Recently, I have read several great Kickstarter funded comics. The great thing about Kickstarter is it gets not just original comics made, but unique and inventive comics. Transdimensional is a sci-fi horror comic with some great elements. This issue builds successfully on those elements, and the premise of the first issue, as it takes us deeper into the mystery of the sunken Russian submarine.
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I picked up Transdimensional having no prior knowledge of the subject. Not even the Kickstarter description. If I had, I probably would have skipped it. I am probably one of five comics fans that don't get into sci-fi horror. The Kickstarter describes the comic as being a sci-fi horror in the same family as Alien and The Abyss. I’ve seen Alien maybe (just the one - sad face from you probably), not The Abyss. I wasn’t the proper audience for this comic. However, if I was into this type of story, I could see its appeal.
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After twenty years Rocko’s Modern Life is back. Its last new episode was in 1996 and the comic was last published in 1994. Originally a failed comic pitch in the eighties, Rocko’s Modern Life became one of Nicktoon’s most loved shows. I haven’t seen an episode of RML since the nineties, I have very fond memories of it but it might not have been as good as I remember. This comic reminded me of all the reasons I loved it. It’s surreal and droll, while still being silly. I had a lot of fun reading this comic.
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I picked up Barbarella because of the cover alone. Wow. Just wanted to get that out of the way. I am familiar with the Barbarella comics, and the movie. But I have never read Barbarella before or watched the movie. I don’t know why I haven’t seen the movie. Just never got around to it, I guess. That means I don’t have any reference point for what this comic should be. What it is, is a campy sci-fi social commentary on sexual empowerment and ignorant religious dogma.
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Twenty-two years after the launch of Top Cow’s iconic series hit comic store shelves it has come back. The gauntlet has found a new host. I read the comic off and on for years in high school, following the dark and sexy drama of Sara Pezzini. Turner’s artwork is still so much fun to look at. The whole Witchblade mythos and universe was very cool. Unfortunately, the look was very much a product of its time. The Witchblade has found a new host and the series looks like it completely fits into the contemporary style and tone of comics. While solid, and while all we have is one issue to go on, it has some work to do to live up to the original. That means I am excited to see how this series shapes up.
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Welcome to the review. If you’re unfamiliar with Comic Bastards’ group review format, then allow me to get you up to speed. Each of the participating writers will give their thoughts, along with their own personal score for the issue. Each score stands on its own so don’t expect an average. Now, here’s a blurb about Batman: Creature of the Night #1.
Young Bruce Wainwright lost his parents in a violent crime…and in the real world; no superheroes exist to save the day. But as grief and rage builds inside Bruce until he feels he can’t keep it inside anymore, something strange starts taking wing in the Gotham night! Perhaps Bruce’s grief isn’t inside him after all?
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Shadow number four is out this week, and up until the last issue we were mostly confined to a hospital room, Mr. Crispy gave his backstory, Mary did make it out to the world to do some sleuthing. At the end of issue three, The Shadow escapes as a SWAT team storms his hospital room. Mary, of course, goes after him and finds him on the rooftops, wearing the slouch hat, cloak, and twin .45s. It was an exciting conclusion, leaving me dying to know what would happen!
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Only a month after DC reintroduced Deadman with a new number one, we get Etrigan, another lesser known anti-hero. I feel like special care has to be taken to grab the potential reader where the lesser known properties are concerned. Demon is an intriguing comic, but it doesn’t do enough to introduce us to these characters and their world.
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I was not familiar with Cynthia von Buhler before picking up this title. For those that don’t know she is a contemporary artist that has been creating art that ranges from illustrations and fine art to theater and performance art. Perusing her Wikipedia page and website gives you quite a lot of insight into how her style informed this comic. Minky Woodcock The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini is a new ongoing title from Titan Comics’ Hard Case Crime series. Its protagonist is a somewhat plucky wannabe private detective that, as the title suggests, gets herself involved in a mystery that centers on the charming illusionist Harry Houdini.
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Mitch and Tom continue to elevate comics to the high art we all know it can be. They continue to provide a superb example of literature as comics. Issue four maintains the pace of the previous issues, mostly due to that continuous nine-panel grid. If you aren’t on this comic by now you then it probably isn’t for you. That’s okay. If you have any interest at all in this comic you should be reading it. This is a comic that will be referred to again and again, like Watchmen, as an inspiration for many comics to come.
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This installment of Eugenic is a much smaller story than the first issue. This is a story of young idealists and their dissent. The Numans have risen to power and humans are no longer the top of the food chain. In fact, humans are now considered to be no better than any other animal. In this issue, we get to a distinctly dystopian view of society. Can a society designed to be perfect still be evil?
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New from Image imprint Top Cow is Port of Earth, a comic with a really interesting twist on an old premise: Aliens finally make the first contact with Earth, but instead of coming with intent to improve how humans treat each other, or with intent to exterminate the human race, they come with a business deal. The aliens in Port of Earth want to onboard Earth to a galaxy-wide network of planets working together for trade. Earth would be a stopping point for ships on their way to other planets. This, of course, complicates things for humans, but the trade seems fair; Earth gets advanced technologies to improve human lives.
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So, this is Deadman. The latest attempt to resurrect Deadman might be DOA. I hadn’t read any Deadman comics before this. And, as far as I can tell, Deadman has never had a true ongoing series, not since the very first series debuted in the late sixties. He pops in and out of the DCU in much the same way he possesses the bodies of unwitting accomplices to his mission. He either appears in other character’s stories or in his own limited series. With a first issue, you might want to go easy on the newcomers to the lore. Adams has shown us no mercy.
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What do you get when you do a mashup of sci-fi social commentary and superheroes? That would be Brilliant Trash. Here we have a superhero story that leans heavily on the trashy, pandering media culture, and the SJW narrative of the last couple years, all wrapped up in a tight superpowered bow. The final product isn’t perfect, and the themes are a little heavy-handed, but that doesn't take away from the truly unique presentation and use of the comics medium.
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The Universe is real big, man. Void Trip is a new comic published by Image coming out next month. Created by Ryan O’Sullivan and Plaid Klaus, Void Trip is a psychedelic road trip comedy in the vein of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, their words, not mine. In fact, O’Sullivan bills this as Guardians of The Galaxy meets Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Those are big shoes to fill. If you want to invoke drug culture and free-thinking, Fear and Loathing is a good place to start, though. I get the vibe, but I would amend all that by saying this is more of a Cheech and Chong meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy kind of story. There is a lot here, and I think it was amazingly executed.
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The saga of Mr. Crispy continues! Issue three of The Shadow Vol 3 is out, and it takes us a little deeper into the mystery of The Shadow’s investigation into President Wyatt and his aid Worthy Delaney. So far this story started out with strong social commentary notes, but then gets a little more subtle, the story gets even more subtle with this issue. At first glance, you might think there wasn’t much in this issue. You’d be wrong and haven’t been paying attention.
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Deadbeat is a personal story, told on a small scale. Jed McPherson and Chris Shehan have given us a crime story with a southwest feel, told with mood and gritty style. It’s a one-shot that keeps its world small to tell a story of second chances. If you have only ever managed to make the wrong decision, you will take all the chances you can get to make the right one. That’s sort of the nature of being a screw-up. Deadbeat is everyone that wanted to do the right thing despite not knowing how.
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From Victor Santos and Dark Horse comes a detective noir set in feudal Japan. This story has everything you need for good noir. A hard-boiled detective, a femme fatale, lies, and government corruption. Santos’ first part to Rashomon was previously published only in Spain, here we have both parts published by Dark Horse. Part one is a straight murder mystery. The second part is a murder mystery but backdropped, and part of, the forty-seven ronin story.
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Dynamite continues its revival of the James Bond mythos in comic form in this six-issue arc called Black Box. This series has had a lot of praise for its ability to tell some pretty terrific stories so far. Unfortunately, I think this was one of the weaker runs in the series. All the components are there. The Aston Martin, obligatory girl, exotic locations, an ugly megalomaniac, the gadget that saves the day, and of course there's Q -- except he is called Boothroyd in this story, as in Major Boothroyd from the first movie and the sixth novel. None of it really comes together, however.
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Recently, I have read several great Kickstarter funded comics. The great thing about Kickstarter is it gets not just original comics made, but unique and inventive comics. Transdimensional is a sci-fi horror comic with some great elements. This issue builds successfully on those elements, and the premise of the first issue, as it takes us deeper into the mystery of the sunken Russian submarine.
Read More