Louie Hlad Comic Reviews

Aquaman is the kind of book that rewards you if you stick around for a while. It always is.

It's a shame that this Year of the Villain marketing nonsense is infecting this book, along with so many others. Lex Luthor's "Mecha Manta" isn't what's bringing me in here, DC. But what this creative team does with it could definitely keep me around.

All in all, it's a great premise. This is the most I've ever been drawn to an Outsiders book. The plot is enticing, the action is cinematic, the colors are gorgeous. Each character has emotional beats that feel as if they are building to something deeper.

Honestly, I don't care if it's going anywhere important. I'm just glad this book exists. The world needs hopeful, uplifting stories right now and the Bombshells remind us, no matter what, to remain united.

As an introduction, this issue does its job. I'm listening. The trick now is to keep my attention and build a character who is more than just a big guy who smashes things. But, you know, have him smash a whole lot of stuff along the way, too.

DC has published Halloween holiday specials before but I don't remember them ever being this dark, this unsettling, or this satisfying. If you enjoy the twisted and macabre, Black Canary's scenes alone make this book worth the purchase price. Happy Halloween!

With this storyline completed, Tomasi will go on to work with excellent Doug Mahnke on a standalone Joker issue and then a three-part Deadshot arc. I'll skim it, but I can already tell my attention is wearing kind of thin.

Shaner and Bonvillain provide the beautiful art for this issue, with extra-bold linework and a neon glow showing through the blues and purples of the future scenes.

Doomsday Clock is one of the smartest commentaries on the modern world around. Period. It's at times subtle, and then a slap in the face. In 1986, this story changed the comics landscape. If we are listening, it could now change ours. Will it? Who knows. We see what we want to see.

The Flash is a book that feels both new and familiar in the most strange and direct of ways

Joshua Williamson is delivering one hell of a Flash run. He clearly understands what's fun about Barry, Iris, and our poor boy Wally. I hope he stays on this book for years.

As you'd expect from Grant Morrison, each issue of The Green Lantern is jam-packed and intelligent, infinitely re-readable. Liam Sharp is the perfect collaborator for this series, lending an otherworldly feel to the environment that's been missing for some time.

The current story is called "Twilight of the Guardians." And so far it has delivered.

Don't sleep on this new Hawkman book. I think we're in for a ride.

It's not a perfect book, but now that it's settling in this one just got moved from a Browse to a Buy.

There are plenty of other books out there. But come back to this one during the hard times and see if it resonates. If so, you're not the only one. And you are not alone.

The page art here really captures the grimy, gloomy mood of Chicago at night. You can almost feel the sticky air and smell the lake.

We're almost at the end of Mera's solo miniseries, and things are getting pretty intense.

This last issue doesn't offer any answers. Only possibilities. We're all dreaming the next world and we always will be. Mister Miracle still hears the voice whispering darkness into his ear, and he can still choose whether to listen to it or not. Scott is.

This is a book that understands and subverts the superhero genre to keep the reader guessing, page after page. Naomi inches closer to the top of my read pile every month. It's a fun read and I've got no idea where it's going next.

As he's done before, Dick Grayson is leaving behind his old life and becoming something new. We hurt for him. We support him. And we can't wait to see who our dear friend will be next.

This series is the comic book art form at its finest and a perfect use for Dick Grayson. He's the only one who could make it work.

This is the stuff of our dreams and nightmares, after all, and it's a story that is meant to be told.

I think this book was mishandled from the beginning. It came out four months late and for all the Jim Lee hype, he only contributed to part of the first issue. I hope I'm in the minority and people are really digging it.

Trinity isn't holding my attention and I feel I can safely stop paying it.

The main thing that the creative team got right is the tone. It would be ill-advised to try to pretend that Zan and Jayna aren't campy relics of the 70's, and this story leans into the wackiness pretty well. It's nice that the comic doesn't take them (or itself) too seriously.

Wonder Woman has always been a book about war and about peace. This first entry promises to keep those themes front and center as Diana rushes into battle to protect the innocent in her role as both warrior and diplomat.

It's difficult to say whether this version of Wonder Woman is the one that will stick around, or if this book is still exploring different aspects of the people and places that are part of the mythos. If you've missed a few issues, this might be a good time to check in and see if it grabs you more now. If not, just wait a few and see what happens.

Welcome to the year of halfway paying attention to comics. Wake me when someone comes up with an actual story idea. Until then I'll be reading DCeased.

Cranking the nostalgia factor up to eleven, the setting of this latest issue bounces between several alternate versions of Earth that longtime DC readers will recognize and welcome.