Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens - Review - DC Compact Comics

When I started to read this, I was a little confused because there was mention of the character Hush and I had not read that yet. I thought it was going to cause more confusion down the line so I held off on reading it, then I got sick and next thing you know it had been over a month since I started reading it again. I thought this was going to be a Harley Quinn book where the “gotham city sirens” were just going to be some goons and not actually her and Poison Ivy teaming up with Catwoman. 

For once I was glad that someone brought up how toxic the relationship between Harley and Joker was and it was awesome that Poison Ivy and Catwoman decided to do something about it. This was another great little mystery of trying to find out who is killing people and finding out some fun lore about characters. The unorthodox team ends up working out and seeing how they make it work was a fun journey. The artwork is moody, explosive and chaotic all in the best ways. I particularly liked the character style of Joker being more outlandish and freaky. 

I wish this hadn’t taken me so long to read but it was fun with all the different mysteries and stories each character had and how they all met up to one thing. 

Overall 4 / 5

Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens Paul Dini-Writer, Guillem March-Artist

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Batman: Hush - Review - DC Compact Comics

It wasn’t until I finished this book and spoke to a buddy of mine that I realized Batman:Hush ran from 2002-2003. Almost 25 years ago, and here I was reading it for the first time at the age of 35. While I was reading Harley Quinn & the Gotham City Sirens, the character Hush was mentioned a couple times and I was a little confused for a bit so I made sure to read it next.

Jim Lee’s art was spectacular and I was super excited each time a new character was introduced and got to see their design. Right at the start we get looks at a monster Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Catwoman and The Huntress, one of whom I’m not very familiar with, the other being Lady Shiva. I am just starting to read all the main storylines in the DC Batman and Batman adjacent so there were a few things I didn’t really know about but have just come across from other material. For instance I have not read A Death in the Family, but know that Joker killed Robin, and that plays somewhat an important part in the plot. This book is full of villains, heroes, twists and turns and makes me wish I had read this years ago. I was kept guessing who Hush was throughout the entire read and was surprised at the reveal. Such a fun and pretty intense read with all the action and drama.

Overall I was able to follow the storyline and knew almost every character. I think from now on when people ask me what my favorite Batman story is, the answer will be Hush. 

Overall 5 / 5

Batman: Hush Jeph Loeb-Writer, Jim Lee-Penciller

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DCEASED - Review - DC Compact Comics

To start off, I love these Compact Comics by DC. I think they are the perfect size to carry around and not worry about misplacing or taking up too much space. I bring it with me in my bag to wherever I go and if I can get 10 mins of reading in, then that’s a win in my book. Since my boys have returned to school I now get a solid 20 mins or more of reading. 

DCEASED is the third DC Compact Comic that I have read but it’s definitely the fastest one I read. Now I should also mention this is my first REAL dive into DC Comics. Being fairly new, I haven’t read that many full on stories. I’ve been collecting single issues here and there that I like. So these Compact Comics I felt were the best place for me to start reading what everyone talks about in the DC world. Isn’t that the struggle for so many of us? We just don’t know where to start.

Back to the comic, I had no idea what to expect other than “something” happens to cause the superheroes to all turn into zombies. That something turns out to be a digital virus that pretty much spreads and infects everyone. The primary vessel for the spread of this virus so quickly is social media. DCEASED was released in 2019 but how it connects with today’s world really put into perspective the virality of it. The artwork is fantastic and it was wild to see how the virus would infect heroes and in turn need to be taken down by their friends. 

There were some crazy deaths and I really liked that the heroes that were left had to come up with ideas on how to stop them. There were moments of surprise, sadness, worry and straight up no words to describe some panels. At one point I gasped so loud as I was reading my wife who was sitting next to me jumped and asked if I was ok. I did have to google some heroes because I was unfamiliar with quite a few of them like Barda, Booster Gold, someone named Teddy but it was great to see my favorite DC character Poison Ivy play a significant role in the story.

Overall 5/5

When I completed the book, I was left feeling like I robbed DC because that story was amazing for just $10. I think at some point once I’m at least 75% thru reading my collection, I will get a comic book subscription and read the other 3 volumes of the DCEASED storyline. Though if I can find these at a good price, I will definitely be scooping them up. 

DCEASED - Tom Taylor/Writer, Rain Beredo/Colorist, Saida Temofonte/Letterer, Stefano Gaudiano/Inker, Trevor Hairsine/Cover Artist + Penciller, James Harren/Artist, Darick Robertson/Penciller + Inker, Laura Braga/Penciller, Marie Javins/Editor-in-Chief

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Review: Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII

Besides DC’s Poison Ivy the only other issue I currently have pulled is Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII. With the new animated season of X-Men ‘97 on Disney+ and the Deadpool & Wolverine movie coming out, this title is a hot one to pick up. From what I read on ComicGeeks, there are 15 cover variants for this issue! I picked up the regular print as well as a $5 variant, I chose this one because the illustration style looks like it was done with colored pencil. Not entirely sure but I love the texture it has.

I picked this up because I’m a big Wolverine fan, in fact one of the first comics I’ve collected is the Weapon X series that ran from 2009-2010. As well as the Wolverine Patch run in 2022. Both of these give very similar vibes to the same Wolverine portrayal in this issue. So as a reminder I will be reviewing the following:

• Cover Art

• Story

• Overall Rating 5 star rating system from Comic Geeks App

Cover

The regular cover is almost a bit of a summary of what the entire comic is about. Wolverine and Deadpool against what seems like the world. To be honest, of the available variant copies at my local comic shop, I like the regular print the most. You can clearly see Wolverine’s claws and Deadpool’s swords dripping with blood and both of them covered in bullet wounds. It’s really fucking sweet, pardon my French. As I mentioned earlier regarding the variant cover, it has a certain styling that is a mix of watercolor and color pencil, I just wish the colors were a bit more vibrant.

It starts off giving us a few panels in a horizontal view, so you have to rotate the comic book to view. 

Story

So I already planned on getting this issue, but after hearing on the Comic Book club podcast how great this issue was I rushed to pick it up before Free Comic book day on the weekend. I didn’t realize how much I’d enjoy this issue. 

We see a dope ass progression of what we’re told is Wolverine's bloodline? I’m not really sure because it’s interrupted with a message of a flight getting ready to touch down in Vancouver. Wolverine talks about taking on some job that involves him eliminating the threat, that he is called only when it’s a scum of the earth type that can’t be helped. Wolverine suits up, in his old school yellow and brown and goes to meet this “threat.” 

Upon arriving he encounters Deadpool and who I can only assume is named “Summer?” I’m not entirely sure as it seems like he’s having a conversation with Wolverine and Deadpool but isn’t making any sense. But we get to see some sick ass fight scenes, Wolverine and Deadpool take turns trying to eliminate the threat. It’s really funny when Wolverine enters the scene and Deadpool says, “I’d recognize the sound of that sextuple puncture wound anywhere! There’s also a funny panel where Deadpool is riding the shoulders of Wolverine. Classic banter and badass fighting, just what I need.

The yellow and brown suit is starting to grow on me, I think I just don’t like the illustration style from the 90’s animated show.

They take care of the threat, Deadpool invites Wolverine to hang out but Wolverine brushes it off. After a night of drinking at the bar, Wolverine heads to where Deadpool told him he was staying. We’re then taken to a new part of the story as Wolverine is now searching for Deadpool after being left a burner phone. Wolverine ends up in Russia, of course, to some building and it’s full of people in nice attire celebrating his arrival. What? Deadpool got an upgrade and fights Wolverine?! Holy shit. Pretty dope ass illustrations and gets me excited to pick up the next issue.

Overall 5 / 5

Going into this I already sorta knew what to expect but was still happily surprised with the funny banter between Deadpool and Wolverine. Paired with the awesome fight scenes and blood splatters, this comic just had everything you’d expect from this duo. The plot and writing seemed a little jumpy but I understand having to explain so much with little real estate. Can’t wait for the next issue.

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