Dustin Cabeal 4/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/13/17

Papercutz Launches Charmz

Papercutz—one of the publishers leading the current boom in kids’ graphic novel publishing—will launch Charmz, a new imprint for tween girls on May 2, 2017 with three new graphic novel series. Each of three launch titles have their own distinct look and feel, with subjects and settings ranging from graveyards to new schools, and storylines that share a common theme: a focus on friendships and relationships.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: ID-0 E.01

By Dustin Cabeal

The problem with checking out every new anime show possible is that eventually, you run into something like ID-0. Something that I have zero interest in ever watching again, mostly because I’m not even sure who it’s geared towards, if I had to guess, I would say tweens, which I am not.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: Tsugumomo E.01-02

By Dustin Cabeal

Holy shit, they still make anime like this? My god is this shit dated. The gist is that a teenage boy with no special qualities has a magical elf looking girl show up in his life. At one point she was the silk tie for the boy’s mother’s kimono. His love for his mother became infused into it and brought her to life… which is kind of fucked up when you think about it. Mostly because she’s always nude, wants to sleep with together and is the physical embodiment of HIS FEELINGS FOR HIS MOTHER!!!

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: Amerikarate #2

By Dustin Cabeal

The story of Amerikarate continues to be lost on me. Its parodies shift back and forth so harshly that it seems more like a spoof of different scenes of movies tied together by a shoestring story. The humor feels more at home on an animation in which it would be shocking and supported by a voice actor. Instead, it reads like an attempt at capturing the humor from something like Rick and Morty.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: Rat Queens v2 #2

By Dustin Cabeal

It’s not Kurtis J. Wiebe’s fault that the magic isn’t there for Rat Queens anymore. The industry loved this creator-owned darling and copied the shit out it in numerous ways. The delays were unfortunate, but not a deal breaker. It’s just that when you pair the both of these two factors together, the magic just isn’t there anymore. A series I championed and loved that I own a shirt of is just not the same after so many setbacks.

Jonathan Edwards 4/12/17 Jonathan Edwards 4/12/17

Review: Justice League of America #4

By Jonathan Edwards

This fucking book. I was so close to not even bothering with this and dropping it all together. And then, I realized this was the finale of the first bullshit arc, so why not? I've been reviewing this series since Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 anyway. One more couldn't hurt. At least not that much. For anyone who might happen to be in suspense over whether or not Justice League of America #4 is any good, the answer is no, of course it isn't. It's not a good issue, and it's definitely not a good conclusion. It doesn't even feel structured properly. Some of the scenes feel like they should, logically, have their order switched, and for some reason, we need just about the whole JLA present for the last fight against Lord Havok, even though Vixen and Batman are still the only two that really do anything substantial. It's clearly meant to be parallel storytelling, but that only works when the separate stories have similar weight to them. And, it's really hard to care at all about most of the fights when Lord Havok is the only member of the Extremists that's been consistently developed. It wasn't good development, but I don't even know what Gorgon's deal is, yet I'm still supposed to give a shit the Black Canary is fighting him. For all I know, Gorgon could be the weakest member of the team.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: Solar Flare #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Solar Flare has several things working in its favor. The familiar concept is one that it always ripe for new interruptions and the art, while overshadowed, is detailed and strong enough to support the plot. That isn’t to say that Solar Flare is perfect or without faults, but with any comic you want the strengths to be more noticeable than the weaknesses.

Daniel Vlasaty 4/12/17 Daniel Vlasaty 4/12/17

Review: Spencer & Locke #1

By Daniel Vlasaty

When I was younger I loved Calvin and Hobbes. I remember buying the collected books out of a mail-order catalogue through my school’s book fair when I was maybe in second or third or fourth grade. I am pretty sure Calvin and Hobbes was the first book I picked out and bought for myself. I’m not sure what it was that I liked about it back then, because I definitely didn’t “get” it. I don’t know. I still have the books and I still love them today. So, when Spencer & Locke was announced I was instantly super excited. I mean, it’s a freaking gritty, hard-boiled noir grown up Calvin and Hobbes story!!! Perfect, right? Read on and find out.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: All Time Comics – Bullwhip #1

By Dustin Cabeal

The best way to describe All Time Comics is to give a what if type statement. In this case, what if EC Comics had created a superhero line back in the heyday of newspaper print? That is what Josh Bayer has created with this line of books, throwback superhero comics, but with a flair of violence and swearing.

Levi Remington 4/12/17 Levi Remington 4/12/17

Review: Rose #1

By Levi Remington

When you're dealing with an oversaturated genre such as Fantasy, it's easy for stories to feel repetitive. Creators grow up consuming a limited subset of material and then they write from what they know. This leads to a perpetual narrowing of scope and vision as tropes and cliches fester up. New ideas are risky because while they may occasionally prove successful, it's more likely that they will be rejected. That's why a common, safer approach is to take a well-worn concept and add one or two new elements to make it feel fresh. In the case of Image Comics' Rose, that element is cats.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: The Fist #3

By Dustin Cabeal

One of my “Best of 2016” picks returns with a new issue, but has it managed to capture a place on our future “Best of 2017” list? The Fist, for the unfamiliar, is a story taking place in an intergalactic fight arena in which several great comic book homages are fighting. Enter The First and his wife, who is a ship. They’re deserters from the galactic military and as such, The Fist’s sisters, Legs, have been sent to retrieve him.

Levi Remington 4/12/17 Levi Remington 4/12/17

Review: Vampirella v4 #2

By Levi Remington

No, it wasn't the umpteenth revamp that captured my attention, nor was it the creative team. Instead, what finally led me to read a Vampirella title was the character herself. I had many questions. Why has she persisted for so long? What's her story? Is this title fueled by schlock, or has it gotten by for so long because its founded on a beloved, complex character? Well, after getting three issues deep into Dynamite's most recent run (don't forget the zero issue), I can safely say – with a tinge of sadness and regret – that this book does little to justify Vampirella's longevity. "You can't take the vampire out of the girl," the titular character so wisely observes, but at least you can take Vampirella off your pull list.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: Immortal Brothers: The Tale of the Green Knight #1

By Dustin Cabeal

I enjoy the Archer and Armstrong side of the Valiant Universe, particularly for Armstrong and his brothers which are a great concept. Each of them being an Immortal, but living out the ages differently. This issue covers once such journey and is a reimagining of Gawain and the Green Knight or better yet an infusion of the story into the Valiant Universe.

Jonathan Edwards 4/12/17 Jonathan Edwards 4/12/17

Review: The Once and Future Queen #2

By Jonathan Edwards

Okay, so, I honestly kind of forgot this book existed. It goes without saying that that's not great and doesn't bode well for the first issue's ability to leave a lasting impression. Although, when I did see this second issue listed on the spreadsheet, and took the second to register and remember it, I wasn't opposed to checking it out. If anything, I was actually interested to see what this issue did and, hopefully, how it was improved from the previous one. And then, as I started reading, something that probably should've occurred to me last time (but didn't) clicked, and I grew somewhat concerned. See, The Once and Future Queen is branded as a "retelling of Arthurian Legend." However, Arthurian Legend is comprised of a whole lot of material, and this is a 5-issue limited series. It's always possible that the creators are planning successive limited series to follow this one, but that doesn't really stop me from wondering if we're really getting what it says on the tin. And unfortunately, The Once and Future Queen #2 only reinforced this concern.

Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/12/17

Review: Seven to Eternity #5

By Dustin Cabeal

Never thought I’d be here again, reviewing Seven to Eternity, but it was a busy week, and none of the other reviewers picked it up. Everyone is going to wish that they did because I’ve never been a fan of this series and this issue didn’t make me one.

Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17

VIZ Media Expands TOKYO GHOUL Catalog With A New Original Novel Release

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, notably expands its catalog of original novels inspired by the smash hit TOKYO GHOUL with the print and digital release of TOKYO GHOUL: PAST on April 18th.

Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17

Kodansha Comics keeps digital-first manga rolling in April: GTO Paradise Lost and Domestic Girlfriend debut April 11

Press Release

Kodansha Comics announced today it is continuing to expand its growing list of well-received digital-first manga titles with the series debuts of GTO Paradise Lost, Toru Fujisawa’s sequel to his beloved manga classic Great Teacher Onizuka, and Domestic Girlfriend (Japanese title Domestic na kanojo), Kei Sasuga’s love-triangle romancer that’s a top requested title by Western fans—and a bestseller in Japan. Volume 1s of both titles go on sale today April 11 on all of Kodansha’s digital retail channels.

Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17

It's Alive! To Publish FAMILY MAN by Jerome Charyn and Joe Staton

Many years ago, somewhere around the early 1990s, DC Comics launched a non-superhero, non-science fiction, and non-fantasy imprint called Paradox Press, which produced such popular titles as Road to Perdition and A History of Violence, both of which were eventually adapted into Hollywood movies. And while not all titles from Paradox Press experienced the mainstream success as the aforementioned books, the imprint -brilliantly run by editor Andy Helfer and others- produced an incredible amount of smart, entertaining stories, before DC decided to shut down the imprint because of...oh, who knows why big powerful publishers do what they do.

Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17

Pulp-Inspired Creator Returns to His Acclaimed Original Series “The Black Beetle”

The Black Beetle is flying back for more adventures in The Black Beetle: Kara Böcek! The first issue of The Black Beetle was published in late 2012, and the title quickly became a critically acclaimed original series at Dark Horse. This new story from Francesco Francavilla’s superhero noir thriller was recently featured in Dark Horse Presents.

Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17 Dustin Cabeal 4/11/17

Review: 7th Garden vol. 4

By Dustin Cabeal

After my last review for 7th Garden, I was sure I wouldn’t come back for another review. Hold on, before you get excited, this is still going to be a very critical review. It’s just that I was surprised I had anything left in the tank for this series which continues to cherry pick small aspects of religions and make them feel awkward and ill-thought out.