World Comic Book Review

7th June 2023

Featured

Cold Blood, Libel, and Forlorn Love: Adventure Comics #431 – #440 (1974-5) – The Spectre (revisited)

Writer: Michael Fleisher Artist: Jim Aparo DC Comics, 1974-1975 Recently, your reviewer has been revisiting stories from his childhood, including Adventure Comics. Adventure Comics was a long-standing depository for a wide variety of minor DC Comics’ characters: Superboy, Supergirl, Starman, Plastic Man, Black Orchid, Aquaman, Deadman, and Dial H for...

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Doc Alpha: Miracle Child (review)

Writer – S.A. Rivera Artist – Jeff Kraven October 2019 This title’s blurb on the Amazon website: Dr. Alpha is one of the most dangerous supervillains in the galaxy. However, when another evil genius Molvion the Martian Mastermind returns with a massive armada, the superhero Glorious and his teammates must...

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Giga #5 (review)

Writer: Alex Paknadel Artist: John Lê Vault Comics, 2023 This science fiction title, conceptually to do with the interaction of artificial intelligence and ethics, with a dystopian landscape of ruined mechas thrown in for good measure, sadly nears its conclusion. We have previously reviewed the issues 1 through to 3...

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November Volume 1 – The Girl on the Roof (review)

Writer, Matt Fraction Artist Elsa Charretier Image Comics, November 9, 2019 Something sinister lurks beneath the waters of this 2019 collected volume of the title November. It is written by Matt Fraction, a well-known and award-winning comic book writer, and with art by Elsa Charretier, who is well known for...

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Vale Leiji Matsumoto (1938-2023)

Manga grand master Leiji Matsumoto passed away on 13 February 2023. Mr Matsumoto was best known for epic science fiction manga sagas, including Galaxy Express 999, Queen Emeraldas and Space Battleship Yamato (published in the United States as Star Blazers). In its obituary, The Japan Times noted https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/02/20/national/leiji-matsumoto-obituary/that he started...

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POISON IVY (review)—”Seduced by life and death”

Writer: G. Willow Wilson Artists: Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto DC Comics, June 2022 AN ALIEN GARDENER arriving to cultivate the planet would have to worry first about the human infestation. Even humans, supposedly rational, in a mass look like a flourishing plant species, a fungal bloom overpowering everything around it....

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Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton #1 (review)

“Gone Dark” Writer: Nicole MainesArtist: Skylar Patridge “Electric” Writer: C.S. PacatArtist: Scott Godlewski “Breakthrough” Writer: Frank BarbiereArtist: Sami Basri “Deus Ex Magicka” Writer: Leah WilliamsArtist: Marguerite Sauvage DC Comics, March 2023 With the world in chaos and Lazarus raining from the skies, the Earth’s protectors from Krypton are hit hard....

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Black Mariah #2 (review)

Writer: Vesper Aeon Artist: Anna Foubert Independently published, 2022 We were recently contacted to review this science fiction comic, Black Mariah, and we were glad to do so. The story begins in a faraway space station called Storm Forge, described as the research and development headquarters of an arms manufacturer...

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White Savior #1 (review)

Writers: Eric Nyugen and Scott Burman Art: Eric Nguyen Dark Horse Comics, January 2023 An ancient prophecy foretold of an outsider that would save the peaceful village of Inoki from an unstoppable army–a man who would confuse the people at first with his unconventional ways, but lead them to the...

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Echolands Volume 1 (hardcover) review

J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman – creators Dave Stewart – colourist Todd Klein – letter Image Comics, 2022 In a bizarre future world that has forgotten its history, a reckless thief, Hope Redhood, holds the key to excavating its dark, strange past—if only she and her crew can...

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