Look, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, Drew, Patrick and Spencer discuss The Kitchen 5, Manhattan Projects: Beyond the Stars 1, Batman Eternal 50, Batgirl Endgame 1, Superman 39, Batman Superman 20, The Amazing Spider-Man 16.1, Black Widow 16, the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 3, Cyclops 11, and All-New Captain America 5.

Drew: I’ve always thought dividing comics and television into “episodic” and “serialized” categories was kind of overly reductive. Even the most episodic series I can think of had some kind of continuity, and even the most serialized ones need to deliver their stories in satisfying installments. When we zoom out to talk about what the series is — a workplace comedy, a police procedural, a family drama — considerations like the importance of continuity become noise. I think we now have enough information to know what kind of series The Kitchen is, as issue 5 asserts a new normal, even as change appears on the horizon.

The real drama here revolves around the ladies’ relationship to the Mob, and how their husbands hope to upend it. Actually, the husbands are pretty effective at causing chaos — they beat up Tommy and convince Gargano of their right to kill one of his own men — but the wives are doing just as good of a job of demonstrating their value to the Mob. This issue has them stealing a shipment of fur coats from a rival gang. I’m still finding the full embrace of genre tropes to be a bit off-putting (Raven actually reminds Kath that they’re running a business, not a charity), and Ming Doyle’s acting is a little stiff for my tastes, but this is by far the most engaged I’ve been with this title.

This week saw the triumphant return of Manhattan Projects with it’s new “The Sun Beyond the Stars” subtitle, focusing on Yuri Gagarin’s quest to find Laika. It’s a decidedly different direction for the series — none of our Earth-bound scientists appear — but one that promises to explore Jonathan Hickman’s alien worlds and politics much more directly. This issue finds Yuri at the space equivalent of night court for what one of his cellmates describes as “a parking violation.” It’s a clever way of introducing us to this world, with what amounts to a more formalized cantina scene, but the more intriguing part may actually be the issue’s extended cold open, where a new threat makes himself known in devastatingly calculated fashion. It’s certainly the most memorable introduction to a villain (and the weapon he wields) that I’ve seen in recent memory. How about you, Patrick?

Patrick: I found the issue to be totally satisfying if only as a display of Nick Pitarra’s uncanny ability to populate his pages with compellingly muppet-like characters. All of these alien characters have that physical quality, where the fine line detail, shading and coloring sell their weight and shape, but there’s an overwhelming sense of whimsy about their designs. In other words: I believe the physicality, but not the biology — this is especially true for Yuri’s cell-mate. He could be a creature straight out of Henson’s workshop, right?

Plus, man, I’ve been waiting months to see Yuri and Laiki reunited. The fact that she decked him and then scolded him for taking so long is just the icing on the cake.

Hey, speaking for taking so damn long: Batman Eternal 50 finally pulls back the curtain on its big-bad. It’s a secret that’s been on lockdown for more issues than anything in the 52 has even run (an odd thought, really) so I’m even a little wary of spoiling it here — even if, y’know, I’m not sure I believe in spoilers. Here it comes anyway: consider thyself warned of spoilers! Spoiler Alert: Spoiler’s father, Clue Master, is pulling all the strings. I can’t tell if it’s rewarding that Batman never figures this out or if I need the world’s greatest detective to find the solution on his own. It’s certainly a disempowering moment when Batman can only respond to “you don’t recognize my voice, do you?” with a tight-lipped “…”. The whole issue sets us up for Batman’s success, as he travels from Bat-family member to Bat-family member and fixes their problems for them in the most efficient, bad-ass ways possible. It’s enough to make a body forget that we’ve already seen the end of this thing (remember issue 1?). It’s a solid issue, packed with so much fun action and problem solving, but the most spectacular thing about it might be that Cliff Chiang cover.

I mean, holy shit son.

Still in the Bat-family, and still showing off a Barbara Gordon that can take care of herself thankyouverymuch, Batgirl: Endgame 1 is a mostly-silent issue. I’m not totally sure what the point of presenting this entire tale without copy is, other than to draw the attention to the action. Batgirl swings on rope, she blows up walls, she kicks dudes in the face — it’s all very confident as far as that action is concerned. Which makes the odd moments where text really would have made sense all the more frustrating. When Babs’ grapple-gun is jammed, a word balloon pops up and it has that poop emoji in it. That’s sorta cute, but it’s also sorta distracting — ultimately, emojis are a substitute for text, and when there isn’t dialog elsewhere in the issue, it feels less like a knowing nod to the way we use our phones, and more like a way around the limit of a text-free issue. You know what I say? Let some copy in. It doesn’t hurt anything to drop in a few lines here and there, and then there’s also not this “thing” about keeping the issue silent.

At the risk of asking the reader if they know what too frequently in one article: You know what? I don’t care how many times I read the story “Superman doesn’t have his powers for some reason,” I’m almost always going to love the results. Geoff Johns and John Romita Jr.’s delightfully self-contained Superman 39 does just that, and the charmingly directionless narrative nails the theme of Clark’s fundamental goodness over and over again. Even without his powers, Clark rushes into action to save a child falling from a tree, even though it means scraping his elbow. I love that as a test of Clark’s impulse to save the day, but the next example is even better, as Clark has an opportunity to consider the real risk he’s putting himself in, and then act anyway. But maybe the best part of this issue is the closing moment that Clark and Jimmy share on the roof of the Daily Planet: Romita, Klaus Jansen and Hi-Fi sell the hell out of it, allowing Superman to be larger than life, but small and insignificant at the same time.

Plus, setting this moment at sunset reminds us that, for all of Superman’s solar powers, the sun goes away every night. I’d honestly be happy to see this issue show up in future compilations of stories that make the argument that “Superman is worth reading,” how about you Spencer?

Spencer: Absolutely, Patrick. Superman 39 digs down to the essence of the character and what makes him so special, and as much as I enjoy a good slugfest, it isn’t the powers: what makes Superman “super” is his humanity and his ability to inspire others. In fact, Johns reminds us that Clark’s greatest powers may just be compassion, empathy, and a cool, rational head.

I love the many small details that pepper this issue as well — such as the effect Clark’s powers have on the way he views the world, all clever in their own right — but it’s Johns’ crystal clear understanding of Superman as a character that makes this story so excellent, and what will make it worth checking out for decades to come.

Greg Pak and Ardian Syaf’s Batman Superman 20 takes a similarly inspirational route with Superman, even if it’s confined to the end of the issue, where Superman receives a pep talk from pop star Felicity Rogan, a version of the jumper he famously talked down in All-Star Superman. Here she gets to turn Superman’s message back on himself, letting him know that, in the face of the Phantom King’s horror, he’s stronger than he thinks, and so are the people he protects. It’s a nice takeaway from this story, but the rest of the conclusion isn’t as strong. Pak’s labeled the Phantom King as “Superman’s Joker” because of his personal, psychopathic means of attacking Clark, but as far as I’m concerned, none of those elements make Joker who he is; Joker’s so dangerous because he’s unpredictable and full of personality, while Phantom King’s got no voice at all, and, as unique as his methods often are, his plans are consistently based solely around revenge. Throw in some excessively expositional dialogue and some unclear art from Syaf at key moments, and you’ve got a weak finish to an arc that began with a lot of promise. The emotion is there, but it’s not enough to carry the whole story.

Over at Marvel, Gerry Conway returns to The Amazing Spider-Man in issue 16.1 for a special story featuring the Wraith, Yuri Watanabe. I’m always a bit wary when comics tackle the ethics of vigilantism, and I have the same reservations with this story; the irony of Spider-Man moralizing to Wraith when he himself is a vigilante isn’t lost on me. Fortunately, Conway is able to flesh out Peter’s argument by reminding us of his recent experiences against the “Superior” Spider-Man, giving him an enlightened perspective on Wraith’s similar “crossing the line” actions. Conway has a nice handle on the characters and Carlo Barberi delivers several clear, fun actions sequences, making this a solid issue and a nice alternative for anybody looking for a more street-level Spider-Man story after the antics of “Spider-Verse.”

Black Widow 16 is, likewise, a bit of a departure from the kind of stories Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto have been delivering the past few months. The majority of the issue is a tale of Natasha as a child; it likely depicts her first murder, but that’s simply a device to show the stark contrast between the life she dreamt of, where she could have a loving family and a future as a talented ballerina, and the life she ended up living as a master assassin. In the present day, the Prophet of Chaos appeals to the same parts of Natasha’s psyche, offering her a path where she can do “good” unencumbered by the sins of her past (or laws, or the Avengers’ rules…). It’s too good to be true — and Natasha obviously knows that — but Edmondson’s established her as a character with just enough moral ambiguity and just enough regret to at least consider the deal. It should be interesting to see what she does next.

Acting as the light to Black Widow 16‘s darkness is The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 3, a title anchored by laughs, charm, and heart aplenty. I don’t even come close to having enough room here to mention all my favorite jokes, but what actually stood out to me most was Doreen’s steadfast heroism. Her decision to confront the bank robbers even if it meant delaying her battle with Galactus would probably make the Illuminati cringe, but as a reader it’s hard not to find her confidence infectious.

Of course, Nancy didn’t even need Doreen around to show the same bravery; I can’t believe how much I love their friendship so far. It would be easy for Unbeatable Squirrel Girl to feel low-stakes, yet writer Ryan North manages to inject some actual dread and intrigue into the issue, both with the lead-up to the Galactus fight and Nancy’s possible discovery of Doreen’s identity. This issue kicked me straight into a vat of emotion; how about you, Drew?

Drew: This series is absurdly charming. Last month, I compared it to Animaniacs, and while I meant that has high praise, Squirrel Girl might actually be the more clever and funny of the two. I mean, Doreen defeats Whiplash by having Tippytoe cram herself into Whiplash’s mouth. As always, North’s running commentary at the bottom of the page (which jumps perspectives to whoever will have the strongest joke) is my favorite, but it’s hard to deny the infectiousness of Doreen’s self-assurance. She’s squirrel girl, she can do anything.

Cyclops 11 finds Scott going up against equally insurmountable odds, but without that same level of self-aware modesty, the story’s inner workings end up a tad too apparent. That’s not to discount Vileena’s rage — writer John Layman and artist Javier Garrón definitely sell it — but the rest of the emotions, from Chris and Scott’s elation at being reunited with the Starjammers to Vileena’s own guilt at the loss of her father, get short-shrift in a rather transparent move to put things in place for the “Black Vortex” crossover in the next issue. Unfortunately, that pulls this issue from its rightful place as climax and conclusion to the “A Pirate’s Life for Me” arc, and plants it firmly as connective tissue to the next one.

Actually, All-New Captain America 5 manages a similar transition much more elegantly, trading in its cliffhanger from last month (resolved in exactly the manner Jack suggested in the comments) for a near-equivalent at the end of the issue. The difference is that every moment has enough space to breathe, from Sam getting back the upper-hand to Ian’s triumphant return, to the set-up of the next threat Sam has to rush off to. More importantly, Rick Remender gets another opportunity to address the racism latent in objections to Sam’s appointment as Captain America, this time by simply presenting an opposing argument unabridged.

The rest of the issue goes on to show exactly how much Sam is willing to sacrifice to save this country, but it doesn’t matter: seeing these words presented without commentary is more than enough to highlight exactly how racist these sentiments are. That dude (like so many critics of this run of Captain America and Thor) would probably be surprised if he’d actually bother to pick up an issue.

The conversation doesn’t stop there, because you certainly read something that we didn’t. What do you wanna talk about from this week?