John Constantine: Hellblazer – Dead In America #2 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Aaron Campbell, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: John Constantine’s undead American adventure has taken him to the most haunted city in America—New Orleans, where he and his allies are encountering racism, gentrification, and even darker threat in the form of the supernatural. While they’re battling to survive, John’s quest leads him to Clarice—a wise and dangerous old woman with a dark origin story that dates back to ancient Greece. Clearly the two have a long history, and one that likely involves John screwing her over, but she’s still willing to help him with a vision quest that will take him into the Green—in search of Swamp Thing. This is shaping up to be an all-star Vertigo reunion here, but it also seems like Spurrier has a lot of heavier things on his mind about the state of the two countries crossing over here. It’s a fitting successor to his acclaimed first run, but it also seems to be one of the more ambitious Hellblazer runs in a long time.
Catwoman #62 – Tini Howard, Writer; Carmine Di Giandomenico, Artist; Veronica Gandini, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Catwoman has been using her nine lives to tie up loose ends and pay debts—and it turns out she owes one to none other than Amanda Waller. After being caught years ago, she promised Waller one Suicide Squad mission and now the debt is up. She’s sent on a mission into Khandaq to steal something precious of Black Adam’s, along with Ravager, Black Adam, Sportsmaster, Clock King, and Jeanette (formerly of the Suicide Squad, who knows things Selina is wondering about Scandal Savage). What ensues is a high-intensity chase with some surprising magical twists, as Selina’s journey to becoming an odd cosmic hero maybe with some common DNA with her Burtonverse version continues apace. However, it suffers from one major issue—this is very much the current version of Waller, without even the slightest sense of honor, which leads to some dark turns towards the very end.
Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #5 – Brian Buccellato, Writer; Christian Duce, Tom Derenick, Artists; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this series still has a lot of unresolved plots, setting us up for a massive finale. Superman is still unconscious and possibly dying, leaving Shazam consumed with grief and guilt—leading him to charge into a situation he can’t possibly win. As the monsters rampage across the world, the various villains each make their move. Grodd makes an attempt to win the “Ape God” Kong over to his side—and when that fails, he attempts to force him with mind control. As Oliver Queen takes on the League of Assassins, Ra’s plans to use the Lazarus Pit for nefarious purposes. And then there’s Luthor, who debuts another iconic character from the Godzilla franchise as his secret weapon. Amid all of this, there’s a ton of explosive monster action to look forward to—but it’s impossible to note that it’s the final issue next, and most of the characters in the title have barely met.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
