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Review: Ghost Cage 001
By Dustin Cabeal
Much of what I am going to say about Ghost Cage is going to be unpopular. Artist/Co-Writer Nick Dragotta is very beloved from his successful Johnathan Hickman comics also from Image Comics. There will be a lot of people rooting for his success as he strikes out as a writer/artist, very few will offer criticism for him and Caleb Goellner to grow as creators. Such is fandom in its current form.
Review: Step by Bloody Step #1
By Dustin Cabeal
While I do not foresee reviewing or even reading too many single issues, this one caught my attention because it was from Si Spurrier. I am not so delusional to say he can “do no wrong,” but he is a writer I am always willing to check out. His focus on story and how the reader digests a comic is a rarity in this current age of comics that seek commercial success in other mediums. Spurrier is also never afraid to let the art tell the story more than his written words.
Review: Lackadaisy vol. 1
By Dustin Cabeal
The cover for Lackadaisy screams vibrant, colorful, exciting story inside. It was the reason I wanted to read the story. As the saying goes, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Usually, people use that to talk about a great book with a shitty cover, but in this case it’s a great cover with a shitty book.
Review: There’s an N On Your Nose
By Dustin Cabeal
In my humble opinion children’s books can be difficult to review. The very intention of the book is to entertain children and so how does an adult objectively review such material. You could simply have a child review the book, but they’re fickle and swing back and forth on little things like using the bathroom. Usually asking them if they like something is meet with, “yes” whether it’s true or not.
Review: Bumblebee Grumblebee
By Dustin Cabeal
My first reading of Bumblebee Grumblebee was solo. There’s not too terribly much to the story making it a quick read. Initially, I wasn’t too terribly impressed. The art was interesting, but it’s just word play and rhyming which seemed almost childish in construct.
Review: Batman – The Imposter
By Dustin Cabeal
If there is one thing that DC excels at in the comic book and movie realm, it’s creating interesting variations of their characters. Each iteration of Batman on film has been successful because of the tweaks and adjustments. It’s the film makers version of Batman rather than the definitive version of the character. You may be wondering why I’ve brought up the Batman/DC movies on a comic book review, well because they share many similarities with what DC has always done in the comics. Look at Frank Miller’s numerous Batman titles and just in recent years the Black Label has become a haunt of different versions of Batman.
Review: Vesper Vol. 1
When it comes to fantasy worlds, everyone is living in the shadows of Tolkien and other literary greats that managed to create deep back stories and rich worlds to tell their stories. It is incredibly hard to catch the attention of readers and fans with new worlds and characters. Often, as it is with Vesper, the author is acutely aware of the rich back story that they have created. Instead of unraveling it over the course of the story they instead blurt it out like an excited child who cannot wait to share their creation. The constant mention of the past and exposition dumps provided by each character as they are introduced becomes the biggest hindrance to the story.
Review: Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules
By Dustin Cabeal
Delilah Dirk is hands down my favorite graphic novel series. I’m always a little surprised when it returns because it just seems like a publisher would throw a mountain of cash at Tony Cliff and pull him away from this story. Thankfully, either that hasn’t happened, or more than likely Mr. Cliff would rather be working on Delilah Dirk.
I will never forget the first volume of Delilah Dirk. It was incredibly powerful in its writing, but more so in its visual storytelling. Cliff makes the writing and artwork so seamlessly that it’s easy to appreciate both. The second volume had a different tone and a different journey. It was personal, but different for our main characters. It too resonated with beauty that I struggle to find anywhere else in the world of comics. Don’t get me wrong; there are so many talented illustrators out there with varying styles and amazing talents. It’s just that seeing a setting that Cliff has illustrated is like falling in love for the first time. It moves you, hell, it makes you want to move. After reading a volume of Delilah Dirk, I’m filled with the need for adventure. To make a flying ship and set out upon the world. Cliff’s artwork calls to you in a way that no other artist I’ve found does. To say he’s masterful seems like only the beginning. He’s a once in a generation talent.
Review: Speak: The Graphic Novel
By Dustin Cabeal
Never have I felt more underqualified to review a story than with Speak: The Graphic Novel. A title that leads me to believe that there’s a novel version of this story as well. I don’t know because I don’t research anything before reading it. That probably comes off as a strange thing for a reviewer to do, but its actually the best thing in the world because it’s the only way to be surprised by a story. I never read the synopsis for Speak, and I’m glad I didn’t. In fact, I would even tell you wholeheartedly not to finish this review and instead go get a copy for yourself and go in blind. It makes for a powerful reading experience.
Review: Making Friends
By Dustin Cabeal
I love it when the title of a book means one thing before you read it and something else entirely after you’ve read it. I’m sure that people who read the synopsis for Making Friends already got the double meaning, but I live in a strange little world in which I don’t. I mean like ever. In all the years of running Comic Bastards, I have actively tried not to read the synopsis of anything I’ve read. In fact, I didn’t even know about Making Friends until last week when creator Kristen Gudsnuk tweeted about it. That was all I needed to pre-order it. Anyway, maybe you’re like that too, and you’ll get the double meaning of the title after reading Making Friends, which you should totally do!
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Reader demand is sending three DC titles back to press! The Demon #1 and Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1, two of DC’s newest Next Level series, will return for second printings, while Absolute Batman: Ark M #1 is headed back to press for a fourth printing.