Comic Picks by the Glick

Manga and Comic Reviews

Invincible vol. 23: Full House

Savor the title of this volume because it’s likely the last we’ll see of “Invincible’s” traditional naming scheme when it comes to these things.  I’m expecting the titles of its last two volumes to be “The End of All Things, Part One” and “Part Two,” respectively and this volume really does read like a buildup […]

Ajin: Demi-Human vol. 9

I think I preferred this series back when it was on the verge of becoming a trainwreck.  Even if “Ajin” was preparing to go off the rails at any moment, there was fun and excitement at the thought of seeing it happen.  This is compared to the series as it is now which is fairly […]

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth vol. 15 — Cometh the Hour

I was awaiting this volume with one big expectation.  After all, Mike Mignola provided an end to “Hellboy’s” saga last year, and delivered the final proper volume of “Abe Sapien” leaving “B.P.R.D.” to be the only title to advance the ongoing story of the Mignolaverse.  With word that it would be coming to an end […]

Spider-Man: Miles Morales vol. 2

As far as getting an actual superhero story about Miles Morales’ adventures in the Marvel Universe, this volume is a step in the right direction.  The main issue here is that “Miles Negotiates the Fallout From ‘Civil War II’” isn’t really a proper story.  It starts off with our protagonist getting a call from Tony […]

Karnak: The Flaw in All Things

A strain of bitter cynicism flows through all of Warren Ellis’ work for Marvel.  Usually this manifests as characters openly mocking superhero conventions while expressing their friendly contempt for their comrades-in-tights.  When done right, this can enliven familiar setups as seen in “Nextwave:  Agents of H.A.T.E.”  Applied incorrectly and you get a strained superhero bitch-fest […]

Assassination Classroom vol. 15

I went into this volume with high hopes regarding the promised origin of Principal Gakuho Asano.  What turned this once-caring educator into the ruthless victory-at-any-cost authoritarian that we’ve come to know in this series?  As it turns out, the reason why is pretty straightforward:  He felt responsible for the death of a student and changed […]

The Walking Dead vol. 27: The Whisperer War

The previous volume was my pick for best comic of 2016 for these reasons:  It took a storyline that I wasn’t quite sure about — Negan escaping and falling in with the Whisperers — and managed to get some quality material out of it.  Then it served up a final-page twist that I did not […]

Batman: Night of the Monster Men

For the first major Bat-crossover of the “Rebirth” era the creators involved are going all Kaiju Big Battle on us.  While the entire Bat-team is getting ready to provide emergency assistance to Gotham as a hurricane bears down on the city things take a turn for the crazy when a giant monster starts barrelling down […]