Comics

Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica #1

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Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica #1 comic reviewThere’s a fun idea at the heart of bringing Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy to Riverdale. However, not necessarily this version of Riverdale nor this version of the DC characters. Something set more in the classic tone (like Scooby-Doo Team-Up) might have played better, but Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Veronica #1 struggles with a more adult version of Riverdale and (for some reason) the New 52 versions of Harley and Ivy.

Learning that Veronica‘s father plans to pave over local wetlands to make way for a new college named after himself, gets Ivy riled up enough to head down to Riverdale with her best pal. Most of the first issue is set-up, introducing the soap-opera nature of Archie and his friends and laying the reasoning for a pair of DC characters to show up.

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Batman #32

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Batman #32 comic reviewThe War of Riddles and Jokes limps to the finish line with one final issue to conclude Bruce Wayne‘s retelling of events to Selina Kyle. Finally putting Batman, the Joker, and the Riddler in a room together to end the carnage, the issue’s big twist is the role of Kite-Man who helps Batman successfully thwart the Riddler’s final scheme. It’s a nice moment for a character who has been put through the wringer over this arc. The Riddler’s reaction to the swerve isn’t half-bad either.

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Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #8

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Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #8 comic reviewAfter his brief encounter with Death and given yet another chance to redeem himself, Ben Reilly begins his road back to being a hero. This means attempting to make good on his promise to save young Abigail from her incurable illness and deal with the sudden appearance of the Hornet (yet another character who has made a recent return from the grave – something Ben knows quite a bit about) who creates havoc on the strip in order to draw out the Scarlet Spider.

There’s plenty of action here with the fight between Scarlet Spider and the Hornet, and the unexpected appearance of another hero. As for Kaine, it looks like his role in the comic is done (at least for now) as he doesn’t take the news of Ben’s second chance all that well.

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Infamous Iron Man #12

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Infamous Iron Man #12 comic reviewAfter last issue’s reveal of just who has been toying with Doctor Doom this entire time, Infamous Iron Man offers a team-up between Doom and Doctor Strange against Mephisto (who appears quite put out by the idea that Victor von Doom could perhaps redeem himself).

With much of the early panels featuring Mephisto talking directly to the reader and the later panels focused on Sharon Carter and S.H.I.E.L.D. being unable to process what they have just witnessed, Infamous Iron Man leaves things more open-ended than I expected. Realizing that Tony Stark‘s return is a forgone conclusion, just what will happen to the would-be Iron Man when the original returns as part of Marvel Legacy?

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Marvel Legacy #1

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Marvel Legacy #1 comic reviewIt’s easy to compare Marvel Legacy to DC’s recent Rebirth which helped restructure the DCU. However, this first issue is all over the map and far less personal than DC Universe: Rebirth #1. Over the past couple of years writers have done a pretty good job of fucking up the Marvel Universe beyond all recognition (points for those who got the Tango & Cash reference). Given it’s themes, and the need (for reasons passing all understanding) to create a team of Avengers during cave man days, comparing it more to an ambitious clusterfuck like Final Crisis would seem more apt.

Marvel has a lot to answer for. They killed the Hulk. They killed off Professor X. They killed off Cyclops. They killed off Wolverine. They turned Steve Rogers into Hydra, they replaced most of their big stars with younger characters and generally got lost down a rabbit hole without an exit plan. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

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