Press Release

Image Comics is winning again with the announcement of the forthcoming Rueben Award-nominated webcomic by Mike Norton (he’s a great guy)—LIL’ DONNIE—to be collected into a hardcover edition and available this August. 

By Sam King

A ship, a mutiny, and a secret: the ingredients tossed together to make up the first issue of Image Comics’ Shanghai Red. A story of a girl out for vengeance, masquerading as a man, trying to get back the life that was taken from her. Where it will go next, who knows? If Red succeeds, we will see. This is a pretty good time though, that’s for sure.

By Cat Wyatt

Issue #23 of Batgirl brings us the conclusion to the Strange Loop plotline. In the last issue, we learned that Batgirl was trapped in a series of scenarios occurring inside her own head and if she didn’t figure out a way to free herself things would go very poorly for her.

By Sam King

Zinnober #1 sets up a strong direction for the story and provides enough character development to give readers a good latch on the mains. The art is good, and the story has a lot of promise. Giant dragons in modern times? What could be better?

Zinnober opens up with a young woman and a man on top of a roof with guns, eyeing a dog tied to a post. The girl wants to save it; the older man says it is a trap. She doesn’t listen, and it turns out to be a trap, but the trap goes sour as a dragon appears and starts laying waste to everyone it sees. The man and girl escape with one other guy and go into the old subway tunnels where they find that dragons may not be their only concern when it comes to survival.

By Kelly Gaines

I have to admit that Hollow Monsters #1 went a bit over my head. It’s a non-linear narrative describing both ordinary and foreboding events in the life of a boy named Jay. We see Jay at pivotal moments ranging from early childhood to his adult life as a struggling comic book creator. Jay is a likable enough character, and there is obvious talent in the creative process, but I found myself far more bewildered than impressed by the end of this first issue. I try to stay away from commenting on the creator’s opinion of their own work in my reviews (i.e., the morals they aim to teach and goals they’ve set for a specific work). It feels more honest to present my readers with my own interpretations of what’s given on the page. A review should be a cut and dry critique of the finished issue. Hollow Monsters has presented me an odd exception.

By Ben Snyder

Although a mostly quiet chapter, Days of Hate #5 is a stellar addition to an amazing comic.  It’s a quiet chapter simply because there are so few actual words spoken, but boy does it end with a literal bang. It all centers on Huang’s decision to reveal Amanda’s location to Freeman.  And having it all focus on each of their actions spoke larger volumes about their character than any amount of dialogue could have. Aleš Kot and Danijel Žeželj continue to produce Eisner-worthy content at a steady rate with Days of Hate. Couple that with Jordie Bellaire’s harrowing colors and you have what is shaping to be a classic.

By Garrett Hanneken

Space travel mixed with an attack by a giant squid, The Terrifics must work together if they want to reach their destination. With that said, the team is still getting their footing, and the same can be said for the script.

By Cat Wyatt

It’s time for issue #4 of Barrier. How they’re planning on following up the extraordinary storytelling style shown in the last issue is anyone’s guess. The last time we saw our weary and unwilling travelers, they were trapped in a room that was rapidly filling with a water-like substance. Here we’ll hopefully not only find out they survive that, but how they’re planning on getting out of this situation altogether.

By Kelly Gaines

Mera’s life is complicated- ABC Family teenage drama complicated. When we last saw the Queen of Atlantis, she embarked on a mission with her fiancé’s former supervillain half-brother to ask for the help of her former family/ current enemies in the Xebellian nation. Mera’s life is a mess, but I suppose taking on a bloodthirsty tyrant can to that to you. Orm and Mera, thus far, seem to be playing nice. The same can’t be said for her enemies under the sea, but it’s a risk she and Orm are both willing to stick their necks out to take.

By Noel Thorne

Oh my gaaawd, vampires are real – and they’re spelt without the “e”! What is it with this series and missing letters – first Dracula without the “a” now “vampir”? Does it make the comic… creepier? Or should that be… creepir?