The TALKING COMICS Review Round-Up

Every week, the Talking Comics collective posts a mega-list of the comics they’re most excited to pull off the shelves that week. Check back here to see if the comics on the Pull List met the team’s expectations with reviews and quippy quotables!!! Click the links to go to full reviews and reflections!!!

Also, check out our weekly Favorite Comic Book Covers of the Week column for more coverage of last week’s new books!

Also also, our very own Bobby Shortle is keeping an updated weekly ranking of every new DC Rebirth book!!! Check it out!!!

Also also also, WRITE FOR TALKING COMICS!!! Apply now!!!

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DC COMICS

All-Star Batman #1 – By Scott Snyder & John Romita, Jr.

• Buy? You should definitely at least check out this first issue if you liked any of Snyder’s previous Batman work but for me, I don’t know, it didn’t wow me in the same way his New 52 stuff did out of the gate. Maybe it’s still having that run fresh in my mind or maybe it’s the inflated price of the book ($4.99), but either way it wasn’t the home run I thought it would be. John Romita’s artwork is outstanding and Snyder’s story seems like it has the workings of being something great, I’m just not sure it warrants a purchase every month when a collected version will do just fine. -John D.

• Buy *this* issue.  Is there anyone writing at DC who is under more pressure to perform than Scott Snyder?  His New 52 Batman series achieved such critical acclaim that any misstep will have critics and readers alike breathing down his neck.  The mood here is significantly lighter than his previous Batman series, and Romita’s art complements the whimsical start of the book.  The story arc looks to be unpredictable, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.  I will say that the next issue will also be $4.99, so I will have to hold off until I can collect All Star Batman as a trade from here on out.  -Max

[Editor’s Note: Check out Max’s full review of All-Star Batman #1 here!!!]

Deathstroke REBIRTH – By Christopher Priest and Carlo Pagulayan

• Buy.  The story is focused and nuanced, highlighting the moral compass of an assassin who has tangled with both Batman and Superman.  While plot and character-development heavy like many of the Rebirth #1s, the crisp art and strong story shows more than tells.  Whether you’re familiar with DC’s most deadly assassin or a newcomer, this issue strikes a great balance: concisely recapping who Deathstroke is and what he’s capable of without drowning you in backstory. -Max

[Editor’s Note: For more Deathstroke REBIRTH, check out the full-length review here!!!]

Detective Comics #938 – By James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martinez, and Raul Fernandez 

• BUY! I know I’m in danger of sounding like a broken record over here but this book is fantastic. Where I wasn’t fully on board with this arc’s villain, Tynion won me over with this issue. Not only does Tynion get a lot of mileage out of Kate’s interactions with her father, but the team as a whole gets to do a whole lot of classic Bat-butt whoopin’ to boot. While this series isn’t focusing on characters like Spoiler, Clayface, or Orphan as much as Batwoman, everyone on this team is still getting some real fist-pump-inducing moments, particularly Orphan and Clayface in this issue. And the continued efforts of the rotating art team (this time Alvaro Martinez and Al Barrionuevo) is only putting this book over the top as one of the best of the Rebirth lineup. I’m so ready for the next issue already. – John D.

The Flash #4 – By Joshua Williamson and Neil Googe

• Skip. While Joshua Williamson is starting to get a handle on the character’s voice, The Flash in this particular issue is surprisingly useless. I get the whole “I need to learn I don’t have to do this alone” mantra of The Flash, but it isn’t even one of his own team that pushes the plot forward here, it’s all Iris. And Flash’s new protege, August (who really does need a codename) continues to be infuriating as he once again shows up for a fight he’s specifically told to avoid. I really am trying to get into this book but there’s unfortunately no character for me to actively enjoy here, and that’s a bummer. -John D.

New Super-Man #2 – By Gene Luen Yang & Richard Friend and Viktor Bogdanovic 

• Buy! Although this title could afford to slow down just a smidge I’m loving New Super-Man so far. Kenan is a punk that’s getting what’s coming to him at every turn here by his new Justice League teammates but he’s also learning how to be a hero too. It’s an interesting mix of a character that Gene Luen Yang is giving us and I think it’s working for the most part. -John D.

Superwoman #1 – By Phil Jimenez

• BUY! The little you know about this one the better, I say. Just go out and buy it. Trust me. To say anything about its plot would be to spoil the twists and turns that should dare not be ruined. It’s only been one issue but I could easily see this book being the sleeper hit of Rebirth, no question. Phil Jimenez has a dense script full of twists and turns and his artwork is stunning. There’s really no debate here, buy this one. Now. -John D.

• Buy! This book defied my expectations from beginning to end. Phil Jimenez writes and draws a fantastic first issue that will command your attention until the very last page. I literally have no idea where the story will go from here. – Jesse

• Buy–mostly As someone not reading any of the current (or New 52!) Superman titles, I had to do some research into the dramatis personae so as to have any clue as to where this story was coming from! That said, even if this issue was problematic as a quintessential “jumping-on point”, it was beautifully drawn, and the characters had some genuine spark to them, so my faith in Phil Jimenez will have me hanging in as he explains this mishegoss.–Bob

Wonder Woman #4 – By Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott 

• Buy it, buy it right now!  – What a time to be alive and be reading Wonder Woman comics!  According to a recent interview with Nicola Scott, She and Rucka have been developing Wonder Woman: Year One for the last 10 years. By retelling the story, they hope to make Diana’s origin as iconic as her DC trinity counterparts. It is equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. You need to be reading this book! – Jesse

• BUY!!!! It’s difficult to put into words how absolutely marvelous this story is, mostly as I’m having trouble seeing the keyboard through the haze of tears the finale of this issue has produced, even on my third read.–Bob

IMAGE COMICS

Black Monday Murders #1 – By Jonathan Hickman & Tomm Coker 

• Buy. This might not have been on your pull list, and Image normally doesn’t have a higher price tag like Marvel does, but this issue is well worth it. It’s length isn’t the only thing that makes it worth it, but the new, original story does. Especially check it out if noir is your thing at all. The horror factor is there, but isn’t anything like reading a Stephen King book (not yet, anyway). The schools of magic and the inner workings of the bank cartels make this one intriguing enough to want to keep up with it. – Deanna

[Editor’s Note: For Deanna’s full thoughts on Black Monday Murders #1, read her review here!!!]

MARVEL COMICS

A-Force #8 – By Kelly Thompson & Paulo Siqueira  

• Buy-mostly – Having loved the last 7 issues of this series, I was discouraged to see that number 8 would be a Civil War II tie-in. Considering two of our leading ladies are major players in the event, A-Force is hit pretty hard. Wise words from Dazzler and cameos from Misty Knight and Elsa Bloodstone save this issue for me. As for the art, I am not thrilled with their uniforms or with Elsa’s bountiful bosom. But Siqueira is on much better behavior than I expected and his facial expressions are quite beautiful. I enjoyed the issue, but I am more than eager to see my girls fighting baddies rather than each other. – Jesse

All-New All-Different Avengers Annual – By Various

• Buy. Even with the inflated price-tag (for real though, is $4.99 that much higher than the standard $3.99… what does the universe even mean?), All-New All-Different Avengers Annual is definitely one of the most fun I’ve had in comics this year. From start to finish, this issue boasts a killer creative team for each piece of fanfiction that Kamala finds on the internet. Where else can you find Faith Erin Hicks, Chip Zdarsky, Mark Waid, Mahmud Asfar, G. Willow Wilson, Natasha Allegri, and many many more all in one issue. Great little shorts filled with humor and some of the best characters in Marvel today–this annual is a must-buy for me. – Joey 

Vision # 10 – By Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta

• Buy the trade paperback! – After the tragic events in issue 9, we see how The Vision and his family deal with grief. The anticipation has been almost painful as Tom King has meticulously built more and more tension within each issue of this series. With just two issues remaining, the climax is within sight. At this point, it’s too late to jump on. But when this series is collected, it’s going to make one hell of a story. – Jesse

OTHER PUBLISHERS

All of this will crumble – By Brett Scott Marcus 

• Verdict: Buy it. It’s $1.99 on Comixology. It’s also a one shot, so there are no worries about adding it to an ongoing pull list. This is the type of story that has a quality not unlike Stephen King’s The Mist. Throw in a mix of Cloverfield and Pacific Rim in there as well. Readers will leave the story not knowing if they liked it, and long after perhaps even deciding they didn’t. But it is the type of story not many would forget due to it having a particular sense of charm and heart to it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a story that won’t be easy to forget.  – Nathan

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And that’s our Pull List for this week!!! If you happen to pick up any of these books, please join the conversation here or on twitter and let us know what you think! As we update the site with reviews and verdicts on these comics, we’d love to include your input!

#READCOMICS