George Loftus Comic Reviews

There’s an energy in this book that feels youthful and optimistic, almost like a rebuke of the Absolute Universe. While the at times almost saccharine veneer comes crashing down in the final pages with a spooky villain reveal, Absolute Flash #13 continues the wonderful Flash tradition of being the only Absolute book that gives me hope their world isn’t screwed, and that there might just be a happy ending after all.

Absolute Flash #15 continues the impressive trend of the title to stand apart from the other books in the Absolute universe. With an addictive balance of hope and harshness, the book succeeds because of its unique tone and looser vibes. What makes it really special though is that its omnipresent threat to turn into a cosmic horror book at the drop of a hat. The creative team has been cooking up something something since jump and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Absolute Flash #16 rushes to its cliffhanger conclusion at a breakneck pace but I still felt treated to small, intimate moments between characters I care about each month. Bright and vivid colors accentuate a dark (visually and metaphorically) world and brings reinforces the theme of youthful optimism and hope. The most interesting part was the ending, but the buildup, though quick, was still a satisfying way to read a comic in record time.

Absolute Green Lantern #12 continues to build excitement and turn everything you know about Green Lantern on its head. New interpretations of once seemingly familiar characters are constantly being pushed to their limits in interesting ways and the mystery at the center of them all continues to drive the momentum of this book.

All-New Spider-Gwen Ghost-Spider #8 is the kind of Spidey story I want. It uses its superhero template to explore extremely human themes like guilt, intention, and coping, all wrapped up in a compelling mystery that uses the Spidey rogues gallery to excellent effect.

Batgirl’s return to Gotham happened at just the right time. She brought back elements of her globetrotting adventure that make Gotham feel both bigger and more personal all at once. Her supporting cast continues to develop and even well-worn wrinkles of her past are presented in new and entertaining ways that make them feel more fresh than familiar.

Just as soon as she returned to Gotham, Batgirl left it for a fun and dangerous adventure in the Spirit World with her supporting cast and new/old ally, Wu Lin. It was a relatively quiet issue for Batgirl, learning how to control her affliction and turn it into an advantage, and seeing familiar faces become powerful threats to her and her found family. Top of mind is Jaya Jayesh and how she fits into Batgirl’s world as they and others square up for a final duel in the Spirit World.

Batgirl #19 retreads familiar ground in new and compelling ways, showing how Cass can move forward now that she’s returned to Gotham. The fight scenes are kinetic and heavy, and none of that is sacrificed in the more quiet or reflective moments of the book. The ending is what really makes it feel special and like a new vibe is set to come for Batgirl. Mysteries still linger after this short but sweet arc, and you should be strapped in for what’s to come, because I sure as hell am.

Batgirl #20 does my least favorite thing so well I don’t even mind. It brings up the past in a way that feels fresh and intentional. Rather than mining her past, it’s adding to it by putting more toys in the toy box than were there before. The mystery is intriguing, the threat to her allies is significant, and the promise of what this means for Batgirl going forward is too exciting to do anything but patiently wait for more answers next month.

All said and done, I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t enjoy this book. Batman/Superman: World's Finest is breezy, weird, and it’s so beautiful it’s quietly setting the standard of how I want DC superheroes to look all the time. Despite a quick resolution to a story that feels like it could’ve, and maybe even should have, lasted significantly longer, I don't really care. This book explodes with charm in every panel, and that final page reveal gives me confidence this story, thankfully, isn't over yet.

While I’m not dying to find out what happens next, I’m admittedly curious to see what where the story goes. These are likable characters that are well-written, drawn impeccably, and doing the most banal thing in the strangest scenario that I can’t help but recommend it to anyone looking for a lower-stakes book to remind you all the things comics can be any given Wednesday.

First issues are hard to do. A final page reveal is sometimes more than enough to get audiences to come back the next month, but how do you keep momentum going when the twist is revealed? Bleeding Hearts #2 is nothing like its first issue yet somehow might be even more ambitious while telling a, technically, more grounded story that’s completely engrossing and gorgeously rendered by a creative team operating at the peak of their powers.

Vertigo has been a home run since its relaunch, and Bleeding Hearts #3 has some of the best creatives in comics operating with a creative confidence that’s a joy to read. It’s a heartbreaking story of trust and communication between two parties that both desperately want the same thing, but can’t do it through anything besides action. It’s gorgeously brought to life, it’s frantically paced, and tinging with heartache and thought-provoking questions. I cannot recommend this book enough.

With complex themes running throughout, there are a million ways to interpret what the story is talking about, but there’s no doubt about what the creatives believe: that caring about people and helping who you can is a trait that all living things share. Humanity is a word stretched thin in the world of Bleeding Hearts, but it’s constantly on display in both subtle and overt ways for those with eyes to see it.

The story that Torunn Grønbekk and artists Patricio Delpeche and Danilo Beyruth (not to mention Marianna Ignazzi, and Fabiana Mascolo on previous issues) have created is so masterfully succinct and compelling, it should find its way onto everyone's pull list. It's sexy, it's smart, it's dangerous, and it feels different than every other DC book on the stands. Best of all, while technically part 17 of the All-In era, this issue marks the beginning of a whole new story, making it a great jumping on point for new readers.

Catwoman #86 is a violent tale of suffering set against beautiful, softly lit characters that make a descent into hell feel almost pleasant. Catwoman is up against the ropes with fewer allies than she thought she had, and is quickly becoming desperate to stem the tide of a powerful evil she thought she’d seen the end of. It’s an explosive second chapter that feels like it has more in common with a Michael Mann movie than other books DC has set in Gotham.

Catwoman #87 continues to deliver action-packed noir thrills every month since its soft readjustment with All-In. I’m evangelizing this book month in and month out because I think it’s unlike most books DC is currently putting out. It feels like a hidden gem crime thriller from the 90’s that you’re shocked more people haven’t seen. If you’re looking for something moody, atmospheric that’s heavy on a more realistic kind of crime that features the occasional “only in comic books” flair, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Catwoman #88 fumbles out the gate to me as someone who really jumped on board with the All-In initiative back in 2024 but ultimately sticks the landing. I was thrown into the deep end of something so bizarre and horrible I wasn’t entirely sure I was understanding it correctly. Before long though, the neon-drenched story of deception, revenge, and love that made me a fan of this run reappears and carries you forward through the story, exploring the strange, interconnected relationships that make a huge expansive thing like the DC Universe feel as small as a neighborhood where you know everyone’s business and their name.

Daredevil and Punisher clash physically and philosophically right to the end. In this final issue, they present their case for the best way to establish justice in an unjust world. While it's a satisfying end, it feels like the creative team still has gas in the tank.

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: The Metal Legion #1 does everything I want a followup crossover series to do. It acknowledges the original and catches up the reader, while immediately taking what worked from it and uses it as a new foundation. While the threat may not be as big (at least not currently) as it was before, it’s set up to be more interesting, with a whole slew of villains poised to create havoc for our heroes. If you’re in need for some low-stakes positivity that eschews fun from every corner, there are few books I’d turn to faster than this one.

While not as bombastically fun as its debut last month, DC x Sonic the Hedgehog: The Metal Legion #2 manages to find new ways to endear itself to readers, mostly by making the villains the star this time around. With fun interplay between Lex and Dr. Eggman, as well as Catwoman and Rouge, it’s easy to forget that not very much happens. That’s not a real problem though because the characterization is so well done and the final page reveal is intriguing enough to carry the book.

I cannot recommend Destination Kill #1 enough. It’s an oversized book that presents a fascinating world with compelling characters. It gives you new ideas every page, like a video game that’s constantly exposing you to new mechanics, and each page helps you re-frame your point of view on Gina Serene and the supporting characters and factions that make up this world gone wrong. There’s so much personality and style, that it’s easy to get lost in such a refreshing display of auteurism that challenges you and what you believe in.

Dungeons of Doom 2 keeps up all the spooky-scary visuals of the first issue and doubles down on them, using cut-out characters as a means to keep showing the reader cool and terrifying images that will stay with you way longer than any of the forgettable characters.

Dungeons of Doom #3 finishes as strong as it started, and looks grosser and more violent than ever thanks to a large art team that nailed their individual assignments. Johnson and Percy played to their strengths and brought about a pretty satisfying conclusion to a book that was pretty clearly more about the journey, and even managed to lay some hints about what to expect from their work in the future.

Fantastic Four #12 was a return to what has made this series work for the last few years. It’s an interesting concept executed to a high degree and didn’t have the baggage or universe-ending implications of the previous arc. The focus on two characters of the team was used to great effect to show why each individual member is not only important, but why they’re unique and are constantly bring out the best of their teammates.

Mark Waid and Cantwell manage the impressive feat of packing so much new heart into the climax of a story that centers on one we already know the ending to. The Flash gets a new creative team next month and it’s easy to be excited about what the future holds for the character, but I’m just so impressed at how they handled what the past already held for him.

The Flash is back with a new creative team that sets up an exciting new and relevant tone for Wally West and his supporting characters, and in the process make the perfect jumping-on point for new readers. With gorgeous art and fun characterization, The Flash seems to be in good hands for the foreseeable future.

G.I. Joe Sssilent Missions: Baroness #1 tells a fast paced action story that looks so incredible I accidentally flipped through it four times before I really sat down to read it. It’s a gorgeous book that has, what I found to be, a somewhat convoluted ending that may have been alleviated with a little exposition or dialogue. That said, I’m glad it wasn’t there, because covering up any of Joëlle Jones art is probably a crime in most states.

Godzilla vs America: Texas isn’t even remotely what I expected. The anthology format allowed deeper stories than I thought I would get, even if some of them felt a little underwhelming. At the end of the day, I really just wanted to see a giant lizard shoot nuclear death rays from its mouth and blow up familiar monuments and I kind of got that, but I also got more than I thought I would, with four stories that ran a wide range of feelings and incorporated Japan’s coolest export to pretty successful degrees.

Gotham Academy: First Year #4 returns from its hiatus in mid-season form, briskly shifting the tone of the book from teenage drama to a more appropriately Gotham supernatural romance with real costs for the characters involved. Scarecrow’s influence seems to be growing, at least over Livi, and threatens to upend everything for Olive and her relationship with Kyle. This still isn’t a superhero book, but it’s a fun and energetic story about what parents inadvertently do to their children, and how hard it is for those children to break the cycle.

Gotham Academy: First Year #5 strikes the perfect balance of Gotham bizarre and teen melodrama by telling a melodramatic teen story in a way that only makes sense in Gotham. Olive takes center stage and confronts her greatest fears in quick, exhausting succession. Gorgeous surreal art tells the story effectively and poignantly.

I don’t know exactly what’s going on in Harley Quinn #62 and it doesn’t bother me. For 22 pages I got a weird, entertaining story that feels more like an avant-garde Adult Swim short than a comic starring a character who in three movies totaled over $1 billion at the box office. It was strange, it made me laugh, and while I never got a why, I didn’t need one because the story and its immediate stakes were clearly laid out for me. Despite being the third issue of a story arc and the 62nd issue of a series, it's surprisingly new-reader friendly

Hellboy and the B.P.R.D.: The Monster of Nivola #1 is a gorgeous one-shot that feels extremely comfortable for a lapsed Hellboy reader like myself to jump back into after years away. With a tight script, stunning art, energetic letters, a cool setting, and a powerful message, this Hellboy oneshot is a home run in every meaningful metric a comic fan like me cares about.

It’s easy to get mad at something that wastes your time. Thankfully, while Hulk: Smash Everything #3’s last page puts Hulk back where he was at the end of last issue, it doesn’t feel like nothing happens. Everything happened. The entire lifespan of the universe happened. The most important thing that happened though? Hulk smashed. Hulk smashed so good.

This series so far has proven to be a great classic Hulk story for those not as interested in the Eldritch folk horror take happening in Infernal Hulk. It’s loud, it’s absurd, and in every issue so far Hulk has done something I’ve never seen him do. What more could you ask for?

Hulk: Smash Everything #5 brings this miniseries to a poignant, but hopeful conclusion that admits the Hulk was wronged, his anger was warranted, and forgiveness goes further than you think. Sweet moments between Hulk, the Thing, and Johnny Storm punctuate an intense climax that lets Marvel’s heaviest hitters execute an off-the-wall fix to a world that’s quickly falling apart. While nowhere near the most epic part of the series, the ending is satisfying and well-earned after five issues that excelled in delivering insane situations for the Hulk to survive, and impossible odds for him to overcome.

Hyde Street #12 is an absolute punch to the face, in a good way. The Butcher of Hyde Street arc is in its second issue and the wheels have completely fallen off the cart, with brutal violence, betrayal, fear, paranoia, and a glimpse of the Scorekeeper behind the curtain. Just as things were getting established and a cadence had developed for the denizens of Hyde Street, everything is completely upended in impressively gory fashion.

This is the most cosmic-feeling book of the post-Imperial Marvel line and it’s likely coming to an end before it was supposed to, which is a huge bummer. The team is weird and interesting, doing work that seems like somebody has to do, and making unexpected calls that would feel out of place anywhere else in the Marvel Universe. There’s a simmering mystery underneath the explosive action that’s planting the seeds for future stories, I just hope we get a chance to see it through.

The parts of JSA 17 are greater than its sum. There’s a clear distinction between the past and present of these iconic characters - they feel familiar but act like young, naive versions of themselves. The art makes you feel like you’re looking at the past, and the story itself feels like what you want a fun, Golden Age conspiracy to be. All that said though, as we approach the final chapter it feels more like it’s going through the motions than fighting its way to the top of my read pile.

JSA #18 provides a fun and explosive finale that occasionally hits some pretty high notes and never any low ones. While I still don’t think it lives up to the high expectations of the name it invokes, it’s nonetheless an entertaining conclusion to a story that is a solid starting place for readers curious about the Justice Society of America and what they mean to the greater DC Universe.

After spending the last six issues recounting their origins, JSA #19 shifts the focus to the present of the Justice Society and the return of their most powerful member. Quiet, personal moments don’t have the most room to breathe, but they’re welcome respites from what promises to be an explosive story arc as the past decides what about the present is worth preserving, and which parts deserve punishment.

JSA #20 is a strange issue that’s half action and half revelation. While I was more into the revelation side of things than the familiar-feeling action, that action was nonetheless very pretty and fun to look out. The ending is, again, familiar, but it sets up a pretty exciting part 3 next month that folds the JSA into the bigger and wider DC Universe.

Despite not knowing them exceptionally well, I really cared about these characters and what they were going through. This was a powerful issue executed by an expansive creative team to a high degree and should absolutely be on your radar.

Justice League: Dream Girls – A DC Pride Event #3 splits up the two main characters of the book thus far to great effect. By letting them spend time on their own, they’ve naturally realized that they’re better together and screw what the world thinks. There’s some infuriating dialogue in this book but there’s gorgeous epiphanies and realizations that beat them back down. This is an incredibly well-executed weekly title and I continue to hope that this becomes the format for DC celebrations going forward.

Justice League: Dream Girls – A DC Pride Event #4 is exactly the kind of satisfying conclusion I was hoping I’d get. After four weeks of emotional swings from the two leads, we get a great “coming together” moment that highlights what makes these characters so resilient and reliable. Couple that with a satisfying apology from the Justice League and an absolutely astonishing backup from Klaus Janson, and you’ve got one of the more successful weekly minis I can remember. The creative team over the past month deserves a ton of credit for telling such a compelling story and delivering every week, but especially for this finale.

Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories - Jace #1 was a refreshing emphasis on the people, places, and things that make Magic the Gathering so special. It was made for fans, but maybe fans like me—someone who hasn’t been to an FNM or prerelease in a while, but still loves the world of MTG. The art is more than serviceable, but not nearly as special as the world it's portraying.

Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories – Jace #2 dials up the action and stakes in interesting and entertaining ways. The pacing moves faster, the art is more dynamic, and we get to see even more familiar faces and continue a fun tour through the planes of Magic: The Gathering.

An interesting world for a newbie like me, Murder Drones #1 is steeped in humor and vibrant art, telling a class-consciousness revenge story replete with likable characters and a villain you can't help but root against.

I’m happy to say Image has another strong horror-tinged debut on their hands with a mysterious but likable protagonist set against an interesting backdrop, and the promise of supernatural horror that may be looking for divine retribution or possibly just deserved punishment. Either way, I’m in for a genre that usually doesn’t grab me. You should check out Of the Earth #1

Planet She-Hulk #5 gives Jen the platform to actualize change on the war-torn Sakaar en Nevo and shows the title is more than just a reference to a beloved Hulk story from 20 years ago. With sharp commentary and chills-inducing moments, it delivers a fun penultimate issue that's very fun to look at.

Royals #1 is a new series from Image comics that takes a pretty fun and underserved genre, card playing, and adds a slight super-power twist. The art is bubbly and fun, the conversation is natural sounding, and to be honest, it’s a little refreshing seeing people with a preternatural gift use it to be jerks and schemes of self-gain. There are moments of immaturity countered by moments of sweetness that show these characters are deeper than they seem.

While occasionally it feels like an inordinate amount of time was spent finding ways to nod and wink to fans, well, I’m a fan and it worked on me. But the reason it worked is because the bones of the story work so well. I’m enjoying the story for its mystery, its action, its breezy pace, its ability to set up iconic characters doing things you wish you got to see them do in the movies. It all just works together so well you forget it’s basically an ad for why you’ll see these characters on your next visit to Disney World or Land respectively.

Though it hits pause on the saga of Sigurd Jarlson for a month, The Mortal Thor #8 is a welcome break from the world of mortals. Exploring the realms through Magi’s youthful idealism has been a breath of fresh air that reinvigorates and reminds the reader this story is bigger than a New York City borough. The through line that opens the book, gives it structure in the middle, and closes it out is a neatly presented conceit that reinforces the fragility of these characters and the depths they’re willing to go.

Instead of being frustrated I’m not getting the Thor I feel I want, I’m finally happy to accept the Sigurd I’m getting. The clean but detailed lines from Pasqual Ferry add so much to the breakneck speed of this issue - even the wonderfully written talking head segments bounce and flow easily from the stylized faces of familiar characters presented in new and interesting ways. I miss the weirdness of the realms balanced by the seriousness of Asgard, but when viewed holistically there’s something about the slow burn approach that finally clicked for me. The Mortal Thor #9 was a turning point for me that raised it several spots closer to the top of my reading list when it comes out.

The Mortal Thor #11 completely rejuvenated my interest and care in this book. Writer Al Ewing and the art team of Saíz and Milla have delivered what’s probably my favorite Marvel issue of the year so far by taking things back to basics, and showing why we can’t let people like Agger win. I don’t know how to explain to you why you should care about other people, but maybe this issue of The Mortal Thor can.

Thundercats x Silverhawks #1 smashes two '80s properties together in a way that will leave Xennials happy, but anyone else scratching their heads at the significance of it all.

It feels like an old comics trope where two heroes who don’t know they should trust each other have to duke it out before they find a common enemy. This has elements of that, but also like it has little interest in doing anything besides smashing your two favorite action figures against each other and telling you it’s for the best. Despite being underwhelmed two issues in, I want to stick with the series because I trust the talent involved, but more interesting things need to happen, or a why for things happening needs to present itself pretty quickly to maintain my interest.

The Transformers The Movie #1 (reprint) is an ugly book that gets better the more you spend time with it. It’s a poorly written book until you hit the last page. It’s a perfect companion piece for fans of the Transformers movie who have absorbed every cel over the last four decades. It’s familiar enough where all the beats hit at the right moment, but different enough that you’re interested to see how they can stick the landing after small tweaks that drastically change the emphasis of a story you already know.

Void Rivals #28 stalls the momentum of the Quintesson War to a crawl. A few interesting tidbits happen here and there, but not enough to make this feel less like halftime of a story when it should feel like we’re building towards something more climactic.

Void Rivals #29 gets back on track and moves the story forward to set up an epic conclusion to the Quintesson War arc, but while the scenery changes at a breakneck pace, consequential moments of the story feel like like they're being rationed, dripping out at a snail's pace so you don't enjoy the story too much. With no solution for our heroes in sight, the finale has the potential to be explosive, but the penultimate chapter still falls a little flat because of its reliance on things we’ve already seen, and lines we’ve already heard.

Delivering a new mission statement for the leads Solila and Darak, Void Rivals #30 captures that lightning in a bottle feeling from earlier arcs as it sunsets the way-too-long Quintesson War. There was significant change for not just the main characters, but also their world as they have to form new alliances together and forge a new way of life and order to save the Ring and prevent galactic war. Just like the arc itself, the end is the most interesting, but my curiosity and excitement is back for a series that had been starting to lose me.

I didn’t think I would get as emotional or fired up reading an issue of Void Rivals that focused squarely on Skuxxoid, but here we are. Void Rivals #31 delivered a really serious story about revolution, freedom, authoritarianism, the problems with old leadership, the fire of young progressives, and it did all that while being an entertaining brawl between identical looking characters you could somehow easily tell apart.

What Tom King and Daniel Sampere are cooking up in Wonder Woman #31 feels like an event. The Wonder War has the high stakes drama and little verbal knife twists that drive a book into your brain and make you think about for days after you finish reading it. It makes you go back and re-read the previous issues to see if there were more hints you missed. Then it makes you go back to the beginning of the run and tie red string to cork boards like a true lunatic.

Wonder Woman #32 takes a necessary foot off the gas pedal to explain the messed up world we were shown, but it feels like a slight step backward. The storytelling is non-linear, dense, and not always effective, but I have to applaud its ambition, even when it didn’t strike me as the best way to tell what’s amounting to be a massive story. It's fun, it's interesting, I just wish it were being told in a slightly more straightforward fashion. The Matriarch is supposed to be this crazy big villain and while I'm totally willing to be surprised, it feels like her darkest deeds already happened.

Wonder Woman #33 meanders a bit but never falters. In a backwards telling of Orpheus, Wonder Woman, Steve, and Trinity descend into hell and can’t look back on the world they’ve left behind, the friends they’ve lost. With the promise of conflict to come, Wonder Woman #33 seems to be where the story shifts from an interesting world to one where Diana finally takes action.

Wonder Woman #34 sees what’s presumably the final battle of the Wonder War and it’s a doozy. It’s beautifully brought to life by two artists whose styles clash a little bit when put together but there isn’t a single page that isn’t fun to look at. Tom King poses interesting questions but ultimately sets up a confusing ending that intrigues me as much as it frustrates me.