Dustin Cabeal 3/13/17 Dustin Cabeal 3/13/17

Review: Among the Willows #1

By Dustin Cabeal

It has been a long time since there’s been a satisfying western themed comic book. Some of you might be thinking of what other western comics there are at the moment and there’s not many… even less that are worth reading. The first thing to appreciate about Among the Willows is the title. It’s not trying to homage the genre, be flashy or modern, but rather a simple and catchy title, “Among the Willows.” It’s a title that paints a picture of the setting, rather than the plot.

Robert Larson 3/13/17 Robert Larson 3/13/17

Review: The Lighthouse

By Zeb Larson

Paco Roca’s The Lighthouse is an interesting and quirky read, perfect for a Saturday afternoon where you don’t need a heavy story but could do with something that’s still thought-provoking. It’s a quick read but one that still manages to pack a fair bit of material into just over sixty pages: war, peace, dreams, and the collision of all three of those. It’s a worthwhile read, in part because it subverts some of the expectations you might have going into a story like this. Set during the Spanish Civil War, Francisco is a young Republican soldier on the run from the Fascists. After a particularly narrow escape, he takes shelter in an isolated lighthouse with an eccentric keeper, Telmo. Facing the defeat of his side and the question of what comes next, Francisco instead begins looking at life in a new way.

Ben Boruff 3/13/17 Ben Boruff 3/13/17

Review: Super Ready Battle Armor #1

By Ben Boruff

Bradley Adan and Michael Milham have created a comic that straddles the line between two different narrative worlds. Super Ready Battle Armor's left foot is planted in the slapstick absurdity of shōnen manga (少年漫画), but the comic's right foot touches something more mature—something beyond the comedic action-adventure narratives of similar comics. According to the comic's Facebook page, some reviewers have said that Super Ready Battle Armor is "superhero horror," but that label misrepresents both sides of this story. Protagonists of shōnen manga rarely match Western perceptions of superheros, and "horror" is a poor label for any comic that features a character named Professor Insanus who verbally narrates the actions of other characters (once while perched beside the protagonist's bed like a parakeet). Super Ready Battle Armor has the trappings of clichéd manga, but the narrative, when stripped naked, is surprisingly more complex.

Ben Boruff 3/12/17 Ben Boruff 3/12/17

Review: Delilah Blast #1

By Ben Boruff

According to Delilah Blast's Kickstarter page, writer Marcel Dupree first imagined Delilah's world in 2010 after listening to "Do Somethin'" by Britney Spears and "Science" by System of a Down, and the spirits of both songs certainly found their way into the finished product. Spears's 2004 electropop hit "Do Somethin'" features hard-hitting techno beats and indignant vocals. "Science" is an angry, fast-paced rock song that makes a big claim: "Science has failed our world." Delilah Blast is a visual rendering of these two songs—after they have been smashed together and repurposed for a young steampunk-obsessed audience.

Dustin Cabeal 3/11/17 Dustin Cabeal 3/11/17

Comic Bastards Podcast - 005

By Dustin Cabeal

005 - Welcome back to another week of podcasting. Do you enjoy the every other week format? We hope so, but feel free to give us some feedback about the show, be that the content, the duration or the schedule. On to business, we have a new Unpopular Comic Opinion for you, spearheaded by Steve. On the Best/Worst Comic I read this week, we have Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps and Hungry Marie... we'll see which is which. Lastly, an advanced review for X-O Manowar #1, coming soon from Valiant Comics. Oh, I should mention that we had internet problems several times throughout so the video is way jacked up, but the audio is fine.