By Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman
This is one of the flagship titles of DC's new Absolute Universe, which reimagines all their heroes in a darker universe controlled by Darkseid or something or other. I honestly haven't read much into it since this whole venture is being overseen by Scott Snyder and I've found it's best to stay clear when he starts to go all multiversal. But I love Wonder Woman and like Kelly Thompson as a writer so I decided to at least give this one a go. The big twist here is that, instead of being raised in paradise by Amazons, Diana was raised in hell by Circe. But apart from now being a witch, this is still the same Diana we know and love. Which is my big problem with this series. It's aesthetically different, but not fundamentally. Sherman's artwork is great, and there are some interesting ideas at play here, but at the same time it feels like the series isn't exploiting its core concept to its fullest. Steve Trevor also feels blander than usual and the way Diana just swoons over him right away annoys me to no end. Things do start to pick up with the third issue so I'll stick with it for the time being.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
By Grant Morrison and Dan Mora
In 2015 Grant Morrison teamed up with rising star artist Dan Mora to tell the secret history of Santa Claus. Of course, being Grant Morrison, this isn't your regular Santa. This one is like a cross between Superman and Wolverine, a badass superhero who battles monsters, aliens, and supervillains all so one night a year he can spread joy by delivering toys to children around the world. After completing the original 7-issue miniseries, Morrison and Mora reunited over the next four years for a few specials recounting some of Klaus' other fantastical adventures, now all available in one single collection. Like All-Star Superman, this isn't some subversive deconstruction of a beloved public figure, but a celebratory retelling in a modern context, a story so feel good it'll make you believe in Father Christmas all over again.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
By Alan Moore and Ian Gibson
First appearing in the pages of 2000 AD, the series covers 10 years in the life of Halo Jones, a young woman living in a floating slum moored off Manhattan in the 50th century. After her best friend is murdered, Halo vows to leave Earth and never return, eventually become a stewardess on a luxury cruise liner and later a soldier in a brutal interplanetary war. One of Moore's first classics, this is something of a frustrating read because a) the first arc takes a while to get going, and b) the whole thing was never finished. Moore and Gibson had nine arcs planned out for Jones that would cover her entire life, but after Moore fell out with the publisher over the creative rights and the series came to a sudden end after completion of the third arc. On the plus side, at least it's open ended instead of a cliffhanger. On the negative side, the third arc is so good it makes you ravenous for more.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
By Peach Momoko
Marvel's first Ultimate universe, spearheaded by writers like Mark Miller, dared to ask “What if all these beloved heroes were really violent assholes?”. The new Ultimate universe, overseen by Jonathan Hickman, isn't interested in any of that shallow edgy nonsense, and has so far delivered some truly fascinating new takes on Marvel's most famous creations, with the standout being Ultimate X-Men. Beautifully written and drawn by Momoko, this series reimagines the X-Men as a high school horror story set in Japan. Oh, and it doesn't feature any of the famous characters. That would be unimaginable on the mainline X-books, but imprints like this have more freedom to take risk and with Ultimate X-Men it has paid off handsomely.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011 More Mark Greig
I have a bunch of comics, but mostly indies and older ones. But, I've been enjoying Marvel Rivals a lot lately, so it still feels like your timing here is serendipitous, Mark!
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