
Review: Analog #1
By Ben Snyder
Analog #1 does a lot of things well, but none exceptional. It has humor littered throughout its pages, uncanny contemporary social and technological commentary, and it even resembles classic noir films at specific points. However, it seems that at this point writer Gerry Duggan and artist David O’ Sullivan are missing an element to truly set them over the edge into greatness.

Review: Days of Hate #3
By Ben Snyder
Days of Hate is not a pretty comic. It is ugly, and it is grimy. It is vicious, and it is pessimistic. But hot damn is it not accurate and forewarning. Writer Ales Kot and Artist Danijel Žeželj team up again for their post-political dystopian series and deliver an exceptionally strong outing with chapter #3. This is a very quiet character-driven story that works on multiple aspects, and while it can be a bit preachy at times, it is still smart and heavy hitting.

Review: Abbott #3
By Ben Snyder
Out of a job and stretched to her wits end, Abbott #3 doesn’t leave it’s titular protagonist in the best of ways. There isn’t much more explained, but a few more interesting mysteries and a seemingly horrifying antagonist make this entry another strong entry into the Abbott series. Some of the minor gripes of the series are still present such as writer Saladin Ahmed’s overuse of speech bubbles, but that shouldn’t detract from a fun and enjoyable read.

Review: Kill or Be Killed #17
By Ben Snyder
Each and every new chapter in Kill or Be Killed excites me and leaves me with more and more questions tat I can’t wait to get answered. Kill or Be Killed #17 is no exception as writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips deliver another riveting entry. Chapter #17 offers some interesting revelations, and the delivery of them is brilliant if not untrustworthy, but the main success of this issue is how Brubaker toys with the idea that Dylan may not be insane despite being in an asylum.

Review: Descender #28
By Ben Snyder
Descender #28 succeeds for many reasons that the previous issue failed. It feels relevant to the overall story, it’s story is interesting if a bit tedious in the beginning, we finally learn what exactly a “Descender” is, and it features Dustin Nguyen’s stellar art. Descender #28 still isn’t a perfect issue as many of the pitfalls of the story are still present, but it is still a marked improvement over the previous entries.

Review: Assassin's Creed: Origins #1
By Ben Snyder
While last year’s Assassin’s Creed: Origins proved to be a fantastically enjoyable video game, the first issue of its comic book counterpart Assassin’s Creed: Origins fails to meet the former's standards. Focusing on the character Aya in Rome around the time of Caesar’s assassination sounds like a fascinating concept in theory being that Aya was such a strong character in the game. But in Assassin’s Creed: Origins #1 Aya is simply given little to do and little space to do it in making her feel like a spectator in her own story.

Review: Batman: White Knight #6
By Ben Snyder
Batman: White Knight #6 largely serves as the mini-series’ “I told you so” moment in which everyone realizes they may have needed Batman all along. After everyone from Jack to Commissioner Gordon to even Nightwing plot on capturing the Batman, all hell breaks loose, and his services are needed more than ever, especially with the issue ending with a surprise appearance from The Joker. While Sean Murphy has done a heroic job with the series so far, this issue feels like a bit of a letdown.

Review: Days of Hate #2
By Ben Snyder
Days of Hate #2 picks up with Amanda Parker and her partner on the run and Parker’s ex-lover Huan Xing picking up the case on their heels. While this issue doesn’t necessarily advance the plot further, it does provide the quiet character moments that were lacking from the first issue. So far writer Aleš Kot and artist Danijel Žeželj adhere to a traditionally successful formula. Days of Hate #1 makes us care about the world and Days of Hate #2 makes us care about the characters involved.

Review: Abbott #2
By Ben Snyder
Abbott #2 does enough to meet the lofty expectations set by its introductory issue by introducing a wide variety of interesting characters and leaning more into the supernatural elements of the story and still maintaining it’s detective story roots. Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä experiment enough in this issue to stretch out their roots and reach for the even higher heights in future issues. However, I do have some hesitations that the story may go down the traditional “Chosen One” story path that we have seen time and time again.

Review: Royal City #10
By Ben Snyder
It feels odd to say that any Jeff Lemire story is a little to melancholic but that’s how Royal City #10 reads. The ominous radio frequencies, the general malaise of living in a small steel town, a monologue based on the woes of normalcy; all the staples of the series are present, but it doesn’t mesh as well as in previous entries. Maybe it’s because of the scene between Tommy and Ritchie’s girlfriend or maybe it’s the overwhelming melancholy that the script exudes- regardless Royal City #10 is probably one of the weaker entries in the series so far.

Review: Descender #27
By Ben Snyder
Descender #27 takes place 4,000 years before the events of the main story and while that fact alone may seem like the beginnings of an entry brimming with filler and unnecessary material and for the most part it is, but writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen do enough to craft interesting enough characters to guide us through their exploration of the Harvesters and their creators.

Review: Kill or Be Killed #16
Sixteen issues in and Kill or Be Killed continues to find new and interesting ways to hook the reader in. It seems like each new issue introduces another cumbersome wrinkle for Dylan to maneuver around. In Kill or Be Killed #16, Dylan has to come to grips with a copycat killer besmirching his reputation and tarnishing his image while being confined and drugged up in an insane asylum. But its in Dylan’s introspection focusing on when he originally lost his youthful naiveté is where this issue makes its mark. In this instance both writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips work cohesively to not only make the reader side with a murdering insane person, but make a profound statement on life’s overall unfairness.

Review: Sleepless #3
While I initially had exceedingly high hopes for Sleepless as a series, some of the luster has worn off. It’s not that Sleepless #3 is a bad issue or it destroys the hope I once harbored for it- it’s just that Sleepless has not done anything new with the subject manner yet and it doesn’t seem intent to. Writer Sarah Vaughn and artist Leila Del Luca barely meet the standards they set for themselves in earlier issues and even add an interesting story wrinkle or two, but ultimately it is not enough to maintain the same level of interest or excitement in the future of this series.

Review: Niourl
By Ben Snyder
Niourk would be hard to describe to anyone. It starts off extremely simple, telling the tale of seemingly Stone Age tribe outcast and his struggles to get back home; but then it becomes so much more and expansive. In theory, this seems great, but too often Niourk seemed to meander and waste time, leading up to an ending that can seem out of nowhere and uninspired. There are also some characters that are underdeveloped and themes that once again seem ungrounded. But Niourk isn’t entirely bad, as the first chapters of the book offer an interesting take on a familiar story and the art can be gruesome and exceptionally cool.

Review: Batman: White Knight #5
By Ben Snyder
Batman: White Knight #5 continues the story of a seemingly reformed Joker and how the rest of Gotham copes and deals with it. Sean Murphy has been in fine form throughout this mini-series, and issue #5 is no exception. Murphy is able to straddle a fine line with showing the mental stability of the various characters in this series and his art offers a unique spin on an already well mapped out city. But perhaps the greatest asset to this series so far has nothing to do with Murphy’s writing or art, but with the legacy of a character like the Joker. Mainly, we still don’t know how this is going to all shake out.

Review: VS #1
By Ben Snyder
I am very confused on what exactly VS #1 is about. It’s really pretty to look, and Flynn seems like an interesting enough character. But it’s really confusing to know what is real and not real in the world of VS? Obviously, Flynn is a grizzled combat veteran, but did that combat happen in cyberspace, a virtual reality rehab program, in his past, or in his future? Flynn is obviously a celebrity but how did achieve it? Hopefully, we’ll see in future issues, because VS #1 is definitely successful in making me want more of it.

Review: Dread Gods #3
By Ben Snyder
Three issues into Dread Gods and it finally seems like the story will fulfill on the promise of the original issue. Throughout almost the entirety of Dread Gods #3, I gave up on the series. Nothing new or exciting happened. The supposed plot revelation felt cliché and the writing was adequate at best. But the ending opened up a whole new element for future issues that I never would have expected.
Writer Ron Marz’s series hasn’t been a groundbreaking piece with biting socio/political commentary. If anything the series has simply served as a way to see ancient Greek Gods adorned like modern-day wrestlers duke it out. And this isn’t a bad thing as that is an awesome premise that would have most readers hooked. It simply becomes an issue because Marz is so intent on forcing it away from entertainment. Marz seems predetermined to draw obvious parallels between the Gods World and Carver’s.

Review: Abbot #1
By Ben Snyder
Abbott #1 begins as an homage to 70’s Blaxploitation films. Starring a touch as nails black female reporter who stumbles upon a mystery that only she can solve. But Abbott #1 evolves into something much greater and more occult. Writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Sami Kivelä both work beautifully together to create what has the potential to be one of the best new ongoing series this year.

Review: Bingo Love
By Ben Snyder
In the fewest words possible, Bingo Love is sweet which is perfectly all right. It’s a romantic, real, and brisk retelling of queer love. But that’s pretty much all it is. It’s so sweet that it’s saccharine. It’s so sweet that all obstacles feel inconsequential, if even obstacles at all. This is refreshing and love is great and all that jazz, but it ended up being a pretty boring read.

Review: Days of Hate #1
By Ben Snyder
After the election in 2016, it wasn’t much of a surprise that storytellers and artists would craft tales that reflect their fears and anxieties regarding its outcome. Many of these stories would indirectly comment on the political climate, substituting President Trump for a cartoonified, easily digestible version. Some even tackled the sex and gender politics through allegory that would inevitably be affected by the new president-elect. It is a surprise, however, that it has taken this long for one story to come that is so direct, haunting, and tangible. For this reason, Days of Hate #1 is certainly not for everyone- especially if you voted for Trump. And while not perfect, Days of Hate deserves to be applauded for the courage from both its contributors and Image Comics.
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