Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17

Review: Leash Baby Kung-Fu #2

By Dustin Cabeal

Full disclosure I know the writer of this book Erik McAlister. He used to write for Comic Bastards and wrote many fair and balanced reviews for the site. That said, I will do the same for him as I take a crack at Leash Baby Kung-Fu #2. I will fully admit that the first issue wasn’t my cup a tea. It was a solid book and extremely consistent from beginning to end.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/26/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/26/17

Review: Loose Ends #4

By Daniel Vlasaty

This is it, my friends. This is the end. The final issue of Loose Ends. If you’ve read any of my previous reviews for this series, you know how much I’ve been enjoying this series. So how does issue #4 stack up in relation to the previous three issues, but also to other books in the same genre? Does it pay off? Does it deliver on all the things it promised throughout the series? Read on for my review of Loose Ends #4.

Ashley Gibbs 4/26/17 Ashley Gibbs 4/26/17

Review: Grimm Fairy Tales #5

By Ashley Gibbs

Fairy tales are something I personally grew up with, be it in book form or told through visual media. I do admit I’m new to this particular comic series but I have seen it before in stores and wondered what it was all about, Grimm Fairy Tales #5 gave me that chance. Despite it being the fifth issue, I jumped in completely blind. Good news is that I didn’t feel too lost, sure I could tell there was a history with the characters and story being told but I was given enough basic information to follow along and enjoy the story. Evil pixies from Neverland have invaded the human world and it’s up to barely-dressed wonder women to save the day, so this issue is filled with plenty of action and adventure.

Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17

Review: Dollface #4

By Dustin Cabeal

Dollface #4 is a pretty straightforward issue as it wraps up the conclusion of the first arc. Unfortunately, there’s nothing too surprising about it. As we saw in the last issue, Janey was plotting to kill them all, to begin with, and so they throw down once again. No backstory business, nothing.

Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17

Review: X-O Manowar v2 #2

By Dustin Cabeal

I need to go back and find out how Aric lost his damn hand and when the suit started going by its name and talking because Matt Kindt’s dialogue and characterization for these two is great. It’s vastly different from what Robert Venditti was doing with the character, but in a way continues the natural progression of the character. It’s not one of those hard shifts in comics that make you miss the previous creative team, but rather appreciate them more for getting the story to where it is now. It is my great hope that Matt Kindt will be given a solid 50 issues of X-O before he hands it off to someone else that understands the character as well as he and Venditti have.

Levi Remington 4/26/17 Levi Remington 4/26/17

Review: Batgirl #10

By Levi Remington

In the penultimate issue of Batgirl's 'Son of Penguin' arc, the Penguin plays ping-pong and Babs is bombarded with incriminating Dick pics (I'm referring to Nightwing, you perverted bastards), which causes Ethan, the overly-attached son of Penguin, to completely freak. Meanwhile, corrupt minds behind powerful technologies are putting privacy at risk for the citizens of Burnside, and Batgirl learns what happens when you give in to the allure of the mysterious bad boy. Read ahead for my thoughts on this week's issue, and the series as a whole, while I cry and double-fist some ice cream and vodka.

Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17

Review: Blackhand Ironhead #1

By Dustin Cabeal

As anyone that reads comics knows, Panel Syndicate is a “Pay What You Want” platform from Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin. They’ve done two series themselves, a one-shot and added another creator to their lineup. The platform has worked for them, though I have no idea how well it worked for the series that wasn’t by them.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/26/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/26/17

Review: Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special

By Daniel Vlasaty

When I was in eighth grade I “dated” a girl named Katie. While I was reading Street Angel: After School Kung Fu Special the first thing I thought about was Katie. Which is kind of weird, considering I haven’t thought about her in like 17 years. The reason I thought about her was because she reminded me a lot of the main character, Jesse Sanchez, minus all the kung fu. Although Katie did get into a lot of fights that year we “dated.” Like Jesse Sanchez, Katie was a bad girl. And I don’t mean like “oh, damn, she bad.” I mean like she was just straight up bad. Criminal bad. Like, I remember one time this other girl looked at her wrong, I guess, and Katie threw a chair at her, right in the middle of class. It was funny at the time, but now looking back it was kind of just crazy, really. Or the time she threw a sandwich at the back of Mr. Boswell’s head in the lunchroom. Anyway, I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this book, and here I am now thinking about a girl I “dated” when I was like 14 that I now realize I was really just afraid of. I don’t know, I feel kind of weird now. Thanks Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca.

Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/26/17

Review: Night Owl Society #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Well, I’ll say this about Night Owl Society, it’s extremely different from the vast majority of titles that IDW publishes. It also seems like their stab at getting their own Breakfast Club-esc story that’s primed and ready for the CW. Also, just because it’s different from what they usually publish, doesn’t mean it’s instantly better.

Dustin Cabeal 4/25/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/25/17

Review: Real Friends

By Dustin Cabeal

Real Friends is probably the best title you can come up for this story, but unfortunately, it has very little to do with real friends. Maybe more in line with finding real friends or even figuring out who to spot real friends, but then you’d never be able to find the title for the story. My point is, don’t think that you’re going to read a happy story about “real friends” finding each other and going on great adventures. Not that this story isn’t happy, but it’s a lot like life in that everything comes in waves.

Dustin Cabeal 4/20/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/20/17

Review: Trolls

By Dustin Cabeal

Hold on, hold on, hold on… not those “Trolls” or even internet trolls, but rather Air Traffic ConTROLLers. The printed word can be confusing, so I’m laying that out first and foremost because I don’t want people skipping this review just because of one goddamn word.

Dustin Cabeal 4/20/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/20/17

Review: How To Draw Comics

By Dustin Cabeal

There’s one thing that needs to be said about any “How to Draw” book; you get out of it, what you put into it. People seem to think that by going through the book they’ll suddenly be the next (Insert name of comic book artist you like, here) and that is simply not the case. With that said, how does one critic something called How To Draw Comics if it’s not by the amount of successful students that come from it? Well, How To Draw Comics by Ilya made it quite easy to do so.

Dustin Cabeal 4/20/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/20/17

Review: Broken #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Check out the Kickstarter for the series that just launched! (4/20/17)

Broken is a digital fighter story in the vein of Pokemon or any story that pairs a fighter with a trainer in the hope of seeking ultimate glory. It doesn’t try to hide this fact which is why I’m being up front with it because the catch to all stories like this is the characters and journey. The formula is simple and works well over and over, but it’s the previously mentioned elements that determine its longevity.

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

Review: Ninjak #26

By Dustin Cabeal

Totally willing to admit that I haven’t kept up with Ninjak, but unlike a lot of superhero comics, Matt Kindt makes it easy to jump back on the series. Point in case, this is a pretty big conclusion to a storyline, and once again it involves the Shadow Seven, Roku, and Master Darque. I’ll say this much; the series does need some new villains because I am getting super tired of that dude with the creepy little hands. He’s great because of those hands, but he’s still just creepy as fuck.

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

Review: Super Sons #3

By Dustin Cabeal

PSYCH! It’s not there Dad’s because this adventure would be over too soon and it would be really unrewarding to the reader if Batman and Superman showed up and cleaned up the mess… that could still happen, but hopefully, it won’t.

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

Review: Zombie Tramp #34

By Dustin Cabeal

It’s been a while since I checked in with Zombie Tramp. It’s a series that I find easy to jump on and off of as I’ve stated many times before, in that way it reminds me a lot of Witchblade. The series never makes any hot shot booking in which they just blow through a storyline, but rather it’s all very methodical so much so that I was able to figure out what I missed just from reading the dialogue.

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

Review: Coady & The Creepies #2

By Levi Remington

Have you been clamoring for a mediocre, all-ages, punk-rock, pin-collecting adventure with a bevy of authentically juvenile jokes and shoehorned supernatural twists? Have I got the title for you! Read ahead for my thoughts on Coady and the Creepies #2 (of 4) while I name my cat Ichabod, finish my friend's sandwiches, and "double groan" the whole way through.

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

Review: Royal City #2

By Jonathan Edwards

There's something about Jeff Lemire and Royal City that makes it so damn engaging to read. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I know it's there, probably having to do with the sum of the parts over any individual aspect. It's the same type of dynamic that can happen when a comic incollected format versus issue to issue. Sometimes, the collection just adds another dimension. Consequently, that's exactly what I expect to happen with the eventual Royal City hardcovers and TPBs. Although, even if that does turn out to be the case, it won't dissuade from picking up and reading the individuals issues.

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

Review: Sand + Bone

By Dustin Cabeal

Sand + Bone isn’t that unfamiliar of a story. There have been some variations in comics over the years, and it goes like this, Iraqi’ Vet comes home and brings something back with him. In this case, it’s not an item, but something else that is fairly easy to figure out while reading the story.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/19/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/19/17

Review: Redneck #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

I don’t like vampires. Not really sure what it is about them but I’ve just never liked them. Maybe it’s because they’re usually portrayed as this smart and savvy and sophisticated things. Rich and high class and full of old world charm. I don’t know. I think vampires should be more like junkies. Ravenous and rabid. Strong and determined but driven by more of an animal instinct, by their hunger, than anything else. I think if vampires existed, they would have a hard time controlling their hunger and their lifestyle. Again: like a junkie. Where their bloodlust and their need to feed overpowers every other aspect of their lives. And the next thing they know they’re on the corner selling their bodies for even the smallest hit of some fresh, fresh blood. (An exaggeration, maybe, but you get the point). So, how does Redneck compare to this?