DC K.O. #1
It’s March Madness for nerds in a shonen-style tournament that will shake the DC Universe to its foundations. Darkseid has returned to life, and he has the entire universe in his sights. To make matters worse, he’s different—exponentially more powerful than our heroes have ever seen. Darkseid is unstoppable. The only way forward is for Earth’s heroes to take drastic measures—for one of them to become something infernal.
This book has a ridiculous premise, even by comic standards: a grand tournament where heroes and villains fight each other to determine who will face Darkseid in the grand finale. Despite this, Scott Snyder plays it straight, honing in on Clark Kent as the emotional core of the story. The result is refreshing—a grand, line-wide epic that still manages to tell an incredible story. I went into this without reading the prologue ("Justice League Unlimited" No. 11 and "Justice League: The Omega Act Special" #1, if you’re interested), and the story flowed without skipping a beat.
It’s a testament to Snyder’s writing. He’s juggling a lot of characters, and while Superman takes the spotlight here, there are plenty of great moments for other heroes. Batman and Superman’s dynamic makes for some of the most emotional moments in the story. Wonder Woman is fully in warrior-goddess mode, and the other Leaguers have gotten upgrades of their own as well. The montage of heroes selecting their best gear feels campy and infuses an otherwise straightforward story with Saturday morning cartoon levels of fun.
This book could easily rest on Snyder’s bold premise and Javi Fernández’s superb art. Instead, it presents us with a Superman who’s scared—scared that this time, the League will lose, that Darkseid will truly be the end of all life. It’s terrifying to see fear in Superman’s eyes—but don’t fret. The Blue Boy Scout isn’t giving up yet. Besides, Bruce and Diana would never let him.
Maybe this battle is futile (I mean, did you see Darkseid in those preview pages?), but even so, Superman and his cohorts are ready to rumble and rage against Darkseid’s light.
If the rest of the series is anything like this first issue, "DC K.O." is poised to be the best superhero event comic since Jonathan Hickman’s "Secret Wars". Add this one to your pull list ASAP—and secure those variant covers in advance. I swear, Daniel Warren Johnson’s cover for this issue puts the Mona Lisa to shame.
Deluge #1
Cullen Bunn and Marika Cresta team up to deliver a blockbuster survival story, rife with action and drama alike. It’s just another day in Missouri’s Sierville Penitentiary: tend the fields, obey the guards, and keep your head down. As the only farming prison in the state, it’s a relic—even for 1993—a place where inmates do hard work and hard time. It’s business as usual until it starts to rain. And as the water rises, so does the tension inside the prison.
I love a good slow burn, and this first issue lulls you into a false sense of security as you get to know the residents of Sierville Prison. The inmates are a charismatic lot, and Bunn does a great job making every character feel real and complex in the short time we spend with them. Marika Cresta delivers fantastic work, crafting unique character designs—every inmate stands out, quite the feat given they all wear the same orange uniform.
As I read, I genuinely forgot this book was a horror story. Learning the backstories of the characters and what landed them in prison was so engaging it felt more like a drama about prison life than a sea monster survival tale. It’s all prestige TV drama—until someone gets chomped in half by an overgrown eel.
The story draws heavily from the creature feature and B-movie genres, albeit with sharper writing and visuals. Every part of the story is engaging—from character flashbacks to a simple tour of the prison. It all builds toward a shocking twist that will dismiss any notion of this being a simple day-in-the-life drama.
Red Book I #1
Fans of "The Department of Truth", rejoice. James Tynion IV has returned with an all-new conspiracy comic—and this time, it’s even weirder.
First things first: How do you feel about communism?
Got your answer? All right, cool.
Hmm... okay, yeah, I can see your point—even if I don’t necessarily agree.
Now, how about **space communism**?
Yeah, see—you probably never considered that beings from beyond our stars might think toiling to maximize shareholder profits isn’t exactly an enlightened way of life.
That’s just part of the excellent mystery laid out in "Red Room" #1—a sprawling story that reads like a restricted case file full of government cover-ups, mysterious happenings, UFOs, and missing persons. Tynion’s writing is so detailed it feels like you’ve truly stumbled across a top-secret document—one that might get you put on a list for reading it. He builds a rousing mystery step by step that will leave you scrounging for answers.
The art has a fitting, old-school style that uses a minimalist color palette, emphasizing the Cold War-era feel of the story. What’s most engaging, though, is the idea that otherworldly visitors might find our way of life primitive—not because we lack flying saucers or ray guns, but because of the scale of human suffering we passively accept as normal.
It seems that, in this book, a truly advanced alien race may not be defined by military might, but by the welfare of its people.
Or it could all be the front for a malevolent invasion. You’ll have to pick it up to find out
I've worked at Dr No's for just 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!
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