Dustin Cabeal 4/28/22 Dustin Cabeal 4/28/22

Review: The Clay People: Colossus (One-shot)

By Dustin Cabeal

I had no idea that this comic was based on a song. I didn’t know there was a band called The Clay People either. I learned both things at the end of the comic and while it didn’t change anything for me, it may be information that another reader could use before deciding to purchase this one-shot from Top Cow.

I have read this story in different forms, with different lead characters dozens of times. There is something to this story that is searching for an interesting outlet, and I can see the broad appeal to using it. Afterall a clay golem that Jewish people can use for justice/revenge and stems back to World War II feels like a treasure trove of potential stories. Yet, they all pretty much end up like this one-shot.

Sam King 4/4/18 Sam King 4/4/18

Review: R is For Reptar (One-Shot)

By Sam King

The original Rugrats television show went off the air just over ten years ago. Although my family didn’t have cable while I was growing up, I had both Rugrats feature-length films on VHS (I’m really dating myself now, huh?). I really enjoyed Rugrats, enough to have two video games on two different consoles and played them regularly. What I’m saying is, I know what to expect from a Rugrats story. This comic half hits the mark for me, and I can’t say it glows with the same shine as the original cartoon did when it aired. There have been rumors of Nickelodeon planning to revive the show, but for now, at least, we can keep enjoying the comics.

James Anders II 2/7/18 James Anders II 2/7/18

Review: Swamp Thing Winter Special #1

By James Anders II

In my lifelong love of the comic book medium, Swamp Thing has been one of my favorites. Ever since I picked up an issue of Saga of the Swamp Thing in the early 80s, I have forever been transfixed on the character and the series through all of the ups and downs of the story. I’ve been there for the good (Alan Moore, Rick Veitch, Nancy A. Collins, Brian K. Vaughn, Scott Snyder, Charles Soule). I’ve been through the bad (Andy Diggle, Joshua Dysart). I’ve been through the “meh” (Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, pre-fallout). And I’ve been through the ugly (Doug Wheeler, God bless him). Through it all, I have seen in Swampy the story of a man, a monster, life, death, and rebirth. Like the changes of the seasons, the Swamp Thing character has had periods of great life and growth, decline, and regrowth. It has all been very fitting for a character whose very essence is that of nature.

Kelly Gaines 1/10/18 Kelly Gaines 1/10/18

Review: Harley Quinn Be Careful What You Wish For #1

By Kelly Gaines

What would the DC universe’s most chaotic anti-hero/ anti-villain do with unlimited wishes from a magical genie? In the case of Harley Quinn, the answer is to screw it up- big time. Harley Quinn Be Careful What You Wish For Special feels like a classic “What If…” story while remaining comfortably nestled in the continuity of Harley’s rebirth universe.

Dustin Cabeal 11/30/17 Dustin Cabeal 11/30/17

Review: Gung Ho

By Dustin Cabeal

This comic would be better served by a different cover. The interior art is far more pleasing than the somewhat realistic figure that you’ll instead be looking at for most of this review. As I said in this week’s podcast, I don’t like anthropomorphic ape stories. It’s a subgenre that I try to avoid because the vast majority of it is the same theme in a different setting. It’s just not particularly interesting to me and never will be.

Dustin Cabeal 8/30/17 Dustin Cabeal 8/30/17

Review: James Bond: Moneypenny #1

By Dustin Cabeal

When I saw that Dynamite was only giving Moneypenny one issue, I was instantly disappointed. I’m a fan of the new Moneypenny and so reading her back story intrigued me a lot, but a one-shot pretty much assured that it would be a big hit or a miss. It’s, unfortunately, a miss for me.

Chris Tresson 2/22/17 Chris Tresson 2/22/17

Review: The Belfry

By Chris Tresson

Hello there and welcome to my review of The Belfry, a one-shot comic which is being released by Image Comics this week. Belfry is written and drawn by Gabriel Hardman, a man whose work I’m not entirely a stranger to. I’d seen Gabriel talking about this on Twitter and thought it looked interesting so when I found out it was out this week, I decided I was going to review it for Comic Bastards. Here we go…

Dustin Cabeal 2/7/17 Dustin Cabeal 2/7/17

Larsen/Image Announce "Mighty Man" One-Shot

Image Comics is pleased to announce an all-new one-shot by comics legend Erik Larsen, Image Comics’ co-founder and co-partner and the creator of the long-running SAVAGE DRAGON series, and artist Nikos Koutsis team up for: MIGHTY MAN. The one-shot story will take flight this April.

Dustin Cabeal 1/18/17 Dustin Cabeal 1/18/17

Review: Divinity III: Aric, Son of the Revolution #1

By Dustin Cabeal

To start with I haven’t read any of Divinity III, in fact, I haven’t even read Divinity II. I saw all these one-shots that came across very Flashpoint inspired in which it was just a quick look at what the characters in the Valiant Universe would be doing in the “Stalinverse” and thought, well that could be fun. It should have been fun.