Review: Adventure Time Comics #1

Adventure Time Comics is a great way to experience different artistic takes on the iconic series and contains fun little details that hardcore fans and more casual readers will appreciate. The last free comic book day that I went to was in Lubbock, Texas which, at least at the time, really only had one dedicated comic shop serving a large nerd community in the only major town within five hours in any direction.  Unless you count Amarillo.  I do not.  Anyway, they had a limited amount out free comics, so they separated bundles of what was available into a kids bundle with various Kaboom! offerings and other Nickelodeon-licensed stuff, and an adult bundle that was all blood, gore, and superhero event preamble garbage.

I grabbed the stack of comics meant for kids without any hesitation (I admit that I missed out on 2000AD's offering, which is always solid).

If I'm going to read readily available, mainstream-ish stuff that you can typically find in any comic shop, and I'm going in with no previous exposure to the work, 80% of the time I'm going with a comic meant for a younger audience.  Even though comics like Adventure Time Comics are similarly leaning on established intellectual property, there are a couple of things that these comics do better than typical cape comics.  First, there is a huge burden on the writers to get the voices of the characters right.  If you slap a "Bub" on the end of anything Wolverine says, it can pass for his voice; with Lumpy Space Princess, though, I better damn well be able to read everything she says in her nasally tenor valley girl voice.  These comics are arguably more immersive because you really invest in creating a soundscape for yourself while reading them.

The other thing these comics do well is humor: this comic is funny.  Adventure Time is a series that's not only driven by the content of what is said, but in the rhythm of how things are said.  One of the ongoing bits to that effect is in someone dramatically doubling-down on something they're saying.  In "Good Shelf", the final short in the book, writer/artist Kat Leyh uses the comic page to her advantage to break out an individual panel to zoom in on Finn as he expresses himself.

Not every story is satisfying overall.  "Toothpaste Fairy" can be hard to follow at times and "Goliad Gets a Break" requires a good chunk of knowledge of the show even with the cute introduction; but, even those stories have their moments.  More importantly, the best thing about this comic is that it presents four unique visual interpretations of the show's world.  Tony Millionaire's opening page of the "Goliad" story has this vintage, almost medieval kind of feel to it, but with pops of pink that define the Candy Kingdom.  Art Baltazar's work on "Toothpaste" conveys a lot of story moments with simple facial expressions alone: Jake's eyes glow mischeviously from one panel to the next; Finn maintains a flat expression throughout the adventure to set the tone for how underwhelming a toothpaste-themed journey can be.

Even when the art is in a more familiar realm in Katie Cook's "Stand Next To Me", the stories don't feel like storyboards.  Cook in particular really embraces some of the more absurd aspects of the show.  The opening sequence features a talking pancake with a butter hat while the Pastry Princess and Breakfast Princess debate whether it's weird for them to eat breakfast.  The pancake is really only there as a background foil, but Cook embraces how funny this random talking pancake is and keeps him smack in the middle of one of the inciting moments of the story.  Cook's story has a twist that keeps things fresh on re-reading but, even if it were a more straightforward story, there are a lot of little touches like the pancake fellow throughout the story that the reader can admire.

I think some people might hesitate to buy this because it's not part of a several-issue story or a whole-issue story in itself; however, I think the opposite thing should motivate you.  I think it's a great idea to have a short collection of stories from different artists with different visions, and I think it makes for a fun single-issue experience that's otherwise missing in the age of the trade.  There are automatically more ways to engage with and appreciate Adventure Time even if you don't love every single story in this issue, and that's refreshing.  It's also a great way to discover writer/artists who are doing great work elsewhere in comics.

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Adventure Time Comics #1 Writers: Various Artists: Various Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/27/16 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: Action Comics #960

This is part four of the story, so why are the first few pages everyone having awkward dialogue to reiterate what has happened before? First, the mysterious figure who is not only randomly narrating things but is ALSO mysterious, decides now is the time to give a summation of what everyone is doing right that second and who they are by name. Then Wonder Woman shows up and meets not Superman Clark Kent and gets more conversation to help fill in the reader who thought the fourth issues was the best jumping on point. And finally Superman randomly yells “Doomsday” for anyone who skipped the first page wondering who he was fighting. With Wonder Woman added to the mix, does this mean the age of jerk Superman is over? No, of course not! He just isn’t a jerk towards Wonder Woman, or Lois either, so I guess at least he is a nice guy to the ladies, or some junk. I’m sure it is meant to be great writing by all those involved in the creation of this comic.

How is Superman a jerk in this comic? Well first he treats Lex Luthor like the annoying little brother who always kicks the dog but gets away with it. Superman is just generally snippy and petulant towards Lex in the small handful of pages they share together. “I owe YOU nothing,” and other stupid lines come out of Superman’s mouth while talking to Lex Luthor.  Luthor who is the one super hero thus far in this story, who has actually tried to save lives and not start blindly punching, the guy who in this story has been a little smarmy sure, but hasn’t done a single villainous thing yet!

But jerk Superman isn’t keeping it just with Luthor. While fighting Doomsday, he starts bragging about how many times he is punching him, counting out loud. The super speed punching is apparently his newest tactic against Doomsday which is just what he has been doing these last two issues, but FASTER! Don’t worry, Superman does come up with one actual plan: since the city is being evacuated as the fight carries on, he should move Doomsday outside the city to protect everyone…who is currently leaving the city. The holes in this plan sadly aren’t shown to anyone involved as Doomsday just ups and leaves. Because he hears, or feels, or just senses that Jonathon Kent (son of Superman) exists and he will now destroy him. Even though Jon is a huge distance away.

Before rushing off to chase after Doomsday and save small child, Superman gives Lex some crap, Wonder Woman even gets a dig in! Then the duo race off. Midway, Wonder Woman finds out Superman has a child, which leads to Superman giving the reader a super guilty side eye look. Which makes zero sense. Yes, this world’s Wonder Woman dated this world’s Superman, but the Superman of this comic came from a different Earth/Timeline so why the look? They have only met like three times at this point. This doesn’t make sense!!!

All of this is ignored so Superman can jump in front of Lois’ car as she is driving speedily away in fear that Doomsday is coming. Great job endangering your family there Superman. In the panel Jon looks super happy, Lois is totally freaking out, and Superman is just smirking; he just loves shortening Lois’ life due to stress and probably some internal injuries or hairline fractures.

Anyways there is lots of talking with some really inconsistent faces. The characters don’t look the same from one panel to the next, and sometimes the facial expressions really don’t seem to match the dialogue. I don’t know if the artist was in a hurry to hit the two week deadline or what. It is a sloppy few pages. The coloring is beautiful for the backgrounds, if not a little non consistent in its own right. At least the story is consistent. Sadly it is consistently meh.

[su_box title="Score: 2/5" style="glass" box_color="#8955ab" radius="6"]

Action Comics #960 Writer: Dan Jurgens Artist: Tyler Kirkham Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 7/27/16

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Review: Cryptocracy #2

This second issue of the conspiracy series is entitled "Feint" and opens with a nice overview of the nine families that make up the Cryptocracy.  It looks very similar to the splash page on issue one, which similarly explained the nine circles.  Man, nine circles, nine families, who could possibly keep up with such complexity.  Anyway I digress… This overview provides insight into the war between the families with the rest of the book showing us how they move people like human pawns in their global chess game.  It’s revealed that Mars is the most powerful of the nine families, headed by the old and withering Nick who continues to train his successor Grahame, one of the central characters in issue one.  There are some evocative panels showing them both in their younger years and the role the Mars family played in Pearl Harbour.  It rather stuns one to silence and leaves a real lingering sense of despair and horror at the things one human can do to another.  You really have to give points to both the writing of Van Jensen and the pencils of Pete Wood here, but alas the rest of the comic isn’t quite as strong.

It is a better overall book than issue one. There’s a different tone with more focus on action than mystery, which works rather well.  Reeling from the attack of the mysterious Hum on the nine families, the Elders have convened to plan their next move.

Who is this would be assassin?  

How does he know of the ancient prophecies?

Another name is thrown into the mix too, Chronos, Hum’s master.  The inevitable cross-family bickering ensues when suddenly the inimitable Hum appears in a giant ball of light and declares his real name, The Harbinger.  Well this doesn’t sound good.  The families are powerless against him as his mysterious cryptid companions, revealed later to be Mothmen (epic groan) cut through the crowd, leaving bloody destruction in their wake.  A few manage to escape, including Nick of the Mars family and our main protagonist Grahame.  It appears he hasn’t tumbled quite far enough down the rabbit hole as the final ninth circle is revealed and in turn, the truth of the ancient prophecies.  All in all, quite an action packed book and these last few pages were quite fun.  Pete Woods really managed to draw you in with his artwork here but in other areas things were a little hit and miss.  It almost gave me an Aladdin vibe at times, particularly in the depiction of Hum.  Suffice it to say, that isn’t an aesthetic I particularly enjoy.  Everything just lacks a little texture and depth, the environments feel quite flat and two dimensional at times, which is a real shame.

My final complaint is that all those fantastic pop culture references and outlandish character designs from the first issue seem to have taken a backseat this time around.  Those were some of the strongest elements!  I implore you Mr. Jensen, please bring them back.  You can have fun and tell your conspiracy tale, I promise.  Saying that, I would like to compliment him on his excellent writing shown in the Journal of Farrel Fain on the final few pages.  This was exceptionally well written and added an extra dimension to the story, shame it was relegated to end of the book.  I’m struggling to find reasons to recommend this story, if you enjoy the genre then go for it, there’s still a mystery to unfold here but is it one you can necessarily be bothered to stick around for?

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Cryptocracy #2 Writer: Van Jensen Artist: Pete Woods Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: East of West #28

Inside of the Game of Throne style apocalyptic ensemble piece which I like, East of West houses a more intimate family drama which I love.  For all that I have enjoyed the wars, political machinations, double-crosses, and ever-growing stakes, my favorite part of the book is Death's journey to reach his son and hopefully find some form of hope amidst his vengeance. As such, Issue 28 which is devoted to checking in on Death, Babylon, and a few unsavory characters on their periphery, is one of my favorite comic issues of the year. It's a funny, scary, weird little adventure that uses its ability to mix the western and sci-fi genres to its advantage. When we last left Babylon, he was at a moral crossroads, being asked for the to take a life of an innocent piglet, a needless bloody action which Balloon hopes would send him on the path to becoming the Beast . As it turns out Babylon chose the moral option, raising the pig as a pet and beginning to demonstrate a sense of right and wrong that Balloon finds alarming. As Babylon continues to make his way in the world (while cheerfully still planning its destruction), he is tailed by four bounty hunters hired to kill him. But, to complicate things just a little more, Death with the help (but mostly hindrance) of the eyeball is closing in as well, intent on saving his son from the hunters.

This set-up is fairly straight forward but is elevated by three sets of well-realized characters.  Death dealing with a rhyming, sneaky talking eyeball is, as it turns out, a buddy cop movie I would like to see more of. As I have noted before, Death's overblown machismo works best paired with a little humor, and a nice balance is struck as death resorts to some painful techniques to extract information from his troublesome squishy partner. Babylon and Balloon similarly have a familiar rapport at this point in the series and it's fun to see the power dynamic begin to tip in the favor of Babylon who, while still fundamentally manipulated, shows a sharpness his father would be proud of.

But special mention needs to be made of  the four hunters who, despite being new characters, made an immediate impression. Each is unhinged and strange in their own way, giving the group an air of insanity that suitably increases the stakes (we don't know what they are capable of doing to Babylon). Each has a gimmick of sorts, one of which is so creepy and morbid that I don't want to spoil it here. Visually speaking, they are yet another example of Dragotta's ability to create new and wonderful oddities in the style of his already established world.  The characters have robot talons and futuristic guns which manage to look like analogues of classic western feathers and six-shooters, styling them as cyberpunk cowboys of sorts. Suffice it to say, giving them enough focus and identity to make them be believable threats to main characters pays off nicely in a rising sense of tension throughout the issue.

I almost didn't write a review for East of West #28 as I thought a break might make me come back to the series in a month with some new insight and enthusiasm. But as books go on, despite their consistency in quality, attention drops away from them to focus on new debut issues and rising stars in the industry, and frankly, this isn't fair. A book that can deliver as excellent an issue as East of West  does this week deserves more than a little attention. Hickman and Dragotta have hit their stride and are barreling towards the final act of their story, and I remain on board for every second of it.

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East of West #28 Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Nick Dragotta Colorist: Frank Martin Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: X-O Manowar #48

Last issue saw a great deal of action and a new, unstoppable villain in The Torment. This issue, on the other hand, we have a whole series of uneventful events.  Aric sulks that he could do nothing to stop The Torment.  He rips Ninjak a new one for doing nothing when the Torment tore up the Visigoths.  While donning the X-O helmet, Aric has a vision of the Torment that reveals a little something to him, but not much to the audience.  A whole panel is dedicated to Gin-gr admiring a flock of seagulls.  And in the last two pages, the action hits.

I know the anticipation lies in the buildup to the big fiftieth issue, but this issue feels like such a placeholder that I wonder how the master storyteller Robert Venditti allowed this banal issue to slip by.  Don’t get me wrong: X-O, even at its lowest point (like this issue) far exceeds in quality over 95% of the books on the shelves.  But I know Venditti can do better than what happened in issue 48.

We, the readers, felt the dread and despair in the wake of the Torment’s attack last issue.  We did not need a whole chapter of X-O dedicated to Aric and the others sitting around and crying that they just got their asses handed to them.  For 47 issues Aric rose above the most insurmountable odds with a never-surrender attitude.  This version of the Visigoth king feels like a brooding and whiney individual.  If this is intentional for the sake of the upcoming events, then I applaud Venditti for developing a deeper side to Aric’s character and making him the modern equivalent to Odysseus lamenting over the need to go off and adventure.  Hell, Venditti is a great writer, and I will more than likely be eating my words.  For now, I just don’t get the point of X-O #48.

Because this book is so much better than so many comics out there, I have no basis for comparison of judgment, save for other issues in this series.  Therefore, compared to other X-O chapters, issue 48 struggles from lack of any action that propels the plot or explores character.

Achieving one issue of a comic is a milestone.  Getting to number fifty deserves accolades, especially when the book redefines the action comic genre.  But I will not let Venditti off the hook when he offers a placeholder episode like this.  Work up to a big story milestone, like you have done before, Mr. Venditti.  Do not temper your pacing with such a lull prior to the big moment.  Build action with action.  You have achieved it so well before, don’t let us down now.

[su_box title="Score: 3/5" style="glass" box_color="#8955ab" radius="6"]

X-O Manowar #48 Writer: Robert Venditti Artist: Joe Bennett Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: Detective Comics #937

I wasn’t overly enamoured with the last issue of Detective Comics, ‘ole Uncle Bats has got himself into a bit of a bind, imprisoned by The Batmen in some sort of Batcave replica.  The slightly anticlimactic reveal at the end of the last installment was that Batwoman’s father, General Kane, was behind these copy-bats (cue the groan) heading the organisation known only as The Colony.

There were some improvements in this week’s issue I must say, the action was ratcheted up and there were some nice little moments in there, like when the Batmen explore the depths of Batman’s utility belt, which appears to have an almost limitless arsenal as countless weapons, gadgets and gizmos clang onto the floor.  It seems Batman employs some sort of nth dimension, space-folding technology!

This issue is titled "The Great Escape" and staying true to its name we do see Batman escape in spectacular trademark fashion, although it only grants him a brief reprieve.  After a run-in with both The Colony’s resident computer hacker and General Kane himself, the caped crusader learns the Batmen’s true purpose: to stop the League of Shadows!  Well now I’m interested!  The whole arc felt very silly and implausible in the previous issue but more detail is offered here to help plug the holes in the story.

We also get to see the understated brilliance of Red Robin as he reveals the new lair he built in the ruins of Gotham’s failed underground transport system.  He’s even taken a page from Elon Musk’s book and built himself a bullet train!  This thing can rocket the team across the city at twenty times the speed of the Batmobile!

Awesome.  I love it.  I want one.

Finally, I am still in love with the art in this book.  Martinez and Fernández are a match made in heaven to me.  The shading and textures are superb and help add depth to the story as it unfolds, even little details are not overlooked like the grizzly stubble on Batman’s face after his time in captivity.  Patrizio’s colours help finish things off nicely too, at times they are quite bright and in your face, but only to serve as a contrast to the moodier, darkened backdrops.  Finish this all off with the improved storytelling from Tynion and we’ve got ourselves a pretty decent book here folks.  Fans of the series are certain to continue with it but I don’t think it’s necessarily strong enough on it’s own to warrant your precious gold coins.  Damn it though if I’m not intrigued about where this book might be heading, particularly with the League of Shadows lurking.

But will our ragtag band of heroes be enough to stop them?

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Detective Comics #937 Writer: James T Tynion IV Artist: Alvaro Martinez & Raúl Fernández Colorist: Marilyn Patrizio Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: How to Survive in the North

Why is it that stories of Arctic exploration are so endlessly compelling? Well, it’s because they manage to hit so many dramatic points all at once: survival, endurance, tragedy, hubris, cunning, and heroism. They’re good stories because you can find a little bit of everything in them, or if you’re looking for some particular theme or emotion, they can be a treasure trove. How to Survive in the North looks at two real-life stories that happened at the same place, Wrangel Island, in 1914 and 1921, and the impact that those two stories had on a man going through a mid-life crisis. Sullivan Barnaby is a professor at Dartmouth University forced into a mandatory sabbatical after a scandal compromises his position as a teacher. Left with nothing to do, he stumbles across the letters of a former professor, Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Stefansson believed that people could survive nearly indefinitely on meat and blubber, and sponsored two expeditions to Wrangel Island, one in 1914 and one in 1921. Both of these expeditions ran into trouble because of inadequate preparations and rash planning, and it fell to two different people, Robert Barnett and Ada Blackjack, to try and hold everything together. By going through these two stories, Barnaby begins to understand how survival in the face of doom might have lessons for his own life.

To be honest, I was a sucker for this story from the get-go. I grew up on the stories of Ernest Shackleton, intoxicated by the idea of surviving something that would kill just about anybody else (myself included). The fact that this book tells not one but two of those kinds of stories, both appropriately grounded in the history, is an easy way to win me over. The improbable coincidence that Wrangel Island became home to two expeditions, both sponsored by the same man, with one of the same men in both, is just too good. Robert Barnett’s trip across the ice of the Bering Sea to find help sounds like an impossible feat; so does Ada’s survival, considering that she had no training as a hunter or explorer. The fact that it’s also about an academic who stumbles across a riveting story hits a little close to home for me.

But it goes a bit deeper than just recounting an admittedly gripping story by giving us Barnaby’s perspective. Barnaby’s life is empty once he’s separated from his work, and apart from a profoundly troubled relationship he’s as alone as Robert or Ada. His immediate parallel in the tale is Stefansson, whose office he shares. Stefansson was a man who seemingly became addicted to a bad idea (easy living in the far north) and kept trying to make it work, even though his expeditions lacked what they needed to survive. Overconfidence and commitment to a cause can be a dangerous combination, and Barnaby gradually learns from Stefansson that you need to recognize when a bad idea is a bad idea.

Indeed, you could read a lot of this story as a warning to people to recognize when a situation is dangerous. Both Robert and Ada have misgivings about their respective expeditions, but go along with them anyway. Fred Maurer, one of the sailors in the 1914 expedition, returns for the 1921 expedition. Why? Surely he knew exactly how dangerous it would be, probably much better than Stefansson, but he let himself get talked into it by Stefansson because he was “a nice guy.”

If on the one hand the story is critical of its protagonists for going along with something they knew could work out badly, it also is a reminder that loneliness isn’t such a bad thing. There are a multitude of reasons why so many people seemingly become addicted to Arctic exploration (people beyond the scope of this story, like Robert F. Scott or Roald Amundsen): challenge, the thrill of survival, a determination to make a name for themselves…But there’s also something about being alone with yourself that ends up being weirdly invigorating for some of the characters here. It’s not to say that running away from other people is the ticket to survival, because people who do that in this book end up dead. But knowing when to rely on yourself is its own strength, which harkens back to why these stories are interesting in the first place.

This is a worthwhile read, both because of the story and its meta-story about loneliness and endurance. This is the kind of historical fiction I want to see people writing, because it also challenges the reader to understand why they find it compelling in the first place.

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How to Survive in the North Writer: Luke Healy Artist: Luke Healy Publisher: Nobrow Comics Price: $22.95 Format: TPB [/su_box]

Review: Zoe Dare vs. The Disasteroid #2

On the great looking cover, Zoe rolls up her sleeves and looks as though she’s ready to tussle with that blasted Disasteroid.  Inside, however, we get more of the problems that plagued the first issue.  Book one of the series lacked its own identity.  With the second book opening and continuing to feel like Michael Bay’s Armageddon, I instantly see that issue two won’t be a big improvement over the first. Zoe, an accomplished stuntwoman living in her dead father’s shadow, gets asked to lead a space mission to the invading Disasteroid.  Assisted on Earth by her sister, Danni, Zoe contends with a rival stuntman and some nasty aliens.

The same problem of using clichéd plot and humor elements continues with the portrayal of the rest of the cast.  Two robots counterparts provide the comedy relief although the on-going hash-tag joke doesn’t work the first time or the four more times it is tried.  And the main alien’s use of the word “awesomesauce” deflated the threat level of the antagonist that a character like Zoe deserved.

Some of the artwork looks great.  I think Danni has a pronounced look with her pink mohawk.  However, one illustration of the character Winfield portrayed the man with so big a head I thought him to be one of the invading aliens. And those aliens still look like flat cast-offs from a Daft Punk video.

I am such a fan of the great idea behind a daredevil heroine, but the execution in the series falls flat.  Zoe does not get to use any qualities of being a daredevil on her space exploration.  Her adversaries do not offer the needed conflict that would better define her character.  The peripheral characters feel like throw away jokes that are unfunny and unnecessary.

There is a wonderful potential to this comic to be fun and humorous and crazy.  Unfortunately, this series does not recognize any of that potential.

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Zoe Dare vs. The Disasteroid #2 Writer: Brockton McKinney Artist: Andrew Herman Publisher: Action Lab Entertinament Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

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Review: Red Hood and The Outlaws: Rebirth #1

The new Red Hood and The Outlaws eh?  I confess to never having read the New 52 version. To be honest, I didn’t hear great things but my word this first Rebirth issue impressed me… Like the other premier Rebirth titles, this sets up Red Hood in the new, silver age styled status quo and from the very first breathtaking splash page I was hooked.  This felt like Gotham and despite not being a Batman book, the caped crusader was rendered beautifully by Dexter Soy.  I feel compelled to see more of his work after this.  Thank goodness this is the beginning of our new Red Hood then!

Scott Lobdell retells the story of Jason Todd, the destruction of Robin at the hands of The Joker, and the inevitable creation of Red Hood.  You could argue there was no need for this but there’s a deftness of touch to the storytelling that makes you not care that you’re reading it again.  I recently caught a fan-made video on YouTube about Red Hood, it was dark and gritty, the character so tortured and conflicted, and I absolutely loved it.  That same feel was present here in superb comic book form.

There is a lot of jumping back and forth in time as this first story unfolds and it can feel a little jerky at times.  Still, it helps provide context to our anti-hero, his raison d’etre as he seemingly guns down the Mayor of Gotham in front of Batman.  Of course things are not always as they seem...I won’t spoil it for you either, this is one you need to see for yourself.

The action scenes are punchy and beautifully rendered, the Joker scene gave me chills as each carefully constructed panel came together with well-lettered, well-written dialogue.  And the mood of some of the full page panels is just eye-poppingly, draw-droppingly fantastic that it makes me wish Dexter Soy was pencilling the core Batman series himself.  Mr. Soy where have you been all my life?  I tip my cap to you Sir.

Let’s not forget the sublime work of Veronica Gandini: the darkened skies of Gotham, the textured shadows that fall across Batman’s cowl, my word it’s all just visually stunning.  The only downside, if you can even call it one is that perhaps Batman is rendered with more vivid detail than our core protagonist but I’m just nitpicking now.  This book is beautiful.

As for the plot, well not a lot has been revealed by Scott Lobdell, yet. This is just the set-up, the stage upon which Jason Todd’s story will be told, and what a stage it is.  This is certainly one to check out, even if you’re not a fan of Red Hood, or you are but hated the New 52 work, do yourself a huge favour and pick this one up.

Don’t let anything stand in your way...

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Red Hood and The Outlaws: Rebirth #1 Writer: Scott Lobdell Artist: Dexter Soy Colorist: Veronica Gandini Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital [/su_box]

Review: Godzilla: Oblivion #5

I wasn’t that big a fan of the character art for this series.  The cartoonish look that seemed to be rough pencil sketches felt more like storyboards than comic book panels.  The one illustration of Gino-Godzilla looked like he was constipated and trying hard to relieve himself.  But the image of King Caesar sitting atop broken buildings as though they were forming a throne redeemed the entire issue for me. The other way the art betrayed the nature of the book is at the conclusion to the series.  I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what the hell happened at the climax.  I have reread the damn thing five times and still cannot make out what the ending to the Oblivion storyline.  The humans made a very drastic decision to their kaiju problem, which made for a great WTF moment that I thoroughly enjoyed.   But the last five panels were so damn cryptic (and not in the Stanley Kubrick/Christopher Nolan kind of way) that I left the book unsure of the definitive story.

Let me say this: Joshua Fialakov took a big risk with making the end to this series so amazing in its severity.  I liked the pacing in the last issue and the build up to this final issue.  However, for the grim nature of such a book, more defined artwork would have added gravitas and tone to its ending.  The art was great, and the story was great.  But the two did not work together for the sake of this series.

I believe the ending lead into the next series Godzilla: Rage Across Time, but I am not sure because those last five panels made no sense in their sequential storytelling.  For me, this ending proved to be a let down compared to the enjoyment of the previous issues.

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Godzilla: Oblivion #5 Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov Artist: Brian Churilla Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

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Review: The Flash #3

I’m a self-confessed fan of The Flash, it’s in my bio for this site and as a fan I must say I was rather disappointed in this issue. Titled "Speed City," this instalment shows us Central City ravaged by the after-effects of a Speed Force storm that created new speedsters absolutely everywhere, and now they’re racing through the streets.  Of course, not all wish to use their newfound powers for good. Some rob banks, cause mayhem etc, etc, ad nauseam…

This is actually my biggest gripe with the book. The writing is just lazy: it doesn’t feel grown up at all as it retests tired old tropes and lackluster dialogue.  Why must we have page after page of The Flash talking to himself?  I know maybe they’re trying to re-establish him in the events of Rebirth but this is not the way to do it.  Rather than feeling like the Barry Allen I (and many others) know and love, he feels like a scarlet cliche, quipping out tiring one-liners about justice and doing the right thing.  The key to showing these qualities is through nuance and subtlety, not repeatedly stating them outright.

My eyes often rolled as I followed Barry and his new partner August across the city as they try to contain the outbreak.  S.T.A.R Labs are even involved now, it appears they’ve set up a speedster training facility to help the good ones come to terms with their powers.  A neat idea but poorly executed here.  The only saving grace is the art from Carmine Di Giandomenico, which offers us some superb depictions of The Flash at times. It reminded me a lot of the previous Flash: Rebirth title from Geoff Johns.  Even here, though, things are still a little hit and miss. the art isn’t consistent and at times our lovable Scarlet Speedster seems to have legs that stretch a city block.  Plascencia’s colours make up for this, his work is almost hypnotic at times, it makes me want to look at each page for longer and just soak it all in.  Plus there are a few full-page panels that pull together these creator’s talents beautifully, just take a look at the last page where we see an exceptionally well-drawn character and new villain of the piece.

There are a few other things to like in this issue but they are few and far between. Flash’s new partner, August, is drawn brilliantly and almost has a Hugo Strange like vibe on some panels.  There’s also a touching moment between The Flash and a little girl desperately wrestling with her new speed powers, unable to control them.  Barry kneels down next to her and with great compassion talks her through it, showing her a little exercise she can use to help regain control.  I found this especially touching and was this book’s best representation of the speeding hero I love.  Please give us more of this Williamson!  I beg you, you really nailed it there.

If you’re a fan of The Flash, you’ll probably keep reading these new Rebirth titles regardless of their faults but there are others in the new lineup more deserving of your money.  This is a story that could go somewhere but it’s got a lot to show me yet.

Just keep running, Barry.  Run, Barry, run.

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The Flash #3 Writer: Joshua Williamson Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico Colorist: Ivan Plascencia Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital [/su_box]

Review: Fun Adventure Comics #1

The comic with the worst title I've read since G: Honor and Curse ends up being the best entry in throwback anthology comics I've read in a while. I've been cautious of Will Lill Comics since their initial entries to superhero comics seemed not much more than forced attempts at nostalgia publishing, but Fun Adventure Comics actually features some decent storytelling told in an intentionally retro style with unusually quality art to match. Color me surprised folks. The book is divided into three stories, the first being "Alex Miracle," a throwback atomic age hero story about a dimension hopping hero in the vein of galactic expatriates like Flash Gordon. The story when broken down is incredibly simple and doesn't feature much in the way of excitement, but it properly mimics an older style of writing in ways that go beyond the purely superficial. It's a script that actually has the pacing and language of a vintage Marvel story like early Kirby/Lee Fantastic Four, impressively authentic in places. The art by Ernest Edwards, David Vance, and Warren Montgomery isn't a dead ringer for the art of the 50's and 60's, but utilizes a pretty good mimic of Marvel Method panel composition and has a poppy aesthetic that is pleasing to read. It's hard to tell stories that authentically feel like the could have come from a different era, and while the value of that kind of intentional recreation is debatable, the quality here is actually impressive to me. Cheers.

Story two, "The Midnight Stranger" is the oddity, as it is the only story in the book that explicitly isn't a self-contained narrative. A weird blend of cosmic superhero mythology and EC Horror, the story is easily the most modern in aesthetic and the most out of place in this retro anthology. It isn't bad per se, but the art fluctuates wildly near the middle, and the beat it ends on is a headscratcher in terms of tone and storytelling. Almost intriguing, but the gaps that left me curious could easily just be bad writing.

The final story, the most complete and likeable of the bunch, slides the throwback forward in time to the sci-fi comics of the 70's, with a story that reads like Heavy Metal lite. "Captain Jain Marlee" is a quick sci-fi mystery with a surprisingly clever key to the who-dunnit, even if the culprit is guessable for other reasons. Again, the art has strong old-fashioned composition, recalling but not recreating the visual style of another age. Ron Fortier lends the short some nice personality and humor, making me hope that in future issues of 'Fun Adventure' we might get more stories set in Marlee's universe.

Fun Adventure Comics may not linger strongly in my brain by the end of the year, but this is a comic designed like many failures but somehow succeeding and looking more confident than a lot of their small-publisher competitors. Retro is hard and often a lazy patch for a lack of forward gazing creativity, but here it is a comfortable if slight guilty pleasure, administered to visually by some talented artists. I'll be interested to see where this book goes in the future, and that is praiseworthy enough for me.

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Fun Adventure Comics #1

Writers: Lloyd Smith, Ron Fortier

Artist: Ernest Edwards, Joe Koziarski, Luis Rivera

Publisher: Will Lill Comics

Price: $3.99 (P), $.099 (D)

Format: Print/Digital

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Review: Future Quest #3

Issue three takes the story back prior to the events of issue two.  Birdman encounters Omnikron for the first time, and he gets some help from secret agent Deva Sumadi.  She’s a saving grace for the avian hero.  The second half shifts to an exposition of the Herculoids and their human friends’ world.  From Zandor’s tale, readers get the origins of the menacing Omnikron. The success of the first two books came from two critical areas: one, the heroes worked together as a team or in pairings, and, two, the heroes revealed themselves as the action progressed forward.  While the shift back in narrative does aid the story, the explication grinds the plot and slows down the momentum developed in the first two books.

Issue three feels like it would be a zero issue or a preview comic used to build hype for the series.  The action does entertain and the story revelations have interesting, grave impact on the story.  But this is just one of those issues that’s a necessity for storytelling purposes yet a drag as far as the delivery of the overall plot is concerned.

As one familiar with some of the artistic styling of 70's Silver Age comics, I am pleased with the illustrations in Future Quest.  Steve Rude’s dedication to the character designs complements the presentation of the framing in the panels and narrative boxes.  I did find myself staring at some pages and marveling how they fool the eye in thinking one is reading a vintage comic.

Jeff Parker did an outstanding job with this issue, but this is one of those chapters that fills in back story.  I know there’s a better way to tell the tale.  My scoring on this issue does not mean I have lost favor with the crossover; instead, I merely hate this technicality in story crafting that breaks momentum for the sake of issue 3.

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Future Quest #3 Writer: Jeff Parker Artist: Steve Rude Publisher: DC Comics Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

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Review: Spirit's Destiny #1

Grammar and spelling is extremely important in resumes. It's a common understanding that when sorting through job applications most employers will immediately toss resumes that have common grammatical errors or poor formatting without actually checking the individual's qualifications. There is so much material that crosses their desk it becomes a matter of simply weeding out that which doesn't meet minimum standards first, an immediate reinforcement of the quality an employee is expected to adhere to. As a critic, I am not an authority. I don't make or break comics, especially the indiest of indies, as many of my reviews of self published books that don't get a push from an already well known creator won't even break 100 views. In this way, the employer metaphor doesn't completely carry through, but reading Spirit's Destiny I could relate to that mentality. So many books come across my table, big and small, that to open a book and the very first thing I see is a period at the end of a question sentence makes me want to stop reading and just review that mistake. But I read on anyway and found the same mistake repeated twice on page 20.

This isn't even a terrible book. It's painfully generic from a storytelling perspective: high-school girl who nobody understands has a mysterious past that will eventually result in her uncovering superhero-ey abilities after a laboratory accident. There are some irritating shortcuts in the plotting, and nothing insightful about Destiny's character to overlook her mostly bratty teenager personality, but the comic is paced out slowly enough to let the book breath in a way I appreciated. The art isn't terrible either. It's sporadic in quality, the linework starting off well but dipping suddenly in places. Colorwork, as seems to be expected, isn't unreadable but doesn't help, smudging everything out with mismatched grays and browns. Reading indie superhero books will make you hate superheroes but this one is just forgettable, not actively terrible. I will, however, probably remember this one at least faintly, for the previously mentioned reason.

Making a glaring grammatical error in the very first two lines of text on the introductory interior page of a book is bad. Having worked with my fair share of self-publishing superhero creators, I know the long term goal for most of them is franchising. I worked with one writer who promised that I wouldn't have any trouble making money from collaborating with him because as soon as the book hit it would be snatched up for a movie deal and an animated series within the month. To begin with, it is delusional to believe there is a huge appetite for self-published superhero books out there. The major non-Big Two superhero titles of the last ten to twenty years having largely come from working Marvel and DC writers with pre-existing fanbases. Far safer bets are made with post-apocalyptic stories or are female-oriented magical dramedies. Second, I can't remember an original superhero pitch that actually struck me as having potential since John Pross's Posers universe (which is largely why I tried to help make that thing go for two years), nearly every book being some Sweded version of Bendis's Ultimate Spider-Man or a Frank Miller influenced Punisher/Batman/Spawn clone. It's the comic industry equivalent of scratching lotto tickets.

I am a critic. My voice and influence is limited. I do not make or break books, so I don't act as the arbitrating figure of the employer in my opening metaphor. It's not in my power to influence, only to assess and voice opinion in a public forum. However, if the goal is to make one's fortune on the back of another caped crusader, do you know who does act as the avatar of said employer? Studios. Editors. Television executives. Anyone you would seek to impress, to sell your wildly original ideas to, to astound with the biggest industry flipping product since The Tick. They might not be in the habit of handing out golden tickets, but they are watching, they might even pick up your book. And if the very first thing they see leap out at them, as it did to me, on the opening page of your punchy-cape opus is a basic punctuation error? The book might as well had never passed into their hands.

Review copy provided by Indie Stash

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Spirit's Destiny #1

Writers: Lloyd Smith, Ron Fortier

Artist: Ernest Edwards, Joe Koziarski, Luis Rivera

Self-Published

Format: Print/Digital

Indie Stash Website

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SINATORO + Universal TV: Grant Morrison, Vanesa Del Rey team with Weitz Bros for TV series

Universal Television, Depth Of Field, and Black Mask Studios are going out to directors with a drama TV series based on the forthcoming Black Mask comic SINATORO by Grant Morrison and Vanesa R. Del Rey from a pilot script byAmerican Odyssey and Heroes' Adam Armus & Kay Foster and Morrison. Depth Of Field's Andrew Miano, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz and Black Mask Studios' Matt Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz will executive produce with Armus, Foster, Morrison,Kristan Morrison and Adam Egypt Mortimer. The team intends to partner with a director and then take to buyers with the studio. The comic book series SINATORO tells of a soldier on a strange mission that takes him into a sinister landscape of American mythologies, melding the Tibetan Book of the Dead with the Great American Road Movie for Morrison's masterwork on Life, Death, and America. Armus, Foster, and Morrison's script is a faithful adaptation of the long anticipated work that has been a passion project of Morrison's for years.

According to Morrison, "Sinatoro reimagines American pop culture as a whole new mythology. It's about life, death, sex, romance and everything in between.  This is one of my favorite stories and I'm excited to see it finding new life as a television series where we have more opportunity and potential to develop the ideas and characters."

"Grant, Mortimer, and I have been discussing SINATORO since as far back as 2012,"said Pizzolo. "The question was always how to build a canvas big enough to faithfully encompass the brilliant world Grant had envisioned. This has become a shared obsession over years with more and more creative collaborators falling in love with Grant's vision and diving in to help build it. Bringing on Depth Of Field and finding the incredible Adam and Kay were the critical components that finally brought this mad vision into reality. It's a true blessing to get to work with such a world-class team on such an ambitious adventure."

SINATORO Written by: Grant Morrison Illustrated by: Vanesa R. Del Rey Comic Book to debut in 2017

Review: Assassin's Creed #10

I have always been interested in the Assassin’s Creed lore. Oddly enough, never interested enough to play the games, but interested enough to think that the story might be really good in book form. Assassins’ Creed #10 is good in book form. However, that’s about as much as I can say. Granted, I jumped into this series with the tenth issue, so obviously I don’t have the same level of investment as someone who has been with this series from the start has. With that said, from a completely neutral standpoint, the story of this issue was nothing special. Opening with an Animus-like dive that sees Charlotte reliving the memories of her ancestor, Quila.

This story takes up the majority of the book, and thankfully is the better of the two tales contained. We start out with a classic execution scene, thrust into some bloody action as Quila is saved by her husband. The art looks great throughout this half of the book. Vibrant colors and well-drawn, expressive faces make for a story I wouldn’t mind seeing continued in earnest. Neil Edwards does an amazing job here, but he is not without fault.

However, after the opening pages, this story gets a bit confusing. The main problem is a lack of distinguishing characters. Even major characters like the Emperor of Cuzco, Ayer, and his father look to similar. In addition, characters seem to appear out of nowhere (or maybe they were there, and you couldn’t tell who they were, but they were apparently important).

This took away from my enjoyment of the book and sadly came a time when the book was just about to hit its low point for me. Charlotte has a pretty typical story from what I’ve seen so far. So typical, no lie, I guessed the big reveal maybe three pages into her half of the book, when she mentioned her family.

The art also takes on a decidedly more…ugly look. Quite frankly that’s the only way I can say it. The faces of the characters look ugly. Even the fantastic writing that was done by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery in the first half of the book felt off and the humor fell flat when attempted.

After narrowly avoiding a fate that looks like it was inspired by a scene from the latest episode of Mr. Robot, our team of modern-day Assassins make their way to Argentina to find answers, but first, an uninspired reveal!

There’s really not much to say. This book was literally half good, half bad. Maybe it’s the material? Maybe Charlotte is lacking something Aquila carries in spades? Either way, I can’t say I’m looking forward to Charlotte's continued adventures. Both women will play a role in this book moving forward, but considering one has already lived her life, the main character (Charlotte) is typically going to be the focus, and that's just not an appealing thought that would keep me reading.

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Assassin's Creed #10 Writer: Anthony Del Col, Conor McCreery Artist: Neil Edwards Publisher: Titan Comics Price: $3.99 Format: Print, Digital Ongoing [/su_box]

'Mirror' Trade Coming in September

Emma Ríos (PRETTY DEADLY, I.D.) and Hwei Lim (Lalage, Hero) team up for MIRROR: THE MOUNTAIN, collecting the first five issues of the otherworldly fantasy into trade paperback this September. The mage-scientists of The Synchronia have terraformed a portion of an asteroid, a tiny fragment of a once lush world. An unexpected side effect arises in the spontaneous sentience of the animals sent to test the environmental conditions. This is the story of what happens next. MIRROR: THE MOUNTAIN includes 180 pages of story, world-building mini-comics, and extras.

MIRROR: THE MOUNTAIN TP (ISBN: 9781632158345) hits comic book stores Wednesday, September 14th and bookstores Tuesday, September 20th, and will be available for $14.99. It can be ordered by retailers with Diamond code: MAY160680. It can be preordered now via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and Indigo.

Saga Returns on August 8th

Award-winning creative team of Brian K. Vaughan (PAPER GIRLS, WE STAND ON GUARD) and Fiona Staples (Archie, North 40) will launch the eagerly anticipated seventh chapter in the multiple Eisner Award-winning series SAGA this August. Previously in SAGA, Hazel tackled kindergarten—her biggest adventure yet—while her family went up against some difficult lessons of their own.

In SAGA #37, finally reunited with her ever-expanding family, Hazel travels to a war-torn comet that Wreath and Landfall have been battling over for ages. To celebrate the arrival of the most epic arc yet, Fiona Staples graces this issue with a gorgeous wraparound cover!

“There’s a flood of new #1 issues out right now, but with this self-contained SAGA ‘event,' Fiona and I hope to tell the kind of deeply emotional epic that you can only get from an ongoing series at the ripe old age of 37,” said Vaughan. “The War for Phanghas huge stakes and will create permanent, real changes for Hazel and her family. Get ready."

SAGA #37 (Diamond code: JUN160601) hits comic book stores Wednesdsay, August 31st. Final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, August 8th.

SDCC 2016: Hookjaw Resurfaces at Titan Comics

Titan Comics are thrilled to announce the release of a brand-new Hookjaw mini-series, the publisher announced at Friday's San Diego Comic Con Diamond Retailer presentation. Hitting stores in December 2016, the five issue mini-series is written by comics fire-cracker Si Spurrier (Cry Havoc, Weavers, Doctor Who, Numbercruncher) and illustrated by rising star Conor Boyle, with colors by Giulia Brusco and edited by legendary British comics editor and marine life expert artist, Steve White.

The mini-series is set to be an intense modern iteration of the titular ocean predator, which debuted in legendary British comic (and forerunner to 2000AD) Action #1. Initially inspired by the success of the film, Jaws, Hookjaw was one of many Action strips so violent it was banned from the shelves upon release!

“I've wanted to do a Hookjaw story as long as I've been making comics,” gushed A-list writer Si Spurrier. “Social, complex, intelligent and exceptionally good at what it does, today's Hookjaw arrives like a shadow amidst a catalogue of zoologists, soldiers, spies and Somali Pirates. Every person involved thinks they're the hero of the story. They're all wrong.”

As the series synopsis indicates, this creative team are pushing this new iteration into completely uncharted water.

Off the coast of Somalia, a rag-tag group of marine scientists are studying the Virgin Brides, a pack of female great white. What secrets are laying at the bottom of the Indian Ocean? And just how will they face up to the shadowy terror of the legendary great white – HOOKJAW?!

Hookjaw #1 will be on sale in comic stores and digital devices from December 2016 and is available to order from the October edition of PREVIEWS.

VIZ Media Joins CBLDF As Corporate Member, Co-Releases Manga Book Club Resource

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to welcome VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the premier publisher, distributor and licensor of Japanese and global content in North America, as the organization’s newest corporate member! VIZ Media additionally supports CBLDF by this week co-releasing the Manga Book Club Handbook, a resource designed to help libraries and retailers unite their communities over manga! Digital copies of the handbook are available at http://cbldf.org/resources/manga-book-club-handbook/ and at CBLDF booth 1918 at San Diego Comic-Con! "We are proud to support Comic Book Legal Defense Fund by becoming a corporate member," says Kevin Hamric, VIZ Media Senior Director. "Their proactive initiatives to inform and educate the public about manga, and their efforts as an advocate for readers, educators, and retailers of all types make them a vital organization. We are proud to contribute to their work!"

Founded in San Francisco in July 1986, VIZ Media is dedicated to bringing the finest in manga, anime, and global entertainment to English-speaking audiences around the world. The company’s success reflects the massive and enduring popularity the genres enjoy among fans of all ages. VIZ Media has the largest library of any English publisher, and is focused on diversifying its award-winning catalog with licensed properties outside of the manga and anime sphere, as well as developing its own original content.

CBLDF provides legal and educational resources to protect the freedom to read comics. The organization is a partner in Banned Books Week, the Kids’ Right to Read Project, Free Comic Book Day, and other national institutions that support intellectual freedom and literacy. CBLDF’s work extends from courtrooms to classrooms to conventions, and CBLDF defends the freedom to read by providing letters of support in book challenges, challenging unconstitutional legislation, and delivering lectures and programs about current and historical censorship to audiences all over the world.

CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein says, "VIZ Media changed the face of pop culture in the United States with its robust efforts to bring a broad range of manga and anime material to our shores. Their support of CBLDF bolsters our efforts to advance appreciation and understanding of comics of all kinds, and enables us to be more proactive in our efforts protecting the freedom to read! We are grateful to have them among our ranks as a corporate member!"

VIZ Media stands beside Abrams, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, BOOM! Studios, comiXology, Dark Horse Comics, DC Entertainment, DCBS.com, Diamond Comic Distributors, Half Price Books, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Oni Press, Neverwear, Penguin Random House, ReedPOP, Scholastic, SPX, TFAW.com, Valiant, and the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation as a corporate member supporting CBLDF’s important work.