Gamora #1
Writer: Nicole Perlman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Color Artist: Andres Mossa
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Marvel
Gamora’s long-awaited solo series finally hits the stands. Perlman fleshes out more of the Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy’s background, giving us a tale during her time as a daughter of Thanos. Honestly, it’s a bit dreary, but that’s mostly to be expected, given the cast of characters. While readers expecting movie quality and tone from this comic may be put off (Star-Lord #1 dropped today, which may be what you’re looking for), it’s a serviceable action-revenge tale. At least Checchetto and Mossa are a perfect fit for the book, with the former’s kinetic and realistic pencils and the latter’s muted palette painting an excellent picture. While it may not be to everyone’s taste, there’s a lot of potential for Gamora’s continuing adventure, given that she’s going to a blackhole world to assassinate a lost princess.
Animosity #4
Writer: Marguerite Bennett
Artist: Rafael De Latorre
Colorist: Rob Schwager
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Aftershock
With the revelation of the fate of Pearl, things quickly spiral out of control, which is bad news for Sandor and Jesse. Honestly, this issue kind of falls flat, particularly in light of the closing events of the one prior. This is more of a “things happen because they need to” kind of chapter and there’s not really more than that. The bit of teasing we get isn’t really enough, since we’ve been beating around that bush for so long. De Latorre’s art is still as detailed and expressive as ever, but it seems like there’s a bit of a disconnect between script and page. Some moments just happen between panels but the dialogue makes it seem like its supposed to be shown. This isn’t necessarily an artist’s failing, but it does show itself on that side of the work load. A slight misstep in what has been a rather enjoyable series.
The Ultimates2 #2
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Travel Foreman
Color Artist: Dan Brown
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Marvel
The Ultimates continue to reform as Galactus the Life-bringer stands before the Living Tribunal on trial. Ewing’s taking a slower approach to this reformation, which really works in favor of the title as it feels more natural than it would for this once-shattered team to reform again with little difficulty. Travel Foreman continues to be a boon for this new volume. While his pages may lack the experimental and hyper-detailed work of Rocafort, he so ably shifts from the grounded to the ethereal that the effect is nothing short of extraordinary. Two issues into the new run and the Ultimates seem to be back in fine form.
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Batman #13
Writer: Tom King
Pencils & Inks: Mikel Janin
Colors: June Chung
Letters: Clayton Cowles
DC Comics
The conclusion to I Am Suicide! King absolutely nails every single aspect about this issue. The payoff to Batman’s plan, the character moments, every single thing is flawless. Mikel Janin’s wonderful lines and perspectives makes this story all the more incredible. Special mention goes to June Chung, whose moody colors essentially made Santa Prisca come alive, filling ever single scene with a sense of foreboding. Batman is one of those titles that I don’t need to buy, sales-wise, but at the end of every arc I get Michael Corleone’d: just when I thought I was out, King pulls me back in.
