411’s Comic Reviews: Heroes in Crisis #9, Batman: Last Knight On Earth #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]!

Adventure Time: Marcy & Simon #6

Preview by Steve Gustafson

BOOM! Studios and Cartoon Network revealed a first look at ADVENTURE TIME™: MARCY & SIMON #6 (of 6). Writer Olivia Olson (voice of Marceline, Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time™) and artist Slimm Fabert (Adventure Time™ comic series) bring fans the final issue of the exciting official comic book continuation by revealing what’s next for the once immortal Simon and the still immortal Vampire Queen Marceline in comic book form.

Marcy and Simon’s friendship has endured over 900 years and through bouts of insanity and amnesia so there’s no way that friendship ends now, right? Everything comes to a head as Marcy, Simon, Jake, Finn, and BMO venture forth to confront the Golb version of Betty in order to save Simon’s memories and his life, while Marcy’s dad Hunson continues to interfere from the Nightosphere. No matter how tough the going gets, though, Marcy gets tougher and she lays everything on the line for her closest friend in this shocking conclusion to this epic story about the centuries-old connection between Simon Petrikov and Marceline the Vampire Queen.

A modern-day fable, the critically-acclaimed Adventure Time became a global success, attracting adult and kid viewers alike over the course of 10 seasons. It follows unlikely heroes Finn and Jake, buddies who traverse the mystical Land of Ooo and encounter its colorful inhabitants. The best of friends, our heroes always find themselves in the middle of heart-pounding escapades. Finn, a silly kid with an awesome hat and Jake, a brassy dog with a big kind heart, depend on each other through thick and thin. Adventure Time™ was created by Pendleton Ward and produced at Cartoon Network Studios.

Dead Kings #5

Preview by Steve Gustafson

AN EXPLOSIVE FINALE IN THE ASHES OF A FALLEN EMPIRE!

The wreck of the Rus Empire is a violent, rusted sprawl cut across an aging continent. The Oprichnik Secret Police hold a fragile order in place by removing all the socially dissident from society…these are the Chorts, the scapegoated devils of the new word…and they deserve freedom. DEAD KINGS brings it to them.

On the border of a dried up Black Sea, Sasha Vasnetsov and Maria Kamenaya have brought war to Barracks 33 to free Sasha’s brother Gena. As the barbed wire fences fall, a family reunites in the furnace of rebellion – they may free thousands, but is it too late to save their brotherhood?

Steve Orlando (Wonder Woman, Shadow/Batman, Midnighter, CRUDE) and Matthew Dow Smith (October Girl, Suicide Squad, X-Files) keep punching with captured hearts and torn fists in this post-POST apocalyptic tale.

Spencer & Locke #2

Preview by Steve Gustafson

Action Lab’s Ringo Award-nominated fan-favorite only gets crazier in SPENCER & LOCKE 2 #2, as the trial of Spencer and Locke begins here! After turning the city upside-down to stop Roach Riley, our hard-boiled heroes suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law — but what happens when Roach crashes their hearing with a sixty-ton tank? Don’t miss writer David Pepose and artist Jorge Santiago, Jr.’s high-octane send-up of the funny pages in SPENCER & LOCKE 2 #2, arriving in comic shops and on digital devices May 29, 2019!

Batman : Last Knight On Earth #1

Review by Steve Gustafson

I finished reading Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1 and had to take a walk so I could digest what I had just read. I enjoyed the book immensely but had a hard time putting into words why I exactly liked it. It’s weird. It’s odd. It’s different. And really, really good.

One of the reasons why Batman is able to not only survive not only in the comic book medium but across a number of medias is the characters adaptability. You can do just about anything with him. Some of my favorite Batman stories are the ones from the Elseworld imprint. So many possibilities come to life.

Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo present the final chapter of their Batman adventures with Last Knight on Earth and the mini-series will be released under the Black Label imprint. It’s a bizarre tell but one that’s so good, I went back and re-read it again. It’s a new take on Batman and it works. Shockingly well.

To go into details and spoilers would ruin the book’s impact and while I wouldn’t want every Batman story to be like this, this is one book just about anyone could pick up and be engrossed by. Grab this one and get a glimpse of what the Black Label can offer DC’s characters.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Heroes in Crisis #9

Review by John Pumpernickel

We’ve come to the end of the road for DC’s Heroes in Crisis and while I can see the trees from the forest, I’m not sure all the limbs are intact. Confused? So was I when I read this issue. Not to say it’s bad by any means, it just takes a little time travel shenanigans and I think they could have avoided that and still delivered the same message.

Writer Tom King and artist Clay Mann put together a weighty series and handled the issues with sensitivity and seriousness. At least as serious as you can when dealing with superheroes.

This issue brings it all together and hinges on Wally West. A worthy subject but the use of time travel wasn’t my favorite part and I feel it tweaked the ending for me. I understand why they did it but I’m not entirely sold.

Also, I still miss my Wally West from the 2000s. Geoff Johns write my favorite version but I know I have to let that go. Sort of like how I need to accept Wally’s current status in the DC universe. Which isn’t good.

Really like the series and can live with the ending. Solid work all around.

Rating: 9.0 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!