Welcome back to another edition of Fantastic Five, where we spotlight the best comics of the week. This week’s top picks run the gamut from Batman wrestling with legacy and myth, to Star Trek pushing boldly into existential sci-fi, to sly heist energy, bleak end-times horror, and a striking debut steeped in shadow and atmosphere. Let’s get to the books!
Best comics of the week: December 17, 2025
#5: Spirit of the Shadows #1
‘Spirit of the Shadows’ #1 is bold, weird, and bursting with imagination
Spirits of the Shadows #1 is bold, weird, and bursting with imagination. The debut issue takes big swings and lands most of its punches, delivering a supernatural origin story that feels more like a kaleidoscopic descent into memory and identity than a standard hero’s journey. Its imaginative visuals, clever narrative devices, and tragic, music-powered protagonist combine to create a world that feels alive, strange, and full of possibility. By the final page, the book has done exactly what a great first issue should: establish a bold identity, raise unsettling questions, and make it very hard not to come back for more.
Read Dave Brooke’s full review!
#4: Everything Dead & Dying #4
‘Everything Dead & Dying’ #4 is both heartbreaking and horrifying
Everything Dead & Dying #4 is a penultimate issue packed with horror, heartbreak, and proof that the living and the undead share some things in common. I’m not ready for this series to end, but I know the final issue will be something special.
Read Collier Jennings’ full review!
#3: Black Cat #5
‘Black Cat’ #5 digs into the superhero world’s shades of gray
Black Cat #5 is a reminder that while the superhero world largely feels black and white, some characters – especially Felicia Hardy – operate in shades of gray. I once again urge Spider-Man fans and comic fans in general to check out this book, as it’s that rare combination of witty and wise that comics could use more of.
Read Collier Jennings’ full review!
#2: Star Trek: The Last Starship #3
‘Star Trek: The Last Starship’ #3 is as exciting as Trek can get
Star Trek: The Last Starship #3 is the series firing on all cylinders, delivering a dark, high-impact chapter that reframes Kirk not as a nostalgic icon, but as a necessary force in a collapsing future. The issue balances explosive action with moral consequence, suggesting that the Federation, and Star Trek itself, may be heading toward a version that can’t simply reset back to optimism. With top-tier pacing, striking visuals, and a cliffhanger that adds emotional complexity to the carnage, this series is revisiting the past while rewriting the future.
Read Dave Brooke’s full review!
#1: The Bat-Man: Second Knight #2
‘The Bat-Man: Second Knight’ #2 gives Scarecrow the perfect origin
All in all, The Bat-Man: Second Knight continues to exceed expectations. It’s a bit of a painful reminder of the rich Golden Age lore DC lost when it flushed the first 50 years of its publication history down the bog with Crisis on Infinite Earths, which continues to be the publisher’s biggest enduring mistake. At the same time, The Bat-Man: Second Knight offers some refuge for fans of this era by telling new stories with these versions of the characters through a more modern lens.
