Comic Reviews Sarah Miller Comic Reviews Sarah Miller

Review: You & A Bike & A Road

By Sarah Miller

Life is a series of moments in time, strung together by our memories to form a narrative that suits the story we tell ourselves about ourselves. What happens when those moments are captured on the page one by one as they happen, rather than being collected all at once when the perceived narrative arc is already over? In deceptively simple sketches, Eleanor Davis answers this question as she tells the story of her cross-country journey from Tucson, Arizona, to Athens, Georgia. You & A Bike & A Road is a diary comic that lets us into Davis’s mind as she confronts the challenges inherent in such a physically and mentally strenuous undertaking. Her story is told as a series of moments that add up to what seems at first glance like a simple cycling narrative, but which at second glance proves to be a series of existential questions about identity and belonging. “I want to bike fast and draw beautifully,” she says, and so she does, in the process revealing the splendour and inescapability of both our physical and conceptual selves.

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Comic Reviews Jonathan Edwards Comic Reviews Jonathan Edwards

Review: Helena Crash #2

By Jonathan Edwards

I was somewhat surprised by Helena Crash #2. The first issue was by no means bad, but there wasn't necessarily that much to it either. We got a sense of the world, a general idea of Helena's character, and a little bit of plot at the end. It was enough to want to see what happens next, but I had yet to be really hooked. To be completely honest, this one didn't completely do that either. However, what it did do was build interestingly off of what we saw last time, and it got me more thoroughly engaged from the get go.  

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Review: Clear Boards - Slab Pro

By Dustin Cabeal

I'm trying some more video reviews for products that are best described with visuals. The clear board is a product for comic collectors that want to see all sides of the comic, which is particularly great with the resell market since you don't have to open the bag to look at the full book. Anyway, the video will do the rest of the work, but I thought it was a product worth talking about. Thanks for watching!

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Comic Reviews Dustin Cabeal Comic Reviews Dustin Cabeal

Review: Amerikarate #2

By Dustin Cabeal

The story of Amerikarate continues to be lost on me. Its parodies shift back and forth so harshly that it seems more like a spoof of different scenes of movies tied together by a shoestring story. The humor feels more at home on an animation in which it would be shocking and supported by a voice actor. Instead, it reads like an attempt at capturing the humor from something like Rick and Morty.

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Review: Rat Queens v2 #2

By Dustin Cabeal

It’s not Kurtis J. Wiebe’s fault that the magic isn’t there for Rat Queens anymore. The industry loved this creator-owned darling and copied the shit out it in numerous ways. The delays were unfortunate, but not a deal breaker. It’s just that when you pair the both of these two factors together, the magic just isn’t there anymore. A series I championed and loved that I own a shirt of is just not the same after so many setbacks.

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Comic Reviews Jonathan Edwards Comic Reviews Jonathan Edwards

Review: Justice League of America #4

By Jonathan Edwards

This fucking book. I was so close to not even bothering with this and dropping it all together. And then, I realized this was the finale of the first bullshit arc, so why not? I've been reviewing this series since Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 anyway. One more couldn't hurt. At least not that much. For anyone who might happen to be in suspense over whether or not Justice League of America #4 is any good, the answer is no, of course it isn't. It's not a good issue, and it's definitely not a good conclusion. It doesn't even feel structured properly. Some of the scenes feel like they should, logically, have their order switched, and for some reason, we need just about the whole JLA present for the last fight against Lord Havok, even though Vixen and Batman are still the only two that really do anything substantial. It's clearly meant to be parallel storytelling, but that only works when the separate stories have similar weight to them. And, it's really hard to care at all about most of the fights when Lord Havok is the only member of the Extremists that's been consistently developed. It wasn't good development, but I don't even know what Gorgon's deal is, yet I'm still supposed to give a shit the Black Canary is fighting him. For all I know, Gorgon could be the weakest member of the team.

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Comic Reviews Dustin Cabeal Comic Reviews Dustin Cabeal

Review: Solar Flare #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Solar Flare has several things working in its favor. The familiar concept is one that it always ripe for new interruptions and the art, while overshadowed, is detailed and strong enough to support the plot. That isn’t to say that Solar Flare is perfect or without faults, but with any comic you want the strengths to be more noticeable than the weaknesses.

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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.

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Comic Reviews Dustin Cabeal Comic Reviews Dustin Cabeal

Review: All Time Comics – Bullwhip #1

By Dustin Cabeal

The best way to describe All Time Comics is to give a what if type statement. In this case, what if EC Comics had created a superhero line back in the heyday of newspaper print? That is what Josh Bayer has created with this line of books, throwback superhero comics, but with a flair of violence and swearing.

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