411’s Comic Reviews: Batman: Damned #3, Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1, More

Hello and welcome to 411mania’s weekly Comic Book Review! Each week we’ll be serving up a warm dish of reviews (and previews) from Marvel, DC, and anything else that captures our interest. What did you pick up this week? Let us know in the comments.Want to write a review? If you can write at least one review a week, consistently, email me at [email protected]!

Relay, vol 1: Reality Denied TPB

Preview by Steve Gustafson

In the future, every planet is culturally unified through a monolithic structure known as the Galactic Relay. Although the towering monument is meant to inspire conformity of ideas, many resent the foreign structure. Jad Carter, a Relay employee, must keep the peace and act as an emissary to new civilizations. But when he finds the Relay’s mythological creator, Hank Donaldson, his idea of reality and the universe shatters.

Written by Zac Thompson (HER INFERNAL DESCENT, THE REPLACER, The Dregs) from a story by Zac Thompson, Eric Bromberg (PESTILENCE) and Donny Cates (BABYTEETH, God Country, Redneck) with art by Andy Clarke (REPLICA, Batman) and Dalibor Talajic (WITCH HAMMER, Old Man Logan). Volume 1 contains the entire first arc – issues #1-5, plus the #0 origin issue from Free Comic Book Day 2018.

Breakneck #1

Preview by Steve Gustafson

During an angry confrontation at two-bit motel, Joe Hayward is thrown headfirst into the middle of a frightening terrorist plot to bring Philadelphia to its knees. With only two hours to thwart the attack, Joe is going to need all the help he can get… including that of his wife’s paramour!

A mild-mannered consultant is reluctantly forced into a race against the clock as he attempts to thwart a terrorist plot, in this gritty, countdown crime thriller set in modern-day Philadelphia.

Once & Future #1

Preview by Steve Gustafson

BOOM! Studios and ComicHub announced a new partnership for comic shop retailers in support of ONCE & FUTURE #1, kicking off the year’s most anticipated new series from New York Times bestselling writer Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + The Divine, Star Wars) and Russ Manning Award-winning artist Dan Mora (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Klaus).

Through this partnership, BOOM! Studios will pair its industry-leading retailer incentives in support ONCE & FUTURE with the burgeoning international reach of ComicHub’s network of comic book specialty stores to directly promote the series to customers utilizing the platform. Additionally, retailers who are also members of the BOOM! Guarantee program, the industry’s gold standard for returnability programs, can sign up for ComicHub and receive $100 off their startup fee when they sign up at Retailer.Comichub.com. The combination of risk-free, affidavit returns on the entire ONCE & FUTURE comic series and eventual collection combined with ComicHub’s next generation suite of customer, retailer, and publisher tools will allow the publisher to assist retailers directly in maximizing their sell through at launch.

Debuting in August 2019, ONCE & FUTURE explores the mysteries of the past, the complicated truths of our history and the power of family to save the day…especially if that family has secret bunkers of ancient weapons and decades of experience hunting the greatest monsters in Britain’s history!

When a group of Nationalists use an ancient artifact to bring a villain from Arthurian myth back from the dead to gain power, ex-monster hunter Bridgette McGuire pulls her unsuspecting grandson Duncan, a museum curator, into a world of magic and mysticism to defeat a legendary threat. Now the two must navigate the complicated history of the McGuire family and combat the deadly secrets of England’s past that threaten its very future.

Doom Patrol: Weight of the Worlds #1

Review by Steve Gustafson

All hail the Supreme Shape! Gerard Way and the World’s Strangest Superheroes return in an all-new series that takes them beyond the borders of time and space! Featuring artwork by acclaimed cartoonist James Harvey, this issue finds the Doom Patrol facing off against the fanatical fitness fiends of planet Orbius and the Marathon Eternal! Meanwhile, Cliff Steele, formerly known as Robotman, must come to terms with his new body of flesh and bone…yet the real test turns out to be something far more frightening: his mom.

I’ve been a fan of just about every incarnation of the Doom Patrol since the 80s. On top of that, I really enjoyed the recent series on the DC Universe streaming platform so when I saw this, it was a no-brainer.

I’m glad I did. This issue encompasses everything you hope a Doom Patrol book would. Gerard Way, co-writer Jeremy Lambert and artist James Harvey push the book a little further in its quest to be a little stranger, a little more surreal.

The rock of the story is Robotman. Although he’s not heavily featured, what time he does have sets the tone for the book. Everything feels elevated and focused and while Doom Patrol may not be massively popular with mainstream audiences, it definitely has its place.

If you’ve every enjoyed a Doom Patrol book in the past or like the series, give this a read.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Batman: Damned #3

Review by John Pumpernickel

We’ve come to the end and after all the hype and controversy, Batman: Damned ends up being more of a shrug of the shoulders than putting a meaningful stamp on the Batman myth.

Writer Brian Azzarello sets the board with plenty of intriguing scenarios but leaves too many questions unanswered. It’s those elements that we’re missing that distracts from the story. Would another issue have changed that? I can’t say for sure.

Artist Lee Bermejo delivers breathtaking artwork and that’s almost enough to make this a must buy.

The story itself involves Batman and John Constantine going around Gotham attempting to solve a mystery from his and the Joker’s past. Like I mentioned, the set up has plenty of meat on the bone but reaches too far, with characters disappearing from the story with no explanation.

Batman: Damned launched DC’s Black Label and I still don’t know what the aim of the imprint is. I’m not sure DC does either. Damned caught headlines with its inclusion of showing off Bruce Wayne’s bat bits. It’s debatable if that helped or hindered the book but it got people talking.

An OK book but never elevates itself to fulfill the promise it had.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

That’s all the time we have. Tell us what you’re reading below and see you back here next week! You can now find our reviews on ComicBookRoundUp.com!