Dustin Cabeal 10/28/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/28/16

Review: Motro #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Being a fan of Gamma, I was instantly interested in Motro from Ulises Fariñas. It has that distinct style that made Gamma funny and amazing. Motro differs in that its a dark comedy in a somber and dystopian world.

Dustin Cabeal 10/28/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/28/16

Review: Double Take Comics: Fire Vol. 1 (All Ten)

By Dustin Cabeal

That title is probably confusing so let me clarify and tell you that this covers the first ten trades for all of Double Takes titles including Rise, Slab, Soul, Spring, Medic, Honor, Dedication, Home, Remote, Z-Men. I had hoped to review them all separately, but alas, I didn’t find enough to say about any one of them that I haven’t already said in my five individual reviews for each title. I’m sorry, but this reviewer can’t force himself to rewrite the same thing over and over. Instead, I will give you a list of links at the bottom for each individual review for you to enjoy.

Patrick Larose 10/26/16 Patrick Larose 10/26/16

Review: Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes #2

By Patrick Larose

Tarzan on the Planet of the Apes has no right to be as good as it is.

Robert Larson 10/26/16 Robert Larson 10/26/16

Review: Venus TPB

By Robert Larson

It’s funny to be writing a review of Venus, given that Comic Bastards gives its endorsement on the back page of this book. But our reviews only went through the first half of the series, and now I’ve got a chance to say something about the series as a whole. Do I like it? Yes, I do think this is a worthwhile series. While I’m generally a sucker for anything science-fiction, what I liked about this book is that the real focus was on exploration: even as it looks at humanity’s place in the cosmos, it’s also looking at the challenges we faced in the past and what we’re looking at today.

Laramie Martinez 10/26/16 Laramie Martinez 10/26/16

Reivew: Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse

By Laramie Martinez

I don’t know if I’ll ever get sick of Firefly. Every time I see them appear in comic form it gives me that warm fuzzy nostalgia feeling that every media company seems to be trying to tap into these days. Although the previous comic series have been hit or miss, I have enjoyed them enough to look forward to any new series Darkhorse puts out. This issue leans heavy on the nostalgia, spending a lot of the time checking in on the rag-tag crew, but this issue does plant a few seeds for conflicts that could have a dramatic impact on the franchise.

Dustin Cabeal 10/26/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/26/16

Review: The Skeptics #1

By Dustin Cabeal

I was going to open with a Cold War Kids song, but I don’t know any of their songs. Probably something melodramatic about how hard it is to be rich and famous and making music, but then the trade off to that is constant touring, so you’re not forgotten by the audience. Something like that.

Laramie Martinez 10/26/16 Laramie Martinez 10/26/16

Review: Conan the Slayer

By Laramie Martinez

This issue of Conan felt like a deep breath after a sprint. We’ve seen non-stop action for the past few issues and this one takes an opportunity to slow things down and reset. We’ve reached a plateau here, even so, the comic still delivers a decent amount of action. That being said, I think this issue is a little too Conan-centric. How is that possible in a series titled “Conan”? You can find out how below.

Mike Badilla 10/26/16 Mike Badilla 10/26/16

Review: Skyborne #2

By Mike Badilla

Did you hear the one about the Catholic priest and the immortal guy? Me either. Could have gone without ever hearing about them. Issue 2 of Skyborne begins with a Catholic priest climbing the steps to what looks like some kind of Tibetan temple. Some monks answer the door, and the priest asks if they received the case of Merlot he sent. This sounds like the setup to a lame joke. The monks let him in, and he asks where 'he' is, and they point to a man carrying a huge boulder. The priest approaches him and they exchange harsh words, all the while the young man is breaking this boulder apart by punching it, which is pretty cool. Just when it seems the two will start fighting, they burst into laughter. They are old friends from long ago. The young man (Thomas) explains that they are repairing the wall as it was damaged in a storm not long ago. The priest then tells Thomas why he's there.

Chris Tresson 10/26/16 Chris Tresson 10/26/16

Review: Bloodshot U.S.A #1

By Chris Tresson

I’m never going to claim to be the biggest Valiant guy out there, but since Valiant came back, I have been keeping my eye on one character in particular… and that character is Bloodshot. I missed the launch Bloodshot title, I had to hunt down issues of Bloodshot Reborn and I’m pretty much a Valiant noob still. I’m eager to read some more Valiant books but I honestly wouldn’t know where to start… and I already have a pull list that’s ridiculously long. But I guess a little more Bloodshot won’t hurt, right? Let’s see.

Dustin Cabeal 10/26/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/26/16

Review: Vigilante: Southland #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Everyone pause for a second to soak this in. Someone made a comic book about a vigilante superhero in L.A., and it works. It doesn’t suck, people. It doesn’t suck. Perhaps it's because it doesn’t star a top ten hero/character or maybe it's the fact that it’s a character that likely wouldn’t rank in the top 100 of DC characters. Whatever the case, I enjoyed Vigilante: Southland.

Robert Larson 10/26/16 Robert Larson 10/26/16

Review: Descender #16

By Robert Larson

I’ve done nothing but complain about Descender’s current story arc. It’s been nothing but a cheap stalling tactic; half of the stories we’ve seen have been things we’ve already known, making this nothing more than repetition. So it was with not inconsiderable dread that I picked up this latest issue, only to be pleasantly surprised by the story that I got. If it didn’t resolve the broader issue that this has just been a six-month way to put off telling what happened to Tim, at least this given issue managed to tell a good story that is actually relevant to the broader plot. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers in this review.

Chris Tresson 10/26/16 Chris Tresson 10/26/16

Review: Frostbite #2

By Chris Tresson

So I reviewed the first issue of this series when it came out and overall, I wasn’t impressed by it. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t like the first issue of something, you should at least pick up the second issue to see if your opinion can be swayed… This is my review of Vertigo’s Frostbite #2 by Joshua Williamson and Jason Shawn Alexander.

Mike Badilla 10/26/16 Mike Badilla 10/26/16

Review: Seven to Eternity #2

By Mike Badilla

Recap: In the first issue of Seven to Eternity, we see a family living far apart from any civilization. They hunt, they farm, they take care of each other. This family was once royalty until the God of Whispers spread enough lies to convince all the people that this family had betrayed the people in the war against the God of Whispers (known as the Mud God by this family) and the people cast out this family. At their farm, the father of the family is approached by one of the Mud God's warriors and is given an offer he has received many times before: come before the God and hear his offer. The father refuses, as he always has, and is struck down and murdered by the warrior. The mans son, Adam Osidis, decides that the only way to keep his family safe is to go and hear this offer, although his father had one rule: never hear the offer of the God of Mud.

Dustin Cabeal 10/26/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/26/16

Review: Wolf Cop vol. 1 Hog Wild #1

By Dustin Cabeal

I liked the trailer for Wolf Cop, but I couldn’t finish the film. Why bother trying the comic right? Well, because maybe it’s an idea that works better as a comic? Part of that is true as the special effects have been replaced by the art from Arcana Studios. It’s just the writing that kills this story.

Dustin Cabeal 10/25/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/25/16

Review: Future Quake – Summer 2016

By Dustin Cabeal

If you’re going to buy an indie comic anthology, for your money, make it Future Quake. There’s a lot of stories, and it genuinely feels as if each creator was given a minimum page count rather than a max. Each story takes the time to breathe and in some cases, develop into an interesting tale.

Dustin Cabeal 10/25/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/25/16

Review: Adam + Gill’s Trivia Game

By Dustin Cabeal

I debate if I should review Adam + Gill’s Trivia Game. I didn’t particularly like it, but I think that’s because comedy is so subjective. Whereas I didn’t find Trivia Game funny, I’m hopefully that someone reading this review will check it out and find it funny and then subsequently hate my review for not heaping praise upon it. I can live with that if it means that I help someone find this book and enjoy it.

Dustin Cabeal 10/24/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/24/16

Review: Humanescent

By Dustin Cabeal

Usually, I’m not a fan of anthologies written by one person. It takes a talented writer with a solid vision to pull off such an anthology. For the most part, creator and writer, Jacques Nyemb does just that. Humanescent is unique in that the theme isn’t superheroes, sci-fi or the typical “here’s the character tell a story with them and use these personality tropes” themed story. I’ve never read a collection of stories about “being human” and while that could come across as intentionally vague to some people, I find it to be ambitious.

Justin Wood 10/22/16 Justin Wood 10/22/16

Review: The Chasing Arrows #1

By Justin Wood

It's a lot like Waterworld. It's a little like Tank Girl. One bit reminds me a lot of Y: The Last Man. The Chasing Arrows feels a lot like a lot of things that already exist, but unlike a lot of books read here on Bastards, here this doesn't raise my red flags. The only time clichés and allusions are crimes are when you get the sense that the writer just wanted to take credit for a story they read elsewhere or to plug holes in their writing instinctually with overly familiar shortcuts. The Chasing Arrows feels familiar but brings enough of its own ideas to the table to result in a new property worth seeing what it builds into.

Dustin Cabeal 10/21/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/21/16

Review: Doctor Crowe #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Doctor Crowe is an anthology or sorts in that there are four separate stories, but they’re all written by Corey Fryia, and each story has a different artist. It’s very similar to what other publishers do on annuals in which they invite different creators to tell a variety of stories with a set of characters, but in this instance, it’s one man telling the stories. I’m not opposed to that; I just wish it had a damn name beside "anthology."

Dustin Cabeal 10/21/16 Dustin Cabeal 10/21/16

Review: Prospects #1

By Dustin Cabeal

While looking at the cover for Prospects, I instantly played the “one of these things is not like the other” game and focused in on the guy dead center. I knew in a heartbeat that he was going to be the main character due to his annoyed look and disheveled appearance.