Miles Morales: Spider-Man #31 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Luigi Zagaria

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Ceci De La Cruz; Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee; Frany

Production Designer: Sarah Spadaccini

Editors: Tom Groneman, Mark Basso, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Cy Pedro Beltran, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 19, 2025

 

While Deadpool and Shift battled Midas and Output, Miles repaired Ellie’s phone so they could teleport back to Agent Gao’s hideout. After the two Deadpool & Spidey teams work together to knock out Midas and unhand Output, Miles’ storyteller god senses an interesting development. Then Agent Gao strides in, rocking a Greek outfit and a glowing sword. Is she channeling a higher power or just listening to Coldplay? Let's put on our vibranium suits, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #31, and find out!

 

Story

Agent Gao no longer speaks in terms of justice. Nor does she love the city she once served. Like Rabble, Julia Gao is hurting and seeks a target for her loss. She forgets that Spider-Man teamed up with her squad to help Scorpion, Gust, and Hightail protect New York against costumed villains. And despite New Yorkers arising amid the Gang War to overturn Fisk's Law, she blames Spider-Man for shuttering her Cape Killers crew. So when a mysterious stranger in a dark alley offers her a boon, she takes it. In Cody Ziglar's story, Agent Gao turns her back on democracy. All she wants is the power to enforce her will.

 

After Deadpool mistook Shift for Miles, Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Ellie clashed in a not-so-dark alley. But they’re (mostly) putting their grievances behind them. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #31, Miles and Wade confront the new-and-improved Agent Gao. Despite Wade's impulsiveness, Miles and Deadpool fight side-by-side to take down the hate-filled, high-powered herald. While Deadpool is over the moon to battle alongside Spidey, Miles isn't ready to make Wade his BFF. But then, Wade speaks of matters Miles doesn't understand while Miles talks to someone no one else can see.

 

As Miles and Deadpool serve up the A-Team action, Shift and Ellie focus on Agent Gao's Not Ready For Prime Time Players. It’s too early to know if Shift’s relationship with Ellie will evolve like Ms Marvel’s. Still, both understand what it's like not to belong anywhere. This crossover began with a high-flying phone call. After Ellie explains why she fought so hard to fight alongside her father, Shift yearns to have a similar talk with his brother in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #31.

 

 

 

 

Art

Agent Gao's blue, white, and gold outfit coordinates with her paid help. Miles’ purple and red suit bonds him with the equally colorful Kwaku Anansi. Shift's red-and-black links him with Ellie and his new buddy (who tried to kill him but apologized later). Bryan Valenza makes Agent Gao’s eyes burn with the same yellow and orange fire that leaps from her curved sword. After she unleashes an Alderaan-incinerating laser beam, heroes and mercs regard Agent Gao amid light green smoke. Then Miles dances amid a yellow venom show that would make Dazzler applaud.

 

Agent Gao’s curved sword hovers before her before unleashing the sun's energy. Deadpool performs acrobatics to attack Agent Gao from behind. Midas and Output demonstrate resilience as Ellie leaps, and Shift gets super-stretchy and pays homage to his trickster god. But after Luigi Zagaria shows Shift and Ellie taking a selfie, Agent Gao does a thunderclap in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #31.

 

Cory Petit thwips uppercase letters into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Miles' thoughts appear as white letters in red narrative boxes. Agent Gao's white balloons glow yellow, while 3D logos pop from balloons when heroes and mercs fight together. The dialogue grows bold for intonation, enlarges for volume, and rarely shrinks. Sound effects enhance snapping weapons, breaking bones, explosions, Deadpool getting jerked around, and Anansi's sweet champion thwipping for victory. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review. 

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

All great stories poise characters on the cusp of change. As Ellie tries to pull a sword out of stone and gods prepare to renew old conflicts, heroes and villains reexamine and forge new identities in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #31.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

I Heart Skull-Crusher #4 Review

 

Writer: Josie Campbell

Artist: Alessio Zonno

Colorist: Angel De Santiago

Letterer: Jim Campbell

Cover Artists: Alessio Zonno, Johanna The Mad & Frany

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: June 19, 2024

 

Trini’s Podunk Lil’ Team beat the Bubble City Bullets and The Plague Town Masks. They've swept the competition, defeating the Neo Navada Nets, The Bombers, The Dead City Drills, The Forever-War Warriors (Joe Haldeman’s favorite team), and the Nightmare-Ville Mechs. How will they fare in the Finals of Queen Mob’s Screaming Pain Ball tournament? Let's get our heads in the game, leap into I Heart Skull-Crusher #4, and find out!

 

Story

Screaming Pain Ball is the national sport of the American Waste. Trini Wastelander fell in love with the game when she was six, and no one embodied SPB better than Skull-Crusher. Trini dreams of becoming a great SPB player and joining Skull-Crusher’s team, but her town gets overlooked by team scouts. So when Queen Mob announced that a national tournament would be open to amateurs, Trini knew this was her shot at the big time. She created the Podunk Lil' Team. Her love of the game and loyalty to her teammates have helped them reach the Finals. So they travel to Crater Town to face off against the remaining teams. But first, they must survive the Tyrants' Dinner.

 

Trini and Cutter Dan dress up and mix with the tyrants. Marcus, the former captain and forward striker of the Bubble City Bullets, attends with two of his mutant players. Marcus messes with Cutter Dan's head, suggesting Cutter Dan left the Bubble City Bullets when Marcus abandoned the field and forfeited the game. But Cutter Dan is more concerned about protecting Trini.

 

While other players happily live and let die, Trini reveres her national pastime and feels honored to be a participant. In I Heart Skull-Crusher #4, Josie Campbell grants Trini part of her dream, reveals more of Cutter Dan’s history, and explains why Coach Blood-Bone found solace in alcohol. Until now, Trini’s love for the game, her team, and Skull-Crusher have kept her going. What happens at the Tyrants’ Dinner shakes Trini's world and makes her question her actions and goals.

 

Don’t cry, Trini! Use your illusion to defeat them!

 

Art

Logos and teasers of the teams fill the first column of a diagonal elimination chart. Key scenes from recent fights spill across the opening pages. As Trini, Cutter Dan, and the twins push their broken-down Dakar Rally truck through jagged barren hills, the ankle-chained Coach Blood-Bone sunbathes on the roof, and David, the Anti-Mutant Bear-Man, pokes his head out a window, defiantly wearing his hat backward. They behold islands and a grassy tree-dotted peninsula bisecting a lake-filled crater. Then they walk down the brick streets of Crater Town as pennants flutter overhead between the tall buildings. A flying saucer hits the team with a spotlight and activates a cannon in I Heart Skull-Crusher #4.

 

Angel De Santiago keys limited palettes to Alessio Zonno’s settings and character interactions. Grays, browns, and yellow steep Crater Town and an elegant mansion, mutants drool green ooze, and closeups are grounded in vibrant red, pink, and orange. A redhead in a scarlet-stained white parka skates across a purple background as a penguin offers Trini a green cocktail.

 

Jim Campbell fills white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes with uppercase and lowercase lettering in eye-catching fonts. Team names are stylized and often mimic 3D. Sound effects help us hear a zeppelin fly overhead and release a payload with an almighty wham. Cheering fills the air as a shocking crash accompanies a soul-crushing realization in I Heart Skull-Crusher #4. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

We learn why Queen Mob wanted Podunk Lil’ Team dead or alive (okay, mostly dead), Coach Blood-Bone tells disbelievers of David The Anti-Mutant Bear-Man to have a nice day, and Trini falls in and out of love in I Heart Skull-Crusher #4.

 

Rating 9/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

I Heart Skull-Crusher #3 Review

 

Writer: Josie Campbell

Artist: Alessio Zonno

Colorist: Angel De Santiago

Letterer: Jim Campbell

Cover Artists: Alessio Zonno, Johanna The Mad & Frany

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 15, 2024

 

Trini’s Podunk Lil’ Team has qualified for the opening match in Queen Mob’s first national Screaming Pain Ball tournament. But they lost their Second Striker after he transformed into a Super Mutant during their qualifying match with the Bubble City Bullets. Can the team bond with their replacement player, Cutter Dan, before facing off against The Plague Town Masks? Let's get our heads in the game, leap into I Heart Skull-Crusher #3, and find out!

 

Story

Trini Wastelander, Cutter Dan, Coach Blood-Bone, and the bandit twins are the only qualifying amateur team in Queen Mob's new tournament. Now, Podunk Lil' Team must raise their game to take on the professional teams. Winning the tournament is their ticket to leaving the wastelands and living in the Bubble Cities. They could even end up on Skull-Crusher's team! But this isn't just a competition between teams. The Tyrant Overlords hosting the games must impress Queen Mob. Failure to please her could cost the rulers their jobs, if not their lives.

 

In I Heart Skull-Crusher #3, Podunk Lil’ Team is in disarray. Coach Blood-Bone is tired of being chained to the goal and forced to play. So he drafted David, the Mutant Bear. He's the team's new Goalie. The teammates aren't buying that David's a mutant, even if he wears a hat. But when Trini and Cutter Dan keep arguing over who is First Striker, Coach Blood-Bone knocks the players out and locks them in an abandoned building. If they can escape and reach their match tomorrow, perhaps they have a chance of winning.

 

Escaping the locked building won’t prove easy. Arsenic True, the captain of The Plague Town Masks, did a deal with the Bubble City Bullets’ captain. He watches Coach Blood-Bone trap them in the building and decides to make their dilemma more deadly. Arsenic True has a history with Blood-Bone. He knows how to get inside the Blood-Bone’s head and remind the coach that he spent years in an alcohol-ridden haze until Trini dragged him out of it.

 

The bandit twins want to live in the Bubble cities so they can rob rich people. Cutter Dan wants to eclipse his late brother's legendary status. Trini adores Skull-Crusher, but her true love is the game. Screaming Pain Ball is her passion. It gives her life meaning and makes her feel part of something greater than herself.

 

In I Heart Skull-Crusher #3, Josie Campbell casts out tantalizing facts about the Bad Week that transformed the United States Of America into Queen Mob's American Waste. Trini and her team confront a team of brutal killers and a Tyrant’s deadly tricks. But mostly, Campbell's story asks who we fight for and what we're willing to do to come out on top in life.

 

Art

Trini pulls her armored van off Damnation Alley beside a badly painted sign for the Shrieking Crater. The bandit twins stand together aloof while Trini and Cutter Dan Face Off over who is First Striker. Chained to the van, Coach Blood-Bone urges them to resolve their differences. Then he collapses, alcohol spilling from a hole in his spiked mace. An overview of the Bubble City shows the domed arena at its heart, in this society where attending matches and standing for the national anthem is compulsory.

 

Trini Wastelander and Cutter Dan evoke High School students, while the bandit twins emulate Harley Quinn armed with poison darts instead of a hammer. David takes ownership of the coach's chain. The Mutant Bear wears his hat backward, drools, and eats honey. The Tyrant Overlord orchestrating their first match resembles a power-mad Hercules, while the punk ruler Queen Mob hides in shadow. As the frantic action of their match commences, The Plague Town Masks attack, adorned in helmets and masks from prior world wars. Yet when the game reaches its most brutal moment, Arsenic True’s mask transforms into a Raven's head. But then, Alessio Zonno enjoys exaggerating Trini and her team's features to heighten emotional moments.

 

Angel De Santiago lavishes a loaded palette of soft but electrifying colors on I Heart Skull-Crusher #3. From the twins’ green and magenta glasses to silhouettes outlined in purple as the team faces drooling David, to the light streaming through window blinds that colors Cutter Dan’s brown dreads yellow while leaving Trini’s headband red, De Santiago keeps each page looking fresh and vibrant. Jim Campbell slings uppercase letters of varying sizes into dialogue balloons, emphasizes the murderous gameplay with sound effects, and gives trading cards a 3D appearance. The teams' names pop out with street style and vigor as the announcer introduces the opponents, reminding readers of the spray-painted sign that welcomed readers into Trini's latest mad, Furiosa adventure.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Coach Blood-Bone confronts his unsavory past, Trini sacrifices her ego for the good of the team, and Queen Mob takes an unhealthy interest in Podunk Lil’ Team, the only amateur team to challenge her bands of professional bloodsport killers.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 Review

 

Writer: Amy Jo Johnson & Matt Hotson

Artist: Nico Leon

Colorist: Dono Sanchez-Almara

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Goñi Montes, Ejikure, Rahzzah, Frany, Ivan Tao, The Escorza Brothers & Nico Leon

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 10, 2024

 

Trini Kwan's niece Selena tracked Kimberly to her remote mountain cabin. When Kimberly refused to train her, Selena assumed Rita Repulsa's appearance and attacked her. Why would Selena want to hurt Kimberly? Or did Rita return to life to kill Kimberly? Let's grab our power coins, leap into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3, and find out!

 

Story

After Green Ranger Tommy Oliver failed to return from the moon, Kimberly extracted a promise from the surviving Rangers. They would never draw on the Morphin Grid again. Trini kept the agreement, but Jason disappeared while fighting crime as the Red Ranger. Former Blue Ranger Billy Cranston and Black Ranger Zach Taylor told Kimberly Hart they also utilized the Morphin Grid.

 

Way to let down the ladies, guys!

 

Kimberly awakens where her old life ended in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3. Jason, Billy, and Zach are also in Bandora Palace. Selena reveals that she wasn’t Trini’s niece but Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's daughter. Her father may have died when Billy’s Benevolator detonated, but Rita survived. Or at least her spirit did.

 

Once again, Kimberly’s fears over the power of the Morphin Grid prove correct. Billy’s invention drew power from the Morphin Grid. Rita used that conduit to send her spirit there. Now a ghost in the machine, Rita spoke with her daughter through the Morphin Grid.

 

Jason, Billy, and Zach used the Morphin Grid to help others. Kimberly avoided it to shield Earth from malignant forces. Rita Repulsa inhabited it! Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 tantalizes us with a glimpse of Selena's childhood. We don't know how Selena grew up, but we know her mother influenced her. In Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson’s story, Selena says she wants power, but her immediate plans involve emotional fulfillment. While seeking revenge, Selena lets her parents' killers live. If Selena achieves her objective, will it bring the satisfaction she craves?

 

Art

Billy’s Benevolator created a crater the size of Angel Grove. The debris orbits the moon, captured by the planetoid's gravity. Outside the damaged Bandora Palace, the Putties that once battled Rangers now clean up the debris. Inside, Jason—the first Ranger captured—hovers over Kimberly. Zach and Billy linger back, doubtless still smarting from their tongue-lashing in the diner. When Selena speaks to them from her mother's throne, the former Blue and Black Rangers assume fighting stances on the flagstone floor. Energy encircles them as they face the reincarnation of their old nemesis.

 

Dynamic layouts showcase Selena’s confrontation with her parents’ enemies, while inset panels reveal how she tracked them. Thoughtful camera placement keeps the action fresh in a now familiar setting. One of Rita's former servitors survived in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3. Although ravaged by age, he hobbles with a cane as he attempts to carry out Selena's plan. Nico Leon reveals Tommy Oliver’s final moments. His final act may explain Selena’s reluctance to kill.

 

Dono Sanchez-Almara colors Jason, Zach, Bill, and Kimberly's clothing to remind us of their uniforms. White energy pulsing through the blue dome evokes sunlight reflected in the sea. After a stream of pink energy signals Kimberly's departure, Tommy spies a child sitting on the worn wooden floor. As Selena reaches toward her mother's still form, her white hair and gray dress contrast with her mother’s colorful regalia and the crystal adorning the Magic Wand’s headpiece.

 

Large, black uppercase letters inhabit white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3. Words grow bold for inflection and rarely shrink. Colorful sound effects help us hear Kimberly’s attempt to break free from the energy dome and Tommy's struggle to reach the Benevolator as it counts down to detonation. Ed Dukeshire’s immense letters compare the power humming through Billy’s device with the one constructed to resurrect Selena’s mother.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While providing insight into Tommy Oliver’s final moments, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 portrays the perils of social media, the allure of power, and how clinging to the past warps one’s character.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Man’s Best #1 Review

 

Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote

Artist & Colorist: Jesse Lonergan

Letterer: Jeff Powell

Cover Artists: Jesse Lonergan; Trish Forstner; Frany; Jae Lee & June Chung; Dustin Nguyen; Ivan Tao

Publisher: Boom!

Price: $4.99

Release Date: March 20, 2024

 

After wars and environmental crises devastated Earth, the Tomorrow Corporation charged Captain Patel with preparing a new home for Humanity. Captain Patel brought along Dr. Winters, an inventor overseeing the terraforming equipment. Can Captain Patel and Dr. Winters reach Epsilon 32 and convert its ecosystem to save Humanity from extinction? Let's climb aboard Starship Horizon, take a giant leap into Man's Best #1, and find out!

 

Story

Dr. Winters' devotion to her education and career led to awkwardness with others. She brought her pets along to keep her company on the voyage. They guard her terraforming equipment from curious crewmembers during the day and keep her company at night. Dr. Winters also directs them through simulated battles in the holo-chamber. We don't learn why Dr. Winters feels her pets might need to defend their new home. Still, it makes sense to have people—or pets—prepare for the unexpected on an alien planet.

 

Captain Patel regards Dr. Winters’ experiments as little more than entertainment in Man’s Best #1. But then, Captain Patel doesn’t believe in his mission. Humanity’s cruelty and rapaciousness seem incurable. A family death further isolates him. He allows Dr. Winters to conduct her experiments, even if they drain the ship’s resources and detract from her duties. Still, Captain Patel has a more pressing concern. The ship's sensors no longer detect Epsilon 32.

 

Athos wasn’t Dr. Winters’ first pet, but the longhaired white cat leads her pack. At least, he tries. Porthos—an affable Golden Retriever--is his enthusiastic right-paw dog. Or should I say, his bionic right-paw dog? The problem pet in the pack is Lovey. The jowly terrier does what he pleases when he pleases, which inevitably dooms their simulated missions.

 

Pornsak Pichetshote fuels Man’s Best #1 with interesting character dynamics. Dr. Winters wishes Captain Patel would return her affection. Some crewmembers share Captain Patel’s disbelief in their mission. Yet Prichetshote primarily focuses on Dr. Winters’ pets. Lovey distrusts his owner and feels disinclined to follow orders. Porthos' exuberance diminishes her focus. Athos wishes he were a decisive leader who inspired his team to greatness.

 

Dysfunctional relationships are the least of their worries when Epsilon 32 suddenly reappears in their path. Captain Patel and his crew struggle to slow the ship’s momentum. After a turbulent blackout, the pets awaken in a wrecked spaceship. Where did the crew and Dr. Winters go? What happened to the terraforming equipment? The Incredible Journey has just begun!

 

Art

Starship Horizon propels an immense storage container between the stars. Captain Patel’s black eyepatch evokes the pirates of yore, while Dr. Winters' immense round glasses compliment her bouffant blonde hair. Jesse Lonergan’s loosely drawn characters give Man’s Best #1 a low-key appearance that lulls readers into this epic tale.

 

Lonergan packs pages with panels that provide insights into the characters without slowing the pace. From the simulated southwest landscape to the grid-like holo room, Starship Horizon’s crowded control room, and finally to Epsilon 32, Athos, Porthos, and Lovey travel through interest-provoking settings. Surgical implants allow Athos to control an exoskeleton, Porthos to generate a forcefield, and Lovey to fire weapons while hurtling about with his jetpack. Or at least when the well-fed terrier feels like it. Then there’s their simulated foe, a Klanker that punches projectile fists and fires lasers from its neck at our canine and feline heroes.

 

Man's Best #1's limited color palette provides contrast in small and large panels. Lonergan imbues characters and backgrounds with a sponged or speckled appearance. The weathering and patinas lend the story a distressed, lived-in appearance that evokes how George Lucas differentiated Star Wars from the idealized futures of earlier sci-fi films.

 

Jeff Powell places large, uppercase letters in colored backgrounds and white dialogue balloons. Words grow bold for inflection and occasionally enlarge or shrink. Sound effects help readers hear the animals purr, howl, hiss, and bark while the Klanger pops its top. Powell shakes the reader when the klaxons blare and the crew of Starship Horizon brave the perils of bashful Epsilon 32.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When a terraforming mission goes awry, a bionic Golden Retriever, a flying terrier, and a cat clad in exoskeletal armor must brave the dangers of an alien planet to save their Human masters in Man's Best #1.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Rare Flavours #1 Review

 

Writer: Ram V

Artist: Filipe Andrade

Colorists: Filipe Andrade & Inês Amaro

Letterer: Andworld Design

Cover Artists: Filipe Andrade; Rafael Albuquerque; Frany

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 25, 2023

 

Rubin and Mohan venture into the desert. Dilshan and Dilkush shadow the rakshasa and the filmmaker. How will this adventure shape Mo's documentary? Let’s dive into Rare Flavours #2 and find out!

 

Story

While their driver repairs his ramshackle lorry, Rubin takes out his notebook and continues his story. Less a letter than a book, he chronicles their journey. Into it, Rubin pours his longing for the café in Somarah and his concerns about Mo.

 

Rubin worries the filmmaker has lost his passion and wonders if the young man can reclaim it. Mo once made a powerful film that prompted Rubin to leave his place of safety and brave civilization. Since then, the old hunger has overwhelmed him. In taking others’ lives, Rubin put himself at risk. And for what? To find a young man who's dead to the world?

 

In Rare Flavours #2, Ram V further explores Rubin's passion for cuisine. The ageless demon adores the ingredients of traditional dishes. Their preparation becomes art, and consumption brings growth. While someone will pay for their desert excursion, Mo finally shares what soured him on life. The rakshasa seems unlikely to reform, but might Mo finds renewal?

 

Art

Filipe Andrade's wavy lines conjure a desert. Rubin and Mo share the cab with Manish. Despite his John Lennon looks, Mo's expression, posture, and movements suggest weariness. By contrast, Rubin's zeal shines through his eyes and unshakable smile. But even that palls beside their driver's glowing face. Panels provide glimpses into Manish’s experiences and ancestry. As they travel, their pursuers wear grim guises. Dilshan and Dilkush focus on the road ahead as they discuss the danger Rubin poses.

 

Bright colors give Filipe Andrade’s flowing shapes in Rare Flavours #2 a modern art appeal. Assisted by Inês Amaro, he shows their metal truck glowing with the sun’s radiance, Manish’s acclaimed ancestor, and a desert swathed in the Mathania Chilli. After their afternoon in the painted desert, a purple sky hangs over the travelers as they pause for an evening meal in a grassy field.

 

Bakasura’s commentary for Mansi fills scraps of light-beige parchment and yellow narrative boxes with black, italicized uppercase letters. Andworld Design’s attractive font also graces white dialogue balloons in Rare Flavours #2. Lowercase italics flow across panels showcasing ingredients and recipes. Vibrant lettering helps readers hear tassels blown by the wind, an engine coughing to life, and Rubin enjoying his meal while giant orange laughter explodes from a dialogue balloon.

 

Final Thoughts

Exploring the relationship between pain and purification, Rare Flavours #2 ponders what we lose when we exist solely for today.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Sirens of the City #4 Review

 

Writer: Joanne Starer

Illustrator: Khary Randolph

Letterer: Andworld Design

Cover Artists: Khary Randolph; Frany; Raúl Allén; Alison Sampson

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: October 18, 2023

 

Rome awakens in Bellevue Hospital. He wants Layla, the mother of his child. Instead, he finds Davi, another youth who loves the homeless girl. Where is Layla? Will this tortured girl find her mother? Let's leap into Sirens of the City #4 and find out!

 

Story

After falling through the cracks of the foster system, Layla searched for the woman who abandoned her. She finally found Diane Gold and exorcised the malicious spirit that controlled her. Then Lilith--Layla's mother and Diane's long-lost lover--appeared. Now Layla has everything she's ever wanted, but tangled emotions still rule her. Layla still can’t face the truth of who she is: a siren.

 

Regardless of how much Rome loves her, the Incubus knows the score. Layla loves Davi, not him. Sadly, Rome's street gang is growing impatient. Craving power, they want Layla and her unborn child. The Rat King hasn't found the street urchin for them. Still, he knows a way to get her attention.

 

In Sirens of the City #4, Joanne Starer draws us into a world filled with vampires and dybbuks, werewolves and gargoyles, and sirens who wield water as weapons. Like Layla, readers may find it hard to take everything in. Yet it's even harder to turn away from Starer’s compelling story.

 

Art

Jerome—known as Rome to his friends—is a wide-eyed youth with a sharply angled afro. He finds it hard not to love easy-going Davi and his “luscious locks.” Yet Layla’s braided hair gives the frightened girl an elegant avian appearance. Lilith—the mother of demons—would give Cruella de Vil a run for her money, while Diane Gold—who Lilith made into a vampire centuries ago—appears ready for her next fashion shoot. Yet Marisol’s Goth/Steampunk vibe is hard to resist. Marisol has tried to help Layla. But after her mother’s death, Marisol feels responsible for the coven of street girls who cower in an abandoned building.

 

Black surrounds and infuses panels in Sirens of the City #4. Khary Randolph's detailed black-and-white art conjures compelling characters amid detailed backgrounds. Yet most scenes receive a splash of color. Each character gets accented with a particular color. The blue of the sirens clashes with the Incubi gang's red. Yet from the beginning, Layla compelled readers with her blue eyes and blue-and-purple-tinged hair.

 

Uppercase black letters haunt white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Occasionally, colored text distinguishes characters. Thanks to Andworld Design, we feel Layla's rage as giant blue letters escape their white balloon. More colored sound effects enhance the action, making Sirens of the City #4 easy to read and as beautiful as the women who wield water.

 

Final Thoughts

While mythological beings battle in Sirens Of The City #4, a frightened, pregnant siren seeks answers to her identity and who she can trust.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.