David Pepose

Inside the Hawkeye Christmas issue (and the origin of the 'Hawkguy' nickname) ahead of the holiday-themed Hawkeye TV show

Editor's Note: With the first trailer for Disney Plus' Hawkeye debuting like an early Christmas present, we are re-publishing our review of the holiday-themed issue of Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye run, which appears to be heavily inspiring…

Best Shots review: Ex Machina hits you in the gut, and the heart

What happens when the ordinary man gets an upgrade? What do you do with power and responsibility? And just because you can talk to machines, can any man - or superman - take on the endless cogs and gears that make up our world? Written by Brian K.…

Best Shots Review: Empyre #5 "a much-needed win"

With deaths, double-crosses, and surprise weddings, Marvel said the last issue of Empyre would be one of the defining moments of their star-spanning event. But I'd said they were wrong — because the real highlight of the series is here. Written by Al…

Best Shots Review: Empyre #4 - spoilers

When is a twist not a twist? That’s the question I felt reading Empyre #4, which had been teased as a big reveal for Marvel’s latest cosmic series — but having read the issue a few times, I’m still not quite sure what was supposed to be such a grand…

Best Shots Review - Injustice: Year Zero Chapters #1 - #3 one of the best Justice League stories in recent memory

I'm not sure how many more times Tom Taylor needs to audition for the main Justice League title — seriously, DC, just give him the damn book already — but Injustice: Year Zero #1-3 might just be the next best thing. Serving as a prequel to the dour…

Best Shots Review: Empyre #3 "clinical and distant despite strong art and ambitious aims"

Making comics is hard. Making licensed books based on preexisting characters can be even harder. But pulling off a summer event book? At times, it looks damn near impossible. With a cast of characters as wildly disparate as the Marvel Universe, it's…

Best Shots Review: Captain Marvel #18 "meat-and-potatoes superhero action"

Carol Danvers' promotion as the new Kree Accuser feels like echoes of Spider-Man's own symbiotic power-up from the days of Secret Wars, and as such, Captain Marvel #18 is a solid Empyre tie-in that adds new wrinkles to Carol's history with the Kree…

Best Shots Review - Lords of Empyre: Hulkling #1

If there's anything that's most exciting about Marvel's new Empyre event, it's that Teddy Altman — better known as the Young Avenger Hulkling — is getting his long-overdue spotlight as the star-spanning prince of the Kree and Skrull empires. It's…

Best Shots Review: Justice League Dark #24 "pretty impressive" (8/10)

Since its debut, Justice League Dark has been a slow but steady success — but while James Tynion IV brought the same sort of superhero team dynamics to his run on the book, Ram V is channeling the more sinister undercurrents of the DC Universe in…

Best Shots Review - Empyre: X-Men #1 "a tie-in comic that honestly reads better than the main event itself"

It takes a special kind of writer to spend 15 pages building up to a Plants vs. Zombies joke. But it takes a pair of geniuses to pull it off… twice. I'm not sure what I was expecting from Empyre: X-Men #1, but writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard…

Best Shots Review: Venom #26 "brings the heat with some truly engaging artwork"

Venom #26 Written by Donny Cates Art by Iban Coello, Juan Gedeon and Jesus Aburtov Lettering by Clayton Cowles Published by Marvel Comics 'Rama Rating: 7 out of 10 Eddie Brock gets a target painted on his back in Venom #26 - but while this issue…

Best Shots Review - Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto "a disappointing outing"

Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto #1 Written by Jonathan Hickman Art by Ramon Perez and David Curiel Lettering by Clayton Cowles Published by Marvel Comics 'Rama Rating: 6 out of 10 Despite its title of Giant-Size X-Men, Jonathan Hickman and Ramon Perez's…

Best Shots Review: Strange Adventures #3 "feels more like an acquired taste" (5/10)

Strange Adventures #3 Written by Tom King Art by Mitch Gerads and Evan “Doc” Shaner Lettering by Clayton Cowles Published by DC / Black Label ‘Rama Rating: 5 out of 10 From the start, Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Evan “Doc” Shaner’s Strange Adventures…

Best Shots Review - Empyre: Fantastic Four #0 (5/10)

Empyre: Fantastic Four #0 Written by Dan Slott Art by R.B. Silva, Sean Izaaske, Marte Gracia, and Marcio Menyz Lettering by Joe Caramagna Published by Marvel Comics 'Rama Rating: 5 out of 10 Following Al Ewing's introduction in Empyre: Avengers #0,…

Best Shots Review - DCeased: Dead Planet #1 "might even be better than the first series"

DCeased: Dead Planet #1 Written by Tom Taylor Art by Trevor Hairsine, Gigi Baldassini, Stefano Gaudiano and Rain Beredo Lettering by Saida Temofonte Published by DC 'Rama Rating: 8 out of 10 Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in. That's…

Best Shots Review - Negan Lives! #1 "a reminder of just how consistently good and well-crafted this series was"

Negan Lives! #1 Written by Robert Kirkman Art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn Lettering by Rus Wooton Published by Image Comics / Skybound Entertainment 'Rama Rating: 9 out of 10 The biggest monster in the Walking Dead makes his return in Negan…

Best Shots Review - DCeased: Hope on World's End #4 "a mixed bag" (5/10)

DCeased: Hope on World's End #4 Written by Tom Taylor Art by Marco Failla and Rex Lokus Lettering by Saida Temofonte Published by DC 'Rama Rating: 5 out of 10 The Anti-Life Equation continues to sweep across the DC Universe, but DCeased: Hope on…

Best Shots Review - Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #1 "hasn’t quite lived up to the hype"

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Red #1 Written and Illustrated by Stjepan Šejić Lettering by Gabriela Downie Published by DC 'Rama Rating: 7 out of 10 What are comics, if not the intersection between art and commerce? That’s the thought that ran…

Best Shots Rapid-Fire Reviews: Thor #5, Teen Titans #42, Immortal Hulk #34, more

Greetings, ‘Rama readers! Ready for your weekly pellets? Best Shots has your back with this week’s Rapid-Fire Reviews! Let’s kick off today’s column with a look at the latest issue of Thor… Thor #5 (Published by Marvel Comics; Review by David Pepose;…

Best Shots Review: Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular (7/10)

Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular Written by James Tynion IV, Geoff Johns, Cullen Bunn, Dennis O’Neil, Ron Marz, Peter Tomasi, Charlotte (Fullerton) McDuffie, Robert Vendetti, Mariko Tamaki and Sina Grace Art by Gary Frank,…