HBO’s Lanterns Mid-Season Trailer Teases Blackest Night and a Massive Hal Jordan Twist

September 17, 2026George SerranoComment

If you thought Lanterns was content staying a quiet, grounded detective procedural in the Nebraska dust, HBO Max just pulled the rug out from under everyone.

With only three episodes left in the season, the new mid-season trailer dropped an absolute bomb with its official tagline: "The blackest night is yet to come." Sure, marketing teams love throwing around comic buzzwords for hype, but this does not feel like an empty reference. That line points straight to Geoff Johns' iconic 2009 comic saga Blackest Night, where cosmic necromancy turns the DC Universe upside down and the dead rise to hunt the living. What started as an isolated murder investigation is suddenly careening toward an epic cosmic collision, and it is hard not to get genuinely excited about where this is heading.

The Hal Jordan Mystery: Dead, Cloned, or a "Hal-ogram"?

The new footage immediately ratchets up the stakes between Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) by confirming a massive twist from a decade ago. Back in 2016, following the disaster in Rushville, Hal took the fall for John regarding the deaths of the townspeople, leading directly to his arrest. That painful history slams into the 2026 timeline when John and Sheriff Kerry Kane stumble across Hal’s frozen corpse dumped in a high school football stadium.

Here is where things get delightfully messy. The trailer also shows Hal waking up alive as a captive elsewhere, sporting the exact same physical wound as John, right before the two share a tense reunion.

That identical mark is a massive breadcrumb. It directly points to the very same alien grafting technology that rebuilt John's skin earlier in the series. Did someone run that regeneration process on Hal, or are we looking at a biological duplicate grown in a lab? Online theories are running wild, debating whether the body in the snow is a decoy clone, an alien copycat, or if the "living" Hal John keeps talking to is actually an elaborate hard-light "Hal-ogram" construct left behind to steer the recruit through the investigation.

Hal has a long comic history of cheating the grave, and whether he is genuinely dead, surviving on borrowed alien tissue, or projecting from beyond, the show is happily obliterating the boundary between life and death. Add in a quick glimpse of Guy Gardner on the hunt and John Stewart coming face to face with Sinestro in deep space, and you can feel the cosmic walls closing in fast.

Why "The Blackest Night" Means Everything for the DCU

Now, a healthy dose of reality is necessary here. With only three episodes to go, Lanterns is obviously not going to stage a full-scale galactic zombie apocalypse before the season wraps. Trying to shove Nekron, Black Hand, and a multi-corps cosmic war into under three hours would be pure narrative chaos. What the show is doing, however, is quietly lighting the fuse.

While upcoming DCU blockbusters like Superman are lined up to handle immediate, heavy-hitting threats like Brainiac, Lanterns seems to be building the supernatural, long-term foundation for the franchise's first true shared crossover event. This delivers right on the promise James Gunn made when unveiling Chapter 1: "Gods and Monsters," where he called Lanterns an essential pillar of the slate:

"This is a terrestrial-based TV show which is almost like True Detective with a couple of Green Lanterns who are watching over precinct Earth. In it, they discover a terrifying mystery that ties into our larger story of the DCU."

Planting the seeds of a cosmic death prophecy in rural America fits that bill to perfection.

If this really is the DCU laying track for Blackest Night, the implications are wild. For that storyline to land, the universe needs an established history of fallen heroes and villains to resurrect, proving this world has past ghosts that can eventually be weaponized against the living. It also cracks the door open for the rest of the emotional spectrum down the road, paving the way for the Red Lanterns of rage, the Blue Lanterns of hope, and beyond.

Most importantly, it gives the DCU a grand, overarching destination to build toward across movies and television over the next several years. The low-key days of the Nebraska mystery are officially out the window, and if this wild ride actually leads to the Blackest Night, DC fans are in for something unforgettable.

Check out our podcast episode covering the 2009 crossover event Blackest Night!

New episodes of Lanterns air Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on Max.

Frank's Favorites, Issue #3.5: Talking Atomic Robo with Creators Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener

September 15, 2026Frank JaromeComment

This is something I haven't done before.

As a companion piece to my Frank's Favorites issue on Atomic Robo (you can check it out here if you haven't already), I was fortunate enough to interview the creators of Robo—Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener. Because Robo is such a hidden gem in the comics world, I thought a little more background on his creators and their process might be in order.

Let me get out of the way now, and we can hear from them:

Building Robo

One of the things I love about Atomic Robo is that someone can discover the entire series online without having to track down 20 years’ worth of comics. Was making the comic freely available always part of the vision when you moved to the web, or did you figure out how that model was going to work as you went along?

Oh, yeah. Accessibility was the primary concern when we were figuring out what the series should look like. Arguably, it’s even why Robo is a robot. Y’know, think about it. A reader who has never even heard of this series, they can pick up any volume, flip to any page, see the robot main character in any panel, and immediately accept that he’s super strong, super tough, probably very smart, and ageless. Even if he’s just sitting at a desk and answering the phone, all of those elements are immediately and unconsciously obvious from our shared ideas of a sci-fi robot. We never have to explain these things and no one would ever doubt that they're true. It's all self-evident.

What’s interesting about this, to me anyway, is that it’s almost a magic trick. Atomic Robo, our main character, is the most impossible thing in Atomic Robo comics — no one could have single-handedly built an intelligent nuclear powered robot in 1923, not even within the exaggerated sci-fi possibilities of our setting. But readers accept that Robo exists without a second thought. And that sort of unconsciously primes them to expand the suspension of their disbelief to accept any sci-fi idea we present to them that feels coherent with the robot main character.

Has publishing Atomic Robo as a webcomic changed the way you actually make the comic? Does knowing that readers are experiencing it online rather than through individual issues affect how you structure stories or volumes?

I’m gonna namedrop here but it’s central to the answer. Superstar comic book writer Greg Rucka once pointed out to me that Atomic Robo comics were written like a webcomic wherein every page stood on its own as a distinct narrative beat. I had never noticed this but of course he was correct.

Before Atomic Robo I wrote a webcomic, 8-bit Theater, from 2001 - 2009. About 90% or more of webcomics back then were one, or three, or four panel gag strips in the tradition of newspaper comics. 8BT was a full page in the tradition of comic books. But comic books give you 20 or more pages to read at a time while a webcomic only gives you one. So, I naturally gravitated toward constructing webcomic pages almost like short stories that just happened to follow from one to the next.

After doing that for so long, it didn’t occur to me to approach print comics any differently so Atomic Robo inherited that same rhythm without me ever noticing it. Not until Greg pointed it out, anyway. So, in a sense, Atomic Robo was always waiting to become a webcomic.

Readers experiencing only one page every other day can create some problems that simply don’t exist when they’re going to read 20 or more pages in a sitting. A particular page, in isolation, can leave a reader a little confused or annoyed if they can’t immediately turn the page where the problem is easily resolved. So, which experience should we prioritize, the page in isolation or the whole story? The instinct is to avoid those situations or to address any potential confusion on the page itself. But the former strategy severely limits what you can put on the page and the latter strategy would read as unnecessarily repetitive in print.

Here’s how we think about it: new pages are only new for one day while the print collections and online archives are forever. If something might read a little oddly for one day, I’m just going to let that happen rather than risk making it read oddly forever.

The Kickstarter hardcovers have also become a pretty important part of the Atomic Robo experience. They’re much more than simply putting the webcomic on paper, with bonus material, artwork, and other extras. When did you start thinking of the physical editions as their own thing rather than just collections of the comic?

Oh, from the start. Atomic Robo was a print comic for years before we put it online. We knew that most people would be reading Atomic Robo online once we started publishing the webcomic version, so we wanted to make the hardcover copies something special. Bonus pages, more Doctor Dinosaur stuff, high quality paper and covers. As an actual physical object these are some of the best collections in the industry. The stuff that's printed on the pages ain't half bad either.

For the Long Haul

You’ve now spent years dealing directly with the people who support Atomic Robo through Kickstarter, Patreon, and buying the physical books. Has that direct relationship with your readers changed the way you think about the audience for the book?

No. It’s a fool’s errand to create something for the approval of an audience. Even if you think that’s a good strategy, you can only react to the feedback you receive. Ultimately, this will always represent a very small percentage of the total readership. These are probably the most engaged and excited people in that readership, so it might seem like a good idea to indulge in their interests, but the more you do that the more you risk losing everyone else. And in the meantime you’ve lost control of your own work. It’s an easy trap to fall into and it happens all the time in webcomics which are particularly susceptible to that feedback loop.

It’s been my experience that it's better not to worry about an audience and to instead produce the kind of work you want to see in the world. That makes it specific, that makes it intentional, that makes it genuine. And people out there who want something like that will find you. People are already endlessly pandered to by the endless sludge of a dozen multi-billion dollar conglomerates. And they hate it. Give them something real instead.

You’ve recently moved to a Tuesday/Thursday schedule for the webcomic, specifically to avoid those long gaps between volumes. Was that something you were consciously trying to solve, and how do you think the new schedule will affect the way readers experience the story?

We’ve always had brief hiatuses between volumes. In the past these breaks would be, like, two or three months long while we worked up a buffer for the next volume. But the last couple of these breaks went over six months. Our production timelines have gotten longer as Scott and I have gotten older and we have more responsibilities pulling on our time and attention. Everyone is very understanding about these facts, but no one wants to go over six months without a new page of Atomic Robo, especially us.

How do we solve that?

We did the math and realized that updating two pages per week instead of three could allow us to get back to the more reasonable hiatus period of our earlier career. It also gives us the option to speed up a sequence here and there if we feel like we get ahead of schedule. We’ll see how it pans out!

Two Decades Strong

For someone who has never read Atomic Robo, there’s now a pretty intimidating amount of material to choose from. You used to say that readers could pretty much start anywhere. Do you still feel that way, and if someone came to you today and said, “I’ve never read Atomic Robo—where should I start?” what would you tell them?

I think it’s still true enough. Someone can come into the series from any individual volume without being lost and they'll have enough context to follow along. This hypothetical reader will miss out on some of the larger continuity, or what else makes certain decisions matter or certain actions more interesting than what's apparent on the surface level. But that’s fine. It just means this hypothetical reader will get more out of Atomic Robo when they re-read it. Which they should be doing anyway. The series as a whole has been engineered to reward re-reading. Every volume reveals something about the world that shines new light on something from a prior volume. People who have been reading the series from day one always discover new details and connections when they re-read the series. It’s a real treat to experience and fairly unique to our series. There just aren’t many comics out there being produced by the same team for decades, so they don't have the opportunity to plan far ahead or to play around with presenting the chronology of these events like we do.

The current era, Volumes 12 - 17, are strongly connected and benefit from being read in the correct order. Even so, I wouldn’t say it’s the end of the world if you come into the middle of that stretch or read them in the wrong order. Atomic Robo is always an exciting adventure.

Once you’ve convinced that new reader to give it a shot, would you recommend experiencing Atomic Robo primarily as a webcomic, or is there something different about reading it in one of the hardcover editions?

Oh, we publish in both formats so the reader can choose the one that’s best for them. The hardcovers are some of the highest quality books in the industry, but if you don’t have the shelf space then the webcomic is right there! Enjoy.

Ironically, even though I was a webcomics pioneer, I never really read them. If I’m looking at a screen I’m in work mode. I need a book to get me away from the screen so I can properly enjoy what I’m reading.

After nearly 20 years of making Atomic Robo, is there anything about the character, the world, or the way the two of you work together that you appreciate more now than you did when you started?

In general, I’ve come to appreciate that every single comic that gets made is a miracle.

With respect to our own work, I love everything that Scott brings to each page. He makes choices and changes throughout every issue that I never could have imagined or anticipated. Sometimes it’s something as small as a single line in a face that adds a whole dimension to the character’s expression, and sometimes it’s a whole fight scene going differently. And each of these inventions gives me an opportunity to alter the script (before it gets to our letterer, of course) to lean into whatever he’s given me to enhance the effect even further for our readers. It’s a collaborative alchemy I haven’t found anywhere else and it’s become my favorite part of the entire process.

I'd like to thank Brian and Scott for taking the time to answer my questions, and especially for Robo, Dr. Dinosaur, and all of the other great characters and adventures I've discovered throughout their time on Atomic Robo. I hope between this interview and my column, I've inspired at least a few new readers to check out the webcomic and maybe even pick up a hardcover or two. Atomic Robo puts the "fun" in "funny books," and we can never have too much of that in the world.

Frank's Favorites, Issue #3: Atomic Robo

September 15, 2026Frank JaromeComment

Welcome back to Frank’s Favorites, my own little corner of the internet where I get to share some of the comics that have meant the most to me over my three-and-a-half (or so) decades of reading. I hope that by sharing these, I help you find a new favorite book—or at least have a good time with one…

Okay, Issue #3. This is normally where readership starts dropping off. Issue #1 did huge numbers because it's the debut, then issue #2 shows a substantial drop in orders while the store figures out if readers are coming back or not. By issue #3, the numbers have stabilized at a much lower level, and readers are pretty sure if they're sticking around.

So with that in mind, this issue we're going to talk about a robotic pulp adventurer created by Nikola Tesla and a hyper-intelligent, megalomaniacal velociraptor with a medical degree.

That's right. It's Atomic Robo (and Dr. Dinosaur!).

For Science!

Atomic Robo follows the adventures of an intelligent and self-aware robot built by Nikola Tesla in the 1920s. Robo leads a group of "action scientists" who work for the company Tesladyne through a series of increasingly wild adventures. His nemesis, Dr. Dinosaur, is a super-genius dromaeosaur who believes himself to be a time-traveler attempting to prevent events on September 19, 2008 that destroyed his world. Robo also faces bands of female pilots known as the She-Devils of the Pacific, Zombies, and so much more.

Dr. Dinosaur shows up the most, though.

Are You Not Entertained?

I read a ton of comic books. I always have. Books from DC, from Marvel, from Image. Books that are the stuff of water-cooler conversation. Books that no one else has ever heard of. Some of them are the most ponderous, overwhelmingly serious stuff you've ever tried to read. Some of them are old-fashioned superhero romps.

So when I tell you that Atomic Robo is one of the silliest, most ridiculous, most fun comics I've ever read, know that I mean it.

An early Free Comic Book Day issue of the series is called "Why Atomic Robo Hates Dr. Dinosaur." It's a short story, but each page had me laughing out loud. Dr. Dinosaur insists that he is a time traveler, and Robo gives a lengthy explanation, based in what I assume is real science, about why that makes no sense. The two go back and forth, with the arguments growing increasingly more ridiculous, until the doctor tries to blow Robo up. Which, since he's a robot, doesn't do much, but is really annoying.

A year or two later, they followed up that issue with one titled "Why Dr. Dinosaur Hates Atomic Robo." Here, Dr. Dinosaur has captured Robo and is revealing his "brilliant" plans, Bond-villain style. Robo spends the whole issue mocking everything that the villain says, up until the moment that the Action Scientists arrive to rescue him. And Dr. Dinosaur utters the line "I am a genius. By definition all of my plans are brilliant!" with what I assume to be a straight face (he's a dinosaur, expressions are hard to read).

All for Free

Before we go any further, I need to say something that I'd normally save until the end—but this time, I think it's too important to wait. In the first two issues of Frank's Favorites, I talked about books that had pretty decent monetary cost attached. Planetary can be found in trade paperbacks, compendium, omnibus, and Absolute edition, each one more expensive than the last. J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema's Spectacular Spider-Man is available either through back-issue diving, or a rather pricey omnibus edition. Atomic Robo doesn't have the same barriers to entry. Yes, there are very nice hardcover collections of each miniseries that you can purchase, and every year or so they run a Kickstarter for the newest collection. But, you can also go to www.atomic-robo.com and read the whole series in webcomic form.

That's right. The whole thing. For free.

So you really don't have any excuse to not check this series out.

That's it. That's the column. Go start reading.

…

You're still here?

Okay, let's talk some more, then.

The Kitchen Sink

It's not just about the absurdity of the situations and the humor, though. Atomic Robo is a textbook pulp adventure, and Robo himself fits perfectly into the mold made famous by characters like Doc Savage and Indiana Jones. In fact, the big advantage he has over them is that, as a robot, he's literally timeless. His adventures aren't forced to be contained to the 1920s and 1930s, or else he's too old for it to be believable. They can take place at any time. In fact, later series do feature a time jump, so this has actually come into play.

As a pulp hero, the adventures Robo can go on and the foes he can face are virtually limitless. Mad scientists? Plenty of those (and they're not all dinosaurs!). Lovecraftian monsters (and H.P. Lovecraft himself)? Giant Robots? Zombies? We've got all of those. And Nazis, of course. Can't be a pulp without some Nazis—punching them in the face can be very cathartic. And through it all, despite encountering such truly wild stuff, Robo never loses his sense of humor—or his smart mouth.

Throughout the course of Atomic Robo's run, there have been invasions from the Vampire Dimension, adventures in space, and the vengeful dead, to name a few things. There’s even a tale in the Old West where he meets Doc Holliday (but wait, didn’t I say he was created in the 1920s? How does that work?!?) Oh, and something I forgot to mention. Even though each miniseries jumps around in time, showing adventures at different points in Robo's life, each one is designed to stand alone enough that it can be your first taste of Atomic Robo. Think of it as how Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian was originally published: the publication order and the chronological order of events are not the same.

Smorgasbord

I think that's part of what draws me to Robo and his escapades. When you get right down to it, this series checks so many boxes for me: nonsequential adventures, in the style of my beloved Conan? Check. Pulpy weird science adventures? Check. A smartass hero who's as quick with a quip as he is with his fists? Check. Memorable villains? Check. And it's free?!? What are Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener smoking—and will they share? (For the answer to that, and other burning questions, see my companion interview with the creators behind this awesome book here)

From the very first time I picked up Atomic Robo, it's brought a smile to my face. In fact, here’s how much I love this book: I have the first, I want to say, nine volumes in trade paperback (most of which my local shop had to special order because the book was independently published and very much under the radar), and when the creators announced a Kickstarter for hardcover versions of every volume to that point, plus a new one, I jumped on it. Hardcovers are always nicer, right? I then took that stack of trades and gifted them to my best friend, so that someone else could experience the joy of Atomic Robo. If the creators ever announced an omnibus collection, I’d probably jump on that too and pass the hardcovers on to someone else again. It’s the circle of life, Simba.

Robo is a great protagonist, with so much more character than I would have assumed a robot action scientist would have. Speaking of action scientists, the other supporting characters are all rounded individuals in their own right, and when one of them leaves the book, the loss is felt. The adventures are fast-paced, creative, and fun, with no one story arc ever exceeding six issues. The art is colorful and expressive, with so much more heart than I would have thought you could get from a very cartoony style. And did I mention Dr. Dinosaur?

Atomic Robo is just the perfect "comfort food" book. I can pick up (or click on) any issue that I want to, and I'm going to get a story that is part of a larger tapestry but doesn't punish me for reading out of order. I'm going to get a great adventure story with colorful characters and artwork, and I'm guaranteed to laugh at least a couple of times. Sometimes, that's just what the doctor (not the dinosaur one) ordered.

Did I inspire you to check out Atomic Robo? Remember, it's free on atomic-robo.com! Did it become your new favorite, or did you wonder what the heck I was talking about? Either way, I’ll be back soon with another pick from Frank’s Favorites.

🚨Marvel Just Dropped a Seismic Spoiler: David Colton Takes on a Shocking New Mantle in Avengers: Armageddon

September 11, 2026George SerranoComment

WARNING: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD for Avengers: Armageddon #4 and the future of the Marvel Universe!

Marvel's solicitations promised that Avengers: Armageddon #4 would feature a "key moment in Marvel history" that changes the Marvel Universe forever. Thanks to a leaked classified variant cover, the cat is officially out of the bag.

According to a scoop first reported by Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool, artist Michael Cho's classified variant cover for Avengers: Armageddon #4 confirms that David Colton is Marvelman / Miracleman.

Colton was introduced by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti as a post-9/11 Captain America who served overseas before Steve Rogers was thawed from the ice. Recently, Colton reemerged with god-tier abilities after receiving an Origin Box brought over from the New Ultimate Universe by Miles Morales. As Johnston notes, that specific box was crafted by The Maker to create an Ultimate version of Marvelman.

Colton's surge in power has already put him on a collision course with Earth's Mightiest Heroes. After defying United Nations orders regarding General Ross and the Red Hulk, Colton clashed directly with the Avengers when they attempted to contain him. The fallout from this revelation directly sets up October's Avengers: Armageddon #5, humanity turning against superheroes, and the November launch of Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto's brand-new Avengers #1.

For readers unfamiliar with the character, this is a massive development. Originally created in 1954 by Mick Anglo as Marvelman, the hero was famously deconstructed by Alan Moore in the 1980s in a seminal run that reshaped mature superhero storytelling well before Watchmen. The property later fell into decades of complex legal battles between Eclipse Comics, Todd McFarlane, and Neil Gaiman before Marvel acquired the rights in 2009.

While Marvel has spent years remastering and reprinting those classic runs, the character has always remained cordoned off in his own standalone bubble. Directly folding that godlike power into Earth-616 continuity through Colton is a monumental shift.

Credit: First reported by Bleeding Cool

Comic Fans, Rejoice: Comic Social Brings Tracking, Reviews, and Community Under One Roof

September 11, 2026ComicBook CliqueComment

If you read comics, you already know the drill: tracking your pull list happens on one site, logging reviews happens somewhere else, and having real conversations about your favorite weekly drops usually means braving the chaos of general social media. It has been fragmented for far too long, but an exciting new platform is stepping up to change that.

Meet Comic Social, an upcoming app founded by Superman Superfan Tasmin Humphries designed to give comic fans, collectors, and creators a true digital home. Think of it as the community-driven tracking, reviewing, and discussion space our hobby has been begging for.

Instead of juggling multiple tabs, Comic Social lets you log your reading progress, drop star ratings, write reviews, and show off your personal favorites right on your profile. Even better, it weaves in peer recommendations, issue discussions, and up-to-the-minute publisher news so you never miss a beat on new release day.

Beta testing kicks off in mid-September, with the full public launch landing in November 2026. If you want early access, head over to comicsocialapp.com to get on the list.

Check out the full official announcement below for all the launch details:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Comic Social Announces Launch of a Dedicated App Built Exclusively for Comic Readers

Comic Social, a new UK-based startup dedicated to connecting comic readers worldwide, has announced the upcoming launch of its app designed exclusively for comic fans and readers.

The platform will enter BETA testing in mid September, with a full public launch scheduled for November (exact date to be confirmed).

Comic Social was founded to solve three common problems familiar to many comic fans: discovering new comics, tracking ongoing reading, and engaging in discussions that often require jumping between multiple social media platforms, websites, and forums. Comic Social brings these experiences together into a single destination built specifically for the comic book community.

The platform enables users to rate and review comic books, track their reading progress, discover recommendations from peers, join discussions, and stay informed with the latest publisher news and announcements.

Features available at launch include:

Star ratings and written reviews for comic books
Personalised comic discovery through friends and community members
Customisable user profiles including the ability to spotlight favourite comic issues
Reactions and discussions for comic books
Dedicated comic industry news and publisher updates

Comic Social is free to use, though this access tier will feature ads and will limit users to reviewing up to 10 comics per month. There is also the opportunity to upgrade to a ‘PRO’ plan which will remove ads and allow users to review as many comics as they like. Following the release of the app, more features will be added for both the free and ‘PRO’ tiers.

"Like many comic readers, I found myself using multiple websites and social media platforms to review and engage in conversation about comics," said Tasmin Humphries, Founder of Comic Social. "There was no dedicated app built specifically for comic readers. Comic Social was created to change that. Whilst there are websites that offer the option for readers to share their reviews, that tends not to be their key feature with a huge focus on other aspects of comic book collecting. I wanted to create a safe, dedicated and easily accessible space and home for comic book fans and readers. A place where readers can discover their next read, submit their reviews which are connected to the overall comic rating and connect with others who are just as passionate about comics as they are. This is something that I am really excited about and hope to contribute to the current buzz of the comic book industry."

Comic Social is currently inviting comic fans, readers and collectors to register their interest ahead of the launch at https://www.comicsocialapp.com.

Beta Launch: Mid-September

Official Public Launch: November 2026 (exact date to be confirmed)

About Comic Social

Comic Social is a UK-based technology startup building a dedicated social platform for comic readers. Designed to bring together fans, readers, creators, and publishers, Comic Social combines comic discovery, comic reviews, social networking, community discussion, and industry news into a single social experience. The company's mission is to make discovering, discussing, and following comics easier than ever while helping strengthen and grow the global comic community.

For more information, visit https://www.comicsocialapp.com.

Frank's Favorites, Issue #2: Spectacular Spider-Man by J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema

August 6, 2026Frank JaromeComment

Welcome back to Frank’s Favorites, my own little corner of the internet where I get to share some of the comics that have meant the most to me over my three-and-a-half (or so) decades of reading. I hope that by sharing these, I help you find a new favorite book—or at least have a good time with one…

I'm a huge Spider-Man fan.

I know, that's easy to say right now when Spider-Man: Brand New Day is breaking all kinds of box office records. Right now, everyone is a Spider-Man fan—and rightly so.

The ol' Web-Head and I go way back, though. In fact, if I had to do the whole "desert island" thing and only pick one character to be able to read about, it would be Spider-Man.

One of the things that I think makes the Brand New Day movie work so well is that it's able to really capture the core of the character. The sense of responsibility that says he must help everyone he can, no matter what the cost to himself. The feelings of loneliness that such a life would inevitably cause, even if you do have someone you truly care about. The struggle against the personal darkness within.

The comics run that I immediately compared the movie to in my head, just based on those kinds of themes, was J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema's run on Spectacular Spider-Man. Running from 1991 to 1993, their run spanned issues #178 through #200, with their final three issues, #201 through #203, being part of the Maximum Carnage crossover. Twenty-three issues might not seem like a very long run, but they made the absolute most of it.

There are really four main characters for this run: Peter Parker, Harry Osborn, Vermin, and Doctor Ashley Kafka. Among the major themes are repressed traumas, family—both the ones we get and the ones we make for ourselves—and legacy.

Our Scars Remind Us

When the first story arc of this run, The Child Within, started in issue #178, I was ten (almost eleven) years old. The comics I had read up to that point were things like G.I. Joe and Transformers. I don't even remember what possessed me to pick this issue up. Up to that point, my main exposure to Spidey had been through my many action figures. What I found was a book that was much heavier than I was used to, but it was counterbalanced by Sal Buscema's clean and inviting art style. If I'm being honest, most of the themes presented in this story were well beyond young me. But even at that early age, I hated leaving things unfinished, so since the cover said "Part 1 of 6," I was going to get the whole thing, darn it.

Even though the main storyline of this first arc is focused on Vermin—a tragic character if ever there was one—we also get glimpses of where the rest of the run is headed. Peter is still dealing with the trauma of having been buried alive by Kraven the Hunter for two weeks, only for the man to commit suicide shortly thereafter. As you can imagine, Pete's not too big on giving Vermin the benefit of the doubt like Doctor Kafka wants him to. A monster is a monster, after all, no matter how they got that way. Right? Speaking of monsters, Peter's best friend Harry Osborn can't even watch TV with his young son Norman without seeing visions of his late father telling him what a "weakling" and "disappointment" he is. They don't get much more monstrous than Norman Osborn, and the later generations of his family are set to pay the price for his actions.

As Doctor Kafka continues to work with Vermin, Spider-Man remains skeptical and unable to see anything but the monster without. It's through Kafka's time with Vermin that she's able to find the child within him—confused, abused, and scared. One of the central conflicts of this story arc is "Can Spider-Man look past the monster he sees when he looks at Vermin, and see the boy Edward that he once was?" At the same time, Harry Osborn could use some therapy sessions himself. The visions of Norman keep appearing to him, and soon he's seeing visions of Peter—dressed as Spider-Man but without the mask—as well. Harry spirals out of control, even attacking the visions at one point. As for the real Peter, he's taken a little trip down Memory Lane to try centering himself again. After a stop at the cemetery where he visits the graves of his parents and his Uncle Ben, he swings by Aunt May's house to check in on her. Finally feeling more like himself, he heads home to his wife, Mary Jane. Too bad the sins of the past are waiting for him there, as he finds himself facing the Green Goblin—Harry!

Best Friends and Mortal Enemies

Now we come to the crux of this Spectacular Spider-Man run. Vermin and The Child Within are the starting point, but at the end of the day, the heart of these twenty-three issues is Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. Best friends and mortal enemies. Which will they be when the dust settles? Does the conflict with this Green Goblin have to end the same way as Peter's conflict with the first Goblin—Harry's father Norman? Or can these two men confront their demons and break the cycle?

I've had several best friends throughout my life. Sometimes they move away and we lose touch. Sometimes we become different people as we grow up and drift apart. I'm happy to say that, thankfully, none of them ever became a super-villain and tried to kill me. Because of that, I feel like I both can and can't relate to Peter and Harry's relationship. I was one of the first of my group of friends to get married and have kids. That absolutely changed my dynamic with the group as a whole. Harry has little Norman, whom everyone calls "Normie." Coincidentally, that's the one thing he'll never be, having that name in that family… Peter and Mary Jane don't have children. So there's automatically a gap between these two families. Add to that Peter's secret identity and the truth of just how broken Harry really is, and you have a recipe for tragedy. Which is just what we ultimately get.

Even though I keep calling them friends, Peter and Harry are really more like brothers. They've survived secret lives, drug addictions, more death than anyone their ages should ever have to deal with—and they're still standing. A bit worse for wear, as we learn throughout this run, but still standing nonetheless. Because of all they've been through, their bond is probably closer than that of some sibling relationships. Which makes it all the more tragic when the ghost of Norman Osborn and his "style" of parenting rears its ugly head and drops a Pumpkin Bomb in the middle of everything. Two families' lives were shattered because of the actions of one man who had been dead and buried for years. Relationships that will literally never recover. And worst of all, passing these sins onto the next generation, ensuring that the cycle will just continue on.

J.M. DeMatteis doesn't shy from delving deep into the characters' psyches throughout this run. The first time Harry confronts Peter as the Green Goblin, he uses one of Norman's gases on him that makes Peter face his traumas. Being buried alive by Kraven is first, but it goes back further than that. Peter ends up confronting his feelings of abandonment coming from his parents’ dying when he was a young boy. It takes some time, and a literal breakdown, but Harry actually ends up doing Peter a favor. When Peter tries to do the same for his friend by reminding him what a horrible person Norman Osborn really was, Harry doubles down on his insistence that his father was a good man and Spider-Man is the villain. But even still, when it comes down to it, Harry can't pull the trigger. Not yet. Instead, he leaves Peter with the knowledge that his best friend knows his greatest secret and could choose to reveal it at any time. How can he or Mary Jane be safe when Spider-Man's greatest enemy is literally living in the apartment below them? And what about Aunt May? Harry Osborn wouldn't dare hurt her—but what about the Green Goblin?

Although the heart of this run is the conflict between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, we take several detours along the way. Some of them, such as the Funeral Arrangements arc, where the Vulture learns he is dying and becomes obsessed with settling old scores, or a short arc featuring the Puma and delving into how hard it can be not to surrender to rage, fit the central themes of trauma and legacy. Others, like team-ups with Frog-Man and the original five X-Men, are notably lighter in tone and help to break up the heavier concepts of the run. But after every little detour, we always find ourselves coming back to Vermin or Harry Osborn. Harry descends deeper and deeper into madness, ultimately terrorizing not only Peter's family but also his own. He starts imparting "words of wisdom" to young Normie that sound like the kinds of things that Norman would have said, and before long, you can see the effect they're having on the child. After a disturbed and macabre "dinner party" for both the Parkers and the Osborns, Harry ends up institutionalized. But it's clear he's already too far gone. It all comes to a head in the final proper issue of the run, #200. This is where we witness the definitive confrontation between Spider-Man and Harry Osborn Green Goblin.

Friends to the End

I need to give a word of warning here. There is no way I can talk about issue #200—the culmination of this whole run, and arguably one of my favorite single issues of any comic book—without spoiling things. The issue is 33 years old, so I feel less bad about it than I would something published last week, but I still wanted to give you a heads up.

Harry has been released from the asylum, since the Green Goblin didn’t actually commit any crimes (I’m sure the Osborn fortune helped, too). As the Goblin, he snatches Mary Jane off the street and takes her to the bridge where his father killed Gwen Stacy. After trying to convince her that Peter is the villain of their story, he promises that he would never hurt her. Peter returns home to find Harry waiting with MJ, and he reacts without thinking. He strikes Harry with more force than he should ever hit a normal man. Fortunately, Harry is no longer normal, having taken an experimental version of the original Goblin Formula.

After that meeting, Harry takes to spending all his time in the Green Goblin garb. He continues to stalk Peter, who finds it harder and harder to hold back his rage. Harry announces a charitable foundation, the Norman Osborn Foundation, to open in the former Osborn home.

Finally, Peter can’t take it anymore and confronts Harry at the Foundation. They fight to a standstill until Harry injects Peter with a drug that paralyzes him. He then reveals that the building is rigged with explosives, and he plans to bring their saga to a close. They are interrupted by the security feed showing Mary Jane bringing Normie to see his dad. Harry races on his Goblin Glider to get them out of the building. MJ asks if he’s just going to leave Peter, and you can see the conflict in Harry’s face as he struggles to decide. Finally, he does rescue Peter just before the building explodes.

As MJ thanks him for saving her husband, Harry collapses. Turns out the experimental formula was far from perfect. Harry tells Peter that he’s his best friend as he’s being loaded into an ambulance. The last several pages of this issue are completely without dialogue, but it’s not needed. Harry Osborn has died. Peter Parker has lost both his best friend and his greatest enemy all at once.

With Great Power…

When issue #200 was released in May 1993, I was 12 and soon to be 13 years old. I was also all-in on Spider-Man, reading all of his ongoing series at that time. This issue hit me hard even back then. I’d spent the past two years getting to know these characters, to see them fight against each other as well as their own demons. Where Peter usually won, Harry did the opposite. He descended further and further into madness until he threatened to destroy everything around him. In the end, he made the right choice—but it cost him his life. Even at 12 years old, I knew I was reading something that was a whole lot richer and heavier than your standard comic book.

I’m an adult now, with a family of my own. The difference in perspective that gives me shows this issue, and really this whole run, in a whole other light. I have great parents—they did everything in their power for my brothers and me. They still do, even now, so I can’t relate to either Peter or Harry from that perspective. But because I have children, I’m constantly worried about whether I’m doing right by them and just what I’m passing down to them that they might one day pass to children of their own. I’ve made and lost friends, and so the death of Harry hits me harder now than it did then.

…Comes Great Responsibility

We’re in a golden age of comics right now. There are books being made now about characters and topics that 12-year-old me could only have dreamed of. So it says a lot that a relatively short Spider-Man run from over thirty years ago has stuck with me as it has.

I don’t think this run could have worked without its core creative duo. J.M. DeMatteis brought such depth and maturity to the writing, never taking the easy way out on difficult subjects. His characters acted like adults, not children playing dress-up. Of course, the very nature of superhero comics says there was some of that too, but always in a way that served the characters and their stories. Sal Buscema is considered legendary for a reason. His artwork was very classic-style and lacked the dark edge you’d expect from this kind of story. But that dichotomy is why it worked. He mixed splash pages with nine-panel grids, and there was never a moment when you questioned what was on the page. I think one of the things that gets lost in today’s flashier art styles is nonverbal storytelling and facial expressions. Buscema was a master of this—I can think of only a handful of artists today that could be trusted with a multi-page sequence that depicts the death of a major character without a single caption or line of dialogue.

'Nuff Said

As I said at the beginning, I’m a huge Spider-Man fan. He’s had more incredible runs and fantastic creators than I could ever hope to remember. Timeless stories that I read over and over again. But not all of them are memorable in the way that the 1991-1993 run on Spectacular Spider-Man was. Will we see other Spider-Man stories appear in future issues of Frank’s Favorites? Probably. But they won’t be at the level of this run. And that’s okay. If there were more runs that had the same impact on me as this one, then maybe none of them would be as special.

If I’ve convinced you to check this run out, you should still be able to find the beautiful (but expensive) complete omnibus collection in stores. The issues are all available digitally, either through Comixology or Marvel Unlimited. And I’m sure you could find a majority of them if you went diving through some back issue boxes, although I’m guessing you won’t find #200 in the dollar box. All told, it might take a few bucks or a bit of effort to compile the full run—but believe me, it’s worth it.

Did I inspire you to check out The Spectacular Spider-Man by J.M. DeMatteis and Sal Buscema? Did it become your new favorite, or did you wonder what the heck I was talking about? Either way, I’ll be back soon with another pick from Frank’s Favorites.

The 2026 Best Writer slate at the Ringo Awards is an incredible reflection of the medium's strength. Whether you prefer the mind-bending indie horror of Joseph Schmalke, the high-concept superhero reinventions of Deniz Camp, or the timeless superhero magic of Mark Waid, every single nominee has earned their spot at the top.

Which of these master writers gets your vote on the final ballot this year?

Breaking Down the 2026 Ringo Award Best Series Nominees

August 1, 2026George SerranoComment

Why it should win

It deserves the win for its razor-sharp cultural relevance. It takes a premise that feels uniquely tied to the 2020s and crafts a tight, high-stakes thriller around it. It is a clever, suspenseful, and incredibly fun series that shows the strength of small-press creator-owned comics.

The 2026 Best Series nominees show just how rich the comic book landscape is right now. Whether you are looking for blockbuster superhero reinventions or groundbreaking self-published webcomics, this category has something special for every type of reader.

Which of these nominated series has been at the very top of your reading stack this year?

Inside the SDCC 2026 Hall H Disaster: What Caused the Marvel Line Revolt

July 26, 2026George SerranoComment

What was supposed to be the triumphant return of Marvel Studios to San Diego Comic-Con’s legendary Hall H descended into one of the most severe logistical failures in convention history. On Saturday, July 25, 2026, hundreds of dedicated fans holding official first-seating wristbands were stranded outside in line tents as security abruptly declared the 6,500-seat auditorium full.

The situation outside the San Diego Convention Center quickly degenerated into what attendees described as a full-scale line revolt. For fans who sacrificed sleep, money, and entire days of the convention, the total collapse of the long-standing wristband system left a bitter stain on the entire event.

Forty-Eight Hours on Concrete

Lining up for Saturday’s Hall H programming is an annual rite of passage for die-hard pop culture fans. To secure a spot for the Marvel Studios presentation, attendees began camping out in the Next Day Line as early as Thursday evening.

Under standard guidelines, receiving an official first-seating wristband on Friday night guarantees entry into the hall the following morning. Attendees endured sweltering heat, slept on concrete, and missed out on the main floor while spending thousands of dollars on badges and travel, all relying on the explicit promise of that plastic wristband.

Bad Math and Empty VIP Seats

Shutting out over 500 fans who possessed guaranteed entry wristbands required a perfect storm of policy flaws and administrative miscalculations.

Unlike most major fan conventions, Hall H does not clear the room between panels. Attendees who entered early Saturday morning for earlier panels simply remained in their seats all day. By late morning, the room hit maximum capacity, resulting in virtually zero audience turnover for the rest of the day.

On top of a stagnant room, convention staff severely miscalculated the precise ratio of available general admission seats to distributed wristbands. Security distributed far more wristbands than there were open chairs.

Compounding the space shortage were massive VIP seat holds. Initial reports indicated that as many as 397 seats inside the auditorium were held empty for Marvel talent, press, and industry guests. Holding a massive block of reserved seats in an already over-capacity room directly stripped access away from general wristband holders waiting outside.

Lax security checkpoints sealed the disaster. Attendees across social media reported rampant line-cutting and individuals entering the hall using counterfeit wristbands. Security personnel failed to enforce strict verification at key entry chutes, allowing non-wristband holders to claim seats ahead of fans who had camped out overnight.

Chaos in the Tents while Marvel Delays the Stage

By late Saturday afternoon, tension outside Hall H reached a breaking point. Security personnel informed the crowd trapped in overflow tents that they would not be admitted. Having received no official updates for hours while standing in the sun, angry attendees confronted staff, demanding accountability for why their wristbands were being ignored.

Inside the hall, the atmosphere was equally chaotic as the Marvel panel experienced significant delays. To pacify the waiting audience while logistics were sorted out, staff handed out Doctor Doom masks while piping motorcycle engine sounds through the speakers.

When Kevin Feige and his guests finally took the stage, Marvel delivered massive announcements, including major casting reveals and surprise footage. The fact that turned-away fans missed these historic reveals live after adhering to every single rule only added salt to the wound.

Where San Diego Comic-Con Goes From Here

At the end of the day, Hall H relies entirely on fan passion. People fly in from around the world, spend thousands of dollars, and happily sleep on sidewalks just to share a room with the creators and stories they love. When a system built on that kind of dedication breaks down, it hurts the community most. Whether Comic-Con International shifts to a digital reservation system or starts clearing the hall between panels, something has to give. The fans who showed up, followed every rule, and gave up their weekend deserved better than a locked door.

Image Comics Hit "Final Boss" is Becoming a Hybrid Beat 'Em Up Video Game

July 14, 2026George SerranoComment

The comic book world and the gaming industry are about to collide in a massive way. Just ahead of Comic-Con International 2026 in San Diego, publisher Bit Bot Media dropped a bombshell announcement. They are partnering with acclaimed comic writer and artist Tyler Kirkham to adapt his hit Image Comics series, Final Boss, into an official video game.

Even better news for fans of retro gaming and modern fighters alike: this is not your run-of-the-mill adaptation. The Final Boss video game is a genre-bending experience that shifts from a retro pixel side-scroller into a 3D fighting game.

Check out the official details below, including a legendary creative team and a killer soundtrack.

What is the Final Boss Comic Book Series?

For those who have not yet dived into the series, *Final Boss* is one of the biggest breakout successes in recent comic history. Created, written, and illustrated by Tyler Kirkham, a fan-favorite veteran known for his stellar work on *Amazing Spider-Man*, *Green Lantern*, and *X-Men*, the series was an instant hit. The debut issue sold out immediately at the distributor level, prompting quick second printings to keep up with intense reader demand.

The story follows Tommy Brazen, an ex-street brawler turned powered-up mercenary. Tommy soon discovers that his family secrets and his own violent past are connected to a massive, global conspiracy. The comic itself was heavily inspired by Kirkham's deep love for classic arcade beat 'em ups, fighting games, and over-the-top action cinema. Now, that exact DNA is being put directly back into the hands of players.

A Unique Hybrid Gameplay Experience

Rather than sticking to a single genre, Bit Bot Media and their in-house studio, Mecanimal Games, are building a hybrid experience that mirrors the escalation of the comic.

The game supports one to four players in classic local couch co-op. It starts as a beautifully detailed pixel-art side-scrolling brawler. You and your friends will fight waves of grunts and progress through dangerous environments, channeling the energy of arcade classics like *Streets of Rage* or *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles*.

The 3D Fighting Twist

Once you reach the end of a stage, the gameplay completely transforms. Animated comic book panels transition the scene as the camera tightens up. The game then shifts seamlessly into a focused, one-on-one 3D arena fighting game. It is a brilliant way to handle boss fights, turning a chaotic street brawl into a personal, high-stakes duel.

A Powerhouse Creative Team

Tyler Kirkham is heavily involved in the project as a key creative collaborator to ensure the game remains entirely faithful to his original vision. Joining him are some massive industry veterans:

Frank O'Connor - Serving as Bit Bot's Creative Director, O'Connor is the former Franchise Creative Director behind legendary gaming franchises like *Halo* and *Perfect Dark*.

Joshua Viola: - Bit Bot co-owner and producer, who noted that Kirkham's comic already felt like a video game waiting to happen.

Celldweller - The acclaimed electronic rock musician and Bit Bot co-owner is officially on board to compose an original, high-octane soundtrack for the game.

"Final Boss was born from my love of classic arcade games, fighting games, action movies, and comics," Kirkham shared in the press release. "Working directly with Bit Bot allows us to translate that DNA into a video game that feels authentic to the comic while expanding the world in exciting new ways."

How to Play the Final Boss Video Game

While we do not have an official release date just yet, the hype train is officially leaving the station. PC gamers can head over to Steam right now to add the game to their wishlist.

For more updates on the project as San Diego Comic-Con approaches, you can sign up for the newsletter at the official Bit Bot website or follow their social media channels.

Are you a fan of Tyler Kirkham's independent work? Are you excited to see Tommy Brazen transition from the comic page to the gaming screen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion over on our official Comic Book Clique Discord server.

Frank's Favorites, Issue #1: Planetary

July 12, 2026Frank JaromeComment

Welcome to Frank’s Favorites, my own little corner of the internet where I get to share some of the comics that have meant the most to me over my three-and-a-half (or so) decades of reading. I hope that by sharing these, I help you find a new favorite book—or at least have a good time with one…

If you told me right now to take all the comics I’ve ever read and come up with the top five or ten, I don’t know if I could do it. I’ve read a ton of great books over the years (hence this column). What I can tell you is that Planetary by Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, and Laura Martin would absolutely be on that list.

The Elephant in the Room

Today, talking about this book is complicated. It would be irresponsible of me not to acknowledge the misconduct allegations made against Ellis by the group So Many of Us. I in no way excuse or condone the actions he’s been accused of, nor is it up to me to determine his innocence or guilt. Each of us must decide how we feel about him and his work. In the case of Planetary specifically, it is the work of multiple creators, not just Ellis—in fact, many consider it to be the late John Cassaday’s magnum opus.

I’m one of those people.

Archaeologists of the Impossible

The elevator pitch for Planetary is that it’s about a team of “archaeologists of the impossible” who work to unearth the secret history of the world. From that starting point, the series both celebrates and deconstructs pulp and superhero fiction, often using pastiches or homages to familiar characters.

The main cast consists of three names: Elijah Snow, a 100-year-old man with memory issues and cold-based abilities; Jakita Wagner, a woman strong of both body and will; and the Drummer, a man who is never without his drumsticks and can communicate with machines. This trio has been employed by the Planetary Society under the direction of the mysterious Fourth Man, whose identity is one of the overarching mysteries for the first half of the series.

Paradigm Shift

In a way, Planetary reminds me of the anime Trigun. For roughly the first half, the stories largely stand alone and aren’t as grim in tone. But once we hit the midpoint, things change. In Trigun, we learn the dark truth behind Vash the Stampede. In Planetary, we learn who the Fourth Man really is, and the true villains of the piece—the Four, an evil version of the Fantastic Four—move to the forefront. The characters and the overarching mission remain the same, but events move in a much darker direction overall.

Part of what keeps me going back to Planetary time and again is the sheer variety of stories it tells. In one issue, they might interact with a Man of Bronze not unlike Doc Savage, then in the next one, they’re learning the origins of the first kaiju. Through each story, we get insights into the characters, glimpses into their larger world, and commentary on the art form of comics itself.

You could take away everything else—the scripts, the characters, the colors—and leave only Cassaday’s artwork, and you’d still have a strong contender for “one of the best comics of all time.” His artwork is that good. Combine that with Martin’s colors, and yes, Ellis’s scripts, and you get a finished product that is so good it’s almost unfair to other comics that must share shelf space with it.

Cassaday draws everything with a high level of detail and a perfect combination of realism and the fantastical. He’s able to effortlessly mimic the looks and styles of countless different genres—in the first three issues alone, we get Doc Savage-inspired pulp, kaiju craziness, and a John Woo-inspired ghostly revenge story in Hong Kong. Issue after issue, he just keeps topping himself.

Journey of 1,000 Miles

Planetary ran for a total of 27 issues, released between 1999 and 2009. Originally planned as a 24-issue bimonthly series, it was placed on hold for several years due to Ellis being ill for some time. Cassaday's commitments to other books like Astonishing X-Men with Joss Whedon (which experienced several delays of its own) also kept the book from maintaining a regular schedule.

If you are checking this series out for the first time now, you have a distinct advantage. You can actually read the whole thing at once and not have to wait literally years between issues (issue #27 came out three years after #26). In fact, DC Comics is releasing a softcover Compendium of the complete series, including three crossover one-shots featuring The Authority, the JLA, and Batman, on July 14. I couldn't have timed this column any better if I'd planned it, eh?

Why It Made the List

I think by now I’ve given you enough information to decide if Planetary is for you or not. Now I’d like to talk a bit about why it definitely is for me.

Planetary came at just the right time—the years before it had definitely disenchanted me with comics overall. I had stuck it out through the entirety of Spider-Man’s Clone Saga, made it through Heroes Reborn, and watched Gotham City get hit twice by a plague and once by an earthquake in way too short a period of time. Plus, I’d gotten more into the idea of the pulps, thanks to movies like The Phantom, The Rocketeer, and The Mummy. So the idea of an original story that still had familiar-looking characters and concepts was right up my alley.

The fact that I could pick up an issue and get a stand-alone story was an absolute breath of fresh air after countless multi-title crossovers. Ellis’s anarchistic tone spoke to 19-year-old me. And Cassaday’s art, combined with Martin’s colors, absolutely blew my mind. I was chomping at the bit for more.

As time (and delays) passed, my enthusiasm wavered. There was a point where I didn’t even realize new issues had come out. I eventually realized I’d missed some, and the bonus then was that I got to read several at once. It was like hanging out with an old friend that I hadn’t seen for a while, not for any bad reason but just because we kept missing each other.

The decade between when Planetary began and when it ended included a huge explosion of talent and great comics. By the time the series finally ended, my enthusiasm had cooled greatly and I was buying way too many books every week. It wasn’t until years later, when I reread the whole series at once, that I truly realized just how special it was. Since then, I’ve owned Planetary in multiple formats and revisit it regularly. I tell anyone who will listen that they should check it out. Phrases like “one of a kind,” “ahead of its time,” and “lightning in a bottle” get thrown around a lot, but they all absolutely apply here. Despite the fact that I already own the Absolute Edition and the Omnibus, there is a good chance that I’ll be buying the Planetary Compendium too—those big hardcovers are heavy, after all—and I hope to see you at the shop picking up a copy of your own.

You won’t regret it.

Did I inspire you to check out Planetary? Did it become your new favorite, or did you wonder what the heck I was talking about? Either way, I’ll be back soon with another pick from Frank’s Favorites.

Comic Legend John Byrne Blasts Donald Trump " It Feels Like Evil Has Won."

July 4, 2026George SerranoComment

The comic book industry is no stranger to political discourse, but legendary creator John Byrne has sent shockwaves through the community with a biting critique of President Donald Trump. Speaking to The New York Times, the influential writer and artist offered a blunt, somber evaluation of the current political landscape, framing Trump's presidency in a way that bridges contemporary news with classic comic lore.

"It feels like evil has won," Byrne stated flatly during the interview. "I look at Washington and go, oh my God, this is the [guy] who I modeled my Lex Luthor in part on, back when he was just a big noise in business in New York."

While the connection between Trump and the modern iteration of Superman’s greatest foe has long been a piece of comic history trivia, Byrne’s direct, public lashing of a sitting president marks a significant moment for both pop culture and political commentary.

Why Byrne's Political Backlash Is Turning Heads

What makes these statements genuinely noteworthy is Byrne's long-standing reputation within the comic book industry. Throughout his decades-long career, which includes defining runs on Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Alpha Flight, and She-Hulk, Byrne has frequently been viewed by fans and insiders as holding conservative or right-leaning perspectives.

While public perception does not always perfectly encapsulate a creator's private political beliefs, his traditional reputation makes his explicit, harsh criticism of Trump particularly fascinating. For many fans, this public pushback is being read as a sign that frustration with the current administration crosses traditional partisan divides, proving that the reaction to the political status quo extends well beyond standard political lines.

The Roots of the Criticism Lies In Byrne’s View On Corporate Villainy

To understand the weight behind Byrne’s frustration, you have to look back to his landmark 1986 reboot of Superman in the miniseries The Man of Steel. Collaborating with writer Marv Wolfman, Byrne completely reinvented Lex Luthor, stripping away his silver-age "mad scientist" jumpsuits and secret underground lairs.

Instead, they realized a modern audience would find an untouchable corporate titan far more terrifying. Byrne recast Luthor as an egotistical, billionaire executive who hid his criminal operations behind the corporate shield of LexCorp. He was a man obsessed with his own public image, plastering his name across skyscrapers and demanding total adoration from Metropolis.

To build this version of Lex, Byrne pulled heavily from the prominent, ostentatiously wealthy tycoons dominating the 1980s media landscape, with Trump serving as part of the primary visual and thematic tapestry. Seeing the personification of that 1980s corporate greed reach the absolute pinnacle of real-world political power is what clearly drove Byrne’s sharp commentary to the Times.

Life Imitates Art

The historical parallels between Byrne's work and the current political landscape feel almost prophetic. Decades after Byrne established Lex Luthor as a ruthless property mogul and corporate executive, DC Comics took the character a step further. In a famous 2000 storyline, Lex Luthor actually ran for President of the United States and won.

During that fictional campaign, DC even published a parody "unauthorized biography" of Luthor, featuring a cover design that directly mirrored the aesthetic of Trump's famous 1987 book, The Art of the Deal.

Byrne’s recent interview highlights a bizarre loop of history. A character built to satirize the ultra-wealthy, image-obsessed business culture of New York eventually saw his real-world blueprint follow the exact same path to the Oval Office. For the man who helped create that modern blueprint, seeing the reality play out in Washington has clearly elicited deep frustration.

Sound off in the comments below! What do you make of John Byrne's blunt criticism of Donald Trump, and how do you feel about his perspective on the current political climate? Let us know your thoughts, and don't forget to share this article with your fellow comic fans!

PREVIEW: THE SMART DIVISION #1 PITS HUMANS AGAINST AI

July 1, 2026Stavros KasabalComment

The Smart Division is a dark and modern sci-fi detective series set five minutes in the future. When a mysterious new predictive artificial intelligence program appears responsible for assisting someone in the perfect murder, a pair of unlikely investigators - a chaotic Gen-Z savant and a veteran FBI agent - must hunt down the killer by starting the FBI’s first AI crimes division. It is written by Zack Kaplan (Kill All Immortals, Masterminds, Port of Earth) and Eisner-winning artist John Pearson (In Bloom, The Infernals, The Department of Truth) - a reunion long awaited since their fan-favorite sci-fi horror series, Mindset.

We got a chance to look at the preview of Issue #1, and there is a lot to like about this new series. The painterly artwork and mix of chat bubbles and hand-crafted-like lettering combined create a feeling of two battling worlds, even in the comic’s fundamentals. This gives the story and its emotions more depth, placing you deeper into the down-and-dirty world of this mystery.

Its sci-fi elements expand on current technologies and problems they create, as well as where they could very possibly lead. By following a very skeptical FBI veteran, we can see how AI can threaten everything that has already been built. By having him team with a younger and tech-savvy partner, we can see the friction between a self-destructive past and a new but equally self-destructive future.

The AI craze, along with the oversaturation of LLMs and how they can be used, is a theme tackled a lot recently and by multiple mediums. However, a lot of these stories usually feel like a monologue of an idea. Zack Kaplan, by choosing to partner these characters, gives the promise of a dialogue of ideals rather than a monologue of beliefs. This promises a murder mystery with a lot of food for thought.

If you enjoy detective murder mysteries and highly realistic sci-fi ideas, this story is a must read as it feels like a sci-fi philosophical twist on True Detective season one’s format

The Smart Division #1 releases on August 5th and it will be a 5-issue limited series.

🚨The Truth About Supergirl's Misguided Movie Ending: How the Writer Got the Comic Wrong

June 28, 2026George SerranoComment

Look, we are all mature enough to understand how Hollywood works at this point. When a major studio adapts a beloved comic book masterpiece for the big screen, it is rarely going to be a perfect, page-for-page copy. Directors and screenwriters frequently use the names, titles, and basic premises of popular books while remixing the actual narrative to fit a two-hour theatrical runtime. Changes are inevitable, and usually, that is completely fine.

But for the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie, screenwriter Ana Nogueira did something entirely different. She justified a massive, controversial creative choice by making up a version of the comic book that the pages literally do not support.

To see exactly where everything goes off the rails, you first have to look at how the source material actually concludes.

What Actually Happens in the Comic Ending

The entire comic book miniseries by Tom King and Bilquis Evely tracks Ruthye’s quest for vengeance after Krem murders her dad. It is a brutal, cosmic road trip fueled by pure rage. The story eventually jumps to the far future, where an older Kara Zor-El visits an elderly Ruthye. Kara has just let Krem out of the Phantom Zone after he spent hundreds of years locked away.

Krem is totally broken. He is reformed, terrified, and profusely apologizing for his past crimes. Right here, Ruthye has the perfect chance to finally get her revenge. Instead of killing him, she knocks the old man over and walks away. She rejects her base instincts, refuses to give into the cycle of violence, and preserves her own humanity.

Bilquis Evely’s artwork leaves zero room for debate. In the final panels, you can explicitly see Krem’s body moving on the ground. He is alive. This choice is the literal emotional and thematic payoff of the entire series.

Flipping a Hopeful Theme Into a Casual Execution

And that brings us to the movie's massive, hidden twist…

Major Spoiler Alert!

.

In the theatrical version, Supergirl straight-up executes Krem herself.

By having Supergirl kill Krem to "preserve Ruthye’s innocence," the film completely undoes the message of the source material. In the comic, Ruthye preserves her own innocence by walking away. Supergirl did not have to play executioner because the cycle of violence was broken by mercy.

The Smoking Gun: Ana Nogueira's Wild Justification

So, why make such a radical shift? It turns out it was not a deliberate thematic subversion, but a fundamental misunderstanding. When Variety asked the writer how she crafted the movie's final battle, she dropped an absolute bomb of a quote to explain her logic:

"The ending between Kara and Krem was always in it, from the pitch - truly from the very beginning. Because the comic ends with Ruthye killing him, but in the far, far future. We knew we weren't gonna be able to do that kind of time jump, and I find it's quite a dark ending of the comic. He essentially has changed, and she kills him anyway, because she still just has this anger, and you understand there's this element of deserve, right? So, we wanted to craft a villain who would deserve this, but we also wanted Kara to really care about preserving Ruthye's innocence..."

Read that again. The writer of the film called the comic a "dark ending" because she genuinely thinks an old, reformed man got murdered in cold blood on the page.

The layer of confusion here is deep. Throughout the comic, Ruthye acts as an unreliable narrator writing a legendary, dramatized text. At one point, her stylized narration boxes explicitly claim that Supergirl plunged a blade into Krem. But Tom King and Bilquis Evely utilize a classic comic technique: the text lies, but the art tells the truth. On panel, you see Ruthye merely wallop Krem on the nose with her cane, and the final panels explicitly show his arm moving as she and Kara walk away.

Nogueira misread the book on multiple levels. She mistook Ruthye's fictionalized, in-universe narration for objective fact and attributed an action to her that she never even committed on the page. Just in case there was any lingering doubt about what actually happened, writer Tom King has been entirely explicit when asked whether Krem dies at the end of the book:

"This is not supposed to be ambiguous. Krem is supposed to be alive at the end."

Anatomizing a Massive Lack of Diligence

So, how does a mistake of this magnitude happen on a multi-million dollar production? I decided to investigate myself using a few of the baseline “internet research” methods.

If you look into the corners of the internet, a few possibilities open up. If you ask a standard AI chatbot to summarize the book, it will often hallucinate and tell you flat-out that Ruthye killed Krem. Similarly, casual readers who skimmed right past the nuance of the unreliable narration and the actual imagery of the final panels have posted incorrect summaries online. Odds are, a quick Google search or an AI prompt led Nogueira down the wrong path early in the process, and nobody ever bothered to look at the physical book to check the math.

The truly baffling part of this entire scenario is that Tom King literally works for DC and acted as a creative consultant on this exact film. The architect of the entire narrative was right there, easily accessible, yet the production somehow managed to bypass his input on the most critical thematic moment of the story. It points to a massive lack of diligence in the scripting phase. Nogueira completely flipped the story on its head because she based a foundational pitch on a surface-level internet rumor rather than a close reading of the text. She mistakenly invented a darker ending for the comic to justify a movie where the hero commits an execution.

A Familiar Cautionary Tale

While I dug the film, this lack of comprehension, and other changes possibly made because of a lack of understanding, is what stopped it short of greatness. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is a flat-out modern masterpiece, universally highly regarded as one of the most visually stunning and emotionally profound comic books of the last decade. By completely misunderstanding its core message, there was simply no way the film was ever going to hit the majestic heights of the source material. When an adaptation completely misses the soul of its foundation, the spectacle on screen can only carry it so far.

Replacing a beautifully sophisticated, transcendent message about breaking the cycle of violence with a standard, hollow Hollywood execution leaves us with an entertaining blockbuster, but it deprives us of the cinematic masterpiece this story should have been. More than that, it serves as a glaring warning for future DC and Marvel adaptations: when filmmakers misread the core anatomy of the books they are adapting, they risk flattening complex art into generic blockbusters, teaching studios all the wrong lessons about why these stories resonated with fans in the first place.

The Best Stories I Never Read: What Comic Books and RPGs Have in Common

June 28, 2026Frank JaromeComment

I’m a comic book fan.

Obviously.

I’ve read comics since I was a kid. I don’t remember exactly what age I was, but I’d guess it’s been around 40 years.

I’ve been playing tabletop roleplaying games since I was a sophomore in high school, so... about 30 years ago.

Man, I’m getting old.

What is it that draws me to both of these seemingly very different hobbies?

Let's talk about it.

Separated at Birth: Comic Books and Tabletop Roleplaying Games

You may not realize just how much DNA comic books and roleplaying games share.

Roleplaying games—RPGs for short—are collaborative activities that generally involve a Game Master (think the head writer and director) and a number of players (think co-writers and actors), with four usually being the sweet spot.

The Game Master comes up with the setting, the basics of the plot, and portrays the non-player characters in the world. The players are the heroes and react to the story and other characters in real time.

It's a little bit like improvisational theater, really.

The biggest difference between RPGs and other forms of storytelling is that nobody—not even the Game Master—knows exactly how things are going to unfold. The players make choices. The dice introduce unexpected twists. Stories evolve naturally through collaboration.

And if you're a comic fan, that should sound surprisingly familiar.

How many times have you gotten into a lively debate with your comics-reading friends about how you would have told a story differently, or what character would win in a fight?

We’ve all done it.

Roleplaying games are a mechanism where you get to tell those stories and decide those battles. You create your own characters, tell your own stories, and play them out the way you want to.

The Shared Universe of the Tabletop

There are comic books based on RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Vampire: the Masquerade. There are RPGs based on comics and superheroes like the Batman Gotham City RPG, Marvel Multiverse RPG, and the forthcoming DC Justice League Unlimited RPG (written by Mark Waid!).

There are also non-licensed superhero games like ICONS, HERO System, and Mutants & Masterminds.

Much like modern comics, RPGs are an embarrassment of riches.

Whatever story you want to tell—superheroes, fantasy, personal horror—there’s probably a game for it.

Think you could do a better job getting the One Ring to Mount Doom that Frodo and Sam did? Prove it.

Feel like Batman should have put the Joker down years ago and that crossing that line wouldn't make you a monster? Give it a shot.

Want to play an intelligent monkey piloting a robot and call him Furious George? Your friend wants to partner him with a metal man with super-speed called Speed Metal? Let's do it.

But the real overlap between comics and RPGs isn’t the products. It’s the way we engage with the stories.

The Stories We Make

Think about your favorite comic runs. Something with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

I’ll go first.

One of mine is Brian Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man. It re-established the character for a new generation, told fresh modern stories, and had a definitive end (he died). It’s a run that will stick with me forever.

I’ve read a ton of great comics in my time, and had great conversations around them. But I’ve also participated in RPG sessions that I will genuinely never forget. Stories and characters that my friends and I came up with that just blew us away.

They weren’t just stories we read. They were stories we made.

Another story that will stick with me forever was my high school Dungeons & Dragons campaign, Dead Gods Usually Don’t Stay Dead. My old friend Chris was the Dungeon Master. The rest of us were the players, each with characters we poured our hearts into. We gave them backstories, laughed and cried with them. Not everyone survived to the end of the story, but we all played our parts. Some of those friends have moved on, but I still talk about Dead Gods with the ones I see.

Here’s one thing I’ve never forgotten about that campaign.

My character, Link Sharloe, was traveling with his betrothed and Dave’s character Azeyet. We had adjourned to our rooms at an inn when we were awakened by a shattering window. My betrothed was gone, and in her place was a battered, bloodied dark elf named Ghaundar (played by Mike). Before Link could attack, Chad’s character Drake intervened and insisted the stranger was under his protection.

So we didn’t get along.

But through our travels, we learned to trust each other. We became friends. We became family. Those characters stopped being numbers on a character sheet a long time before the campaign ended. When one of us had to sacrifice their life to save the world, we all felt it. We played that campaign for years, and I wouldn’t trade that time for anything.

The Power of Living the Story

That’s the power of roleplaying games. Comics have the advantage that, if I start to forget a favorite story, I can pull the issues back out and read them again. RPGs don’t have that luxury—but if the game is strong enough, like Dead Gods was for my friends and me, you won’t have to refresh your memory.

We created it. We lived it. And we’ll never forget it.

Spider-Noir Episode 1 Review: Comic Book Meets Casablanca In This Nic Cage Series

May 27, 2026George SerranoComment

The highly anticipated live action debut of Spider-Noir has finally arrived, and the premier episode leaves us with plenty to unpack before we dive into the full series analysis on the next episode of the podcast. If you were expecting a traditional, web-slinging Marvel spectacle, you might want to adjust your expectations. What we get instead is a beautifully shot, stylized piece of hard-boiled television that feels far more comfortable in a smoke-filled room than a superhero crossover.

Nicolas Cage Is the Ultimate Pulp Detective

Unsurprisingly, the absolute best reason to tune in is Nicolas Cage. Playing a dry-witted, hard-boiled neo-noir detective, Cage is a perfect match for this specific pulp universe. His trademark stilted dialogue and melodramatic delivery, which can sometimes feel out of place in standard Hollywood fare, work beautifully here.

His performance frequently brings to mind Rick Blaine from Casablanca. This version of the character is a man who used to do the right thing, but a lost love has hardened him into a cynic who is willing to turn a blind eye to the rising tide of crime around him. Naturally, a new case forces his hand, setting him on a direct collision course with his old vigilante identity, The Spider, as he relearns the classic lesson that evil prevails when good men do nothing.

A Gorgeous World with an Elite Supporting Cast

Visually, the show is a triumph. The cinematography is gorgeous, and watching the Black and White version is highly recommended to fully appreciate the moody, shadow-drenched atmosphere Oren Uziel has constructed.

The cast surrounding Cage is stellar and holds their own against his massive screen presence. Brendan Gleeson turns in a highly effective performance as the local Mob Boss. Gleeson commands the screen when he is in a scene, and he possesses the kind of gravitas where his character still feels incredibly dangerous even when other people are just talking about him.

Furthermore, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, and Karen Rodriguez are fantastic additions to the ensemble. Even in short bursts throughout the premiere, they are incredibly engaging. They bring an immediate spark to the screen, and I absolutely cannot wait to see more of them as the mystery unfolds.

A Noir By Any Other Name…

The biggest surprise of the premiere is the overall tone. It frequently feels like Sony’s answer to Joker, serving as a comic book adaptation in name only. There is just enough web-slinging and web-shooting thrown in to keep traditional comic fans entertained, but it is incredibly obvious that the creative team really just wanted to tell a gritty detective story starring Nicolas Cage. Frankly, who can blame them?

However, this creative choice brings us to the biggest gripe with the series, an issue that lingered even before the first episode aired. It is genuinely baffling why they decided to disconnect this character from established lore. Why not make him a multiversal Peter Parker like he is in almost every other iteration?

Or better yet, why not tie him directly to the version of Spider-Noir we already know and love from the Spider-Verse animated films? Imagine if the first scene in Spider-Noir saw Cage as Parker, putting down a Rubix cube he got during his adventures with Miles!

Connecting the two would have given any subsequent animated appearances immense emotional weight because audiences would know exactly what he just went through in his live-action dimension.

The Verdict

Alas, a faithful comic adaptation is obviously not the goal of this series. If you can handle a less than accurate take on a fringe Spidey comic, Spider-Noir is absolutely worth a look. You do not necessarily need to run to your television to watch it this exact second, but if you have some free time and love classic detective stories, give it a chance. At the very least, it is clear that Cage and the rest of this stellar cast are having a total blast.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

What did you think of the premiere? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and stay tuned for our full series breakdown on the next episode of the Major Issues Podcast!

Looking For More Noir After Spider-Noir? Tom King's “The Human Target” Hits the Mark

May 25, 2026Frank JaromeComment

So you’ve finished Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir series on Prime Video and now you want more noir. There’s a comic for that. You could try Peril of the Brutal Dark for some horror flavor, or titles like The Good Asian or Death to Pachuco for something more historical. Those are all good choices. Remember them later. Right now I’m here to talk about The Human Target by Tom King and Greg Smallwood.

Twelve Days

Christopher Chance has twelve days to solve his own murder.

Do I have your attention now?

Everyone and No One

Christopher Chance is more than a bodyguard. He’s called the Human Target because that’s exactly what he makes himself. He becomes an exact double of his client, taking their place to lure out whoever is threatening them. This time, he doubled Lex Luthor (yes, that Lex Luthor) and wound up poisoned for his trouble. Hence the “twelve days to live” problem. His pool of suspects? The members of the Justice League International.

I don’t want to say anything more about the plot—I want you to experience it for yourself. So instead, let’s talk about the art for a minute.

Greg Smallwood handles the pencils, the inks, and the colors for this title, and none of it is what you’d call “traditional.” For the pencils and inks, he actually combines three distinct styles: softer rendering for faces and skin, looser strokes for clothing, and heavier lines for backgrounds. The colors are done in a striking watercolor style, often bleeding outside of the lines. The result is a book that almost looks like the covers of old crime noir novels—something unlike anything else on the shelves today.

Writer Tom King is a “love him or hate him” type of creator. Personally, I’m a big fan, although even I can admit that his miniseries are generally better than his longer runs. Compare The Human Target or Mister Miracle (with Mitch Gerads) to his Batman run, and you’ll see what I mean. Christopher Chance’s quest to find his own murderer plays right to King’s strengths, and the writing perfectly complements Smallwood’s art. Most importantly, it knows when to shut up and get out of the way.

There’s an old saying: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Here, the parts were already good enough to win Eisner awards, so the whole ends up being pretty fantastic.

Required Reading

You can find The Human Target in twelve single issues (plus one special), two standard-sized hardcovers each collecting half of the run, or an oversized hardcover Deluxe Edition (my personal favorite). I recommend the Deluxe—the oversized pages and premium paper stock makes the art look even better. There’s really no wrong way to read this book, just as long as you read it.

Advance Look: Adrian Tchaikovsky's "The Final Architecture: Salvation's Child" graphic novel

May 19, 2026Frank JaromeComment

When the Sky Fell

Aliens called the Architects came to Earth and destroyed it, driving humanity out among the stars. The survivors scattered to colonies throughout known space. The Architects kept coming, and the cycle continued.

Birth of the Enhanced

In The Final Architecture novel series, Adrian Tchaikovsky tells the story of humanity after the war with the Architects has ended and the enemy has mysteriously vanished. What the novels never explored in great detail, however, were the origins of the enhanced humans who could communicate with the enemy and help turn the tide of the war.

Enter the upcoming Comixology Original graphic novel Salvation's Child, which serves as a prequel to the larger story. At its core is the story of Xavi, the first enhanced human, and the beginnings of events that would eventually reshape humanity’s future.

Lost in Space

It is common in space opera science fiction for the characters to travel to many different worlds and encounter multiple alien species. This is where Salvation's Child both shines and loses me a little bit. There is a strong sense of design for the various spacecraft we encounter, and the alien species we meet are different and varied. Maybe a little too varied, if I'm being honest. I found myself having a hard time keeping up at points.

If you are familiar with The Final Architecture novels, then I think a lot of what gave me trouble here will probably make perfect sense to you. This is definitely the kind of story you can read cold, but it's going to be much stronger if you're at least passingly familiar with the source material.

This title hits Amazon Comixology on May 26, so check it out if you're a fan of Adrian Tchaikovsky or of space opera in general. I do think it will hit harder for you if you're the former, but there's still plenty here to enjoy if you're the latter. And hey, at $6.99 it's a pretty easy jump into this universe if you're curious.

We'd like to thank Comixology and Cosmic Lighthouse for providing us with an advance copy of this book, and we hope you'll check it out when it releases.

🪦They’re Actually Going To Kill [Redacted] in Absolute Batman #20, Aren't They?

March 12, 2026George SerranoComment

The rumors of a massive character death in Absolute Batman #20 are hitting a fever pitch. The solicitation of the issue reads: A TRAGIC LOSS ROCKS GOTHAM CITY! As the dust settles in the city of Gotham after the loss of [redacted], Robins enter the scene ready to hunt, and more than one secret will be revealed in this seminal issue. While the story seems to be pointing toward Martha Wayne as the big casualty, it feels like a total red herring. If you look at the board, all signs point to a different loss that would fundamentally break the rules of the Batman mythos. The real target on the chopping block is ……

……

…..

Jim Gordon.

⚠️SPOILERS FOR ABSOLUTE BATMAN #18⚠️

A Man Without a Shield

In most stories, Jim’s badge is his armor. But in this universe, he doesn't have the institutional power of the Commissioner's office or a loyal police force behind him. He is a man operating on the fringes of a city that hates his integrity. That lack of a "shield" makes him an incredibly soft target for the powers running Gotham.

This vulnerability is dialed up to eleven now that the Court of Owls is stepping out of the shadows. We know Martha is a former Talon who got on the Court's bad side, making her the "one who got away" from their control. Since she is essentially an enemy of the state in their eyes, the Court isn't just going to go after her; they are going to dismantle her life. Targeting Jim is the most logical way for them to hurt her and Bruce simultaneously. In this version of Gotham, having a spine just makes you an easier target for the Owls to pick off as a warning to those who defect.

The Double Loss of a Father Figure

In a world without the traditional Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon has stepped up as the only real moral compass Bruce has left. In the Absolute Universe, Bruce doesn't have a billion-dollar mansion or a butler to ground him. He just has his own rage and the very few people he trusts, and Jim was one of the first to comfort him after the tragic loss of his dad. Losing Jim would mean Bruce loses a second "father," mirroring the trauma of his childhood, but through the lens of his adult choices.

This kind of grief would push the Absolute Batman into total isolation. We already see that Bruce thinks Batman needs to evolve, and a tragedy like this may send him over the edge as it strips away his support system and turns his mission into a desperate struggle for survival. Without a father figure to pull him back from the edge, there is nothing stopping Bruce from going as dark as the city he is trying to save.

Redefining the Legacy Through Rivalry

Killing Jim allows this series to completely blow up the standard "Batman and the Commissioner" trope. Usually, Gordon is the safety net that makes Batman’s life easier. By removing that friendly ear in the GCPD, the story forces Bruce to stay a permanent outsider. It keeps the stakes high by making the entire system his enemy, rather than having a buddy on the inside to bail him out.

This also sets the stage for a massive subversion of the Barbara Gordon relationship. If Jim dies because of Bruce’s crusade and Barbara finds out, we could see a version of her that blames Bruce entirely. Instead of her becoming a traditional ally, she could become a brilliant, motivated rival. Imagine a story where Bruce isn't just hunted by the Court or dirty cops, but by a Gordon who actually knows his secrets and has a personal vendetta. This replaces the comfortable GCPD alliance with a high-stakes conflict that changes the game.

The Curse of the Secret

This brings us to the curse of the secret. In the world of neo noir, knowledge is never a gift; it is a liability. Being the person who knows the hero's identity is effectively a death sentence. We’ve already seen that Bruce’s friends who know the truth are frequently targeted to get to him, and Jim Gordon is now the biggest loose end in Gotham.

Now that Jim has finally confirmed he knows Bruce is under the cowl, his role has shifted from a mentor to a prime target. In a neo noir setting, the hero's secret usually ends up destroying those who hold it. Taking Jim out is the loudest way for the creative team to prove that in the Absolute Universe, nobody is safe, and Bruce’s mission has a permanent, lethal cost for anyone who gets too close to the truth.

The Ultimate Catalyst for Change

Ultimately, Jim’s death is the most effective way to light a fire under the entire cast. While a parent's death is a core part of the Batman origin, Jim’s death in this universe ripples through everyone currently on the board. For Martha, seeing a friend die might be the thing that forces her to fully re-embrace her lethal Talon skills to protect what is left of her family. For Barbara, it is the spark that turns her into a radicalized warrior or a dangerous opponent.

For Bruce, this is the ultimate motivator. It proves that his mission carries a body count that includes the people he loves most. This isn't just one person’s tragedy; it is a collective trauma that forces everyone to grow up and level up fast. Jim’s absence creates a vacuum that forces the entire Gotham underground to either start a revolution or get crushed by the Court of Owls.

But what do you think? Am I off base? Who do you think is gonna fill the body bag in Absolute Batman #20> Sound off below!

🚨DC KO Spoilers: DC Prepares a Universe-Altering Event After K.O.

March 3, 2026George SerranoComment

If you thought DC’s K.O. was wild, get ready. DC is gearing up for something even bigger. It looks like DC might be heading towards familiar territory, but with a bombastic twist that is sure to have new and old fans alike flocking to comic shops.

Spoilers for DC KO #5 (from Bleeding Cool)

According to Bleeding Cool, the aftermath of DC’s K.O. #5 is setting the stage for the first Absolute Crisis, a crossover mini-series that could shake the entire DC landscape.

At the recent ComicsPRO event in Glendale, Absolute Group Editor Chris Conroy said the event will be easy to jump into, friendly for newcomers, and won’t disrupt existing storylines. Don’t let that fool you. Darkseid himself hints that this will be a crisis of Absolute proportions, an event massive enough to redefine the universe.

Conroy also teased that this will be the “Absolute way,” which means crazy variant covers, huge moments for every major hero, and the possible debut of new fan-favorite arcs. From hints at new powers to universe-altering consequences, everything post-K.O. is about to get intense.

The event is expected in Q4 2026, giving fans months to speculate, theorize, and prepare for what could be one of DC’s biggest events in years. Collectors, completionists, and chaos-loving fans all have a lot to look forward to.

DC’s next chapter isn’t just another crossover. The Absolute Crisis is coming for every corner of the multiverse.