Bleeding Hearts #7 Review

 

Bleeding Hearts #7 Review

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Colorist: Stef Bartolić

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Variant Cover Artist: Manny Vincent Carbonilla

Editors: Chris Conroy & Mathew Levine

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (cardstock)

Release Date: August 12, 2026

 

Poke and Mush have reached a parting of the ways. After learning that his best friend's heart had begun beating, Mush realized he should have listened to the mushrooms growing out of his neck. They kept telling him that there was something different about Poke.

 

Yet even if Mush felt betrayed by how Poke hid the changes he was going through, at least Mush didn't kill Mama. And when Mama returns, she brings a gun to the Live Ones’ hunt. Can Poke, Mama, and Rabbit begin again? And is Poke a Zombie, a Live One, or something no one has ever seen before? Let’s leap into Bleeding Hearts #7 and see!

 

Story

As they sit together, studying a painting, Rabbit tries to help Poke speak like a Live One. Yet, Poke's thoughts center on his friendship with Mush and the community he has betrayed. As she watches her daughter continue to ignore the facts and maintain her friendship with "Flower Boy," Mama's thoughts dwell on all the sacrifices she has made and what they have netted her.

 

In Bleeding Hearts #7, Deniz Camp interlaces Poke’s journey with Mama’s. With both characters stalled in contemplation, Rabbit works at her familiar occupation of bringing people together. Unlike Rabbit, both Poke and Mama believe their fellowship cannot last. Yet while Mama and Rabbit’s prospects for finding a Live Ones community seem unlikely, Poke still has a home to return to.

 

Despite rescuing her daughter from the ritual Out-Break hunt, Mama struggles with despair instead of celebrating her victory. Like everyone she has ever known, the Zombies have consumed her community and culture. Poke also struggles to know where he belongs. Since his heart began beating again, everything has changed. Poke can trust nothing, not even himself, because he is both dead and alive.

 

As Poke rises above the limitations of both communities, he yearns to help people from both cultures. While Rabbit has been gifted with overweening optimism, Poke’s efforts spring from his beating heart. Yet as opposing cultures clash, any offer of help seems likely to be misunderstood in Bleeding Hearts #7.

 

Art

As Stipan Morian's long, thin panels showcase Mush's relationship with the growing Zombie community, cartoony drawings symbolize Poke's personal journey. The mushrooms sprouting from Mush's shoulders highlight the Zombies' rapid growth. A woman's Ankh symbol suggests the community's long-term health.

 

After Stef Bartolić adorns Poke’s fight to reconcile his recent actions with a vibrant palette, Mama sits by a dying fire. The blue boxes and covered equipment turn gray as the flames struggle for life. After sepia tinges her triumph and failure, a red background highlights the violent nature of clashing cultures. Yet, when she feeds the fire, the yellow flames also seem to devour the surrounding blue. As Poke stares at a painting of white and violet flowers in a blue pot, his skin takes on the coloring of the leaves.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places Mama and Poke's black uppercase thoughts in white boxes. The letters in narrative boxes and dialogue balloons grow bold for intonation, and shift to lowercase for lowered voices. Poke and Rabbit’s attempts at communication change colors to match their skin or clothing, while raised voices accompany a fight for belonging. Yet while he struggles to accept change, the red beating of Poke’s heart suggests his desire for growth and beginning anew in Bleeding Hearts #7. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

While Mama struggles to find meaning in Human culture, the Zombies unite via their rituals and shared values. Unlike Mama and the Zombie community's leaders, Rabbit and Poke stare at the world in wonder. They may lack the certainty of the Zombie preachers' beliefs. Yet both prize life over codes of conduct, as Rabbit and Poke strive to help others in Bleeding Hearts #7.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #7.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #6.

For what happened before that, see my review of Bleeding Hearts #5. 

For what happened even before that, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

 

Bleeding Hearts #7 Preview

 

Poke and Mush have reached a parting of the ways. After Mush realized his best friend's heart had begun beating, he felt betrayed. He should have listened to the mushrooms growing out of his neck. They kept telling him that there was something different about Poke. 

Yet even if Mush felt betrayed by how Poke hid the changes he was going through, at least Mush didn't kill Mama. And when Mama returns, she brings a gun to the Live Ones hunt. Can Poke, Mama, and Rabbit begin again? And is Poke a Zombie, a Live One, or something no one has ever seen before?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #7 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp 

Artist & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Manny Vincent Carbonilla

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (Card Stock)

Release Date: August 12, 2026

 

 

Can Poke be Forgiven?

 

 

After the outrageously bloody events of Out-Break, Poke is overwhelmed by guilt and the beauty of living things…but he also must reckon with the horrible choice he made. Plus: Cara and Rabbit’s final resting place!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #6.

For what happened before that, see my review of Bleeding Hearts #5. 

For what happened even before that, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

 

 

Bleeding Hearts #6 Preview

 

 

Everyone has their favorite holiday. For Poke, it's Out-Break. The annual event unites zombies as a species. As they gather in their holy shopping malls, the zombies look forward to a ritual hunt. But ever since Poke's heart started beating, he's lost his taste for Live Ones. Sadly, his best friend Mush found the mother and daughter Poke was trying to protect. 

Now, Mama is dead. And, as the zombies pursue the few Live Ones they have captured, little Rabbit runs for her life from the hungry horde. Can Poke rescue the girl from his own people? And can he continue to live among them, when their values suddenly seem foreign to him?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #6 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Ariel Olivetti

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Age Rating: 17+

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

Release Date: July 8, 2026

 

 

It’s Time to Party like

You’re Never Gonna Live!

 

 

It’s the 11th Annual Outbreak! For months, hordes all over the world have been preparing to celebrate the unholy origin of our species with a week of Bone-Tower building, ritual Live One hunts, live food, undead music, and so much more! You are what you are—be proud of that and of death’s victory over life!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Bleeding Hearts #5. 

For what happened before that, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 Review

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 Review

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Cover Artist: Javier Rodríguez

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Variant Cover Artists: Andrew Robinson, Werther Dell’Edera & Seba Fiumara

Editors: Sabrina Futch & Katie Kubert

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $5.99 US/$5.99 US Card Stock

Release Date: July 1, 2026

 

It took John a long time to accept the Green Martian in his life. Doing so helped him prevent Middleton from descending into chaos. But when he told his wife what happened, the truth tore his family apart. The Green Martian wants to help John turn his life around. But the Blue Martian reminds John of all the bad things he's endured. Everywhere he goes, tragedy follows. What's the point of going on?

 

Yet as John falls, Bridget rises. Instead of pushing John away, she runs to find him. But is it too late for John and Bridget? And if the couple cannot reunite, will the Blue Martian unleash his Despair-O-Vision on everyone in Middleton? Let's leap into Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 and see!

 

Story

The Blue Martian has told John the story of his life. Unable to refute his companion’s views on his past, John collapses under the weight of his memories, failures, and revelations. The world has always been against him. John has ruined everything he has touched. Still, the Blue Martian has shown him who is really to blame.

 

While John faces the inevitable result of ignoring the difficult aspects of his life, Bridget realizes she can no longer conform to others' standards to find happiness and fulfillment. As she attempts to comfort John, Bridget discovers the truth of his assertions. But in Absolute Martian Manhunter #12, Bridge confronts not one figment of her husband’s imagination, but two.

 

The Blue and Green Martians each play a role in helping the couple assess their lives. Despite living under the same roof and enduring similar struggles, they have been worlds apart. Now, as they review key moments from John’s life, the couple also studies Bridget's past to understand why she eventually shut John out of her life with Tyler.

 

While Deniz Camp focuses on John and Bridget's struggles, he delves into the difficulties we all face. As John and Bridget confront the truth of their existence, they must determine what led to their current impasse. The couple must also decide if they can remake their lives and save their son in Absolute Martian Manhunter #12.

 

Art

John stands before an open casket, surrounded by regularly spaced pews, on a checkerboard of black and white square tiles. The couple's life together may be nearing its end. Yet, other people, oblivious to their struggles, lose themselves in revelry. As much as she loves John, he threatens how Bridget perceives the world around her. So, as she cradles him like she would a child, Bridget imagines ending his suffering.

 

As Javier Rodríguez lavishes a palette of bright colors on Absolute Martian Manhunter #12, white suffuses John. Locked in his mind, the green light streaming through the stained-glass windows turns the Blue Martian indigo. While Bridget wears a violet jacket, the Blue Martian plucks the knife from her mind. Its handle changes from green to indigo as he presses it into her hand. The white energy arcing from John's eyes mirrors the cracks tearing through the ground and sky. Yet amid the couple's struggles, violet and blue uphold Agent Lowe’s world.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places uppercase black letters in cream dialogue balloons and boxes. Lowercase letters suggest lowered voices, while enlarged uppercase words deform balloons. White letters appear in dark backgrounds, while sound effects accompany a child’s wailing and reality fragmenting. Yet giant colorful words appear when a red beam of light erupts from a character’s head. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

We each stand in the center of our universe. But when the Green Martian showed John another way to perceive reality, he upset the order of creation. The Blue Martian has done his best to put John back in his box. But as Bridget gains a more complete understanding of the universe, the White Martian reaches the endgame of its Crisis of Absolute Worlds in Absolute Martian Manhunter #12.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For a look inside see my preview of Absolute Martian Manhunter #12.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #11.

For what happened before that, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #10. 

For how this story arc started, see my preview of Absolute Martian Manhunter #7.

For the first story arc of this Eisner nominated series, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter: Martian Vision Vol 1. 

 

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 Preview

 

 

It took John a long time to accept the Green Martian in his life. Doing so helped him prevent Middleton from descending into chaos. But when he told his wife what happened, the truth tore his family apart. The Green Martian wants to help John turn his life around. But the Blue Martian reminds John of all the bad things he's endured. Everywhere he goes, tragedy follows. What's the point of going on?

Yet as John falls, Bridget rises. Instead of pushing John away, she runs to find him. But is it too late for John and Bridget? And if the couple cannot reunite, will the Blue Martian unleash his Despair-O-Vision on everyone in Middleton? 

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #12 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Cover Artist: Javier Rodrígez

Variant Cover Artists: Andrew Robinson, Werther Dell’Edera & Seba Fiumara

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 48 Pages

Price: $5.99 US/Variant $5.99 US

Release Date: July 1, 2026

 

 

The Jaw-Dropping Final Issue!

 

 

It all comes together here: green and white, life and death, husbands and wives, fathers and sons, free will and fate, crime and punishment. Beginnings and endings. Why do people do the things they do? Read this issue to find out.

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #11.

For what happened before that, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #10. 

For how this story arc started, see my preview of Absolute Martian Manhunter #7.

For the first story arc, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter: Martian Vision Vol 1. 

Bleeding Hearts #5 Review

 

Bleeding Hearts #5 Review

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist: Stipan Morian

Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Editors: Chris Conroy & Mathew Levine

Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Chloe Brailsford

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (cardstock)

Release Date: June 10, 2026

 

It can happen without warning. Often, we don't know why. Yet one day, we want something different from what we ever did before. Poke may have been an oddball. Still, he was a valued member of the zombie community and Mush's best friend. Then, without warning, explanation, or desire, Poke started behaving oddly. Or at least, more oddly than he had before.

 

So, Mush gives his friend space. He figures sooner or later, Poke will explain things, and life will revert to normal. Then, Mush discovers the worst thing imaginable. Poke has betrayed his community. What happens when Mush realizes that Poke has been feeding and protecting Live Ones? Can things ever be the same between Mush and his friend again? Let’s leap into Bleeding Hearts #5 and see!

 

Story

Poke, or Mouse-Pokes-Golf-Ball-Out-Of-Hole, tries to immerse himself in Out-Break. The event celebrates his community’s rich culture and commemorates its founder. Out-Break used to be Poke's favorite holiday. But now, something is missing, and he doesn't know what.

 

In Bleeding Hearts #5, Poke shambles through the motions. Yet his heart isn't into the celebration. Partly this is due to his heart, which has started beating in his dead chest. But Poke also misses the Live Ones he saved from the Horde. He knew it was a sin. Poke knew his community could ostracize him for his transgression. Yet when his heart starts beating, Poke changes. And he put the Live Ones above his hunger and the needs of the Horde.

 

As Deniz Camp’s story follows Poke’s struggle to fit in on the most important day on the zombie calendar, Rabbit also faces the consequences of her actions. Like Poke, she ignored the rules of her dwindling society. Instead, she defied Mama and urged her to accept "Flower Boy" into their little family. Now, her mother is dead. And Rabbit looks forward to dying in the ritual hunt so she can reunite with her dead parents in Bleeding Hearts #5.

 

Art

After a close-up of Rabbit in her floppy-eared hoodie, the camera pulls back to show the zombie horde gathered outside the barred shop in the mall. As the community celebrates its holiday, a double-page spread of the gathering evokes an arena. Poke regards an homage to his civilization’s founder with a bemused expression. And as people play music and games, Poke gazes down at Flip, the stuffed animal that Rabbit treasured.

 

As Stipan Morian portrays Poke as an outsider on Out-Break, Matt Hollingsworth adorns the statue of Patient Zero with the same blue-green as Poke’s pants. The zombie guarding the Live Ones wears a violet hat, linking him with the flower growing on Poke’s head. Yet the guard’s indigo jacket evokes Flip, or Flip Flop The Friendly Bunny, which Poke found and returned to Rabbit. Now imprisoned and awaiting death, the girl's orange hoodie links her with Poke's friend Mush and the apocalyptic air that evokes Mama's fears of Judgment Day.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places Poke's thoughts in white boxes and uppercase black dialogue in white and beige balloons. The letters grow bold for intonation, and shift to lowercase for lowered voices. As raised voices swell letters and make balloons spiky, heightened spirits turn the words red. Yellow-green shapes bearing squiggles reinforce Mush's argument that he has more in common with the mushrooms nestling at his neck than he does with Live Ones. Yet amid the celebrations, raised voices, and sirens, Poke's beating heart speaks the loudest in Bleeding Hearts #5. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

As the era of the Live Ones nears its end, the zombies rule the world. Due to his mysteriously beating heart, Poke has a foot in both worlds. For all the richness of his culture, he also senses it is stagnating. He would like to bridge the gap between the two cultures and reinvigorate both. Poke no longer knows what he believes. Still, he knows that he risks everything if he challenges his own kind to embrace new ideas in Bleeding Hearts #5.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #5.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4.

For how this series began, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1. 

Bleeding Hearts #5 Preview

 

 

It can happen without warning. Often, we don't know why. Yet one day, we want something different than we ever did before. Poke may have been an oddball. Still, he was a valued member of the zombie community, and Mush's best friend. Then, without warning, explanation, or desire, Poke started behaving oddly. Or at least, more oddly than he had before. 

So, Mush gives his friend space. He figures sooner or later, Poke will explain things, and life will revert to normal. Then, Mush discovers the worst thing imaginable. Poke has betrayed his community. What happens when Mush realizes that Poke has been feeding and protecting Live Ones? Can things ever be the same between Mush and his friend again?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Bleeding Hearts #5

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artists & Cover Artist: Stipan Morian

Variant Cover Artist: Chloe Brailsford

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price $3.99 US/Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

Release Date: June 10, 2026

 

 

Even Zombie friendships can be tested!

 

 

Can an unwitting act still count as betrayal? Poke and Mush’s friendship is at its breaking point, but can you fault someone for indulging their natural instincts? With Poke’s secret becoming increasingly hard to keep, it may end up being a question he must answer in front of his entire horde, in their most sacred of spaces…a shopping mall!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #4. 

For how this series started, see my preview of Bleeding Hearts #1.

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 Review

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 Review

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist & Colorist: Javier Rodríguez

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Cover Artists: Javier Rodríguez, Mike Del Mundo, Dave Johnson & Werther Dell’Edera

Editors: Sabrina Futch & Katie Kubert

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock

Release Date: May 13, 2026

 

Despite Bridget's love for him, John Jones hid the truth from her. Yet when the FBI Agent finally confessed the truth about his relationship with the Green Martian, Bridget shut him out of her life. As his wife withdraws to their home, her overwhelming love for her son is a lie. Yet John braves the dangers of non-Euclidean space to rescue the Green Martian from Americans who love their country.

 

Will Marco's musings on love in the Starlight Motel bar prove prophetic for John's relationship with Bridget and Tyler? And after the White Martian’s attack on Middleton, can John and the Green Martian convince everyone to sing "All You Need Is Love"? Let's leap into Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 and see!

 

Story

After rescuing the Green Martian from a black hole, FBI Agent John Jones returns to Middleton. While he is happy to have rescued the person who gives him hope, John wishes he could have left behind the Martian that fills him with despair. Yet the Green Martian and the Blue Martian remain by his side. He realizes his wife and child are in the clutches of the White Martian. And as John races to reach Bridget and Tyler, the mysterious government agents lie in wait.

 

While the Green Martian tries to protect John from the Blue Martian, he also shields them from the agents' attacks. Yet no one can shield John from the Blue Martian's Despero-Vision in Absolute Martian Manhunter #11. Amid the gunfire and the Green Martian's energy beams, the Blue Martian revisits key moments from John's past. It also ponders the efficacy of John's actions. As an FBI agent, John has dedicated his life to safeguarding society. Yet the Blue Martian makes John wonder if, instead of keeping people safe, he's made things worse for everyone.

 

After a visit to a coffee shop left John in the hospital and other patrons dead, Deniz Camp's story ponders the role of free will in our lives. John's claims about the Green Martian helping him remake his life made his wife fear for his sanity. But while John races to rescue Bridget and Tyler, battling forces within and without, Bridget also begins to ponder her choices. Conformity to societal norms should make her happy. Yet, in Absolute Martian Manhunter #11, Bridget yearns for completeness.

 

Art

Despite John's determined expression as he charges down the street, a close-up reveals the tiny Green and Blue Martians clinging to opposite sides of his head. Memories obscure his features, and Green tries to pull Blue away when it clings to John's ear. Subjects climb from cinema posters to threaten John, while Bridget cleans up after Tyler's colorful visitors.

 

Javier Rodríguez's palette suggests why Darkseid created this universe. Bridget's colorful visitors produce white smoke filled with symbols of empty happiness, sorrow, and death. Despite her multicolored thoughts, Bridget wears a yellow scarf over her head. John senses the Green Martian's rage as he shoots red beams at their attackers. Behind him, the Blue Martian cradles John in his arms, as if soothing him with despair instead of hope. A black-and-white government agent launches a red, white, and blue attack. Yet as the Blue Martian forces John to relive the memories that torment him, the green background and ground cracks in Absolute Martian Manhunter #11.

 

Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou places uppercase black letters in cream dialogue balloons and boxes. Lowercase letters suggest lowered voices, while enlarged uppercase words deform balloons. White letters appear in dark backgrounds, while yellow sound effects suggest what provokes violence. Green letters shine amid black splotches, reminding us how easy it is to talk ourselves into despair. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.

 

Final Thoughts

After John Jones and the Green Martian repulsed his frontal attack on Middleton, the White Martian crept into the residents' homes. This time, it doesn't urge them to destroy their multicultural city through violence and terrorism. Instead, it induces lethargy and suspicion among its captives. But the White Martian reserves its primary efforts for John's household, knowing that, separated from the people who support him, John will eventually weaken and die. As the Blue Martian urges John to reevaluate his life, Bridget strives to defeat the fear that traps her in Absolute Martian Manhunter #11. 

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Absolute Martian Manhunter #11.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #10.

 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 Preview

 

Despite Bridget's love for him, John Jones hid the truth from her. But when the FBI Agent finally confessed the truth about his relationship with the Green Martian, she shut him out of her life. As his wife withdraws to their home, her overwhelming feelings of love for her son are a lie. Yet John braves the dangers of Non-Euclidean space to rescue the Green Martian from Americans who claim they love their country. 

Will Marco's musings on love in the Starlight Motel bar hold true for John's relationship with Bridget and their son? And after what the White Martian did to Middleton, can John and the Green Martian convince the Agency and their world to sing "All You Need Is Love?"

Here's all the info from DC Connect: 

Absolute Martian Manhunter #11 Preview

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist: Javier Rodríguez

Cover Artist: Javier Rodríguez

Variant Cover Artists: Dave Johnson, Werther Dell-Edera & Mike Del Mundo

Publisher: DC Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock

Release Date: May 13, 2026

 

Who’s behind the Agency?!

 

As relationships and reality crumble around him, John comes face-to-face with the Agency’s mysterious boss!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us. 

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter #10.

 

For how this series started, see my review of Absolute Martian Manhunter: Martian Vision Vol 1.