Review: Zombie Tramp #14

Well… this issue is pretty average issue of Zombie Tramp. I hate to start off that way, but it really is. The story seems to be going around and around just placing Janey in trouble. I get that that’s the point of the series and how it continues on, but she’s never at peace and always running into trouble. Any other story that’s done that usually has some major story arc to go along with it. We kind of got that with the last issue, but we’re just given a recap of the same info in this issue. That and the series really could use a break from the monster/occult of the week style of story that it’s telling. We attempt that break with this issue with Janey on roller skates rolling up to a country club that’s supposed to be in Florida, but our landscape says “not Florida.” I’m going to pause and talk about the art. While it’s not bad, it has its share of problems. The problem that a lot of the guest artists and even series regular TMChu have, is that the backgrounds are either bad or bland. Sadly, I would take bland over bad and bad is what we get. There’s plenty of background characters, but they’re all lacking detail and look like set pieces. There’s landscaping throughout the issue that looks sad and out of place with the rest of the art. The characters aren’t bad. I kind of like how Xenia Xiu illustrates Janey and the rest of the cast, but those backgrounds are not cutting it.

Zombie Tramp #14The story is pretty straight forward. The country club that Janey is at has something suspicious going on. She discovers this when she’s in the sauna and finds a hidden camera looking at her. She continues on like nothing is wrong and just relaxes and enjoys herself. Until she has a freak-out in the pool and sees all the people she’s killed come back for her. Once she snaps out of it, she finds dark things are afoot.

The thing is… I’m getting kind of tired of seeing sexy Janey all the time. This issue is all about her hotness and there’s not much else to her substance. But there could be. You can do both and that’s what this series is often times missing. If it’s not having her solve all her problems with convenient magic, then it tends to lose sight of Janey’s overall story. Sure it’s mentioned here, but it was all previously established in the last issue. Frankly the story needs to give the other monsters and occult obstacles a break and dig into that story a bit before throwing anything else our way.

I will give the writing team credit for always beginning a new arc in a way that new readers could wholeheartedly jump on to. This issue reads like a first issue rather than the start of the second year. Now that made it a tad boring for me in places, but overall I commend it for making it approachable for new readers. If you’ve missed out, this is at least a decent place for you to jump on the series.

I’ll keep on going with Zombie Tramp because I do enjoy reading it, but I have to admit that I’m getting a little bored. Sex appeal will only keep you interested in a comic for so long and sadly this comic has a lot more than that to offer. I’d just like to see it offered up more often because then people could really see it shine.

Score: 3/5

Zombie Tramp #14 Writers: Jason Martin, Dan Mendoza Artist: Xenia Xiu Publisher: Danger Zone/Action Lab Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Drive #1

I decided to cover this comic as penance for my continued failure to see the Ryan Gosling film adaptation released a few years ago. Like several other movies, it’s rested in my Netflix cue for a couple years until it was taken down, put back up, and removed once again. In all that time I could not muster up the emotional energy to take in what I had heard was an intense movie with Gosling at his coolest as a stunt driver by day, getaway driver at night. Like the film, this movie also functions as an adaptation of James Sallis’ novella, and creators Michael Bendetto, Antonio Fuso and Emilio Lecce undoubtedly succeed at providing it’s LA a distinctive tone while establishing a grounded version of LA through which the nameless Driver operates. Things start out with the Driver holed up in a room with three corpses of unknown origin before jumping us back to a meeting between the Driver and Cook, a criminal looking to hire a getaway driver and 4th man for an upcoming job robbing a pawn store engaged in illicit activity. Through the course of their conversation, the Driver lets Cook know his rules— he only drives, rather remain ignorant to the details of the job, and will not participate in the actual robbery. Although hesitant to the Driver’s principles, Cook hires him on, starting the Driver along the path that finds him in the opening scene’s scenario. The rest of the issue introduces us to the rest of the Driver’s LA life, showing us his work as a stunt driver, interacting with local thugs, and explaining to us some of the basics about his double life. At issue’s end when things on Cook’s job don’t end up going according to plan, the creators have managed to craft a world and a character that intrigue us despite their removal.

drive_01-lo-993x1528In the issue’s back matter, James Sallis states that he envisioned Drive as a contemporary Western, and it’s evident that the comic’s team had that in mind when coming up with this adaptation. In addition to some of its narrative tropes, such as a relatively quiet protagonist with a Code, the comic also borrows visually from the genre. The stylistic homage to the Western genre are carried out well, and I particularly enjoyed the art team’s use of close-up shots of the Driver and Cook’s faces during their meeting, which focuses in on the Driver’s eyes in his panel and Cook’s mouth in the page’s last panel. It gives the impression that the Driver is unflinchingly a person that knows who he is as he stares down Cook and suggests he find another driver if he can’t pay him sufficiently. In Cook’s panel, the art team zooms on his face, cutting his eyes out of the panel and showing the reader that the Cook may just be all talk. It elevates what could have otherwise been an unremarkable talking heads scene, and allows the reader to view Cook from the Driver’s point of view.

The comic’s art style may appear simplistic to some readers, but I thought it was well-suited for this grounded story. Although faces lack detail and are often covered in shadow, penciller Antonio Fuso and Inker Emilio Lecce ensure that readers can easily determine each character’s disposition and mood. The Driver himself looks only slightly less Hollywood handsome than Gosling, but it’s an attractiveness that wouldn’t draw attention to the Driver, providing him the anonymity Bendetto’s script assures the reader is the Driver’s primary concern. The art team’s depiction of the Driver as a stoic person leads to surprising moments, such as his assault of a man that taunts him while sitting on his car. Both the scene’s establishing page and the brief confrontation have a grimy beauty to them due to Jason Lewis’ coloring, which places the scene during one of LA’s notorious pollution-tinged pink sunsets. It serves as a reminder of where the story takes place, and also links the scene back to the comic’s Western ancestors by putting it’s first instance of violence at a liminal time of the day often depicted in filmic versions of the genre.

My biggest gripe with this comic is that the narration feels a bit overdone at times. Although it’s interesting to gain some insight as to how the Driver manages his dual lives, it sometimes felt as though conveying some scenes solely through the visuals could have better aided the comic’s pacing.

I may not get to Drive the movie for another few years, so I’m glad I’ve got this comic to tide me over until then. Although crime comics have become pretty vogue recently, I haven’t taken to any of them the way I have towards Drive. Through its intriguing leading character and unique look, it’s definitely a comic I enjoyed much more than I initially thought I would. And now that the proverbial crap has hit the fan, I’m looking forward to seeing where this modern Western takes me.

Score: 3/5

Drive #1 Writer: Michael Bendetto Pencils: Antonio Fuso Inks: Emilio Lecce Colorist: Jason Lewis Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic Publisher: IDW Publishing Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital

Review: Mind MGMT #36/New MGMT #1

Well here it is, the final issue of Mind MGMT. Frankly this won’t be much of a review in terms of what happens in this issue. That is completely pointless. Instead I will just briefly talk about what I liked about the issue and then continue to give praise to Matt Kindt and this incredible series, because it’s been deserving of praise from the very beginning. For a while now, somewhere around the second or third arc, I began saying that this the next big series that people will recommend. Think of how many people say, “if you’re going to read comics you need to read Y: The Last Man, Planetary, Sin City, Dark Knight Returns” and so on and so forth. The thing is, sometimes a series is so heavily praised that it begins to fall on deaf ears. I hope that that isn’t the case with Mind MGMT because it belongs with the rest of those go-to answers that everyone gives. It’s one of the few “safe answers” that I will whole-heartily recommend because I have enjoyed every page of every issue of this series.

What was particularly interesting to me about this issue was Kindt’s letter at the end. In which he states that this was his last go at the world of comics and that if Mind MGMT didn’t sell he was going to look into another vocation… that just blew me away. It goes to show that the world of comics is crazy fickle and that sometimes your luck can turn just at the right moment. Because if you look at the stands today Kindt’s name is everywhere, in fact, I’ll be reviewing another two books released by him just this week. And to think that Mind MGMT could have been the last we saw of Kindt. But that’s a credit to him and this series because from the very first issue I knew that I absolutely needed to read more of this book. I was beyond thrilled when Dark Horse picked it up as an ongoing and you know what, I was happy when Kindt said it would only be 36 issues.

New MGMT #1Why is that? Why would I be happy that one of my favorite series ever was going to end? Because everything needs an ending. Not to go into it too much, but one of the problems with comics today is that there’s no endings. Even things that are listed for six issues are only that way because of sales figures (at least most of the time). So the fact that Kindt had an ending in mind and that it was this ending, was just wonderful. Because in reality he could have continued this until his hands fell off. Look at the other big wigs at Dark Horse and you’ll see that even though they’re great series, they don’t really need to be around. But there they are. Having an ending in comics is a great thing, having a good ending… is a better thing.

In my opinion this was the perfect ending for this series. There’s no big explosions, there’s no hidden messages… no wait there is, but it’s just the perfect conclusion to this story. It shows the potential for the world and sure there’s a lot of happiness, but when you look at how dark and dreary the series has been, Kindt reminds us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope for a better tomorrow if you can make it through the tough days. That’s what I liked about this issue, the hope that it gives.

The other thing I like about it, is that it still pushes the medium forward. It still shows that there’s so much you can do with a comic book that people frankly aren’t bold enough to try. I’m glad Kindt did because he’s really pushed other creators to be bold and try something new. I’m glad Dark Horse took a chance on this series and let it be what it is… an incredible comic book.

Here’s the crazy thing… this series could continue. It honestly could, but it works better for it to end here. Now we move on to the film which I really wonder if it can capture the magic of this comic. Frankly, it would take a visionary to do so… We can only hope.

If you haven’t read Mind MGMT, then do yourself a favor a check it out. I have yet to have someone I recommended it to come back to me and say, “it’s not for me.” Every single person, regardless of their reading habits have been hooked on this series from the moment they started reading it. Since this is the end, I think we can all safely call it a classic and leave it at that, but damn… next month is going to feel empty without another issue of Mind MGMT.

Score: 5/5

Mind MGMT #36/New MGMT #1 Writer/Artist/Creator: Matt Kindt Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Print/Digital

Review: 2000 AD – Prog 1945

Helium's run crashes to a halt as we get a new 3riller and Grey Area makes its return. Helium started out great, but as the initial run on the series comes to an abrupt halt, I can't help but think that the world-building was just over-ambitious enough with the space allotted to make the world feel a bit fragmented.  Each race of people we met, we got a few pages, and then launched into an interaction with those people.  But it really feels like half of this series happened in a jail cell between the two times the main characters were holed up in a prison, first as guards, then as prisoners.

That's unfortunate.  The reader is barely acquainted with characters outside of the main cast and, with the way the first run ended, it looks like the main cast will be off the map for at least a little while.  Yet that means I will have no familiar frame of reference if we have to focus on any other characters after the fact!  That's not completely unacceptable, but it is at least one shaky consequence of how consistently claustrophobic this series felt.

2000-AD-Prog-1945The newest of Tharg's 3rillers is "Apocalypse Anonymous" with story by Robert Murphy, lines by Sean O'Connor, and colors from Abigail Ryder.  O'Connor and Ryder are a killer team; in tandem, they each amplify the other's strengths and give this comic a unified, gritty feel.  O'Connor's inks create textures that are unnaturally cluttered, but Ryder's colors are well-defined without being overwhelming.  I really dig the aesthetic of this comic, but it's always hard to gauge the quality of a 3riller from the first chapter.

Sometimes, 3rillers go on to be full-blown series.  In those cases, the initial three-issue run only has one job: to have at least one big feature onto which readers will latch.  If you can do it in three issues, you can almost certainly have success with a longer run.  If you read this issue, as I've already pointed out, you'll be immediately taken by the team of artists.  There's nothing wrong with the writing, and there's a fair amount of character work thrown in: it just feels a tad hurried, but that's to be expected.

They're probably finally getting out of that damn jail in Grey Area and Harrison's art is as unique (and awesome) as ever.  The Alienist still hasn't grabbed me, but I'm interested in where it goes.

Oh, and Dredd was fucking incredible.  Just assume that the latter proposition is true whenever Williams and Flint are on this title.

Score: 4/5

2000 AD – Prog 1945 Writers: Various Artists: Various Publisher: 2000 AD Price: £1.99 (Digital) £2.49 Release Date: 8/26/2015 Format: Weekly; Print/Digital

 

Review: We Can Never Go Home #4

The penultimate issue of We Can Never Go Home is here, and it only ramps things up in anticipation of a rock ‘em-sock ‘em finale next month. It’s got its feet under it and it’s running for the finish, and I am loving every minute of it. The issue begins after (or, I suppose, just before) the cliffhanger kiss of last month’s issue, and we’re introduced to a larger world of people with powers. Madison’s mom reveals herself to be a little bit more in the know than we would have thought from issue one, and Madison and Duncan get themselves into one last big fight. There’s only one place to go next, and it’s right into the belly of the beast.

We Can Never Go Home has always been visually impressive, but this issue really amps that up. Michael Walsh has been killing it every month on the covers, but Josh Hood and Tyler Boss are always stunning on the interiors. Madison’s powers are used many times, against people that don’t immediately crumple in the face of them (and notably, Duncan’s still are not used at all); there’s a 25-panel page (why do you do this to yourself, Josh??); there’s a great splash page of Duncan that’s an amazing The Graduate gag; and there’s an amazing double page splash of a car crash that really sells the immediacy of it, and that effect where time slows down when something terrible happens. Hood’s pacing of this series, Tyler Boss’s vibrant colors, and the general visual championship is constantly impressive, and it makes me realize what a tragedy it is that there’s only one more issue to go.

We Can Never Go Home #4Rosenberg and Kindlon are doing a great job walking the tightrope with this series between limited and ongoing--if this series ends for good next month, it will be a little five-issue treasure that we should all buy in trade and force our friends to read; if it gets picked up for more issues, it’s got such a rich world, especially after this issue, that there is no limit to the places that it could go. They’ve built the world around their characters with such richness and depth that the world is as interesting to the reader as the main plot, and that’s a maturity in storytelling that you don’t always see in comics.

Black Mask books have a tendency to be big and bombastic, with a major issue at the fore--Young Terrorists and Critical Hit both come to mind as bigger, issue-oriented series. We Can Never Go Home is a wonderful little pocket of Black Mask’s publishing slate where the characters are dealing with things that started out as fairly normal teenage problems (superpowers notwithstanding), and has built itself into a nice subversion of the normal “discovering superpowers” storyline. It’s got a much more personal feel than a lot of the books on the shelf, and it makes it a joy to read every month, and to reread previous issues in anticipation of a new one.

They may never be able to go home, but I hope Duncan and Madison stay on the run for a good, long time.

Score: 5/5

We Can Never Go Home #4 Writers: Matthew Rosenberg & Patrick Kindlon Artist: Josh Hood Colorist: Tyler Boss Letterer: Jim Campbell Design: Dylan Todd Publisher: Black Mask Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Weekly Shonen Jump #39

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V manga makes its premiere as a few other titles are in-between the action. A fixture of my Saturday mornings in high school was the original Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.  I could care less about the card game, to be honest: I spent my summers back then as a camp counselor confiscating the cards from campers and I think I might have kept a Blue Eyes because I knew what it was.  The mix of strong character work, suspense, and awkward ancient Egyptian mystery made it easy to look forward to the series every week.  The villains were quintessential petty, malicious creeps, and Kaiba really had a great Vegeta thing going on.

... I have almost no love for any of the sequel series.  There are motorcycles and giant world-destroying monsters and I don't know what the hell is going on or why I'm supposed to care about the characters.  Additionally, the fact that the same aesthetic (like, the exact same aesthetic) is used for the lead character designs throws me a lot.  I know a lot of series have similar character designs throughout sequels and such, but the original Yu-Gi-Oh! character designs were iconic.  Seeing those eyes and haircuts recycled is confusing.  I straight-up thought Yugi was in a panel of this comic.  In the black-and-white realm of manga, this is especially problematic.

WSJ 39 coverI haven't caught any of the Arc-V anime yet, so I don't have any strong feelings positive or negative about the series.  I didn't think the first chapter was anything to write home about, but let's be serious here: this series pretty much just exists to sell trading cards.  There is nothing immediately wrong with that, since there have been some amazing cartoons that exist solely because their being licensed might boost toy sales.  Just read the first chapter of this series and you'll understand, however, that there's not really anything to look forward to unless you're going to read a Yu-Gi-Oh! series no matter what.

Ignoring the impressively meh premier of Arc-V, One-Punch Man is a great read, when it's actually in the anthology.  The first print trades come out in a few weeks and, not having had the experience of reading chapters back-to-back, I'm curious about how much the series benefits from not being so spaced out from serialization.  In any case, where some other ongoing manga like Inuyashiki feature art that makes the simple seem extravagant, One-Punch Man crams a ton of obviously extravagant stuff into simple encounters.

It's no surprise that Murata is able to depict otherwise normal encounters with incredible exaggerations on the speed and physical limits of the people involved: Eyeshield 21 showcased this exact skill set.  In the world of One-Punch Man, however, Murata's unique brand of organized, cleanly-inked chaos defines our perception of how this world works.  I'm very interested to see how the anime draws on Murata's style which draws much of its impact from being in a static form.

Score: 4/5

Weekly Shonen Jump #39 Writer: Various Artist: Various Publisher: Viz Media Release Date: 8/24/15 Format: Weekly; Digital

Review: Stringers #1

Stringers is a fast-paced, action-packed story following a couple of dudes chasing down the news. I dove into this one head-first, and boy did we go on a ride. Right off the bat, I love these characters. They’ve got great, established banter, their jokes feel old but not tired-- they’re old hat, like the habits that people cling to in times of high stress. Such as a car chase. Such as this car chase.

To be clear, our leads are not on the run. They’re the ones chasing. They’re not even the only ones chasing- they’re chasing the chasers. How many forms of “chase” can I fit into one sentence? Anyway, our leads are following a few cop cars that are chasing down some criminals who apparently isn’t ready to go to jail just yet. It’s a “balls out chase at 90 MPH,” and don’t you forget it.

Stringers #1It’s a few pages in before we find out our leads are called Paul and Nick. Buddies, coworkers, whatever you call ‘em, Paul holds the camera while Nick drives. Together they make a great team, getting that exclusive, raw footage for the news. It’s clear they’ve been working together for a while; they know exactly what they’re getting into and they know exactly how the game is played. There’s a brief appearance by “Speez the Sleaze,” a rival stringer, and it’s a hell of a rivalry that has Nick trying to run Speez off the road at 90 MPH. This is a cutthroat profession, there’s no doubt about it.

There’s a bit of mystery that we can expect to carry over: Nick finds a USB belonging to one of the gangsters involved in the firefight. It’s encrypted and so incredibly intriguing. Unfortunately, we don’t find out much more, as our leads have just been (dramatic pause!) pulled over. Considering what they just walked away- drove away? - from, let’s hope they’ve put the drama behind them for the night.

This story promises to be action-packed, giving readers an up-close look at violent crimes and high-speed chases. This first issue doesn’t just drop readers into the middle of the action, it sends them hurtling toward the story at 90 MPH. I immediately liked Paul and Nick, and their profession certainly keeps things moving. With a fast-paced story like this one, it can be hard for the art to keep up, but it certainly works. The colors are dark, and the images are zooming; there’s an undeniable sense of urgency as we move along the story.

So far, I’m sold on Stringers. The characters feel comfortable, the story is interesting, and the action is non-stop. I’m on board.

Score: 4/5

Stringers #1 Writer: Marc Guggenheim Artist: Justin Greenwood Publisher: Oni Press Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Print/Digital

Review: Furrever Friends: A Cat Named Haiku

This book is exactly what you want it to be. It has cats. It has cute cats. It has cute cats doing awesome things all while being accompanied by haiku poetry. It is a dream come true for a lot of English teachers. For this newest Volume, Mark Poulton and Dexter Weeks feature a lot of different writers. Mark Poulton, Pat Shand, Ryan K. Lindsay, and Ann Nocenti to name a few. Each writer takes on the difficult task of haiku and creates a poem with cats as their theme. It is rather genius, if you ask me. The book is set up with a full story of this cat, some from his perspective and some from the owner’s perspective. This makes for a wide range of fun. Starting to read this comic, a feeling comes over you. You know those comics that make you feel all warm and fuzzy, well that is what Furrever Friends will do to you. There are so many great stories being told in just three lines. But what is so cool is that any pet owner can relate to these stories. The book goes through the cute stages of a cat and the angry ones... but like I always say, with that face how can you get mad even though he did just scratch my new couch and left one claw in the fabric while looking back at me like “what did I do?” These silly moments are captured on every page.

Furrever Friends CoverThen the comic rolls back to those precious moments of pouncing on a laser light, spending Christmas morning together, and so on. Some of my favorite moments in the book involve cat kung-fu, flying hero cats, kitten paws in your mouth, and cats chasing after bugs. Sounds pretty epic to me and sounds like what I go through on a daily basis. Although I think they forgot the moments when I show up to work with cat fur all over me!

What follows each haiku is a picture to accompany the poem. Mark Poulton, Dane Cypel, and Dexter Weeks help to put together this great art pieces. Using the same cat throughout the book helps to create a story with these mini stories. It is a great idea. Plus, Haiku, the cat, is freaking adorable. You can’t go wrong with an orange tabby cat, but the way that they capture the cat’s attitude with every picture makes it that much better. Especially when the cat is pawing the human’s mouth and looking at its audience like “I’m a jerk but cute at the same time.” These little faces show how much work was actually put into creating Haiku.

All in all, this book is a fun read. It would be a good children's book to read with the kids and also a good coffee table book that your other cat lover friends could rifle through. On top of all this coolness, the profits for the book are going to be donated to a no kill animal rescue in New Jersey. It is clearly a win-win for you and our furry friends. So please ask your local comic book shop for it, and I promise that you will fall in love cats all over again, or become increasingly obsessed with cats more than you even thought possible.

Score: 4/5

Furrever Friends: A Cat Named Haiku Writer: Various Artist: Mark Poulton, Dane Cypel, & Dexter Weeks Publisher: Arcana Studios Price: $9.95 Release Date: 10/28/15 Format: Anthology, Print

Review: Fight Club 2 #4

Face front, space monkeys: We’re a third of the way through Fight Club 2, and each issue I find more and more things I love about it, whether it’s consciously making fun of itself or whether it’s bringing things back from the first one to pay them off. This comic could have been an easy cash grab, but you can tell Palahniuk and Stewart are really pouring themselves into the work. Issue 4 splits pretty evenly between Marla and one of her friends from the progeria support group traveling around to themed clubs to try and find her son, before figuring out the best place to hide is plain sight--like conflict zones in Somalia. The back half of the issue is Sebastian trying to fit in again as a space monkey on soap duty and trying to find his first fight, which is also one of his last ones.

Fight-Club-2-#4Fight Club 2 has really shone in terms of character work with Sebastian and Marla. If this were a lesser series, it would be an action-packed, plot-driven thrill ride to try and rescue their son. Instead, the series takes time to make jokes about “Bite Club” and “Pint Club” and “Quilt Club”, and it goes full meta when Marla shows up at “Write Klub.” It’s an excellent commentary by Palahniuk and Stewart about the world that they live in versus the very fictional world they create, where Palahniuk himself interacts with Marla at his writing group, where he and some very well-to-do women sit around drinking wine--and yet, there’s still a free, needle-filled couch in their front lawn. In every issue, while we still follow the main story, Palahniuk and Stewart run right up to the line of metafiction that we expect them to cross, and they toss a thumb over their shoulder at the line and basically say, “Get a load of this, huh?”

Stewart’s art is a standout again this month. On the first page alone he pulls off a great illustration of Sebastian lording over video game characters like a god, with the video game in the foreground in soft focus; he works in a double page map splash page (one of my very favorite kind of things), and his work during the fight at the end is just brutal. Plus, it leads into one of the very best meta final page splashes I’ve ever seen, a good sign that this is blood-soaked mayhem for the whole family.

This book has been a delight every month, and I mean that in the most disgusting, metafictional, violent, truly Fight Club kind of way. It’s everything I loved about the book, everything I loved about the movie, and almost everything I love about comics, mixed up, shook up, electroshocked, punched in the face, and published monthly. If you’re not reading it, you’re gonna be pissed at yourself as it continues to be amazing and all your friends stop inviting you out because you’re clearly not the cool one in the group.

Score: 5/5

Fight Club 2 #4 Writer: Chuck Palahniuk Artist: Cameron Stewart Colorist: Dave Stewart Lettering & Design: Nate Piekos of Blambot Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Lumberjanes #17

Lumberjanes #17 concludes another wild arc. If you’ve forgotten where we left off, Abigail went to take down the Grootslang, while the Lumberjanes plus Barney go looking for a stop to the madness, and Rosie goes after Abigail. Are we all on the same page? Okay great. I think by now it’s pretty well established that I love Lumberjanes. The story, the characters, the creators - I’m a fan. I’m really pleased with how the story is developing; this arc definitely had a different feel to it than the first, and as it should. The characters are established, the relationships defined, and it’s easy to get into a comfortable place with the story and just stay there. But that’s not what Stevenson and Watters do. In this arc we see some relationships tested, including one we didn’t even know existed until pretty recently. Rosie and Abigail have a history, and even before we know the full story, readers have felt enough tension to guess.

Lumberjanes-#17There’s a fantastic conversation between Jo and Barney that addresses some of the issues Jo’s been having with Barney joining their adventure. They touch on Jo’s personal past, and the two bond over not feeling like they belong in certain spaces. It’s a great and important conversation to have, and the conversation is presented in such a way that younger readers can understand and relate to it. We’ve all been there, in some capacity or other, feeling that what we want and what’s expected of us are completely different things. It’s important for young readers to hear about these stories and to know that feeling like you aren’t “living up to expectation” is perfectly okay. Kudos to the creators there.

Other important things to note from this issue: Jen continues to rock incredibly hard. She’s just the best. Everyone needs a Jen in their life. Ripley is delightfully skilled at finding things. Always bring Ripley on your adventures-- though be warned she’s also the most likely to wander off and get lost. Also, the gang traipsing off with armfuls of jewels- and in Ripley’s case a crown and scepter- is fantastic. April’s carrying two chests of jewels, Mal and Molly have positively stuffed their coats. They’re clearly ready to party.

Another adventure comes to a close and the gang’s gotten Jen back, but we’ve still got questions galore. It wouldn’t be so strange to discover that time at the Lumberjanes camp passes differently than the outside world-- campers can literally access another realm containing dinosaurs through an outhouse, so weird passage of time wouldn’t be the weirdest thing by far. The camp seems to hold too many secrets to discover them all, but gosh darn it, our Lumberjanes are sure going to try.

Score: 5/5

Lumberjanes #17 Writers: Noelle Stevenson & Shannon Watters Artist: Brooke Allen Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/16/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Ghostbusters: Get Real #3

Usually I would complain about wasting a first page on recapping previous events (especially when this is only issue 3 of 4), but I missed issue 2 so this was quite helpful catching me back up. Even though there is a lot of dialogue all discussing various ghost-bustery science, issue three is a quick read. Not a lot really happens this issue. There is one action sequence that introduces a new ghost trap, which was kind of interesting (in fact, if there was a whole issue just going through all the Ghostbusters equipment I would definitely buy it). I also enjoyed new-Ray getting slimed by the 'real' Slimer. Unfortunately, a lot of this issue is discussion with the characters taking up most of the panel space.

GB-GR03-coverThe backgrounds are kind of generic, which is a shame because the whole issue takes place in the Ghostbusters' firehouse. It would be nice if there were things to go back and look in detail at. They are clean and look great, it would just be nice if they had some extra sight gags or interesting things to really delve into.

The two art styles are still being rendered perfectly and look like their respective universes. Dan Schoening is doing a great job of keeping the characters different while making them still feel they are in the same rooms.

If you already read the last two issues you should carry on with it and get this one. If you were to pick this up as your starting point you might come out underwhelmed. I'm looking forward to the resolution in the next issue. Hopefully more action, more equipment and more background eye-candy.

Score: 2/5

Ghostbusters: Get Real #3 Writer: Erik Burnham Artist: Dan Schoening Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/26/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

fhána Set To Play At Anime Weekend Atlanta

Lantis Company Ltd., a Japanese record label specializing in releasing anime and video game soundtracks, has announced that fhána, will perform at the upcoming Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) convention. The catchy pop group comes to the U.S. for this special show just one year after they debuted at the 10th annual Animelo Summer Live concert in Japan, which is one of the biggest live events in the country for anime music and artists. Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) is the largest anime convention in the Southeastern U.S. and will take place at the Cobb Galleria, the Renaissance Waverly Hotel, and the Sheraton Suites in Atlanta, GA September 24th-27th, 2015. Additional information on Anime Weekend Atlanta is available at: http://awa-con.com.

fhána will make its U.S. performance debut with a very special live concert at Anime Weekend Atlanta on Friday, September 26th at the Cobb Galleria Centre. The group is also set to participate in the convention’s Opening Ceremonies on September 25th and will interact with fans in a special photo/meet-and-greet session. A variety of fhána merchandise also will be available for purchase.

fhána consists of three talented music producers/composers – Junichi Sato, yuxuki waga, and kevin mitsunaga – and a female vocalist, towana. The group’s polished, electro-synth driven pop sound has been notably featured in a variety of anime series, including its newest Lantis single, "Startust Interlude,” which is currently featured as the ending theme for the series, Celestial Method. The group also contributed theme songs for series such as Witch Craft Works and Prisma Illya and was named as an iTunes Japan 2014 New Artist to Watch.

Fans can check out fhána’s new record, Outside of Melancholy, at: https://itunes.apple.com.

Prior to forming fhána, musician Junichi Sato performed under the artistic moniker of “FLEET” and enjoyed several major-label releases. fhána co-member yuxuki waga (pronounced "yuu-ki waga") is a well-known Vocaloid creator who is also very active on the Japanese video sharing site, Nico Nico Douga, and is the founder of the creative circle, "s10rw.” kevin mitsunaga is creator of the "Leggysalad" project which was born out of the burgeoning Japanese net-label scene.

fhána found its permanent voice with singer towana, who joined the group for its Lantis debut single, Que Sera Sera, featured as the closing theme song for the anime series, The Eccentric Family. With its line-up solidified, fhána continues to tap the members’ commonly shared interests in visual novels, anime, and the internet to create a new type of storytelling through music.

fhána released its first full-length record, Outside of Melancholy, with Lantis in February 2015 and has gained wide acclaim across Japan for passionate and well-produced live shows. Outside of Melancholyfeatures 14-tracks and is also available as a limited edition release that includes a Blu-Ray disc with the music videos for the album’s singles and title tracks along with a section of the frenzied live performances. In addition to composing and producing its own music, fhána has produced tracks for other artists including ChouCho's "looping star” and "life is blue back,” and Mai Aizawa's "Sono Setsuna.”

fhána Official Site: http://fhana.jp/ fhána Official YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/user/fhanaJP fhána Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fhanamusic

BEDLAM Incoming - Release date officially announced for post apocalyptic rogue-like journey to hell

Independent developer Skyshine in partnership with indie publisher Versus Evil, today confirmed that the release date for Skyshine’s BEDLAM will be Thursday 17thSeptember, 2015.  The game will be available for digital download on PC. Built on the foundations of the Banner Saga engine, Skyshine’s BEDLAM is a fast paced rogue-like turn-based strategy game with a unique art style, tons of character and hours worth of replayability. Set in a post-apocalyptic world inspired by 1980 action movies such as Mad Max, Skyshine’s BEDLAM puts players in the role of the revered and mysterious Mechanic, whose mission is to safely escort a Dozer full of paying passengers and crew across the vast wastelands of BEDLAM to reach a distant utopia known as Aztec city.  Except, in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with rogue factions threatening you at every turn, it’s not going to be easy.

“The world of Skyshine’s BEDLAM was really born out of the best possible places, the stuff we loved when we were kids.  The games, graphic novels and movies we experienced in the 80’s like Mad Max, Heavy Metal and Judge Dredd were all inspirations.” said John Mueller, Art Director at Skyshine.  “We loved games like FTL and XCOM and the rogue-like genre was a perfect fit for what we wanted to accomplish.  “We have made a game our 14 year old selves would have loved, complete with vomiting monsters, killer robots and gruesomely funny deaths!”

The team also confirmed that the game will be playable on the Versus Evil booth #6608 at the forthcoming PAX Prime event in Seattle which runs from Friday 28th August through to Monday 31st August at the Washington State Convention Centre.

Skyshine’s BEDLAM is available for pre-order now through Steam and other trusted online digital retailers.

Visit: www.gobedlam.com for more information.

VIZ MEDIA & Eleven Arts Announce Canadian Theatrical Dates For BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, announces the expansion of its partnership with Los Angeles-based film distribution company ELEVEN ARTS to premiere BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE in a series of exclusive theatrical engagements. In addition to a big-screen debut in over 80 U.S. cities, Canadian fans also will have a very special opportunity to catch the premiere in 9 major cities, including Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and more beginning on October 10th! Featuring the son of the world’s most popular ninja, BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE is executive produced by Masashi Kishimoto, the famed creator of the epic bestselling manga series (also published by VIZ Media) on which the film’s characters are based. BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE also features screenplay and character design by Kishimoto, and was directed by Hiroyuki Yamashita, with screenplay cooperation by Ukyou Kodachi; Chief Character Designers and Chief Animation Directors are Tetsuya Nishio and Hirofumi Suzuki.

Boruto Movie PosterBORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE will be presented with original Japanese dialogue with English subtitles. For additional information and to purchase advance tickets, please visit: www.elevenarts.net.

In BORUTO: NARUTO THE MOVIE, famed ninja, Naruto Uzumaki protects the Hidden Leaf Village as the Seventh Hokage, while Boruto, his troublesome son, resents his father's responsibilities that take his time away from him. Seeing this, Sasuke takes Boruto under his wing, while Sasuke's only daughter, Sarada, dreams of being Hokage one day.

With Naruto as the Seventh Hokage, the Hidden Leaf Village plans to host the Chunin Exams to train new shinobi from the village and from their allied villages. Among the entrants are Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, Mitsuki, an exceptionally talented yet mysterious shinobi… and Boruto, Naruto's talented but impetuous son. Meanwhile, Sasuke who’s been on a mission in another dimension appears before Naruto to warn of a strange impending danger. Shrouded with an evil aura, Momoshiki and Kinshiki appear and attempt to assassinate Naruto. Petrified, Boruto is shielded by Naruto, only to disappear in front of Boruto's own eyes!

For more information on NARUTO anime, manga and feature film titles, please visit: viz.com/naruto.

CBMFP 199: She's Not Ready For The Pole

We're back for another week! This time on the CBMFP we're tackling that rumor about George Miller directing the Man of Steel 2, Nintendo is going to the movies and some other comic book related tv and movie news. Books covered on this episode:

  • Drive #1
  • They're Not Like Us #7
  • Baby Badass #1
  • Archie #2
CBMFP-ep-199-Full

Last time on the CBMFP...

Review: Island #2

Island #2 is a great chance for readers to discover some impressive talent they might not have otherwise heard of while trudging through their overpriced superhero pull list. Let's not beat around the bush: I think comic anthologies are fucking great and I want more of them in the mainstream.  There are so many comics (not to mention so many mediocre and straight-up bad comics) that it's hard for one person to effectively curate their own pull list without missing out on something awesome.  When I first indentured myself to the Comix Overlords, my pull-list quickly grew to a dozen titles.  I can tell you, quite confidently, that for all of the money I spent, I missed out on some great ongoing titles in lieu of things I can't believe I spent hundreds of dollars on over the course of several years.

Anthologies offer a welcome solution to the addiction many of us have to serialized mediocrity.   Instead of you going out and selecting a bunch of titles you think you might like, an editorial team curates a selection of stylistically diverse comics, puts a bow on them, and delivers them to your LCS for your consideration.  You are paying for the privilege of being exposed to multiple artists from diverse artistic backgrounds, all with a particular kind of story to tell.  There is almost no better way to discover your new favorite creator and, if you find out that the curators have a good eye for picking things out for the anthology, then you know to come back to discover something new even when your favorite story leaves the anthology's pages.

Island-#2Enter Island #2.  This issue features three comics: thirty-eight pages of Ludroe, twenty-two pages of Simon Roy, and 38 pages of Emma Rios.  Simon Roy's "Habitat" is beginning anew with part one, book-ended by returning (and concluding) serials from Island #1.  Since you can pick it up fresh with this issue, I'm going to mostly focus on "Habitat."  True to my point about anthologies, I had not previously heard about Simon Roy; now, however, he'll definitely be on my radar.

Roy's pencil work is super dense.  From peeking at his other illustrations, he often opts to really flesh out this already-detailed style with equally dense inks.  In "Habitat," however, color is what fills out Roy's worlds: the color of skin, the color of trees, the color of concrete, and the color of blood.  With any other line work backing it up, I would be inclined to call the colors in this series too uniform throughout, with the palette rarely shifting throughout a twenty-two page story.  Of course, it's not as if the colors are unpleasing, overwrought, or confusing and, more importantly, they allow the rich, almost muddy, but incredibly detailed lines on these pages to shine.

Something about Roy's work on the letters is especially welcome.  If you have a copy of Island #2 already, go back and look at this story, but imagine a stock comic font in the speech bubbles instead of Roy's all-capitals handwriting.  This is not a very intimate story just based on the visuals: this world is big, scary in some really fucked up ways, and full of people.  At least in my head, there would be something almost patronizing about this story if you changed the lettering font to a more typical format.  Maybe I'm bonkers, I don't know; but, the takeaway here is that down to the custom lettering, this is a carefully crafted comic that has a unique feel.

And "Habitat" is not alone in benefiting from this.  All three comics in this issue of Island are drafted by writer/artists.  You need to get sort of lucky to find writer/artists with the kind of singular vision for their stories that folks like Roy, Ludroe, and and Rios bring to these pages; however, you need to get extremely lucky to get a singular vision rivaling this kind of quality from a writer and artist team.  Island #2 is filling a much-needed niche by being a beacon for talented sequential artists who want to tell their own stories.

The big publishers crank out plenty of assembly line comics with different writers, artists, colorists, letterers, flatters, hype-men, pit crews, pool boys--ok, sorry, but we fucking get it.  Comics don't have to be a collaborative medium, and Island #2 is a great reminder of the potential for real cartoonists to tell exciting, original stories on a highly visible platform.

Score: 4/5

Island #2 Writer: Various Artist: Various Publisher: Image Comics Price: $7.99 Release Date: 8/19/15 Format: Anthology, Print/Digital

Review: Doctor Who: Four Doctors #2

Despite all of the action, Four Doctors #2 contains a lot of dialog which suffers from the missing personality of the live-action actors. The idiosyncrasies of the various doctors are visual, verbal, and dispositional.  Capaldi's Twelve is already a master of maintaining an incredibly condescending brow without ever really seeming too brood-ish.  Smith's Eleven was a goddamn spaz and loved to call things wobbly.  Tennant's Ten was deftly able to switch gears between action, frivolity, and really depressing shit.

But many of the things that made these characters so beloved are hard (some, even impossible) to evince in the pages of a comic.  Capturing the true charm of these characters is even more difficult when the depictions of the Doctors are only kept consistent by their outfits.  The work on the faces fluctuates, often seems rushed, and it always seems like I would not be able to recognize these iconic characters if not for their clothing.  Granted, banking on the outfits themselves is visually the best move to make and I'm not disputing that; however, specifically because everything down to the outfits is iconic about these characters, inconsistencies in their depictions stand out all the more.

DW_Event_Art_Cover_A_2There are still small moments within the comic that are pretty funny for fans of the show.  At one point, Eleven quips to his companion that, much to his surprise, it seems like he's not the silliest of the Doctor's recent incarnations.  Surely that's not true in the context of the show, but its truth is evident in the comic, and that is a humorous result.

Unfortunately most of the interactions between the Doctors are annoying.  In a way, they're supposed to be annoying, but it's just not entertaining to read.  They are finishing each other's sentences, they are mad at each other, they know what the other is thinking but they constantly disagree about a course of action.  It's like watching a bunch of twin brothers who hate each other bring their girlfriends to a family reunion.  I wish that analogy wasn't so on-the-nose.

Even if you're built in to the demographic of this comic, you're going to have a hard time enjoying it.  It requires you to really imagine that this is an episode of the show occurring; otherwise, you have to focus on pages of comics where people are just talking to each other in a minefield of bright colors and stock comic poses.  It really seems like three is a crowd, and I don't know how much I want to stick around to see how a fourth curmudgeonly old man fixes things.

Score: 2/5

Doctor Who: Four Doctors #2 Writer: Paul Cornell Artist: Neil Edwards Colorist: Ivan Nunes Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 8/19/15 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital

DRAGON DYNASTY 5 Movie Collection on DVD Oct. 6 from Anchor Bay Entertainment

Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company are proud to announce the action packed martial arts home entertainment release of the Dragon Dynasty 5 Movie Collection. This classic set features four films from legendary martial arts superstar Jet Li and one film from icon Stephen Chow. In 2006, The Weinstein Company launched the Dragon Dynasty brand in order to showcase classic and contemporary Asian Cinema, particularly films in the action/martial arts genre. An immediate hit with fans and critics, Dragon Dynasty brought home the world’s greatest martial arts and Asian action films, featuring the groundbreaking work of international superstars and legendary filmmakers. Anchor Bay Entertainment is honoring this legacy with the Dragon Dynasty: 5 Movie Collection, arriving on 3-Disc DVD set and Digital HD bundle on October 6th. Dragon Dynasty 5The Dragon Dynasty 5 Movie Collection includes:

Born to Defense (1986) Directed by & Starring Jet Li (Rated R, 91 min.) Jet (Jet Li) is a WWII soldier returning after the war to find he must continue to fight against abusive Americans now taking advantage of citizens in his hometown.

The Defender (1994) Directed by Corey Yuen & Starring Jet Li (Rated R, 92 min.) Jet Li – the former bodyguard to the most powerful leader in China is hired to protect school teacher Christy Chung after having witnessed a brutal murder.

The Legend II (aka The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk II, 1993) Directed by Corey Yuen & Starring Jet Li (Rated R, 92 min.) Having failed a secret mission for the Red Flowers Society, an underground organization dedicated to the overthrow of the Manchu dynasty and restoration of the Ming Dynasty, Fong Sai Yuk must try to get his hands on a special document by wooing the governor’s daughter.

Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) Directed by Sammo Hung Kam-Bo & Starring Jet Li (Not Rated, 99 min.) Wong Fei-Hung travels to the U.S. to visit a martial arts branch that one of his disciples has set up and ends up establishing himself as a respected kung fu master, helping gain recognition for Chinese martial arts in the West.

From Beijing with Love (1994) Directed by & Starring Stephen Chow. (Not Rated, 84 min.) A comedic send-up of Bond’s 007, Ling Ling-Chat is the unlikely pork butcher / superspy sent to Hong Kong to find a priceless stolen fossil. Assassins, spy gadgets, stunts and chases ensue.

Dragon Dynasty 5 Movie Collection will be available on DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment for the suggested retail price of $19.98

To learn more about this film, please visit anchorbayentertainment.com.

Star Trek's 50th Anniversary Convention To Be Held August 3-7, 2016 In Las Vegas

Creation Entertainment and CBS Consumer Products today announced that the Official Star Trek 50th Anniversary Convention will take place next summer on August 3-7, 2016 at The Rio Suites Hotel in Las Vegas. The non-stop five-day convention will host more than 100 Star Trek celebrities from TV and film and thousands of avid fans. “This event has always been uniquely innovative and in tune with what the Star Trek fan wants and expects. Every attendee, no matter what their ticket price, has a chance to see all the stars when they want to without fear of waiting or not getting in,” said Adam Malin, Co-CEO of Creation Entertainment. “It’s the ultimate space where like-minded folks can meet the franchise stars, argue trivia, look at the scientific and philosophical pop culture impact of the brand and of course make friendships that have lasted generations.”

The multi-day event will explore everything from Star Trek’s set designs to its game-changing foreshadowing of some of today’s top technological advancements. Along with numerous costumes, prop displays, and convention-only freebies. It will be a full-scale immersion for the ultimate Star Trek fan.

More information will soon be available online by visiting the show’s official page at http://www.creationent.com/ST50/index.html .