Review: Soul #1

What I’ve found particularly interesting about Double Take’s shared universe, has been when they’ve taken moments and character from Night of the Living Dead and reimagined their endings. For instance, Rise looked at Johnny and Barbara’s ending, while Soul takes a look at Ben’s. Now granted, that was one of the best things about the film and its social commentary about the era, but this is a new universe just inspired by the events. They’re not trying to redo or one up the movie, but use elements of it to create a new universe. Much like the end of Night, we see hunters and volunteers rounded up by the police to shoot the undead. We start there and cut to the scene of Ben getting shot while on live TV. From there though, we see Ben wake up. Only grazed by the bullet meant for his skull. He screams out to the others letting them know he’s alive. The chief comes in and we have a small crossover with the characters from Honor.

There’s something interesting going on in this series. The story is short and not a lot happens other than just showing the aftermath of the evening, but there’s something else going on. I won’t spoil it. I think there’s something up with Ben as well. I’m not so sure he was missed and I think this might be one of those spots in which we see the ground work laid for the universe to jump fifty years into the future.

The art is pretty decent, but there’s a lot of dead space towards the middle of the comic. It feels a little light on the content because of this. Also the last two pages feel stretched out. I liked what it did for the story, but at the same time it could have been more impactful had it been approached a different way or just shorter. A long zoom would have built the suspense a bit more, but at the same time that’s a very cinematic approach and this is comic books. With comics you get the benefit of cutting to the shot faster. Otherwise there was only one character that looked off. The female police officer from Honor is almost unrecognizable which is strange considering how detailed Ben and the rest of the cast look.

Once again I can’t stress enough how much fun it is reading Double Take’s line of books in print. The price is right, there are ads to enjoy and frankly didn’t distract from the reading and most importantly… the paper stock. I know some of you are like, “shut up about the paper, what’s the big deal!?!” Well you either get it or you don’t. I like my covers two ways, the way that Double Take does it and the way Valiant does it with their Premiere line of comics. That’s it. Sure I’ll take some lesser versions, but if you want to win me over with your comic… print on good paper and have a great cover feel. I touch the cover more than anything else, it shouldn’t feel like the rest of the comic.

Soul has potential, but I think it’s saving it for the upcoming issues which is okay, it just leaves this first issue a little weak. At the end of the day though, I’m glad to see a Ben angle being worked into the universe and I can’t wait to see if they can capture his character. That will be the deciding factor for this series if he continues to be the main character. We’ll see.

---

Score: 3/5

---

Soul #1 – “Friendly Fire” Story: Michael Coast, Julian Rowe, Bill Jemas Script: Michael Coast Layouts: Julian Rowe Pencils: Ricardo Sanchez, Jose Luis, Ricardo Silva Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Remote #1

Remote has an interesting POV into Double Take’s shared universe. It’s based in the radio station providing news and updates about the zombies. There’s only two characters in the entire issue and only one of them is at the radio station. Our lone reporter finds herself fending off zombies on her own in an attempt to keep the news flowing. After her boss calls, he asks her to keep it up until the night team arrives. He has no clue about the severity of the issue and really down plays it while he’s lavished by women on the other end of the phone. The story reads a bit like a one-shot. We see our lead character Samantha fending off zombies one after the other to keep the news on air, but she’s left in an increasingly dangerous situation. Can she really continue the way she is? I suppose we’ll find out in the next issue.

I actually enjoy the story here. There was a sense of danger and it was nice to see Samantha just handle zombies left and right. She doesn’t hesitate, but rather beats ass. Instead of being pompous or anything, she just keeps going. There’s never that moment in which she stops and pats herself on the back which is good since it would have ruined her character.

That’s what I liked about it. Samantha’s character. I didn’t care for the art that much. There’s times in which it’s pretty good, but overall it’s one of the weakest in the Double Take line. When we meet her boss, he looks like a giant baby smoking a cigar. It was just strange proportions and angles. Samantha and the station zombies are actually pretty well drawn. There’s soft details, but it gave it a distinct look from the rest of the line. It looked the most indie, but it still had some problems. The coloring was too soft. Thankfully the sense of danger rings through because the coloring adds nothing to the atmosphere. This book could really have been special if the coloring was better and the art worked out a bit more.

It’s been a few reviews so this next paragraph is going to be verbatim from my first review, if you read Rise, then you can skip it.

While reading Remote and the other first issues from Double Take, I had this overwhelming sensation of reading a comic for the first time in a long time. I know that sounds weird considering I write reviews for comics every week so I’ll explain. There have always been ads in comics, but we got to the point in which the big two didn’t think they needed ads and didn’t see the benefit of “breaking up the reading experience” and the rest of the industry followed suit. Here’s the thing about ads though… they keep the cost down. All of Double Take’s books are $2.50 and here’s something that even more important… they’re printed on great paper which smooth covers. Let me tell you that when I pick up a Marvel or DC book it feels like I’m holding trash in my hand. I refuse to buy any of their print books because for $3.99 and twenty-two pages, it shouldn’t feel like I’m holding a food wrapper in my hand. Obviously Double Take is a new company and their formula isn’t 100% proven, but I can’t stress enough that I felt like I was reading a comic book since I first got into comic books as an adult. I know, that seems dumb to some. Some that began reading comics after the age of ads, but to me this was a magical experience.

Overall, I think Remote is a different type of comic in general. I’m very curious to see where it’s going and I liked that the location and danger was centralized, I just think that it could have done better with the story’s cliffhanger and the art. Still, I liked it and can see the potential for something different from the series. I also enjoy how much of this comic is used in the rest of the shared universe so it gets kudos for that.

---

Score: 3/5

---

Remote #1 – “Dead Air” Story: Colin Mitchell, Bill Jemas, Michael Coast Script: Colin Mitchell Layouts/Pencils: Young Heller, David Wilson Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Spring #1

Spring “Born Again” is probably one of the more interesting Double Take titles. I have a feeling that people are either going to love it or hate it. I’m the former of the two, but I can acknowledge its faults and still really enjoy it. Spring is a weird comic book. There’s no narrative per se, but rather two people telling a story while the radio plays. On the radio is a bit of news tying in the book to the rest of the line and of course some music. There’s not much going on in the comic itself, but it held my interest. Not because I wanted to see where these two stories being told to us ended, but because of what’s happening in the background… people are disappearing under the water.

The art is both great and average at times. There are more than a couple of panels that are much bigger than they need to be and sometimes the clothing and style seemed more modern than it did era appropriate. That and everyone in the comic is petit, skinny and good looking. The good far outweighs the bad. The entire opening is from the POV of a woman driving. She’s one of the people telling a story and when you just see her POV and hear her tale… you kind of wonder if she’s okay. She comes off creepy. It didn’t go in the direction I thought it would from there, but it was still a very different opening that caught my attention with the art and not the actual story.

The style of the art is good. In fact, it’s probably some of my favorite I’ve seen from the line’s launch. It’s clean and has a great look. The coloring helps with this a lot. The coloring is softer, but fits the pencils. With the title being Spring and the setting being a spring day at the beach, you’d expect the book to look like that. We all know what a beautiful spring day looks like and that is captured with the coloring perfectly. I would say that it feels summerier at times than spring, but either way it fits.

Here’s the thing about Spring. I like it. I liked that the narrative has basically nothing to do with the actual story going on, but I also like that it didn’t use narrative captions to tell the story. Actually, in thinking about it, none of the Double Take books rely on cheap narration. Does it always work? No, but at least the effort is there. The execution can always be worked on. I know this issue isn’t perfect, but I liked it. Maybe more than I should, but I did. I am very curious as to what the narrative will be for the next issue though, but hey… that’s why we keep reading comics.

I’ll spare you my long rant and just say that I love the print quality for Spring and the rest of the Double Take line up. I like when a publisher just offers a consistent product rather than some being given better paper quality and others not. It sucks when the book you like has low paper quality and the book you’re “meh” on has great stock. With Double Take, they all of the same feel. Lightweight, but durable.

Spring is probably not for everyone. Again, I can see a lot of people disliking it or not getting it, but I got it. I got that you just needed to hear a human element to relate to while we waited for the shit to hit the fan. I can’t wait to see what the mystery is for the next issue and while I’m scoring this one lower than my previous reviews for Double Take it’s because I understand the issues with it, but can also see it’s potential.

---

Score: 3/5

---

Spring #1 – “Born Again” Story: Bill Jemas Script: Jenn Sodini, John Flynn, Bill Jemas Layouts: Young Heller, Kurt Tiede PencilsDerlis Santacruz Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Comic Bastards Presents: Indie-Ween - Grandpa

Our final Indie-Ween comes to us form the man that created Indie-Ween... Mr. Justin Wood. Justin, to gush about him for a moment, is super fucking talented. You may recall the amazing video he did for us for our 200th episode of the CBMFP. If not check that out. Otherwise be sure to check out more of his fine work at the links below. Happy Halloween and we'll see you next year! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lines-To-The-Paper-The-Art-of-Justin-Wood-336560249789841/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/linestothepaper

“MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN II ARTESIA’S SORROW” Worldwide on-demand streaming starts!

Tokyo, Japan, October 30, 2015 Anime Consortium Japan Inc., will stream on-demand the newest “Gundam” series “MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGINIIARTESIA’S SORROW” starting October 31th, 2015 on DAISUKI.net as well as at Google Play, Amazon Instant Video and Play Station Network. “MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN” is produced by the Bandai Namco Group Company, SUNRISE Inc., and Bandai Visual Co., Ltd is distributing its Blu-ray Disc. Anime Consortium Japan will deliver “MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN” immediately to anime fans worldwide.

Title: MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM THE ORIGIN II ARTESIA’S SORROW Available from: 8am JST (Japan Standard Time), October 31st, 2015 *Except for Japan, area and language will be gradually added on each site. Available sites & Territory:

Rental Price:

DAISUKI.net Streaming area: Worldwide excluding Japan & China Audio: Japanese & English Dub Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Korean, traditional & simplified Chinese

Google Play, Amazon Instant Video, Play Station Network *Service may not be available in some territories.

For available territories, please visit http://www.daisuki.net/

DAISUKI.net (Anime Consortium Japan) US$6.99/72 hours *Prices vary at Google Play and Amazon Instant Video depending on the territory.

Wytches Season 2 Is Teased

I wasn't a big fan of Wytches. I love Jock's artwork, but I'm just not a fan of Synder's writing, especially when it comes to horror. I have a long standing opinion about this. I'm also not a fan of "seasons" when it comes to comics. Comics are comics and TV is TV. It's why we have volume numbers. I get that TV is hot, but let comics just be the great medium they already are without aping the lingo from another medium. I don't need "showrunners" or "seasons", but hey none of that has anything to do with an overrated comic book getting ready to return because the creators couldn't keep up with a monthly schedule longer than a "season."

Review: Z-Men #1

Z-Men is a balanced issue. There’s humor, there’s real politics and intense moments of human decisions at play. Decisions that you make in the heat of a moment that you sometimes wish you could get back.  The title is an obvious play on G-Men, the term used for FBI agents. Instead of the FBI though we have Secret Service agents. The story begins at a road block in Pennsylvania. Some citizens have volunteered to do a road check and keep people from the main outbreak. Let’s just say that not everything is peaceful and our agents will end up here eventually. From there we go to the President as he deals with the events. Information is coming in at a rapid rate, but he wants eyes on it he can trust. He wants Secret Service men on the ground gathering information on what is and isn’t happening. There is a funny bit in which the Secret Service director says he’ll send his best men, but the President axes that saying he doesn’t want to get shot like his predecessor. Instead of the best, two agents from the motor pool are sent. Stuart is a bit green and clearly not moving up the ranks, while Clancy is a wild card. They head out after grabbing a lot of shotguns and ammo.

Clearly this is going to be a bit of a buddy cop story. There’s going to be humorous parts for the reader as Clancy goes off on everything and everybody, while the more down to earth Stuart will smooth things over. Likely they’ll both get into trouble because of their mouths though, which is something I’m looking forward to.

This perspective is pretty unique. I like that it wasn’t just FBI or CIA used, but rather a branch of the White House. It makes sense too because this isn’t a high tech age and so direct information from a trusted source is pretty key. One thing the story and universe as a whole does well is feed into that misinformation that was common before the internet age. There’s a decent introduction to our characters and I’m sure we’ll see more from them, but for right now they are architypes and that’s okay. It’s a fast introduction which is helpful to move the story forward. Hopefully we’ll get strong character moments from the two main characters in later issues.

The artwork is some of the best from Double Take. Each panel has a lot of background detail and the coloring is top notch as well. I hope that some of the weaker books in the line get this same amount of love in the future, but I understand that Z-Men is meant to be one of the top books. The art does a great job with the character expressions which adds personality to the title and the characters.

I won’t repost my paragraph in full from my other reviews, but I will say that I enjoy reading Double Take’s books in print. As someone who reviews books weekly, single issues in print have all but lost their luster for me. It’s not that I prefer digital, it’s just that there’s very little difference. It’s rarer and rarer to pick up a comic that has a great cover and paper inside that won’t bend and wrinkle at first touch. Valiant is basically the only other company that I feel produces good quality monthly issues. Sure Image has a few, but their overall publishing varies too much to give them a solid tip of the hat. It’s just fun to read a comic with ads again and here’s the other thing… I actually look at them. They’re like ads on Hulu. Sure I’ve seen them all before, but I’ll check them out each time they’re there because they’re in front of me.

I honestly didn’t think I would like Z-Men when I started reading it. It was one of the first I checked out of the ten first issues from Double Take and so I was still getting my barring on what to expect from this universe. After the first crack about sideburns though, I was pretty much sold on the balance of drama and humor. Just like life, you need that balance and for me Z-Men found it.

---

Score: 4/5

---

Z-Men #1 – “Nervous in the Service” Story: Jeff McComsey, Bill Jemas Script: Jeff McComsey Layouts/Pencils: Kurt Tiede Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: 2000 AD - Prog 1954

Prog 1954 is yet another instance of proof that the quality of art in this comic makes it worth buying just to flip through, regardless of what the stories are up to. That's not to say that the stories aren't up to snuff, though.  Arthur is back on the scene in Brass Sun, one of my absolute favorite villain designs in any sci-fi series.  While evil cyborg certainly isn't a new concept, Edginton and Culbard teamed up here to design a particularly menacing character who fits perfectly in the aesthetic of Brass Sun while being transcendently fantastic as a character.

Other than designs (and Culbard's always fantastic art) in Brass Sun, one thing I'm really digging is Wren and the complexity of her character.  With this arc of Brass Sun, the depiction of her character has ranged from the kick-ass Wren we've come to love, to an exteremely vulnerable Wren.  Depicting this range and complexity in Wren's character is important and welcome, and not just because she's a female character.  Too often in stories like this when a young hero gets swept up into the mix of saving the world against overwhelming odds and supremely violent, sadistic forces, the youthful characters are unrealistically reselient in the face of horrifying adversity.  Wren, however, is supremely human, and Edginton in his script and Culbard in his art both understand that depicting her very human weakness in this shocking situation will make her triumph far more interesting.

I wasn't crazy about the latest Dredd run, "Serial Serial," but I can't fault it for art or design.  This fairly straightforward detective procedural take on Dredd isn't unfamiliar, and is incorporated into almost every run of Dredd, lest that run be particularly unusual.  I thought the ending was satisfying, and I thought that MacNeil's art (heavily assisted by Blythe's color work) was as brisk and interesting as I've come to expect from his Dredd runs.

Just in time for Halloween, this was my favorite chapter of Defoe yet.  I'm not entirely sure why the series hasn't clicked with my previously, but I was a little more comfortable with how wide open this particular bit of the story felt.  Others were, I think, claustrophobic out of necessity, and while that's well and good, zombies really aren't my thing, and this chapter made the undead bit feel like more of a sliver of what was going on, rather than the main selling point.  And, as always, the art was great.

Sinister Dexter and Bad Company were both on point for me as well, but I'll end up talking more about them next week!

---

Score: 4/5

---

2000 AD – Prog 1954 Writers: Various Artists: Various Publisher: 2000 AD Price: £1.99 (Digital) £2.55 Release Date: 10/28/15 Format: Weekly; Print/Digital

Review: Home #1

Home is probably the most confusing and yet funniest of the all the Double Take books. Confusing because for the most part this shared universe is very serious or at least the events are being taken seriously. With Home… it’s a different story. Most of the issue is spent with a wholesome farm family. We meet Dad as he opens the door for his teenage daughter’s boyfriend. Then we meet mom, son and lastly the youngest daughter whose no older than five and talks like me. If you’ve ever listened to the podcast, then you know what I mean. If you haven’t then listen to the podcast, it’s good for you. Basically she swears… a lot.

The confusing part is that no one acknowledges this. I mean she tells her father that the kite that he made for her is a “piece of shit.” I should point out that it’s technically censored, but unlike Valiant’s “War Monger” storyline in Unity, the censoring isn’t excessive and you’re able to easily read the word. That’s important because if you’re going to swear and censor it, don’t make it a pain in the ass to read.

Anyway, no one acknowledges her swearing and vulgarity in general and that lead me to take it one of two ways. It’s either a Family Guy/Stewie situation (which Kevin pointed out to me) or as I initially took it… kid talk. Little kids don’t always make sense. That’s why we humor them so much because we don’t have a clue as to what they’re saying and so I took it that way. They don’t understand what she’s saying or she has Tourette’s and again no one is acknowledging it. Whatever the case it’s funny. It’s funny because everyone else is very wholesome and saying things that the perfect family would say, but this kid is swearing and cursing them all for the way they are. She’s smarter than the situation, but it’s funny and very different from the rest of the books. Well, there’s one that’s kind of similar, but we’ll get there.

The art again was a great fit for the world and story. I’m really curious about their art process since a lot of the titles have a similar vibe to them. I don’t know if this has to do with the layouts or something else, but I’m curious. Overall there isn’t a lot happening in this story, but because of the little girl it’s interesting. The art keeps it that way by playing to the humor and not letting the rest of the world and characters be boring. That’s key to making this story work and so the art gets a lot of credit for the humor.

I’ll spare you my rant about how Double Take is making real comics books, but check out my review for Rise and Slab to see what I mean. I’m deadly serious about this and as someone who has over 12,000 print comics and a digital collection on the rise, I mean it when I say that Double Take’s print comics give me hope for the print industry. The reason a lot of people don’t care about print comics anymore is because print comics don’t necessarily feel like print comics anymore. You either get that or you don’t.

I will be back for more of Home. I thought it was hilarious and it quickly became a go to comic. Funny comics have been few and far between this year so this was a welcomed addition. I can’t wait to see what happens next to our perfect family and their sailor mouthed daughter.

---

Score: 5/5

---

Home #1 – “Lighter Than Air” Story: Michael Coast, Julian Rowe, Eric Hobbs, Bill Jemas Script: Michael Coast Layouts: Julian Rowe PencilsMonica Catalano, Fernando Melek Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Weekly Shonen Jump #48

One Piece takes us to a town full of furries or something, as Food Wars continues to take a very sharp right turn into a much more dramatic story arc. I'm not crazy about the character work in Academia.  As the series continues, I think it has potential to be a strong feature of the world that Horikoshi is building.  But, I think we're only just now starting to see a lot of these characters coming into their own.  Todoroki is the one character with a back story that makes who he is and how he develops worth paying attention to.  Given the quality of the art, the action, and the little bit of personality on display from everyone, Horikoshi has sort of earned the benefit of the doubt from me in ways other creators of series that are this ambitious have not.

I bring this up because the current final exams are serving to be transformative moments of both confidence and humility, where each is applicable, to the young characters in this series who are still trying to figure out who they are as heroes.  Of course, it's thus a necessary feature of this series that a lot of these characters have notable personalities in limbo: the whole point is a lot of them are trying to figure it out.  The fact that they're all working through this process together while discovering the value of teamwork is definitely one of the strongest shonen features of My Hero Academia.

Food Wars has gone completely off the rails.  I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, but this series has fundamentally changed in a way that challenges the title of the series itself (no spoilers, just go read the chapter).  We knew Erina's dad was bad news, but what concerns me more--and what makes for great storytelling potential--is the fact that actual students who are members of the council of ten have been okaying this fascist's ideas for the institute.

We knew that this story would be playing sort of a long game given some of the mysterious air around Soma's father and his ties to the institute and his reasons for sending Soma there.  But we're now slowly finding out that maybe some of why Soma is there ties into the current abrupt shift in the tone of the series.  That essentially means that we've just entered the major story arc of this series.  Shun Saeki's art is as menacing as ever when it needs to be, and though I'm not crazy about the potential for a really typical "damsel in distress" angle, author Yuto Tsukuda can prove me right with this next arc that he's one of the best mangakas working now, with a knack for more than just ecchi and soufflés.

If I'm not mistaken, over in Bleach land, we've never seen Captain Kyoraku's Bankai: until now.  So far Kubo has been going all out in its depiction, both artistically and story-wise.  As it has been with most of the big fights against the Sternitter, it's unclear whether Kyoraku will make it out of the fight alive, being pushed to his limit.  But this is a limit we have literally never seen, so it's a fun, if not potentially very sad, moment for fans of the series.  Though I'm not rooting for Kyoraku's death, I am hoping that at some point, rather than having all these dudes barely survive, Kubo acknowledges that this series has to end at some point.

---

Score: 4/5

---

Weekly Shonen Jump #48 Writers: Various Artists: Various Publisher: Viz Media Release Date: 10/26/15 Format: Weekly; Digital

Review: Slab #1

If you read only a handful of the ten first issues from Double Takes shared universe inspired by the movie The Night of the Living Dead, then make Slab one of them. The first issue, “The Doctor Is In”, follows Dr. Grimes. You may recall him from the news report that informs the audience of how to dispose of the dead. He’s one of the first to figure out how to kill the zombies/undead. What’s interesting about the POV for Slab, is that while it follows Dr. Grimes, it’s also following the news station behind the scenes. Dr. Grimes doesn’t want to be on TV any more than he has to and basically just wants to warn people and get back to work. The news director though loves his crass style and thinks he’s great for ratings. After his initial report they send a crew to follow him back at his lab. Here he debunks theories about the zombies and really displays his tactless personality. You have to remember that this is 1966 and so him lighting a dead body on fire, which don’t get me wrong is still f’d up in 2015, but even more so to the 60’s crowd.

We’re also introduced to his two daughters. Not only does he not personally warn them, but he’s annoyed when his lab assistant goes to gather them and bring them to his lab rather than assist him in the lab. This of course puts us out in the thick of the outbreak which is where the conflict comes from.

The characters are what make this particular story shine. The news reporter assigned to Grimes is kind of an idiot, but the perfect balance to Grimes’ no-shit attitude. There’s a hilarious response that the reporter gives after finding out Grimes has two children. All-in-all this was one of the most balanced stories from the first issues. You get a taste of almost everything that’s happening in the universe. A lot of the other stories just have connecting events or overlapping information to connect them, but Slab is where some of this information stems from and where other info is gathered. That makes more sense if you read them all, but on its own it does a great job of again giving you an overall picture of the emerging shared universe.

The art was also some of the best. The style fit the era, but then also had a distinguished look to it. It’s not particularly photorealistic, but it’s realistic. Also, it’s worth noting that the hair styles match the era. Honestly that doesn’t really seem to be a problem with comics as a lot of the big two’s books have character’s with hair styles trapped in one era or another, but at least it’s supposed to be that way here. The coloring is also very fitting. It has a softer look to it which really lets the pencil work shine through. It’s a good looking book in general and definitely one of the stronger of the line.

Okay this next paragraph is going to be verbatim the same as my previous review (link here), because it holds true for all of the Double Take books that I read.

While reading Slab and the other first issues from Double Take, I had this overwhelming sensation of reading a comic for the first time in a long time. I know that sounds weird considering I write reviews for comics every week so I’ll explain. There have always been ads in comics, but we got to the point in which the big two didn’t think they needed ads and didn’t see the benefit of “breaking up the reading experience” and the rest of the industry followed suit. Here’s the thing about ads though… they keep the cost down. All of Double Take’s books are $2.50 and here’s something that even more important… they’re printed on great paper which smooth covers. Let me tell you that when I pick up a Marvel or DC book it feels like I’m holding trash in my hand. I refuse to buy any of their print books because for $3.99 and twenty-two pages, it shouldn’t feel like I’m holding a food wrapper in my hand. Obviously Double Take is a new company and their formula isn’t 100% proven, but I can’t stress enough that I felt like I was reading a comic book since I first got into comic books as an adult. I know, that seems dumb to some. Some that began reading comics after the age of ads, but to me this was a magical experience.

My initial impression of Slab is that it’s a series with a lot to offer. The other first issues mostly have this, wait and see, vibe to them. With Slab you really know a lot of what to expect with this issue. There’s something happening on the Zombie side, there’s something happening on the daughter’s side and everything ties back into Grimes. This one beats out Rise as my top book so far, but just barely.

---

Score: 5/5

---

Slab #1 – “The Doctor Is In” Story: Brian Finkelstein, Bill Jemas, Michael Coast Script: Brian Finkelstein Layouts: Julian Rowe Pencils: Joseph Cooper Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Adventure Time Spoooktacular #1 2015

Hanna K's art is a welcome mix of adorable and effective, but the story leans heavily on prior knowledge of the Adventure Time mythos without having much substance of its own. Look, it's condescending for me to come out of the gate and say, "oh, well, you know, this is a children's book so the story doesn't have to be super sophisticated" or something like that.  For one thing, the pacing of this story and the way it calls upon Marceline's back story is plenty sophisticated, and exactly what I would expect from a well-constructed episode of this show.  But since this comic costs five bucks and is a self-contained one-shot story, I want to be clear about how engaging I personally found this one-shot story to be.

Despite the fact that it had many of the charms many others and I love about Adventure Time, the story moved too slow for me.  Given that we know quite a bit about Marceline's past and how jacked up it is, this comic feels like a small, mostly uneventful episode of that back story that hinges on a few dramatic interactions.  I think Marceline's heated conversations with the young, concerned human are the high point of the story in this issue, as is her final moment of triumph.  I suppose one of my biggest problems is despite some charming idiosyncrasies, nothing about this feels like a special annual "Spoooktacular": it just feels like one short and sweet story that happens to have vampires in it.

All of that said, I think if you really like this series, or want a lesson in how to translate an animated series onto the comics page as simply and effectively as possible, this comic is worth flipping through.  One of my most frequent rants occurs in reviews of comic book adaptations of cartoons, where I either flip out or praise how the comic book artist managed (or failed) to offer a novel visual interpretation of the source material while making that interpretation work on the comic book page.

Hanna K's experience as a storyboard artist for the show itself comes through in the best possible way, with salient story moments being presented at a fun, brisk pace, that still make for interesting reading due to thoughtful page layouts.  A big challenge when putting comics like this together is in making sure your comic doesn't just read like a storyboard, and though I think that should be a low bar to jump over rather than an achievement, the quality of the storytelling in this comic is worthy of praise.

It's possible that my problem is half with the overall story pace (~30 pages that are repetitive in some ways and limited to a one-shot) and half with the billing this story received, since it lacked the gravitas of a one-off story, or the visual/story themes of a halloween story beyond the mere presence of vampires.  Still, if you really like Adventure Time, I don't see any reason to avoid the title, necessarily.

---

Score: 3/5

---

Review: Adventure Time Spoooktacular #1 2015 Writer: Hanna K. Artist: Hanna K. Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $4.99 Release Date: 10/28/15 Format: One-Shot; Print/Digital

Review: Rise #1

I don’t think there’s a better place to start a series of ten reviews then there is with Rise, “Sister’s Keeper” from Double Take. If you’re unfamiliar with Double Take’s line of books, they’re set in the world of The Night of the Living Dead, but the charming thing is that they’re not regurgitating the original movie. Instead they’re drawing inspiration from the film. Point in case, Rise stars the two characters that Night originally introduces. Johnny and his sister Barbara. The difference is, it takes a different story route. We follow Johnny. Which you’re probably thinking, “that’s not possible”, but keep in mind this is a new universe. Johnny wakes up, but there’s something off about him. The undead don’t seem to notice him, but he’s able to talk and move regularly. As such he goes about finding Barbara.

We also learn that these Zombies/undead aren’t your typical zombies. They’ll actually eat anything. People, food, animals… candy. It’s a noticeable difference that’s pointed out in quite a few of the Double Take books.

Rise was definitely one of my favorites from the ten first issues. Perhaps because Johnny and Barbara’s opening always stood out to me so to see a new twist on Johnny really caught my attention. I’m curious to see what’s different about him from the rest of the undead and is Barbara in danger? Will her brother that saved her from a zombie horde be able to keep himself in check?

Overall, this is a quick story, but very interesting. I liked the different POV is provided on the timeline from Night. I’m curious to see where it’s going to go. Something I noticed about all of the first issues was that they’re all dealing with that first 24-hour period, either a little before or after. Because of that, this first issue doesn’t give us much of an idea of where the story is going. It’s a solid starting point, but we won’t really know where the series is going or what it has in store for us until the next issue. Which, I want to read.

The art was also solid. There are some strange panels that looked almost like a zoomed in panel. It’s again something I noticed in all of the issues so it might be a design choice, but it was noticeable. Otherwise the line work was very clean and the coloring was soft and gave the book a creepy atmosphere. Again, Rise was one of my favorites and a lot of it came from the art.

Now, I plan on saying this on every review because I think it’s important to point out. While reading Rise and the other first issues from Double Take, I had this overwhelming sensation of reading a comic for the first time in a long time. I know that sounds weird considering I write reviews for comics every week so I’ll explain. There have always been ads in comics, but we got to the point in which the big two didn’t think they needed ads and didn’t see the benefit of “breaking up the reading experience” and the rest of the industry followed suit. Here’s the thing about ads though… they keep the cost down. All of Double Take’s books are $2.50 and here’s something that even more important… they’re printed on great paper which smooth covers. Let me tell you that when I pick up a Marvel or DC book it feels like I’m holding trash in my hand. I refuse to buy any of their print books because for $3.99 and twenty-two pages, it shouldn’t feel like I’m holding a food wrapper in my hand. Obviously Double Take is a new company and their formula isn’t 100% proven, but I can’t stress enough that I felt like I was reading a comic book since I first got into comic books as an adult. I know, that seems dumb to some. Some that began reading comics after the age of ads, but to me this was a magical experience.

Overall I would return for more of Rise. Like I said, I don’t know where it’s going. This is the very start and because of that we need to read more. For me, I want to read more. I will also say that reading all ten issues together gives a great sense of this shared universe. Every comic has something to tie it to another comic and at the very least the unifying event. If you were curious to see how Double Take would handle The Night of the Living Dead as a shared comic universe, you’ll be pleased.

---

Score: 4/5

---

Rise #1 – “Sister’s Keeper” Story: Bill Jemas, Michael Coast Script: Michael Coast, Jeff McComsey Layouts: Kurt Tiede Pencils: Federica Manfredi Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: From Under Mountains #2

From Under Mountains is a series that demands the reader's attention at every layer of story and design. When I first read through From Under Mountains #2, my general reaction was, "okay, uh, what happened, exactly?  Like, who was that and, what happened?"  The simple answer to that question, most often, is "Purple.  Purple happened," but reading From Under Mountains--and I mean really, actually, sitting the fuck down and reading it--is a much more involved process that you are likely to experience from many other comics this, or any other week.

After my first read through, I read through again and, much like my multiple reads of #1, I started discovering intensely clever layouts and transitions deployed by Leong.  This is a comic where night and day themselves mean something, and the give and take between the two in the narrative is palpable, from what's happening in the story, down to what the colors of that particular time of day are conveying to the reader.  Color itself, in fact, is pulling a massive storytelling load in this comic, so much so that it helped guide me to where I needed to go back to the first issue in order to understand some features of this two issue arc of the story.

Because here's the thing: when reading comics, I have time.  If I'm watching a movie and I have to rewind to figure out what's going on, those creators have failed me as a viewer.  Yes I can pick up more when I re-watch the film; but, each time I consume a movie, it's constitutive of the fact that it's a movie that I view it in a certain temporal sequence.  It's not meant to be started and stopped and rewound and turned upside down.

In comics, I can very easily put down my copy of From Under Mountains #2, wander through my house trying to find exactly which stack of comics I left #1 in, open it, read the beginning, and immediately have both my narrative and aesthetic experience of the ending of #2 enhanced. 

Because I.  Have.  Time.

A certain brand of comics author at the top of the Corporate Comics heap will drill it into your head that the hallmark of creating a comics page is clarity from moment to moment.  While it's true that no visual story should be obfuscatory unless it has a damn good narrative reason to do so, an obsession with depicting events with maximum clarity leads to boring, tunnel-vision comics where you go in one end of the narrative and come out the other with some pretty anatomy work on white guys in tights beating the piss out of each other.  It amounts to 17 minutes of reading that you probably replicate every other week.

There were some things that happened in this issue where I'm not exactly sure what it was that occurred.  The initial, fairly ambiguous sequence that opened the series came full circle in this issue, however, which says to me that these creators aren't interested in pandering.  This creative team is out to create a rich visual world where the overall story unfolds at a steady pace across issues, yet where the reader's enjoyment of the narrative unfolding is itself dictated only by the reader's level of engagement with how thoughtfully this story is being presented on the printed page.

I know that everyone doesn't read comics like me.  Some people are way more into the tunnel-vision sort of narrative aspects than they are into cool layouts or fun fuckery with colors.  But none of that changes the fact that From Under Mountains asks the reader to play close attention to what's happening in the comic while rising to meet that scrutiny with artistic choices that both stand on their own and further enhance earlier (and later) artistic choices as well.

---

Score: 4/5

---

From Under Mountains #2 Writer: Claire Gibson and Marian Churchland Artist: Sloane Leong Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 10/28/15 Format: Ongoing, Print/Digital

Trailer Time: Lucha Mexico

If you haven't figured out that practically all of the writer's on the site are wrestling fans... then now you know that they are. Which is why Lucha Mexico caught my attention. The trailer looks good and I can't wait to check out the full film. More details below.

LUCHA MEXICO (Section: Jock Docs)

Directors: Ian Markiewicz & Alexandria Hammond (Better Than Something: Jay Reatard)

The ultimate look behind the mask, LUCHA MEXICO documents the joyous spectacle of Lucha Libre, which has thrilled fans in Mexico for generations. The film gives the audience the ultimate access to these legendary masked wrestlers, in the ring and beyond the lights of the stadium.

Born into the entertainment business, ‘El 1000% Guapo’ SHOCKER is one of the most successful Luchadores of the modern era. His life is consumed by a need to be in the ring. As tag team partner with extreme American strength competitor JON ‘STRONGMAN’ ANDERSEN, Shocker also becomes a guide to working in Mexico City. After long days of body building at Fabian’s Gym, owned and operated by their masked wrestler colleague FABIAN “EL GITANO,” these uniqueentertainers headline events around the country. Injuries and death eventually threaten to endthese thriving careers, forcing each performer to search for what truly matters in their lives.

A supporting cast of fan-favorites further reveal Lucha Libre from the inside, with BLUE DEMON JRdiscussing life behind a legendary mask, the tragic HIJO DEL PERRO AGUAYO pursuing violent creative change, and veterans like TONY SALAZAR and ARKANGEL teaching the new generation. These stars and more illuminate the physical and emotional challenges they face in the constant fight to stand between the ropes and thrill every last fan. With an unprecedented level of access to the top Lucha promotions and performers in the world, LUCHA MEXICO steps into the ring, pulls back the mask, and reveals a powerful look into the beating heart of Mexico.

Running Time: 105 Minutes/ Language: English, Spanish/ Country: USA

Exclusive Preview: Pawn Shop from Z2 Comics

We have another exclusive preview for you from Z2 Comics. In case you missed it here's a link to our other preview today. I haven't read anything by Esposito yet so this will be a first for me, but I'm very familiar with Von Gorman's work on Toe Tag Riot. If anything, this book highlights just how diverse Z2's line up is. Be sure to stop back by for the review and in the meantime here's some info on Pawn Shop before the preview.

PAWN SHOP written by by Joey Esposito (whose FOOTPRINTS earned an honorable mention on USA TODAY’s “BEST OF” lists 2011) illustrated with a gorgeous mixture of watercolor and digital elements by Sean Von Gorman (TOE TAG RIOT) presents the story of four people, in a city of eight million, whose lives unknowingly intersect through a Manhattan pawn shop. A widower. A nurse. A punk. A Long Island Railroad employee. New York City is an ecosystem where everybody is connected, if only by the streets they walk on. PAWN SHOP explores the big things that separate us and the little moments that inexplicably unite us.

Joey Esposito is a writer and hoarder of things from New England, where he lives with his girlfriend Amanda and their cat Reebo. He thinks CHEERS is the greatest television show ever made. He writes comics like FOOTPRINTS , CAPTAIN ULTIMATE, and PAWN SHOP. His work has appeared at Image Comics, Archie Comics, Valiant Comics, and more.

Sean Von Gorman is an NYC based Comics Illustrator & Writer. known for TOE TAG RIOT, SECRET ADVENTURES OF HOUDINI and his work for the Occupy Comics Anthology w/ such comics legends as Alan Moore, Mike Allred, David Mack. In addition to his comics work, Sean is also a brilliant guerrilla marketer, who has been known to handcuff himself to things and escape straightjackets to promote his work at Comic Shops and Conventions. If you should meet Sean in person, approach carefully as he is very dangerous.

Exclusive Preview: Ashes: A Firefighter's Tale

Well if you've been following the site then you know that Z2 Comics is on fire... pun not intended. Seriously though, they've got a slew of great books out/soon to release. One of their next titles is Ashes: A Firefighter's Tale. You can read about it below before checking out the preview, but know that you'll find coverage for it here on the site.

New York City has inspired graphic novels as wonderfully diverse and eclectic as the city’s population. From a coming-of-age story of NYU freshmen (THE NEW YORK FOUR by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly), to a fictionalized memoir about a writer’s addictions (THE ALCOHOLIC by Jonathan Ames and Dean Haspiel), from a memoir about the city’s most famous urban planner (ROBERT MOSES: THE MASTER BUILDER OF NEW YORK by Pierre Christin) to Will Eisner’s classic graphic novels, there’s a rich and impressive history of comics about the 5 boroughs. Z2 Comics will publish two more love letters to NYC: ASHES: A FIREFIGHTER’S TALE and PAWN SHOP. Both graphic novels present the stories of everyday New Yorkers -- and everyday heroes -- making their way in the toughest of cities, searching for real human connection.

ASHES: A FIREFIGHTER’S TALE written by Mario Candelaria (UNLAWFUL GOOD) with art by Karl Slominski (GOLGOTHA), takes readers along for the ride with New York firefighter. Matt always had an easygoing life. Girls liked him, his friends were like family and being a firefighter came naturally. But his life changed in an instant when he lost his leg trying to save the last person trapped in a burning building. A riveting tale about perseverance, hard work, and overcoming the odds, ASHES is a gripping tale told in evocative black and white.

 

About the creators of ASHES:

Mario Candelaria (UNLAWFUL GOOD, EPILOGUE) is a writer and stand-up comedian who is constantly on the lookout for new and imaginative ways to bring an authentic perspective into his work. Originally hailing from Brooklyn, New York, Mario currently resides in suburban Philadelphia where he spends his days honing his craft and trying to figure out what exactly a "Wawa" is.

Karl Slominski began drawing comics as soon as his tiny, claw-like hand could grasp a pen. A graduate of The Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art, Slominski's prolific DIY inksplatterings have contributed to film & TV as well as illustrating the graphic novels TAD CALDWELL & THE MONSTER KID, GOLGOTHA, and RUN LIKE HELL. He lives on voracious intake of black coffee, rock n' roll, and love.

Kickstarter: Vast Expanse #1 by Jeremy Scott Nichols

Here's the second of our kickstarters for the day. I was intrigued by this project based on the different subjects of each story. The "elevator pitch" for each one caught my attention and made me actually want to read the different stories. Here they are in case you were wondering:

A macabre tale set in the Middle Ages. An anti-bullying story. A surrealist love story. An action-packed battle of mutated beasts.

Four stories in one comic. I also, again appreciate that this is a well put together kickstarter. Check out the video and of course check out the kickstarter link below.

Kickstarter link for Vast Expanse #1