Rob's Picks:

Absolute Green Arrow #6 - Questions answered, secrets revealed, powers unleashed, and more as Pornsak Pichetshote ends the first arc of Absolute Green Arrow! The wild ride to this former series finale (that's right, SIX MORE ISSUES!) pays off with a remarkably satisfying conclusion. Almost all of the plot's many mysteries are answered, with a few new ones dropped in for the next act, and there's plenty of the thrilling action we’ve come to expect from artist Rafael Albuquerque as Dinah and the Longbow Killer finish their fight with Solomon Grundy. The Killer's identity was the core mystery driving this story, but the most explosive reveals in this issue belong to Dinah. She’s been a compelling protagonist throughout this book, more than earning her big hero moments, especially during her final confrontation with Hector Hammond. The most exciting thing for me is that, with few lingering plot threads remaining, Pichetshote and Albuquerque can take things in almost any direction from here. Wherever this team is going, I will follow.

It Demands Sacrifice #1 - Bronson is a little goat in a big, mean world. The runt of the family, he’s always being pushed around the barnyard by his bigger siblings. At least Bronson has the love of Carl, the youngest son of the family that owns the troubled farm. That is, until the night a van full of psyched-out, satanic hippies from the big city arrives looking for sacrifices! This book expertly plays with the reader's expectations, setting up a Charlotte's Web-style story of talking animals, rural family drama, and young people learning life lessons, only to take a hard left turn into the Manson murders. Better known for their work in film and television, the writers on this book are Brightburn director David Yarovsky, making his comics debut, and Philip Gelatt, a writer for Love, Death, and Robots and author of the excellent historical spy thriller Petrograd. Their sensibilities mesh well, finding a balance between sincerity and subversion. X-Force artist Adam Pollina leans toward the cartoony, which somehow doesn’t undercut the visceral bloodletting that unfolds. The cutesy, classic-animation-style visuals and horror tropes make It Demands Sacrifice an easy recommendation for readers who enjoy Feral or Animal Pound.

Punisher Showdowns: Black Widow #1 - A new series of one-shots puts Frank Castle on a collision course with other badasses of the Marvel Universe! The Punisher’s one-man war on crime has opened a new front against the Russian Mafia, with Frank shooting and exploding his way up the chain of command. The trail of bodies leads to Las Vegas, where some of the biggest and baddest are holed up in a mansion compound. Frank comes in loud, as always, interrupting Black Widow’s covert infiltration. The two have very different styles, but Natasha Romanova can make compromises when there's a common enemy, and she couldn’t hope for a better distraction than the Punisher. Longtime TMNT writer Tom Waltz and artist Greg Land overload this book with fast, bloody, John Wick-style action worthy of its title characters. After all the fun we had with books like Hulk Smash Everything, I’m pleased to see more self-contained stories that have no reason to hold back. This first outing for Punisher Showdowns is already paying off on a solid premise, so if you’ve been craving hard-hitting action, this is the one to pull.

Jupiter's Picks:

Bug Wars: The Coming of Wardoom #1 - Finally! We have an issue featuring the Squirrel King and his mighty army! This has been talked about since the last series, and the suspense was well worth it, in my opinion. The raccoon from the end of the last issue is fighting our argumentative team as Slade works to save Doolie. After using his amulet, Slade has a strange, dreamlike conversation with none other than the Squirrel King! He desperately wants Slade to talk to him, saying that one way or another, they’ll meet. He rants about knowing all the answers to the many questions Slade has had throughout his entire journey, and we also learn that he has the remainder of the amulet. As the conversation wraps up, we jump back to the rest of the gang. Tyko is still being reckless, swinging from the screwdriver stuck in the raccoon's skull. They end up pulling the flathead out, killing the poor guy. Somehow, he manages to communicate with Slade, telling him not to go into the woods. Which voice will Slade listen to: the defensive raccoon or the mighty Squirrel King? Find out in the next issue!

Six of Us #2 - This issue explains a couple of episodes of the show our main characters star in while also telling the main story of the comic, and I think they do a great job balancing the two. We start off once again at a funeral, then cut to Tim and Raphael talking about a billboard for the movie Waiting for the Bride. The movie stars one of the six main characters, Hanna Thalberg. We cut to a scene being redone over and over as Hanna can't remember the line she's supposed to say. Eventually, she gets it right, and the scene plays out on television. As Selina and Tim sit down to watch the episode, they have a conversation about Raphael. Eventually, this leads to Tim describing a story they're working on, one that's strikingly similar to Selina's actions. The rest of the comic explores how Selina killed her director, along with more drama between the six cast members. Although I enjoyed the first issue more, this was still a great comic! I'm enjoying all the mystery and can't wait to think about this one more.

Filthy Lambs! #1 - This horror-comedy comic was honestly pretty fun to read! We have quite a list of people introduced in this issue, so the family tree at the beginning is worth reading! We start with our patriarch, Walter, beginning the ritual. We then move to the family gathering, where they joke around and mock one another. The funniest quarrel, in my opinion, is Theodore being rude to the other Theodore (the turtle). Eventually, the whole family gathers as Walter and Millicent give a speech. They are all led into the basement, where the ritual truly gets gritty. Even as they walk down the steps, this family continues to bicker lovingly with one another. It adds a lot of great characterization to this short story and does wonders for immersion. Unfortunately, one of the children decides to run straight toward the monster, causing absolute chaos. The ending of this issue is gruesome and unexpected, but quite interesting!