World Comic Book Review

19th March 2024

He-Man/Thundercats #2 (review)

He-Man/Thundercats #2 (review)
DC Comics, November, 2016
Writers: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason

Our review of “He-Man/Thundercats” #1 was less than favourable due to what we felt was a needlessly complex premise: characters from the two Saturday morning children’s cartoon, “He-Man and Masters of the Universe” and “Thundercats”, smashing against each other, to puzzlingly enable a cadre of ancient omnipotent evil beings to steal He-Man’s sword of power, and then use the sword to defeat the Thundercats. We were of what we regard as the simple and reasonable view that godlike beings with the power and audacity to mess with multiple realities do not need He-Man’s magic sword to achieve what they want. In other words, the plot was silly.

Fortunately, the second issue of this crossover miniseries has relegated that roundabout plot to the background, focusing more on the story’s primary villain, named Skeletor. This character is the primary antagonist of the “He-Man” franchise, portrayed as a heavily muscular, hooded figure but with the face of a skull (the skull visage giving rise to the otherwise contradictory but ominous name).

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The Flintstones #5 (Review)

The Flintstones #5 (Review) DC Comics, November 2016 Writer: Mark Russel Early into the fifth issue of “The Flintstones”, Barney Rubble comments that “This all feels familiar, doesn’t it, Fred?” Familiarity is an odd, even paradoxical, description of this relaunch by American publisher DC Comics. Even as the series dramatically reinvents the world and characters … Read more

Dig It! – Cage #1 (Review)

Cage #1
Marvel Comics, October 5, 2016
Writer: Genndy Tartakovsky

“Cage #1” is a new mini-series from American comic book publisher Marvel Comics, featuring the African-American hero named Luke Cage. This is a character that is currently experiencing broad, renewed brand interest due to the launch of a live action Netflix television series (which, at time of writing, is enjoying positive reviews from both fans and critics.) Luke Cage’s defining trait is that he is an ex-convict who volunteered for a government experiment in exchange for freedom, with the experiment resulting in extremely durable “titanium” skin and enhanced strength.

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Hanna Barbera Future Quest #1 and 2

“Hanna Barbera Future Quest” #1 and 2
(DC Comics, August and September 2016)
Writer: Jeff Parker

Many children watching television cartoons such as “The Herculoids”, “Mightor” and “Space Ghost” in the early and mid-1970s must have fantasised about the prospect of these characters, and more, interacting within the same continuity. In that regard, writer Jeff Parker is playing in the fields of imagination of tens of thousands of kids across the world in writing this series.

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