It has been quite the year for dreamscapes in comic books. I’ve only ever read a handful that actually worked and were interesting, but I’m definitely adding this issue of And Then Emily Was Gone to the top of the list.

Retropunk has a bit of everything in it. There’s flying cars, robots with human A.I., women with cat augmentations, hit men, and bounty hunters and most importantly the perfect blend of western storytelling and manga artwork. It is for what I call the "Adult Swim Generation."

Santa Claus is a private eye. End of story. Nah I’m kidding there’s plenty more to say about these first four chapters of Thrillbent’s newest digital comic.

If you’re unfamiliar with American Nature then you’re not trying hard enough. It’s the only indie comic that manages to capture the humor of MAD Magazine, but with actual modern stories and characters. While I was at NYCC the team behind the series which has appeared at the back of Image’s Hoax Hunters, was kind enough to kick me their limited edition issue for review.

At first glance you’re likely to think that Punk Ass Samurai is the newest manga to be ported over from Japan; and why wouldn’t you? It’s got the look, the substance, even just having “Samurai” in the title gives the impression of a newly translated series… but it’s not and that’s honestly what makes this first issue so impressive.

Of the two comics I picked up from Ceri Stromberg at New York Comic Con, Corrsolla Robot was definitely my favorite (you can read my review for Bobwars here). You can tell that the story is personal to Stromberg and maybe even one that she’s been working on for a while, after all her website is the name of the comic and the main character shares her name.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m just as surprised as you are that I’m reviewing this issue. To be honest, no one else wanted it and my curiosity was just too much. I kept thinking, “How are they going to combine the two worlds and make it make sense? HOW!?! AND WHY!?!”

While I was walking around New York Comic Con meeting people and doing interviews I was also on the hunt for new indie creators and series. One such creator was Ceri Stromberg who had a table set up with three titles for sale. I picked up BobWars and Corrsolla Robot to check out so check back for the second review as we dive into BobWars.

One gem that I picked up at New York Comic Con was Blackwood State – Tales of Englishness. There was something about the clean linework on the cover and the angry-looking female protagonist that caught my eye. After creator Ivan O’Neill was done hitting on beard, and yes I do mean just my beard he seemed to care very little for the man it was attached to, I took my bounty and moved on. I wish I hadn’t because I had a question upon finishing the issue… when will there be more?

We are pushing right into the new year! We've got a look at everything that Valiant is shipping in January and it looks good. Remember to get your pre-order game on and start bugging your LCS for these titles.