Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Street Fighter #1

August 28, 2023

By Dustin Cabeal

I fucking hate hero versus hero titles. The one and only time that it was enjoyable was DC vs Marvel (flip it, I don’t care), and even then, it was a mess of shit. That’s what made it charming – seeing the rage of the fanbases and concessions that each company had to make to keep certain characters powerful and protected. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same dumb storyline of one or both sides of heroes being mistaken as villains and fighting each other, meanwhile the actual villains are agreeable, cordial, and already working with each other. I’ve lost track of how many of these franchises versus franchises IDW has made, but they're just to sell covers. Go ahead, ask how many covers they have for this first issue.

Thirty-one.

They cutely put “Collect them all” at the back of the issue before showing you thirty-one covers. Kudos to all the artists who got paid for the covers – get that money – but to the poor soul who felt they needed all the covers and spent God knows how many hundreds of dollars to get all the store exclusives… I wish you wouldn’t have. That purchase behavior is irresponsible and damaging to the industry as they focus on sales of covers rather than telling a story worth reading.

Review: Monstro Mechanica #1

November 10, 2017

By Jonathan Edwards

Leonardo da Vinci built a wooden robot. That’s pretty much all you need to hear about Monstro Mechanic #1 to know whether or not you’ll be at all interested in it. I actually saw a promo for this back in another AfterShock book (I can’t remember which one), but I only skimmed past it, so the title and the robot were the only things that stuck with me. I wasn’t even necessarily interested until I got three or four pages in and saw, yes, that was indeed Leonardo da Vinci. From there, I realized he must be the one who built the robot, settled in for a good read, and that is indeed what I got.

Review: Clue #3

August 10, 2017

By Ashley Gibbs

Clue #3 marks the halfway point in this fun and colorful series based on the popular Hasbro board game of the same name. While the first issue acted as set up, the second put certain wheels into motion and here we see all of the characters are linked together by a certain flower. The and hows and the whys are still a mystery but everyone in the house, except for Ms. Scarlett and the detectives, see these flowers as very important and valuable. While all the details have yet to be shown to us or the guests, it’s clear Mr. Boddy was in no way just an innocent party host and the events happening in this series have been carefully crafted.

Review: Clue #2

July 19, 2017

By Ashley Gibbs

The first issue of Clue left two players dead, and Clue #2 promises to add to the body count. With a cast of colorful characters trapped in a large mansion full of secrets and numerous items that can be used as weapons, this dark and stormy night might prove lethal for everyone involved. Based on the beloved game of the same name, this series is witty and fun while also having plenty of mystery to it. Readers are in the dark of the true motives of everyone involved adding to the suspense though the only character who knows everything, Mr. Boddy, is unfortunately dead so it’s up to the guests to get to the bottom of everything along with readers.

Review: Clue #1

June 28, 2017

By Ashley Gibbs

Take one huge mansion, one odd host, a handful of guests and a dark and stormy night, mix it all together and somehow you end up with murder. Clue #1 is based on the classic board game and finds Mr. Boddy murdered after a dinner party with a house of suspects all with color-themed names. I’ve always enjoyed playing the game (outside of the US, you know this game as “Cluedo”) and loved the movie based on it as well so found myself eager to see how this comic re-imagined everything. Sadly, what we get is a lot of unlikeable characters and not much mystery so far. Yes, there is a murder and we may know who did it but this isn’t confirmed, and then there is another murder so while these are mysterious elements I don’t find myself drawn in to solve them quite yet.

Review: TMNT Universe #2

October 5, 2016

By Chris Tresson

TMNT Universe #2 is out this week from IDW. I reviewed the first issue and it was a pretty good start from the creative team, so I’m heading into the second issue expecting more of the same… Let’s see, shall we?

Review: TMNT Universe #1

August 30, 2016

TMNT Universe #1 is out this week from IDW, and I’ve picked myself a copy of it up because I’ve been needin’ some good ol’ Ninja Turtle action in my life for a while now. I completely missed the other Turtles series, and I’m one of those people who won’t jump into a book if I miss a lot of issues before I get to it. So, for me (and maybe you?) this is the perfect time to jump on board with The Turtles. Getting into it, in this issue, the story opens with The Turtles trying to tap up Baxter Stockman for some help by way of April O’Neil. Baxter’s being a dick about things and before long, there’s a badass scorpion-like mutant in the same building… The shit hits the fan quickly. Even worse for the lads, The Earth Protection Force are waiting outside, too… That’s as much of the story as you’re getting out of me, haha.

I really liked this; it was well written, there’s an exchange between Donnie and Mikey about their choice of weapon right near the beginning that made me laugh out loud. It’s heavy on the action and fast-paced, which is great for a first issue. Writer Paul Allor’s done a great job of getting the hooks in me and I can’t wait to see where the story goes. All in all, a good job on the writing side of things. Nothing groundbreaking just yet, but a great start to a story nonetheless.

And, this is really nice to say: I loved the art in this book. I think Damian Couceiro’s art is fantastic; I’m really into it, and it works well for this story. Looking forward to seeing more from him and I’ll also take the opportunity to give a shout-out to Ronda Pattison who has done a great job on the colouring here.

I’m struggling to find anything I didn’t like, and I think I’m about to break Comic Bastards with all this positivity… As if the main story wasn’t enough, this issue has a back-up story in it. It’s a story plotted by Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, and Tom Waltz, scripted by Waltz. On art duty Eastman has done layouts for the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz (copy and pasted his last name from Google there to make sure I didn’t fuck it up!) I really liked this, too! The art is absolutely phenomenal (I would expect no less from Sienkiewicz), beautifully complemented by colors from Tomi Varga. It’s a story focusing on Leonardo which is going to carry over to future issues, so I’m looking forward to that. Great job from everyone involved with this book. Well done.

I usually end my reviews with a big rant about why you should get the book I just reviewed; I’m not going to here. Go get it and see for yourself. This is a great first issue.

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TMNT Universe #1 Writers: Paul Allor, Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz Artists: Damian Couceiro, Kevin Eastman & Bill Sienkiewicz Colorists: Ronda Pattison & Tomi Varga Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $4.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

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Review: Past the Last Mountain #1

June 22, 2016

By Ben Boruff

Writer Paul Allor and artist Louie Joyce have created something special: a clever, quick-paced fantasy miniseries that thoughtfully explores several pressing sociocultural issues. Given its multifaceted characters, intelligent dialogue, seamless pacing, and enchanting artwork, Past the Last Mountain proves that indie comics are capable of telling stories that are both engaging and meaningful. Like a gritty, mythological version of Disney’s Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (or the original novel by Sheila Burnford), this comic focuses on the lives of three creatures—a dragon, a faun, and a young troll—who overcome adversity and travel long distances. The trio attempts to evade the determined clutches of the government after escaping from an “internment preserve” that houses a variety of fantastical beings.

Though the comic features storybook creatures like dragons and goblins, it remains grounded in reality. Like Marvel’s mutants, Past the Last Mountain’s Narnia-esque characters are systematically disadvantaged by an oppressive, fear-filled dominant power. Given the current social and political climates in the United States—climates of unfiltered xenophobia, insidious racism, and mulish disdain for alternative lifestyles—Past the Last Mountain’s story of several marginalized individuals who desire better lives seems dishearteningly familiar. The analogy is limited, but the comic’s ability to evoke empathy for most of its characters allows the story to act as a springboard for more targeted conversations about equality and acceptance.

Instead of existing as a distraction or a crutch, Louie Joyce’s artwork enhances the narrative by offering its own emotional fodder. Sometimes minimalistic and often cinematic, the panels draw the reader’s attention to emotions and details not specifically noted in the dialogue. In several panels, Allor eliminates all words, allowing Joyce to fill the sections with pastel renderings of pain, determination, and loneliness. Joyce’s use of shadows and silhouettes often acts as a sort of printed rack focus, shifting the reader’s eyes smoothly from one idea to the next. The comic consists primarily of dark, muted colors, but Joyce peppers the pages with harsh reds and oranges, as if acknowledging the sharp shocks and pains that interrupt the more frequent despondency felt by many.

Past the Last Mountain is more than a fantasy comic: it is an exciting, heartfelt action story that uses interactions between fairy-tale characters and government officials to create an effective social commentary. Allor’s narrative soars gracefully from page to page on the wings of Joyce’s nuanced artwork. The characters are complicated, which makes them refreshingly relatable, and the story is relevant. In a 2013 lecture for the Reading Agency, author Neil Gaiman noted the benefits of escapism, arguing that fantasy worlds offer readers a safe place to acquire knowledge and tools with which to better tackle problems in real life. Past the Last Mountain offers this sort of fantasy world—use it.

Score: 5/5

Past the Last Mountain #1
Writer: Paul Allor
Artist: Louie Joyce
Publisher: Comics Experience