It’s a pretty small week with the big release of Wonder Woman #750 and a few others so lets get to it.
Wonder Woman #750
DC Comics Writers Steve Orlando/Gail Simone/Mariko Tamaki/Greg Rucka/Kami Garcia/Shannon Hale/Dean Hale/ Marguerite Bennett/Vita Ayala/Scott Snyder
Artists Jesus Merino & Vicente Cifuentes/Coleen Doran/Elena Casagrande/Nicola Scott/Phil Hester & Ande Parrks/Riley Rossmo/ Larua Braga/ Amancay Nahuelpan/Bryan Hitch
Colorists Romulo Fajardo Jr./Hi-Fi/Sunny Gho/Trish Mulvihill/Ivan Placencia/ Jay David Ramos/Mike Spicer
Letterers Pat Brosseau/Dave Sharpe/Deron Bennett/Rob Leigh/Gabriela Downie/Joshua Reed/Wes Abbott/Clayton Cowles/Tom Napolitano
The last part of DC Comics Holy Trinity with Superman (Action Comics) and Batman (Detective Comics), Wonder Woman got her start in All Star Comics and later her own title that DC has now reinstated the legacy numbering of the title and its a huge milestone because its the only female superhero that has lasted as long as she has. To celebrate this they have assembled an impressive all star roster of talent to a mostly great stories to show the many different sides of her. The most puzzling aspect of this comic is the conclusion of the current storyline in the comic that for most readers is going to be pointless unless you have been reading the current book. Nothing against Orlando and Merino but this is a big mistake to shoehorn this into a book like this and its one thing to kick off the next storyline for the last story that the previous ones had done but this sadly doesn’t get the book off to a good start. Fortunately Simone and Doran more than make up for it with the second story that brings back Star-Blossom for a very sweet and perfect story of friendship that gets the book back on solid ground. Tamaki and Casagrande story is good but wasn’t overly compelling but wasn’t too bad and did have a nice twist at the end that helped it along. No surprise that the Rebirth team of Rucka and Scott bring a great short story that is not only a great read but some of the best artwork in the book. This story hits all of the right beats and one wishes that they could come back on to the book. The Garcia and Hester story is nice but sadly doesn’t have much bite to it and it basically tells a story that isn’t really that new and is just average but Hesters artwork does a nice job to give it a unique feel. One of the big surprises of this book was the Shannon and Dean Hale with Rossmo’s artwork not only tells a great story but Rossmo’s artwork is so amazing that it gives the story an even bigger impact that simply tells a sweet story of Diana and her mother that is really nicely heartfelt. The Bennett and Braga Bombshell story was sadly the most disappointing because it was just a greatest hits of the Bombshell series and not really much of a story overall and Braga’s artwork is nice but sadly wasted here. The Ayala and Nahuelpan story has a decent idea but it loses a bit in the execution of the story that seemed a bit dragged out for a short story and ends up being just OK. The final story by Snyder and Hitch seems to be a set up for a possible mini series or special that takes place in 1939 and gives a glimpse of a possible Justice Society title. The story is short and not much to it but if it brings back the Justice Society I’m all for that.
Is this comic worth you’re time and money? The thing is that the really good ones thankfully outweigh the misses greatly but overall it ends up being a mixed bag. I did like it better than the Detective #1000 where most of the stories seem to not really celebrate the character like the Action #1000 did and Wonder Woman is better than Detective but not quite as good as the Action one. There are not that are terrible but one was simply a big misfire but the ratio of good gives it an overall worth picking up score. The ones that are really good are well worth buying this one but wished that it was a little better.
Kidz #1
Ablaze Publishing Writer Aurélien Ducoudray, Artist Jocelyn Joret, Letterer Carlos M. Mangual
The newest Ablaze comic is yet another in a long line of zombie comics that mixes that with Goonies with mixed results. The script by Ducoudray is decent but for this first issue there is not much bite to it. One of the biggest issues with the book is that there is not much character development and ends up not being that compelling. It doesn’t bring anything new to the genre and that is why it ends up being pretty forgettable. Joret’s art work has a nice cartoony style that gives the book a nice charm and she does her best here with a lot of great detail that is put into the artwork but there is only so much that it can do here.
Is this comic worth you’re time and money? I really wanted to like this more than I did and its certainly not a terrible read but there is just not a lot here that gets you excited to pick up a second issue. The kids are basic tropes that are cliche at best and you don’t know or really care what happens to them or what the story is about beyond the basic set up. SKIP IT!
Family Tree #3
Image Comics Writer Jeff Lemire, Penciller Phil Hester, Inker Eric Gapstur, Colorist Ryan Cody, Letterer Steve Wands
This third outing start to go into the mythology of what is happening to Megan and how her connection to her father is starting to come into focus. We also start to see that there is more to this transformation than we had previously thought and that the story runs much deeper also. Lemire is doing a great job of unfolding the story at a nice pace that is allowing the story to breath and is giving it a nice flow. Hester and Gapstur artwork on the book continues to impress and captures the subtle drama of the story and also the etherial dream sequences very well here.
Is this comic worth you’re time and money? I’m still really enjoying this comic and while this issue is a bit of a middle part of the story where there is not a lot of big things going on but the story is moving forward very well. There are some great reveals this issue and continues to impress as its going along and is still worth buying.
Basketful of Heads #4
DC Black Label/Hill House Comics Writer Joe Hill, Artist Leomacs, Colorist Dave Stewart, Letterer Deron Bennett
This continues to be one of the best horror comics going right now and it continues to unfold at a nice pace. What I like that Hill has done here is not let the story rush out he lets it flow at a natural pace here and the book truly benefits from it. There is no grey area that this story was inspired by the classic DC Horror comics of the 1960’s and its really showing here in both the story and the artwork that has a retro feel but is also current at the same time. The most impressive thing about the story is that it could have went for the full on blood splatter fest but instead Hill keeps the blood at bay and only uses it sparingly and not as a crutch that so many other horror comics use. Leomacs artwork on the comic just keeps getting better and better each issue and he packs so much into each panel that is really bringing this story to life. It one thing to capture the action horror of the story but its the subtle drama parts where he really nails the emotions of the characters that is very impressive here.
Is this comic worth you’re time and money? I cant say enough great things about this comic and even if you are not a huge horror fan this comic is more of a throwback to unnerving horror instead of a blood bath and that is why its working so well. This continues to be a truly must read comic book. VERY RECOMMENDED!
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