ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #16: The Absolute line of books at DC have been a blockbuster success so far. In terms of quality, though, the only one I really love is Absolute Batman. Jason Aaron is writing the Absolute Superman book. This issue has a fill in artist, Juan Ferreyra. Issue #14 concluded a long arc with Superman battling Ras Al Ghul and Braniac. In this issue, Hawkman shows up to talk to Superman and eventually fight him for no good reason. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen go to Metropolis to get jobs at The Daily Planet. Braniac goes to Missouri to meet this world's Lex Luthor, who isn't the "real" Lex Luthor but just a random suburban dad. I think the one problem I've had so far with this book is that Superman isn't a great character in this. I literally don't like him or care about him. He comes off more as just a dumb, lost teenager, which I suppose is kind of the point, but it still doesn't mean I want to read about someone like that. The art is unique in this issue but not great. Braniac turning Lex Luthor evil might lead to something interesting in the future. I guess we'll see. I figure I don't hate this book because I have read all 16 issues, but it's certainly not fantastic or anything. *1/2
THE AVENGERS #35: I might've read the first issue of this book when it came out but haven't even glanced at it lately. There's only one more issue until this book disappears until the fall, after Marvel's next big event book that Chad Zdarsky is writing. The best thing about this issue I can say is that art, by Sergio Davila, is pretty good. The colors, by Federico Blee, make it pop and look like a bold, superhero book. I obviously haven't read the previous issues so have no idea what the heck is going on...but, man, this book is fucking terrible and almost nothing happens in it. The Avengers are battling Kang the Conqueror and Kang's B-version of The Avengers. There's some sort of holy grail that does...something. An evil, nightmare group not unlike those creatures from Hellraiser show up and steal the grail. Then...the world ends? I give up. Jed MacKay wrote this and it comes off as a poor man's Jonathan Hickman script. -No Stars-
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #21: I'm this close to dropping this book. That's a big deal, as I've been reading The Amazing Spider-Man for probably the last twenty years (and I read a lot of it in the early 90's when I first started getting into comics). This book hasn't been good in a long time, but this current run is God-awful. Writer Joe Kelly's big idea was to put Peter Parker in space and have Norman Osbourne become Spider-Man. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds. Finally, Parker returns to Earth in this issue after Osbourne as Spider-Man fights The Hobgoblin. The art in this issue is atrocious. John Romita, Jr. drew a few pages, but the bulk was drawn by Todd Nuack. The art just screams amateur hour. I have to wonder, though: how hard is it to write a good Spider-Man book? It can't be this hard! The final page has Parker giving Osbourne a hug. Yes, the man that killed his girlfriend! Give me strength! -No Stars-
BATMAN #6: They recently released the top 100 best-selling comics of 2025. It wasn't a real list, though, just a sampling from comic book stores. The #1 best selling book of the year was Marvel's Deadpool/Batman book. #2 was the first issue of this book, writer Matt Fraction and artist Jorge Jimenez's Batman relaunch. So far it's been good not great. The art is fantastic. It hasn't really gelled into anything cohesive just yet, it's more just scattershot scenes. Tim Drake quits the Bat family. Hugo Strange releases some monsters. There's also the fallout of Bruce Wayne's date when Damian inadvertently told his date he was Bruce's son. Bruce's date was some big shot doctor that villains are trying to kill. There's also some police corruption going on that was caught on film by a kid. So...there is a lot going on, though nothing spectacularly intriguing. I did really like the ending, when Bruce says, "God, what a night," and sits on the stairs ruminating. **1/2
THE UNCANNY X-MEN #23: I haven't been following any of the X books lately, mostly because nobody's been raving about them. This one at least has artist David Marquez, which is a plus. The basic premise has Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Gambit, Rogue, and Jubilee in New Orleans training a fresh crop of kiddie mutants. In this issue, a gang of monsters show up. Like, literal monsters: Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Creature of the Black Lagoon, and The Wolfman. Are they in the public domain or something? I did enjoy the other part where an old man is reading a bedtime story, and the other kiddie mutants slowly approach one by one and end up listening to the story together. Also, Gambit has some sort of talisman that's turning him evil. I think because this book is published twice a month the pace is molasses slow. Not a lot happens in this issue, and I'm not exactly waiting with bated breath to read #24. *1/2
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