All eyes were on Image Comics this week with King Spawn #1 hitting shelves. Image had a few other first issues drop this week, and they’re all feature in the GWW Pull List this week. Here’s what GWW’s writers thought about the big books from this week:
Superman ‘78 #1
DC Comics
Written by: Robert Venditti
Art by: Wilfredo Torres
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: Dave Lanphea
“Superman ’78” is a sequel to the 1978 Richard Donner-directed film Superman. Just like Sam Hamm and Joe Quinones’ “Batman ’89” (that I also reviewed a few weeks ago) took us back to the Burtonverse, this limited series takes us back to the Donnerverse, in a story that takes place between the first and second movies. This book focuses on Superman fighting Brainiac, who wants to add the Last Son of Krypton to his collection. — Matheus Ribeiro … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 8.5
Batman: Reptilian #3
DC Comics
Written by: Garth Ennis
Art by: Liam Sharp
Letters by: Rob Steen
The start of Batman: Reptilian #3 initially caught me off guard in a weird way. Everyone knows Garth Ennis isn’t one to shy away from an opportunity to comment on a subject happening outside the pages of his book. Still, it felt like an odd time to discuss readers’ perception of Batman’s handling of low-level henchmen. — Nick Friar … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 9
King Spawn #1
Image Comics
WRITTEN BY: SEAN LEWIS WITH TODD MCFARLANE
ART BY: JAVI FERNANDEZ
COLORS BY: FCO PLASCENCIA
LETTERS BY: ANDWORLD DESIGN
As much as I’ve always enjoyed Spawn, I’ve long felt the title had room to evolve. Todd McFarlane’s new initiative with the three new titles is a great step toward that. And by kicking off the expansion with King Spawn, Sean Lewis gets the chance to set the tone for this major attempt to develop Spawn further. No pressure, right? — Nick Friar … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 9.5
To hear Lewis discuss King Spawn, be sure to check out his interview with GWW Radio‘s own TLDR.
Echolands #1
Image Comics
Created and Written by: J. H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman
Art and Design by: J. H. Williams III
Colors by: Dave Stewart
Letters by: Todd Klein
There are many bizarre worlds that fill the pages of science fiction and fairy tales. They are full of destinations that are hardly imaginable and often inconceivable. But that is the point of these stories after all. To show how we scribes, mere mortals can take pieces and fragments and weave and weld them into one. The newest book from Image comics and co-creators J. H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman seems to be just that type of tale. So begins the journey into the Echolands. — B Ferg … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 8.7
St. Mercy #1
Image Comics/Top Cow
Written by: John Zuur Platten
Arts by: Atilio Rojo
Letters by: Troy Peteri
Image Comics new series St. Mercy can best be viewed as a tale of two young women with similar purposes. Living 500 years apart you would thing their lives would be entirely different. Writer John Zuur Platten creates a parallel between the two using their faith and religion. This is a story that draws attention to the many S’s that occur when dealing with these two topics. — B Ferg … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 8.6
The Resistance: Uprising #5
AWA/UPSHOT STUDIOS
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Art by: Mike Choi
Letters by: Sal Cipriano
There’s a reason why “The Resistance” is the foundation AWA Studios was built on. From its inception, J. Michael Straczynski has created a world full of deception, conspiracy, and hope — for which we are all the lucky beneficiaries.
The Resistance is a superhero universe for the 21st century. The combination of Straczynski’s writing and Smith’s art delivers the feeling that their world could be ours. There’s no better example of that than in The Resistance: Uprising #5. — Joseph Gilmore … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 9.0
TRANSFORMERS: SHATTERED GLASS #1
IDW Publishing
Written by: Danny Lore
Art by: Guido Guidi
Inks by: John Wycough
Colors by: John-Paul Bove
The Transformers franchise has various continuities and universes and keeping up on them can be both rewarding and challenging. Fortunately, Danny Lore’s Transformers Shattered Glass focuses on Blurr and Starscream creates a rewarding introduction for this mirror universe tale.
Transformers Shattered Glass is an alternative universe similar to Star Trek‘s mirror universe. The Autobots are the evil, controlling empire. The Decepticons are the freedom-fighting revolutionaries. — Percy Waelchl … CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW
Score: 8.0
Something Is Killing The Children #19
BOOM! Studios
Written by: James Tynion IV
Art by: Werther Dell’Edera
Colors by: Miquel Muerto
Letters by: Andworld Design
Something Is Killing The Children #19 did a great job of both advancing the story and giving its readers a glimpse of what’s next. As we get closer to the spin-off series “The House of Slaughter,” Something Is Killing The Children provides a closer look inside the Order of St. George.
Once again, James Tynion IV allows Werther Dell’Edra’s art to be a main storyteller. Dell’Edra continues to deliver incredible suspense without so much as a word needed. There is great strength and emotion in the way Tynion writes and Dell’Edera draws, which continues to amaze me — and is part of the reason Something Is Killing The Children continues to be a must-read series. — Joseph Gilmore
Score: 9.0
Once & Future #19
BOOM! Studios
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
It’s been a while since Once & Future readers got a new issue, so Kieron Gillen needed to ease everyone back in a smidge. There was still a bit of action in Once & Future #19 — and some gruesome Dan Mora creations — but this was mostly a bridge issue. That said, the end of the issue indicates Once & Future 20 will be nuts. — Nick Friar
Score: 8.5
Looking for more comic book content? Go check out the latest episode of Geeks WorldWide Radio‘s TLDR podcast, where Joseph Gilmore and Nick Friar discuss comics weekly and talk to creators from the industry — available onSoundCloud, Apple Podcasts and Spotify!