GEIGER #16 – New Comic Review

Geiger #16, by Image Comics on 7/16/25, unleashes radioactive drama as the Glowing Man, Tariq Geiger, confronts his nuclear “creator” Dr. Andrei Molotov in a ruined and ruthless American wasteland.

Credits:

• Writer: Geoff Johns
• Artist: Eamon Winkle, Norm Rapmund
• Colorist: Robert Nugent
• Letterer: Rob Leigh
• Cover Artist: Gary Frank, Brad Anderson(cover A)
• Publisher: Image Comics
• Release Date: July 23, 2025
• Comic Rating: Teen
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Page Count: 22
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

Analysis of GEIGER #16:

First Impressions:

This issue hits like a blast of gamma rays to the face—sharply written, nervy, and drenched in nuclear guilt, yet crackling with humanity. You come for the post-apocalyptic thrills, but you’re hooked by the tragic ghosts haunting every irradiated page.

Recap:

Russian nuclear physicist Dr. Andrei Molotov—the designer of the deadly bombs of The Unknown War—defected to America when the mushroom clouds ended civilization as we know it. In the aftermath, Molotov connected with Tariq Geiger and helped him control his nuclear power, but had a falling out over Geiger capriciously killing trespassers. Now, years later, Geiger and Molotov have reunited in a tense détente…

Plot Analysis:

After a succinct catch-up, Geiger #16 opens with Dr. Andrei Molotov marinating in solitude and shame, locked in a basement by one of his own atomic creations. Once a Russian physicist, now a haunted exile, Molotov recounts how his monstrous atomic bombs spawned more than just Tariq Geiger: they mutated Ashley Arden too, giving her not just radioactive powers but a spirit as volatile and hazardous as her body. Molotov becomes Ashley’s mentor—almost a surrogate father—until his confession about his role in the war shatters her trust, sending her on a destructive path that culminates in detonating a bomb beneath Lewistown.

Molotov’s narration flickers from regret to reflection, drawing dark parallels with real-life nuclear architects like Oppenheimer and Szilard. Meanwhile, Geiger returns, desperate to have Molotov fix a robot, Junkyard Joe, who previously saved Geiger’s life. The two men’s uneasy alliance sizzles with the threat of violence and recriminations as they navigate a Colorado landscape swarming with danger. Molotov is no robotics whiz, but he cracks open the wounded automaton as night descends, haunted by his own failures.

The tension ratchets up as Tariq’s allies evacuate in the face of emerging threats. The weight of Tariq’s grief for his lost family and his simmering vendettas hangs heavy, as does the bounty on his glowing head. When a sudden attack erupts, Tariq’s powers ignite like the sun itself, thanks to a dangerous new “power level” acquired from Ashley’s nuclear bomb detonation, which leaves allies like Nate anxiously wondering what price they, and the world, will pay for Tariq’s unleashed might.

The comic culminates with Tariq Geiger burning brighter than the bombs that made him, crossing from menace to legend in real time. As the chapter closes, Molotov’s beast and his creator are changed forever, barreling toward the next arc: “Trial of the Glowing Man.”

Story

Geoff Johns delivers a script crackling with tension; morally thorny, heavy on introspection, yet driven by the high stakes of survival. The blend of first-person confession (via Molotov) and terse, poignant dialogue ramps up both the pathos and suspense. Johns isn’t shy about throwing real historical echoes and philosophical weight into the radioactive stew. Yet, he deftly avoids dragging the story down with overwrought monologues. Molotov’s guilt, Ashley’s trauma, and Geiger’s barely-contained fury all land sharp, clear, and unafraid of leaving scars.

Art

Eamon Winkle, inked by Norm Rapmund and colored by Robert Nugent, brings haunted desolation to every irradiated panel. The art pulses with energy, whether in the weary eyes of survivors or Geiger’s apocalyptic glow. Page composition is cinematic, swinging between intimate close-ups and explosive mayhem, while the mutated animals (like two-headed wolves and three-eyed zebras) in the High Plains Zoo sequence are memorably grotesque. The color palette toggles between sickly radiance and grim, ashen ruin, always reinforcing the story’s grim atmosphere.

Characters

Rather than defaulting to typical mutant brawling, this issue is all about the emotional fallout. Molotov is less a cackling mad scientist, more a haunted philosopher struggling to atone. Geiger himself feels less like a brute and more like a tragic force, his pain and rage barely contained. Ashley Arden is felt throughout as a scar across everyone’s memories, while side players, like the gentle nuclear knight Nate, add warmth that makes the bleakness brighter by comparison.

Positives

What absolutely powers this issue is its commitment to consequences. Every flash of power, every act of betrayal, feels earned. The writing juggles weighty themes alongside action, and the art never misses an opportunity to make the end times feel both grand and intimate.

Negatives

If there’s fallout here, it’s that the introspective pacing sometimes slows the forward momentum; action fans impatient for fistfights might groan at the navel-gazing. The lore’s ever-growing weight (with references to prior cataclysms, multiple spinoff plots, and historical parallels) may leave new readers scrambling for a Geiger wiki. And Ashley, while central to everyone’s motivations, is more a force of nature than a fully present character this go-round, which dilutes her immediate impact.

Art Samples:

Final Thoughts:

(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)

GEIGER #16 doesn’t just glow. It irradiates the senses: moody, mythic, and deeply wounded. Johns and the art team keep the apocalypse personal, tragic, and thrilling, even as they set up seismic stakes for the next arc. The rare comic where the emotional aftermath is just as radioactive as the action.

---

---

---

As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.