Dustin Cabeal 5/1/18 Dustin Cabeal 5/1/18

Review: Ether: The Copper Golems #1

By Dustin Cabeal

The first series of Ether was a fantastic read that ended on such a low note. On the one hand, there was this fantastic magical journey that approached the genre differently. A man of science is trying to unlock magic in a logical way. Then the ending hit. Boone, our main character, was homeless, starving and left his family long ago to pursue this adventure. Worse, to get there, he has to hang himself and inflict the real possibility of death, not to mention, what if one time it doesn’t work?

Sam King 5/1/18 Sam King 5/1/18

Review: Luisa: Now and Then

Luisa: Now and Then is a story in which a girl is able to simultaneously see who she once was, who she has become, and possibly discover who she could be in the middle of it all. It is a coming of age story, a story of a sort of midlife crisis, and a story of identity. It is a graphic novel that really focuses on why you need to be yourself and accept who you are, despite the judgment you may get from others.

Dustin Cabeal 5/1/18 Dustin Cabeal 5/1/18

Review: Death or Glory #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Everything about the cover for Death or Glory says “READ ME!” From the font/design of the title to the angle of the artwork and the beautiful coloring. The title, of course, is catchy. Sure, that price tag might deter a few people, but then there’s that one undeniable name at the bottom: “Remender.” Rick Remender is a comics darling. If you polled the comic reading population, you’d likely find that more people love him than hate him and it’s easy to see why. He has high concept ideas and has never worked with a bad artist.

Sam King 5/1/18 Sam King 5/1/18

Review: A Girl in the Himalayas

By Sam King

This graphic novel is charming and pleasant to look at. I love its exotic location, the fantastical elements, and the way it is simultaneously simplistic and complex. It addresses major themes and abstract concepts in a spectacular way. This one really struck some chords with me, and I found myself thinking about it and making connections between elements within it long after I finished reading it.

Smrithi S 5/1/18 Smrithi S 5/1/18

Review: Art is my Joy

By Thea Srinivasan

I’ve seen several artists showcase their lives in the form of comics. But I’ve never seen anyone make me want to get a dog as much as this artist has done. As a person who has never wanted a pet, I now want a dog to love and to cherish. I think I’ll have to settle for my stuffed animals though.

Cat Wyatt 5/1/18 Cat Wyatt 5/1/18

Review: Batman #46

By Cat Wyatt

Batman #46 continues the alternate timeline plot started in the last issue. Last we learned Bruce’s parents are alive, resulting in him never becoming Batman (but don’t worry, another familiar figure picks up the mantle – though he has no problem just killing the criminals and anyone else that gets in his way). He’s not with Selena either. This whole mess is courtesy of Blooster; this was his bright idea of a wedding gift.

Sam King 5/1/18 Sam King 5/1/18

Review: Crossroad Blues

When I was studying literature in undergrad, I took a course on detective fiction and had to read several novels for it. We talked about the elements of the genre and examined how authors did things differently as far as openings and reveals of clues go. I’m not a stranger to the genre in general, but this one just did not do a very effective job at providing a good story. I’m also not a blues connoisseur so maybe that is part of it.

Smrithi S 5/1/18 Smrithi S 5/1/18

Review: Esther: The Relique #1

By Thea Srinivasan

Whenever I think about evolution, I tend to wonder whether something has to die entirely in order for something new to prosper. Sometimes evolution allows for something old and rundown to exist, but how long can nature allow itself to remain with something useless? That’s a question I’m trying to figure out with this particular comic. Bear in mind, this comic contains graphic violence and nudity and should not be read by anyone under the age of 13. This is the only warning I will give.

Sam King 5/1/18 Sam King 5/1/18

Review: Son of Hitler

Son of Hitler is an original graphic novel. The copy I read is an advanced uncorrected proof. Therefore, I can’t say much for pages 116-183 as far as artwork goes as it is unfinished compared to the rest. I can tell what is happening, it just doesn't have the same nice finish as the rest of the book. From the rest of the story though, I’d bet that once published, it will look pretty damn good.

Sam King 4/27/18 Sam King 4/27/18

Review: Heavy Vinyl

Heavy Vinyl takes girl power, sets it in the 90's and makes a record store into a kind of vigilante headquarters. While it is not incredible at presenting a complete story by the end of the collected four issues, it excels at being cute and having a diverse cast. The diversity in the almost all girl cast pretty much just means a handful of girls with their own personalities and individual lifestyles. It is fun, but it won’t work your brain or make you believe the story can stand on its own at this point.

Jonathan Edwards 4/27/18 Jonathan Edwards 4/27/18

Review: Justice League of America #29

By Jonathan Edwards

As singer and songwriter Adele once wrote and sang, “this is the end.” In this case, it’s the end of a long, at times bleak, trek of a comic titled Justice League of America. I remember being really excited when first hearing about the book, its interesting cast of characters, and all of the possibilities that came with them. And, the first four Rebirth one-shots, focusing on The Atom, Vixen, The Ray, and Killer Frost, respectively, were all promising prequel tie-ins that each built up more and more hype for the main book. Then, Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 came out, and it was different. Everything suddenly felt less thought-out and put together and more superficial and contrived. However, this wasn’t an isolated incident. Justice League of America issues #1 through #4 followed the trend with a weak and irritating first story arc, and things only went further downhill as the series continued. Slightly over a year later and here we are with Justice League of America #29. And, long story short, the conclusion to “Dawn of Time” sucks, but the series finale afterward is marginally better.

Hunter Patrick 4/26/18 Hunter Patrick 4/26/18

Review: The Flash #45

By Hunter T. Patrick

Perfect Storm is over. The last several issues which all seemed to tie up several elements of Williamson’s story has ended. We all know it is leading up to the epic Flash War. This issue is all about lead up, nothing epic about it. Flash War still has yet to start, and Perfect Storm ended so now we are dealing with the aftermath as we catch up with a few characters. One character, in particular, is mainly there just to lead into yet another title (for more information, instead of getting the review promised here, go see Teen Titans Special #1 in June). This is comics, and there are several lead-ins to various other lead-ins. That’s fine, but this is all this issue is. If it was a chessboard, it is just moving pawns up a spot or two. Luckily the later the issue goes we see a tiny bit more stuff happen, inevitable stuff, but still really glad for it too.

Hunter Patrick 4/26/18 Hunter Patrick 4/26/18

Review: Redneck #12

By Hunter T. Patrick

Yet another damn good time with the family. After the climatic end of the first arc, we now get to see the creative team try to one-up themselves. The last several issues felt like things moved very slowly as the main focal point were flashbacks for those issues. Issue 12 gains all the momentum that the last few issues lacked (great stuff learned in those flashbacks so no loss there). Redneck’s second story arc seemed very concerned about going bigger than the last, and this issue caps that off. After so much build up and things got so big it is to wonder if the next story arc will also keep trying to get bigger.

Benjamin Snyder 4/25/18 Benjamin Snyder 4/25/18

Review: Kill or Be Killed #18

By Ben Snyder

Kill or Be Killed #18 is unfortunately somewhat of a letdown. Most of Kill or Be Killed’s success has been based off of Ed Brubaker’s characterization of Dylan, Brubaker’s toying with the supernatural/mental illness, and/or Sean Phillips’s predictably stellar art. But issue #18 is missing on most of these qualities. It’s still a solid entry in the series, especially as it is rapidly approaching its endgame. However, Kill or Be Killed #18 mostly feels like a catch-up issue, whose only purpose is to sort out details rather than make them feel purposeful.

Hunter Patrick 4/25/18 Hunter Patrick 4/25/18

Review: Rugrats #7

By Hunter T. Patrick

As a big Rugrats fan when I was a child I was really looking forward to this. I have not read the other issues yet, so I am reviewing this as the first issue I read, which it required no background knowledge I noticed of the other issues so that was good. With that in mind, the question is if I enjoyed the comic and if it did give me the nostalgia I was looking forward to. The answer is disappointingly no. The story did not feel like a whole story, it felt way too short. There were several panels without dialogue, which I am a fan of, but they just contributed to making the issue feel like a waste. The story would have worked much better if it was half the comic and they had another mini story for the other half, but sadly that story was it. There could be an argument that it is supposed to be like that as it is a comic about babies, but the show did take things up a notch. The ending was predictable, but there was one little twist to it that was fun to see and where the writer went with it.

Cat Wyatt 4/25/18 Cat Wyatt 4/25/18

Review: Batgirl #22

By Cat Wyatt

Batgirl issue 22 is the start of a whole new plot, this one titled ‘Strange Loop.’ Between that and the cover, I’m pretty curious about what is going on. The cover shows Batgirl trapped in a maze, but with a twist! The maze appears to be inside her own mind. Or at least that’s what the cover is implying. We’ll have to read on to see how accurate that is.

Benjamin Snyder 4/25/18 Benjamin Snyder 4/25/18

Review: Days of Hate #4

By Ben Snyder

Days of Hate #4 continues the series’ hot streak. Writer Aleš Kot and artists Danijel Žeželj and Jordie Bellaire continue to pump out one of the more harrowing and thought-provoking stories this year. Kot has made it stupidly obvious how politically driven this entire tale is as it preys on the fear many United States citizens had after the most recent presidential election. However, this series has succeeded more so due to Kot’s characterization of its core protagonists/antagonists and Žeželj’s art style that makes everything seems not quite right.

Cat Wyatt 4/25/18 Cat Wyatt 4/25/18

Review: Batman Beyond #19

By Cat Wyatt

The last few issues of Batman Beyond have been pretty anxiety-inducing. Batman and Ten are in Payback’s clutches, Bruce can’t do anything to help (even if he wanted to – his back is too injured to allow him even to stand, let alone fight), and Matt is on the way as a backup. Needless to say, the situation is not good.

Jonathan Edwards 4/25/18 Jonathan Edwards 4/25/18

Review: Justice League of America #28

By Jonathan Edwards

After reading and reviewing the absolute hot mess that was Justice League of America #27, I found a question prodding me from the back of my mind: had the introduction of Ahl, God of Superheroes, really been as out of nowhere and slipshod as I’d thought while writing that review? It seemed too poorly thought out for even Orlando, so I did some quick research and discovered that it might’ve very well tied into the recent Milk Wars crossover event between JLA and pretty much every book from DC’s Young Animal imprint. As such, I opted to verify those claims for myself. This led me not just to read the entirety of Milk Wars but also reread the first four issues of Doom Patrol, read issues #6 through #10 for the first time, reread parts of JLA #27 and #22, and, of course, read Justice League of America #28. It could perhaps be considered an excessive amount of reading, as Ahl is only relative to five of those eighteen issues. What’s more, only two of those appearances were in series other than JLA proper, and not even those make his presence here any less problematic.

Cat Wyatt 4/25/18 Cat Wyatt 4/25/18

Review: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #43

By Cat Wyatt

In the last issue of Hal Jordan, we had the dramatic introduction of the Darkstars. Even since I’ve been anxiously waiting for this issue, as I can’t wait to see what happens next with them. It’ll be interesting to see what a more lethal version of the Green Lantern Corps will look like!

This issue starts off, unsurprisingly, with many criminals and villains dead. All over the galaxy known criminals are being routinely tracked down and taken out. In some cases, we have proof (witnesses) that the criminals attempted to surrender before they were cut down. The most striking example of this was on Planet Xix. A life sentence prison was attacked – all the guards were fine, but every prisoner was killed. The guards and people are outraged – their planet had abolished the death penalty, and they clearly don’t appreciate another force stepping in to override their rules and wishes.