Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17 Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17

Review: Go Home

By Dustin Cabeal

Go Home is a familiar story of war and the cost that comes with it. I say familiar because I’ve read comics similar to its theme, it’s style of narration and its visuals. It sucks to be so hard on it right away, but I’m not going to sugar coat this review.

Chris Tresson 1/4/17 Chris Tresson 1/4/17

Review: Box Office Poison Color Comics #1

By Chris Tresson

It’s a slow week for comics... There isn’t much up for review and a lot of the books up for review aren’t series I read on a regular basis (I also reviewed a book that won’t be shipping this week before this, but we’ll have more on that next week. If it ships.) When this happens, it usually forces me into grabbing whatever book I can lay my hands on. Having a look through the titles on offer this week, I came across Alex Robinson’s Box Office Poison Color Comics #1 from IDW/Top Shelf.

Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17 Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17

Review: Shade: The Changing Girl #4

By Dustin Cabeal

I keep thinking that I’m going to drop this title for review and just read it, but then it’ll entice me just enough that I want to review it. It’s not that it’s the best of the DC’s Young Animal line, but it’s quite possibly one of the best.

Jonathan Edwards 1/4/17 Jonathan Edwards 1/4/17

Review: Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1

By Jonathan Edwards

DC's Rebirth, like all of its reboots, has meant very different things for each of its characters and books. For Flash, it meant the return of Wally West as well as the introduction of his cousin, also named Wally West. For Superman, it meant the New 52 Superman died (although, I'm not wholly convinced he won't pop back up at some point), and the original Superman replaced him. For Batman, it kind of just meant things continued business as usual. And for this book, it meant Ryan Choi is The Atom once again. And, knowing that he was The Atom at some point before marks one of the handful of things I know about The Atom (alongside knowing that Ray Palmer has played human MacGuffin in more than one book). As such, I decided to do some light reading on Ryan to get a little bit better of an idea where this book is coming from and where it might go. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17 Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17

Review: Grimm Fairy Tales #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Zenescope needs to decide if it’s actually trying to get new readers or if this reboot was just for their current crop of supporters because this first issue felt like an attempt at both. I say attempt because it didn’t really succeed at either. There was this overwhelming sense of being nudged while reading the book. As if someone wanted to tell me, “this is a clever throwback to how the first series started.” The problem being, I didn’t read the first series, I’m not going to read it, and I just wanted something to enjoy in this first issue.

Chris Tresson 1/4/17 Chris Tresson 1/4/17

Review: Chris Samnee's Daredevil Artist's Edition

By Chris Tresson

It’s Tuesday night as I’m writing this. I’m usually wrapped up and looking at next week’s review copies by this point in the week… but this week has been diabolical for review-worthy material, so I’ve found myself looking for something different, something that might cheer me up... I think I’ve found it in the form of one of IDW’s Artist's Editions.

Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17 Dustin Cabeal 1/4/17

Review: G.I. Joe #1

By Dustin Cabeal

I’ve lost track of how many volumes of G.I. Joe this makes, which is a shame because you need to know for any of it to make sense. IDW refuses for some weird reason to reboot G.I. Joe even when Revolution would have made perfect sense to do so. Instead, we’re left with years and years of history on the series, and none of it is particularly memorable.

Jonathan Edwards 1/4/17 Jonathan Edwards 1/4/17

Review: Supergirl: Being Super #1

By Jonathan Edwards

I'll be forthright; I don't know much about Supergirl. Of course, I know that she was originally the Kryptonian cousin of Superman with more or less all the same powers, and she died during Crisis on Infinite Earths. But beyond that (and knowing she was replaced by a shapeshifting alien or something for a while), I'm a blank slate. And really, that's why I wanted to check out this book. I mean, what better way to learn about a character than with an origin story? Even if it takes the character in a substantially different direction than previous iterations, a good origin story can still generate enough interest in a character to inspire further and continued reading. That's what happened with me and Supergirl's cousin a couple years ago. I don't think I'd been all that interested in Superman since I was a kid. But after reading Superman: Secret Origins, I was intrigued enough to check out Superman: Birthright and then Kurt Busiek's Superman: Secret Identity. Okay, admittedly that last one isn't exactly an origin story, but I only sought it out after reading the other two. So the question becomes, will this book encourage something similar from me for the "Girl of Steel"?

Laramie Martinez 1/2/17 Laramie Martinez 1/2/17

Review: Ether #2

By Laramie Martinez

In Ether #2 Matt Kindt doesn’t spend a lot of time ruminating on the big reveal from last issue. Instead he continues to knock the credibility of our narrator as we learn more about his past and the extreme methods he takes to travel to the Ether. This issue is really just a big juxtaposition of the two roles Boone Dias takes on either side of the dimensional portal. We see the heights from which he has fallen on earth, made all the more tragic by the diligence he shows as he hunts for clues in Ether.

Dustin Cabeal 1/2/17 Dustin Cabeal 1/2/17

Review: Kimot Ren #1

By Justin Wood

Cowboys and Aliens. Where have I heard that one before? Snidery aside, there is obviously room for more than one take on such an idea, especially one so rife with potential beyond the obvious. Kinot Ren has a clunky name, a likable cover, and what looks like a decent artist behind the wheel, but exactly how well does this series develop the concept of Out West meets Outer Space?

Patrick Larose 12/23/16 Patrick Larose 12/23/16

How Green Valley Pulls Off a Reveal

By Patrick Larose

“A disgraced group of four knights, once close friends, are given one last shot at redemption: kill a wizard, and slay his dragons. But there’s no such thing as wizards, dragons don’t exist, and nothing is as it seems in the town of Green Valley.”

Laramie Martinez 12/21/16 Laramie Martinez 12/21/16

Review: Black Hammer #6

By Laramie Martinez

I’m putting the bottom line at the top this week, this issue is a solid end to a great series. Last month we saw this creative team branch out in both structure and art style for the Colonel’s origin story, this issue dials back the weird and cranks up the eerie for the story of Madame Dragonfly. In a throwback to the Eerie and Creepy comics of old the team has managed to make another unique addition to the first arch. While the plot may not be a strong as some of the previous issues, there are a lot of things to like about Black Hammer #6.

Mike Badilla 12/21/16 Mike Badilla 12/21/16

Review: Tank Girl Gold #3

Dustin has been telling me since the beginning of my writing career here at CB to NOT GUSH about books, no matter how much I like them. So I can't tell you HOW AWESOME Tank Girl has been. How much I LOVE the art. I can't even tell you how UTTERLY ENTERTAINING this book is, considering some of the slop that comes across the comic stands. You'll just have to feel it through my reviews.

Mike Badilla 12/21/16 Mike Badilla 12/21/16

Review: Jem and the Misfits #1

By Mike Badilla

Ah, the Misfits. Danzig, Jerry Only, Von Frankenstein... all those classic characters. We can't forget about those memorable songs either! We are 138! Angelfuck! Remember when.. wait.... what? Whats that? This book isn't about those Misfits? Well I'm already not happy.

Chris Tresson 12/21/16 Chris Tresson 12/21/16

Review: Bloodshot U.S.A #3

By Chris Tresson

Hello, Comic Bastards readers. I’m about to review Bloodshot U.S.A #3 from Valiant Entertainment. The last issue wasn’t all that great for me (from what I remember of it), and I really didn’t want to review this one because of that but I thought I’d give it a go anyways. Let’s see what Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite have in store for us with this one… Here we go.

Pablo Arriaga 12/21/16 Pablo Arriaga 12/21/16

Review: Joyride #8

By Pablo Arriaga

The latest installment of Joyride hits the ground running with the backstory of Kolstak, and what it means to be a Wander. What happened to him and mainly the reason he has so much hatred in his heart. Joyride has done a good job sending the message that people aren’t inherently good or evil; they are in that grey area where their actions or the things that happen to them shape who they are and they all should be heard in order to be understood. In Kolstak’s case, he is a being who has lived for thousands of years with the same hatred in his heart. Sometimes forgetting it, or trying to overcome it but always coming back to that same feeling.

Chris Tresson 12/21/16 Chris Tresson 12/21/16

Review: Dead Inside #1

By Chris Tresson

Today, I’m having a look at Dead Inside #1 from John Arcudi, Toni Fejzula, and Dark Horse Comics. For the sake of trying to not spoil this book in the review (and I hate doing this, really), Here’s the information which was given in the solicitation:

The Jail Crimes Division of the Sheriff's Office in Mariposa County investigates crimes committed inside county jails. With a limited number of suspects who can't escape, these are usually easy cases to solve-but not this one. As Detective Linda Caruso gets closer to the heart of the case, she discovers uncomfortable truths about her friends, her job, and herself.

Jonathan Edwards 12/21/16 Jonathan Edwards 12/21/16

Review: Klaus and the Witch of Winter #1 (One Shot)

By Jonathan Edwards

In November of last year (2015), Boom! Studios released the first issue of Grant Morrison's Klaus. With Dan Mora on art duties, the limited series was billed as "Santa Claus: Year One." To be honest, I don't know if I would've been as immediately sold on the idea if it weren't Morrison at the helm, using his unique creative flair to elevate it above mere high concept. Over the seven issues, we met the eponymous Klaus, a reclusive hunter chosen by winter spirits to return joy and hope to a city under tyrannical rule, culminating with a fight against an ancient evil. Stylistically, Klaus is comparable to Darren Aronofsky's film Noah, both maintaining a relatively grounded feel, with the more fantastical elements feeling more mythic and/or folkloric than outright religious. Overall, it was a strong, if not wholly exceptional, entry in Morrison's long and vaunted writing career.

Chris Tresson 12/21/16 Chris Tresson 12/21/16

Review: Justice League vs Suicide Squad #1

By Chris Tresson

The Justice League. The Suicide Squad. DC Comic’s biggest and most recognizable super-groups being pitted against each other in a comic book miniseries written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Jason Fabok… This should be bloody good, right? I’ve already got my name down for a few comic reviews this week but I’m going to end up reading this anyway so I thought I’d review it whilst I was at it. So, Let’s find out what this book is like…

Jonathan Edwards 12/21/16 Jonathan Edwards 12/21/16

Review: Dept. H #9

By Jonathan Edwards

I picked up the first issue of Dept. H completely on a whim. I originally saw it online, listed among the weekly new releases. The name was cute, and, after reading the series description, it seemed like it could be interesting. However, nothing really made me feel like I really needed to go out and get it. However, when I saw it on the shelf of my local comic shop, I made a snap judgment: eh, screw it. Why not? And with that, I bought it.