Life isn’t easy for an ex-con. It is even worse when you’re an ex-supervillain in Twilight City.
Frankie “Playtime” Follis was a prodigy, pushed into villainy by her mother after she manifested the power to make any toy into a weapon. Now, fresh out of prison, she’s unable to find any work beyond making drinks at a seedy bar catering to the low-level supervillains she’s meant to be avoiding as part of her parole. Still, Frankie keeps to the code of honor the blue-collar baddies abide by, though she wants nothing more than to rebuild her life and win back custody of her daughter, Maggie.
Unfortunately, Frankie is pulled back into the life after the archvillain called The Stickman kills Kid Dusk, the sidekick of Twilight City’s protector, The Insomniac. This makes the stalwart hero snap, sending him on a violent killing spree targeting every villain in town while searching for Stickman. With Insomniac’s fellow heroes covering up his crimes, it falls to Frankie and a rag-tag group of has-beens and henchmen to bring Stickman to justice while Twilight City is still standing.
Minor Threats is not a wholly original story. Much as Watchmen put a mature spin on the classic heroes of Charlton Comics, Minor Threats is a dark and darkly hilarious Batman story that DC Comics would never dare publish. Most of the characters are clearly parodies of Batman, Robin, Joker, Riddler and more. Yet there are some original ideas, such as Scalpel, a supervillain surgeon who makes her living offering off-the-books medical care to costumed criminals… for a percentage of their earnings, of course.
Writers Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum make every joke one would expect regarding the silliness of costumed criminals, boy wonders and how many masked heroes need psychiatric help. Thankfully, Minor Threats proves to be far more than a collective of gags about popular superheroes and genre conventions. Oswalt and Blum bring true pathos to the five supervillains forced to become reluctant (not quite) heroes, developing them into full characters rather than cardboard cliches.
The five leads’ origin stories tackle a variety of serious issues, ranging from abusive parents to coming out of the closet to embrace true love. The effect is not unlike the duo’s previous writing for the MODOK animated series or The Venture Bros. Serious emotions mix with dark comedy to tell a truly original tale.
The artwork by Scott Hepburn is equally well done. Much like Dave Gibbons on Watchmen, Hepburn draws Minor Threats like a traditional comic book. This only adds to the visual dissonance as the action goes at right angles to every expectation of a typical superhero story.
Dark Horse Comics rates Minor Threats as appropriate for ages 14 and up. I believe that to be a fair assessment of the book’s content. There is a fair bit of violence and some disturbing scenes of children dying and parents being killed in front of their kids, as well as a bit of adult language. There is no nudity or sexual content, making this safe for most teen audiences.
Minor Threats A Quick End To A Long Beginning Vol. 01 By Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, , Art by Scott Hepburn, Ian Hrring, Nate Piekos, Dark Horse, 2023 ISBN: 9781506729992
Publisher Age Rating: 14+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Character Representation: Black, Gay, Neurodivergent, Ambiguous Mental Illness
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a franchise that has many different meanings depending on your generation. For some, it was a dark comedy, parodying the sudden obsession with ninjas that infused comic book culture in the 1980s. For others, it was a silly syndicated cartoon, with a lot of awesome action figures.
There was a host of animated series, live-action movies and more comics which followed. All different timelines, but with generally the same characters. No matter what incarnation of TMNT you follow, Leonardo leads, Donatello builds machines, Raphael is cool but rude, and Michaelangelo is a party dude.
I had heard that IDW’s new TMNT comics were a fair attempt to put a more mature spin on the concept. Yet I had not read any of the recent series until Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game – Opening Moves. Having read it, I can say that what I heard was true, but this may be the most awkward entry point into the series I could have possibly chosen.
The Armageddon Game – Opening Moves is an anthology collecting six different stories from across IDW’s TMNT series. The only common link between them is that they all connect to the character of the Rat King. Rather than being some sewer-dweller with the power to control rats, this Rat King is a chaos god and part of a pantheon of deities who have played games with humanity since the dawn of time.
With his siblings growing tired of the game, the Rat King has decided to kick things up a notch by manipulating various players into bringing about the end of the world. Hence the title “Armageddon Game”. This is a solid set up for a fantasy story. Unfortunately, this explanation does not come until the book is nearly half over!
Before that, we get a prelude showing Rat King reveling in a destroyed New York City, a reprint of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #84 (where the turtles show up to rescue some kidnapped children from Rat King) and the 2020 TMNT Annual. This story features Rat King taunting a recently resurrected and redeemed Shredder, who is determined to live a life of honor after somehow escaping Hell. This sets up the final two chapters, collectively known as “Opening Moves”, in which Shredder and his lover, the goddess Kitsune, explore the dreams of Rat King’s followers.
To describe this as convoluted would be putting it mildly. While I believe this anthology prints its chapters in order of release, the prelude feels like a non-sequitur. The story with the Turtles is good, but only serves to confuse things when it ends with Baxter Stockman deciding to run for Mayor and the next chapter opening with a description of how his reign has made life harder for Mutants in Manhattan. The writing isn’t bad, but it would save the reader a lot of trouble if it opened with the 2021 Annual story where Rat King introduces himself and the cast to the readers.
The artwork is similarly conflicted. There is a different art team on each chapter of this book. All of them are good artists, but there’s no real sense of visual unity to the story. This is often the case with anthology collections, but it is more vexing here where the book seems to be trying to relate a history, only to wind up jumping around in time.
IDW does not rate their comics, but I believe this volume to be on par with a T for 13 and up audience. There is plentiful action and adventure anf a few curse words, but no nudity or sexual content. The larger problems is that TMNT fans looking for a fun story will be more confused than amused by The Armageddon Game.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game – Opening Moves By Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, Kevin Eastman, Art by Pablo Tunica, Dave Watcher, Adam Gorham, Casey Maloney IDW, 2023 ISBN: 9781684059737
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Before he donned a mask and cape to fight crime in the streets of Gotham City, before adopting the mantle of the Dark Knight, a thirteen-year-old Bruce Wayne struggled to fit in with his peers at Gotham Preparatory School—a special school for kids gifted with superpowers. In this reimagined, alternate vision of the Batman, Stuart Gibbs (Spy School) and artist Berat Pekmezci introduce a refreshingly amusing and misshapen childhood of Bruce Wayne in Bruce Wayne: Not Super.
In a setting similar to Dr. Xavier’s academy of X-Men mutants, Bruce Wayne feels out of place at a school specially geared to train young students to harness and control their extraordinary powers. While Clark Kent wields super strength, Diana Prince moves with grace and dexterity, and Barry Allen zips by past the speed of light, Bruce lacks natural powers he can boast. Instead, he resorts to designing his own costume for a disguise through trial and error and invents his own set of gadgets to fit in with his classmates. On Career Day, he desires to become a vigilante to battle crime in the name of avenging the murder of his parents, much to the disappointment of the school principal.
In reconstructing a light-hearted rendition of Gotham City, Gibbs and Pekmezci create a world replete with amusing escapades and pranks among superheroes and villains alike. As a middle grader, Bruce Wayne tackles a coming-of-age role whose diffidence, clumsiness, and shyness gives way to hidden, innate ingenuity. While navigating the rocky landscape of interacting with his peers, he encounters comical situations and a montage of goof ups amidst an undercurrent of danger and brooding mystery rendered by Pekmezci’s deep shades of navy blue and indigo. Whether fending for himself in a game of dodge ball or masquerading as a vigilante to stop a theft in progress, each antic-packed panel captures a less than perfect crime fighter in the early stages of his quest to uphold truth and justice. Most charming are the quizzical expressions and persona of a young Batman who gradually discovers his true strength and latent abilities.
Highlighting the wonder years of adolescence, Bruce Wayne: Not Super delves into evolving themes of fitting in, developing self-esteem, doing the right thing, and finding one’s strengths and purpose. On his path towards discovering himself, Bruce Wayne learns that some powers emerge not from spectacular feats of strength, agility, or speed, but from within one’s natural abilities. This graphic novel infuses a fresh foray into a longstanding iconic superhero of the DC Comics universe, ushering in a welcome addition to middle grade collections and challenging young readers to discover their superpowers.
Bruce Wayne Not Super Vol. By Stuart Gibbs Art by Berat Pekmezci DC, 2023 ISBN: 9781779507679
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11) Creator Representation: Turkish,
Katie the Catsitter is back in another installment of her eponymous graphic novel series! This time, she’s preparing to officially become the Mousetress’s sidekick but things like friendship, jealousy, and, oh yeah, robots just keep getting in the way. Katie the Catsitter #3: Secrets and Sidekicks, written by Colleen AF Venable and art by Stephanie Yue, is a fast-paced, colorful adventure in Katie’s New York City.
Katie and her best friend Beth are ready to start their sidekick training. They even have the perfect sidekick names picked out: Aluminum Foiled and Cheesy Justice. Madeline, aka the Mousetress, is one of New York City’s top superheroes, even if the media likes to paint her as a supervillian (but Katie and Beth know the truth!). Along with her literal hundreds of extremely intelligent powerful cats, the Mousetress uses brains and technological know-how to protect the citizens of the city. Meanwhile, Katie’s mom is so busy working all hours of the day that she doesn’t even know what her daughter is up to.
Suddenly, a giant yellow robot is stomping its way through the city, about to destroy everything in sight, until it’s hit by a puddle splash. Turns out, this robotisn’t waterproof. Katie knows this robot is from the heinous Buttersoft Bionics but how can she prove it? No one wants to believe her.
On top of everything going in the world of superheroes and supervillains, Katie’s got regular middle school drama. Her skateboarding crew, the Wheel-las, is dealing with too many third and fourth wheels (pun intended). Katie’s friend Jess really feels the brunt of this, on top of Katie’s suspicions about Jess’s boyfriend’s family who owns Buttersoft Bionics, even though Jess swears they aren’t evil people. Plus, the threat of robots is threatening NYC PopCon, where Katie and her friends are cosplaying. With everything going on, can Katie do the right thing, defend her city, and prove who are the real villains after all?
While some readers might find Secrets and Sidekicks easy to dive into, it’s recommended that readers are familiar with the previous two books in the series, as they’ll give them the world building to help understand Katie’s world of superheroes and supercats. The names and skills of the many featured cats are both adorable and hilarious, readers will love meeting them. The book’s back matter includes Yue’s sketches, as well as words from the creators, some facts about them, and a friendship bracelet making guide, appropriate even for an arm with a paw.
There is a lot of action in the book but there are points where it feels more drawn out, making Secrets and Sidekicks appropriate for a more solidly middle grade audience. Katie’s friendship troubles will be relatable to readers her age. The superheroes aspect gives the book more appeal to readers who might not otherwise pick up a book about cats. As previously mentioned, the art is bright and cartoony at times, matching the action and the vibe of the book perfectly.
Katie the Catsitter #3: Secrets and Sidekicks is a charming addition to the series. Any cat loving reader will enjoy this book, as well as readers who enjoy the Paws or Making Friends graphic novel series, both of which have similar elements (cats! magic!) to Venable and Yue’s series.
Katie the Catsitter #3: Secrets and Sidekicks By Colleen AF Venable Art by Stephanie Yue Penguin Random House Graphic, 2023 ISBN: 9780593379691
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
When I first saw Wolverine: Snikt! I thought I was simply reading the next installment from Viz Media of Marvel characters that were being given their own manga book. I was both right and wrong; this book is a Wolverine story told in magna formatting, but it isn’t new.
Wolverine: Snikt! was originally published by Marvel Comics as a five-issue series way back in 2003. It was part of a Marvel short lived “Tsunami” line of comics that were “manga-style” so they could try and jump on the growing demand for manga in United States. This edition is being formatted by Viz as a traditional manga and it is being labeled a deluxe edition with an introduction from Nick Dragotta (East of West, Fantastic Four) and an art gallery at the end.
On the third page of this book, and with no dialog to tell us why, Logan is pulled into another time by a young mutant girl. She loses track of him in the transfer and he finds himself alone in a dystopian future where a weird biomechanical monster starts to fight him immediately. It has the ability to self-repair and Logan would be lost if not for The Colonel, a man-shaped machine with the only weapon capable of taking down a Mandate. They are running out of ammunition for the gun and they are running out of warriors. Fusa, the girl who brought him here, explains that 11 years ago in 2047 the Mandate attacked and wiped nearly everyone out. It turns out the Mandate itself is a mutant, sort of. It’s a mutant disease that started out as a lab experiment where they hoped to turn a bacteria into a microorganism that would decompose the toxic materials poisoning the Earth. However, once it was outside of the lab environment it couldn’t be contained and it gained sentience. Now, they have to destroy the original Mandate, called Primogenitor, otherwise it will never stop producing more Mandates. You have to destroy a Mandates orb-core to kill it, otherwise it will keep knitting itself back together. By now, you can guess what element will destroy an orb-core and what The Colonel is made out of, Adamantium, making Logan their only hope.
This story is going to be a tough sell to an audience older than tweens and teens. Viz rates this Teen+ for older teens, but I think Teen is fine rating for this. It’s violent, but they are fighting robotic monsters and it is only 136 pages with credits. The story itself is tissue-paper thin and there are no surprises anywhere along the way. A teen reader might give this a pass and enjoy the action, but I found myself mostly disappointed. I appreciate that Tsutomu Nihei had the unenviable task of trying to get the entirety of a story into five issues, but I’ve seen other creators do more with that same task.
The art from Nihei is a lot murkier than his later, much lauded work Knights of Sidonia. That is to say, this art feels like it’s from 2003 and the artist is still evolving. His later work is a lot cleaner, here faces are tough to tell apart and are very sparse on details. Some of the larger vistas that he illustrates show the range of his talent, but Logan hardly looks like the character most comic fans know. Marvel made the choice to have this colored, which probably hinders the work more than it helps. I don’t know that this book is going to make a convert of anyone, but it is hard to deny Wolverine’s appeal and ability to sell books. I think there is certainly an audience out there for this story and there are plenty of teen readers who will enjoy both the manga aesthetic and “otherworld” approach to the storytelling.
Wolverine: Snikt! By Tsutomu Nihei VIZ, 2023 ISBN: 9781974738533
Publisher Age Rating: Teen+(older teen)
NFNT Age Recommendation: Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16) Creator Representation: Japanese,
Teen Titans: Robin was uncharted territory for me and yet oddly familiar at the same time. As a teen librarian, I was familiar with Kami Garcia’s novels, but I had never read any graphic novels she had written. I was likewise well versed in the Teen Titans characters, but this was unlike any Teen Titans comic I had read before. I didn’t recognize the name of artist Gabriel Picolo, but I recognized his art from various social media posts showing more slice-of-life Anime inspired takes on the Teen Titans characters.
This helped ease me into Teen Titans: Robin, which is the fourth volume of Garcia and Picolo’s series of young adult graphic novels. I hadn’t read the original trilogy of Raven and Beast Boy books, but that didn’t prove to be a major obstacle. This volume is surprisingly accessible to those who, like me, were lured in by the Robin name without any thought of this being part of a larger story.
The graphic novel opens in the thick of the action, with Rachel Roth, Garfield Logan, Damian Wayne and Maxine Navarro on the run. They escaped from HIVE and the man called Slade Wilson who had lured them in to become test subjects due to their amazing powers. At the same time Slade is hunting them they are also being hunted by Dick Grayson, whom Damian recognizes as the adopted son of his biological father.
As one might expect given the title, the focus of this book is on Damian and Dick and the difficulties they face in trying to start a supportive sibling relationship. Most of the difficulties are on Damian’s side, as he views Dick as the perfect son that his father chose to adopt, whereas he was literally left on Batman’s doorstep for him to deal with unexpectedly. Dick, for his part, has trouble trying to understand where Damian is coming from and why he has a hard time accepting help and honest emotion after being raised by a group of assassins. However, the story also continues the development of Raven and Garfield’s romance from the earlier books in the series, and sets up a romance between Damien and Maxine as well.
Garcia has a terrific grasp of the teen psyche and has done a marvelous job of developing the classic Titans characters from the comics into a form that grasps their essential personalities while conforming to classic young adult literature tropes. Her characterizations are well-matched by Picolo’s art, which grounds an otherwise fantastic narrative as the teens train their powers and abilities, building up to a thrilling chase scene that closes out the novel. The final effect is reminiscent of a children’s adventure movie, like The Goonies or The Monster Squad.
Teen Titans: Robin is rated 13+ by the publisher and I consider that to be a fair rating. There’s no sexual content beyond kissing and no violence beyond martial arts sparring. There are a few intense moments where Raven tries to use her powers to see through the eyes of her demonic father, Trigon, but nothing inappropriate to the intended teen audience.
Teen Titans: Robin (Teen Titans, bk 4) By Kami Garcia Art by Gabriel Picolo DC, 2003 ISBN: 9781779512246
Myths offer an enchanting ability to engage our imaginations since time immemorial, conjuring forth and reshaping stories with extraordinary fascination. The superhero narrative exemplifies a timeless myth that never grows old, and award-winning graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese,Superman Versus the Klan) and Bernard Chang (Batman Beyond, Teen Titans) infuse new life into a mythology drawn from a 16th century Chinese epic (Journey to the West) in the first volume of Monkey Prince: Enter the Monkey.
When a brawl breaks out in the locker room of Gotham High School, Batman and Robin rush to the scene only to find a mischievous trickster monkey proclaiming himself as the “MotherFlippin’ Monkey Prince.” Little do they realize that this magical misfit is really high-school teenager Marcus Sun, whose foster parents harbor secrets wrapped up in their work as purported freelance scientists. After getting bullied from a classmate at school one day, Marcus runs into Mr. Zhu, a corpulent janitor with pig-like features who bestows him with supernatural powers, transforming him into a monkey-like superhero. Marcus adapts to a nearly indestructible body that can shapeshift, ride on clouds, reattach dismembered limbs in combat telepathically, and other quirks. In time, he learns that Mr. Zhu is actually the Shifu (teacher) Pigsy of the legendary Sun Wukong, a nearly omnipotent monkey king from Chinese myth and legend.
The story revolves around the ups and downs of Marcus as he undergoes a process of self-discovery after gaining his newfound powers while grappling with fear, courage, and self-discipline. Sinister forces lurk in the background—from the uprising of a demon that possesses the Penguin in Gotham City to a pink-haired, kick-ass girl with a mouthful of razor-sharp fangs in Amnesty Bay. Vibrant, stunning colors of gold, red, and green from the Monkey Prince’s outfit create a stark contrast to the shady blue of Gotham City’s noir world. Intricately drawn characters occupy action-packed panels, energizing amusingly choreographed fight scenes echoing escapades from the classic Chinese myth. Episodic side plots crisscross alongside Marcus’s coming-of-age story, unraveling a somewhat confounding and complex storyline, though still maintaining a narrative momentum that intrigues.
Ushering in a brand new superhero to the DC universe drawn from the mythos of an ancient Chinese epic, Monkey Prince highlights a reluctant yet bold superhero with a playful persona whose purpose and role remains to be seen. Flashbacks to past adventures (Monkey Prince #0) reveal an epic battle against Darkseid, so perhaps DC comics will reprint those side stories to supplement missing gaps in a future volume. A mix of mystery, magic, and fantasy blend into a storyline populated by superheroes, supernatural monsters, demons, dragon kings, and more, making this a unique addition to adult graphic novel collections for readers seeking something bordering on mythic fantasies fueled with wild antics.
Monkey Prince, vol. 1: Enter the Monkey By Gene Luen Yang Art by Bernard Chang DC, 2023 ISBN: 9781779517098
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Chinese-American Character Representation: Chinese-American
There was a time when superhero stories were thought to be just for kids, but titles like Suicide Squad helped tear that stereotype apart. People who’ve seen Margot Robbie portray Harley Quinn on the big screen might be familiar with the Suicide Squad, a group of lesser-known villains coerced to work for the government in exchange for lighter sentences. Many of these missions have high fatality rates, hence the group’s name, but mainstays like Quinn and Captain Boomerang have stayed alive, largely due to their popularity. However, that makes Suicide Squad: Blaze, written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Aaron Campbell, and its focus on people other than its regular roster an adult-rated anomaly.
Yes, the shark man King Shark, the boomerang-tossing Australian Captain Boomerang, and the John Cena vehicle Peacemaker are not the true stars of this book; that dubious honor goes to a group of convicts. They become part of a government experiment that grants normal people superpowers that will eventually kill them, but this group feels they have nothing left to live for, anyway. These newly-powered individuals are the last line of defense against a super-powered individual murdering and devouring people. Even stalwarts like Superman and the Justice League are unable to defeat him, so odds are that planet Earth will burn.
Some might be familiar with Spurrier and Campbell’s collaborations on Hellblazer, and the same violent yet bleak tone is present here. One of Suicide Squad’s appeals is the fact that the roster, apart from a few core characters, is constantly in flux as B-list villains often meet gruesome, and sometimes comedic, ends. Blaze ups the ante by having a twist with these newly superpowered people: when one of them dies, their power gets divided up among the remaining convicts, so it’s guaranteed that their number will diminish and those who survive will steadily become more powerful. One of those who might be the last superperson standing is Michael Van Zandt, who wants to get back together with the love of his life before his powers kill him. But this might be too hopeful (and a deep misunderstanding of this book’s themes) to think there’s any chance of a happy ending.
Campbell’s art is well-suited to showcase this dark universe where even Superman can be gravely injured and the Justice League are cannon fodder. Deaths and dismemberments are shown in graphic detail, and the powers that exist in this world are far from phenomena resembling Renaissance artwork of angels. The powers summoned by these people burn their bodies and distort their dimensions. In case Spurrier’s morally bankrupt characters haven’t clued readers into the book’s worldview, Campbell’s depiction of powers and what they do to a person’s anatomy will show these people to be fundamentally cursed.
The characters from the classic Suicide Squad roster, like King Shark and Quinn, have some shining character moments, but mostly this is a title to see who is left standing while the world burns. It’s a superhero book that has a inky black view of superheroes, which might be up the alley of readers who enjoyed Suicide Squad movies but think they could have gone darker.
Suicide Squad: Blaze By Simon Spurrier Art by Aaron Campbell DC Black Label, 2023 ISBN: 9781779514264
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+) Creator Representation: British
First off, let me say that no Aquaman haters should be reading this review. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, so I always loved Aquaman, and Denny O’Neil’s Green Arrow appealed to a tomboy like I was. I’m aware of those fanboys who say Aquaman’s powers are stupid and not that useful. I’m also aware of the ridicule that Green Arrow’s increasingly impossible trick arrows got.
Welllll…. then came Mike Grell’s The Longbow Hunters in the 1980s and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in 2018. The characters have been reimagined in a way that makes them more mature, more human, dealing with human issues. Deep Target is the trade paperback of seven issues that also explore both characters in a new way, yet keep some of the classic aspects that past incarnations had.
Green Arrow and Aquaman have somehow switched powers and identities! Oliver Queen is now the King of Atlantis, with the power to use the Trident of Poseidon, and Arthur Curry is rich and has a non-stop supply of trick arrows and the talent to use them (unlike Grell’s longbow Robin Hood-type persona who eschewed using arrow trickery.) In this world, Arthur’s staff call him “Arthur Queen” and Oliver is surprised when Arthur’s staff address him as “Oliver Curry”. What the heck is going on? Like Peter David’s Aquaman, Arthur has long flowing blond hair and a fierce visage, but no spear for a hand like the David version. Both find that they share each other’s memories in their new and old personas.
Is the brief appearance of Captain Anderton and Scorpio in the first few pages of the comic somehow to blame for this? Scorpio has been looting the past and future for treasures to sell, but something has gone wrong with the timeline, and Captain Anderton and his crew are in for a big surprise. Can Green Arrow and Aquaman get along long enough to fix it? What will they have to give up in doing so?
This trade paperback was published to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Green Arrow and Aquaman. The gentlemen are looking good indeed! New costumes that combine the present mixed roles with past incarnations show the writer and artist have knowledge about those eight decades as a DC institution. Arthur Queen’s armor is designed with a SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) which is a neat invention. When he’s topside, his costume has a “Robin-Hood” type hood that is reminiscent of the Longbow Hunters days. The pencils and colors are bright and sharp, and while the pacing, direction and action are a bit confusing on some of the pages, the storyline is interesting and easy to follow. I did have to go back a few pages to figure out “what just happened?” a couple of times. It might be more challenging to follow the action within the pages online, especially since there’s so much battle, oriented ALL (and I do mean ALL) over the page in every direction.
I won’t give any spoilers here, but there are unanswered questions left within the plot that I wondered about after finishing the book. It was hard for me to tell if this was sloppy storytelling or if these were left open for a future issue run. Even if that was the case, this story stands on its own, and no previous issues need to be read before this one.
It was fun to see these guys again! There is lots of comic violence and battling with weapons, but no sexual situations and no realistic graphic brutality. This title would be a fun addition to a Young Adult collection, and is suitable for ages 14 and up.
Green Arrow and Aquaman: Deep Target By Brandon Thomas Art by Ronan Cliquet DC, 2022 ISBN: 9781779516893
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Christopher Chance is not a DC character many people will be familiar with. He wasn’t the first “Human Target” from DC Comics, but since Len Wein and Carmine Infantino reimagined the character in Action Comics #419 December 1972, he’s been impersonating people who pay him to take their place and save them from assassins and others looking to harm them. Chance is part bodyguard, part private investigator. In this latest iteration, he is hired by Lex Luthor to find who was trying to assassinate him and wound up taking a bullet from a would-be assassin. The twist is that this isn’t the only person trying to kill him that day and someone else with much more sophisticated methods poisoned Chance by mistake. He now he has 12 days left to live and try to solve the puzzle of who poisoned him and why they wanted Luthor dead.
Doctor Midnight diagnoses Christopher after he passes out from the poison and crashes his car. He gives his some medicine to try and help manage the pain, but more importantly makes a discovery. The poison in his system gives off traces of radiation from another dimension and the only people to have traveled there and returned are The Justice League International. Now, with 11 days left to live, Christopher has to try and figure out who in the JLI would want Luthor dead bad enough to poison him and why. This is where Tora Olafsdotter enters the picture, Ice of Fire and Ice, and JLI fame. She will be the key to all of this as Lex once had her killed and most of the JLI hasn’t forgotten. Ice, however, is full of surprises herself. There is a bond growing between her and Christopher and the more time they spend together the further complicated his investigation is getting.
Of all the books I’ve read in 2022, The Human Target is the one that made the biggest impression and the one I’ve talked about the most since reading. This is the first of two volumes, covering the 12 part mini-series written by Tom King and illustrated by Artist Greg Smallwood. Both have equally contributed to why this book stays with me and why I enjoyed it so much. While both are producing great work respectively, as a team they have elevated the work and created a truly distinct, riveting book.
Tom King is doing what I would argue he does best, taking characters outside of their normal continuity in universe and telling interesting and unusual stories with them. Some of his most popular and well regarded work falls under this category, like The Vision or Mister Miracle. This is also a detective story and King excels at having people solve mysteries that involve a human element.
I mentioned before that Greg Smallwood’s art made a lasting impression and that is an undersell. I haven’t seen a book like this maybe ever. It has the feel of a chalk or soft pastel ad from the 1950’s. There is a timeless quality to the entire book that makes it impossible to place, while at the same time you know exactly where and when it is. It feels akin in style and dress to a show like Mad Men, while somehow being more colorful and vibrant. When I recommend this book to people (which I do constantly) my inability to articulate everything that is important and beautiful about Smallwood’s work frustrates me and makes my point. I simply don’t have the words to do justice to what he’s managed here and for that reason you should read it for yourself to understand.
Because The Human Target, aka Christopher Chance, and the Justice League International aren’t the best know or most compelling characters at DC Comics I can easily understand this book flying under the radar for a lot of readers. An author like King being attached should help it gather some attention, but it may not look like the most accessible story. For the uninitiated reader there is enough introduction and background information included in this volume to give you everything you need to enjoy this story. If you do know something about the JLI or its members this is a fascinating look at how King pulls characters apart psychologically and presents them as flawed individuals who are trying their best despite their shortcomings.
An absolutely worthwhile addition to any library collection for older teen and adult readers, this particular 12 issue story is coming out under DC’s Black Label. Since 2020 is Black Label has been defined as “The imprint intend(ed) to present traditional DC Universe characters for a mature audience with stand-alone, prestige-format series.” DC rates this as an ages 17+ book and I would agree that between the drinking, language and romantic intrigue it’s best suited for older readers. It feels like a hard-boiled detective novel in both tone and look, something of a throwback. It’s not as brutal as something like Ed Brubaker’s Reckless series, but will certainly shares an audience with those books.
The Human Target Vol. 01 By Tom King Art by Greg Smallwood DC Black Label, 2022 ISBN: 9781779516701
Publisher Age Rating: 17+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
Life isn’t easy for an ex-con. It is even worse when you’re an ex-supervillain in Twilight City.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a franchise that has many different meanings depending on your generation. For some, it was a dark comedy, parodying the sudden obsession with ninjas that infused comic book culture in the 1980s. For others, it was a silly syndicated cartoon, with a lot of awesome action figures.
Knight, a thirteen-year-old Bruce Wayne struggled to fit in with his peers at Gotham Preparatory School—a special school for kids gifted with superpowers. In this reimagined, alternate vision of the Batman, Stuart Gibbs (Spy School) and artist Berat Pekmezci introduce a refreshingly amusing and misshapen childhood of Bruce Wayne in Bruce Wayne: Not Super.
become the Mousetress’s sidekick but things like friendship, jealousy, and, oh yeah, robots just keep getting in the way. 
When I first saw Wolverine: Snikt! I thought I was simply reading the next installment from Viz Media of Marvel characters that were being given their own manga book. I was both right and wrong; this book is a Wolverine story told in magna formatting, but it isn’t new.
Teen Titans: Robin was uncharted territory for me and yet oddly familiar at the same time. As a teen librarian, I was familiar with Kami Garcia’s novels, but I had never read any graphic novels she had written. I was likewise well versed in the Teen Titans characters, but this was unlike any Teen Titans comic I had read before. I didn’t recognize the name of artist Gabriel Picolo, but I recognized his art from various social media posts showing more slice-of-life Anime inspired takes on the Teen Titans characters.
Myths offer an enchanting ability to engage our imaginations since time immemorial, conjuring forth and reshaping stories with extraordinary fascination. The superhero narrative exemplifies a timeless myth that never grows old, and award-winning graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, Superman Versus the Klan) and Bernard Chang (Batman Beyond, Teen Titans) infuse new life into a mythology drawn from a 16th century Chinese epic (Journey to the West) in the first volume of Monkey Prince: Enter the Monkey.
There was a time when superhero stories were thought to be just for kids, but titles like Suicide Squad helped tear that stereotype apart. People who’ve seen Margot Robbie portray Harley Quinn on the big screen might be familiar with the Suicide Squad, a group of lesser-known villains coerced to work for the government in exchange for lighter sentences. Many of these missions have high fatality rates, hence the group’s name, but mainstays like Quinn and Captain Boomerang have stayed alive, largely due to their popularity. However, that makes Suicide Squad: Blaze, written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Aaron Campbell, and its focus on people other than its regular roster an adult-rated anomaly.
First off, let me say that no Aquaman haters should be reading this review. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, so I always loved Aquaman, and Denny O’Neil’s Green Arrow appealed to a tomboy like I was. I’m aware of those fanboys who say Aquaman’s powers are stupid and not that useful. I’m also aware of the ridicule that Green Arrow’s increasingly impossible trick arrows got.
Comics, but since Len Wein and Carmine Infantino reimagined the character in Action Comics #419 December 1972, he’s been impersonating people who pay him to take their place and save them from assassins and others looking to harm them. Chance is part bodyguard, part private investigator. In this latest iteration, he is hired by Lex Luthor to find who was trying to assassinate him and wound up taking a bullet from a would-be assassin. The twist is that this isn’t the only person trying to kill him that day and someone else with much more sophisticated methods poisoned Chance by mistake. He now he has 12 days left to live and try to solve the puzzle of who poisoned him and why they wanted Luthor dead.
