Weekly Reader, November 24, 2025

[Jeff]

Small new issues from the big 2 so I'm packing Thanksgiving week with a lot of trades to catch up on.

Puppet Master (Jeff's Pick)
Green Arrow (1988-1997) #28



Marvel Unlimited
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Legion of Super-Heroes #12
ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT)
BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12)

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man Vol 11  (Collects issues 41-44)
The Seasons Vol 1 (Collects issues 1-4)
Deviant Vol 2 (Collects issues 5-9)
Wynd Book Three  (Collects issues 1-5)
Jupiters Legacy Vol 6: Finale (Collects issues 1-5)

Crossgen
The First #5
Sigil #10
Scion #10
Meridian #10

ComiXology
Mann's World   #1
Mann's World   #2
Mann's World   #3
Mann's World   #4

———————————————————————————————

[Perry]

No Absolute Bats, Jeff?
Not too bad of a week, depending on if those new issues that I follow hit Hoopla this week. Seems like that is a 50/50 chance here lately.


Marvel Unlimited
Black Cat #1
Marvel All-in-One: Thing #1
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Absolute Batman Annual 2025
Batman and Robin: Year One #12
Hellblazer #82
Legion of Super-Heroes #12

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man v10 (issues 37-40)
Conan: Scourge of Serpent #3 (?)
Escape #4 (?)
Geiger #18 (?)

Crossgen
Sigil #10
Scion #10

Puppet Master (Jeff)
Green Arrow #28

———————————————————————————————

Ult Panther - Decent fill-in art helped this (in so much as it has the same feel and similar look to the main artist), and while I still am not sold on the... Adamantium creature... to say without too much spoilage... I liked this issue more than the last.

Spoiler

And I really liked the knife the stores the pain from each cut, that was awesome! So Doctor Strange like... I mean Steven, but hey...

[close]

Imperial - An ending that has me a little more excited than it probably should do, but yeah, looking forward to this. Good exposition issue as well, to catch us up on the... underlying plans 

All-in-one (or The Thing Kills the Marvel U) - I am not the biggest fan of McGuinness art, but he does quite well here, and Ben rarely has looked more imposing. That was cool.

Spoiler

Ending with it all being Impossible Man was... haha... great. I mean, we knew something was going on and great to see that little imp return.

[close]

Even if it was just a throw away issue 

Black Cat - Tried this in the hope that it would bring me back to the feeling I had reading the older MacKay Back Cat series' (before he got boring), and while it came up well short of that, I did see promise in this for my granddaughter. I think I may buy this for her. She has been reading comics and I think this would fit right in with her reading

[Perry]

Marvel Unlimited
Black Cat #1
Marvel All-in-One: Thing #1
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Absolute Batman Annual 2025
Batman and Robin: Year One #12
Hellblazer #82
Legion of Super-Heroes #12

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man v10 (issues 37-40)
Conan: Scourge of Serpent #3 (?)
Escape #4 (?)
Geiger #18 (?)
Redcoat #15 <- Added
Gehenna: Naked Aggression v1 (issues 1-4) <- Added

Crossgen
Sigil #10
Scion #10

Puppet Master (Jeff)
Green Arrow #28

———————————————————————————————

Legion - *sigh*
Not blaming all my anger... nor my petulance on the story, this time, though once you read it you'll know what mostly bothers me personally about it. No, this time I also have to give some of my dissatisfaction points to the art. Inker Mike Machlan is NOT a replacement for Larry Mahlsted (sp?), by any means, and there are some pretty bad panels here that make the story less than enjoyable, especially in the later half, so there is that. But (as I seem to keep repeating), I am hoping things settle into actual story movement soon. Although if things hold true, we will have to listen to characters complain about membership, leadership and/or co-leadership for another 10 issues first and hell, maybe even throw in a club re-vote for good measure. I mean good lord. How many panels have we had about fighting bad guys in comparison to how many panels relating to membership, in some form? Oh sure, I know it is a small percentage, really, but if you are getting punched in the face only 20% of the time someone walks past you, you tend to remember that 20% more than the remaining 80%. We've done it, now stop with the damn daytime soap opera stuff and give me damn space opera stuff.

That said, looking forward to issue #13

[Jeff]

No Absolute Bats, Jeff?

Yes!  It got deleted when I did a copy to my checklist software.  I fixed it and put it back!

Thanks for pointing it out for me.

[Jeff]

Puppet Master (Jeff's Pick)
Green Arrow (1988-1997) #28

Marvel Unlimited
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Legion of Super-Heroes #12
ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT)
BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12)

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man Vol 11  (Collects issues 41-44)
The Seasons Vol 1 (Collects issues 1-4)
Deviant Vol 2 (Collects issues 5-9)
Wynd Book Three  (Collects issues 1-5)
Jupiters Legacy Vol 6: Finale (Collects issues 1-5)

Crossgen
The First #5
Sigil #10
Scion #10
Meridian #10

ComiXology
Mann's World  #1
Mann's World  #2
Mann's World  #3
Mann's World  #4

———————————————————————————————

Green Arrow (1988-1997) #28 - Mike Grell writing two of my favorite Mike Grell characters. But it was just ok.  Fun nostalgia though.

Imperial #3 - Pretty good issue and liked the twist ending. Can't wait to see how that plays out.

Ultimate Black Panther #19 - Not wild about this arc. Hope it's done soon.

Legion of Super-Heroes #12 - Perry's right. A whole issue about an election is kind of boring.

[Jeff]

Puppet Master (Jeff's Pick)
Green Arrow (1988-1997) #28

Marvel Unlimited
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Legion of Super-Heroes #12
ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT)
BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12) 

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man Vol 11  (Collects issues 41-44)
The Seasons Vol 1 (Collects issues 1-4)
Deviant Vol 2 (Collects issues 5-9)
Wynd Book Three  (Collects issues 1-5)
Jupiters Legacy Vol 6: Finale (Collects issues 1-5)

Crossgen
The First #5
Sigil #10
Scion #10
Meridian #10

ComiXology
Mann's World  #1
Mann's World  #2
Mann's World  #3
Mann's World  #4

———————————————————————————————

ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT) - I wasn't a fan of the art here but the overall both stories were decent.

BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12) - nice by the numbers ending for the mini series.  I liked the pairing of Two Face and Clayface.  A win for DC.

Ice Cream Man Vol 11  (Collects issues 41-44)
    Issue 41 - good little spy story. 007 with a touch of the creepy!
    Issue 42 - Ugh. Hated this issue.
    Issue 43 - An interesting experiment. 24 one page stories by various writers.  I like the effort but I didn't care for any of the stories.
    Issue 44 - And we end with another good issue. This Holt company is scary!

[Perry]

ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT) - I wasn't a fan of the art here...

Ha, of course. Once again we are further apart on the art than writing  I understand however, it isn't the clean look that attracts your eye, but as I love me some stylized art (when it's good... subjectively ) I loved it I think DWJ is an amazing talent and wish he did more stuff I read. I am personally not into Transformers, but I know he's been killing it over there.

BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12) - nice by the numbers ending for the mini series.

Indeed. Nothing in here that makes this a "special" story, but sometimes reading a comic with a lighter, more upbeat tone is a nice way to start the day  Bravo!

So nothing on Hoopla on the release of the Escape or Geiger issues, as of yet, but the Conan one dropped.


Marvel Unlimited
Black Cat #1
Marvel All-in-One: Thing #1
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Absolute Batman Annual 2025
Batman and Robin: Year One #12
Hellblazer #82
Legion of Super-Heroes #12

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man v10 (issues 37-40)
Conan: Scourge of Serpent #3 <- Added
Escape #4 (?)
Geiger #18 (?)
Redcoat #15
Gehenna: Naked Aggression v1 (issues 1-4)

Crossgen
Sigil #10
Scion #10

Puppet Master (Jeff)
Green Arrow #28

———————————————————————————————

Green Arrow - A fine issue featuring the virtual doppelgangers; Ollie and Morgan. This read (felt), to me, like that Tom King Danger Street mini and that was kinda cool  
On another level, altogether I can honestly say, that if I was stranded on an island, with every single comic that was every published, I can promise you that even after 10 years of reading, I never would have plucked this issue from the long box, and THAT is why this Puppet Master thing is so damn cool!!! Thanks, Jeff

Redcoat - Wow, okay, let's talk tonal shift  This was a good read. I was hoping for a different... ending reveal... but aside from that that was a fun, almost reflective issue 

Hellblazer - This issue may have taken me 30... 45 minutes to read?  I have no idea as I lost track of time. This was perhaps the wordiest comic I have ever read . It was good, I mean Ennis knows how to write, but daaaaamn, this thing was beefier than that Long Horn steer Jeff took a picture of the other week 

Bat and Robin: Year one - A good end to an uplifting, light-hearted comic. Especially compared to what we get nowadays. Nice change, good mini 

Abso Batman annual - I know this is not the art style Jeff tends to enjoy, but I loved every page, every panel of this!!! The way DWJ so aggressively draws Batman obliterating opponents... you can feel his punch going through the bad guys, not just hitting them, but hitting through them, just like your fighting instructor tells you  Yeah I enjoyed the look of this, but what I enjoyed most?

Spoiler

getting the origin of the DUMP TRUCK BATMABILE!!!

[close]

[Gay Titan]

Got to my LCS just before they closed early for the holiday.

Absolute Batman #14
Cloak or Dagger #2
Green Arrow #30
Justice League Unlimited #13
Thundercats #21

[Jeff]

Puppet Master (Jeff's Pick)
Green Arrow (1988-1997) #28

Marvel Unlimited
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Legion of Super-Heroes #12
ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT)
BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12) 
ADD: K.O. #2 - I missed this on my original pass.

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man Vol 11  (Collects issues 41-44)
The Seasons Vol 1 (Collects issues 1-4)
Deviant Vol 2 (Collects issues 5-9)
Wynd Book Three  (Collects issues 1-5)
Jupiters Legacy Vol 6: Finale (Collects issues 1-5)

Crossgen
The First #5
Sigil #10
Scion #10
Meridian #10

ComiXology
Mann's World  #1
Mann's World  #2
Mann's World  #3
Mann's World  #4

———————————————————————————————

[Perry]

Marvel Unlimited
Black Cat #1
Marvel All-in-One: Thing #1
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Absolute Batman Annual 2025
Batman and Robin: Year One #12
Hellblazer #82
Legion of Super-Heroes #12

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man v10 (issues 37-40)
Conan: Scourge of Serpent #3
Redcoat #15
Gehenna: Naked Aggression v1 (issues 1-4)

Crossgen
Sigil #10
Scion #10

Puppet Master (Jeff)
Green Arrow #28

———————————————————————————————

Gehenna - Kind of a mixture of Leon the Professional and John Wick... action, guns, fighting, hitmen, etc... with art that is a mixture of Gabriel Ba (Umbrella Academy) and Chris Burnham. Looks amazing, story was... okay. Nothing I can recommend, but I will probably return for v2 

Conan - This story is good, but it just reminds me too much of the "event" we just recently went through. I think this is better, but it is hurt by the similarity 

Ice Cream Man
    #37 - A very interesting look into mental health. The intermingling off the bright and cuddly with war and trauma, and self-harm.
    #38 - I, Perry45, really enjoyed this one, about the multitudes of Gary, and his effort to escape 
    #39/40 - An amazing two-parter about the use and understanding of time... especially in regards to comic panel usage... oh, and 5 seconds of a vehicular accident . Good stuff here, even the short story at the end. 

[Jeff]

Ice Cream Man
    #37 - A very interesting look into mental health. The intermingling off the bright and cuddly with war and trauma, and self-harm.
    #38 - I, Perry45, really enjoyed this one, about the multitudes of Gary, and his effort to escape 
    #39/40 - An amazing two-parter about the use and understanding of time... especially in regards to comic panel usage... oh, and 5 seconds of a vehicular accident . Good stuff here, even the short story at the end. 

Vol 10 may be my favorite Ice Cream man volume.  That one was really good.

[Jeff]

Puppet Master (Jeff's Pick)
Green Arrow (1988-1997) #28

Marvel Unlimited
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Legion of Super-Heroes #12
ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 (ONE SHOT)
BATMAN & ROBIN: YEAR ONE #12 (OF 12)
K.O. #2

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man Vol 11  (Collects issues 41-44)
The Seasons Vol 1 (Collects issues 1-4)
Deviant Vol 2 (Collects issues 5-9)
Wynd Book Three  (Collects issues 1-5)
Jupiters Legacy Vol 6: Finale (Collects issues 1-5)

Crossgen
The First #5
Sigil #10
Scion #10
Meridian #10

ComiXology
Mann's World  #1
Mann's World  #2
Mann's World  #3
Mann's World  #4

———————————————————————————————

K.O. #2 - I'm actually enjoying this. Been fun seeing who survives compared to who I picked.

The Seasons Vol 1 (Collects issues 1-4) - This is girly creepy if that makes any sense? I don't think I'm going to continue on it. I kind of want to know how it ends but I don't want to take the journey.

[Perry]

Ice Cream Man
    #37 - A very interesting look into mental health. The intermingling off the bright and cuddly with war and trauma, and self-harm.
    #38 - I, Perry45, really enjoyed this one, about the multitudes of Gary, and his effort to escape 
    #39/40 - An amazing two-parter about the use and understanding of time... especially in regards to comic panel usage... oh, and 5 seconds of a vehicular accident . Good stuff here, even the short story at the end. 

Vol 10 may be my favorite Ice Cream man volume.  That one was really good.

It was a good one, for sure! 

[Perry]

Okay, finished ahead of schedule, with a little caveat. Now I just need to see if I am adding anything else, in addition, or taking the week-end off. Still hoping for Hoopla to drop a couple more issues, but...

Oh, and somehow I had Conan: Scourge of Serpent as issue #3, it is #2. Fixed now
 
 
Marvel Unlimited
Black Cat #1
Marvel All-in-One: Thing #1
Imperial #3
Ultimate Black Panther #19

DC Universe Ultra
Absolute Batman Annual 2025
Batman and Robin: Year One #12
Hellblazer #82
Legion of Super-Heroes #12

Hoopla
Ice Cream Man v10 (issues 37-40)
Conan: Scourge of Serpent #2
Redcoat #15
Gehenna: Naked Aggression v1 (issues 1-4)

Crossgen
Sigil #10
Scion #10
 
Puppet Master (Jeff)
Green Arrow #28

———————————————————————————————

Sigil - I totally forgot that I had decided to wait until issue #12 to resume reading this. When Mark Waid starts on writing. I got a few pages in until I remembered. Ha, Yeah, bowing out again until #12. Maybe? 

Scion - Coloring and bad "copy" aside (this is still too dark and the text hard to see at times... though it does get better), this title was kind of just going through the motions a little, more than I remembered it doing, until about the halfway point of this issue where we get a couple cool things happen that make me look forward to more. Still not sure when I started buying these (or any of the main four: Scion, Sigil, Meridian and Mystic) but it was close to this time. Negation isn't too many months away from this point, so it is close. Anyway, the ending made me a little more excited about the upcoming issues.