Comics of March 14, 2018

So with my Star Wars blogathon so far, I’ve looked at as many non-theatrical releases as I have theatrical releases, and after Return of the Jedi, it’s going to be skewed more towards non-theatrical releases. The last post in particular is for Return of the Ewok, which is obscure even though it’s Star Wars. Not even the Holiday Special can say that. Also, I’m planning at least one more blogathon after Star Wars (It’ll be all the Dreamworks movies), but after that, I’ll probably just do movie theme months where I talk about one movie a week. As much as I’m enjoying these blogathons, I find that it’s limiting my free time. But for now, it’s time to talk about comics.

The comics I picked up this week include All-New Wolverine 32, Supergirl 19, Detective Comics 976 and Action Comics 999. These are my first impressions. Since I’m not writing full reviews every week anymore because of my new job, I’m considering a monthly post talking about my two favourite comics of the month in greater detail instead. If you like the idea, please say so in the comments.

All-New Wolverine 32 is great. This is a follow-up to the Orphans of X story arc, where Laura works with the daughter of a secret agent she killed on her first mission for the facility to track down the criminal responsible for the mission. Laura’s preparation skills are on full display here, and she has a couple great intimidation lines as well. It’s clear that while Amber (the secret agent’s daughter) is willing to work with Laura, she’s still got at least some bitter feelings and distrust towards her. That’s a nice touch. The art is simple, but effective, and the last two panels showing the two as children instead of their young adult forms is a great artistic choice. Long-time X-23 fans will likely enjoy this issue, as it also draws from her origin story in a satisfying way.

Supergirl 19 is good. While it touches on the larger Supergirl story, it mostly focuses on Supergirl meeting with a teenager who’s going through a tough phase in their life. Like with Superman, it shows that Supergirl genuinely cares about people, and that despite her busy life, she’s still willing to spend time with people and just talk. It reminds me of a moment in All-Star Superman where Superman talks someone out of suicide. If that sounds like an issue worth reading, this is worth checking out.

Detective Comics 976 is great. Like the last one, this issue shows the continuing cracks in the team, but on a more personal level. It shows how hard Clayface’s death hit Cassandra Cain, and how she’s genuinely terrified of what could happen next. It also shows more of what Batwoman is planning with her father’s organization, the Colony, who Batman’s team fought in the first story arc. Although the team seems scattered at the moment, this is a Batman team book and you should be reading it. It’s been consistently great from the start.

Action Comics 999 is fantastic. This comic is split between two stories. The first shows Superman trying to help Hank Henshaw recover from his terrible experiences, after designing a prison that even he couldn’t break out of. The rest focuses on the rift between Lois Lane and her father, while debating on whether Superman could be a threat in the future or not. All this after Lois rescued him from execution in the previous story arc. Despite the intense argument, that part of the story does have a seemingly happy ending. In a lot of always this feels like an issue of the other Superman series – more of a family drama than a superhero book. If that sounds interesting, or if you’re also planning on reading the big 1000^th issue in a couple weeks, this is definitely worth picking up.