9NEW COMICS 4 THIS WEEK (12/27/23)
*All comics will be rated on a scale from 1 to 10*
Action Comics Annual 2023 
Alan Scott: Green Lantern # 3
Black Panther # 7 
Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War # 1 
Detective Comics # 1080
DUKE # 1 
The Flash # 4
Ghost Rider # 21
Green Arrow # 7
Giant-Size Super-Stars # 1 (Facsimile Edition)
Justice Society of America # 6
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld # 2
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers # 115
Miles Morales: Spider-Man # 14
New Teen Titans # 1 (Facsimile Edition)
The Sensational She-Hulk # 3
Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu: Gang War # 1– This series is by far one of the best Gang War tie-ins, mainly because Greg Pak is on board and whenever a limited series like this one gets an A-list writer on board, then you know it’s going to be good; This opening issue establishes Shang-Chi’s status quo in the middle of the Gang War but it doesn’t help matters that he has to deal with multiple threads coming from every side. Pak does a tremendous job of keeping the focus squarely on Shang-Chi even though the required Spider-Man appearance is brief and never overtakes the story (which counts as a good thing) but what impressed me the most is having Shang-Chi return to his roots as a Master of Kung-Fu rather than stick to his “Ten Rings” moniker; The action presented here is fierce and engaging but with all that, it looks like the best is yet to come so let us pray that issue # 2 delivers.
DUKE # 1– The heart and soul of G.I. Joe is back in his own series and right away it kicks off a military conspiracy thriller that is sure to get readers on to this title, with Joshua Williamson serving as writer it’s definitely going to be a non-stop rollercoaster ride; Soon after we see how Duke’s latest mission caused him to lose his cool that I found intriguing and doesn’t feel like a plot element that will get old after the first three issues and even thought we get treated to a splash page that looks to launch a classic crossover (**NO SPOILERS**) it feels like the serious tone established in the first few pages goes off the rails for a bit but quickly gets back on track; Duke goes AWOL to unravel the conspiracy and with that, the action is non-stop but Cobra, believe it or not, gets a huge introduction rather than being the go-to villains that they were depicted as back in the 80s (That part surprised me the most); This issue feels more like a Jack Reacher story mixed in with a Chuck Norris movie but since this title isn;t exactly up to par with the G.I.Joe material from Marvel and IDW, this is still a fun way to get into the characters we grew up on while putting a strong emphasis on how cool Duke is.
Green Arrow # 7– Oliver Queen is back on earth and this issue finds him catching up with some friends (Ollie finds out about the Justice League disbanding and the Titans taking over); While he’s getting readjusted, the writing, as usual, is brilliant as well as a brief meeting between Green Arrow and Green Lantern that is sure to bring a smile to every DC fan out there it’s the visuals, however, that aren’t up to par as both Carmine Di Giandomenico and Trevor Hairsine split the art duties but it feels so disjointed to the point that it plays havoc on Joshua Williamson’s script which hurts for the most part, but with Amanda Waller snooping around and a familiar character from Kevin Smith’s run making a comeback (**NO SPOILERS**) these two plot elements alone are a good reason to get back on this title but while this issue does falter, the series is still an engaging read.
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld # 2– Yes, the mystery deepens and more heroes and villains are added to the mix as the other Beyonders continue their test to push them to their limits. It looks like it will be a while before we get any solid resolutions with the Beyonders but what continues to be a draw for this series is the classic Marvel characters engaging in battle and might I add that Patrick Olliffe can still draw a perfect Hobgoblin (Next to Ron Frenz that is) not to mention the random callbacks to Spidey’s costume that is sure to crank up the nostalgic factor to an all-time high and I love how Tom DeFalco can put his knowledge of Marvel history to good use and Bronze Age fans everywhere will devour with joy, especially since Secret Wars is approaching its 40th anniversary. This issue may not set the world on fire but it continues to be a wonderful celebration for a crossover that raised the bar high on big-level events.
Well, that’s it for me this week. Thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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