Join us on the Frontlines with our weekly review roundup. This is where we have assembled to give our thoughts on various issues that are released each week. This week we have Brant, Jay, Justin, Kat, Louis, & Mike giving reviews for books from BOOM! Studios, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Lion Forge, and Marvel Comics! Check out the reviews below and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter. Welcome to the FRONTLINE REVIEWS, hope you enjoy the experience!
FENCE #12
Created By: C.S. Pacat & Johanna The Mad
Written By: C.S. Pacat
Art By: Johanna The Mad
Colors By: Joana Lafuente
Letters By: Jim Campbell
Cover By: HamletMachine
Price: $3.99
The day is here, Nicolas and Eugene will find out their fate. The Fencing team then bonds over an age-old tradition. This series ends this phase of its exitence but leaves us with a cliffhanger that will have us waiting in anticipation for the next phase. I can not praise the team and BOOM! enough for this book, they have really created something awesome. Fence is filled with characters that blur the lines between the supremely real and the startlingly surreal. The way Pacat and Johana work together blending the written and visual mediums to give us this much depth in such a short time in beyond anything I have ever seen before. This chapter ends with us knowing more about the school and about our cast, which I can not wait to continue learning about when the story continues on as a series of original graphic novels. Unitatis Mirabile Vinculum.... ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #33
Written By: Marguerite Bennett
Art By: Simone Di Meo
Colors By: Walter Baiamonte, Francesco Segala, French Carlomagno
Letters By: Ed Dukeshire
Price: $3.99
The origins of BOOM’s new Power Ranger is revealed in an exposition-filled new installment. It’s been hard for me to connect to this team, and adding a new ranger this quickly doesn’t help the situation. I need to see more chemistry building between the rangers. Simone Di Meo’s pencils have improved over these past couple issues, and the inking assistance has helped in that regard. The colors bring an interesting tone for the series but is also a contributor to the book’s denseness. I hope Mighty Morphin Power Rangers takes a break from its bigger picture to start developing the team. If we don't care about the team, how can we care about the plot? ~ Kat @ComicUno
ACTION COMICS #1005
"Invisible Mafia Part 5"
Written By: Brian Michael Bendis
Art By: Ryan Sook
Colors By: Brad Anderson
Letters By: Josh Reed
Cover By: Ryan Sook
Variant Cover By: Francis Manapul
Price: $3.99
After Clark finds out some disturbing news about the city officials, Superman is attacked by the Red Cloud. The Invisible Mafia is an interesting concept with a bigger conspiracy behind it that has me intrigued. While I have been enjoying Bendis's run so far, but he has been playing too loose with the Clark Kent persona. Now, this could have been the artist doing it on his own or a direction in Bendis script, but Clark took off his glasses in front of the new girl at the Daily Planet. This is a small thing but big for Superman, he is more careful than that. But what is great here is that the mystery continues to go deeper with other city officials being brought in to it. I am not sure how I feel about the "revelation" of who the Red Cloud is as it was always obvious. The art here is solid as always and Sook and Anderson do a great job. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
BATGIRL #29
Written By: Mairghread Scott
Art By: Paul Pelletier
Colors By: Jordie Bellaire
Letters By: Deron Bennett
Price: $3.99
Mairghread Scott’s Batgirl continues to be one of the strongest runs since Gail Simone as she mixes the fun of Burnside with the emotion of Simone’s series. In this issue, Barbara is racing against the clock as she tries to keep her superhero identity a secret and save her father from Grotesque. Grotesque is still not the strongest villain and he switches sides pretty quickly, but I like the events he sets up to challenge Jim and Barbara’s relationship. This has been the heart of the series, and I hope we see it continue with Scott’s future arcs. Paul Pelletier’s has some strong pencils in this issue. I especially like his attention to detail when it comes to Barbara’s spine, there is even a panel where we see a scar from her previous surgery. Batgirl #29 does a good job at closing Grotesque’s storyline while keeping you interested for what's to come next. ~ Kat @ComicUno
BATMAN BEYOND #26
Written By: Dan Jurgens
Art By: Brett Booth
Inks By: Norm Rapmund
Colors By: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters By: Travis Lanham
Cover By: Viktor Kalvachev
Variant Covers By: Dave Johnson
Price: 3.99
Batman Beyond #26 The Final Joke Part Two, kicks off in Commissioner Barbara Gordon’s office as she is face to face with the Joker. The real Joker is back and has been for some time now, having planned and brought down the Wayne building in the last issue. In this issue we see Batman and Robin racing against time to find survivors of the building collapse and saving Bruce and Dick from the falling elevator. Barbara is able to get the upper hand on the Joker only to realize he had that planned also and is able to escape. This leads her to tell Bruce who then reveals that the Joker has been back since issue 5 of the series and he only just now put all the pieces together. Next, up the Joker, he’s going after Robin and using a weapon that took down one before. I can’t wait for the next issue. Dan Jurgens is setting great pace and tone for this series and it feels like it’s hitting a solid run. This issue also gives us the action-packed art stylings of the awesome team that is Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund. This issue is firing on all cylinders and the next one issue promises even more. ~ Justin @ExileState
DC NUCLEAR WINTER SPECIAL #1
RIP HUNTER: TIME MASTER IN "THE NUCLEAR WINTER SPECIAL"
Written By: Mark Russell
Art By: Mike Norton
Colors By: Hi-Fi
Letters By: Deron Bennett
BATMAN 666 IN "WARMTH"
Written By: Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing
Letters By: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks By: Cam Smith
Colors By: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters By: Clayton Cowles
SUPERMAN ONE MILLION IN "MEMORY HEARTH"
Written By: Steve Orlando
Pencils By: Brad Walker
Inks By: Drew Hennessy
Colors By: Nathan Fairbairn
Letters By: Clayton Cowles
THE FLASH IN "ONCE AND FUTURE"
Written By: Jeff Loveness
Art By: Christian Duce
Colors By: Luis Guerrero
Letters By: Tom Napolitano
AQUAMAN IN "WHERE THE LIGHT CANNOT REACH"
Written By: Mairghread Scott
Art By: Dexter Soy
Colors By: Veronica Gandini
Letters By: Steve Wands
Written By: Tom Taylor
Breakdowns By: Tom Derenick
Line Art By: Yasmine Putri
Colors By: Yasmine Putri
Letters By: Deron Bennett
FIRESTORM IN "LAST CHRISTMAS"
Written By: Paul Dini
Art By: Jerry Ordway
Colors By: Dave McCaig
Letters By: Dave Sharpe
KAMANDI IN "NORTHERN LIGHTS"
Written By: Phil Hester
Pencils By: Phil Hester
Inks By: Ande Parks
Colors By: Trish Mulvihill
Letters By: Steve Wands
CATWOMAN IN "NINE LIVES"
Written By: Cecil Castellucci
Art By: Amancay Nahuelpan
Colors By: Brian Buccellato
Letters By: Josh Reed
GREEN ARROW IN "THE BIRDS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE"
Written By: Dave Wielgosz
Art By: Scott Kolins
Colors By: John Kalisz
Letters By: Tom Napolitano
Cover By: Yanick Paquette & Natha Fairbairn
Price: $9.99
The DC Nuclear Winter Special is a nice collection of brief DC tales as told by Rip Hunter as a means of distraction. This book is set in a post-apocalyptic future, and it has some really fun stories in it. I think there is something for everyone. My personal favorite story is the Supergirl one, this is who Kara Is! Some other highlights are Firestorm's bittersweet goodbye, Batman 666's grim story for Damian and Green Arrow's heart-touching story. The art here is a nice match for each story. I felt each team gave everything they have. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
HEROES IN CRISIS #3
Written By: Tom King
Art By: Clay Mann & Lee Weeks
Colors By: Tomeu Morey
Letters By: Clayton Cowels
Cover By: Mann & Morey
Variant Cover By: Ryan Sook
Price: $3.99
Heroes in Crisis continues to give us more questions than answers but in a positive way. This book, from issue one, has set up two key elements: The mental health of the inhabitants of Sanctuary, and the mystery of the murder of all those inhabitants save for Booster Gold and Harley Quinn. In doing so, King has crafted a tale that examines a different character or characters each issue giving us little clues to the identity of the killer. In this issue, the fingers seem firmly pointed in one direction but is that reality or another's perception of the events? We learn a bit more about Sanctuary and what services it actually provides that could give us some indication to the mystery at hand, and we take a deeper look inside one of the casualties, Lagoon Boy, and into Booster Gold’s stay there. King’s superb writing and examination of the psyches of these characters continues in this issue, and the murder mystery gets even more confusing, but again, in a good way. The art between Mann and Weeks is practically seamless here as well, and equally impressive and beautiful to look at. So far, this is a very intriguing and entertaining story that I am fully invested in. ~ Brant @BrantFowler
THE TERRIFICS #10
Written By: Jeff Lemire
Art By: Viktor Bogdanvoic
Colors By: Michael Spicer
Letters By: Tom Napolitano
Cover By: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Price: $2.99
Starting a few moments after the last issue’s ending, the Terrifics and the Strong Family confront Doctor Dredd, revealed to be Java. Unfortunately, Java releases the Dark Elder from the Dark Multiverse and escapes. Both Mr. Terrific and Tom Strong incapacitate the giant. However as soon as the fight ends, the Terrifics disband (to the disappointment of Phantom Girl). If you’re a longtime reader this shouldn’t surprise you. The dialogue from Mr. Terrific and Res Mason (formerly Metamorpho) easily explain why they don’t need each other. It’s clear to readers that the Terrifics only stayed together out of necessity instead of comradery. The tone of the ending also creates a “series finale” feeling. However, DC Comics has not officially announced the title’s ending. This is a little disappointing because this would be a natural conclusion for The Terrifics. Honestly, I can’t see this title having much vitality after this story fully concludes. That’s why this issue is barely an average read. ~ Louis @SpiderMan1991
MARVEL ACTION: SPIDER-MAN #1
Written By: Delilah S. Dawson
Art By: Fico Ossio
Colors By: Ronda Pattison
Letters By: Shawn Lee
Cover By: Fico Ossio
Price: $3.99
Peter, Miles, and Gwen are all competing for the same internship while they take on mutated rats and dogs. This was a fun book, I felt like I was watching Marvel's Spider-Man animated series, but I don't feel like it is taking anything from that show. This feels like its own thing setting these three young characters in this world injects lots of fun and youthful energy into the book like the early days of the Ultimate Universe. I enjoyed the art here, great crisp clean lines with vivid energetic colors really help sell the mood and feel for this universe. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
Verdict: 4 ¼ Stars
QUINCREDIBLE #1
Written By: Rodney Barnes
Art By: Selina Espiritu
Colors By: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters By: Aw’s Tom Napolitanp
Cover By: Michelle Wong
Price: $3.99
This is only the second book I’ve tried from the Catalyst Prime line from Lion Forge and I have to say I’ve been impressed with both. Now that they have this whole universe they’ve built up, it seems far more intriguing to me as well. Especially with the setting in New Orleans and Katrina referenced, and how a lot of the focus is on the community and pulling together to make it better there. That’s a pretty cool message. With this book, Quincredible features a teenager who is invulnerable, like Kick-Ass but doesn’t really think there’s anything he can do with his abilities until he comes in contact with some other heroes. His journey begins with him already powered, and kind of a smart loner, like Peter Parker. He has a crush on the smart girl in school, and he has regular run-ins with the neighborhood bullies.
This issue does a great job at establishing both Quin’s home life and life out in the world, as we see him get into trouble both with the bullies and during a rally in very different ways. The book doesn’t shy from real-life troubles and explores a lot of different facets of life in neighborhoods such as his with gun violence, police brutality, etc. The art is very solid, nice stylized figure work, though the paneling could be a bit more experimental to add some sense of action and movement or overall flavor to the aesthetic.
While the story and the character did enough to pull me back for a second issue, I felt it did suffer a bit from the same thing TV pilots often do. It felt at times like the writer was trying to find his footing with the story, and parts were just ever so slightly rushed or grazed over. Another pass could have made a stronger issue. I still enjoyed it and think it’s well worth trying. I’m certainly looking forward to reading more about Quin and his journey to becoming a hero. ~ Brant @BrantFowler
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10
Written By: Nick Spencer
Art By: Humberto Ramos, Michelle Bandini
Colors By: Edgar Delgado, Erick Arciniega
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Price: $3.99
The Amazing Spider-Man #10 is one of Spencer’s strongest issues of his run thus far, which is saying a lot because almost every issue has been a joy to read. This issue highlights why MJ is one of my favorite comic book characters. She finally opens up to her Look Ups group and reveals her innermost thoughts about dating Spider-Man. I love how Spencer intertwined this with Black Cat and Spider-Man’s fight with the Thieves Guild. MJ feels inferior towards these other super people that Peter could easily be with, she doesn’t understand why Peter keeps picking her. In a twist, the story doesn’t end in a jealous rampage, but instead with Peter and MJ's love grows stronger.
This issue also does a great job at filling up some potential plot holes. Spencer explains the exact reason why MJ got back together with Peter (that actually makes sense) and why Black Cat was angry with Peter all this time (which, again, actually makes sense). Humberto Ramos and Michelle Bandini were a great match on art. I was especially impressed with how clean and crip Bandini’s pencils were for the MJ scenes. I love how she designed the Look Ups' concealed meetings. The Amazing Spider-Man #10 has a ton of laugh’s as Spencer poke’s fun at the constant misspelling of Spider-Man's name, but the heart of this issue, and debatably the whole Spider franchise, is Mary Jane. ~ Kat @ComicUno
Verdict: 4 ½ Stars
DAREDEVIL #612
Written By: Charles Soule
Art By: Phil Noto
Letters By: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover By: Viktor Phil Noto
Variant Covers By: Kyle Hotz and Dan Brown
Price: 4.99
Daredevil #612 The Death of Daredevil finale, the struggle Daredevil has gone through to see Kingpin removed from the office of Mayor is finally at hand. Having escaped Bullseye with the help of Mike Murdock, Daredevil is able to gather evidence and the ironclad kind. This time the Kingpin is done for and all the heroes show up to testify. Everything finally worked out for Matt Murdock, but then it becomes clear that nothing went right. The conclusion to Charles Soule’s run on Daredevil was one of Daredevil arc’s to ever be written. Very well done indeed. What’s up next for Daredevil will be revealed soon enough but we do know that Chip Zdarsky is on the title. I know I’ll be picking it up to see how the title moves forward from this conclusion. ~ Justin @ExileState
Verdict 4 ¾ Stars
DEAD MAN LOGAN #1
"Sins Of The Father Part 1"
Written By: Ed Brisson
Art By: Mike Henderson
Colors By: Nolan Woodard
Letters By: VC's Cory Petite
Cover By: Declan Shalvey
Price: $4.99
Dead Man Logan is a story is about Old Man Logan dying from adamantium poisoning. His one mission is to get revenge on the villain who made him kill all his fellow X-Men in his timeline.
In this first issue, there were a lot of elements that I enjoyed. First off the cast of characters are great. Logan teams up with Clint Barton in his quest. This brings back the familiarity of the original Old Man Logan series, these moments had me laughing out loud. Next Miss Sinister shows up in the issue and she looks like she is going to be a formidable foe for Logan in the near future. Other characters in this book are Glob and Forge, which add different elements to this book. Glob is the less serious character and you as the reader will find his humor at the right time and it doesn't feel forced. As for Forge, we're really not sure what his motives are yet but he adds a mystery element in this first issue that has the reader guessing on what is coming next.
At the end of the day out of all the Wolverine books that have been out there recently this first issue shows lots of promise. So get your popcorn and get ready to prepare yourself for this 12 issue epic journey to find out if Dead Man Logan actually dies. ~ Mike @MSpiderSlayer
Verdict: 4 ¼ Stars
FANTASTIC FOUR #4
Written By: Dan Slott
Art By: Stefano Caselli & Nico Leon
Colors By: Erick Arciniega
Letters By: VC’s Chris Eliopoulos
Cover By: Esad Ribic
Variant Covers By: Various
Price: $3.99
The Fantastic Four come home to find out that a new team called the Fantastix have taken up shop in the Baxter Building. This was a nice fun one and done story that gives us some much-needed family bonding time with the team and sets up their new status quo. Every character in here was right on the money, and Slott really makes the kids seem more interesting as teens. Caselli does a great job on the art and I wouldn't mind seeing more of it. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
IRONHEART #1
Written By: Eve L. Ewing
Art By: Kevin Lebranda & Luciano Vecchio
Additional Layouts By: Geoffo
Colors By: Matt Milla
Letters By: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover By: Amy Reeder
Variant Covers By: Various
Price: $3.99
Riri Williams takes flight in her own title, meeting new friends, taking on villains and a few other surprises. I was not a fan of Riri as the lead of Invincible Iron Man, not because she was new or a girl, but because she was bland. Ewing has made her more interesting in this one issue that she was in that entire run. Through a nice conversation with a new friend, we get familiar with Riri Williams is outside of the Ironheart armor, and I love this Riri. There is also the mystery with the thing that Clash gave her as well as her new A.I. The A.I. based on Natalie. This inclusion is something that I hope sticks around I can see lots of depth coming from having the A.I. based on her friend that died. The art shines here, making both Clash and Ironheart's suits look kind of cool is a big job and the art team here succeeds doing that. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
MARVEL 2-IN-ONE #12
Written By: Chip Zdarsky
Art By: Ramon K. Perez
Colors By: Frederico Blee
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Paul Renaud
Price: $3.99
With the Fantastic Four back, Marvel Two-In-One comes to an end. Fortunately, Chip Zdarsky uses this issue to tie-up any loose ends. Rachna Koul, the scientist who abandoned Johnny and Ben during their trip through the Multiverse, returns in this issue. Also, the Mole Man returns and there’s a great call back to his previous appearance (see Marvel Two-In-One #2). Plus there’s a great framing device at the beginning for Reed and BEn’s adventure from the previous issue. This issue also gives terrific character development for Johnny Storm. Witnessing Rachna’s dedication to her sister and talking to Sue, Johnny forgives his family for their deceptions. Johnny’s reason is that sometimes people try to carry the pain for their loved ones. This is a great lesson that reminds readers that the Fantastic Four are not just a team but a family. This was a fantastic finale to the series, however, it’s more enjoyable if you’ve read the title since its first issue. ~ Louis @SpiderMan1991
SPIDER-GIRLS #2
Written By: Jodie Houser
Art By: Andres Genolet
Colors By: Jim Charalampidis & Triona Farrell
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Price: $3.99
How I wish this was an ongoing series! There are so many great little character moments sprinkled throughout this issue that needs more time to flesh out. I can’t believe this title is ending next issue, there's just so much more to say about May and Annie’s relationship, that the series only has time to scratch the surface. The actual Spider-Geddon tie-in with Normie and these Spider monsters is the least interesting thing about the series. Although I do like the connection it brings with Annie’s visions, and the beautiful two page spread that Andres Genolet produced. I’ve really enjoyed Genolet’s style for these characters, this is the best I’ve seen May in years. I even like the little callbacks to her Spider-Girl run. Spider-Girls has the potential to be so much more, if only it had time to grow. ~ Kat @ComicUno
Verdict: 4 Stars
SPIDER-GWEN: GHOST-SPIDER #2
Written By: Seanan McGuire
Art By: Rosi Kampe
Colors By: Ian Herring
Letters By: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Price: $3.99
I never expected to enjoy a story with Spider-Gwen outside of her universe, but I am! Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2 made me totally invested in these versions of Gwen, MJ, Peter, and Harry. Gwen is a Goblin, Peter is trying to reconnect his friend group, Harry was Spider-Man, and did MJ lose her girlfriend? So many interesting threads introduced here, and now our Gwen has to deal with the tense spider history of this world. Gwen literally has to fight herself if she wants to go back to the battle to help her Spider friends. There’s an irony here, not only because a Spider person has to fight a Goblin, but Gwen having to fight a Gwen Goblin. A Golbin - the same person who killed the original Gwen Stacy. The same event that made Green Goblin, Spider-Man's nemesis. As for the artwork, I enjoy Rosi Kampe’s close up scenes of Gwen, but I wish there was more detail with the other panels and characters. Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider #2 is my favorite thing that has come out of Spider-Geddon, next to the return of Mayday. ~ Kat @ComicUno
Verdict: 4 Stars
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