Welcome back to another edition of Comic Book Bitrot. As a reminder, you can find much of this on Blogger. You can follow Zachary on Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and his website. As a reminder, you can still order copies of my first novel, The Grange, here. Also, my Augmented Reality/Tabletop Role-Playing Game app, QuestXR, is now launching its BackerKit campaign, and you can sign up here. I guess the biggest news is the escalation in the Middle East. Shitler’s rhetoric is increasing about Iran. And now Yemen is attacking Saudi Arabia, and Trump just signed a deal to give the Saudis nuclear materials. As a reminder, they are the ones who murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Congress is voting to fund the government until the end of the year. Yay! Congress moved forward with passing the SAVE Act. Boo! No, seriously, it’s a garbage bill meant to take away your rights. And, emblematic of this administration, the Health and Human Services division should be held responsible for the EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA OUTBREAK. Let’s just get to comics. This week, we’ve got seven titles reviewed. As always, they’re scored on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst.
Fall of the House of Slaughter - Issue 3
BOOM! Studios
Review by The Wife
Cecilia got herself in a pickle. But that’s what happens when politics gets in the way of the core mission. Cecilia and Colin are not vying to take over the House of Slaughter as the old Dragon lies on his deathbed. And one sure way to kill off a competitor is for them to die in battle, and another is for a brain tumor to be discovered. However, Colin underestimated Cecilia’s drive and knowledge. She’s been in the field, not behind a desk. We’ll see which one prevails.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Fantastic Four - Issue 14
Marvel Comics
Review by Zachary Hunchar
This volume has, for the most part, been getting high marks from me. There has been a clunker or two, but generally it has been great. This issue was an absolute banger. Science accidentally doomed humanity. Luckily, two members of the Fantastic family are from other planets. Jo and Nikki are the only beings (in this story—I assume there are other aliens on the planet not affected) not under the nefarious spell of Pi! No, literally, the mathematical formula. Using moxie and some help from their homeworlds, they’re able to come up with a solution you can count on your fingers. All twelve of them. The issue is aided by artwork that is very subtle and works. I think this series is amazing, er, fantastic.
Score: 9.5 out of 10
Star Trek: The Last Starship - Issue 9
IDW Publishing
Review by Zachary Hunchar
This book is vexing. I appreciate that they are focused on telling a story about what things were like after The Burn, but I kind of wish it was less cosmic in scope. Add to that the artwork, which, in this story arc, is designed to heighten the horror of this particular but isn’t great about telling a coherent narrative. These comic series are hellbent on giving us at least a few characters we knew from before. In particular, Alice/Borg Queen, which is fun. But clone-Kirk is kind of obnoxious. There has been a lot of attrition among the crew, and the guy in charge is kind of losing it. It’s an interesting idea, but the execution is leaving a lot to be desired.
Score: 5 out of 10
End of Life - Issue 6
DC / Vertigo
Review by Zachary Hunchar
This is definitely one of the most horrific series being published. Eddie Stallion is…awful. But somewhere buried deep within that Axe Body Spray is a very tiny conscience. Very, very small. Luckily, there is a town full of mostly decent people around him. The problem he faces is he’s angered a lot of people worse than him. A lot worse, and weirder. The situations are bizarre, but sort of amusing. I think this will culminate in a grand guignol at the end, but it’s lively on the way. And I still feel like Sophie will play a big part. Such a strange book. It has an impressive look to it.
Score: 7 out of 10
Punisher vs. The Amazing Spider-Man - Issue 1
Marvel Comics
Review by Zachary Hunchar
This is less a retcon and more an exploration of time we saw little of. There’s this weird point where Frank is finding his footing as a vigilante, and maybe he wasn’t so bloodthirsty. It seems like where it is heading is that Peter will continue to encourage him to not kill people, and that will backfire spectacularly, driving him to the ultimate level of violence we’re used to. I’m not sure this is needed, other than as a way to capitalize on Spider-Man: Brand New Day opening next week and The Punisher being part of that movie. I guess that is the most important thing to consider: synergy. The book did look decent.
Score: 7 out of 10
Absolute Green Arrow - Issue 3
DC Entertainment
Review by Zachary Hunchar
I continue to ask why thisn’t called Absolute Black Canary, because Oliver is in like 3 panels. We get a lot of Roy Harper, which is unfortunate, as it is the junkie version no one really likes. This whole book is a mystery about who “killed” Oliver Queen. It’s in quotes because it seems unlikely that he’s dead. If they actually hold things and he’s dead, I’ll be impressed. I doubt I’m going to be impressed. This is a muddled story about a bunch of characters I care little about. Which is different from the main universe, as Oliver (not the one from the silly TV show) is arguably my favorite mainstream hero.
Score: 5.5 out of 10
Dark Knights of Steel II - Issue 1
DC Entertainment
Review by Zachary Hunchar
The Dark Knights series has been, for the most part, enjoyable. It’s an Elseworlds series, so they take DC characters and put them in different settings. This one is a medieval timeline, and some things have been upended. Particularly the relationship between the Els (Superman) and the Waynes (Batman). At first, it was jarring, but now there is a routine that makes more sense. Also, there was a great deal of war between kingdoms that seems to have been resolved, but new betrayals are starting to take shape. I think I preferred the vampire DC Elseworlds series more than this one, but this actually seems sustainable. This is still fun, though. And it looks very good.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
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