Return to Skull Island #4 Preview

 

COVER A: STAZ JOHNSON

 

Charlie turned Skull Island against its Human inhabitants when he provoked Kong into fighting a giant serpent, and Kaia won't let him forget it. As the chief races to save her tribe by relocating them on a nearby island, Irene brings Mike and her daughter Annie back to Skull Island. The crew who transported them seem more inclined to go big game hunting than conduct a scientific survey. But with Kong crying out in pain as Benito administers the vapors of Februus, can anyone escape the frenzied monsters and the elemental behemoth arising from the soil and bones?

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:  

RETURN TO SKULL ISLAND #4 (OF 4)

(W) Simon Furman

(A) Christopher Jones

Publisher: Titan Comics

FC, 32pp, $4.99, On Sale Oct 15, 2025

 

CONTINUATION OF THE SKULL ISLAND ANIMATED SERIES! SPINNING OUT OF THE HIT NETFLIX SHOW!

 

While Kong has been recovering from his last clash, a pestilence has corrupted the island and its many monsters have grown.

 

Now, in an epic battle between two titans, Kong defends his human allies against Yuggoth. Will Kong keep his crown, or will Skull Island have a new ruler?

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

Here are more cover options:

 

 

COVER B: CHRISTOPHER JONES

 

COVER C: MARCELO COSTA

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

Huge Detective #2 Review

 

Writer: Adam Rose

Artist: Magenta King

Colorists: Magenta King & Minimone

Letterer: DC Hopkins

Cover Artists: Pedro Cobiaco, Magenta King & Marcelo Costa

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 18, 2024

 

Detective McKenzie Tamaki wants to find a girl’s killer. The chief suspect, Manny, is convinced he is a Huge. Detective Gyant is among the few Huge who interact with Humans outside of Brobdingnag. Can Tamaki get answers from her schizophrenic chief suspect? Can Gyant assist with her investigation? And is the girl’s death in the cave related to the strange incidents on the moon? Let’s slip on our seven-league boots, leap into Huge Detective #2, and find out!

 

Story

The Huge arose forty years ago. Because most surfaced in Australia, the Huge expelled the tiny Humans and declared their new nation of Brobdingnag. Aside from the Doll Theme Parks in Brobdingnag, Humans and Huge rarely interact. But each needs the other. Many Huge want products that Humans make. A few, such as Stonecutter Mustardpanzer, welcome Humans into backpack hotels and transport them between continents faster than an airplane. The world has changed drastically after the Omega Event, but prejudice and hatred over the bloody war linger.

 

Park Rangers found Manny beside a dead girl at Belter's Cave. Detective Tamaki is tired of calling Manny’s cell on a megaphone. She forced her way into the prison and questioned him outside his cell. In Huge Detective #2, Detective Tamaki rushes into his cell and pulls Manny from a water-filled sink. She gives him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. When the prison psychiatrist arrives, Dr Crawford gives Manny a sedative and Detective Tamaki a lecture.

 

Manny has an intriguing link with Detective Gyant. Dr Crawford doesn't understand it. All she sees is how badly Manny injures himself when he invokes his psychic link with the Huge Detective. Detective Tamaki needs Manny's knowledge, and perhaps his psychic abilities, to solve the girl's death. Still, she wishes she didn't have to partner with a Huge. Detective Gyant may seem friendly and easy-going, but the Omega Event left an indelible mark on Tamaki.

 

Manny’s mother raised him to become a Huge. Manny believes he will grow so tall he can touch the moon. Until then, Manny tries to increase the time he can hold his breath. The Huge can hold their breath for up to two hours. Detective Gyant utilizes this ability in Huge Detective #2. While Detective Tamaki learns of recent developments on the moon, Detective Gyant searches the lake near Belter’s Cave. He finds another entrance that swiftly rises above the water line. What Detective Gyant discovers inside casts an intriguing light on Manny’s visions and missing Human hikers. 

 

Art

Magenta King's art has an innocent, childlike quality, befitting this story about people surviving the tragedy of the Omega Event. Tamaki's suffering is apparent, but so is her growing concern for Manny. Detective Gyant resembles Frankenstein’s monster. Amid panels steeped in bold, rich colors, his skin is gray. Detective Gyant’s yellow shirt and undershorts pair with another tragic scene on the lakebed and mirror the astounding events on the moon.

 

Magenta King & Minimone’s coloring gives Huge Detective #2 texture and depth. The handcrafted appeal also invokes a cosmic look. After glimpsing the distant white stars amid the black void above the moon's surface, Detective Gyant rises above the water in the cave. His yellow shirt glows with green and white dots, suggesting his travel through a nebula to reach a strange, enclosed world.

 

DC Hopkins projects black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. Breaking News reports appear in colored banners and as white letters in black fields. Sound effects convey Detective Gyant’s pain, the lyrics of an English folk song, and underline the dangers Humans face in Brobdingnag's Doll Theme Parks. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Amid Detective Gyant’s discoveries in Belter's Cave and an eruption on the moon's Copernicus Crater, Manny's psychic connection to Gyant increases while Detective Tamaki’s health worsens in Huge Detective #2.

 

Rating 9/10 

To preview interior art see my preview at The Dragon's Cache.

Radiant Black #25 Review

 

Radiant Black #25 Review

Writers: Kyle Higgins & Joe Clark

Pencillers: Marcelo Costa & Eduardo Ferigato

Inkers: Marcelo Costa & Paulo Daniel Santos

Colorist: Rod Fernandes & Raúl Angulo

Letterer: Becca Carey

Covers: Marcelo Costa

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 19, 2023

 

Stopping the giant robots from space came with a price: Nathan and Marshall broke Radiant Black. Recovering their superpowers meant jumping into a black hole, enduring more threats to their existence, and facing one terrible fact: Radiant Black isn't a timeshare. Which man will take sole ownership of Radiant Black, and how will it impact their lifelong friendship? Let's leap into Radiant Black #25 and find out!

 

Story

Nathan and Marshall are closer than many married couples. After the robots destroyed Marshall's home, Nathan left Illinois to keep his friend company at Marshall's uncle's house in Wisconsin. Their friend Wendall uses his powers as Radiant Yellow to perceive potential futures but struggles to see the best—or only—way forward. Thus, the dilemma remains: the friends must choose. One will become Radiant Black, and the other must become The Man In The Chair. Either that or these lifelong friends must split up.

 

Okay, well and good. Up to that, I understand. In preparing for this review, I read Radiant Black #1 online, available for free on the Image website. I also read the previous six issues collected in the thoroughly enjoyable Radiant Black Volume 4 trade paperback, which also comes out today. I figured I was good to go with Radiant Black #25.

 

Then the alien called .001 whisks Wendall, Nathan, and Marshall off to a corporate dreamscape: likely the one the guys visited in the previous issue. Their colleagues Radiant Pink and Red are there, and .001 tells them the history of the Radiant suits. Suddenly he’s using terminology I don’t understand, and much of what he says goes over my head. It likely speaks to long-time readers, but he lost me.

 

I'm uncertain if Red and Pink participated in dreamscape events, and fuzzy on what happened to Wendall later. Perhaps I shouldn’t have reviewed Radiant Black #25, but I was curious about the Massive universe and thought I'd done my homework. Still, I enjoyed the story and look forward to seeing what happens next.

 

Art

The font style is pleasing and easy to read. I like the way different speakers get colored lettering. I love the energizing sound effects. As neither Nathan nor Marshall is good at making important decisions or sharing their feelings, the font shrinks when either makes a difficult admonition.

 

The coloring reflects all the nuance and variety of our world. Characters have depth and vitality. Panels shine when the Radiants use their powers. When the characters visit the cosmic dreamscape, the bright hues invoke awe.

 

Characters inhabit lifelike scenes in Radiant Black #25. You relate to them and feel as if they belong. People and objects never feel superimposed or pasted in. Even if you don't understand what's happening, you'll believe in what you see.

 

 

 

CRUCIAL INFORMATION but also a SPOILER ALERT

 

Radiant Black #25 comes with two cover options. Events play out identically in each until the friends make a decision. Then their paths diverge. In Cover A, Marshall takes ownership of Radiant Black. In Cover B, Nathan assumes the role. As with Marshall and Nathan, you must choose which cover to buy and which path to follow. Either that or buy both. The two covers look like they form an interlocking scene. Just don't get into debt like Nathan, okay?

 

Curious? Reach the first issue on the Image website. It's free!

 

Final Thoughts

Dilemmas and revelations dominate Radiant Black #25, an exhilarating cosmic romp grounded in human foibles.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

 

Read Radiant Black #1 free on the Image website.