Comics Review by Jair! Week of 07/02/2025

 

 

Comics Review By Jair!

Absolute Green Lantern #4

Abin Sur speaks! New revelations are underway for Jo and Hal as they grapple with new powers and a rapidly disappearing small town. Of all the Absolute books, I’d venture to say that Green Lantern is the most radical departure from the original.

Ewing presents Abin Sur and the Black Hand as otherworldly forces more in line with Lovecraftian monsters than space aliens. Though it’s a slower start than other Absolute titles, the art is some of DC’s best. Jahnoy Lindsay pulls double duty on art and colors, making for a sleek and vibrant book with some great splash pages to boot.

It’s still a mystery where this story will go — but for now, “Be without fear.”

Gotham City Sirens: Unfit for Orbit #1

The Gotham City Sirens are poised to reach new heights in their out-of-this-world series by phenomenal writer Leah Williams ("X-Factor") and artist Haining. Selina Kyle is closing in on a massive score, but to secure it she’ll need the Sirens’ help to infiltrate a new nightclub that may be more than it seems.

Williams clearly loves these characters. It’s evident in how she captures Harley Quinn’s chaotic energy, Catwoman’s focus and cunning, and Poison Ivy’s cool-girl, occasionally megalomaniacal vibe. The art is remarkable, rendering the nightclub as truly alien to the rest of Gotham. The costumes in this issue are fun, combining the characters’ classic looks with nightclub styles, and I expect we’ll see more great looks as the series continues. In the meantime, strap in — the baddies are going to space!

Godzilla vs. Thor #1

You’ll understand why Thor is the God of Thunder by this issue’s end. Godzilla continues barreling through the gauntlet of Marvel’s strongest heroes. It’s all action in this issue, with Thor and Godzilla trading blows that level cities and rattle countries — it might even shake the book out of your hands, so hold tight.

Longtime Thor scribe Jason Aaron does excellent work here, establishing the battle’s high stakes in just a few short pages, while artist Aaron Kuder delivers epic scenes of destruction that underscore the fight’s grand scale. It’s a fun, action-heavy read that feels like Thor’s greatest battle yet. If you like Norse gods, giant lizards or cool fights, this book is for you.

X-Men: Hellfire Vigil #1

It’s been a year since Krakoa fell, and though the X-Men are no strangers to calamity, this one feels heavier. Krakoa gave mutants a home. It made them strong and gave them power — and the world, in its fear, took it away. Still, the mutants remain. From the ashes, they always return — like the phoenix, or roaches, depending on your disposition.

Point being, the X-Men are about perseverance — about surviving in a world that too often seeks to erase not just you, but the idea and possibility of you. Cyclops is deep in his brooding bag this issue, and I can’t blame him. It's a complicated feeling to celebrate a day tied to both tragedy and joy. On one hand, the day exists only because of terrible events. On the other, you must remember it — because without the context of your history, you’ll be adrift, rootless, in a world all too eager to tell you you’re less than.

The X-Men understand this. So when Storm says, “Remember,” it should be taken seriously. The memory is kept for the mutants who came before, those who will come after, and as a reminder to all mutants that every breath they take is a victory over those who wanted to destroy them.

Enough sentiment, though — this issue is great! It’s a snapshot of the current X-world and a perfect jumping-on point for anyone hesitant to dive into today’s X-books. Shout out the Hellfire fashion as well. Storm is literally Marvel’s Beyoncé, and you can’t convince me otherwise.


X-Men by Chris Claremont: Prelude to a Future Past #1
I’ll be honest: I didn’t understand what was going on in this issue, so I’ll need to brush up on some classic Claremont X-Men and give it a second read. Luckily, this giant-size book includes the original Uncanny X-Men #141 — a bonus almost worth the price of admission on its own.


As for the new story, it’s classic Claremont — thought bubbles abound — and Salvador Larroca’s art is pristine, rendering an iconic X-Men era in 4K. Nightcrawler and Rachel Summers take center stage in a tale that fills in some gaps of Rachel's time as a mutant-hunting Hound.


Another bonus in this book: Chris Claremont interviews and script pages from “Days of Future Past.” Definitely worth checking out for fans of classic X-Men.

 

My name is Jair Tolliver.

I've worked at Dr No's for about less than a year and I've been patronizing them for half my life. I like comics, video games, music and sometimes sports.

I’m a GSU graduate, veteran sandwich artist, and aspiring writer. Ask me about the X-Men or my anime car sometime.

I think all comics are good they're human expression, dreams put to a page through days, months and years of dedication. They're windows into other worlds, aspirations of all we can be, warnings of what we may become and everything in between. Above all I think comics can help us understand the things we often don't consider.

That's what I want these reviews to do, help folks understand maybe even appreciate something they haven't seen before, but yea lemme wrap this up I got books to file. Happy reading!