Fantastic Universes

"Happy Birthday, Harley Quinn" Writer: Sam Humphries Artists: Sami Basri, Nicola Scott, Emanuela Lupacchino, Ray McCarthy, Roman Villalobos, Ngozi Ukazu, and Joe Quinones Colorists: Hi-Fi, Annette Kwok, and Tamra Bonvillain Letters: Dave Sharpe Review by Kendra Hale A Farewell To Harls Harley Quinn  #75 is here, the final issue in the current run of the title. I’ll be fully honest readers, this was a struggle to conquer. I joined in on the series back with issue #50, and found that my love for this character was not only renewed but fully reignited. This was my step back into comics, on a monthly basis, for the first time since “Blackest Night”, and “Brightest Day”. Sure I would pick up books here and there, but my love had waned. Funny that all it took was a smart mouthed clown with a heart o’ gold to draw me in, and make me never want to let go again. Which is probably why it’s so hard to say goodbye, when it feels like just yesterday that I was saying hello again, and pati...

"The Price To Pay" Writers: Blake Northcott and Sean Murphy Artist: Cian Tormey Color Artist: FCO Plascencia Letterer: Tom Napolitano Review by Adam Ray Catwoman  #24 brings a dramatic end to Selina’s vacation. Questions float as we wonder about the nature of the mystical forces at play in Isla Nevada. Was Catwoman summoned like the great panther? Is there a place for a villain fuelled by drugs in modern comics? Who can tell? In any case, the results show Ms Kyle in a sincere and uplifiting light, building well from the first  half  of the story. Batman has been a good influence on her, helping out downtrodden underdogs. A combination of plot threads leave us guessing through this issue. A seasoned pair of writers was needed to be able to balance all these elements, and both Northcott and Murphy handle it masterfully. The diamond, the tension in the village, the list, handling two antagonists. Many elements put down perfectly. Plascencia’s rich colors really make clear th...

"Son Of The Joker  " Writer: Dan Jurgens Artists: Ryan Benjamin and Richard Friend Color Artist: Rain Beredo Letterer: AndWorld Design Review by Steve J. Ray Wow.  Nightwing  #73  completely knocked me for a loop. Not only do we see a brutal physical battle between two characters who should not be fighting each other at all, but there’s also a far more psychological war happening at the same time. Dan Jurgens has written a clever, yet completely action-packed story, that works on so many levels. We even get a little side story starring the ever-impressive Punchline. So, though this is clearly and visibly a  Nightwing  comic, the ties to the ongoing “Joker War” epic should really please fans picking the book up just because of the crossover. This is a very well handled issue, indeed. Everybody knows that Dick Grayson is one of the greatest hand-to-hand combatants in the DC Universe, and even with his mind addled and his reflexes dulled, he should not be take...

"Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook" Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Chip Zdarsky, Becky Cloonan, Vita Ayala and Priest Artists: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, Khary Randolph, Becky Cloonan, Dan Panosian and Eduardo Risso Color Artists: David Baron, Emilio Lopez, Tamra Bonvillain, Luis Guerrero and Eduardo Risso Letterers: Tom Napolitano, Dave Sharpe, Steve Wands, Ferran Delgado and Willie Schubert Review by Steve J. Ray One of the joys of writing for this wonderful site is getting to read and review comics before they’re released, and getting great sneak peeks and first looks at big upcoming titles. A few weeks back DC sent us a preview of some of the spin-offs and crossovers that would link into the awesome  Metal  sequel. The  Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook  was one of the books I was most anxious to read, and it’s more than lived up to my expectations. The anthology begins with a mysterious hooded figure, reading from a large leat...

"Cross Roads" Writer: Robbie Thompson Artist: Javier Fernandez Color Artist: Marcelo Maiolo Letterer: Rob Leigh Review by  Steve J. Ray Summary The moment I’ve been waiting for/dreading/excited for is here! In  Teen Titans  #44  Batman  is finally on Robin’s trail, and the Boy Wonder is in a world of trouble! Positives This series has been an absolute joy to read and review for the last two years. Adam Glass started the ball rolling with excellent scripts, ideas and character moments. Robbie Thompson has picked up the ball, and is running with it like a real life Wallace West. This comic has everything I want from my comics: Great action, fantastic dialogue, perfect characterization – even from the villains – and gorgeous visuals. KGBeast  is on-point, the team’s reactions to Robin’s behavior is spot-on, as young Damian has reverted to his base nature, something I was so hoping he’d grown out of, and moved past. Oh… and then we have Batman. I always knew th...

  Review by Dave Horrocks  Clowns to the left of me, Joker’s to the right, here I am... stuck in the middle with you. Actually, today I won’t be talking about the Clown Prince of Gotham, but rather about a film that not only had a profound influence on my life, but also on independent movies as a genre. The 1992 Quentin Tarantino heist movie, Reservoir Dogs . Watching for the first time As I sat down to write about this particular movie, and what I liked about it, I found my mind wandering more to what it meant to me, at that time in my life. For my own life journey, it seems that 1992 was more of a pivotal year than even I’d given it credit for, before sitting down to write this piece. The history books will show that Bill Clinton had been voted in president of the USA, that Denmark won the European Championship, despite not even qualifying after Yugoslavia was dissolved, and that the long and drawn out Cold War was finally declared over. What MY history book will read in 199...