
Review: Royal City #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Ah, Jeff Lemire. I'm sure that, for some, that's all they'll need to know to go out and pick this book up. After all, Lemire is both a talented artist and writer whose work is not dissimilar to that of Matt Kindt's (whom I talked about in my review of Dept. H #9). Although, I'm far more inclined to describe Kindt's work as being in the same vein as Lemire's than vice versa. Admittedly, I'm not quite as familiar with Lemire as I'd like to be. Most of what I've actually read from him has been the stuff he only wrote (a current example being Black Hammer, which has been awesome). I did pick up the first two "books" of A.D.: After Death, written by Scott Snyder with art by Lemire, but I've been waiting for the third and final one to come out so I can read them all back to back (a decision I back made when book 3 was still scheduled to come out in February). So when I saw Royal City listed on the spreadsheet, I jumped at the chance to read and review it.

Jeff Lemire's ROYAL CITY Interior Artwork Revealed
Press Release
Image Comics is pleased to reveal interior preview artwork from the forthcoming ROYAL CITY—a new ongoing monthly series written and illustrated by New York Times bestselling author Jeff Lemire (DESCENDER, Sweet Tooth) and set to launch in March 2017. First announced in Entertainment Weekly this Spring, ROYAL CITY promises to be a sprawling, serialized graphic novel that will chart the lives, loves, and losses of a troubled family and a vanishing town across three decades.

Review: Black Hammer Giant-Sized Annual #1
By Chris Tresson
I was very much looking forward to reviewing this book. As I'm probably not going to get another shot at reviewing any Black Hammer for Comic Bastards (Laramie Martinez has reviewed the series for CB thus far and I don't see him giving it up anytime soon!) I thought I'd take a shot at this giant-sized annual... This is my review of the Black Hammer Giant-Sized Annual, in stores this week from Dark Horse Comics.

Worst of 2016: Bloodshot Reborn/Bloodshot U.S.A.
Find out why Valiant Comics’ Bloodshot Reborn/Bloodshot U.S.A. made our “Worst of 2016” list.

Review: Black Hammer #6
By Laramie Martinez
I’m putting the bottom line at the top this week, this issue is a solid end to a great series. Last month we saw this creative team branch out in both structure and art style for the Colonel’s origin story, this issue dials back the weird and cranks up the eerie for the story of Madame Dragonfly. In a throwback to the Eerie and Creepy comics of old the team has managed to make another unique addition to the first arch. While the plot may not be a strong as some of the previous issues, there are a lot of things to like about Black Hammer #6.

Review: Bloodshot U.S.A #3
By Chris Tresson
Hello, Comic Bastards readers. I’m about to review Bloodshot U.S.A #3 from Valiant Entertainment. The last issue wasn’t all that great for me (from what I remember of it), and I really didn’t want to review this one because of that but I thought I’d give it a go anyways. Let’s see what Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite have in store for us with this one… Here we go.

After Reborn and USA, Comes Bloodshot Salvation
Press Release
As revealed today at Newsarama, Valiant is proud to announce BLOODSHOT REBORN #0 – a stunning and essential zero-issue turning point coming in March from New York Times best-selling writer Jeff Lemire (Inhumans vs. X-Men, Black Hammer) and explosive artist Renato Guedes (Wolverine) that will redefine Bloodshot and his relationship with the Valiant Universe! As the blood-stained curtain closes on BLOODSHOT U.S.A....be there as the stage is set for BLOODSHOT SALVATION, a top-secret new series coming later in 2017!

Review: Bloodshot U.S.A #2
By Chris Tresson
This week sees the release of the second issue of Valiant Entertainment’s Bloodshot U.S.A by Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite. I quite enjoyed the first issue and I’ve been looking forward to seeing where this one would go since the cliffhanger in the last issue. Let’s get going, shall we?

Review: A.D.: After Death - Book One
By Jordan Claes
I remember the first time I ever really questioned or attempted to come to terms with death and my own mortality. It was shortly after the passing of my grandfather: I was twenty-five years old, I’d never experienced real loss in my life and for the first time I felt like I truly understood what it was to miss someone. Just little things at first: the intangible, indescribable parts that comprise the whole.

Review: Black Hammer #5
By Laramie Martinez
Black Hammer # 5 is a bold departure from what we’ve seen of the comic so far. In a lot of ways it’s what you would expect from the family’s strangest character. From the structure of the plot to the layouts of the pages themselves, this issue breaks the mold to create a jarring departure form the narrative. In the end its flaw isn’t in what the creators do differently, the problem stems from what stays the same. Keep reading to find out what that is.

Review: Bloodshot U.S.A #1
By Chris Tresson
I’m never going to claim to be the biggest Valiant guy out there, but since Valiant came back, I have been keeping my eye on one character in particular… and that character is Bloodshot. I missed the launch Bloodshot title, I had to hunt down issues of Bloodshot Reborn and I’m pretty much a Valiant noob still. I’m eager to read some more Valiant books but I honestly wouldn’t know where to start… and I already have a pull list that’s ridiculously long. But I guess a little more Bloodshot won’t hurt, right? Let’s see.

Review: Descender #16
By Robert Larson
I’ve done nothing but complain about Descender’s current story arc. It’s been nothing but a cheap stalling tactic; half of the stories we’ve seen have been things we’ve already known, making this nothing more than repetition. So it was with not inconsiderable dread that I picked up this latest issue, only to be pleasantly surprised by the story that I got. If it didn’t resolve the broader issue that this has just been a six-month way to put off telling what happened to Tim, at least this given issue managed to tell a good story that is actually relevant to the broader plot. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers in this review.

Review: Black Hammer #4
By Laramie Martinez
Abe gets his Mrs. Dalloway on and throws a dinner party! Gail makes a bold accessory choice! And someone gets a whole new look! But all joking aside, this is another great issue. I don’t know why you’re even reading this. Have you missed reviews 1-3? You can’t still be on the fence, can you? Why haven’t you bought this comic? Are you waiting for the trade? Cause that’s cool. I can respect that.
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.
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