Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Deathstroke: Rebirth" #1 / "Aquaman" #5 / "Batman" #5

"Deathstroke: Rebirth" #1: You'll sincerely hate Slade Wilson pretty much from page 1 here, and this evocation of strong disdain is probably Priest's greatest achievement, setting up Deathstroke as one of the best villains in DC's "Rebirth" universe so far.

7/10

"Aquaman" #5: "Aquaman" has become a pretty pointless affair by now, as it has lost even the last bits of verve that it might have had in the beginning. The action here is at least semi-entertaining, but the story is moving nowhere at all. Disappointing. 

4/10

"Batman" #5: The story of Gotham and Gotham Girl ends with a blast, and the additional pieces of information on the siblings' origin are truly fascinating. King has managed to establish a truly compelling pair of characters here, and I'm looking forward to see more of them in the next issue.

8/10

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Aquaman" #4 / "Batman" #4 / "Daredevil" Annual #1

"Aquaman" #4: It's all pretty much what you'd expect, as the relationship between Atlantis and the USA deteriorates rapidly. It's good, but never really tries to do anything differently.

6/10

Batman #4: An unexpected and bloody twist for the "Gotham" heroes, and Batman teams up with an unlikely ally. Great coloring again, as King seems to find his voice already early as the series' main writer. 

8/10

"Daredevil" Annual #1: It's everything you'd expect from an "Annual". Unusual art, storytelling, the exploration of exciting support characters. An absolute blast.

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