OLD DOG) returns to the present for another blockbuster Dynamite series, joining rising star artist LUKE SPARROW (STAR TREK) for all-new tales of Skynet and its nigh-unstoppable mechanical assassins — all supported by algorithmically perfect covers from SHALVEY, EDWIN GALMON, SWAY, and DAVID COUSENS!

Review: Dynamite’s new Terminator comic steers clear of the confusing canon that killed the movie series and instead leans into the best parts of the first film. The stories here are different variations of the theme set in different surroundings with excellent art and menacing robot killing machines doing what they do best. You can hear the steel clanging of the Terminator theme as we meet the T800 emerging from a lake in the first story. This creative team not only understands the assignment but also made an excellent choice to move on with the Terminator story and focus on the 70s-slasher-unstoppable-bad-guy aspect that made fans fall in love with James Cameron’s first film but with some surprises that will bring long-time fans and new readers back for more.

Rating: BUY IT

 

Absolute Batman #1

Cover by Nick Dragotta

*JOE & MATT’S PERMANENT COLLECTION PICK!*

Absolute Batman #1
DC Comics
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Nick Dragotta
Colors by Frank Martin
Letters by Clayton Cowles
44 pages for $3.99

Solicit: BATMAN LEGEND SCOTT SNYDER AND ICONIC ARTIST NICK DRAGOTTA TRANSFORM THE DARK KNIGHT’S TALE FOR THE MODERN AGE! Without the mansion… without the money… without the butler… what’s left is the Absolute Dark Knight!

Review: I admit, after reading Snyder’s Death Metal Batman story I was nervous he’d try to one-up the insanity here but his story is much more grounded in this Absolute exercise of “what if Batman grew up without the money and had to rely on only himself”. The comic is packed with references to characters you’ll recognize but with twists just slight enough to make them interesting but different enough you want to know more. Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin are working on an entirely different level than 90% of the superhero artists out there giving Absolute Batman a slick stylish look but still holding onto just enough of the iconography we expect from the Caped Crusader. Absolute Batman delivered on all counts and lived up to the hype.

Rating: BUY IT

 


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