In this week’s Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday Comics Review, the team reviews the Universal Monsters – The Invisible Man finale, DSTLRY’s new Galactic #1, the Spawn Christmas one-shot, and more. Also a progress report!
Universal Monsters – The Invisible Man #4
Screenplay: James Tynion IV
Artist: Dani
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Author: Becca Carey
Publisher: Image Comics – Skybound
Review by Khalid Johnson
The Invisible Man #4 is a great conclusion to the reward of our dear scientist Griffin’s pursuits, where he finds himself in the position of prey and predator. And it’s interesting who his ultimate enemy is – a young boy who is much more inaccessible than he is.
Themes here include the burden and folly of self-esteem, and how we make our lives “normal” and “mediocre” compared to how we feel our lives should be. I think this is stupid because of Griffin’s privileged position. This man has enough money and property, and his ideal of “freedom” is a life in which he can kill anyone without being seen. He becomes bored and bored and eventually turns the experiment on himself.
The beauty of James Tynion IV’s story is the exploration of the monster before its transformation. Griffin, as we know him, was always going to be this way in some way. I think this contrasts very well with Tommy, who didn’t ask for this, and who didn’t share Griffin’s misanthropy or desire for brutal violence. Griffin’s original poverty was lonely, but not so lonely that it made him invisible.
Dani’s way of drawing these pages feels connected to Tim Sale’s work, and the colors by Brad Simpson and lettering by Becca Carey are impactful throughout this series. Griffin’s shadows and linework add this wonderfully elevated drama, and I can’t praise him enough for his reliance on Simpson, who helps define the inverted silhouettes of the invisible, his strong black sensitivity, and the colors and textures interwoven with Carrey’s letters.
This final issue is great, and Griffin’s final dilemma after getting what he wants is poetic. The Invisible Man #4 is a great conclusion.
Galaxy #1
Screenplay: Kurt Pires
Art: Amilcar Pina
Color: Lee Lockridge
Letter: Micah Myers
Publisher: DSTLRY
Review by Clyde Hall
Will Star Wars rock an R rating as a grindhouse vision of a Quentin Tarantino-esque space opera? This is basically how DSTLRY promotes Galactic, and the simile is spot on. But there’s a lot more to the mix, with Game of Thrones and perhaps Dune drama included as part of the recipe. Writer Kurt Pires really threw a lot at the interstellar wall to see what would attract enough G’s to stick.
To his credit, much of it is published in the Premier issue. In addition to the familiar tropes, this worldly layer clearly has a certain reckless, rogue appeal. Still, these metaphors are recognizable and lead in expected directions. This reduces the element of surprise as to the path this story takes. When we get Joffrey Wright, Pires doesn’t play with our expectations, instead making him do exactly what we imagine the character would do. Deviations may appear later in the run, but what about the first entry? I felt it was as expected. Perhaps that’s the point.
That’s not to say it’s not fun. We’re in the Hallmark movie season where familiar movies are comforting. And Amilcar Pinna sets a festive sci-fi table with drool-worthy artwork. The ads are also pretty accurate. Both the story and the illustrations feature familiar characters strutting through adult situations not present in the original.
Jecht Marko and Wolf are bounty hunters who fly the spaceship The Bombshell through space, completing jobs and receiving sanctions. They have earned a reputation for not being delicate. Not a good one, but still. After explaining their chaotic method of operation, the bounty agent gives them a lucrative contract. Celia, the daughter of the Prime Minister of the Silva family, is believed to have left the country of her own accord out of a rebellious spirit, and has gone missing. Bringing her back would mean a big payday for Hunter. Naturally, that chaotic work ethic gets in the way and ends up inviting all sorts of misfortune before the situation becomes fatally mired in deeply divisive House politics.
The first issue is truly beautiful, with Pina’s unique panel placement and splashes drawing you in with a black hole level of charm. I’ll admit that it took me a while to understand the progression pattern when I read it in digital format, but maybe that’s just me. There’s also a playful costume design utilized by Pinna, reinforcing its recognition with other franchises and properties.
Pires’ screenplay similarly has a playful tone at times. Jecht is looking to cheat, but his accuracy may not quite match Malcolm Reynolds’ shot-for-shot, and he may even outperform him in a banter match. Celia could pass as a space princess, a nexus of both Leia and Vespa. There are also moments when the artist or writer expresses pathos for the protagonist, either visually or through dialogue. They achieve reader understanding, but given the tone of the book, developing deep feelings for the cast seemed early on and moments like that front and center. However, keep an eye out for the relationship to deepen in future issues as a power grab by spaceships paints the void of space even darker. If the romance is R, the combat could also be on the cosmic Saving Private Ryan scope.
If you’re tickled by Easter egg costumes from other sci-fi and space opera fiction, or if you grin when you see a meme proclaiming, “I think we got the wrong Flash Gordon movie!” We think you’ll love Galactic while viewing the DVD cover and Flesh Gordon scenes. Therein lies the appeal of familiar flavors. There’s also enough humor and action to get you jumping into hyperspace, as well as some poignant content that the creative team has laid the foundation for within these pages.
devil on shoulder #1
Screenplay: Kyle Starks
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Colorist: Brad Simpson
Author: Joshua Reed
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Deadline: November 26th
Review by Zach Quaintance
The comic begins with the following sentence: They said my name was Dog.
Given the background of the creative team (more on this later), I thought this might be a line played for laughs. But that wasn’t the case. Quite the opposite, and as a result, this manga was not at all what I expected, but that was more important to me than the book itself. The book is the work of the creative team of writer Kyle Starks, artist Piotr Kowalski, colorist Brad Simpson, and letterer Joshua Reed. The artist and writer have previously worked together on the (highly underrated) series “Where Monsters Lie,” which is horror with some laughs.
In fact, most (but not all) of Starks’ works tend to include laughter. So I thought I knew what to expect here. But in the end, Devil on MyShoulder #1 is much darker than past Starks and Kowalski collaborations, driven by a grim tale of torture and revenge. In fact, it’s much darker than the majority of comics I’ve read this year. Admittedly, that’s a tough story.
And be warned, when this manga reaches its darkest point, it becomes very disturbing. The story follows a woman who is kidnapped, held captive and brutally abused in every way by a group of young men for several weeks. We watch a montage of that abuse, and it’s sick to the stomach. Art (which is very strong throughout) delivers the torture in a roughly even manner, hitting harder. It’s not sensational or stylish.
It’s just something that’s happening, it’s anxiety-provoking, and that’s what matters.
Ensign record start date 11262025
As IDW’s Star Trek comics continue to expand, Ensign Avery Kaplan is here to carefully keep track.
Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming #3
Screenplay: Susan Bridges & Tilly Bridges
Artist: Angel Hernandez
Colorist: Charlie Kirchoff
Letterer: Neil Uetake
The third issue of Star Trek: Voyager – Homecoming continues to move the story forward…and in a way that makes you believe it was the show’s eighth season. In this issue, that means another familiar VOY antagonist is added to balance out the presence of Species 8472. Like previous issues, Voyager – Homecoming #3 includes character spotlight moments for most of the crew.
Thanks to the continuity of shows like Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Picard, we know that some plotlines reach satisfying resolutions…but for now, it’s up to readers to guess how those resolutions will be reached. Voyager – Homecoming #3 once again shows that the entire creative team (writers Susan Bridges & Tilly Bridges, artist Angel Hernandez, colorist Charlie Kirchhoff, and letterer/designer Neil Yuetake) continues to understand this challenge. We really hope that the story of Voyager Season 8 continues beyond the fifth issue of this limited series.
progress report
2000AD 2460 (Rebellion Publishing): The hefty Red Dragon, set in Grant Morrison and Steve Yowell’s classic Zenith comics universe (and sharing some of the same characters), comes to a close with this week’s prog. And while I have to look back at everything I’ve covered in this field so far this year, I think this might be my favorite of the 2025 AD 2000 stories. A bad writer might call this a slow-burn mystery comic (about a character with the power to start a fire), but I don’t think so. Instead, I’d call it a challenging dual narrative that uses hidden information to build to a fantastic crescendo. This is a story written by Rob Williams and told over two timelines. One drawn by Patrick Goddard (colored by Dylan Teague), the other by Yowell, all accompanied by letters by Simon Bowland. I’ve marveled at how well this space juggles what to reveal and when, and indeed, that’s certainly carried through to this final chapter. But to be honest, I had a little trouble reading this piece when I was reading it in parts, and I didn’t fully understand it until I read it in parts. But that’s okay. I think it’s because of the intrigue and complexity. This week’s final chapter was quite long and covered a lot of ground. But the pacing makes you want to read, and the ending is certainly worth the mystery so far. It takes a while to really sink into the themes here (shady American operatives, being an outcast among your peers, having a provincial small-town mentality, etc.), but I think the fact that there’s so much to process speaks to just how good this comic was from start to finish. This week’s cover (above) is by Nick Percival. As always, your digital copy of The Prog is available here. —Zach Quaintance
Column edited by Zach Quaintance.
Read past entries in the Weekly Wednesday Comics Review series or check out other reviews here!
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