#168 = FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST FOES #1 by Dan Slott and Mark Buckingham (Marvel Comics, May 2026)
The publisher’s synopsis:
FROM THE WORLD OF THE CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE! Return to the universe of the legendary film in the first of a series of specials!! On Earth-828, a cosmic mishap has transformed four brave astronauts into the world's champions and protectors. They are the Fantastic Four - but one person isn't happy about things. He's known as the Mad Thinker, and he's determined to get his proper due by turning the city of tomorrow against its heroic patrons!
Writer Dan Slott is no stranger to the world of the Fantastic Four and he does a fine job here of incorporating the Earth-828 origin and adding some elements — especially the role of Professor Rene Rodin, The Mad Thinker - known here in this universe as The Great Thinker. He plays a major role in getting the Four safely back to Earth, and later claims Reed Richards stole his ideas for smart technology that could run a city. So, he has a right to be upset and sends his super-android after them.
Mark Buckingham’s art is always appreciated, and he does a super job here of duplicating the look of the actors in the movie version. A fun read. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#169 = BATWOMAN #1 by Greg Rucka and Dani (DC Comics, May 2026) Greg Rucka returns to his version of Katie Kane/Batwoman and re-introduces her at her weakest moment, uncertain and fragile. She’s at some retreat in the Greek Isles for therapy - but is it working? I also sense that her therapists may have other motives, and not inclined to really help her.
The trauma goes back to earlier times when she thought she lost her sister Alice (real name Beth) only to see her return as her greatest foe/villain, and quite diabolical. Alice haunts her daydreams and torments her.
It’s all a set-up issue. Will Katie ever return to her confident assertive self?
I’m used to seeing Dani’s art in DC horror comics, and it works quite well here. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#170 = SHERLOCK HOLMES: DARK DETECTIVE SPECIAL #1 by Christopher Sequeira with art by Dr Paul Mason and J. Scherpenhuizen (IPI Comics, March 2026) I’ve only come across IPI before as the Australian publisher of Cthulhu/Lovecraft inspired print fiction anthologies. I did not know that they also published comics. (ipicomics.com).
So far, they have published two different volumes of SHERLOCK HOLMES: DARK DETECTIVE that promise a new take on the classic detective. The title is kind of misleading when it comes to this Special. The main story, while it takes place in Holmes territory = Whitechapel in 1887, does not feature Sherlock Holmes at all. Arch-villain Doctor Nikola teams up with The Soldier Legacy (an Aussie hero looking like the Lone Ranger and The Phantom, but only using his bare knuckles in fights) to stalk a mystic killer possessing a magical ring.
Holmes is featured in the 8-page back up story learning a secret about history’s (I’m assuming Australian history, never heard of this character) Croglin Grange Vampire.
An interesting issue. Entertaining, but complete throw-away, forget-about-it stuff. THREE STARS.
#171 = THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN #2 by Jason Aaron and Kewber Baal (Dynamite Entertainment, February 2026)
The publisher’s synopsis:
Across the face of a scarred and battered planet, the magic-wielding wizards who rule over the ruins of Old Earth are banding together to consolidate their grip on their fiefdoms’ downtrodden inhabitants. United by their insatiable thirst for power — and threatened by the unwelcome appearance of Thundarr and his growing band of resistance warriors — these evil sorcerors are poised to unleash their ultimate weapon: a spell that will take them into the past, giving them ultimate control over the future!
Baal’s art is keeping me interested in this title, but I don’t know how much longer that will last. While Aaron’s story-telling skills are still sharp, he jumps back and forth in time in this story with no transition or warning, resulting in pulling me out of the story.
In the flashback scenes, we learn how Thundarr was an eslaved gladiator forced into arena combat, where he eventually meets the monstrous mok, Ookla.
In the present scenes, along with Ariel they storm the wizard compound and end up following them through a portal into the ancient past (current Earth, probably NYC).
There’s the same kind of pulp action thrills here that you can get by reading Flash Gordon, The Phantom, etc. (all good company). Fans of the late animated show (created by Jack Kirby) will find this faithful to the canon and worthwhile. THREE STARS.
#172 = BEYOND MEGALITH #0 by various creators (Bad Idea, February 2026) This is a newsprint paper $1.99 book that briefly previews six upcoming Bad Idea titles.
I’d like to point out one or two series that I feel will be worth following, but it’s hard to get a clear idea of anything here with extremely short previews. Two of the titles are just text interviews with the creators with some art sketches. (WARBIRD and PROJECT: GOAT).
The only one that I’m going to be following is MEGALITH by Matt Kindt and Lewis Larosa, where a monolith crashes into Baltimore. A special forces team tries to penetrate and see what’s inside, but not before it transforms into an enormous kaiju-sized humanoid mech-robot marching towards D.C. You can usually trust Matt Kindt to tell a good off-center story and the art by Lewis Larosa is always fun to view.
THE HAB by Joshua Dysart and David Lapham could be promising, a horror story at a construction site to create an escape habitat for elites - - but some of the images from the short preview makes me think this could also be just a pastiche of familiar tropes. Still, I might pick up the first issue if I see it on comics shop shelves, but I didn’t pre-order it.
Writer/artist Tony Millionaire is back with THE ODDBALL’S ODYSSEY a double-sized one-shot that features his quirky art - - but the story as shown here (four pages) looks kind of infantile.
The original TANKERS series from Bad Idea was a disappointment, and the three-page preview of TANKERS VS ANCIENT ALIENS by Robert Venditti and Tomas Giorello doesn’t look any different. Still, any book Giorello illustrates is worth a look.
Always hoping that preview books get me excited to check out new series. This was kind of underwhelming. THREE STARS.
#173 = GHOST MACHINE: THE OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK #1 of 5 (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, April 2026) Reading through these one or two-page bios of major and secondary characters helped me recall these series and remind me of just how good they have been. Great story-telling coupled with great art. You could do a lot worse than follow Ghost Machine - - specifically the Unnamed Universe which is covered here and in the next issue.
Page One details: “Throughout history unlikely and strange heroes have risen and fallen. These men and women are a mystery, their identities and lives a secret. From a radioactive family man in the near future to an immortal British redcoat born from the Revolutionary War to a robotic killing machine seeking peace - and more - they are THE UNNAMED fighting an UNKNOWN WAR.
There are 18 entires here, from these titles: GEIGER, JUNKYARD JOE, REDCOAT, and THE BLIZZARD. I’ve read them all except for The Blizzard, which I’m going to seek out. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#174 = BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #50 (DC Comics, June 2026) An oversized issue to celebrate Mark Waid & Dan Mora’s anniversary on this title. Waid has earned his reputation as a can’t-miss superhero scripter, and Mora has proven equally adept at illustrating the proceedings in creative ways.
The first story, “Dream Team” by them is a great example of why the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight work so well together. They get an assist from Zatana to enter the Dreamstone of villain Destiny and maneuver through the trap he set for them.
The second story, "Sturm Und Drang” by Waid and Adrian Gutierrez features a competition between two back-up teams: Robin & Jimmy Olsen vs Batgirl & Supergirl. They set out on a quest to see who can locate and recover the ancient Egyptian statue of Dhur-La first. This unleashes an unanticipated threat, and it takes an assist from the Dream Team (Batman/Superman) to get them out of trouble.
Good one-and-done fun here. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#175 = ICE CREAM MAN #45 by W. Maxwell Prince and martin Marazzo (Image Comics, April 2026) After reading an Image First reprint of ICE CREAM MAN #1 some time ago, I made a note to self to check out some of the trade paperback collections (which I haven’t done yet). So, when the title returned this month, I couldn’t resist picking up this issue.
This issue is subtitled “The Window In The Back Of The Apartment” and it’s an undisguised tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s film thriller “Rear Window”. Even the main character, a disabled newspaper reporter/photographer who is confined to a wheelchair and spends his days watching neighbors across the street through his camera with a zooms lens, is named Jimmy Stewart (lead actor in the Hitchcock film).
Through the first two acts, Prince’s script seems to follow in a similar direction to the film, albeit in Prince’s off-center way of story-telling. The Ice Cream Man is on panel only briefly, hanging out on the rooftop and feeding more and more crows. Then in the third act the story twists into something quite unanticipated and shows Prince fitting the square peg right into that round hole.
What makes this title appealing to me is the equally off-center art work of Marazzo, especially in the facial expressions and body language.
There are more tributes to Hitchcock films throughout, including “Stranger On A Train” and “The Birds”.FOUR STARS.
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