Henry Fuseli will be a proud man. This issue portrays Fuseli as the prime adversity of Zatanna and it has been inspired from “The Nightmare” by Henry Fuseli. It is a wonderful portrayal of the dark and horrifying visions of fear and danger. Fuseli gives Zee nightmares by using the people around Zatanna’s neighborhood and plays with her memories.

Dini does extremely well to create a tale, where the main protagonist has seen the various aspects of DC Universe. She is a part of Justice League, who has been called into action. She is a state magician, preparing for her next show, a spiritual guru of San Francisco and dons many other human avatars. She is almost exhausted of being so very involved and in such demand. Dini is doing the job of putting together various pieces and creating Zatanna’s rogues gallery, building a story that seems to be heading in some direction.

Charles Manson builds his criminal empire in a way that could give jitters to anyone. It is well organized and his network grows at a dangerous speed. He even befriends Zatanna’s new buddy, Detective Dale Cotton.

Roux again scores highly with his art work and it compliments the wonderful world created by Zatanna. As far as Fuseli is concerned, he doesn’t merely look like someone who gives nightmares to a young girl but is a very well etched character.

It is incredible the way Roux manages to put together so many strong characters together to create a very strong storyline, giving enough space to each character.

Northlanders Vol. 28 (The Plague Widow), the third story in the series is over and I must confess that it is the best of the lot. It is a complete package without any loopholes throughout the book and rightfully holds on to the attention of the reader.

It is amazing to see how amidst the current scenario of hostility, ranging from biological weapons and sealing of borders, this issue is able to maintain its topicality and yet bring upon the 11th century feel. Brian Wood perfectly showcases the good, bad and the evil side of a war and manages to play with situation very well when it came to creating diverse situations.

Every chapter creates a sense of uncertainty which is extremely absorbing to the readers and yet he never goes over the top to end a situation. Wood has very cleverly ended each issue that leaves the reader satisfied and yet wanting more out of it.

This last issue ends the series perfectly yet it gives you a feeling that it is more of an epilogue than an ending. Wood has very subtly created a situation of complete hopelessness along with a belief of victory, which manages to build a very confusing yet interesting situation for the readers.

The thing that sets this book apart is the fact that Wood has taken into consideration even the minutest details and that too in every aspect. This last issue proves what a versatile creator Wood is and this series is definitely going to position him as a strong story teller of our times. 

After last month’s not so great issue, “Wonder Woman” is back with bang with the latest issue. This is one of the best issues of Wonder Woman in a very long time and Nicola Scott makes the perfect comeback after the disappointment of the last issue.  

It starts with Gail Simone seemingly using Hippolyta to express her own feelings and letting go Diana, as we return to the night when Hippolyta urges the Amazon to be prepared to enter the Man’s World. The reaming of the issue primarily focuses on the Silver Serpent and their attack. Also the confrontation of Diana with her long-lost aunt gets great deal of priority. 

With this issue Nicola Scott has been successful in keeping her critics shut by projecting Diana as the strong yet beautiful woman, fighting her enemies in great style. Scott has made a perfect use of all the colors and variety of textures to give a very classy look and feel to the book and yet managed to project the darkness of required in almost clinical fashion. The detailed and imaginative color schemes provide a very arty look and depth. Also the cover is a great piece of work, a classic though the colors are a bit modern. 

All in all a great read as well as a real visual treat. This undoubtedly is one of Scott’s best works and the way she manages to capture your attention with subtle variations in colors and overall background is really a commendable effort.

The latest issue of Nova would prove to be an excellent read for those who love superhero books. The story is all about the war between two superhumans who hail from different points of time in the history. The story sees Sphinx going to war with his own version and the older one coming out victorious. The triumphant Sphinx has the support of Nova and some other heroes. He also has two Ka Stones in his possession which make him even more powerful.

The Stones give him immense power that can even threaten the entire existence. The story also gives the readers an opportunity to view the thrilling encounter between the Sphinx and Nova. Nova showcases his wonderful skills in the process; however the way that Sphinx bites the dust can be a little hard to digest for the readers. Although the story has some wonderful characters to start with, they do not seem to make any contribution in Sphinx’s defeat.

The story seems rather abrupt and the team-up of the two teams led by Sphinx also does not hold water in the context of the overall story. It may be due to the fact that Nova being the hero of the story had to be highlighted. The artwork of Mahmud A. Asrar seems competent enough but leaves a margin for improvement. He fails to display the dynamic movements of the characters in the cosmic action of this issue. Overall, this issue can be termed as a generic superhero book with a dramatic finish.

This issue of the X-Men: Legacy sees Mike Carey experiment with his story and it must be mentioned that he is doing a very fine job with it. The story seems to be growing with each new issue every month. Carey has managed to narrate the story beautifully with his wide range of characters and situations. Presently, the story has Rogue gearing up against Emplate but Carey has also got Bling who played the character of the trainee in X-Men.

Carey also attempts to explore the fate of Gambit at the hands of Apocalypse and uses the Utopia set up from the popular Uncanny X-Men. This gives Carey the access to Science Team and forgotten mutants like Ariel which you came across in Fallen Angels. Carey has really done a great job with the different characters at his disposal and you can see a nice playfulness surrounding in the script. The story has a wonderful mix of seriousness and humor. His genius is evident form the set up in the story which resolves the fight and chase scene making it fast and completely entertaining.

Daniel Acuna’s art is also very appreciative. His art looks as if it was printed on the page and his intelligent use of the background details and a sharp combination of lines and colors makes the images jump out from the page. Overall, this issue of the X-Men legacy is pure fun which utilizes the full X-Men cast keeping the focus on Rogue and promises to be a great read.

In the Fables Vol. 7: Arabian Nights (and Days), you finally get to meet some of the Fables from the Arabian Homelands. Their opponents were marching on their lands so they wanted to meet Prince Charming to form a bond with Fable Town and to know its ways. But this was not successful, as the Prince sent Mowgli away. He was the only negotiator of Sindbad. The basic problem was that no one knew how to speak Arabian.

The favorite part was that King Cole gets to save Fable town. Here it is shown how brilliant he was and the reason why he has been the Mayor for centuries. The bond he formed with Sinbad was wonderful, but the wizards objected it. Yusuf was the main person who objected with the dealings and also of setting the slaves free. Yusuf planned to release a genie to destroy Sindbad and his supporters.

The ending is as enjoyable as a fairy tale. It shows how Prince Charming, Beauty and the Beast trick Yusuf very cleverly and King Cole becomes the Ambassador between East and West Fables. And at last the kiss between the Beauty and Prince Charming was the romantic part.

The second story is of two of Gepetto’s wooden creations. Here both of them falls in love and ask to be made flesh. This story too gets a fairytale ending but they had to pay a terrible price. They are spying on Fabletown, by carrying out different acts and also waiting for their child to be born.

Buy the Vol. here

Unlike the motion picture Troy (2004), Roy Thomas’s adaptation is much closer to the original epics in the sense that he does not leave out the portrayal and the activities of the mythological Greek gods. He does not fail to mention the jealousies and squabbles of Greek gods and goddesses who had a great influence on the war.

Thomas’s epic tells the tale of the dispute between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The dispute is over the fact as to who is the most justifiable choice for the Golden Apple. It then continues with the story of Paris who runs away with Helen which results in the Trojan War.

Roy Thomas has used the Epic Cycle as his guide when narrating the story; however, it lacks an artistic interpretation and is very straightforward. The first issue of the mini series is otherwise excellent. The plot is brilliantly detailed and all the characters are correctly named. The issues 2 to 5 can also be summed up as idealized just like the first issue. The issue covers the events that preceded and succeeded and also the events during the war. This work by Roy Thomas is definitely going to stand its own test of time.

Cerebus the Aardvark is the longest running independently published comic book in history by Dave Sim and Gerhard. A comic book having a long run is not surprising but what is unique about this comic book is that Cerebus is an adult comic book. One another unique feature is that Sim has created the entire book by himself.

Cerebus being very ambitious is a barbarian and an aardvark. Insipte of being ambitious things would never work for him correctly. For many years he’s been elected to become a pope and has gained a number of weird acquaintances like Lord Julius, the Roach and the Elrod the Albino. And though at one point he becomes a pope he is much of an aardvark. He spends most of his time on alcohol, gambling and women. To know more of Cerebus read the comic book Cerebus the Aardvark.