Talking About Comics

Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1-5 Originally released in 2025 Written by W. Maxwell Prince Art by Martin Morazzo This story was recommended to me, though all I know about it going in is the title.  It immediately sticks out that this is published under the mature readers imprint, which seems unusual for a Superman story, so I'm curious to see what it involves beyond Superman and Kryptonite. Within Earth's orbit, a rock containing four new types of Kryptonite is discovered by Superman.  Not knowing how they'll effect him, Superman asks Batman to test them on him in a controlled environment, as this doubles the known amount of Kryptonite types. (Green, yellow, red, and black - blue, which doesn't harm Superman but acts like regular Kryptonite to Bizarro, isn't mentioned) Lex is fifteen minutes late to getting his hands on them, and he reacts in a calm and rational manner. Bruce doesn't seem entirely convinced that Clark's plan is sane, but he agrees to go...

Jeff the Land Shark #1-5 Originally released in 2025 Written by Kelly Thompson Art by Tokitokoro After the past few entries, I'm in the mood for something that's a little more light-hearted.  While I'm familiar with Jeff the Land Shark (he made a splash in Marvel Rivals, pun intended), and I know he has ties to characters like Gwenpool, I don't think I've read anything with him in it.  Still, after Hellblazer, it felt like a series starring an adorable shark with four legs would make for a nice palate cleanser. The plot is pretty straightforward - while barging into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, Jeff's shadow is separated from his body.  He travels through portals that the shadow demon creates, hopping from one Marvel character to another as they try to help him with varying degrees of success. One thing that I find funny is that seemingly everyone (aside from Rocket Raccoon) knows Jeff on a first-name basis.  Either he's really gotten around since...

Hellblazer #1-4 Originally released in 1988 Written by Jamie Delano Art by John Ridgway In Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, John Constantine served as an odd sort of mentor for the titular character, showing up, giving him cryptic hints on where to go or what to do, and recruiting him into a battle of good versus evil on a universal scale.  He got his own series in the form of Hellblazer, which to my understanding is one of Vertigo's flagship series (Vertigo being DC's mature readers imprint), so if I'm going to look into Vertigo, it seems like my best bet is to start there. While Constantine got some focus in Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, showcasing him as someone who is bitter and willing to sacrifice others but ultimately fighting for the greater good (which is on full display here), his own narration creates the feeling of a magic-focused private eye.  He is, quite frankly, a mess - not as bad as some of his allies (including a junkie who inadvertently unleashes a hunger s...

Daredevil: Yellow #1-6 Originally released in 2001 Written by Jeph Loeb Art by Tim Sale Jeph Loeb is a writer that I have a mixed track record with.  On one hand, Batman: The Long Halloween and Superman For All Seasons are two amazing comics, but on the other hand, Ultimatum is one of the bleakest and most mean-spirited comics that I've ever read.  Still, the first two were collaborations with Tim Sale while Ultimatum didn't involve him, so maybe that's a good sign for this book. The story starts with Daredevil mourning the loss of Karen Page.  Jeph Loeb did several books with a superhero name and a colour, and by my understanding, all of them deal with a hero struggling with loss. (such as Spider-Man with Gwen, or Captain America with Bucky) Despite the darker incident that prompts this story, it mostly focuses on Matt's early days, recapping his origin.  It doesn't go into the truck accident that blinded him, but the death of his father, a boxer named "Battli...

Absolute Wonder Woman #1-5 Originally released in 2024 Written by Kelly Thompson Art by Hayden Sherman Continuing with DC's Absolute line, I wanted to give their take on Wonder Woman a shot.  The main difference between this version and the original is that she no longer has Paradise Island.  Zeus imprisoned the Amazons for some perceived slight, and Apollo brought Diana to the depths of Hell to be raised by Circe, who's traditionally one of her arch-enemies. Despite all this, she's generally as kind and compassionate as the mainstream version, with Circe growing to take the motherhood that was imposed on her seriously and to treat Diana like a daughter. We get brief glimpses of Diana being raised in this environment, and she's a lot of fun at a young age. Diana's first appearance involves saving a city from demonic harbingers that appear from a floating upside-down pyramid.  Looking like a horseman (horsewoman?) of the Apocalypse riding a flying skeletal steed, her...

Excalibur #1-3 Originally released in 1988 Written by Chris Claremont Art by Alan Davis I was curious about what a British-themed spin-off of the X-Men would be like.  As this was the first issue of the series, I thought the team would come together over the course of it and it could serve as an introduction to characters that I wasn't familiar with, but it starts off with the team already founded.  I was familiar with Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde through the X-Men, and vaguely familiar with Captain Britain (who is tied to the concept of the multiverse), though I wasn't familiar with his shape-shifting lover Meggan or Rachel Gray, the daughter of Jean Grey from an alternate future. The book seems to be tied heavily to Chris Claremont's X-Men run, including events that I haven't seen yet. (among other things, the X-Men are believed to be dead)  Even the main villains of the first two issues are from a part of the X-Men lore that I'm only loosely familiar with, as the...