By Hunter T. Patrick
New Start. Redneck seems to take drastic turns in between each arc, or so it has between the first and second, and now the second and the third. The very appropriate title, Redneck, about, well, redneck vampires continues with some dramatic turns. Perry is in trouble after the events of the last issue, so we see some vampire reunions after being separated, from the original family to a brand-new introduction of another family being introduced. The issue serves as set up, beginning with a flashback between a past love of Bartlett’s to a cliffhanger no one saw coming, well sarcastically. This issue does not serve as being strong for twists, but for being strong for set up to start Redneck's third arc.
Read MoreBy Garrett Hanneken
There is definitely a big deal of mystery that goes with Relay. The sense of enigma mixed with a technologically advanced environment results in a sci-fi story that is both familiar and unique.
Read MoreBy Garrett Hanneken
With the child’s ability to summon a portal to another dimension, who knew that giving birth to the Antichrist would be so difficult? Things just got much more chaotic for the characters but much more interesting for the readers.
Read MoreBy Daniel Vlasaty
I've never really been a fan of marauding barbarians as characters. That whole genre has never really done anything for me. I think it's because it's a genre where a lot of the stories are essentially the same. There's only so much that can be done with the genre, in my opinion. Like, I get it – there's a group of totally ripped and brutal barbarians, and they're also totally fucking badass. Or whatever. I don’t know. There's probably a little more to the genre than this. Usually, when one of these books ends up on the review list, I just scroll on past. So, why am I talking about this here? Two reasons, really. The first is because Atomahawk is – in a way – one of these stories, and the second reason is that I didn’t know how else to start this review.
Read MorePress Release
All eight issues of the critically acclaimed miniseries THE GHOST FLEET—from writer Donny Cates (GOD COUNTRY, REDNECK) with artists Daniel Warren Johnson (EXTREMITY), Lauren Affe, and John J. Hill—will be collected for the first time into a deluxe, over-the-top volume and available this November from Image Comics.
Read MoreBy Daniel Vlasaty
Donny Cates is legit everywhere right now. Dude’s on fire. Much like the wheelchair on the cover of Redneck #3. Much like most of this issue, everything explosive and basking in the glow of flames as the town burns the Bowman compound. Shit gets pretty intense pretty goddamn quickly in this issue. The violence is over the top and maybe a little excessive (which is something I’m all onboard with) but it’s never used to replace a lacking story. I think some writers try too hard to be like Hollywood blockbuster movies. Think about it, think about those movies for a second. Most of the time they have a pretty weak or generic or clichéd story and they make up for that with special effects and blood and explosions. In my opinion, having a ton of shit blow up and just balls-to-the-wall violence will never make up for a shitty story. What I mean is Cates knows what he’s doing here. He knows the story he’s telling and he’s using the violence as a tool, as a way to move the story forward, not just as violence for the sake of violence.
Read MoreBy Daniel Vlasaty
I know I said this in my review of Redneck #1, but I wanted to put it out there again: I generally don’t like vampires. I think it’s probably because there’s already an oversaturation of vampires in movies and books and comics and TV shows and, shit, probably even weird sex subcultures that I don’t even know about. Basically, vampires are freaking everywhere. They’ve been done before. We get it with the vampires already. They live forever and they’re attractive and moody and blah blah blah. So how does this hillbilly vampire story set deep in the heart of Texas hold up in a world already overrun by fucking vampires? Here’s my review of Redneck #1, written by Donny Cates, drawn by Lisandro Estherren, and colored by Dee Cunniffe.
Read MoreBy Daniel Vlasaty
I don’t like vampires. Not really sure what it is about them but I’ve just never liked them. Maybe it’s because they’re usually portrayed as this smart and savvy and sophisticated things. Rich and high class and full of old world charm. I don’t know. I think vampires should be more like junkies. Ravenous and rabid. Strong and determined but driven by more of an animal instinct, by their hunger, than anything else. I think if vampires existed, they would have a hard time controlling their hunger and their lifestyle. Again: like a junkie. Where their bloodlust and their need to feed overpowers every other aspect of their lives. And the next thing they know they’re on the corner selling their bodies for even the smallest hit of some fresh, fresh blood. (An exaggeration, maybe, but you get the point). So, how does Redneck compare to this?
Read MoreBy Levi Remington
The Quinlan family has been coming to terms with Grandpa's new sword. You see, Emmett Quinlan has Alzheimer's, or at least he had Alzheimer's, but ever since a space demon rode into West Texas on a magical tornado, Emmett has received something else: Valofax, the multi-talented sword analog to Thor's Mjölnir. This God of Blades can slay demons, rebuild houses, and temporarily cure Alzheimer's with a flick of the wrist, but there's one small caveat: The God of War wants it back.
Read MoreI'm not going to lie... that's a weird title. It's also by Donny Cates who's writing I enjoy. Garry Brown's never done me wrong either so this definitely seems like something I'll check out. I'm not a big Buffy fan though so that raises my eyebrow a little. We'll see.
Read MoreBy Chris Tresson
Next week sees the release of Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw's God Country #2 which is being published by Image Comics. Luckily for me, Donny was kind enough to send me a copy of the book early (Thanks, Donny!) which I was absolutely thrilled about because I loved the first issue of it. So without further ado, let’s find out what I thought of the issue…
Read MorePress Release
Donny Cates (GOD COUNTRY) teams up with artist Lisandro Estherren and colorist Dee Cunniffe for an all-new Southern vampire series—REDNECK—set to launch this April from Image Comics/Skybound Entertainment.
Read MoreBy Chris Tresson
So, the other day I was cruising through Twitter looking at what people are doing with their lives (like you do) and there was a lot of positive talk about a book that’s coming out some time in the near future... The book in question is Image Comics’ God Country #1, written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Geoff Shaw. Immediately my interest was piqued. Having read The Paybacks previously (also by this creative team), I really wanted to see what this book was like… Luckily for me, upon checking the call sheet we use for reviews here, it was in amongst the advanced review copies, God Country #1. My name was next to it shortly thereafter. So, here we go. This is my review; I hope it piques your interest…
Read MoreFind out why Heavy Metal’s Interceptor made our “Best of 2016” list!
Read MorePress Release
Fan-favorite writer Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (Buzzkill, The Paybacks) team up for an all-new series GOD COUNTRY, set to launch from Image Comics in January 2017.
In GOD COUNTRY readers meet Emmett Quinlan, an old widower rattled by dementia. Emmett isn't just a problem for his children—his violent outbursts are more than the local cops can handle. When a tornado levels his home—as well as the surrounding West Texas town—a restored Quinlan rises from the wreckage. The enchanted sword at the eye of the storm gives him more than a sound mind and body, however. He's now the only man who can face these otherworldly creatures the sword has drawn down to the Lone Star State…
Read MoreBy Dustin Cabeal
I know what you’re thinking. Why is Dustin reviewing another IDW title? WHY? Someone save the book, pull it from his grasp and prevent him from reviewing it. We have to save the score! He’s going to tank the score!! WHY oh cruel gods of comics would you let this man review a Star Trek book from IDW!?! WHY! JACK KIRBY!!! DITKO… THAT OTHER GUY! WHY? Which I can answer for you easily. This Star Trek book is unlike any other IDW Star Trek book they’ve done. I wish that the rest of their Star Trek books were this good, but I’ll just be happy for one and hope it bleeds into the rest.
Read MoreBy Austin Lanari
The Paybacks continues to be a surprisingly thoughtful book underneath all of its gags, driven by Shaw's all-around excellent art. Bloodpouch has always sort of been the de facto main character, and I'm happy to see him rise to take up the mantle in this issue. A series like this deserves nothing short of a goofy, incompetent hero with a silly power, nothing to lose, and a lot to avenge. The sequence in which the faux-Miss Adventure reveals her sexuality is yet another case where this creative team demonstrates its penchant for well-timed humor. Even in a series this absurd, Rahal, Cates, and Shaw demonstrate that timing is everything and there's plenty of humor to be mined from normal moments to which many of us can relate.
Read MoreBy Austin Lanari
The Paybacks now in its second volume moves from Dark Horse to Heavy Metal and continues to be the most fun you'll have with superheroes in the Western hemisphere. I don't read as many superhero books as I used to. I'll leave it to the reader to figure out whether that's because something has changed with me as a reader or the number of good superhero books being published has declined. (For what it's worth, I wager it's quite a bit of both). In any case, there are still some great superhero books out there, just not in the places you'd expect. One-Punch Man is probably the most popular, or at least the one with the most meteoric rise in the last year. My favorite on the manga side of things is actually My Hero Academia. That's for a lot of reasons, including the fact that it's sort of carrying a torch that Naruto used to carry, it's smart without being annoyingly cerebral, character designs are original and interesting, and it takes seriously the relationship heroes have to their society.
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