Starfire #4

Writer – Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist – Emanuela Lupacchino, Mirco Pierfederici
Inker – Ray McCarthy, Trevor Scott
Colours – Hi-Fi

Starfire and Atlee team up to defeat the Chida monster, just another in a long line of strange events that have been unfolding since Kori came to town and afterwards, the two get along famously which only aggravates Stella a little more than usual. The great thing about this series is the way that Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti are able to balance the amount of humour, action and drama that they put into it. Humour more than anything is really what makes this book so good and it keeps things moving along at a fairly quick pace and you just never know what Starfire is going to do or say next. While you would think the whole ‘being new to Earth’ thing would have gotten a bit stale by now, it has not and it is kind of wonderful to see her discover something new each and every issue, whether it is a mannerism, a custom or even a new friend. Another thing that is most welcome is the addition of Atlee who will hopefully remain on board as a supporting character. She seems to be almost as much fun as Kori and Stella, though in a completely different way than them and as a bonus, we are also treated to her origin tale which is pretty fascinating in itself. Of course, with two super-powered heroines going up against the beast in this book, they cannot help but win. There are a couple of really good sub-plots going on at the moment as well, one involving Kori’s feelings towards Stella’s brother, and vice versa, and a new one introduced right here involving Kori’s sister. For those unfamiliar with Titan’s history, her sister is not the nicest of people. With fantastic artwork as always and a light, breezy script, Starfire continues to be one of the better books DC is publishing these days.

4 out of 5

Planet Hulk #5

Writer – Sam Humphries
Artist – Marc Laming
Colours – Jordan Boyd

Planet Hulk is another Secret Wars miniseries that ends with a bit of a bang and it is just as good as the previous four issues were, though maybe just a bit more exciting if that is even possible. It seems Steve is not a big fan of being used nor being lied to. Even worse, he is not too happy that the Red King killed Bucky. That is bad news for the Red King. While you would think the book would end there, Sam Humphries delivers another little twist that shows there was another mastermind behind the whole scheme and though you could probably half-guess, the reveal is a little disturbing, especially the end result of it. Everything ends here and when Steve comes out the other side of it, nothing will be the same again for the man, except for Devil that is. If there is one thing that he can count on it is Devil Dinosaur, trusty friends and sidekick. One of the more interesting parts of the entire series was the lengths the villains went to, to try and fool Steve into thinking that he might have a chance at saving Bucky. It was an emotional journey for the man so when everything stands revealed, it is understandable that he might feel a little rage and just might want to take it out on somebody. The only complaint about the book is the suddenness with which it ends. After how long it took to get to this point, the fact that it ended so quickly was just a wee bit disappointing. It was a good ending, just a fast one and overall, Planet Hulk was a good series, made even more so not because of the talent involved, who were great, but because it brought Devil Dinosaur back into the spotlight. You can never read enough stories about Devil Dinosaur.

4 out of 5