BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #2/ Script, Art & Covers by SEAN MURPHY/ Colors by MATT HOLLINGSWORTH/ Letters by ANDWORLD DESIGN/ Published by DC COMICS

Review by MATT MORRISON

Bruce Wayne is ready to bring down the corrupt institutions that allowed him to be Batman. Unfortunately, The Joker is poised to destroy all of Gotham City first, with his new ally, Azrael and it may be a race to see who can kill Batman first – the Order of St. Dumas or the elites running Gotham City.

While Sean Murphy is now telling a more traditional Batman story than the original White Knight, he is doing so in an nontraditional way and it is glorious. The story and the artwork continue to be on-point, with Matt Hollingsworth’s colors providing the perfect finishing touch. If you haven’t already read White Knight, go pick up the new hardcover collection and catch-up with this series as fast as you can. It is not to be missed!

 

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #1/ Script by JOSHUA WILLIAMSON/ Art by DAVID MARQUEZ/ Colors by ALEJANDRO SANCHEZ/ Letters by JOHN J. HILL/ Published by DC COMICS

Review by ROY BUCKINGHAM

Batman teams up with Superman (again) to take on the diabolical nightmare that is The Batman Who Laughs. Both heroes have had trust issues with one another in the past, but now that The Batman Who Laughs is involved, their trust will be pushed even further, as they attempt to not only save Gotham City but The Justice League itself from “The Secret Six.”

The storytelling by Joshua Williamson is wonderful and on par with other recent event books set within the DC Universe. The art of David Marquez offers a traditional heroic aesthetic blended with great horror elements. The Batman Who Laughs has emerged as a great new addition to the DC Universe following the Dark Nights: Metal series in 2018, and those not familiar with him will get a great crash course into this villain in this issue. He may even rival The Joker himself in terms of how dangerous he is.

You definitely do not miss this one, folks. It is very well done.

 

ICE CREAM MAN #14/ Script by W. MAXWELL PRINCE/ Art by MARTIN MORAZZO/ Colors by CHRIS O’HALLORAN/ Letters by GOOD OLD NEON/ Published by IMAGE COMICS

Review by ROY BUCKINGHAM

The Ice Cream Man Cometh, and it seems that there is no stopping him. This is a good thing, however, because each issue of this comic book keeps getting better and better.

This time around, we meet Earl, a man obsessed with crossword puzzles, and his paranoid wife Rita. Their stale marriage gets to the point where they both have descended into madness and The Ice Cream Man is there to take advantage of this.

This is one of the best issues of this horror anthology series so far. The art by Martin Morazzo is still top-notch and the comic panels interspersed with crossword puzzle panels help accent the surreal feel of this issue. This comic continues to be a trippy enigma every month and it is good.

 

SHE-HULK ANNUAL #1/ Script by ALEXANDRA PETRI/ Art by ANDY MACDONALD/ Colors by MATT MILLA/ Letters by VC’S JOE CARAMAGNA/ Published by MARVEL COMICS

Review by MATT MORRISON

It’s Grand Theft Auto meets Freaky Friday, when Jen Walters wakes up in a robot shell. Dazed and confused, she quickly figures out that her body has been stolen by The Machinesmith and given to Bullseye, as part of a convoluted plot that will allow both villains to collect a bounty that has been placed on Bullseye’s head, which requires that he be killed by an Avenger. Can She-Hulk bring down the two villains without her powers, before they ruin her reputation and frame her for murder?

This book was incredibly hard to read. Andy MacDonald is a decent enough artist, but his visual storytelling skills need some work. The action of this issue is very difficult to follow and that’s more due to the visual flow than the plot, though Petri does throw in one twist too many towards the end that only serves to muddle the story. What’s truly egregious, however, is the fact that this book lacks the wit and comedic spark that defines She-Hulk’s character and virtually any other hero could have been plugged into the center of this story and it would have played out exactly the same. Maybe Bullseye fans will enjoy watching him camp it up in She-Hulk’s body, but I can’t imagine Shulkie fans liking this issue much.