Ashley Gibbs 9/6/17 Ashley Gibbs 9/6/17

Review: My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #4

By Ashley Gibbs

Welcome to the last issue in this miniseries, where things certainly end with a bang. Not in an action sense but more in a story sense. I’ve had very lukewarm feelings about this series so far. The last issue was my least favorite of the four but My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #4 somehow pulled out some decent storytelling in the final hour and even made me curious about a character who I previously wrote off as just a bad fan fiction insert. Granted, I still think Tempest Shadow is edgy for the sake of being edgy, but clearly, with good writing, she can still be interesting. If you’re a fan of that character, pick up this issue for sure, and if you’ve somehow enjoyed the previous three, then this will be a nice way to wrap up the story thus far.

Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17

Review: The Fist #4

By Dustin Cabeal

One of the best comics from 2016 returns with its fourth issue, and I have to say; I’m back to loving this series. I will fully admit that I was a little let down by the third issue of The Fist, but the fourth issue is a return to form.

Oliver Gerlach 9/5/17 Oliver Gerlach 9/5/17

Review: Microcosmics

By Oliver Gerlach

Microcosmics is a collection of short, wordless comics about strange alien worlds and peoples, all written and drawn by the phenomenally talented Christine Larsen. It’s an odd collection of little stories, but one that I was thoroughly saddened to reach the end of. This collection is utterly delightful, and well worth your time and money.

Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17

Review: Gently Murder Me

By Dustin Cabeal

Gently Murder Me is one of the most interesting breakup stories I’ve ever read in comic form. There are several short stories that make up the book, and each features a different artist, but all have a unifying style and design.

Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17

Review: What is a Glacier?

By Dustin Cabeal

I wanted to check this book out based on the title. It was quirky and strange and seemed like it would be a fun read. The story is actually autobiographical. It follows creator Sophie Yanow’s trip to Iceland.

Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17

Review: Darkest Night: Love

By Dustin Cabeal

With any character driven story it’s always the character’s motivations that drive the story and make it worth reading. Darkest Night: Love attempts this, it does try, but in the end, I couldn’t see what the character’s motivations were and found too many of their choices to be lacking any sense of logic.

Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17

Review: I Thought YOU Hated Me

By Dustin Cabeal

Lately, I’ve taken to reading a lot of autobiographical comics. Haven’t stumbled across more than a few I enjoy, I was bound to find a few that were just okay. Unfortunately, that’s the case with I Thought YOU Hated Me.

Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/5/17

Review: Oasis #1-8

By Dustin Cabeal

Here’s a little inside baseball for you, when I’m sent more than one issue to review I tend to panic about it. It seems like this impossible task because it’s not some b.s. comic from a publisher or writer I’m familiar with; it’s this unknown quantity, and while that’s exciting, I get sent a lot of stuff I don’t personally care to read. Titles I wouldn’t have picked out to read on my own and so when I see eight issues in my inbox it becomes a commitment of time and effort to get through all eight issues and give them a fair shake regardless of if I would pick them myself.

Ashley Gibbs 9/4/17 Ashley Gibbs 9/4/17

Review: Batman Beyond #11

By Ashley Gibbs

Well, this story arc has been a wild ride, for sure. Batman Beyond #11 marks the end of this particular story arc, concluding the fight between Terry and Damien -sadly it’s underwhelming. While I’ve enjoyed the story itself, the more I read the more I was nagged with the logistics of it. The suit that Terry is wearing is dangerous and will push him to fight even if his body and mind can’t take it giving him an easy out as to why he’s fighting Damien and actually surviving in the first place. The suit robs Terry of his agency, until this issue of course where suddenly he has the power to overcome it. However the story arc does a good job of introducing Damien into the Batman Beyond world and this issue gives us a bit of closer as well.

Ashley Gibbs 9/4/17 Ashley Gibbs 9/4/17

Review: My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #3

By Ashley Gibbs

I’ll be blunt unless you’re a child or young adult, or a brony, then My Little Pony the Movie Prequel #3 isn’t for you. After reading three issues of this movie tie-in series I’m left underwhelmed and downright bored. Of course, a huge reason is that the main ponies who fans love are nowhere to be found. This series is about characters who will appear in the movie alongside them, who I don’t know or have any connection to yet and this doesn’t help. It’s also simple storytelling with heavy-handed messages of friendship thrown in, and decent enough artwork. I stepped into this miniseries hoping to get hyped for the movie, but so far I’m left with indifference.

Oliver Gerlach 9/4/17 Oliver Gerlach 9/4/17

Review: Tales of the Fractured Mind

By Oliver Gerlach

Tales of the Fractured Mind is an anthology comic, which is rare enough. Beyond that, though, it’s a project about mental health, a topic radically underdiscussed in both general life and comics. Even more unusually, this is a large anthology by a single creative team; this is two people discussing a range of mental health issues over the course of 68 pages. I have to admit, my initial excitement at finding a comic discussing a topic I care about greatly was very much tempered on seeing that it was all by the same two people. I generally believe that serious topics, when treated in anthology form like this, benefit from the widest range of voices and perspectives possible. So, could this work?

Justin McCarty 9/4/17 Justin McCarty 9/4/17

Review: The Shadow v3 #1

By Justin McCarty

The Shadow knows! The newest Shadow story puts The Shadow in present day up against a mysterious evil called The Leviathan. We don’t get much about the Leviathan in this issue but what we do get is promising. I was excited to see a new Shadow story; I’m a huge fan! This book is a great start to a new Shadow series.

Dustin Cabeal 9/2/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/2/17

Review: The Last Arrival #1

By Dustin Cabeal

The Last Arrival left me with a strange feeling. I wasn’t quite sure I liked it, but I definitely wanted to read more. At the very least I would say that The Last Arrival has accomplished the hardest feat in comic books, making someone want to come back for the next issue. Seriously, that’s not an easy feat and probably even harder to accomplish with someone like me.

Dustin Cabeal 9/2/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/2/17

Review: Slashermania

By Dustin Cabeal

Slashermania is one of those stories that most people will either love or hate. Very few readers will find themselves in the middle with this reviewer. There’s so much I enjoyed about Slashermania, but then also an incredible amount that annoyed or frustrated me. I teeter tottered back and forth the entire time I was reading. That may work for some people, but that’s not a great reading experience for me.

Dustin Cabeal 9/1/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/1/17

Review: Life-Time #2

By Dustin Cabeal

Indie comics are hard to make. There are so many factors and reasons why I rarely see a second or third issue of an indie comic. Lately, I’ve seen those odds improve, but with it comes another catch. Do I want to review it? The thing is, we get a lot of comics and so when I’m on the fence about a comic I have to decide am I going to give it another chance or move on to something else sitting in my inbox. In the case of Life-Time, I scored the first issue rather low, and when that happens, I usually don’t want to read the next issue. Listen, I love indie comics, I love helping them out with reviews and exposure, but that doesn’t mean that I love all of them. They’re not kids; I can tell you who's my favorite.

Dustin Cabeal 9/1/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/1/17

Review: Frankenstein For Mayor

By Dustin Cabeal

I don’t know why, but I thought this would be a humorous book. Just to clarify, it is not. The story takes place in modern day Transylvania. Here vampires, werewolves, and witches co-exist, but not equally. The werewolves are treated like second class citizens and often killed for the smallest crimes or wrongfully killed for other crimes. One werewolf looks to change all that by waking up Frankenstein and asking him for help in getting some real political power over the vampires. Also, Dracula is the Mayor in case you were wondering.

Dustin Cabeal 9/1/17 Dustin Cabeal 9/1/17

Review: The Cross-Eyed Mutt

By Dustin Cabeal

For some reason, I thought this story would be a super serious story in which a man has to determine, what is art. Thankfully, it did and didn’t end up being about that. From beginning to end, The Cross-Eyed Mutt was a treat. Full of familiar family settings, romance, and art.

Ashley Gibbs 8/31/17 Ashley Gibbs 8/31/17

Review: Injustice 2 #8

By Ashley Gibbs

Despite the action packed cover and the name “Screams and Arrows,” Injustice 2 #8 is a very subdued issue. I didn’t find this to be a bad thing, but the cover is certainly misleading. This issue deals with the aftermath of Ra’s Al Ghul’s attack on the wedding of Green Arrow and Black Canary, as he kidnaps their son and Black Lightning’s daughters. It serves to move characters into their next position and sets up for the confrontation between the heroes and Ra’s. I enjoyed this issue, the story was good, as was the artwork and it had humor as well. While it makes seem like filler, it was still an enjoyable read.

Dustin Cabeal 8/31/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/31/17

Review: The Legend of Pinky – Book 1

By Dustin Cabeal

The dialogue shines in The Legend of Pinky. The character ooze personality because of this, but it doesn’t necessarily make them interesting characters. The story takes place in the late 20s and follows the titular character of Pinky. Not the best nickname, but as he says it, he’s been called that since birth and isn’t offended by it in the least bit.

Dustin Cabeal 8/31/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/31/17

Review: Sink #2

By Dustin Cabeal

I told you I would be back for this review. Sink is by far one of the best series I’ve read this year. It is not for the faint of heart as the violence is at times horrific. It is almost as if John Lees is carving out a new style of horror, a style that’s frightening realistic and yet not in a throwback way. It’s not like Rob Zombie’s movies in which you have to ignore any sense of modernism and transport yourself to a bygone era. No, instead it’s insanely realistic and modern making it just so frightening. Also, goddamn clowns, not in this issue, but in general.