Daniel Vlasaty 4/12/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/12/17

Review: Spencer & Locke #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

When I was younger I loved Calvin and Hobbes. I remember buying the collected books out of a mail-order catalogue through my school’s book fair when I was maybe in second or third or fourth grade. I am pretty sure Calvin and Hobbes was the first book I picked out and bought for myself. I’m not sure what it was that I liked about it back then, because I definitely didn’t “get” it. I don’t know. I still have the books and I still love them today. So, when Spencer & Locke was announced I was instantly super excited. I mean, it’s a freaking gritty, hard-boiled noir grown up Calvin and Hobbes story!!! Perfect, right? Read on and find out.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/9/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/9/17

Review: Grass Kings #2

By Daniel Vlasaty

Grass Kings is back with its second issue. If you read my review for issue #1, you’ll know that I loved it, and that I have high hopes for this book moving forward. I was excited to see this title come up on the review list and jumped at the opportunity to get back out to the Grass Kingdom. Second issues are tricky things, I think. These are the issues that really set the tone for a book, because first issues are all about hooking the reader. But second issues have to slow it down a bit and give readers something to latch onto. Usually second issues will take a step back and spend some time on character development. And that’s exactly what issue #2 of Grass Kings does.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/5/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/5/17

Review: Black Cloud #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

Black Cloud is a book where I really have no idea what’s going on. I read it twice and I still feel like I’m just barely starting to understand. Like I’m just starting to kind of maybe get it. Black Cloud is about storytelling. It’s about how life is a story. It’s about the story that’s all around us, the one we’re living in right now. It’s also about dreams and magic and fear and history and adventure. Jason Latour and Ivan Brandon have created something really special here. Because, even though this is a complex and difficult first issue, it’s also beautiful and welcoming and invigorating.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/5/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/5/17

Review: Rock Candy Mountain #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

I know of Kyle Stark through his amazing and ridiculous and fantastic Sexcastle. That book hit me out of nowhere. I had never even heard of it until I saw it on the shelf in the shop I was working in at the time. Just seeing the title on the spine, I knew I was buying that thing immediately. And I finished it in like an hour. It was so good. An homage to all the so-bad-they’re-actually-kind-of-good action/comedy movies of the 80s. I loved it. Anyway, what I mean to say is that Kyle Starks has a new book! And this is my review of the first issue!

Daniel Vlasaty 3/29/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/29/17

Review: Deadly Class #27

By Daniel Vlasaty

Before I moved recently I worked at a comic book store in Chicago called Graham Crackers Comics. I’m pretty sure that I got just about every person that came in to check out Deadly Class. Any time someone asked for a recommendation I would tell them about this book. I would scream at them about how awesome it is and how they need to be reading it! Like right now! What’s the hold-up! Jesus fucking Christ, check out this goddamn book already! It’s been one of my favorite books since it started coming out.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/29/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/29/17

Review: Hadrian's Wall #5

By Daniel Vlasaty

Hadrian’s Wall is a lot of things blended together to make a decidedly dark and interesting read. It’s a science fiction story. It’s a murder mystery. It’s a drama. It’s a story of addiction and withdrawal. It’s a lot of things and the best part is that each of these things would be good on their own, but when they’re all blended together it becomes something even better. Something great maybe.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/22/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/22/17

Review: Loose Ends #3

By Daniel Vlasaty

If you’ve read any of my other reviews you know that I’ve been really enjoying Loose Ends. You also know that I’ve got a soft spot for drugs and junkie stories, and more importantly crime fiction. And this book checks off both of those categories. Loose Ends is billed as a Southern Crime Romance, and luckily for me the crime part of that tag line is the thing that sticks out most. Not that I have anything against romance, really, I’d just rather read some hard-boiled crime shit.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/22/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/22/17

Review: Curse Words #3

By Daniel Vlasaty

I’m just going to come right out and say that I didn’t really care for the first issue of Curse Words. I tried to like it, but it just didn’t click for me. Something about it. Maybe it’s because it seemed a little too hipster-y (which is a word I am just making up here) or something. I don’t know. I like Charles Soule and Ryan Browne, so I figured, together, it would be an instant hit with me. But it wasn’t. Whatever. Let’s move on.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/15/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/15/17

Review: Coady and the Creepies #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

I’d like to start this review by saying that Coady and the Creepies isn’t really the kind of comic book I normally read. But I’ve also noticed that some of my reviews here on the site are getting repetitive and redundant. So, this week I decided to read something different. I wanted to try something new and fun and lighthearted. I hadn’t heard anything at all about this book, so I went in without knowing what to expect.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/15/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/15/17

Review: Kill or be Killed #7

By Daniel Vlasaty

I like Dylan. I enjoy following him and his mental illness and the “mission” he finds himself on. He’s angsty and crazy and depressing and violent. The perfect combination for the kind of comic book I love to read. Which is why Kill or be Killed is always one of my favorite books. It’s one that I look forward to most each month. (Although, as I said in one of my previous reviews, I’m still not too down with the demon aspect of the book. I think this thing would work even better if Dylan was just doing his thing, killing for myself).

Daniel Vlasaty 3/8/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/8/17

Review: Red Line #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

When I heard that one of the dudes behind shows like Archer and Sealab 2021 was writing a comic book I was super pumped. I said to myself that this thing had to be the book. That it would be fun and hilarious and well, basically, like reading a comic book version of one of those shows. I can see that here, kind of. I can feel it in the book, at least of the periphery. But sadly, I also could feel that something was missing. I’m not sure what it is, but whatever it is the book just never clicked for me.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/8/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/8/17

Review: Grass Kings #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

The Grass Kingdom isn’t a place you want to go, unless you’re given permission to be there. The Grass Kingdom is a small, isolated community. They don’t tolerate trespassers or tourists or outsiders of any kind. The people of the Grass Kingdom live off the grid and they set their own laws. It’s a place where “everyone has a say,” even though that usually turns out to be the opposite in places like this. Places like this are set up to look like they’re equal, but mostly that means there’s some ruthless dictator (or self-appointed “king”) who’s actually calling the shots. Usually, places like this never turn out good.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/6/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/6/17

Review: All Time Comics #1: Crime Destroyer #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

It appears that Fantagraphics is getting into the super-hero game. And to do so they are going all the way back to the beginning of the genre and starting from there. One of the first titles under their All Time Comics banner is Crime Destroyer, an over-the-top, ridiculous Batman stand-in. This book is fun and silly and just a straight forward book. There are no hidden messages or meanings. There’s nothing left for the reader to decipher, everything is laid out right there on the page. In thought bubbles and (possibly) an excessive amount of narration.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/1/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/1/17

Review: The Dregs #2

By Daniel Vlasaty

The Dregs might be the perfect comic book. It has a unique and original story, a too-cool-for-school attitude, great art, and an interesting and involving mystery. In my opinion, it’s the best book coming out right now. Probably the best book of the year. It’s a great mash-up of noir and junkie fiction, two of my main areas of interest. Basically, this book’s got it going on.

Daniel Vlasaty 3/1/17 Daniel Vlasaty 3/1/17

Review: Batman #18

By Daniel Vlasaty

After two issues of pretty much straight set-up, we’re back to the action in Batman #18. From the opening page spread of Batman and Bane arguing and fighting in the rain all the way back to their respective childhoods this issue really packs in an emotional/action-packed punch.

Daniel Vlasaty 2/22/17 Daniel Vlasaty 2/22/17

Review: The Old Guard #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

What do you do if you’re an immortal warrior? Not much you can do, so you go on fighting, hoping that your next fight, your next war, your next job will be the one that finally brings you death.

Daniel Vlasaty 2/22/17 Daniel Vlasaty 2/22/17

Review: Loose Ends #2

By Daniel Vlasaty

I like good crime fiction. I read it, I write it, I watch it. I am a fan of the genre because I believe that it shows up what a person is made of. It breaks right through all the bullshit and shows you the true nature of a person, what’s really in his or her mind and heart. Loose Ends is right up there with the best of them. It’s a book with a lot of characters and they’re all after something else (though we as the readers aren’t given all the information on what that may or may not be yet). Plus, it’s a beautiful book that’s gritty and violent, everything I look for in the genre.

Daniel Vlasaty 2/20/17 Daniel Vlasaty 2/20/17

Review: Batman #17

By Daniel Vlasaty

Batman #17 is the second issue of the “I am Bane” storyline. Issue #16 had a more light and comedic tone (except for the last page), and there is a definite tonal change from that issue to this one. Here it is back to business as usual as Batman continues to prepare for the coming of Bane.

Daniel Vlasaty 2/15/17 Daniel Vlasaty 2/15/17

Review: Batwoman: Rebirth #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

I’ll admit I’m not all that familiar with Batwoman as a character. I’ve read a few things with her and I know the gist of her origin and past, and this book is basically just a recap of all of that. Page by page, little flashes of Kate Kane’s life. Leading up to her becoming Batwoman. It’s interesting and has me intrigued to keep reading but that’s all that there really was with this issue. The last page reveal has me decently excited to check out the next issue.

Daniel Vlasaty 2/15/17 Daniel Vlasaty 2/15/17

Review: Kill or Be Killed #6

By Daniel Vlasaty

Issue #5 ended on a cliffhanger, and issue #6 picks up right where it left off. Still in the bathroom. Still with Dylan’s shotgun pointed at some cops. It’s a tense stand-off, but it’s downplayed by Dylan’s detached, kind of blasé narration.