Daniel Vlasaty 6/14/17 Daniel Vlasaty 6/14/17

Review: Regression #2

By Daniel Vlasaty

Life has not gotten any easier for Adrian. If anything, it’s actually gotten worse. After his past-life regression therapy in issue #1, his nightmares are worse and his life around them is starting to fall apart too. There are more bugs and more visions and the horror is getting more and more real for our main boy. Cullen Bunn and Danny Luckert are building something here and it’s creeping and violent. The second issue of Regression is a strong follow up to what I thought was a great first issue and I am looking forward to continue reading this series.

Dustin Cabeal 6/14/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/14/17

Review: Golden Kamuy vol. 1

By Dustin Cabeal

There’s gold in them thar hills… as they say. Golden Kamuy is a period story set after the Russo-Japanese War. I’m not big on period fiction unless it’s an era I particularly enjoy and so I wasn’t leaping up and down like a mad prospector for Golden Kamuy. It did entertain me as I read through its pages.

Dustin Cabeal 6/14/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/14/17

Review: Jimmy’s Bastards #1

By Dustin Cabeal

This is an interesting comic to describe. There’s a hook to the first issue that is basically the selling point of the series. With that, it’s also all right there in the title, “Jimmy’s Bastards.” The title character’s name is Jimmy and using “Bastards” in the traditional sense means a child born out of wedlock. That’s all I’ll give you really about the hook, but it's humorous. It reminded me of another comic that tried something similar but failed miserably at it.

Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17

Valiant Announces Faith and the Future Force

Valiant is proud to present the first lettered look inside FAITH AND THE FUTURE FORCE #1 – the FIRST ISSUE of A SPECTACULAR SUMMER EVENT launching Faith out of her Eisner-nominated solo adventures and into the highest-stakes team-up history has ever known alongside Rai, X-O Manowar, the Harbinger Renegades, Timewalker, and a near-infinite army of the Valiant Universe’s greatest heroes of the present and future! On July 26th, the time stream gets turbulent as Eisner Award-nominated writer Jody Houser (FAITH, Mother Panic), explosive artist Stephen Segovia (WAR MOTHER, Action Comics) and comics legend Barry Kitson (HARBINGER, Fantastic Four) join forces to send Faith and Neela Sethi, Timewalker on a centuries-spanning rescue mission to save history from all-out eradication at the hands of a megalomaniacal intelligence too powerful for a single hero!

Press Release 6/13/17 Press Release 6/13/17

Visionary New Comic Book Series “SHED” Debuts June 13, 2017

Press Release

SHED, a captivating new creator-owned comic book series, takes readers on an epic journey in which Earth is shedding her Homo sapiens while breeding a new, skinless race called the Sarx. Possessing no visible traces of what is normally associated with race; like skin color, hair texture, and eyelid shape, the Sarx are denied basic human rights and treated like a vile and repugnant subculture, until the humans discover that their perceived enemy and the subject of their abusive torture, may be their only hope against mass extinction. SHED has officially debuted on the company’s website and is now available for digital download and purchase of print copies.

Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17

Trailer Time: In This Corner of the World

By Dustin Cabeal

Well apparently I'll be seeing an early preview of this film so when the trailer came to my inbox it was kind of a no-brainer to post on the site. In my early days of Comic Bastards, I would have already been on top of this in some attempt to add to the anime content on the site, but I'm tired and older now and realize that there's no beating or competing with the big sites when you're just one dude. But hey, you get to hear about this on the podcast and in a written review so soak it all in people.

Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17

Review: Haikyu!! Vol. 11

By Dustin Cabeal

One thing I didn’t take into account when I swore off reviewing Haikyu!! In manga format, was the possibility of it getting good. When last I left the series, I was kind of bored because the drama hinges on you not knowing what’s going to happen in the matches. It was too much for the first major arc as it stretched itself out a bit too much thanks to the shonen style. The battle between Karasuno and Blue Castle ends up feeling dull when going through it a second time. Perhaps the same will happen when Karasuno reaches its next big opponent, but I’ll have to wait and see.

Ben Boruff 6/13/17 Ben Boruff 6/13/17

Review: Josephine

By Ben Boruff

In a time of social media grandstanding and generally hollow conversations about urgent topics, perhaps a silent story is the best way to discuss concepts like racial prejudice. Josephine, a 132-page black-and-white graphic novel, is Kevin Sacco’s semi-autobiographical account of life in Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1960s, and it addresses issues like inequality and materialism with a style that is both delicate and direct.

Press Release 6/13/17 Press Release 6/13/17

For the first time ever in SYDNEY: The Ledger Awards for Excellence in Australian Comic Arts and Publishing

The Ledger Awards, established to acknowledge and promote excellence in comic book arts and publishing in Australia, will be held in Sydney for the first time, this Friday June 16 from 7pm at the St James Hotel (114 Castlereagh St, Sydney). Since their inauguration in 2005, previous awards events have been held in Melbourne. Fully independent and run as a not-for-profit annual celebration, they are named after the pioneering Australian cartoonist Peter Ledger (1945 – 1994). Sponsors of this year’s event include Kings Comics, Media Arts Lawyers, Jeffries Printing, Impact Comics, All Star Comics, The Periodic Table of Awesome.com and the Australian Cartoonists’ Association. The event is free to attend but capacity is limited; free tickets are available via the Ledger Awards’ facebook page and on Eventbrite.

Press Release 6/13/17 Press Release 6/13/17

Graphic Novel ‘The Rejected’ Coming Soon

Source Point Press is releasing a new horror graphic novel titled ‘The Rejected’, which is hitting stores this fall. An early limited edition variant cover was released at Motor City Comic Con in May and promptly sold out at the convention. Source Point Press and writer Stan Konopka will be giving one more chance at getting an early limited edition release with a special run of 100 Garden State Comic Fest exclusive covers that can be purchased at their convention July 8th and 9th. This variant cover will feature artwork by Keyla Valerio (the artist from the incredibly popular Source Point Press comic ‘The Séance Room’).

Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/13/17

Review: Food Wars! Vol. 18

By Dustin Cabeal

Bombshell, bombshell, bombshell… bombshell! There’s probably more than four bombshells in this volume, but you get the idea of just how important this volume is to the series. When last, we left Soma, he was facing off against the leopard tank top wearing douche in a rigged Shokugeki. Everything was on the line, but no true outcome insight.

Patrick Wolf 6/13/17 Patrick Wolf 6/13/17

Review: Unholy Grail # 1

By Patrick Wolf

We live in a generation that’s constantly craving new stories. We’ve all heard the tale of Hercules, Macbeth, and Cinderella so many times, we can practically recite them. So, if someone’s going to retell a classic, it better have a fresh spin on it if it’s going to pique our interest. Well, I’m happy to say this is exactly what Cullen Bunn does in his dark reimagining of the legend of King Arthur.

Press Release 6/12/17 Press Release 6/12/17

Yaoi Publisher SuBLime Debuts Manga Series FINDER

SuBLime, the leading global English-language yaoi manga publisher, announces a special re-release of internationally bestselling creator Ayano Yamane’s erotic underworld thriller FINDER.

Press Release 6/12/17 Press Release 6/12/17

Jhonen Vasquez Returns to Invader ZIM

Oni Press is excited to reveal that the next Invader ZIM comic, Invader ZIM #20, written by original creator Jhonen Vasquez, will be available June 14. The issue follows ZIM and GIR on their latest venture as they aim to accomplish… absolutely nothing. Vasquez expanded beyond his regular comic series role to write this brand-new issue. This news comes fresh off of Nickelodeon’s recent greenlight for an all-new, 90-minute Invader ZIM TV movie.

Dustin Cabeal 6/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/12/17

Traveling Stories To Offer Double SDCC Entries Until Wednesday

By Dustin Cabeal

You may have noticed the ad on the right-hand side that says, "Win Passes to San Deigo Comic-Con". Well, that ad is legit you can be entered to win passes to SDCC by donating to Traveling Stories an organization that wants to encourage literacy and fights poverty. I don't actually need to write this article, but I like their organization and they've made their initial goal of funding which is great, but they're close to being fully funded for a year, which will take care of over 500 kids. Here are some details:

Press Release 6/12/17 Press Release 6/12/17

DC COMICS: BOMBSHELLS RETURN TO COMBAT IN NEW SERIES ‘BOMBSHELLS UNITED’

The Nazi-punching fan-favorite heroes of DC Comics: Bombshells are returning for a brand-new digital-first series this August with BOMBSHELLS UNITED. Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Supergirl and more continue to fight the oppressors of World War II as they head to a new location—the United States! Writer Marguerite Bennett continues to pen the greatest roster of female Super Heroes alongside artist Marguerite Sauvage, who returns to the title for our first arc.

Press Release 6/12/17 Press Release 6/12/17

VIZ Media Details New June Digital Manga Titles

VIZ Media announces digital manga updates for June highlighted by several notable new series.

Readers will not want to miss June’s selection of new titles that includes MANGA IN THEORY AND PRACTICE: THE CRAFT OF CREATING MANGA by the famed creator of JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE, as well as the first volume of the coming-of-age urban drama, AFTER HOURS. The historical action-packed adventure series, GOLDEN KAMUY, and an endearing tale about a high school girl and her pet penguin in THE EMPEROR AND I also debut this month.

Press Release 6/12/17 Press Release 6/12/17

SCALES & SCOUNDRELS: an all-new all-ages fantasy series coming this September from Image Comics

Writer Sebastian Girner (SHIRTLESS BEAR-FIGHTER) and comics/storyboard artist Galaad team up with letterer/designer Jeff Powell for SCALES & SCOUNDRELS, a colorful fantasy tale for scoundrels of all ages this September.

Dustin Cabeal 6/12/17 Dustin Cabeal 6/12/17

Harbinger War 2 Has A Much Better Font Than Harbinger War 1

By Dustin Cabeal

These are teaser images so there's not a lot to say, but I do appreciate the crispness of that font. Otherwise, I'm just wondering how X-O grows that damn hand back and returns to earth in time for this event? Also, I fucking hope Livewire kills Bloodshot, that series has been shit since Swierczynski left.

Patrick Wolf 6/12/17 Patrick Wolf 6/12/17

Review: The Six Swords # 1

By Patrick Wolf

I normally have a soft spot for indie comic producers. I respect and admire such people, and so I naturally want to give them a good review. That said, I’m also a critic and I have a duty to provide my audience with an honest report—no matter how much I want the team behind the project to succeed. The Six Swords is, unfortunately, one of those projects that I just can’t get behind. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the worst thing I’ve read, but it definitely needs a lot more polish before I’m prepared to recommend it to the public.