Action Comics #428 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The opening story begins with the Metropolis Twin Towers engulfed in flames. Superman uses an iceberg and his heat vision to put out the flames. It's a feat captured on camera by Jimmy Olsen. However, when the event makes the front page of the Daily Planet, the story details that a freak thunderstorm put out the blaze.

When Superman as Clark Kent confronted Jimmy as to why he didn't credit the Man of Steel with putting out the fire, the cub reporter responds that Superman hasn't been seen or heard from in 10 years. Despite Clark being able to see Superman in the photos Jimmy took, everyone else he encounters merely sees a thundercloud raining on the skyscrapers. 

As Superman conducts further rescues throughout Metropolis, the citizens attribute the acts as miracles. Clearly, the populace has not only forgotten about Superman; they cannot even see him! 

The backup feature stars Green Arrow and Black Canary. Oliver Queen has been approached by a struggling motorcycle manufacturer for help with their lagging sales. Ollie negotiates a deal where Black Canary will perform a death defying stunt on one of the company's bikes during an upcoming sports event. Only, he forgot to ask the heroine permission for the endorsement.

Seeing as the funds for the stunt will go to charity, Black Canary reluctantly agrees. It will be her first public appearance in quite some time. Yet, it might end up being her last as a pair of ex-cons out for revenge on Canary have tampered with her bike's gas tank, rigging it to explode during the stunt jump. It's up to the Green Arrow to race against the clock and the sprawling city to save Black Canary in time!

The Superman opener was written by Cary Bates. Art was provided by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson. Set during Clark Kent's days as a television newscaster for WGBS, it features a number of newer characters unseen from when he worked at the Planet. Station owner Morgan Edge and sports reporter Steve Lombard play important roles in the story along with Jimmy Olsen. Noticeably absent from the story is Lois Lane, who's not even mentioned in this news story heavy adventure.

The Green Arrow and Black Canary backup was written by Elliot Maggin. Dick Giordano illustrated. For fans of either character, this is a key issue in their relationship as this story ends with Dinah Lance revealing for the very first time that she loves Oliver Queen. 

This issue also features an article about the town of Metropolis, Illinois. The town, working with DC Comics and the State legislature, had just approved plans to make Metropolis the official home of Superman. Plans for a museum, a theme park and an annual festival showing old Superman serials and episodes from the 1950s series starring George Reeves, along with fun and games, were in the works according to the piece. Even the town newspaper would be changing its name to the Daily Planet! While The Amazing World of Superman theme park never came to be and the rag has been renamed as the Metropolis Planet, the museum, along with a giant statue of the Last Son of Krypton continues to welcome fans who arrive in droves every June for the town's annual 4-day Superman Celebration. 

Completing this review completes Task #31 (A Book Featured in a Facebook Group Post) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. It also my 40th and final task for the 2025 Challenge.

Green Arrow #75 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Most anniversary sized issues seem to fit into one of 3 main categories: a major team up that fans have been clamoring for, a death or resurrection of a major character, or a major life event like a wedding, promotion to a team or new child. Very rarely it seems these very special issues act in celebration of the vast history of the character or team that the subject of said comic is truly reflected in terms of an 'anniversary.' Yet that is what Mike Grell and Rick Hoberg achieved in issue #75 of the 1988-1998 series of Green Arrow.

During a New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Seattle, Oliver Queen is near fatally wounded by an arrow welding assassin. Because of his war on organized crime in the Emerald City, Green Arrow has been targeted by the Yakuza, who are trying to gain a foothold in the Pacific Northwest. As Oliver recovers, the three ladies in the Archer's life, long-time love Black Canary, mother to one of his children, Shado, and Marianne, a youthful woman who writes fairy tales and just declared her love to Ollie at the beginning of the story. Even the mysterious assassin is found to have a deep bond with Green Arrow in this retrospective of a character that editor Mike Gold compared to a cross between 'Robin Hood and Peter Pan' in his farewell address to the readers in the letters column.

Rick Hoberg provided the pencils and inks for this oversized issue from 1993. Mike Grell does double duty as the cover artist in a powerful image that features all of the main characters of this story.

Completing this review completes Task #9 (With The Word GREEN in the Title) the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Birds of Prey: Sensei and Student

Black Canary is summoned to Hong Kong. Her sensei is near death and she's come to pay her last respects. There's another student coming to bid farewell to the martial arts master: Lady Shiva! It looks like these two foes are going to battle it out until the sempai calls for peace between the two. 

An uneasy truce between Black Canary and Lady Shiva is arranged until the mentor's death. However, when their teacher is murdered by an unknown assailant, the two rivals become allies to avenge the senseless killing of a man already near death. Only this unlikely pair have differing ways of finding answers. One is willing to let her hands and feet talk for her. The other is willing to take a life in order to get answers.

Meanwhile back in Gotham City, someone has hacked into Oracle's mainframe, claiming to know her secret identity. With Canary overseas, Barbara Gordon must rely on the Huntress. But with Helena Bertinelli's past romantic history with Dick Grayson, there's more than enough bad blood between the two. Now with Barbara in the custody of Federal agents for terrorism charges and violations of the Patriot Act, the Huntress might be Oracle's only hope, whether she likes it or not.

This is a book that's been sitting on for a very long time. I inherited it from my best friend after he died over a decade ago. I just couldn't bring myself to read it. Not out of mourning. Mostly just cause I wasn't really a fan of this series. But I figured I'd give it a try someday. That day just happened to be recently.

The events in this book seem to be occurring during a transitional time for the Birds of Prey. One of the team just left and while I know that Huntress joins them, at this period in time Canary, Oracle and Huntress kinda all hate and distrust each other to varying degrees. So I'm not really sure if the book follows the formula of the issues featured in this book or if they start to trust and rely on each other. (This volume also doesn't inform me if the series prior to this time of change was any good or not.)

The writing by Gail Simone was decent. But man are those birds a trio of biddies. Lots of action. But too much of a pissing contest. I thought this was bad in the books that primarily starred alpha males. But here, it's down right annoying.

The art is also decent. provides some very alluring art along with some action packed images led by Michael Golden and Ed Benes. Unfortunately, some of these artists draw in that beefy style of late 90s-early 2000s DC where you can't tell if the more muscular characters are well built or eating too much pie. Superman: Our Worlds At War was notorious for this look and it isn't becoming here either.

The Greg Land covers, like the one used for this volume, are breathtaking!

The ending was fantastic. It's a who's who of characters affiliated with the Birds of Prey as they answer the call to save Barbara Gordon and her Oracle secret identity from a corrupt politician with a damning past and a connection to the original Black Canary! Now that's a series I want to read more about as the pre-modern era filler story was much more interesting despite a bad case of convenient plot device at the middle of that segment.

I'd give the Birds of Prey another try if I found them at the library or something like that. But I'm not going out of my way to find more volumes, nor will I shell out any cash for it either.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Nightwing, Vol. 7: On The Razor's Edge

In Bludhaven, the head of its criminal element is the massively strong super villain Blockbuster. Thanks to some surgical enhancements, Blockbuster is a lot smarter than from his first appearances that pitted him against Batman. He's still as unstable as ever and even more ruthless and cruel. He's also at his wit's end. Since his arrival in town, Nightwing has taken an impressive bite out of Blockbuster's empire. To stop this, Blockbuster is testing out some new talent to pit against Nightwing: the assassin Shrike, who has some history with the hero from his days as the Boy Wonder. 

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson has finally made it to the ranks of the Bludhaven Police Department. It's long been Grayson's goal to clean up the BPD which rivals Gotham's police department as the most corrupt law agency in the country. Now if the rookie cop could only get an 'in' with the dirty cops on the force. Grayson thinks he might have that opportunity when his new partner, Officer Any Rohrbach, invites him to meet a special group of people. Only, this group of cops is unlike anything Dick Grayson was expecting. They're honest!

In the middle of all this is some pent up sexual tension. First, Nightwing encounters Catwoman in town to commit a heist against a very powerful crime lord. If there was ever a way that Dick Grayson could ever irrevocably betray Bruce Wayne, it would be hooking up with Selena Kyle. This story very well could be the flame that leads to a powerful explosive of passions. 

Then Oracle, with assistance of Black Canary, comes to Nightwing's rescue after escaping the clutches of Shrike. Babs Gordon and Dick Grayson have always been made for each other. This story proves just that. When will DC finally give the readers what they want and have Dick and Barbara get married?!

Chuck Dixon's writing on Nightwing is phenomenal as ever. I wish I could say the same about the art of Greg Land. Some pages, he's fantastic. In others, I feel like I'm watching scenes from the X-Man Beast's family reunion. It's so inconsistent! Especially in the action-packed scenes.

Another gem I inherited from my late, great best friend.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC's Grifter Got Run Over By a Reindeer

This year's giant-sized holiday annual from the folks at DC Comics seems to hit the right notes- literally! All 8 stories are titled after popular Christmas carols. And for the most part, DC got things right.

I've always said that DC is better when it's trying to be light and fun as opposed to going the Marvel route, which is realistic, dark and gritty. All 8 stories were great. But there was one that just wasn't holiday themed. 

The story titled 'Silent Night' was a brilliant story in which Granny Goodness has unleashed a series of satellites that has changed the brainwaves of the population of Earth. Instead of free speech, all anyone can say is the word 'Darkseid.' Turns out anytime someone says the ruler of Apokolips' name, the verbal praise gives energy to Darkseid's beloved Anti-Life Equation. Starring Black Canary and John Constantine, this was a great story that I could see being turned into a 5 or 6 issue long miniseries. But gosh darn it, despite the title, nothing had to do with Christmas. 

A majority of the stories were freakin' hilarious romps. The Superman/Wonder Woman crossover in which some poor guy with a head injury mistakes Krypto as a demonic reindeer, Harley Quinn meeting her Bit-Mite equivalent and title star Grifter getting the Li'l Gotham treatment from Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen and playing Grinch to the DC Trinity were all laugh out loud riots. 

The more serious stories were quite good. Maybe not as great as those more off-the-wall stories but I enjoyed them. Plus, the cover of former Wildstorm wild man Grifter actually getting run over by a Harley Quinn driven reindeer was great!

The past couple of holiday specials have gotten better- Halloween and Valentines included. I think DC is learning that alienating it's fan base through constant Trump references and trying to be relevant at the sake of quality storytelling and artwork is what has allowed the House that Superman Built to crumble. Not everyone can be Marvel Comics and when I read DC Comics, I want the type of stories DC was known for. This is more like those DC holiday specials I grew up with and I love it!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #34

While working a case with the fellas of Mystery Inc., Velma and Daphne are called to Gotham City. Taking Scooby with them, the girls have been summoned by Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress- the Birds of Prey. A gigantic bird known as a Roc, a mythical creature of Middle Eastern origin, has been attacking the city. 

Since Velma and Daphne have a background in dealing with monsters, they've been approached to act as interim members of the Birds of Prey. It's a good thing, now that a thunderbird and a phoenix have begun attacking Gotham as well!

A really great issue. Another masterpiece by Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela! Fisch adds those little Easter eggs of DC nostalgia; like with the mystery villain that Mystery Inc. is originally on the search for before the girls go to Gotham City. Dario Brizuela just has an art-style that echoes the original Scooby-Doo cartoon as well as Alex Toth's take on Super Friends. They're like an all-ages duo for the ages!

The inclusion of Huntress was the only down-side of the story. I've never really been a fan of her. She never felt like an appropriate heir to Batman and/or Catwoman. And then Post-CRISIS, I never really got into her crime-family Catholic heritage background. She always felt like a vigilante nun to me. And in this issue, she's like a grumpy Debbie Downer. If we could have replaced Huntress with a different Bird of Prey like Katana or Hawkgirl, that would have been great!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.  

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

Before we get into this review, I want you to know that I tried. I really tried to like this movie. I've been a fan of Harley Quinn ever since her first appearance on TV way back on September 11th, 1992. I even tried to defend the Birds of Prey movie on social media to the Nth degree, sight unseen against all the haters. But upon watching the film yesterday, I just could not be a fan of it. 

Birds of Prey or whatever it is that Warner Bros. and DC have decided to rename the film, follows the continuity of 2016's Suicide Squad. After being sprung from jail by the Joker, Harley Quinn goes on another crime spree with her beau. But this time between the two lovers is different and Harley decides to dump Mister J. Now an independent woman, Harley Quinn experiences for the first time an independence to go her own way. But this emancipation means that Harley is now a marked woman.

With every baddie who she ever wronged out to kill her, Harley Quinn must use her wits to find a way to stay alive. That opportunity comes in the form of Gotham gangster, Roman Sinois; AKA The Black Mask. If Harley can retrieve a special diamond encoded with important banking information from a fallen mob boss, Quinn will no longer have to look over her shoulder. But matters are complicated when Harley finds the young pickpocket who stole the gem from Sinois' bodyguard and driver, Black Canary. The thief swallowed it!

Now Harley must wait for nature to take it's course. But that means having to fight off hordes of gang members and crazies until the Ex-lax kicks in! Oh the things a girl will do to win her freedom...

Here's the deal. Based on that plot line, I am 100% fine with the film. I liked the changes from the Birds of Prey comic books to the big screen. I thought that the villain played by Trainspotting's Ewan McGregor was great. He's an even loonier bad guy that Jared Leto's Joker! I even thought this film's version of Victor Zsasz (Chris Messina) was pretty good, even though I am forever a fan of Anthony Carrigan's portrayal of the serial killer for hire on Gotham. My big problem was the film's very gruff change in ratings.

Suicide Squad was PG-13. This movie was rated R and we're talking HARD R. The F-word is spoken from just about the very first line. To the degree that it would make any character from a Tarantino movie blush. The crudeness of the movie really made me uncomfortable. 

The violence level was upped too. And the fighting bothered me. But not in a way that I was triggered. In fact, I just got bored with all the fighting. At one point, I could pretty much tell what scenes were added to reflect whatever video game adaptation was being marketed as a tie-in and at that point, I was longing for the power to go out or something in order to not have to endure any more of it. 

Can anybody tell my why DC thinks it's necessary for it's superhero movies to have all of the fight scenes done in super slo-mo? I'm literally done with that style of directing or choreography. It's time for DC/WB to figure something else out. 

Sadly, I almost decided to be done with comic book movies and comic books altogether based on this movie. Ultimately, I decided to not go that extreme. But I have decided to really weigh out if seeing such films like Birds of Prey is worth my time anymore. Even though I saw this as a matinee, I felt like I wasted my money on this. 

My decision had nothing to do with the film being directed and produced by women. My disappoint wasn't based on the fallen hopes of an Alpha male. It had nothing to do with the movie being full of strong female characters. I thought Journee Smollett-Bell was great as the daughter of the Black Canary your parents grew up with. (I even think Smollett-Bell deserves a couple of award noms for her role! She really was that good!)  

Rosie Perez's Renee Montoya was darn near perfect! And I really enjoyed the added mystery character who I'll refer to as the 'Crossbow Killer' (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here...) And then we've got Margot Robbie. She's a great version of Harley. I thought her Jersey accent was a little-more-over-the-top than as before. But that's exactly what Birds of Prey is:  over-the-top!

I love characters such as Harley Quinn and Deadpool and The Tick. Their skewed way of seeing things help make my world a little more sane. Yes- i realize that the two Deadpool films are full of violence and F-words. But, those movies seemed to (thankfully) be reigned in a little bit by the production company AND Disney. Here, with most of the film taking place inside Harley's head, Warner Bros. seemed okay with just throwing all sorts of crazy ideas up against a wall and going with whatever stuck to it. Birds of Prey was a film that had a vision. It just didn't really seem to have any direction.

The lack of structure of this film made for times I hoped for a chance to leave the theater. Birds of Prey had great characters and some awesome moments. But it wasn't the action scenes that made this film bearable. It were those quiet moments when the characters had a chance to develop. Unfortunately, there was too much insanity to make for a balanced superhero picture. And coming from a devoted member of the Gang of Harley's, that says volumes!

Take my advice, if you love comic book movies, go see it. just don't pay extra for 3-D or IMAX. Those extra bells and whistles just aren't worth paying for.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Catwoman/Tweety & Sylvester Special #1

In this DC/Looney Tunes crossover, the witches of the two franchises are having their Witches Conclave. During this gathering, a bet is made as to who would ultimately win if given the chance to fight to the death- the Tweety Bird or the Puddy Tat? But even when both are given the chance to finally off the other, the two enemies never can seem to finalize on their opportunities.

In order to accomplish this feat, once and for all, both Tweety and Sylvester are granted champions who will do the deed in their place. For Sylvester, he's paired with Selena Kyle- the Catwoman. For Tweety, he's teamed with Dinah Lance- the Black Canary. Though both heroines don't really want to participate in this blood feud, they are compelled. For you see, if Tweety dies, then birds of all sorts will died with him. That includes bird themed superheroes. The same happens for Sylvester. If he used up all nine of his lives, it's night-night forever for Selena too!

Though I had to read the first 3 pages about 10 times to understand the mumbo-jumbo of those in the Witches Conclave, I liked this book. There's tons of surprises in this special. Gail Simone and Inaki Miranda pulled out all the stops in this one!

I also enjoyed the Looney Tunes style back feature. It has both Sylvester and Catwoman trying to break into Granny's apartment. The Puddy Tat wants Tweety of course. The cat burglar wants some of Granny's ice, as in diamonds. It was a laugh out loud adventure that I would love to see done as an actual animated short.

The DC/Looney Tunes crossovers are always great fun and this one is no exception. Too bad the DC/Hanna Barbera pairings aren't as fun. Maybe it's because they try to reinvent the wheel that are the HB properties whereas these specials capture some of the original heart of the Looney Tunes gang.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Black Canary & Zatanna: Bloodspell

The legendary Paul Dini has done it again with this original graphic novel starring the two biggest purveyors of fish nets stockings in the DC universe. When Black Canary is targeted by a ghost, she seeks the help of her fellow JLA-alum Zatanna for help. What transpires is a supernatural romp through Sin City.

  But, this isn’t some Frank Miller gore fest. Instead, Bloodspell is 96 pages of fun! I didn’t want this story to end. It’s got that magic spark that Dini infused in Batman the Animated series and its subsequent sequels. The art is classic and I just love the flashbacks that detail the history between the heroines. Plus, there are cameos galore. The only thing about this book I didn’t like was that it ended. Though I was also a little disappointed that when I finished the story, there were still about 40-pages left in the book. I thought that maybe there was another story or a reprint of a previous pairing between Canary and Zatanna. Unfortunately, about 2/3 of those extra pages involved a rough draft of the script. Thankfully, the other third was comprised of some fantastic character sketches AND other ‘director’s cut’ insider information.

   To my knowledge, Black Canary and Zatanna have never had a ‘Thelma & Louise’ type adventure before. But I wouldn’t mind if DC decided to add a Paul Dini helmed title to their New 52 line-up. I would buy it new every week. That’s a testament to just how good this book was!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant

Almost a dozen stories about the JLA, ranging from when the League was in Detroit and Europe, as well as taking up residence on the moon. Almost a collection of lost tales- most work, like the Steel/ Aquaman team-up that includes bonding over pork rinds and Wally West and Black Canary matching wits with a Rumplestiltskin-type sprite.

The art was very, very good and I enjoyed reading most of these tales. With an anthology, you can’t expect all perfect tales. But, it’s good enough.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

GREEN ARROW/ BLACK CANARY WEDDING SPECIAL #1

Who invited Snapper Carr to the Wedding? That question is essentially what sparks off the ticking time bomb that is the wedding of Green Arrow and Black Canary. While the duo is having their bachelor/ette parties, evil is plotting to ruin the blessed event.

In true superhero fashion, the nuptials are ruined when a slew of DC’s baddest villains invade the Emerald Archer’s wedding ceremony.

Great art. Very funny at times. If it seems like a copy of Fantastic Four Annual #3 when Reed and Sue got married, that’s forgivable. What is not forgivable is the book’s ending.

In what is getting to be a huge pet peeve of mine, this book ends with a cliff-hanger that requires me to buy issue #1 of Green Arrow/ Black Canary. I hate being surprised like that. Normally, I do run out and get those cliffhanging issues, but this time, I wasn’t too invested and I sought out Wikipedia for answers.

For what I did read of this book, it was Worth Consuming.

Black Canary Wedding Planner #1

Having been and on-again/ off-again couple since the late 60s, Green Arrow and Black Canary are finally going to tie the knot. The time for the nuptials is quickly approaching. Only, the recent crime wave of the Countdown storyline is keeping Canary from getting anything done.

So, with help from Arrow, and her bridesmaids, Black Canary has developed a checklist, a Wedding Planner of sorts. This very funny issue explores her mishaps as she tries to do everything in order to make it a special day. The art is really good and the planner format of the 2nd act is very clever. However, I really think DC missed out selling an actual Black Canary wedding planner for the comic book lad and lady wanting to tie the not in sequential art fashion.

Worth Consuming

   Rating: 10 out of 10 stars