Nathan Becker Comic Reviews

Buy Batman: Annual #1. Take a break from serious action with serious consequences that will change everything you know about comics and read some short stories with some feels. Watch Batman take down a Minister, fake his death, and sing Christmas songs with Harley Quinn. Let me know what you think below!

Buy this book. Seriously, buy this book. Fans of Bloodshot will love this book, and those new to Bloodshot will be hooked. I daresay you will follow my lead and buy every Lemire-related Bloodshot trade on the market. Bloodshot U.S.A. #1 is worthy on its own merits, but the writing and art are truly superb, and they are only going to get better. I could not put this issue down, and am anxiously awaiting the next issue. Let me know what you think below!

Bloodshot Reborn #0 is a great wrap-up issue for all of Bloodshot's drama over the last 2 arcs and provides a status quo change that I'm sure Valiant will use to punish Bloodshot within the near future. I wish Valiant hadn't made this a zero issue, as the creative team has a new arc coming out later this summer and this issue requires past knowledge for maximum enjoyment.

Buy this book. Seriously, buy this book. I have never read another book like Britannia #1, which is worthy on its own merits, but the writing and art are truly superb, and they are only going to get better. I could not put this issue down, and am anxiously awaiting the next issue. If you are looking for something unique, or are merely looking for some potential Roman legionnaire versus otherworldly alien action, this will hit your sweet spot. Let me know what you think below!

For a tie-in to a major comic event, Escape From Gulag 396 was better than I expected, it fleshes out the Divinity III: Stalinverse landscape, both past and present, and provides a compelling introduction for some of Valiant's biggest heroes. I wish Valiant had given the book more space to flesh out the two stories - Armstrong in particular needs additional characterization, but this book is definitely worthy of a purchase.

Suicide Squad #2 does not offer much in the way of new developments that even casual readers of the DCU aren't aware of. It's a generic Suicide Squad affair and rather ho-hum after the first few pages: a main character gets killed, a villain appears in the last frame and spouts the same groan-inducing dialogue we've all read at least 30 times before. Other than the Harley Quinn/Katana action scene (with help from Captain Boomerang), the standout of the issue was the Captain Boomerang back story. If you are a fan of Captain Boomerang (I found him to be the most entertaining of the Squad) and James Bond, then you will love the character introspective. If you are a fan of the series then keep it in your pull box for a while longer, as the series shows promise, but it has not lived up to the hype yet.

For a first foray in the horror genre, this was a pretty impressive debut, and I will definitely keep Hardman on my radar now. The Belfry manages to subvert expectations, despite being in a well-trod section of the genre, and should highlight Hardman for bigger and better things. My major issue with the book is that editorial should have stepped in and mandated an original graphic novel, giving this story room to breathe would have created one hell of a comic. I think this book is worthy of a purchase, if only to see the art and the promise of Hardman's concept.Hopefully his next horror outing is a return to The Belfry with a little more depth to it.