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Jack Kirby wasn’t known for being subtle in his work. His art leapt off the page with bold proclamations about the world that is coming and the death of old gods, and we love him for it. However, the character of Darkseid remains the most nuanced of all of Kirby’s creations and as such he proves to be a trickier proposition for many creators than a hulking, stone-faced God of All Evil first appears. It’s very easy to get Darkseid wrong, but when a rare creator manages to tap into the message Kirby was trying to convey with the character, we get truly great stories. RELATED: Jack Kirby at 100: His 10 Most Important Innovations Thankfully, Darkseid Special #1 is one of those stories, and it’s no surprise that it’s written by Kirby’s long-time friend, assistant and official biographer Mark Evanier, who is also a celebrated comics and animation writer in his own right. Evanier and his collaborators Scott Kolins, Dave McCaig and Troy Peters do the incredibly simple-but-effective move of t

SPOILER WARNING: The following review contains spoilers for Marvel’s Secret Empire #10, on sale now. This week sees the conclusion of what might be Marvel’s most controversial event series to date, Secret Empire. Ever since Steve Rogers uttered the words “Hail Hydra” back in May 2016’s Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, fans from every corner of the world have debated the merits of the story, which placed Captain America in charge of Hydra while ostensibly rewriting history. Secret Empire #10 delivers answers to the fate of “Hydra Cap” and the status of classic Steve Rogers, and if you wagered on “Cosmic Cube shenanigans” resolving everything, you’re on the right track. RELATED: Secret Empire’s Generations Connection, Explained Our main story is courtesy of writer Nick Spencer and artists Steve McNiven, Jay Leisten, Matthew Wilson, Travis Lanham and Rod Reis, with additional art from David Marquez and legendary artist Ron Lim. Once you take into account that this is an extra-sized i

Writer Jason Aaron has crafted an impressive run on various volumes of Marvel Comics’ Thor over the last few years. He can do no wrong when it comes to the God of Thunder, and he proves that by using one of the publisher’s Generations-themed one-shots to examine what makes our two Thors (the original and currently “Unworthy Thor” and the Jane Foster “Mighty Thor”) worthy. RELATED: Generations: Thor Lays Fiery Groundwork for Marvel Legacy #1 Joining Aaron on Generations: Unworthy Thor & Mighty Thor #1 are artist Mahmud Asrar, colorist Jordie Bellaire and letterer Joe Sabino. It’s great to see Asrar and Bellaire team up for a Thor story. Some of Asrar’s line work lacks detail in wider shots, with one instance being a room full of Asgardian figures ranging from Valkyrie to the Warriors Three. It may be a deliberate artistic choice, to allow Bellaire’s colors to shine through — and it doesn’t take away from how impressive some full-page layouts of both Thors turn out. One example is

Rich Tommaso’s latest comic takes a silly premise and spins it into a surprisingly sincere spy caper, offering affectionate winks to Hergé along the way. Even for Image Comics, which bills itself as a company where any kind of story can find a home, Spy Seal stands out as an unlikely and quaintly-structured comic which feels different to anything else that its publisher produces — even though it clearly walks in the sneakers of several comics before. The premise is simple: we follow the lead character, an anthropomorphic seal, as he finds himself roped into a conspiracy to take down members of the British Government. But beyond the title and the whimsy which flies into the character design, the high concept doesn’t actually matter. Aside from a few rather subtle puns, the comic doesn’t have any interest in the inherent ridiculousness of avian artists, ravishing rabbits, and seal sleuths. The character designs are fun and create a distinctive look for the comic, but at heart this is a

As a 2017 comic book, Robotech #1 isn’t breaking any new ground, and maybe that’s the point. For those familiar with Robotech’s 1985 origin as an anime series, this book won’t offend your fond memories of the now-iconic characters and their even more recognizable mechs. Like the show it’s based on, this comic focuses on the personalities and personal relationships of its talented and interesting cast, and Roy Fokker, Rick Hunter, Claudia Grant, Lisa Hayes, Lynn Minmei, Henry Gloval and company are instantly recognizable. By 1985, American audiences were introduced to only a spare few Japanese anime shows that were translated into English. Two of the most popular were Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato) and Battle of the Planets (Space Ninja Team Gatchaman). The introduction of Robotech was a welcome addition, but it was soon apparent that if you missed an episode, you were far behind the considerable development taking place between its characters. In making viewers emotionally in

Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa’s latest collaboration launches itself not into space, but back down to earth, for a laid-back and breezy adventure series which handily keeps one mechanized foot firmly on the ground. In the world of Mech Cadet Yu, young cadets are trained at an elite academy in Arizona to become pilots. But as the title suggests, they aren’t learning to fly planes, but instead are being taught how to forge a bond with a race of giant robots who descend to Earth once a year in order to form fighting combat hero duos with their chosen human pilot. The comic asks readers to leap into disbelief, but spends the remainder of its pagecount developing this high concept into something earthy and relatively grounded, all things considered. RELATED: Pak & Miyazawa Reunite for Giant Robot Underdog Story, Mech Cadet Yu By this point Miyazawa and Pak have established a firm working relationship, following past work on comics like Code Monkey Save World and their creation of Mar

The first issue of Superb sets a cast of believable characters into an interesting and oppressive environment, but lacks the spark to truly ignite the plot into something explosive or unpredictable. The third release from Lion Forge’s burgeoning “Catalyst Prime” superhero universe, Superb is told by writers David F. Walker and Sheena C. Howard from the perspective of high-schoolers who are still dealing with the aftermath of the Catalyst event itself, which, one year ago, changed their world forever and made it possible for people to develop superpowers. To the book’s benefit, it only touches lightly on the shared universe it fully inhabits, instead ensuring at every turn that the feeling of inter-connectivity never becomes a burden or distraction from the new characters and themes being introduced through the course of the story. RELATED: Catalyst Prime Creators Explain Why This Superhero Universe is Unique The comic aims at a younger readership, but without speaking down to them

It’s a tricky thing, judging a comic that’s as far along as The Wicked + The Divine. Based on what creators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have said about its intended length, issue #29 lands around two-thirds of the way through the series. In a medium where a lot stories don’t end but rather change hands, renumber and continue onward for decades, there are two obvious comparisons at this point. The first is Image Comics stablemates like Sex Criminals and Saga, now similarly a few years deep into their run. These books tend to take a month or two off between arcs, and then essentially relaunch with a brand-new status quo — a time jump, or a major change to the cast. That’s not really the case for WicDiv #29. It does mark the beginning of a new arc, “Imperial Phase (Part II),” but, as that name implies, it’s the second part of a larger story, and the issue reads like a continuation. That means that this isn’t a particularly good jumping-on point for the series, so a quick recap migh

The second chapter of Tom King and Mikel Janín’s “The War of Jokes and Riddles” unfolds in Batman #26, as a new dynamic continues to be forged between two of Batman’s most notorious villains. Both darkly comedic foes figured strongly into Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s New 52 run on the title, but were featured in largely independent storylines. Here, King takes the opportunity to establish a backstory to connect these two supervillains, one that goes beyond their mutual animosity with the Dark Knight. RELATED: Batman: War of Jokes and Riddles’ Inciting Incident Revealed In fact, Batman continues to serve as little more than as a narrator, relaying the story in past tense to Selina Kyle, as revealed at the end of last issue. That presents no problem story-wise, though – King continues to excel with his typical superb pacing and structure, while Janín brings King’s story to life with almost lifelike precision, taking his place comfortably alongside the roster of artists that have bea

Eric Heisserer, the writer of last year’s Oscar-nominated Arrival and the man chosen to help shepherd Valiant Entertainment’s characters to the big screen over the next few years, returns to comics this week with a comic that feels clean, clear and assured. Secret Weapons takes the wreckage of past Valiant storylines and gives them a fresh life which, paired with the unclipped talent of artist Raul Allen, helps this debut issue soar off into the skies of Oklahoma City. The series looks at more of the forgotten “psiot” children left to fend for themselves after Toyo Harada’s program crashed and burned at the end of the first Harbringer series. With four young survivors being hunted and chased (with only their street-smarts and largely useless powers to hand), it falls to relative superhero Livewire to step up and try to protect them. It may be a simple premise, but the creative team are able to siphon out the rest of the Valiant Universe and really hone in on their cast of new charact