The Four Color Media Monitor

A writer at Superhero Hype chose what he claims is the best of 2025, and his selection of Dr. Doom material from the past year sounds pretty predetermined:

2025 was a red letter year for Doctor Doom. His profile was boosted publicly by the hype surrounding the upcoming MCU movie Avengers: Doomsday. HIs star also rose in the comics, where he dominated the Earth in the One World Under Doom miniseries. And yet, for all this, his finest turn in 2025 came as part of an unlikely team-up with Rocket Raccoon.

Written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art by Will Robson, Doctor Doom & Rocket Racoon #1 finds Rocket summoned to Latveria. Doom is in a contemplative mood, and has come to question the nature of existence. In short, he seeks the meaning of life.

However, for all his knowledge, Doom is a master of Earthly science. This is where Rocket and his own brilliance with alien technology come into play. Rocket, for his part, thinks Doom is nuts, but he’s willing to indulge just about anything if the money is good.

Doom and Rocket are an odd couple, to say the least. However, the pairing makes sense under Straczynski’s pen. Both characters are largely amoral, yet can be pressed into playing the hero. This leads to the development of an odd friendship that defies logic, yet fits both characters perfectly. Beyond that, the story delves into some truly deep philosophy.

Robson’s artwork further highlights the paradoxical nature of the story. The image of a talking raccoon standing alongside a Wagnerian figure in full plate is frankly ridiculous. It is the sort of thing that only works in comics. And yet, it does work.

Yeah right, and all because JMS is the writer, and based on that, the columnist wants it to. At least that's my perception of what's going on here. Surely it's not appalling we have a case here of a presumed goodie who's making a Faustian pact with a villain? Atop all that, it's sad how a Hollywood scribe who played a part in bringing down Marvel and DC in the 2000s has been welcomed back by C.B. Cebulski to writing the former's creations, all for the sake of endless line-wide crossovers that brought down Marvel in the long run.

The article even fawns over Gail Simone's writing in X-Men, and says:

I’ve honestly never been much of an X-Men fan. The franchise has often exemplified the worst excesses of superhero comics, with writing that presumes you already know the characters. Uncanny X-Men #17 does not do this. Indeed, it’s a simple one-shot story with an interesting new villain.

This is confusing, because IIRC, there were times when some characters in X-Men and other such comics would have an introduction written for them multiple times, explaining what their powers are and what they could do. That's not "presuming we know" the cast of characters, but rather, assuming we don't. Of course, today, if you know where to look, you'll notice some examples of mainstream comics where they couldn't care less if you didn't know any of the characters, because they intend to obliterate any characters they consider literally expendable through a crossover or some other shoddily written event, as was the case with Identity Crisis and Avengers: Disassembled 2 decades ago. And such a direction, when taken, is disgraceful as it's insulting to the intellect.

All that aside, this is another puff piece that seems to be deliberately written just for promoting an overrated writer who wasn't worth all the fuss when she began. And then, there's also the choice of the Titans Annual:

Donna Troy is notable among DC Comics’ characters for being one of the few heroes created by a continuity error. Her backstory has become even more muddled over time, thanks to various reboots changing the history of the Amazons. She’s been everything from a baby rescued by Wonder Woman to an evil clone meant to replace her. Titans 2025 Annual #1 sought to once again clarify this, creating a definitive history for Donna in the DC All-In era.

Writer/artist Phil Jimenez has often said that Donna Troy is his favorite superhero. That is made more than clear over the course of this issue. It is an obvious labor of love, made all the more miraculous for how it details some fairly complicated history and makes it accessible. The artwork is simply gorgeous as well. [...]

As I noted some time ago, the character design for Donna was watered down and mediocre, so it's decidedly not hard to guess the fawning commentary was deliberate, and the columnist expects virtually everyone to buy into his puff piece without question. This is why such news sites aren't serious sources for information, and only multiply the insults to veteran artists and writers. If that's how Jiminez is going to draw Donna, then his claims she's his favorite character are phony. And Donna's backstory is muddled? Well gee, maybe they should blame previous editorial boards and writers, Dan DiDio included, for all that.

On the other hand, Bam-Smack-Pow says Image was the best of the year:

This year, Image Comics may not have made as much money as the big two, but they were the best comic book company of the year. Superman, Batman, and the Absolute Universe are always among the top sellers of the month. For example, a title starring Batman was in four of the five best sellers in November 2025 (DC / Marvel - Batman / Deadpool #1 (One-Shot), Batman No. 3, Absolute Batman No. 14, and DC K.O. Knightfight No. 1). Nevertheless, you can’t discount the impact titles from the Energon Universe have made in 2025. It was so good that the universe is getting an adult animated series.

Some of these comics based on licensed merchandise like GI Joe/Transformers may be worth the effort, but that doesn't mean everything's recommendable there. For example:

Of course, comic book fans want stories with characters using unfathomable abilities to defeat overpowered villains. Image Comics doesn’t deprive readers of stories like that. Titles like Ludo Lullabi’s Ghost Pepper, along with Benito Cereno and E. J. Su's Blood and Thunder, are two comics that provide the sci-fi adventures you may crave. However, they also publish more “grounded” comics like Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard’s I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer. There are still fantasy tales, but without having a hero flying or breaking steel with their hands.

With titles like those, it's clear not all is rosy at Image, and when they promote horror thriller fare so blatantly, far more than anything optimistic, it's sad.

Another thing to love is how Image Comics uses its social media. Image doesn’t just promote the comics. They make sure to show real people who have read and reviewed the comics. The best part is that the reviews are genuine. You can tell they mean what they say instead of doing it to get a paycheck. It’s easy to see those videos and be drawn into what they’re highlighting because it’s coming from an actual comic book fan.

I think that's awfully naive and jumping to conclusions too. There's all sorts of "professional" critics who can be biased and predetermined in their positions, so it does little good for Image to make use of their reviews for social media promotion. And if they don't sell in millions of copies, then like the mainstream, they haven't exactly accomplished much.

So again, there may be more overrated slop being fawned over by specialty columnists this year, and what's really sad is how they won't champion the visions of veteran writers of the past who did better than what the mainstream's offering today. And while I'm sure Image has some palatable stuff, that doesn't mean we should take a naive view of their output either.

Labels: animation, dc comics, dreadful artists, dreadful writers, golden calf of villainy, licensed products, marvel comics, misogyny and racism, moonbat artists, moonbat writers, msm propaganda