Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17

Review: Be A Star, Wonder Woman!

By Dustin Cabeal

Much like the Bedtime for Batman kids book I reviewed several months back, I have a hard time recommending this to anyone. That won’t stop anyone from picking it up, and really, I don’t blame you either. Kids are into Wonder Woman for the first time in years it seems like and in my opinion that is a great thing.

Comic Bastards 8/16/17 Comic Bastards 8/16/17

Duel Review: Dark Nights: Metal #1

By Dustin and Daniel

Welcome to our first duel review in a long ass time. A duel review is similar to a group review, but with only two people. I’ll be honest I never know which duel/dual to use… pick the one you like better. Anyway, Daniel and Dustin will give their thoughts on Dark Nights: Metal #1 along with their individual scores! It’s like two reviews… get it?

Synopsis: All the “Meta’s” are “Metal’s” and Batman is from an evil bat tribe.

Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17

Review: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, But You Could’ve Done Better

By Dustin Cabeal

I love the title for this book. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, But You Could’ve Done Better instantly grabs you. Now, not knowing anything about the book beforehand I had my own ideas of what it would be about and let’s just say that it was nothing like my mind wanted it to be. I was, however, able to quickly move on from what I made up and latch on to what it is actually about.

Oliver Gerlach 8/16/17 Oliver Gerlach 8/16/17

Review: The Demon Archives vol. 1

By Oliver Gerlach

The Demon Archives, an ongoing webcomic, is finally transitioning to print through a Kickstarter campaign, approximately two-thirds of the way to reaching its goal as of the time of writing. The kickstarted first volume will contain the first three chapters of the webcomic, currently on its fifth chapter.

Benjamin Snyder 8/16/17 Benjamin Snyder 8/16/17

Review: Mage: Hero Denied #1

By Ben Snyder

Mage: The Hero Denied #1 is an enjoyable if not extraordinary entry to a seemingly average story. There’s nothing offensive or amazing in Mage; it’s just simply there.

Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17

Review: It’s Snot Fair!

By Dustin Cabeal

In my constant quest to find kids’ books to enjoy with my son, I tried out. It’s Snot Fair! I’m not one of those parents that shy away from potty humor… which is a big duh if you’ve ever heard a podcast with me on it.

Patrick Wolf 8/16/17 Patrick Wolf 8/16/17

Review: Dark Ark #1

By Patrick Wolf

We all know the story of Noah’s ark: Noah rounds up two of every animal, herds them onto his vessel, and keeps them alive until the great flood subsides. But, what if there was another person with the same idea as Noah? And what if, instead of rescuing the animals of the natural world, this person rescued the monsters of the unnatural world? In this dark reimagining of Noah’s ark, Cullen Bunn continues his hot streak of resurrecting old tales and casting a new light on them. So far, this is definitely his best.

Daniel Vlasaty 8/16/17 Daniel Vlasaty 8/16/17

Review: Batman #29

By Daniel Vlasaty

DC, man, you're killing me with all these "wars" and "events" and on and on and on. This is the ever-increasing problem I've been having with superhero comics as of late, especially those from DC. They're all trying to do too much. And in the process, we're losing little bits and pieces of the characters. We're losing the things we love about these characters to – what I'm going to call – the Hollywood movie mentality in comics right now. Big stories with action and energy but not much else. What ever happened to focusing on the smaller things. What ever happened to character development. Not everything has to be END OF THE WORLD motherfucking huge. Not everything has to be earth shattering. But I digress.

Benjamin Snyder 8/16/17 Benjamin Snyder 8/16/17

Review: Kill The Minotaur #3

By Ben Snyder

Kill The Minotaur #3 is another example of how to craft an interesting story from a famous fable. Chris Pasetto, Christian Cantamessa, and Lukas Ketner continue to take a story everyone has heard before and make it their own by focusing on the characters and the history of the labyrinth.

Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17

Review: Things You Shouldn’t Remember #1-3

By Dustin Cabeal

I know what’s happening in Things You Shouldn’t Remember, but I sure as hell don’t know where the story is going. That’s not a bad thing, by the way, just a way to say that I get what I read, but I don’t know jack about why I read it.

Isaac Quattlebaum 8/16/17 Isaac Quattlebaum 8/16/17

Review: Batwoman #6

By Isaac Quattlebaum

Batwoman returns with the first part of a brand new arc: Pax Batmana. There’s an immediate change of pace with this issue. It’s set in the distant future specifically: Year Five of the Bat. Gotham City has been converted into a high tech empire ruled by a government of Batmen. We find Batwoman, Kate Kane, as the commander of a colony battleship returning to the occupied city after being gone from some time. From the details we are given it appears that at some point the Batman symbol was taken over by corrupt force resulting in the death of Bruce Wayne. This new world is filled with familiar faces from the Batman family. An eyepatch wearing Jason Todd seems to be Batwoman’s only ally and Harvey Bullock and Renee Montoya also make appearances. Allowing Bruce Wayne to die in this future helped free up the Batman presence that I felt sometimes takes over Batwoman stories. It also gives Kate Kane the burden of feeling guilty for her mentors demise and trying to carry on his legacy.

Patrick Wolf 8/16/17 Patrick Wolf 8/16/17

Reivew: Spectress & Sabanion #1

By Patrick Wolf

Spectress and Sabanion #1 is a solid opening to a story that features a paranormal prison escape from both the prisoner and guard perspectives. While the prison break isn’t quite as explosive as I would've liked, the pacing is still fast enough to keep readers on their toes. So, if you’re into supernatural thrillers from the ghost’s point of view, this might just be what you’re looking for.

Ashley Gibbs 8/16/17 Ashley Gibbs 8/16/17

Review: Sheena - Queen of the Jungle #0

By Ashley Gibbs

Blonde, bold and beautiful; the iconic Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is back with her own series giving her a revamp for the modern world. While I am not personally well-versed on the character or her past, I know of her and know who she is the minute she takes the scene. Sheena has been around in one form or another since 1937, being the first female comic book character to have her own ongoing series. She’s also had television series and a movie so chances are you’ve seen her before without even knowing it. I decided to give Sheena #0 a shot to learn more about the character and where these writers planned to take her. This issue is short and serves more as a teaser than anything else and is a decent starting point for a reader who may also be as curious as I was.

Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/16/17

Review: Godshaper #5

By Dustin Cabeal

After the last issue, I was left with the impression that this story could go on forever. After this issue, it’s pretty clear that the storyline is ending in the next issue. There’s a lot of surprises and twists in this issue that in hindsight you could sorta see coming if you dissected everything from beginning to end.

Daniel Vlasaty 8/16/17 Daniel Vlasaty 8/16/17

Review: Winnebago Graveyard #3

By Daniel Vlasaty

I haven’t liked this book from the beginning, but I keep coming back. I don’t know why. Maybe I hate myself. Or maybe I’m just hoping against hope that Winnebago Graveyard will get better because it’s not all terrible. I like the idea of this book. I like what I think it’s trying to do. But sadly issue #3 doesn’t do anything better than the previous two issues. If anything this might be the worst one yet. Which sucks, because – believe it or not – I don’t actually like giving bad reviews. But anyway, here’s my review of issue #3 of Winnebago Graveyard.

Daniel Vlasaty 8/11/17 Daniel Vlasaty 8/11/17

Review: Violent Love #7

By Daniel Vlasaty

Up until very recently I had never read a single issue of Violent Love. Before I read this issue, issue #7, I binged the first trade and also issue #6. It was a book I was aware before that, but for some reason I never went to it. I think it maybe had something to do with the "romance" part of it, but I don’t know. I'm not big on romance comics. But I was definitely drawn into the Bonnie and Clyde vibe of it after I got into it. Even though, still, the romance part is very minimal. I can feel it building between the two character, between Daisy and Rock, but I just don't get the feeling that it's ever going to be a huge piece of the story. If I had to guess on their great romance, I would say that I can see it being like an M-80 (or something), all build-up, followed by a quick and loud and hard explosion, and then that's it. I don't know. Maybe. We will have to wait and see while this story continues to unfold. This is a review of issue #7 of Violent Love by Frank J. Barbiere and Victor Santos.

Ashley Gibbs 8/10/17 Ashley Gibbs 8/10/17

Review: Skin & Earth #2

By Ashley Gibbs

After the first issue of this series caught my attention, as the music linked to it, I found myself looking forward to what Skin & Earth #2 would have to offer, despite my suspicions as to where the story would lead. Set it in world destroyed by polish where the rich get richer and the poor just work and die off, this series is done by the musician Lights. She writes it and does all of the artwork which is very commendable, it’s entirely her vision. Her new album is also linked to this comic and so far, two music videos have come out that reflect the story being told here which is great experience to see things coming to life in different mediums. This issue focuses on En’s relationship with her lover and its unfortunate end.

Ashley Gibbs 8/10/17 Ashley Gibbs 8/10/17

Review: Clue #3

By Ashley Gibbs

Clue #3 marks the halfway point in this fun and colorful series based on the popular Hasbro board game of the same name. While the first issue acted as set up, the second put certain wheels into motion and here we see all of the characters are linked together by a certain flower. The and hows and the whys are still a mystery but everyone in the house, except for Ms. Scarlett and the detectives, see these flowers as very important and valuable. While all the details have yet to be shown to us or the guests, it’s clear Mr. Boddy was in no way just an innocent party host and the events happening in this series have been carefully crafted.

Jonathan Edwards 8/10/17 Jonathan Edwards 8/10/17

Review: Justice League of America #12

By Jonathan Edwards

Y'know, there actually is a reason I keep coming back to review this book despite my nigh constant condemnation of it. Actually, if anything, it's because I'm so vocal about how bad Justice League of America is that I want to be among the first to recognize it if I ever end up being wrong and this series does eventually get better. Now, is that the case here? Eh, kind of I guess? Personally, I'd only describe this as the least bad issue in a long time. Issue #10 may have been more substantial, but it still had its glaring problems. Justice League of America #12 on the other hand is bland, but it technically still functions. At least as far as structure is concerned. It's also the first issue of the series to properly follow-up on something that happened in the prequel one-shots. And no, Vanity, Caden, and Ray's mom showing up in the previous two issues don't count. Aside from that being a bad story full of holes in logic and other problems, the Might Beyond the Mirror wasn't introduced as a concept until issue #4 or #5. Anyway, Panic in the Microverse: Part One.

Dustin Cabeal 8/10/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/10/17

Review: Freight #1

By Dustin Cabeal

I knew what type of story I was getting right away with Freight which is a good thing. It slaps the premise on the inside cover with the credits instead of making you read a blank page. It’s not 100% necessary that you read that page to get the story and so I will first point out that I was grateful for the way the creators presented it. Take note comic creators, don’t give the reader a wall of text to read when starting your comic.