World Comic Book Review

28th March 2024

Superman #15 (Review)

Superman #15 (review)
DC Comics, March 2017
Writer: Peter J TomasiThe cover to this issue of “Superman” depicts the globally-famous caped and omnipotent superhero clutching, all of all things, a masked rabbit, and resolutely facing into a powerful wind. Around him are the damaged indicia and equipment his apparently defeated colleagues. These absent ones are other superheroes, residing within American publisher DC Comics’ common ecosystem of characters, created so as to allow all of them to interact with each other.

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The Oppressive Stink: Justice League #1 Rebirth – Directors’ Cut

“Justice League #1 Rebirth – Directors’ Cut” DC Comics, December 2016 Writer: Bryan Hitch Most people have heard of London’s famous river, the Thames. Another prominent river in London was called the Fleet River (Fleet Street, the home of London’s newspaper industry, is named after the Fleet River). During Roman times, the Fleet River was … Read more

Justice League #1 Rebirth (review)

Justice League #1 Rebirth (review)
(DC Comics, September 2016)
Writer: Bryan Hitch

Writer Bryan Hitch has a better reputation as an artist than a writer. As a consequence of his efforts on a number of titles, Mr Hitch has developed notoriety as a “widescreen” artist, someone who draws blockbuster movie style action in comics.

“Justice League #1 Rebirth” features American comic book publisher DC Comics’ ensemble of most of its top tier superhero character properties. In this issue Mr Hitch has the superheroes gather to fend off a an immensely giant monster, which straddles Manhattan like a fly on a speck of blood. The creature is called a Reaper and it uses parasites to take control of and bring into its body the citizens of New York City. Some of the superheroes penetrate the body of the creature in an effort to stop it. One of them, Superman, uses his powers to cauterise some of the Reaper’s brain. The monster flies off into space. The comic evokes the kaiju genre of Japanese manga, of which we have spoken recently.

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Justice League #50: The Broken Springboard

Justice League #50 (review)
(DC Comics, May 2016)
Writer: Geoff Johns

As the fiftieth issue of this title, American publisher DC Comics have published an extra long issue, concluding an ongoing story line entitled “The Darkseid War”.

The Justice League are a collection of DC Comics’ principal character assets, teamed-up and pitted against various threats in what is now many decades of stories. For reasons not explained in the issue but which have apparently unfolded in earlier issues of Justice League, some of the Justice League’s members are imbued with the powers of the New Gods. The New Gods were a concept created for DC Comics by legendary American comics writer Jack Kirby in 1971. The characters comprising the New Gods each have a separate and distinctive set of superpowers.

In this single issue, the superheroes face a panoply of threats:

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