Cat Wyatt 4/18/18 Cat Wyatt 4/18/18

Review: Harley Quinn #42

By Cat Wyatt

Every now and then Harley Quinn will release a one shot issue that’s either silly or exploring a new storytelling type. This issue is one of those stories. As you can probably tell from the cover and name of the issue, this is a riff on both Old Man Logan and Mad Max. If you’re not into the random stories Harley Quinn sometimes tells, you could probably get away with skipping this one. Or you could read on and enjoy all of the blatant references and jokes that are made. Your call.

Sam King 4/18/18 Sam King 4/18/18

Review: Goosebumps Monsters at Midnight

I still own several dozen Goosebumps books. Occasionally on Halloween I watch old episodes of the show. Seeing a comic with fan favorite Slappy on the cover got me real excited, but this one is written by a different person than normal and it shows. The story really feels like it is missing the R.L. Stone touch. The creep levels are lacking and the characters really aren’t that interesting.

Cat Wyatt 4/18/18 Cat Wyatt 4/18/18

Review: Lucy Dreaming #2

By Cat Wyatt

Lucy Dreaming is a surreal and comical series about a young girl who learns that the dreams she has are more real than most people would like. In the last issue Lucy realized that she wasn’t actually dreaming at night, but transporting around. Here we get to see her reactions to everything she’s learned.

Benjamin Snyder 4/18/18 Benjamin Snyder 4/18/18

Review: Descender #29

By Ben Snyder

Often times Descender has felt plodding and been too wrapped up in it’s own convoluted mythos for it’s own good. But Descender #29 is a desperately needed change of pace. As Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen begin ramping up to this heavily anticipated endgame, the script and plot both begin to feel much faster and carry a greater sense of urgency. This is also one of the first issues of Descender where I didn’t feel as lost or bored at certain points as I felt in prior issues. It is fitting that with only a couple of issues left, Descender is pumping out some of the best issues since it’s beginning.

Cat Wyatt 4/18/18 Cat Wyatt 4/18/18

Review: Evolution #6

By Cat Wyatt

Things have been progressing pretty steadily for Evolution (unless we’re talking about the actual evolution happening in the series, in which case it is occurring in leaps and bounds). I feel like this issue has given me a better idea of which events are happening when, without actually telling me anything concrete. It’ll be interesting to see how everything falls into place in the end.

Sam King 4/18/18 Sam King 4/18/18

Review: Walt Disney Showcase #2

By Sam King

This series is basically the result of bringing Italian Disney comics to America. This is a pretty cool comic for major Disney fans like myself, but even I found a couple things kind of interesting about this that I wasn’t expecting. If you love Disney, knock yourself out and pick it up. If not, you’re probably better off with some of the other Disney titles that are out there depending on what you like. Each Walt Disney Showcase issue so far is a republishing of a foreign story that American audiences are now getting the opportunity to enjoy. There is no real continuity here as each seems to be a stand-alone story you can pick up and enjoy without reading prior issues.

Cat Wyatt 4/18/18 Cat Wyatt 4/18/18

Review: Death of Love #3

By Cat Wyatt

Things took quite a turn in the last issue of Death of Love. We were left with Philo staring down at a very dead cupid, while the rest of the cupidae immediately realized that Binky was dead. That’s not exactly a situation I’d want to be in, considering how deadly those little guys apparently are. Then again, I’m sure Philo would rather not be in the situation either (though it was his pride that caused this whole issue to begin with…).

Benjamin Snyder 4/18/18 Benjamin Snyder 4/18/18

Review: Antar: The Black Knight #1

By Ben Snyder

Antar #1 is an exceptionally adequate comic. Nothing is particularly amazing or noteworthy but it aspires to do, it achieves in moderation. Retelling the legend of Antar, a pre-Islamic warrior poet from Arabia, writer Nnedi Okorafor hits all the necessary beats needed. There is some issue with him using the flashback narrative to tell his story as often times details can be left out, but often times you can piece together the important stuff. However the art and colors by Eric Battle and Jason Scott Jones respectively are simply not on the same level of the writing, which really isn’t saying much considering the overall meh-ness of the former.

Cat Wyatt 4/18/18 Cat Wyatt 4/18/18

Review: Green Lanterns #45

By Cat Wyatt

In the last issue of Green Lanterns we saw the return of Singularity Jain, and while we all knew this wasn’t going to end well we were powerless to stop what was bound to happen. The issue ended with Jessica getting turned into a black hole (at least I’m assuming that is the case – she could have just been sucked into it, theoretically) that is hovering over the city (creepy). It probably goes without saying that the situation is not good.

Sam King 4/18/18 Sam King 4/18/18

Review: John Wick #2

John Wick #2 was supposed to come out in October of last year. Here we are seven months later. John Wick as so many know, is a retired hitman who can kill dozens of people by himself in fast and creative ways, with a number of weapons. He also turns mundane objects into murder weapons, like pencils. I loved both films and I was excited to hear about a comic series, and I can honestly say that I was even excited to get the chance to review it! The last reviewer who reviewed issue #1 wasn’t very impressed and quite honestly, I can see why.

Cat Wyatt 4/18/18 Cat Wyatt 4/18/18

Review: Batman #45

By Cat Wyatt

Batman issue number 45 starts off a whole new plot, though it’s worth noting that in a warped way this all still has to do with the buildup towards the wedding. This is one of those issues where you kind of have to take a moment, breathe, and let it run its course until everything is explained. So please do bear with me! The cover should give you a pretty idea of how skewed things have become (for one reason or another) in this issue, as Batman is screaming for the death of Blooster Gold.

Kelly Gaines 4/18/18 Kelly Gaines 4/18/18

Review: Mister Miracle #8

By Kelly Gaines

I’ve been raving about this Mister Miracle run since the first issue like an obsessive lunatic. Why? Because it’s really exciting to see a masterpiece in the making. I wasn’t alive yet when the twelve issues of Watchmen were first released, and I was only two when Kingdom Come got its start- so I doubt I would have been able to grasp the material. Or, you know, read. What I have been here for is the disappointing rise and fall of The New 52, the mediocre introduction of Doomsday Clock, and the complete clusterfuck of character swapping that Marvel’s been trying to sort through.

Jonathan Edwards 4/13/18 Jonathan Edwards 4/13/18

Review: Justice League of America #27

By Jonathan Edwards

Well, here we are at the beginning of the end for Steve Orlando’s Justice League of America, and holy shit is this issue terrible. I mean, Jesus, this book’s been bad in the past, even awful, but this takes the cake. From the utterly laughable premise to the entirely clumsy execution, everything about Justice League of America #27 reads like Orlando isn’t even trying anymore and is instead phoning it in as much as possible. Maybe this is his way of being petty and getting back at DC for canceling his crappy book, or maybe he somehow thinks this is a quality idea. But, it really, really isn’t, and it kind of has to be seen (or at least heard) to be believed.

Jonathan Edwards 4/13/18 Jonathan Edwards 4/13/18

Review: Justice League of America #26

By Jonathan Edwards

As it turns out, “New Life and Death” isn’t just the same type of story “Deadly Fable” was. No, as Orlando shows us with Justice League of America #26, “New Life and Death” is also a retread of “Panic in the Microverse.” Except, this time, it ends exactly how I said “Panic in the Multiverse” should have ended in my review of Justice League of America #17, with the villain willingly sacrificing themselves to save their home. The problem is, in the context of “New Life or Death,” that ending makes no sense. Especially since here it doesn’t matter who sacrifices themselves. But, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself.

Benjamin Snyder 4/12/18 Benjamin Snyder 4/12/18

Review: Xerxes: The Fall of The House of Darius and The Rise of Alexander #1

By Ben Snyder

After years upon years of fruitless waiting, Frank Miller finally released his companion to 300. Unfortunately Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #1 doesn’t reach anywhere near the same lofty heights as its predecessor. Miller delivers a surprisingly predictable and seemingly unnecessary companion to his original masterpiece. But it also continues a trend of Miller returning to his earlier works with noticeable less success, as he did with the Dark Knight III. Similarly to the Dark Knight III, Xerxes just doesn’t seem to add much to the landmark graphic novel.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/18 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/18

Review: The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins

By Dustin Cabeal

I’m not going to lie; I have a lot of envy and jealousy for this book. I originally passed on it because I was unfamiliar with the podcast that it was based on and have been burned by podcast adapted comics too many times to try again. As fate would have it though it arrived in the mail for me to read and I figured, what the hell… let’s give this a go.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/18 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/18

Review: Mean Girls Club: Pink Dawn

By Dustin Cabeal

If there was one book I wasn’t expecting to continue due to how batshit crazy it was, it was Mean Girls Club. I’m stoked that it did because the first volume/story of this series was absolutely mental. It’s also amazing in what it does. I won’t say that these women are strong role models, but I’m happy the story exists. In thinking of it, I flipped the genders, and suddenly I could think of similar stories that I had read. I couldn’t think of another single story that had women.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/18 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/18

Review: Birding Is My Favorite Video Game

By Dustin Cabeal

Instantly from the cover, I was intrigued by this book; it would be short lived once I dived into it. It is essentially a collection of webcomics from creator Rosemary Mosco; some of which I had read on my various journeys on the internet.

Sam King 4/12/18 Sam King 4/12/18

Review: Sci-Fu vol. 1

By Sam King

Sci-Fu takes a young boy from Brooklyn who likes to “drop sick beats and rhymes” and tosses him onto a planet where he must battle robots with a musical, science fiction kind of kung-fu. The story seems to love combining hip hop, science fiction elements, and martial arts, which I can applaud since it is a unique mix. However, this one didn’t hit the right beats for me, and it felt very messy at times.