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May 28, 2026 2:18 pm

Absolute Batman #20 (review)

DG Stewart May 28, 2026 No Comments

Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Nick Dragotta DC Comics, May 2026 As ever, spoilers abound in this critique. This story begins with a gag, played on regular readers of Batman comics. The reader is taken down into what, in DC Comics’ main continuity, looks like the classic Batcave with the customary indicia : the entrance hidden behind the grandfather clock, the giant dime, and the inert mechanical dinosaur. The resident of the cavern however is not the masked billionaire crimefighter. In this universe tainted by the evil god Darkseid, it is the lair of the Joker. It is fair to say that Absolute Batman is no longer properly characterised only as a superhero comic. The sight of the Joker, a pale beast in a business short and tie, with the gaping dislocated jaw of a snake, the feet of a demon, being fed by the cranial fluid of a cluster of

Monster Drive-In: The Hunchback of Naughty Dames

Neil Raymundo May 28, 2026 No Comments

Publisher: SideShowMonkey Comics, 2026Writer and Illustrator: David Hartman David Hartman’s Monster Drive-In: The Hunchback of Naughty Dames is a stylish and atmospheric horror graphic novel. It wears its influences proudly, simultaneously doffing out a quirky personality. Written and illustrated by David Hartman and published by SideShowMonkey Comics, the book blends hard-boiled noir, occult horror, and old-school creature-feature energy. (Mr Hartman himself is impressively credentialed and a fan of his twinned genres: the Kickstarter page for this title notes, “David Hartman is a multi Emmy‑nominated director, producer, storyboard artist, and illustrator…. A lifelong horror fan, David brings his love of B-movies, retro comics, and creature features to life in Monster Drive-In — a love letter to the weird, wild horror movies he grew up watching.”) The story follows Modo, a hunchbacked private investigator navigating the seedy underside of Hollywood. A young actress vanishes following an audition for a mysterious film production.