BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23, by Big Bang Comics! on 6/1/23, sends Ultragirl on a rollercoaster of emotions when she battles a body-possessing ghost before wrestling with her father’s betrayal.
The Details
- Written by: Gary Carlson
- Art by: Ronald C. Williams
- Colors by: Ronald C. Williams, Shayne Cui
- Letters by: Ronald C. Williams
- Cover art by: Ronald C. Williams
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover price: $4.95
- Release date: June 1, 2023
Is BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23 Good?
Gary Carlson puts Ultragirl’s body and mind through the wringer with an action-packed, emotionally chaotic entry in the Bronze Age-styled series, BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23. We regularly point out that the best superhero comics mix action and emotion, so Carlson is on the right track, even if the transition from one to the other is jarring.
When last we left Ultragirl, she received the shock of her life when she learned her father, Ultiman, was still alive and her boyfriend, Megaton, knew the truth. Now, Ultragirl battles half of Faust’s Four, Glob and Wisp, who’ve come to exact revenge on Ultiman. When Thundergirl steps in to lend a hand, Glob and Wisp are sent packing, but the superpowered team-up hits a rough patch when Thundergirl brings up a sore subject.
If you start reading this issue cold, there’s a lot of backstory that goes into the emotional confrontation between Ultragirl and Thundergirl. To Carlson’s credit, the dialog fills in enough of the bigger pieces to figure out why Ultragirl is so upset, but it would help greatly to pick up Big Bang Adventures #15 and Megaton #17 for context.
What’s great about BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23? Carlson delivers a metric ton of Bronze Age-styled hero-vs-villain scenarios, a fitting victory, and enough soap opera shenanigans to provide character continuity from the past that leads into the future. If you prefer your hero’s adventures to mean something beyond beating up the bad guy, Carlson gives you what you want.
What’s not so great about BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23? Action and emotion in a superhero comic are a good thing, but the way Carlson works that out in this issue is overly jarring. BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23 feels like two separate stories as Ultragirl transitions from defeating villains to wallowing in anguish over her boyfriend and father. The transition from one plot to the other isn’t smooth, and Ultragirl almost undergoes a Jekyll/Hyde personality change in the process.
How’s the art? The art by Williams and Cui personifies the best of everything you love about Bronze Age superhero comics. The heroes and villains are strikingly handsome/beautiful/powerful, the action feels big with plenty of imaginative developments, and the characters’ facial acting is darn near perfect.
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What’s BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23 About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
By request of the Publisher, this review is synopsis and spoiler free.
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Final Thoughts
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BIG BANG ADVENTURES #23 gives readers that classic, Bronze Age, superhero action comic you’ve been missing with fantastic art, striking character designs, imaginative battles, and plenty of emotion. That said, Ultragirl’s personality makes a jarring shift from the first half to the second half in a comic where the plot makes a jarring shift from the first to the second half.
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