October 17, 2024 9:43 pm

Absolute Batman #1 (review)

Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Nick Dragotta DC Comics, October 2024 A hulking Batman, akin more to a ridiculous professional wrestler than the traditional gymnast’s physique, with a head proportionately so small that he might be suffering from adult microcephaly. A Batman with an axe head stuck on his chest. A Batman with knives forming the “ears” of his cowl, sheathed on the sides of his head. A Batman with studded shoulder pads. All of these things each have the musty smell of 1990s “edgelord” superhero comics, where gritted teeth, metal armour, and large guns dominated the American publishing landscape. The enormous scepticism and reluctance which we had when deciding whether or not to buy this title from our local comic shop was reenforced by the discovery of variant covers. If we had seen a foil hologram trading card, or thigh pouches, we might have needed to lie down until the

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Rivers of London (Night Witch, Body Work, and Black Mould) revisited

Writer: Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel Art: Lee Sullivan Titan Comics, 2016-2017 Writer Ben Aaronovitch has for around a decade penned a series of novels and short stories called Rivers of London, and in-between has branched out into graphic novels. There have been eleven graphic novels so far, and publisher Titan Comics has collected the first three as trade paperbacks in a stylish hardcover box. These first three are the subject of this critique. New participants to the continuity of Rivers of London (such as your reviewer) will find the plunge a little disorientating. There is not much of an introduction, and it is not obvious from the comics why the title has its name. There is one featured character who is the manifestation of a river – Beverley Brook, a tributary of the Thames. But otherwise, all other rivers of London (according to Wikipedia) belong in the novels. Beverley

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Nemesis: Rogues Gallery #1 (review)

Writer: Mark Millar Artist: Valerio Giangiordano Dark Horse Comics, July 2024 Nemesis: Rogues’ Gallery picks up where Mr Millar’s title Big Game ends. The world’s

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Deer Editor volume 1 (review)

Writer: Ryan K Lindsay Art: Sami Kivela Mad Cave Studios, May 2024 A large deer is an investigative journalist in a large semi-rural town, dealing with

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Jenny Sparks Book 1 (review)

Writer: Tom King Art: Jeff Spokes DC Comics (Black Label imprint), October 2024 Tempus fugit. Twenty-four years ago, writer Warren Ellis observed the end of

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The He-Man Effect (review)

Creator: Brian “Box” Brown First Second Books, 2023 This somewhat depressing title was published last year. Here is the promotional copy: Brian “Box” Brown brings

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The Hard Switch (review)

Creator: Owen Pomery Avery Hill Press, October 2023 The promotional copy for this title is set out below: The time approaches when the mineral that

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Runes (review)

Writer: Steve Cronin Artist – Sergi Domench Independently published, 2024 Runes is an adventure into a remote Scottish region by two scientists, Dr Cal Norton

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