New Comics Reviews 7/30 | Justice League Dark Tomorrow, Speed Racer, Werewolf By Night & The War!
New Comics Reviews for Wednesday 7/30!
Hello! Here are THN’s new comics reviews for the week of 7/30/25! Featuring Justice League: Dark Tomorrow, Speed Racer, Werewolf By Night: Blood Moon Rise, and The War!
Be sure to check back every week for New Comic Book reviews and check out the New Comics Review Show if you want to hear our full discussions!
Joe’s Reviews:
Cover by Becky Cloonan
The War #1
BOOM! Studios
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Becky Cloonan
Colors by Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by Pat Brosseau
40 pages for $4.99
Solicit: Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan unite to explore the modern fear of nuclear war and societal collapse in this dark and timely thriller. In New York City, a group of friends watch their fears become reality as they face the immediate threat of nuclear war. Everyone has a different plan for survival at the end of the world… Who will live? Who will die? Collects THE WAR #1-3, originally published in HELLO DARKNESS #1-3.
Review: I’ve never read Hello Darkness, so I was intrigued by this collection of Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan’s serialized tale of a world on the brink of armageddon. Don’t come looking for the outrageous storytelling of books like The Boys or even Preacher. The War is as serious as it gets, and it hits WAY closer to home than I’d like to admit. The pace of Ennis’s story is deliberately slow – almost maddeningly so. But that’s the point. This group of friends represents people like us, living in a world where the unthinkable is a real possibility, just waiting for the worst to happen as a new, fresh hell develops every day. Ennis’s script is dark, and sad, and anxious, and even funny at times. It’s also very relatable. We all have that friend that acts like they know way too much about world politics, or the one who always believes that things will turn out okay, despite all evidence to the contrary. You might even find a character in this story that’s just like you.
Cloonan’s art is darker than you might be expecting based on her previous work, aided by the expert colors of Tamra Bonvillain. Cloonan pulls back on the exaggerated style of past projects, opting for a more realistic – and more melancholy approach. It evokes a feeling of hopelessness throughout the issue, even when the impending conflict is still purely hypothetical.
The War #1 is BLEAK. It’s definitely not a comic you feel good about reading afterwards, but Ennis’s poignant script and Cloonan’s evocative art make the read worth the heartbreak and anxiety. Don’t let the slow pace and lack of in-your-face action fool you. This is a unique take on a real world apocalypse told from the perspective of people just like you and me.
Rating: BUY IT
Cover by Cian Tormey
Justice League: Dark Tomorrow Special
DC Comics
Written by Marc Guggenheim & Mark Waid
Art by Cian Tormey
Colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters by Dave Sharpe
48 pages for $5.99
Solicit: In the wake of the We Are Yesterday crossover epic, a mysterious Quantum Quorum has emerged… stalked by a lethal enemy that takes no prisoners. The League deputizes a rag tag group of time displaced heroes like Batman Beyond, Gold Beetle, and Helena Wayne to fill the void left behind by the Time Masters and save the quorum from the mysterious threat that’s picking off time-travelers one by one. These Legends of Tomorrow are the only ones standing in the way of this cascading chronal Armageddon with the past, present, and future teetering on the brink in this oversized special leading to the next big DC All In event!
Review: If you loved The CW’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, then boy have I got great news for you. Series Co-Creator and sometime comic writer Marc Guggenheim joins Justice League Unlimited and World’s Finest writer Mark Waid for this one-shot that follows plot threads left over from the We Are Yesterday crossover. To the Mar(c/k)’s credit, you don’t really need to have read that crossover to enjoy this issue. All you need to know is that the DC Universe’s timestream is broken and someone needs to fix it. What else is new?
The heroes that assemble to combat the mysterious threat causing the timestream to unravel are indeed ragtag, as the solicit suggests. It’s an odd assortment of folks that you’d never expect to see working together, which is of course part of the fun. I’m tickled pink to see a deep cut like Amazing Man (look it up) fighting alongside Batman Beyond and Marilyn Moonlight, one of my favorite new characters of the Dawn of DC/All-In era. Don’t let the cover fool you though; only three of the seven heroes on the cover actually appear in this comic.
If you’ve been following the major subplot brewing in recent DC titles, it will come as no surprise that this is all part of Darkseid’s master plan, being executed by his twisted version of the Legion of Super-Heroes. The story throws off major Crisis on Infinite Earth’s vibes with its unlikely team, powerful shadow demons, and giant, evil towers that do…something. Where things started to break down for me is the obvious attempt to recreate a version of the TV Legends of Tomorrow team in the comic book DCU. Don’t get me wrong: I loved that show. But it was a minor cult hit at best, one that was canceled on a cliffhanger after seven truncated seasons. The show’s been gone for more than three years, so each familiar reference fell kind of flat for me. And if you spent any time at all with the latter half of the Arrowverse, the identity of this issue’s mysterious, armored stranger will seem frustratingly obvious. It’s possible that they’ll throw readers a curveball there, so I could be wrong.
On the plus side, Cian Tormey’s art is absolutely fantastic. He gives almost everyone in the large cast a chance to shine in cool and inventive ways. His Plastic Man and Jonah Hex are especially fun. And if I have to hear one more goddamn word about whether or not Plas is a shapeshifter after this issue I’m gonna SCREAM.
Justice League: Dark Tomorrow is a fine comic with plenty of fun moments and really great art. But it’s also got more than a few groan-worthy moments courtesy of a baffling attempt at corporate synergy that’s several years too late. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team pop up again as we approach DC K.O., so interested fans might want to give it a look.
Rating: STRONG SKIM IT
Matt’s Reviews:
Main Cover by Alessio Zonno
Speed Racer #1
Mad Cave
Written by David Pepose
Art by Davide Tinto
Colors by Rex Lokus
Letters by Buddy Beaudoin
32 pages for $3.99
Solicit: An all-new interpretation of Tatsuo Yoshida’s classic manga/anime, MachGoGoGo, known to Western audiences as Speed Racer! Speed Racer lives for the thrill of the race, but on the underground circuit, the rules are anything goes. Dodging bullets, explosions, and dirty tricks, he’s got one goal: to prove he’s the best. But when a dangerous syndicate targets his family, Speed’s greatest challenge won’t be on the track… it’ll be on the streets. With the police closing in and a masked racer lurking in the shadows, Speed is about to learn that some races can’t be won with horsepower alone. Award-winning writer DAVID PEPOSE (Space Ghost, Captain Planet, Savage Avengers) and superstar artist DAVIDE TINTO (Ultraman: The Mystery of the Ultraseven, Star Wars: Bounty Hunters) co-pilot an action-packed reboot of the classic franchise. Start your engines!
Review: Speed Racer is back—updated with a Fast and Furious feel and enough family-themed action that even Dom Toretto would approve. Pepose’s take on Speed isn’t a massive departure: he’s still a kid with natural racing talent and great hair—though there’s no white racing suit or helmet just yet. This story sets up Speed’s origin as a street racer trying to follow in the footsteps of his famous, supposedly dead brother. His father, Pops—complete with his iconic mustache and heavy-set build—doesn’t want to lose another son to the Formula X racing world so he forbids Speed from racing.
Spoilers for a manga that’s been around since 1967: Speed’s brother is alive and becomes the mysterious Racer X—by far the best character in the story and Tinto’s new design for the masked racer has him looking ready to jump into any Capcom fighting game.
Tinto leans into the manga look here and keeps the racing scenes action-packed. His designs are updated but still iconic, though Spritle (Speed’s little brother with his pet chimp, Chim Chim) is drawn more like an actual person than a tiny, huge-eyed manga child maniac.
Speed Racer might not have the cultural cachet he once did, but this creative team delivers a strong first issue for both new and longtime fans, with just enough of an update to make the characters feel fresh for 2025. The slick, manga-inspired art and excellent colors tie everything together for a fast-paced, modern take on Speed Racer that even sells the extending saw blades on Speed’s car, the Mach 5.
Rating: BUY IT
Main cover by Tyler Kirkham
Werewolf by Night: Blood Moon Rise #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Michael Giaccino and Jason Loo
Art by David Messina and Jason Loo
Colors by Mattia Iacono
Letters by VC’s Joe Sabino
32 pages for $4.99
Solicit: From the director of the critically-acclaimed Marvel Studios Special Presentation WEREWOLF BY NIGHT, MICHAEL GIACCHINO, comes a first-of-its kind tale of terror in the Marvel Universe with one goal in mind: to show you why WEREWOLF BY NIGHT is as captivating as ever, with over fifty years of comics history — and a hundred times as many bodies in his wake!
Review: Marvel’s Werewolf by Night Halloween special was easily the best of their TV output, so when director Michael Giacchino was announced as the writer of this one-shot, I had high hopes. The WBN comic output since the MCU special has been fine at best, but far from essential reading. Here, Giacchino introduces a new wrinkle to Jack’s powers with the help of his new friend, Man-Thing—who also starred in the TV special. Marvel’s classic Dracula makes an appearance in a story set mostly in a dungeon, which may hint at future developments. Unfortunately, the dialogue feels ripped straight from the Silver Age, complete with thought bubbles, and by the time our heroes escape, not much has actually happened.
Messina delivers solid art, bringing as much sharp, dynamic action as the script allows. Iacono’s colors do a lot of heavy lifting to sell the classic Marvel horror vibe, and the story looks great. There just isn’t much for the art team to do.
Jason Loo’s backup story reconnects with the current WBN continuity, featuring Lisa Russell—Jack’s little sister with a wolf-curse of her own—and Jake Gomez, the newer werewolf introduced in the WBN 2020 miniseries written by Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas. The trio narrowly escapes enslavement at the hands of Nightmare during a camping trip. Loo’s art is strong, and for a short backup, the story works just fine.
I’m still waiting for the Werewolf by Night comic that really excites me about Jack Russell’s adventures. While this one-shot may serve as a prequel to the Halloween TV special, it doesn’t do much else.
Rating: SKIM IT
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