Green Lantern Corps #8 Preview

 

Are we nothing but animals, driven by emotions? Does the Vulcan emphasis on logic make them superior to Humans? Or do we need both to survive? While three beings driven by artificial intelligence fight to help their makers get in touch with their emotions, some members of the Green Lantern Corps aren't so sure they want them back. 

They can all agree on one thing: No one wants to see the Starbreaker Corps devour any more suns. But will the Entities help the Green Lantern Corps save the universe without making us all slaves to our emotions?

Here's all the info from DC Connect:

 

Green Lantern Corps #8

Writers: Jeremy Adams & Morgan Hampton

Artist: Fernando Pasarín & Oclair Albert

Cover Artists: V Ken Marion, Rian Gonzales, Travis Mercer & Natacha Bustos

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $3.99/$4.99 Cardstock

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Release Date: September 10, 2025

 

A Race Against The Sun-Eaters! 

 

Part four of “The Starbreaker Supremacy”!

 

The Lanterns make a mad dash to beat the Sun-Eaters to Oa, while the mystery surrounding Keli’s glove becomes a dangerous threat to the Guardians!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

 

 Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this preview with us.

Spider-Boy #14 Review

 

Writers: Dan Slott

Artists: Paco Medina & Humberto Ramos

Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado; Rose Besch; Doaly; Natacha Bustos

Designer: Adam Del Re

Editors: MR Daniel, Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Ellie Pyle, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: December 25, 2024

 

Tabitha Briggs grudgingly let her son continue his superhero ways. Then, Daredevil abducted Spider-Boy to nab Bailey’s Hellfire Club trophy from his secret stash atop his news-making nemesis. When Daredevil subsequently lost the Golden Fang to Bullseye and Spider-Girl, the Man Without Fear forced Bailey to break international law by stowing away on Madripoor Air flight 359. The red-and-blue pillars of virtue furthered their crime spree by stealing an airport taxi, ambushing Enormo and Hulkette, and using their newly stolen Golden Fang to enter a contest against experienced fighters.

 

Can Spider-Boy help Daredevil win The Dragon’s Challenge? And with a mentor like Daredevil, will Tabitha Briggs ever let Bailey don his costume again? Let's buy front-row tickets, thwip into Spider-Boy #14, and find out!

 

Story

Mist, the Demon's Breath of the Gaping Maw, knows that Daredevil and Spider-Boy followed Bullseye and Spider-Girl's example and entered the contest with a stolen Golden Fang. But the Gaping Maw is an amoral assassin order founded on brutally and efficiently dispatching their targets. So, when Enormo and Hulkette bust into their headquarters and demand fairness, Mist sends Enormo packing.

 

The clan leader promises Hulkette her revenge if she waits until Daredevil and Spider-Boy lose. That may not prove difficult, as Spider-Boy shrinks from hurting his opponent in the first round. But that’s not a weakness Spider-Girl shows in Spider-Boy #14. Instead, the Hawaiian cliff diving champion, Maka Akana, happily disfigures her opponent for life.

 

 

 

Daredevil hasn’t told Spider-Boy what they are fighting for. But while he insists that Bullseye must not win the prize, Spider-Girl's mentor claims that victory will give him power over the entire world. Spider-Boy isn’t happy with Daredevil for stringing him along and getting him into hot water with his mom. But while both apprentices fight for their masters in Dan Slott’s story, Spider-Girl likes her mentor because he enables her to destroy her opponents.

 

As the Web Of Life And Destiny stretches across the multiverse, memories help people adhere to their proper place and time. Spider-Man sacrificed his memories of an alternate life with Uncle Ben to help Bailey stick in people’s minds. Spider-Girl’s mutant gene helps her copy other people's memories. When Maka stares into her opponent's eyes, she "remembers" how they mastered their abilities. Win or lose, Spider-Girl will leave Madripoor with more skills in Spider-Boy #14. But because she steals their memories instead of creating her own, Maka quickly tires of her accomplishments and seeks another easy victory. 

 

 

 

Art

While Gaping Maw soldiers wear Pandemic masks bearing a dragon design, the Mist’s mask reveals her mouth but obscures her face. Horns rise above her head, symbolizing her power. Paco Medina and Humberto Ramos show Bailey sitting in readiness while Daredevil hunches forward in need of rejuvenation. But that doesn't happen as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and the Spider of PS 19 in the East Village draw the first fight with a luchador and a monkey. The wrestler wears gold to signal his respect for the Gaping Max. The monkey fighting Spider-Boy may be as ill-tempered as Captain Barbossa's pal. Still, Spider-Girl and Hulkette demonstrate the same horror of Bailey's monstering out that prompted The Daily Bugle to label Spider-Boy “The Monster Among Us.”

 

Characters shine as they fight for ultimate power against muted colors in Spider-Boy #14. Erick Arciniega adorns the Gaping Maw headquarters in green, gold, brown, and beige. Bailey leaps above brown and gold rooftops as a ship anchors in Madripoor’s green and gray harbor. Pink and red enliven an outdoor munchfest when Bailey dines beneath yellow paper lanterns. He remembers fighting an opponent clothed in black, white, and yellow. Then, green-skinned Hulkette, adorned in her pink vest and purple shoes, returns him to the contest, where red X’s and color photographs signal that the second-round battles have begun.

 

As Erick Arciniega lavishes an appealing palette on Paco Medina and Humberto Ramos' likable characters, Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into white dialogue balloons. Words shrink for lowered voices, embolden for intonation, and swell for volume. Sound effects help us hear Enormo get his comeuppance, La Mota screech, Spider-Girl making Bullseye smile, and Daredevil mentally scarring his apprentice. Mahalo to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While stealing distorted memories of her opponents, absorbing their thoughts and emotions unbalances Spider-Girl. The Hawaiian mutant has only met one person she couldn’t look in the eye and inhabit their mind. So, she finds another way to destroy Bailey in Spider-Boy #14.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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

 

 

Spider-Boy #7 Review

 

Writers: Dan Slott

Artists: Paco Medina

Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna & Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado; David Baldeón; Natacha Bustos; Rahzzah

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 29, 2023

 

Madame Monstrosity changed Bailey Briggs into Spider-Boy, his friend Eli into Hellifino, and his mother Tabitha into her feline servant Tabby. Now, she's transformed his friend Christina into a Pigeon. But can Madame Monstrosity change any of the Humanimals back? Let's activate our anti-genetic modification shields, thwip into Spider-Boy #7, and find out!

 

Story

After Madame Monstrosity transforms people into Humanimals, she forces them to work for her. Madame Monstrosity promises to change them back into Humans after a period of indentured servitude. Sadly, she doesn’t know how.

 

Perhaps she might find the answer if she looked for it. But Madame Monstrosity prefers to dabble. To paraphrase the High-Evolutionary, she's not a creator. She merges animals and Humans to observe the results. In Spider-Boy #7, she wants to know how Spider-Boy made her forget him. Madame Monstrosity can’t be bothered with time-consuming scientific tests. So, the mad scientist opts for more direct methods.

 

Yet when Madame Monstrosity tortures Spider-Boy, she reveals her greatest secret. Bailey's Spider-Sense also detects that Madame Monstrosity is in danger! How can Spider-Boy use this revelation to help his friends and escape Madame Mostrosity’s grasp?

 

In Spider-Boy #7, Madame Mostrosity’s Humanimals face a choice. Either they accept who they are or cling to the belief that Madame Monstrosity will return them to their original forms. It is a test of their character. Will they remain slaves to Yesterday or accept who they are now? The Humanimals must choose to protect their friends or bolster the influence of a powerful ruler.

 

As for Bailey Briggs, he must use the knowledge he’s gained to help others. So, should he find a way to help Madame Monstrosity? Or should he place the mad scientist in danger?

 

What a choice! Or, to quote Squirrel Girl, Holy Macadamia Nuts!

 

 

 

Art

Dan Slott packs his story with characters, forcing Paco Medina to populate panels with people. Medina brings his A-Game to Spider-Boy #7, as Toy Soldier confers with Jarvis, Captain America, Thor, Squirrel Girl, Spider-Man, and Miles Morales in the entrance hall to the Jarvis Lounge. Madame Monstrosity activates her cattle prod with a smile while Spider-Boy's lips part to reveal his Tombstone teeth. Electricity arcs off the prod, and an image of the High Evolutionary appears before the glowing laboratory lights.

 

Tabby looks confused and frightened as Boy-Spider hugs his feline mother. Braving the disapproval of her porcine and equine supervisors, Christina pauses while hoeing a field as Tabby and Boy-Spider approach. Then Toy Soldier and Thor swoop in, preceding an Avengers quinjet. Drop your garden tools, Humanimals! It’s Hammer Time!

 

 

 

 

Erick Arciniega lavishes a loaded palette on Spider-Boy #7. The rising sun fills the sky with pink, purple, and blue as a carrier pigeon joins Spider-Man on his morning thwip. The Avengers’ colorful uniforms stand out from the brown and tan walls in the waiting area. Overhead lights illuminate Spider-Boy as he crouches in his cage in the gray laboratory. When Madame Masque departs, she slams the brown wooden door behind her. Despite her house’s Victorian exterior, the gray laboratory, halls, and stairways evoke a medieval castle.

 

As Dan Slott populates Spider-Boy #7 with so many characters, Joe Caramagna & Cory Petit do a Spidey team-up to thwip uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons. Toy soldier gets green italicized lettering in contrast to the dominant black, while extreme emotions may color words or balloon borders. After wielding electricity, one of Madame Monstrosity’s balloons begins to melt. Thankfully, the arriving pigeons and their large Coos in clingy light blue balloons transform Christina's beak into a smile.

 

Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

When Spider-Boy needs rescuing from Madame Monstrosity's lair, his friends discover Bailey’s greatest superpower. Amid all the Whoing and Cooing, Spider-Man battles a Crocodile with a flamethrower, Squirrel Girl gets a Toy-Boy, and Madame Monstrosity asks Bailey for a Forget-Me-Not in Spider-Boy #7.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Transformers #5 Review

 

Writer & Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson

Colorist: Mike Spicer

Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cover Artists: Daniel Warren Johnson & Mike Spicer; James Stokoe; Orlando Arocena; Natacha Bustos; Karl Kerschl

Publisher: Image

Price: $3.99

Release Date: February 14, 2024

 

Sparky Witwicky felt the call of duty. Like many veterans, he returned from the battlefield a haunted man. He lost his oldest son in a NASA shuttle accident. Then, the Transformers brought their war to him. The giant robots killed his best friend, put his surviving son Spike in the hospital, and left his hometown in flames. Where does Sparky go from here? To whom can he look for support during this traumatic time? Let’s recharge our Energon batteries, leap into Transformers #5, and follow Sparky's transformative journey!

 

Story

Sparky and Optimus Prime relive the horror of battle. One tour broke Sparky while Optimus' war rages on. Sparky doesn’t care about the issues that divided the Autobots and the Decepticons. All Sparky knows is that he tried to kill Optimus Prime, and the Autobot leader risked his life to save his son.

 

Starscream is all about sacrifice. He'll readily sacrifice anyone who fails him for an advantage that will help him succeed. After Optimus prevailed over Skywarp, Starscream sacrificed Skywarp’s Energon to power Teletraan 1. His lieutenant Soundwave then used the Ark’s computer system to revive other Decepticons. Hopefully, ones that won’t fail Starscream like Skywarp. Just one stipulation: they’d better be big! Bigger bots get you more bang for the buck on the battlefield, right?

 

Brains prove as potent as brawn in Transformers #5. Starscream attacked the energy plant where Sparky worked, but he didn’t channel the power at its source. Nor did he play nice with the squishy Humans and harness their ingenuity. Genius inventor Wheeljack recognizes Sparky's brilliance by partnering with him to revive the Autobots. So, Optimus Prime wins again because he sees more opportunities in accepting others than in squashing dissent and obliterating those who disagree with him. But don't expect that to dissuade Starscream from hosting another “Murder party.”

 

Daniel Warren Johnson contrasts the heart of the Autobots with the shrieking void inside Starscream. It’s not just Optimus Prime who thinks their fragile new friends are special. The Humans repeatedly tried to kill Cliffjumper, yet the smaller bot kept trying to help them. Another Autobot demonstrates an even greater instinct to save their new allies in Transformers #5. All the Autobots seek to include and protect Sparky and Spike's friend Carly as their clashes with the Decepticons rage on. Even if the Humans are smaller and weaker, the Autobots discover they have far more in common with them than the Decepticons.

 

Art

Daniel Warren Johnson interposes and compares Sparky and Optimus Prime’s memories of battle and loss as Transformers #5 begins. Yet Sparky sits before the computer systems in the Power Station. With his hands clasped, he stares at his toolbox. With his back to the Human, the Autobot leader gazes through the control room’s cathedral-like windows. When the two return to the dam, Sparky and Wheeljack apply the finishing touches to their joint creation. Like Hoover Dam in the 2007 Transformers movie, the hold of the Ark resembles the C17 Globemaster III that transported a broken and beaten Optimus Prime in Revenge Of The Fallen. Only Starscream bestows rebirth upon his fellow Decepticons in the Ark instead of the desert.

 

Sparky and Wheeljack’s invention spins at frantic velocity as it powers up. Just as Dr. Frankenstein relied on electricity to reinvigorate the dead, lightning surges around the Autobot that Optimus hopes to revive. Clashes between the Autobots and Decepticons remain as brutal as ever. The Decepticons hurtle through the air in a blur, disintegrate before energy blasts, or maul and crush the Autobots in their surprise attacks. Yet Cliffjumper and Carly stand together, their expressions equally concerned and determined. 

 

Mike Spicer's vibrant coloring breathes drama into Optimus and Sparky’s Power Room scene. Sparky and Wheeljack’s creation unleashes a tornado of blue. Explosions and fire bathe the dam in yellow, orange, and red. The Autobot that Optimus revives shares body color with Carly's pullover. Yet, panels that spotlight a leader's defining action replace backgrounds with white in Transformers #5.

 

Italicized uppercase dialogue dominates white and colored balloons and boxes. Rus Wooton emboldens the delicate font for intonation. Large-scale colored dialogue communicates shouts, concern, and outrage. Sound effects conquer backgrounds, conveying blows, cannon fire, and Michael Bay levels of destruction. Yet the red letters that fill the Ark's interior remind us of Skywarp’s unwilling sacrifice and how Starscream values the Decepticons in his care. Thanks to Skybound and Image Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Optimus Prime and Starscream race to revive their armies, Transformers #5 asks if war is an inevitable outcome of sentience and reminds us that good things come in all shapes and sizes.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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