Catwoman #54 – Tini Howard, Writer; Nico Leon, Artist; Veronica Gandini, Colorist
Ray – 7.5/10
Ray: It’s finally breakout time, as Selina gathers her team at the prison for one big move. There have been a lot of little mysteries surrounding the crew since the start, particularly the charming and ruthless Marquise—who turns out to not be entirely human, or at least have a little something extra. This arc has felt a lot more like a prison noir than a superhero comic, and that continues here, with the women going to some pretty extreme measures to break out. However, before they can see freedom, Selina has to get through one more obstacle—Punchline, who has a connection to a member of her crew and is looking to settle old scores. This obviously follows up on Howard’s work with the character in the recent mini. It overall works, but I would have liked a little more time with Eiko and Dario this issue, as everyone seemed to be in a holding pattern waiting for Selina’s return.
Black Adam #10 – Priest, Writer; Jose Luise/Jonas Trindade, Montos, Artists; Matt Herms, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: As we head to the final act of this packed miniseries, Priest is doing a good job of combining elements from the present, the recent past, and the remote past. We’ve got a particularly gripping flashback where the all-powerful Adam finds himself in a vulnerable spot and in the company of some official bigots. In the modern day, Adam and his protege Malik reach a critical parting of ways, and some old enemies start exploiting that rift to potentially topple Adam off his throne for good. Priest is playing with some similar themes that Ta-Nehisi Coates did in his Black Panther run, interrogating the idea of an indispensable King, but Adam is obviously a far less flexible figure than T’Challah. There are elements of an epic tragedy here, as the dividing line between Adam and Malik turns out to be much less global and much more personal. Looking forward to how Priest can possibly wrap this up in only two more chapters.
Static: Shadows of Dakota #3 – Nikolas Draper-Ivey/Vita Ayala, Writers; Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Artist; Wil Quintana, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This continues to be one of the best books to come out of the Milestone universe, and it’s heavily due to the contributions of Draper-Ivey on both ends. After a brief but terrifying appearance by Ebon in the first issue, the infamous villain appears again in a longer segment to hunt the Blood Syndicate. But while he’s every bit as intimidating and ruthless here, his dialogue hints at a more nuanced motivation than Hotstreak had in the first volume. And it’s hard to blame him—the bigoted Bang Baby hunters capturing and experimenting on the teenagers are clearly the bigger threat, and they have their eyes on Virgil’s mentee Quincy. With it not being clear how “official” these hunters are, it adds new stakes to Static’s hunt and finds him in an uncomfortable situation. Overall, this issue is more setting the stage besides the opening segment, but it’s a very strong run as a whole.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
