By Robert Ramos

While Papa Bastard is partying out of the country, someone needed to fill his shoes around here and boy howdy does he have some big feet. Joking aside, Dustin really is not available and comics needed to be reviewed: Enter me. This worked well for him and since I really suck at going into tons of detail on anything, this is right up my alley. Let’s hope you enjoy this round of Mini-Reviews!

Nightwing #10 – Score: 5/5

I love Dick. Who doesn’t? Dick Grayson is my favorite DC character, whether it be as Batman or the beloved Nightwing. Anyway, Nightwing is finally back in Bludhaven. It only took 10 issues (and then some) to get him back where he belongs but I’ll take it. It was nice to see a superhero be bored and bum around until an opportunity to suit up presented itself. The art/coloring duo of Marcus To and Chris Sotomayor is fantastic and there’s even a gratuitous butt shot for all to enjoy. Whatever.  I’m really loving what Tim Seeley is doing with this character and this is one of the most consistent books DC is pumping out since the launch of Rebirth.

Norman: The First Slash #1 – Score: 4/5

This is my first run in with Norman and where the hell have I been. A kid murderer? An armless zombie? Really? Man, this was a fun read. This is actually the first volume of the story broken into issue form. Hey, I'll take what I can get. There’s a lot of dialogue, but it’s neither heavy nor burdensome. In fact, it’s witty and the addition of dark humor lead to something I enjoyed a lot. The art is reminiscent of anime in chibi style with a lot of the emotion tropes.  All in all, I had tons of fun reading this and will most definitely continue to check it out. 

Van Helsing vs. Frankenstein #4 – Score: 2/5

A badass looking Frankenstein is on the rampage and Taylor, a cryptozoologist (thanks, recap page!) and Van Helsing are taking care of business. Dialogue-wise, this book is trash. The writing is boring and too cheesy, which is a real shame because the story is somewhat decent. I found myself bored of the conversations and just ended up ignoring the word bubbles about halfway through. The use of tweets from the bystanders watching the showdown annoyed the hell out of me, though the first tweet did make me chuckle. This issue is full of action, which was appreciated. Where the book truly shines, though, is the art: it’s beautiful, not to mention the female characters aren’t bad looking either.  

 World of Tanks #3 – Score: 2/5

One word: ugh. Where do I even start with this book. First off, it is ugly. It’s sketchy as fuck and the colors are terrible. The strange thing is, the art sure did look a lot like Steve Dillon’s work. Garth Ennis’s writing isn’t bad. In fact, it’s actually pretty good, but it wasn't something I enjoyed on a personal level.  I wanted explosions. I wanted fire. I wanted destruction. I wanted, you know, TANKS. Instead, what we got was a bunch of military “blokes” chit-chatting and sitting around a campfire eating some burnt ass chicken. Side note: I saw a gameplay video of this game and it looked legit. Maybe I’ll check that out instead. 

There you have it, folks. This was actually pretty fun. Should the opportunity arise again, you bet your bottom I'd be on board. What do you guys think? Let me know!

*In his haste, our Chief Editor inadvertently placed Van Helsing v. Frankenstein #4 in this week's review folder, which is why it was reviewed a week early. Sorry, everyone!*