Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17

Review: Wolf Country #7

By Dustin Cabeal

This issue of Wolf Country is a quick read, mostly because Halfpenny is fighting a wolf for most of it and tripping balls the rest of it. What continues to be gripping about this series is the way that Jim Alexander bounces between the settlement, the wolves, and Halfpenny back in the city. Unlike what a lot of writers would do, Alexander doesn’t check in on each part of the story with every issue. Instead, he finds a very natural way to bounce between them, and sometimes that means going a few issues without checking in.

Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17

Review: Little Guardians #0-1

By Dustin Cabeal

My preference is to have two individual reviews rather than combo up two issues like this review is doing, but I’m a bit behind on reviewing this new series from Scout Comics. To start with, both issues are available on their site already or through you LCS. The first issue just hit, so you’re not that behind, not like me and this review which I wanted to be done much sooner. Damn you time and your accursed ways!

Jonathan Edwards 4/19/17 Jonathan Edwards 4/19/17

Review: Plastic #1

By Jonathan Edwards

I've been looking forward to getting my hands of Plastic ever since Image announced it back in January. The premise is one of those that pretty much guarantees that the story can only be a bad situation turning into a far worse one, but it'll so weird and twisted the whole time through that it kind of has to be worth at least checking out. I was completely expecting someone else to have called it for review as soon as it went up on the spreadsheet, but that didn't happen. So, here I am. And after reading through Plastic #1, it's actually not what I expected. Well, okay, it's exactly what I expected, but the execution and presentation are different. Although let me be clear, that's by no means a bad thing. What I'd thought was there'd be this incredibly thin veneer of "everything is so wonderful, and there can't possibly be anything bad on the horizon." A candy coating to the dark chocolate that is this book, if you will. Nope, no facade whatsoever. From the very first panel, it's abundantly clear what kind of story this is.

Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17

Review: The Wild Storm #3

By Dustin Cabeal

I will say that The Wild Storm makes me painfully aware of my ignorance of the characters. For instance, I have no idea who the woman on the cover is, but I want to be her best friend. She can walk through TV people! How fucking cool is that!?! Seriously though we begin with her walking through screens, all connecting and relating like instant teleportation and at the end its revealed that she’s keeping tabs secretly on the three different groups that were introduced to us thus far and if you pay close attention… some other cool shit.

Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17

Review: Deathstroke #17

By Dustin Cabeal

All good things must come to an end; such is the case for Deathstroke and Power Girl, the strangest duo to hang out in the DCU in quite a long while. This issue of Deathstroke is a reminder for those reading that Slade is a piece of shit, he’s not to be loved or idolized. He is a villain, even if he occasionally does nice things. Just remember, Slade is a piece of shit, but it’s okay to love him.

Levi Remington 4/19/17 Levi Remington 4/19/17

Review: The Shaolin Cowboy: Who'll Stop the Reign #1

By Levi Remington

Life is full of defining moments, events that completely reshape your perspective on reality. I've had my fair share, but sometimes they come without warning. You see, there's my life before I read The Shaolin Cowboy: Who'll Stop the Reign #1, and then there's after. Because a man can only do so much to resist cataclysmic disruption of his entire being, and a title like this was always meant to be the definitive tipping point. Read ahead for my thoughts before Billy's Happy Meal photo hits 9 likes.

Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17

Review: Red Sonja v4 #4

By Dustin Cabeal

You know what would make that cover better? Not having those goddamn hands covering the most interesting part of the cover, which is a sword going through Sonja. It’s fucking awesome otherwise, but fuck those hands!

Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/19/17

Review: Black Hammer #8

By Dustin Cabeal

I had to catch up on the past two issues in order to review Black Hammer #8 and let me tell you; it was worth it. Not only were the last two issues incredible, but it made me more excited for this issue. Each issue tends to follow one character’s backstory, and this time it’s Gail, who has become one of my favorite characters of this series due to her predicament. There is something extremely interesting about this old woman trapped in a young girl’s body.

Sarah Miller 4/17/17 Sarah Miller 4/17/17

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.

Jonathan Edwards 4/14/17 Jonathan Edwards 4/14/17

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.

Dustin Cabeal 4/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/13/17

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!

Dustin Cabeal 4/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/13/17

Review: Dominion of Giants - Adult Coloring Book

By Dustin Cabeal

I'm trying something new today, here's a review for Dominion of Giants, which is a fantasy coloring book for adults. Now, it's not "adult" themed which is probably what you're thinking, but more in line with crazy of coloring books for mature people. The video will cover the review so check it out.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

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.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

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.

Jonathan Edwards 4/12/17 Jonathan Edwards 4/12/17

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.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

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.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/12/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/12/17

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.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

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.

Levi Remington 4/12/17 Levi Remington 4/12/17

Review: Rose #1

By Levi Remington

When you're dealing with an oversaturated genre such as Fantasy, it's easy for stories to feel repetitive. Creators grow up consuming a limited subset of material and then they write from what they know. This leads to a perpetual narrowing of scope and vision as tropes and cliches fester up. New ideas are risky because while they may occasionally prove successful, it's more likely that they will be rejected. That's why a common, safer approach is to take a well-worn concept and add one or two new elements to make it feel fresh. In the case of Image Comics' Rose, that element is cats.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: The Fist #3

By Dustin Cabeal

One of my “Best of 2016” picks returns with a new issue, but has it managed to capture a place on our future “Best of 2017” list? The Fist, for the unfamiliar, is a story taking place in an intergalactic fight arena in which several great comic book homages are fighting. Enter The First and his wife, who is a ship. They’re deserters from the galactic military and as such, The Fist’s sisters, Legs, have been sent to retrieve him.