Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Wonder Woman" #2 / #3 / #4 / #5

The Lies (#3 and #5): It's an intriguing and highly captivating story about Wonder Woman's expulsion from Themyscira and her and Trevor's subsequent fight against Urzkartaga. And most important of all, it stays true its core themes of identity and the rewriting of history.

9/10

Year One (#2 and #4): A carefully woven and well-narrated Wonder Woman origin story, that excels in its nuanced and invigorating depiction of Themyscira and the heartfelt way it recounts Steve Trevor's life prior to Wonder Woman. This could well go on to be one of Wonder Woman's quintessential origin stories.

9/10 

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Civil War II" #3 / "Spider-Gwen" Annual #1 / "Aquaman" #3

Civil War II #3: Bendis offers up one spectacular revelation after the other, continuing to go all out in this series. The only question is whether he can keep that pace and wrap it up in successful fashion, or falls victim to the comic's evergrowing expectations.

8/10

"Spider-Gwen" Annual #1: It's imaginative, creative, different and absolutely refreshing. The only problem: all this eclipses the actual focal point of the comic, Spider-Gwen herself, who is merely an afterthought in all of this. 

7/10

Aquaman #3: The political dilemma here is not as original and intense as writer Dan Abnett probably thinks them to be, and artist Philippe Briones is not able to convey the emotions necessary to make this all a little bit more grasping. Unfortunately, a small step back for "Aquaman". 

6/10

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "The Fix" #4 / "Black Widow" #5 / "Star Wars" #21

I need to catch up with my comics, so here's something new to get up-to-date relatively quickly. Enjoy!

"The Fix" #4: More Mac, more Josh, more Pretzels, more mayhem. Fun, entertaining, hugely disturbing, the surprise series of 2016 keeps impressing.

9/10

"Black Widow" #5: It's pace and relentless action reminds of the fantastic first issue, as Natasha feels the heat on her from everywhere. Still great, even though it lacks some of the magic we were getting used to.

8/10

"Star Wars" #21: Superbly narrated, as its art perfectly matches the comic's sombre atmosphere. Whether you love or hate the Stormtrooper special unit we get to know here, their appeal is unmissable. Marvel's darkest Star Wars comic so far.

8/10

Review: "Deadpool" #15

The "Civil War II" part here is actually the one that manages to convince least, as the "Mercs For Money" prove that they can even be fun(nier) without their masks. 

But the highlight here definitely has to be the epic "Deadpool vs. Black Panther" fight in the Triskelion, as the two battle it out over almost half the comic. Bawdy but never embarrassing, with a surprising chemistry and dynamic, it's Wade and T'Challa in the most unlikely brawl of "Civil War II". 

7/10

Further Links:

Deadpool #14

Deadpool v Gambit #1

Deadpool & The Mercs For Money #5

Review: "Daredevil" #9

Probably nothing sums up this brilliant comic better than when Spider-Man tells Daredevil

"You've gotta do stuff like that every once in a while. Find the joy in what we are and what we can do."

It's pure, unadulterated fun as a hilariously out-of-character Daredevil and an in-form Spider-Man chase a mysterious briefcase over the rooftops of Macau and Hong Kong. It's all wonderfully rendered by artist Goran Sudzuka and colorist Matt Milla, as they create a night scenery of darkness and light which serves as the perfect backdrop for Daredevil's and Spider-Man's joyride. A catharsis of sorts not just for the comic's heroes, but also for writer Charles Soule, before Daredevil returns to the dark alleys of NYC again in the next issue. 

9/10

Further Links:

Daredevil #8

Daredevil/The Punisher #1

Daredevil/The Punisher #2

Review: "Detective Comics" #936

Just when I had almost given up Detective Comics, writer James Tynion IV finally remembers that he's actually one of the best Batman writers in recent time (go ahead and read the Batman/TMNT crossover). 

In this issue, he finally taps a bit deeper into some of the main characters' minds and motivations, while streamlining its main story transforms the comic into a highly entertaining, surprising and gripping affair. Alvaro Martinez' art and Brad Anderson's colors make for an impressively dark and menacing Gotham, thus completing the comic's positive overall impression.

8/10

Further Links:

Detective Comics #934

Detective Comics #935 

Review: "Action Comics" #959

We still don't really now why there are about three dozens Supermen in Metropolis here, but at least writer Dan Jurgens has finally started to unravel the mystery a bit. 

Otherwise this remains a fast-paced, fun and entertaining uber-fight between one of the Supermen and Doomsday, in which artist Tyler Kirkham manages to stay on top of the action at all times, with a clear focus of where he is going with it. Even though Lois Lane and Jon Kent still feel like an afterthought here, this is by far the strongest entry among the "Rebirth" Action Comics.

8/10

Further Links:

Action Comics #958

Action Comics #957