Patrick Larose 9/28/16 Patrick Larose 9/28/16

Review: Head Lopper vol. 1

By Patrick Larose

Over the last half-decade whenever a comic has tried to tell a fantasy story in a fantasy setting, they’ve almost always strived towards reinvention and deconstruction. We can see this with Princeless’s deconstruction and critical eye towards the damsel-in-distress and princess tropes of classic fantasy, Saga’s visual reinvention of what exactly a Star Wars-fantasy setting can look like, and in Rat Queen’s self-aware Dungeon & Dragon’s campaign of a comic.

Mike Badilla 9/28/16 Mike Badilla 9/28/16

Review: M.A.S.K.: Revolution #1

By Mike Badilla

Let me start by stating that I'm not old enough to have played with or been a part of the original M.A.S.K. In fact, I may not have ever heard of the original series had it not been for my cousin, 6 or so years older than me, that had all the toys and would let me play with them when we would come to visit. I was instantly hooked on the idea of these different guys and girls getting these cool helmets and driving these cool transforming vehicles.

Laramie Martinez 9/28/16 Laramie Martinez 9/28/16

Review: Conan the Slayer #3

By Laramie Martinez

It is a well-established fact that Conan is at his best when he defeating his enemies. Seeing his enemies flee and hearing their women’s lamentations are excellent highlights, but the real meat of all Conan stories is in the heat of battle. Conan the Slayer #3 is a great example of the creators knowing what makes a good Conan comic. While not perfect, this is my favorite of the series so far. Cullen Bunn's pacing is excellent in this issue and Sergio Dalvia provides solid artwork with a couple impressive standout panels.

Mike Badilla 9/28/16 Mike Badilla 9/28/16

Review: Tank Girl: Gold #1

By Mike Badilla

We start off with the explanation that Sub-Girl has died, then came back from the dead but was not really 100%, then died again 15 minutes ago. Now we're on her sub, a bunch of Nazi gold in tow, and suddenly under attack by some kind of armed helicopter. Keep in mind this is issue 1, people. Was there a Tank Girl: Silver or something that came before that would give more backstory? No idea. The remaining girls don't know how to pilot the sub and suddenly, when it seems all is lost, Booga (some kind of kangaroo man) and another of the girls swoop in on a jet and destroy the chopper, all the while the girls on the sub accidentally electrocute Sub-Girls body, which brings her back to life, albeit with some memory loss.

Dustin Cabeal 9/28/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/28/16

Review: Tomboy #8

By Dustin Cabeal

I hate to say this, but this isn’t as strong of an issue as the previous one. There’s still a lot of good elements to this issue. Elements that overall I really enjoyed, but my gut tells me that a lot is missing from this issue. That it feels off compared to the other issues and I don’t know if that’s intentional or that the series needed to breathe after soaring so high for so long. I’ll tell you right now, as I’m typing this, I’m not sure what score I’ll settle on by the time I’m done. The issue picks up a short time later from the previous issue. Our newly introduced detective is still a bad ass, and her interrogation of Trent is pretty damn good. The way she tip-toes around the accusation she wants to make is impressive and believable.

Patrick Larose 9/28/16 Patrick Larose 9/28/16

Review: Batgirl #3

By Patrick Larose

There is so much I really like about this new Batgirl series. Rafael Albuquerque’s art is a must-see with his dynamic action scenes or the interesting and weird page layouts that demonstrate Barbara’s thought processes and movements. Dave McCaig’s colors have made these moments even more visually engaging with his attentive background color work.

Dustin Cabeal 9/28/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/28/16

Review: Snotgirl #3

By Dustin Cabeal

I’m torn. I’m all out of faith. This is how I feel… wait, no let’s just back up Natalie Imbruglia (90s darling) to “I’m torn” as in torn about how I feel on this issue. Because I have to wonder if this was any other series, if this was any other writer… would I have enjoyed it as much? And is that necessarily a bad thing? We all have our reader preferences, our blind spots, our irrational likes and dislikes so it’s really hard for me to say whether or not this is good because I liked it or if it’s good in spite of me liking it. And again, is there really a difference. The plot thickens the fuck up in this issue. The gist is that Lottie goes to an engagement party in the O.C. (which is as great as that fucking TV show makes it seem) and not one, but three things out of the ordinary happen. Perhaps the strangest is the return of Cool Girl… at the party… randomly. What Lottie doesn’t piece together is the fact that she knew about Cool Girl before her friends so how did Cool Girl get a rsvp to the party?

Chris Tresson 9/28/16 Chris Tresson 9/28/16

Review: Batman Beyond: Rebirth #1

By Chris Tresson

Here we have the rebirth issue of Batman Beyond from DC Comics, written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Ryan Sook. I’m quite fond of this version of Batman and have been since I was a kid watching the cartoon (though it was called Batman of the Future over here in the UK.) I enjoyed the last outing/series before Rebirth, so I figured I’d give this one a bash and see what’s up. With all the current books featuring Batman out right now, and the fact every one (except Detective Comics) is piss poor, I am in need of a decent Batman story. In this book, we’re given a bit of background/ a refresher on this incarnation of Batman via Terry McGinnis.

Robert Larson 9/28/16 Robert Larson 9/28/16

Review: Descender #15

By Robert Larson

Well, Descender picks up a little bit with this issue, though it’s not exactly by much. All it does is manage to avoid retreading familiar ground in the never-ending series of flashbacks postponing the revelation of Tim’s fate. Is it interesting? Not particularly, because what we some of what we could have easily guessed, and the other piece is somewhat interesting but ultimately rushed, so it doesn’t come with a whole lot of emotional payoff. Business as usual? I suppose, but that’s not a good thing for this book. At least we might finally be done with this flashback horse-hockey and get back to advancing the narrative. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers.

Chris Tresson 9/28/16 Chris Tresson 9/28/16

Review: Frostbite #1

By Chris Tresson

This week, I’m looking at the first issue of frostbite, a new science fiction story from Joshua Williamson and Jason Shawn Alexander which is being published by Vertigo. It’s something different from this publisher, I can’t remember the last Sci-fi Title I read from Vertigo…Nope. I was going to fill in what I thought it was right there but I still can’t think what it could've been. I’m going to say this is the first they’ve put out in a while. So it’s a step in a different direction for the moment for Vertigo but for comics as a whole, it’s just another drop in the ocean. Let’s get to it…

Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16

Review: Sun Dragon’s Song #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Being thrown into a world and story isn’t a bad thing as long as that world makes sense or is revealed throughout the story. When multiple aspects of the story aren’t explained or left intentionally vague, it strangely leaves you wishing for exposition.Sun Dragon’s Song has a few problems. The first being that the world isn’t very clear. There’s dragons; they eat crystals, and dragon riders patrol the border fending off the poor and starving. I get that much, minus the last bit. The character we follow is a young boy who needs a crutch to walk. We’re never told why he needs it, and we meet a bully that attempts to beat him up. It’s assumed that he’s done so on numerous other occasions which is just terrible to think about.

Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16

Review: Wergild Atlas #1

By Dustin Cabeal

Sci-fi is hard. Creating a world and establishing the rules of the world without info dumps or pages of exposition is one of the most difficult things to do when creating a sci-fi comic book. Wergild Atlas didn’t do any of this, but that doesn’t mean it was better for it. As far as I can tell, the story is about a civilization that lives in the sky. They all have wings and some of them race in the sky. This race seems to last the entirety of the story which personally would be very boring. It’s like watching chariot race now; it’s just kind of stupid looking. We learn that the sister of the star racer is for some reason jealous of the way the creepy one-eyed, old as fuck, the ruler is looking at her sister. I can’t imagine why since they look the same, but hey… the story continues.

Justin Wood 9/27/16 Justin Wood 9/27/16

Review: Speak No Evil #1

By Justin Wood

I used to like that Gotye song "Somebody That I Used To Know." Not passionately, but it came off less aggressively dumb than most of the music playing on commercial radio, something I wouldn't object to listening to when hopping around stations while driving. A perfectly inoffensive piece of mellow breakup music. Then radio, like it does all good music, decided to kill the song via overuse. That year of 2012, that song got comically overplayed, so much so that on one drive down from Virginia to North Carolina I made a game out of seeing how many times I could hear it while channel surfing. Familiarity bred contempt, and while no worse of a song, it is now firmly outside of my interest of ever hearing it again, and indeed it seems everyone agreed to just forget Gotye as an artist altogether. So what do you think Nikola Tesla and H.P. Lovecraft might have in common with Gotye?

Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16

Review: Eisenhorn: Xenos #0

By Dustin Cabeal

My name is Dustin, and I’m the reviewer for this comic book. Eisenhorn: Xenos is a game based off the novels by Dan Abnett that’s set inside the universe of another game. That game being Warhammer 40,000. I haven’t the foggiest about which of these the comic book is based on nor does it likely matter. At the end of the day, it’s either a comic based on a novel or a video game and that leaves the comic feeling weak in comparison. The comic opens up much like my opening. The main character Gregor Eisenhorn is holding a big fucking sword with some low current electricity around it and a gun with a skull on it.

Robert Larson 9/27/16 Robert Larson 9/27/16

Review: Lucas Stand #4

By Robert Larson

Lucas Stand just can’t seem to hit a winning formula in a given issue. In the first few issues, the central tension of working for hell and leaving behind a lot of collateral damage was undercut by the fact that some cheap writing undermined those consequences. For once, that’s not a problem here; instead, the basic premise of each has finally worn thin, so that all of the emotional baggage of Lucas with his father is so muted that it doesn’t evoke much response. In other words, too little, too late. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers here.

Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/27/16

Review: Archie Snufflekins Oliver Valentine Cupcake Tiberius Cat

By Dustin Cabeal

Having said this numerous times before I’m constantly forced to remind the audience of this site that I will read anything. I have read things that I have zero interest in and come away loving them and sometimes hating them still. The point being that for me to read a kid’s book isn’t uncommon even if this is your first time spotting one of them on the site. I’m telling you all this because I do tend to have a soft spot for them. Maybe it’s a misspent youth full of video games and TV, but I didn’t read a lot of books when I was a child, nor did my parents supply me with many. Whatever the reason, I enjoy checking them out.

Dustin Cabeal 9/26/16 Dustin Cabeal 9/26/16

The Only Merch from NYCC 2016 That I Care About... So Far

Press Release 9/26/16 Press Release 9/26/16

Spirit of the Staircase Collected and Syndicated on GoComics

Laramie Martinez 9/26/16 Laramie Martinez 9/26/16

Review: Troll Bridge

By Laramie Martinez

I first read Neil Gaiman’s “Troll Bridge” in college. I was waiting in a friend of a friend’s house, and while I silently judged my new acquaintance based upon the titles on their bookshelf, I noticed a copy of “Smoke and Mirrors” off in a corner. It turns out she had found it on the street and was happy to give it to me. This gesture greatly improved my opinion of her. Looking back, I remember the “Troll Bridge” as one of the stories that stuck in my head well after I had finished devouring the collection. I was in my early 20’s and had just tasted my first feelings of true regret and isolation. I remember relating to the narrator in a way that was almost uncomfortable.

Shanel Kamara 9/26/16 Shanel Kamara 9/26/16

Review: Hakuouki: Otogisoushi E.04

By Shanel Kamara

In this episode Chizuru's twin brother, Kaoru attempts to drive Chizuru into despair by stealing the gift - a packet of dango- she received from Kondou-san for her hard work. Despite Kaoru's sinister intentions, the plot he conjures up is tame, at best, and funny. I doubt a lost packet of dango could drive anyone to despair. Nevertheless, Kaoru's plan falls through, and he ends up praising his sister in spite of his failure to cause her grief.In the second half of this episode Chizuru (for some inexplicable reason) appears to be troubled (it’s not because of Kaoru's plan though).