Griffin’s Picks for the week of 5/13/2026
#1: The Fury of Firestorm #2 - DC
The second issue of The Fury of Firestorm by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre had high hopes to live up to and even though it wasn’t quite as strong as the first one, this is still one of my most anticipated series currently.
Most of this issue works as a flashback with Ronnie Raymond remembering how he came to meet Professor Stein and their convergence into the Nuclear Man, so if you’re new to the character, you’ll get more context for just who exactly Firestorm is. But, it also expands a bit on Raymond’s relationship with his father and how Stein becomes a father-figure type role-model in Ronnie’s life. All of this happens within the mind of Firestorm where Ronnie Raymond is trapped. Lemire uses the beginning of this issue to slow the pace of the story before jumping back to real time/where the first issue ends.
Like I said at the start, I wasn’t blown away after reading this one the same way I was with #1. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it by any means but that first issue was astounding, it’s no wonder that it sold out at the distributor level. If you can get a hold of the first one, you should get on early because I foresee this book becoming difficult to find in the near future.
#2: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 - IDW
The Ujigami Saga comes to a shocking conclusion with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18! Written by Gene Luen Yang with art by Freddie E. Williams II and Fero Pe, this arc acts as an interesting counterpart to the year that Jason Aaron spent on the book.
This is going to get confusing fast, so if you haven’t been following the story or some of my reviews, go read the book for yourself! Splinter has returned from the dead and has taken on the identity of Ujigami (A Japanese spirit that protects families/clans) and is killing any enemies that the turtles may have based on visions of the turtle’s deaths. But his violence is fueled by fear because he’s torn part of himself from his existence in the spirit realm and the only way to return him to his former being, he must merge with his spirit form, Hamato Yoshi as a teenager. Oh, and I forgot to mention, Splinter is attacked by a different spirit that turns him into a giant skeletal rat. All the while, the turtles must help teenage Yoshi while avoiding the fates that Splinter saw, but attempts to prevent their demise just might ensure it.
This was a satisfactory arc to conclude Yang’s first six months with the turtles. It sets up some story elements that I’m interested to see where they lead and it’s definitely good enough to keep me reading. I know that there’s one thing in particular that I’ll either love or hate depending on how it’s handled but only time will tell I suppose.
#3: Bleeding Hearts #4 - Vertigo/DC
This has been one of, if not the best Vertigo books so far, I’m a mark for anything that Deniz Camp writes and this is no exception. Bleeding Hearts also has some pretty great art from Stipan Morian that’s distinct from any other book coming from the big two, if you want something outside the norm.
Poke continues to hide Cara and her daughter Rabbit and Rabbit seems to be bonding more and more with Poke much to the chagrin of her mother. But Poke’s good deed is starting to take a toll on his relationship with the other zombies, his best friend Mush is noticing his disinterest in eating people and his frequent disappearances. What might happen if Mush were to discover Poke’s secret?
The pace of this series has been pretty slow but I certainly wouldn’t call it shambling (get it? You know? Like a zombie?). I don’t mind it though, the story has room to breathe and enough is happening that I don’t feel as if it meanders.