REVIEW DAY! 08/19/26

 REVIEW DAY! The week of 08/19/26 to be exact.

As said before, we will be doing one book from Marvel, DC, Image, and IDW with a bonus 5th publisher. All at random except I excluded most series I am not following as it wouldn't be fair to review something I hadn't touched when it is in the middle of an arc or at its conclusion.

1. Alien: King Killer #5 (Marvel)

Written by Saladin Ahmed

Drawn by Carlos Nieto

I had a problem with this series and that is the fact it feels like a completely different series that just had Alien slapped on it. The Xenomorphs are barely a factor with only one big moment that could have been fulfilled by any dangerous animal species (It didn't even use any of the unique features of Xenomorphs). But if you ignore the fact that it is barely an Alien story, it's an action packed revenge story featuring super soldiers, it is... okay. Feels a bit generic, but things aren't so simple as we saw the main character, Idris face how his siblings (Aka fellow super soldiers bred to fight the Xenomorphs) aren't completely vile tyrants and facing the true threat behind everything. It is handled well enough, but it certainly doesn't feel unique enough to stand on its own and it barely connecting to the Alien franchise beyond turning Xenomorphs into fodder for the main character and his siblings (Again, beyond one big moment) doesn't help. But the art is great, Carlos does his part perfectly in that regard.

In the end, I will give Alien King Killer finale 7 flailing Xenomrophs out of 10. It is still a decently written story after all with great art.

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2. Absolute Green Arrow #4 (DC)

Written by Pornsk Pichetshote

Drawn by Rafael Albuquerque

This issue deals with Dinah Lance as she deals with the monstrous Solomon Grundy who is definitely given the Absolute treatment. Managing to be more monstrous and terrifying than Grundy normally is, and Grundy is already pretty terrifying. We also get some more answers, including dashing any hopes about a certain Absolute hero still being around. We also got great action as again Grundy shows how horrifying and dangerous he is along with the Absolute Green Arrow aka the Longbow Killer. There is also more insight on Oliver Queen via flashback, which is nice since well... If you didn't know he is dead, then sorry to spoil it but his death is a large point of this series and happened a long time ago. But yeah, glad we learned more about Queen despite being long gone. The art of course is absolutely fantastic, Albuquerque is a great artist.

This gets 8.5 shock arrows out of 10 from me, Green Arrow is great and I look forward to more every month. The fact it got an extension to 12 issues instead of the original 6 is exciting but hopefully the creative team has a way to expand the story naturally. I think they do, but always something to consider whenever a mini series gets an extension like this.

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3. The Darkness #7 (Image)

Written by Marc Silvestri

Drawn by Raymond Gay

This issue deals with the immediate fallout of the previous one. So again hard to talk about the plot without spoilers, but it gets into the action really quickly and spectacularly. We then get a quick tender moment from Jackie (Our main character who on his 21st birthday inhereited the power of a supernatural force called the Darkness for those unfamiliar with this story) as he deals with the consequences of his actions. Before continuing the plot where Jackie moves to rid himself of his curse and get one over the Angelus (Think the exact opposite of the Darkness though doesn't mean it is good or kind) before ending on a cliffhanger that will have one wondering how things will go from here. The art is great, I am not the kind of guy that can really give criticisms on art but I do know it looks and feels amazing.

8 giant explosions of light out of 10, The Darkness is an unique tale on a gangster given powers and learning what to do with something inherently dark and this chapter keeps things going as Jackie struggles with that fact.

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4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #11 (IDW)

Written by Dan Watters

Drawn by Giona Zefiro

A tale of the Shredder as he gets captured and reveals that is not as simple as it seems. It is hard to talk about this issue without going into spoilers. But essentially, the entire tale is told from the perspective of the EPF (Earth Protection Force for those unfamiliar with TMNT lore) director as he recounts the Shredder's capture and everything that happened after. Showing how everything went down and why which was discovered after the fact. Then ending with a cliffhanger that sets up the finale to this arc which comes out next month. Giona's art is also striking and wonderful, got very little to complain about here.

8 vivisection tools out of 10, it is pretty predictable due to how the series portrays Shredder as someone who can predict everyone's move, but it is still all very entertaining and I am curious how this will all end.

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5. Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures - Pathfinders #4 (Dark Horse)

Written by George Mann\

Drawn by Caio Filipe

The Jedi are sent to search for the source of a new weapon that can kill through a transmission that stops the heart and brains of any who hear it. Accompanied by the titular Pathfinders whose job is to map out the Outer Rim of course. A lot of the issue is the group trying to get into the Listening Outpost where the sonic weapon is suspected to be at and the many challenges they run into. Ending with a mysterious figure revealed whose connection to all this is not made clear because there is a cliffhanger that places our heroes in immediate danger. It is a simple story in this part of the miniseries, but it has nice action and an interesting solution to one of the security measures. Along with good character beats to keep the pace going than pure action. Caio's art style is very stylized following the distinct look the Star Wars Adventures section of the franchise boasts.

7.5 radar dishes out of 10, simple story (Especially compared to the previous issue's murder mystery plot) but again done very well that I would still recommend.