Trade Waiting #01: Green Lantern, Captain Planet, Action Comics, and More
Hello, and welcome to the first installment of Trade Waiting!
Look, here’s the deal: reviewing single issues of comics is hard. Sometimes nothing happens. Sometimes everything happens. Sometimes a single issue sucks, but as part of a bigger whole, it’s a modern classic.
The purpose of this column is to review several issues at once and determine how the book is doing as a whole. Sometimes it’ll be whole storylines, and sometimes it’ll just be multiple issues, but these will all be short, to the point, and relatively spoiler-free. This won’t replace single-issue reviews as I’ve done in the past, but it does open the door for me to look at a greater variety of comics, since these will just be shorter reviews in a smaller space as opposed to deeper dives.
Hal the (Emotional) Vampire Slayer
Green Lantern (2023) #25-27; Green Lantern Corps (2025) #7-9
Written by Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton
Art by V. Ken Marion, Xermánico, Fernando Pasarin, Romulo Fajardo Jr., Oclair Albert, Arif Prianto, Daniel Henriques, Dariano Di Benedetto, Lee Loughridge, Arif Prianto, Matt Herms, & Dave Sharpe
Covers by Xermánico, V. Ken Marion, Pasquale Ferrara, Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, & Arif Prianto
Published by DC Comics
As the Green Lantern Corps race to reignite the power batteries of the various Corps, the emotional vampires led by Starbreaker threaten war.
I’ve been checked out on Green Lantern for a while because, well, I honestly find Hal Jordan kind of boring. I pop back in every few issues to see what’s going on, which is how I wound up reading The Starbreaker Supremacy, a cross-title epic that sees the Green Lantern Corps, still in the midst of rebuilding itself, facing the threat of The Starbreaker Corps, a race of emotional vampires seeking the power of the entities that fuel the Power Batteries. The problem is that The Starbreaker Supremacy feels like it was chopped in half. A plot element regarding every Corps’ emotions being neutralized is solved in an issue. Kyle Rayner is both front-and-center and hopelessly lost in the background while at least two major deaths come almost out of nowhere.
If you’re a fan of Green Lantern space epics, you’ll probably dig this one, but new readers will definitely be overwhelmed, especially considering the plot has ties to New 52-era stories.
By this creative team combined…
Captain Planet and the Planeteers (2025) #1-6
Written by David Pepose
Art by Eman Casallos, Jeff Eckleberry, Jorge Sutil
Covers by Chad Hardlin & Chuck Michael Obach
Published by Dynamite
When the protector of the Earth is kidnapped, five young people must band together to save the planet with the aid of its protector, Captain Planet.
I was skeptical about the notion of a Captain Planet reboot. Hell, I think I still am, even after reading this. Don’t take that as me hating on this; I enjoyed it for what it is: a big swing at a modern reboot of the premier edutainment cartoon of my childhood. There are a lot of great things here that update the story not just for a modern age, but for a modern audience. But still, it is an update of a cartoon designed to teach kids about the dangers of pollution. There’s a stiffness here that is inherent in the source material, and I don’t really know that you can get around that.
That being said, I’m optimistic about the future. The origin is out of the way, which means now the way is cleared to dive into the characters and learn more about them and what makes them tick. If you were a fan of the show, this has a lot for you, but even if you’re not, I wouldn’t sleep on this one. There’s potential for this to be a book we’re all talking about down the road.
You’ll believe a boy can leap in a general direction
Action Comics (2016) #1087-1091
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Skylar Patridge, Ivan Plascencia, Matt Herms, & Steve Wands
Covers by Ryan Sook
Published by DC Comics
In a series of flashback tales, readers see how Superboy found his footing during his early days.
DC seems to have finally struck gold with the Silver Age throwback fans have been clamoring for since the days of Darwyn Cooke’s The New Frontier. A lot of that has to do with Waid, who shines here as he always does, but seemed particularly reinvigorated with his work on this book, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and Batman and Robin: Year One. Seriously, the storytelling here is on par with his best work, and he remains a must-read for me month in and month out.
Action Comics under his lead is no different, breaking away from the current sprawling narrative for a series of flashback tales about Superman‘s earliest days as Superboy, showing how he’s dealing with his earliest struggles — including learning who and who not to trust. This story also features a pretty spectacular Captain Comet role, someone who I haven’t seen in who knows how long. If you’re looking for a lighthearted Smallville-set run to satisfy that sweet tooth or want to introduce someone to some vintage Superboy antics, this one’s a no-brainer.
They’ll retcon anything these days
Spider-Man & Wolverine (2025) #1-6
Written by Marc Guggenheim
Art by Kaare Andrews, Gerardo Sandoval, Victor Nava, Brian Reber, Travis Lanham
Covers by Kaare Andrews
Published by Marvel Comics
A new villain traps Spider-Man and Wolverine, where a shocking truth about their past promises to rip apart their already tenuous friendship.
When I say I was absolutely blown away by this latest inane retcon of Spider-Man‘s backstory, it’s not an understatement. Spider-Man & Wolverine has all the trappings of a throwback ’90s mini-series: a tangential reason for the heroes to get together, a wild retcon to temporarily upend the heroes, and a new one-off villain to never see again. The problem, though, is that the book is ongoing (Spidey and Wolverine now headline multiple team-up titles; couldn’t we just bring back Marvel Team-Up?), while the retcon — Wolverine was on the plane that Peter’s parents died on — is inexplicably canon?
It’s a rough read, and everything about this title feels like a ’90s throwback, which just isn’t enough for me these days. Issue #6, the first removed from the title’s initial story arc, runs a little smoother as the duo deal with Vermin and a wayward Morlock. We’ll have to keep an eye on this one and see how it progresses, but right now, I just have a hard time recommending it.
Did you read anything in recent weeks you think is worth checking out? Let us know in the comments or come chat with us in Discord.
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