Stunted Intellect Reviews

    Front cover of Henchgirl TPB by Dark Horse Comics This book collects the following comics: the first dozen digital comics published at HenchgirlComic.com Score (out of 5 Capes) An at-times charming collection of stories about the life and struggles of Mary Posa and her friends and family. My Review 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of Dark Horse Comics, surely helping to establish them as one of the most successful non-DC, non-Marvel modern comics publishers. Their catalog over those years includes some early critical successes like Paul Chadwick's breath-taking Concrete series and some early commercial success with tie-ins to popular movie franchises like Aliens and Predator . More recently, their tie-ins have been in the gaming universe with titles like Assassin's Creed and Halo . And throughout they have made room for innovative graphical storytelling and early-wave Manga. In honour of their 40th anniversary, I will do a short series of reviews that look at some Da...

    Front cover of Claws TPB by Marvel Comics This book collects the following comics: Claws complete mini-series, #1-3 Score (out of 5 Capes) 3.5 / 5 Capes A fun if very limited 3-issue run collected into one trade-paperback.  My Review Logan the Wolverine, flying on an ordinary commercial airline for some reason, has his whole flight gassed and diverted to an isolated island. Black Cat, hired for a risky heist, is likewise double-crossed, gassed by a fake gem, captured and whisked off to that same island. Easy as that, two of Marvel Comics' most famous sharp-clawed characters, are turned into prey in a larger plot: rich big-game hunters have paid a pretty penny for the opportunity to hunt and kill our heroes. If they can make it to a beach and a boat on the opposite side of the island, Wolverine and Black Cat are free to go - if the hunt's organizer, Kraven the Hunter, can be believed. Wolverine and Black Cat fill these pages with Spider-Man-like (and he makes a brief c...

  Cover image of Wonder Woman (v4) #1 and this collection This book collects the following comics: Wonder Woman (vol 4, 2011) #1-6 Score (out of 5 Capes) Leaning into the gods and myths, this collection holds intense action but is a bit scattershot in the divine aspects. 3 out of 5 Capes. My Review The DC Comics New 52-era reboot of Wonder Woman leaned into the Greek mythology side of her origins and history. The result is an intense new beginning, one in which she seems both incredibly skilled and powerful, yet no match for the gods at play. Author  Brian Azzarello throws lots of the pantheon of Greek gods into the first six issues of the ongoing series, collected here. From the start, we meet Hermes and centaurs manufactured from the brutal decapitation of horses. Hera, Strife, Hades, Poseidon, even Zeus himself in flashback all have key roles to play in this drama. The woman at the centre of the action is Zola, a working-class young woman with questionable taste in men and ...

  Front cover of World's Finest (New 52) volume 1   This book collects the following comics: World's Finest (2012) #0-5 Score (out of 5 Capes) 4 Capes out of 5 A fantastic reboot of two established heroes, this book is loads of fun from cover to cover. 4 capes out of 5. My Review An ongoing comic book series so bold as to call itself World's Finest better have some darn good stories in its pages. This volume, collecting the first five issues plus a #0 prequel, meets that bar in so many ways. Writer Paul Levitz reinterprets, in DC Comics New 52 style, the origins of Huntress and Power Girl: They are the Robin, daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and the Supergirl of Earth-2. Thrown through a dimensional portal in the climactic final battle with the forces of Apokolips, they land on Earth-1 and reinvent themselves. The backbone of the tale is their quest to reopen the portal and return to their home world. A quest that drives them to attempt some pretty amazing things. Helena, ...

    Front cover of Justice League: Gods and Monsters This book collects the following comics: Justice League: Gods and Monsters #1-3,  Justice League: Gods and Monsters - Superman,  Justice League: Gods and Monsters - Batman,  Justice League: Gods and Monsters - Wonder Woman Score (out of 5 Capes) 1.5 out of 5 capes for an overwrought melodrama in an alternate universe where familiar names do similar things. My Review The animated film Justice League: Gods and Monsters was well received and well reviewed when it came out. The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gives it a high-80s freshness rating on its Tomatometer and a nearly as high audience score. It put the "holy trinity" of DC Comics - Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman - in an alternate universe with some significant differences.  The refugee from Krypton known as Superman grew up as Hernan Guerra, raised by migrant Mexican farm labourers, which gave him a whole different perspective on the conce...

    Front cover of Power Girl TPB volume 2: More than a Crush This book collects the following comics: Issues #8-13 of the 2024 ongoing Power Girl series Score (out of 5 Capes) Two and a half capes out of five for a sweet if inconsistent portrayal of one of DC's most powerful women. My Review Power Girl could really stand a little more love and attention in the mainline DC universe. So it is a real delight to see this ongoing solo title, which gives the creative team room to breathe and explore different facets of this fascinating character. Writer Leah Williams has not been shy about exploring life beyond the spandex tights and feats of metahuman powers. The result: a Power Girl who is as much about her down-to-earth relationships as stopping the baddies with shows of strength. Her roommate Omen is the most enduring example of Williams' lower-testosterone take on a superhero book. No slouch in her own right, Omen makes ample use of her diverse telepathic powers throughout the...