Dustin Cabeal 11/21/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/21/16

Review: Motor Crush #1

By Justin Wood

Here's a high concept for you. Motorcycles on drugs. Pricks the old ears up, don't it? However, that seems to be the Image publishing model right now, not so much selling us stories as much as idea fragments that are as abstract as they are catchy. Image adverts don't have to sell you a compelling story, rather relying on the cover copy that comes off like free association word salad. “A comic about beatnik elves, a time-traveling ocelot, and Lyndon Baines Johnson with a chainsaw.” I blame Manhattan Projects for this.

Pablo Arriaga 11/20/16 Pablo Arriaga 11/20/16

Review: Joyride #7

By Pablo Arriaga

The biggest rager in the galaxy is thrown in this issue of Joyride! How? Oh simple, a giant space whale who has transcended into the 8th dimension was freed by Uma way back in issue #2 and acts like a teenager, so it obviously throws a planet-sized party for the three teen adventurers. And as they are, they behave like teens at a house party. Some of them fit right in, and others just wander and lean on walls awkwardly.

Laramie Martinez 11/18/16 Laramie Martinez 11/18/16

Review: Black Hammer #5

By Laramie Martinez

Black Hammer # 5 is a bold departure from what we’ve seen of the comic so far. In a lot of ways it’s what you would expect from the family’s strangest character. From the structure of the plot to the layouts of the pages themselves, this issue breaks the mold to create a jarring departure form the narrative. In the end its flaw isn’t in what the creators do differently, the problem stems from what stays the same. Keep reading to find out what that is.

Laramie Martinez 11/18/16 Laramie Martinez 11/18/16

Review: Ether #1

By Laramie Martinez

I went into Ether #1 cold. I knew Matt Kindt was writing it, but I had no idea who the artist was or even the premise of the comic. I have to say, it’s nice when you get lucky and stumble on a good comic. Part portal fantasy, part scientific detective story, Ether is a promising series showcasing the strange talent of writer Matt Kindt and far out style of David Rubin.

Patrick Larose 11/18/16 Patrick Larose 11/18/16

Review: Green Valley #2

By Patrick Larose

The Knights of Kelodia are in a bad place.

Chris Tresson 11/16/16 Chris Tresson 11/16/16

Review: Red Dog #1

By Chris Tresson

I likes me some sci-fi comics. The industry seems to love them some sci-fi comics. So, in a market which is currently saturated with a lot of sci-fi comics, it can be hard to stand out. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my review of Rob Cohen’s Red Dog #1 from 451 Studios.Red Dog is a story which follows Kyle, a kid living within a mining colony on a planet called Kirawan, and his robot dog Q (short for Quantum.) There's only 200 people living there, and he’s the only kid.

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Mini-Reviews: Week of 11/16/16

By Dustin Cabeal

Hey, I managed to do this two weeks in a row. Maybe it will be a thing. Again, these mini-reviews are for titles that I didn’t have enough to write a full review about. I’m still going to score them and whatnot, but I just couldn’t write a full review either trashing or saying the same thing over and over again. Enjoy!

Chris Tresson 11/16/16 Chris Tresson 11/16/16

Review: Treves: A Restless Night (One-Shot)

By Chris Tresson

I’m dipping my toes in that big ol’ indie review pool again, this time I’m taking a look at Treves: A Restless Night by writer Tom Ward and artist Luke Parker. Now, I realised something when I decided to read and review this book: There’s a good chance that the majority of you who have come to see what’s been reviewed on Comic Bastards today are going to have absolutely no fucking idea what this book or the story it’s connected to is. I accept that. I’m going to try and bring you up to speed...

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: Grand Passion #1

By Dustin Cabeal

James Robinson is a writer that I want to like. I continue to try his titles out and over and over I come away not wanting to read more. I’m to the point that I feel that I should read his classic DC material and just decide once and for all if he’s a writer I want to continue reading. And it’s not because he’s a bad writer.

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: Harbinger Renegade #1

By Dustin Cabeal

The last time I read Harbinger was when I was still called Harbinger. I never got into Imperium since another reviewer was on and off that one. It doesn’t seem like I missed too much since it’s easily recapped in this issue. Frankly, the strength of the series has been when Peter and Harada were in it together. I say that not knowing if Harada will show up in this series, but with the strong hope he will.

Patrick Larose 11/16/16 Patrick Larose 11/16/16

Review: Spell on Wheels #2

By Patrick Larose

When I reviewed the first issue of Spell on Wheels, I made it clear that this was a comic clearly not aimed at me. There was a certain stylistic flair or ancestral structure to the issue that called back to predecessors that I didn’t really like or participate in.

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: Reborn #2

By Dustin Cabeal

My fear with this series is on display in the second issue of Reborn. It’s almost as if Mark Millar came to terms with his own mortality and arrived on the age-old question of the afterlife. He then came up with a pretty brilliant idea of the afterlife being a fantasy world in which we inhabit a random person’s body and fight an eternal battle for good and evil.

Mike Badilla 11/16/16 Mike Badilla 11/16/16

Review: Revolution: G.I. Joe #1

By Mike Badilla

Here's what I know about this whole Revolution thing: nothing. It has to do with Rom, and the Transformers, and GI Joe and who knows who else, but I don't know what. The recap page states that when the Earth Defense Command failed to push back the Autobots and Decepticons, GI Joe took over. Joe Colton, head of GI Joe, is killed during a mission to stop the Cybertronians. Scarlett is in charge now. Joe Colton was not the real Joe Colton, but a Dire Wraith imposter. I'm not kidding, this is the recap page. Everything crystal clear now?

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: Star Trek: Waypoint #2

By Dustin Cabeal

Yeah… this is more like what I was expecting from this series. God damn that first issue was so fucking good and this issue. Well, this issue is exactly what I thought it would be.

Mike Badilla 11/16/16 Mike Badilla 11/16/16

Review: Jackboot and Ironheel #4

By Mike Badilla

Jackboot and Ironheel has been an awesome WWII sci-fi series so far. In case you've missed the first three issues, a quick recap: Eddie Neale was set to be a famous footballer in England when he was drafted into the Royal Air Force and sent to fight against the Germans. His plane was shot down, he was captured and taken to Lungotz Luftzig prison. In the prison, there are strange happenings including hauntings and inexplicable deaths of the guards! Some of the nuns have befriended Eddie, as well as one of the guards, which was bad news for young Sister Evangeline, as she was caught helping Eddie and shot by one of the guards. We left of with her dying in Eddies arms...

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: Vampire Hunter D: Message From Mars #1 (of 5)

By Dustin Cabeal

Vampire Hunter D is one of those properties that I imagine were pretty interesting and different when they first premiered. Now with years and years of storytelling, it’s just an OG brand that will continue much like hundreds of others in comics and other forms of media. If we’re honest, and I am, Vampire Hunter D hasn’t been relevant or interesting in decades.

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: Yakuza Demon Killers #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Lately, IDW has been amping up its original IP’s, which is a good thing. I would much rather check out something like Yakuza Demon Killers over their latest Transformers title: Transformers: The Training Wheels Are Off! or Revolting: How Many Hasbro Licenses Do We Have?! (Side note, great job taking all the individually successful brands and slamming them into a shared universe, I’m so interested now… so interested).

Chris Tresson 11/16/16 Chris Tresson 11/16/16

Review: Moonshine #2

By Chris Tresson

I’ve been sitting on this issue since even before issue one came out. I got sent the first three issues and I had to make the tough decision of either reading them all in one go or reading and reviewing them as they came out in stores. I opted for the latter after reading issue one because the prospect of going a couple of months to find out what happens in issue four would’ve done my fuckin’ nut in. So this is my review of the second issue of that Brian Azzarello/Eduardo Risso creator-owned joint, Moonshine. Published by Image Comics and out this week at your local comic book shop!

Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16 Dustin Cabeal 11/16/16

Review: SLAM! #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Roller Derby. That is the subject of SLAM! from Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish. I have read a lot of a roller derby comics in my time at Comic Bastards. I know that seems weird, but I can think of more than a few titles off the top of my head. I’m not here to review them, though; I’m here to review SLAM!.

Pablo Arriaga 11/11/16 Pablo Arriaga 11/11/16

Review: WWE Then. Now. Forever #1

By Pablo Arriaga

The main feature in this comic invites the reader to relive the final days of the SHIELD, coming off their Payback 2014 win and taking place on the Monday Night Raw the following night, as the comic flashbacks to the days leading up to the pay-per view all the way to the night Seth Rollins would turn on Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose to become the whiny undisputed future on the WWE, and now we’re cheering for him. Wrestling is weird!