Scott's Take: Power Rangers Prime Vol 1 by Melissa Flores and Illustrator Michael YG

 

Power Rangers Prime Vol 1 by Melissa Flores and Illustrator Michael YG is an Elseworlds read separate from the main Power Ranger universe. In this universe, the Power Rangers teamed up with the Eltrains (blue humanoid bald aliens) to stop a different alien invasion then the Eltrains refused to leave. They hunted down the Power Rangers and colonized the planet.

 

Now, many years later on a conquered Earth, a Red Ranger (Lauren) barely escapes a hunting patrol of Eltrains by hiding in a dumpster. Luckly for her, the alien who stumbles upon her hides the wounded ranger from the patrol. The wounded ranger wants to rescue her family from one of the Eltrains detention centers. Along the way she makes friends with various characters. While she is recovering from her injuries. Rita Repulsa escapes her prison, and seeks to strike back against the Eltrains.

 

So, in this universe Rita Repulsa (the long-time villain of the Power Rangers universe is a mentor to the new Rangers). I really enjoyed the Red Ranger and Rita characters. The other 4 main characters did not grow on me.

 

This is a very short read as only 4 issues are collected and the read ends abruptly. The art is really good and this universe is a deep dive of the Power Ranger mythology. It is a fun fast paced read with some action and humor.

 

I am not sure how old the characters are supposed to be. I think college age since two of the characters are living together, but I am not sure. There are at least two more volumes planned. I am looking forward to reading more of this universe. Hopefully, they can flesh out the other Rangers more and flesh out the bad guys more. So far, the Eltrains are just generic alien overlord villains.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3ISz6K3

My print reading copy came from the White Rock Hills Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2025

Scott's Take: Avengers: Twilight by Chip Zdarsky (Author), Daniel Acuña (Artist), and Cory Petit (Letterer)

Avengers: Twilight by Chip Zdarsky (Author), Daniel Acuña (Artist), and Cory Petit (Letterer), is an elseworlds tale set sometime in the future of the Marvel Universe. The Avengers were disbanded by the various governments of the world after a tragedy that impacted humanity. Steve Rogers was stripped of his powers and now lives as a shell of a man as America descends into tyranny with most of the population unaware since the media is fully controlled by the government. It is not long before Steve realizes the world needs the Avengers now more than ever and he gets his butt back into the fight to free the world.

 

Not the most original story, but it is a fun action-packed political thrill ride with realistic stylized art. The big battle that led to these events could have been delved into more detail as well as some other details that made this elseworld different.

 

It’s hard not to read this tale as the writer taking shots at the current American political system. Not that doing so is a bad thing, but it’s there. In a world that many did not understand The Boys was a direct shot at the American right, and are now very angry about it, this read is not subtle in what it is doing here.

 

Steve is the main character with several other Avengers playing roles. Thor is really cool in this book. He gets some of the best action scenes as the big gun of the Avengers.

 

I liked the read overall and enjoyed it. I think it could have easily used more than six issues to breathe since some things are rushed. Various things could have been detailed more in a longer run such as how Jan and Tony ended up married to each other as they are not usually each other’s love interests. Steve is also married to a new character named Rosa and how that happened is not very detailed. It would have also been nice to have a prequel showing casing more of the big tragedy prior to this series.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3PhY1pL

 

 

As noted before, I read this on the Marvel Unlimited app.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2025

Scott's Take: Batman: City of Madness by Christian Ward

Batman: City of Madness by Christian Ward, who also illustrated it, is the first book I have read by him. He does a really good job on both aspects. This is another standalone elseworlds Batman book. In this comic, Batman of the surface teams up with The Court Of Owls to stop the Batman Below. Secretly, there is another Gotham city below the main Gotham. This dark mirror world’s Batman has left his city to train a Robin in the above. He seeks to merge these two Gotham into one. Doing that would damage reality for all and cause widespread insanity in both levels. Batman of the surface and the Court of Owls will attempt to stop him.

 

This graphic novel is an atmospheric read featuring a decent number of characters. Several characters play a bigger role than the synopsis implies.  Unfortunately, because it is only three issues, there is not a lot of time to go into much detail in this fast paced read. I am a little disappointed that the Gotham Below is not explored as much as it could be.

 

The art is excellent and depicts the cosmic horror really well. There are several disturbing scenes for some readers in regards to body horror. There is a clear setup for a sequel. That setup causes the read to abruptly end. I hate this trend of teasing a sequel that may not even happen.

 

I enjoyed this read despite its flaws. It really needed a longer time to explore the ideas presented, but it is worth reading. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gv1RIE

 

My reading copy came from Hoopla through the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2024 

Scott's Take: Catwoman: Lonely City by Cliff Chang

Catwoman: Lonely City by Cliff Chang takes place in one of the many Elseworld Universes. It is set ten years after Batman and Joker died in an event that killed many others. Catwoman, Selina Kyle, was sent to prison and Two Face used that event to become Mayor. Catwoman is now out and seeking to figure out what Orpheus is as that was the last thing Bruce Wayne, Batman, said to her before he died. Because she believes that the answer might be in the Batcave, she is planning a break in to the Batcave.

 

In doing several things before the break in, she becomes a symbol for the people of Gotham who wish to fight back against the tyranny of Two Face who is ruling the city through fear and police brutality.

 

Featuring legendary artist Cliff Chang who is writing this four-issue book, this read is pretty good despite the fact it is a short series.  Cliff Chang’s art is excellent as usual, even though some of his faces could use a little work since some of them look very similar to each other.

 

One wishes more time could have been spent exploring the actual events of Batman’s death. Some of it is explained through flashbacks, but they come across as rushed parts of the book. There is an interesting wrinkle that is not really explored in this book as the Joker remained his usual vicious self, but several of the other villains in Gotham were less bloodthirsty and kinder in this universe. Riddler is claimed to have never killed anyone. In this book, Riddler is clean now after having a cocaine addiction that caused him to battle wits with Batman. He also was married and had a kid. Things like this are not explored enough.

 

I did like how they compensated for Selina being older and how things would be physically harder for her. The art was also very good, as mentioned previously.

 

I enjoyed Catwoman: Lonely City, but it is very rushed. Four issues were not long enough to give this storyline to breathe. This is a Black Label book, so that means that there are darker issues at work here than the normal books. One should graphic death, graphic violence, and a somewhat graphic sex scene. This is not a book for kids and that includes a pretty gruesome death scene that might disturb some adult readers.

 

 

My reading came from the White Rock Hills Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2023

Scott's Take: DC vs Vampires vol 1 by James Tynion

DC vs Vampires vol 1 by James Tynion collects the first six issues of the new elseworld’s series. In this series, the vampires are being led by a new leader and have decided to break the peace between humanity and vampires. The vampires are planning on wiping out most of humanity and leaving the rest as cattle for their hunger. They have infiltrated the supervillain and hero communities. The supervillain community has suffered tremendous losses already. It is up to Batman and Green Arrow to uncover the truth. They both are operating separate investigations in which they attempting to uncover who has been turned while also gathering their closest allies for war.

 

This is a gory violent tale that operates on b-movie horror logic and is quite enjoyable as long as you can turn off your brain a bit. The art is nice and especially horrifying in several scenes. Of course, there is mass death. A decent knowledge of the DC universe is needed for this tale for maximum effect since some characters only get a few pages before dying horribly. I am looking forward to the second volume in the series as well as the collection of tie ins and comics that take place during Volume 1 and Volume 2.

 

 

My read came via the Hoopla app through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott Tipple ©2022

Scott's Take: Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy

 

Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy is another Batman book that is part of DC Black Label line of books. As such, that means it is a non-canon Elseworlds tale and is intended for adult readers as it will be more violent and features adult content.

 

In this graphic novel, the Joker is cured of his insanity and becomes plain old Jack Napier again. He then decides to call himself the White Knight and embarks on a quest the city of Gotham. He intends to expose the corruption of the wealthy of Gotham, GCPD, and turn the city against the Batman. At least that is the initial premise of this tale, but of course things do not stay that simple for long.

 

Since this is an Elseworlds tale, the author was allowed to create different versions of the Joker and the Batman than commonly depicted by most writers. This Batman is more violent and is clearly a more traumatized Batman then what readers normally get to see. This Joker officially has a less violent reputation and is a more of a redeemable human being than most depictions of the Joker. The author tries to write the Joker as a more heroic character than normal while writing Batman as a loose cannon vigilante.

 

The supporting cast of this tale is rather large and includes various Gotham villains, and heroes. The main characters in this graphic novel are Batman, Harley Quinn, and The Joker. This is an action packed read that raises very philosophical questions about the DC universe and features detailed artwork. Batman: White Knight by Sean Murphy is very good and launched a series of graphic novels that are pretty good too. This series is continued in Batman: Curse of The White Knight.

 

 

My reading copy came from the Lochwood Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2022

Scott's Take: Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Zero- The Complete Collection by Tom Taylor

Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Zero- The Complete Collection by Tom Taylor is a prequel to all the injustice games and rest of the injustice comics. For those who are unfamiliar with that universe. It is a lot like the original DC universe except in the Injustice Universe Superman becomes a dictator with several justice league members supporting and enforcing his dictatorship. At the same time, Batman leads a group of resistance fighters attempting to overthrow Superman. In that Injustice Universe the Joker tricks Superman into murdering a pregnant Lois Lane and destroying Metropolis. This act causes Superman to snap and murder the Joker. Superman falls into a mental breakdown where he decides that the only way to stop evil is by ruling the earth with an iron fist. If humans won’t stop hurting each other, he will make them. Several other heroes join Superman on his new mission while Batman and others attempt to stop him.  One major group of heroes that are never referenced prior to this book in the Injustice Universe is the JSA or the Justice Society of America. Why are the JSA never involved in the rest of the series? This 2021 prequel miniseries answers the question as to what happened to the JSA?

 

Part of this read is set during World War 2 while the rest is set during modern times. During World War 2, the JSA had a secret mission involving a magical amulet. That same amulet later comes to be in possession of the Joker is current times. The amulet has given him a powerful upgrade and the Joker sets out to kill the JSA which will impact the later formation of the Justice League and hurt Batman. It is up to the JSA and the Justice League to combine forces and stop the Joker.

 

This miniseries hinges on the relationship between the Justice League and the JSA. For those who don’t know, the JSA inspired many of the Justice League Members to become heroes. In the original DC universe, the JSA acted as the mentors to the Justice League and are their heroes. Here in the Injustice Universe, the Joker is attempting to destroy that relationship. As a fan of both the JSA and the Justice League, it is fun for me as a reader to see them team up since they do not do it very often.

 

Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Zero- The Complete Collection is a very dark and violent tale that is just as twisted as one would expect if they have read anything from the Injustice Universe. Once again Tom Taylor tells an excellent tale featuring lots of deaths and pain for the heroes involved. Being an Elseworld’s tale, the characters in this book are less safe than they would be normally. This read is excellent even if you have no prior experience with any of the rest of the Injustice Universe. However, this read nicely sets up the original Injustice Comic series and the first video game.

 

I highly recommend this for DC fans.

 

Injustice Gods Among Us: Year Zero- The Complete Collection

Tom Taylor

https://www.tomtaylormade.com/

DC Comics

https://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/injustice-gods-among-us-year-zero-the-complete-collection

July 2021

ISBN# 978-1-77951-129-4

Hardback (also available in eBook format)

152 Pages 

 

 

My reading copy came from the Central Branch of the Dallas Public Library System. 

 

Scott Tipple ©2021