Review: Voodoo #1-3

Review by: Colton Cabeal This series first grabbed my attention for the cover art, as I’m sure it did for many readers. The fact is that I’ve been on and off with comics far too long. In hopes to change that I’ve decided to review what I read and what I've read is Voodoo issues 1-3.

The story is simple, two agents, one male, Agent Evens and one female, Agent Fallon are staking out a suspect named “Voodoo” at a strip club. The male detective’s enjoyment of the situation is enough to drive his partner to back to the hotel. While on his own Evens decides to have a little private show with his suspect. As he attempts to learn her story while he runs his mouth and reveals all the info his agency happens to know. Our friend Voodoo then shows her true colors and kills the Mr. Evens. Then she shape-shifts thus changing into his appearance and tricks the Fallon into some personal time. Now Voodoo learns more information on why she's being hunted. However, Agent Fallon learns that her partner is still at the club a bloody mess, and that Voodoo has tricked her but also escaped. Fallon soon joins up with other members of her team and they corner Voodoo in an abandoned looking house. Fallon wants to go in alone however as clever as she is our main character, Voodoo ends up slipping away.

Priscilla Kitaen is an interesting character and her motives are unclear until the third issue, but even then it still leaves you to wonder. It seems as if there’s more to her than revealed but it’s told in a very subtle narrative of her own thought. There are just enough details for some action to come into the pages. It seems that Ron Marz has a way of not revealing too much but at the same time attempts to dive right in which gives the story an awkward pacing. One of the characters in particular is introduced and clearly by how he’s presented he’ll be sticking around yet there isn’t more given than that. Priscilla and Agent Fallon which as of now seem to be the main focus are given more character; yet at the same time more so with Priscilla we’re given a lot more questions. It’s the type of storytelling that leads you to believe it’s all been planned out, the point of which is to screw with you. It leaves the impression that it could all just be made up as they go with no real goal in sight.

The artwork of the books are very solid, the art enriched the characters and their interactions with each other. No one seemed distant or as if they didn't belong. The way the panels are composed worked really well in the aspect of showing the narrative. The colors that go along with it work well, they’re simple in a way and don’t drown the scenes in detail, which gives it a stylized look that’s consistent and only enriches the overall experience. As I said the draw for me were the covers which are just pleasant to look at, it’s nice to see that the interior didn't disappoint.

The third issue has a guest appearance that leaves you wondering about the series, I’ll see how it pans out but I’m on the fence with this one so far. The comic is different from other new 52 titles with art that has just enough push to keep me interested. I’ll say it’s not the strongest first issue I’ve read, though more could have been done to set up the overall story they’re aiming for. The little that’s given should be enough to keep the reader’s attention.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Ron Marz Publisher: DC Comics

Review: Pocket God #1-4

Review by: Connor Russell

So it seems that almost anything can be made into a comic book these days and the two major contributors to this would be online web comics and digital comics. Being fed up with the Big Two (Marvel and DC) and pretty much super heroes in general I have been keeping an eye out for anything else to fill up my time. I found one based off an app game (which I have not yet played) and upon reading what it was about I felt like giving it a try. And well, it was certainly different to anything else I have read. I decided to review the first four together as this was originally intended as a mini-series, only to now have more. So I may continue to buy and review them.

The comic was Pocket God, based off the game of the same name. It follows a small group of immortal people that live on a small island, known as pygmies. These little men, all men (maybe so they don’t get told off for violence against women, I don’t know), worship their gods but are always killed and tortured by all sorts of things, only to be brought back to life later. For example: sharks with lasers and exploding meteorites. One of them, Ooga, is displeased with their existence and tries to convince everyone that no matter what they do to try and please, the gods will always torture them.

Oh and there is some crystal that is apparently the source of their immortality and it gets knocked from its pedestal (which it isn’t supposed to) and the color starts draining. According to the little pygmies, when all the color is gone they lose their immortality (cue bad music).

So the little guys leave their peaceful island because according to legend, if they put the gem back on its original pedestal, then its powers will be restored and they will regain their immortality. The adventure is pretty whacky and some of the characters die in funny ways. When Ooga finally confronts the gods its pretty funny as they have names like “pygmysmasher1989”, they say they are bored and waiting for updates and say if the tribe dies they’ll become a Wikipedia page. Obviously a point at us. I mean duh the whole point of the game is messing with these guys lives.

The story was written by Jason M. Burns and I did enjoy it. Interesting to make a story out of nothing and giving the characters life. So they were a little two dimensional but look at his source material. He is able to make serious things like death seem lighthearted and non serious. Kind of the point of Pocket God I guess. His pace is consistent throughout the four issues and there is barely a dull moment.

Rolando “Rolo” Mallada on pencils and Paul Little on inks and colors. These two did a good job, giving it a nice cartoony feel with bright colors. I don’t mind this approach with comics, its becoming a more popular trend. This isn’t to say the artwork is simplistic in nature because it isn’t. The inking is done well too.

All in all it actually wasn’t that bad a read and was a good change from the very thing I’m trying to escape. If you are bored or a fan of the game or both, give it a try. You’ll find it entertaining. I will continue to read this series, it is cheap.

Score: 3/5

Publisher: Ape Entertainment

The 100 Most Baffling Batman Photos Ever

I have to hand it to Mitch O'Connell.  He has collected some of the most obscure, interesting, and downright hilarious photos of Gotham's Dark Knight.  The above photo of the water skiing Justice League is just the tip of the iceberg.  There are some bat-shit crazy images collected from over the years.Be careful, though.  Some photos fall under the NSFW category, but there's nothing that won't damage your already fractured psyche.

Congratulations to Mitch for putting together the oddest assortment of pics that are gallery worthy.

I hope one day I can create something so recognizable such as Batman, and have my creation loved the world over.

To check out the photos stop by Mitch's blog at

http://mitchoconnell.blogspot.com/2011/12/brace-yourself-for-100-most-bizarre.html

Review: Cut the Rope #1

Review by: Connor Russell Scouring the internet like I do,trying to find something a little different to read, I looked up Ape Entertainment (partnered with Zeptolab), the guys that do the Pocket God comic series, and found out they have a whole range of different things. So I learnt that they have another comic based off another popular app Cut the Rope (a game I have never played). Knowing what the game is though I just had to read the comic to find out how the heck they could make a story out of it. They did, but it just was nothing special.

There is a kid named Evan and he seems to be bored at home. He hears the front doorbell ring and he just assumes that his mother went on an online shopping spree. But alas,the box makes some noises and out pops Om Nom (the little green guy).Chaos ensues as Om Nom destroys things and eats all the food in the kitchen with a giant mess. Evan then tries to capture the alien thingy coz he knows his parents won't believe him otherwise.

That is pretty much it. There are other little things in between and a “cliffhanger” ending but hey, why would I spoil such a great story. You guys can read it yourself by downloading the Cut the Rope comic app yourself! At least issue 1 is free.

The issue is written by Matt Anderson and I gotta give it to him for making a story out of nothing. It's almost like making a comic out of Temple Run or Angry Birds (the latter will totally happen). So the pacing is alright but the character of Evan is annoying. Kids don't have to be written so shallow and be a generic hyperactive child. But who knows, maybe the character will evolve because of his chance encounter with Om Nom.

Ricardo Garcia and Antonio Alfaro were in charge of the art (I'm pretty sure entirely digital, sorry if I am wrong) with Tim Durning on colors. Overall the art has a very animated style and could be perfectly transitioned into a mini web-series cartoon without even having to change the styles used.

So far there are three comics in total, the issue two and a kind of prologue. I will read them because they are heaps cheap and well its something different but I kind of can't believe that I am. The comic is nothing too impressive but is ok in all fields. I can see why this would appeal to children and I understand I am not the targeted audience.

Score: 2/5

Publisher: Ape Entertainment

Review: Flash #4

Mob Rule has commandeered Barry Allen. The group is made up of the Manuel clones that want Allen to repair their shortened life spans. The original Manuel handles the fallout from the Flash’s adventures on Gem City Bridge. DC continues with their company-wide reboot. Issue four leaves a lot to be desired for those people picking up this book in hopes of getting some exciting Flash action. You see, the Flash doesn’t appear until the final panel of this book.

This comic serves as an excellent bridge to set up an even greater story for Flash fans. But this isn’t a great comic book story for everyone else. It’s boring. Nothing phenomenal happens, and there’s no cliffhanger that makes me look forward to the next book. The art is as great as you would expect from a DC book, so I can’t say much about it.

The Flash isn’t an easy comic to write. When a hero has one set power, that hero becomes a challenge to keep interesting. My advice to this creative team is to treat each issue as a stand-alone because there are some readers (like myself) jumping on board in these early issues. When you have a comic that the hero isn’t in until the last page, you are setting the book up for failure.

Score: 2/5

Writers: Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato Art: Francis Manapul Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 12/28/11

Review: Archie #628 – Archie Meets Kiss – Part 2

This book is fun, but the premise should have ended in this second part. The problem is that this is a four-issue arc, so the gag starts to run dry here. Continuing off where Veronica cast a projection spell that brought monsters and Kiss to Riverdale, Archie #628 sees Sabrina in bondage. Yes! The Kiss Army invades Archie’s tree house. Yes! And Kiss dresses up like the Riverdale gang. No!

The good news is that there’s a shout out to the Phantom of the Park. The bad news is that when Kiss fights the invading monsters, Gene doesn’t spit fire. In one of the weirdest lines I will type today, Paul shoots a pulsating ray from his hand at a female mummy.

The tongue-in-cheek fun runs throughout the book. It’s good, safe entertainment for all-ages. The Riverdale zombies have no nightmare inducing gore or evangelical cursing morbidity. Instead, a Riverdale Zombie has noirises.

Last issue brought the gimmick together in such a well-paced story. This issue drags. I’m betting you can skip #628 and #629 without missing anything. I will review the next two parts, but I’m only looking forward to the conclusion in#630.

Score: 2/5

Writer: Alex Segura Artist: Dan Parent Publisher: Archie Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 12/28/11

This Kicks All Kinds of Ass: Every Significant Bat-Suit Ever

This is pretty damn cool! 35 in all.

Sorry Marvel and DC, No More Free Passes

I was sitting down to review The Defenders from Marvel and I couldn’t get this notion out of my head from when I had purchased the comic. At this particular comic shop, let’s call it Earth 2, the shop worker told me that she has a soft spot for Matt Fraction’s Iron Fist due to his and Brubaker’s run on The Immortal Iron Fist. As Kevin and I walked out of the store we joked about what she said, saying that “Free passes are what’s wrong with comics” which is a statement we’ve uttered for years as comic readers. What is a free pass? Well I have a perfect example for you of a creator that receives at least one free pass a month. When Brian Michael Bendis first hit Marvel he had an amazing run on Daredevil that not only tied into what his predecessors had done with the character, but he made this B-list character great. To this day it is one of his best runs on a series or character. Flash forward to his current run on… well anything really. You cannot seriously tell me that his Avengers is anywhere near the quality of Daredevil.There’s not even a quarter of the heart or thought that can be found in Avengers and yet it sells because of his name; because people keep reading it based on the fact that he did some great stuff during his early days at Marvel. That is a free pass and it is killing comics more than paper is.

Perhaps I can supply you with a more prolific example. Alan Moore has been dubbed one of the greatest, if not the greatest comic book writer of our time. Even though I find him to be highly overrated and most of his stories fall into the good, not great territory. I know blasphemy. Yet how many of you picked up Lost Girls or this year’s Neonomicon?I’ll be the first to say that I did not pick up Lost Girls since Alice, Dorthy and Wendy having sex romps isn’t at the top of my reading list, but I did try to read Neonomicon.“Try” being the key word there. It seemed as if the book should have been amazing, it was from Avatar written by Alan Moore with an artist that was tolerable. Instead it was just this terrible work of fiction that did Lovecraft’s name injustice. Yet I’m sure this will turn up on someone’s end of the year list or at the very least the sales were decent enough due to the free pass it received from rabid Moore fans.

The point I’m making here is that comics as a print medium could potentially fade away and comic book stores will be like the American arcade… extinct. Creators and parent companies really need to step up their game if they’re going to keep the medium strong and really only have themselves to blame for the industry being as weak as it is. Let’s be honest, Marvel and DC rely on that free pass you give top creators to sell books. Half of the time it’s the creator’s name that is selling the book these days and that’s why the pool of top-tier talent is so small. DC and Marvel may be the most notorious and dare I say even plan their strategy around it, but like all things there is a trickle down effect that has affected the rest of the medium.

Look at any licensed property from any of the major players and tell me that it’s not apparent that they’re using a similar formula. They, more than the big two, rely on those licenses to sell “X” amount of issues and bring in “Y” amount of revenue. Why? So that they can bring you some truly great creator owned books or just be able to publish things that would otherwise never making in the market without their support. The problem is that people waste their time and money on these books rather than supporting true comic books. I love me some Godzilla, Star Wars and Robocop, but I’m tired of watered down stories that fail in comparison to the original works their based off of. All they do is take the spot of a true comic book in a retailers store.

I’m guilty of the free pass, too; so settle down. I’m not singling you out, but I tend to give smaller companies and indie books more free passes than anything else. The biggest difference is when an indie book is just okay, it’s usually the creation of one to three people who have poured their sweat and tears into the work. It's not the product of a corporation that has dozens of people working on any particular title. I tend to be more sympathetic towards indie books, but only when I can see the potential for something great just below the surface.

Now I’m not saying, “Don’t buy this crap! Only buy indie!”which I know some ass is probably saying right now. What I am saying is say something. Something constructive that pushes these companies to tell good stories that showcase how amazing the comic medium is. That it’s a place where a boy with the name of a comic character grows up to become the universes most powerful villain and carves a fucking “S” on his chest. A medium where zombies,superheroes, magic, love and robots all co-exist because there is a market for it and not because it’s the flavor of the month.

Say something constructive; don’t just say you hated it because it was different, but rather because it was generic and unimaginative.Ask them to stop playing it safe like the rest of the entertainment industry does so that you can stop giving mid-grade comics a free pass. Or not, that seems to be helping the industry nail those coffins shut at record pace. I don’t know who said it originally, but vote with your wallet today and every Wednesday and know that when you pick up The Defenders #2,you’re saying that it’s okay to keep delivering the same team book you’ve read for the last ten years.

Review: Witch Doctor: The Resuscitation

Brandon Seifert took the archetypal monster hunter and turned it into a brilliant medical metaphor in his book, Witch Doctor. Dr.Vincent Morrow is a surgeon who very well could have graduated top of his class from Miskatonic University. The good doctor is an appointed agent of the world’s immune system that looks to eradicate the parasitic supernatural creatures that plague the shadows and dark places. I know what you are thinking: the supernatural mingled with the medical field has been done before with Marvel's Dr. Strange. To me, though, Dr. Strange always seemed like science fiction because it was so otherworldly. Witch Doctor keeps the story grounded on Earth and not some astral plane. That makes the story fun and creepy.

Joining Morrow on his duties are Eric Gast, a paramedic and helper, and Penny Dreadful, a creepy little mute girl in the vein of River Tam from Firefly. Gast and Morrow exchange some clever banter as they investigate a gentleman who woke up naked in a tub of ice. The man isn’t missing a kidney; he’s got one that had been transplanted. Please read this book to unlock the mystery because it is so fulfilling.

Morrow’s investigation leads him to a pathologist named Catrina Macabrey. She’s the most excellent foil for the good doctor and the key to a sinister plot.

The occult twists are smart and inventive but never become tacky. Seifert didn’t rely on overused horror clichés; instead, he evoked classic ones and gave them twists that are so interesting without being stupidly condescending. For instance, Catrina uses her unborn fetus as a ‘smoke child’ guardian/familiar.

Although some of the names made me roll my eyes a little,the application of the occult icons made this book so outstanding. The plot was unique and riveting, while the artwork reminded me of the production design on the Stuart Gordon Reanimator films mixed with a Vault of Horror comic.

The bad? There’s not much. My first problem is that the book gets a little dialogue heavy at times. Additionally, there’s a reference to The Princess Bride that made me cringe. The book does so well on its own; don’t slap a blatant nod to something that seems like pandering. It’s similar to what Kevin and Dustin say in their podcast about mentioning Twitter or Facebook in a comic. It dates a book and makes it feel silly. But those are so minimal of issues.

It’s a damn shame that Image charges only $2.99 for this comic because it is worth so much more. I thank Seifert for being an excellent storyteller who clearly didn’t rush this one. The layers and details are so brilliant and fresh that I am hooked on this comic for good. I only wish this one would have been out sooner so it could have made Dustin and Kevin’s best of the year list.

Score: 5/5

Writer: Brandon Seifert Artist: Lukas Ketner Colorist: Andy Troy Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 12/28/11

Review: Star Trek #4

Training wheels. Safety scissors. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. All the above are safe. They keep you within a boundary of security so you do not endure any harm or shame. You never worry when using the above items because you will not risk anything.

And to that list I add Star Trek: The Galileo Seven, Part 2.

On a mission to deliver medical supplies, the Enterprise investigates a space problem on Muraski 312. Spock, Bones, Scotty, and some red shirts break down on Muraski. Axe wielding apes attack their shuttle craft, Galileo.

Meanwhile, Kirk has to wait for word from the away team. Commissioner Stick-up-his-ass warns Kirk that the Enterprise needs to deliver the medicine to the New Paris colony.

So the conflict of the story relies on Kirk being thrust into a “Cold Equations” scenario: leave the away team to possibly die on the planet, or let the millions in the New Paris colony die without the medicine that Kirk must shuttle.

SPOILER ALERT

I try my best not to spoil a book, but the resolution of this comic is so fucking lame it could compete in the forty-yard dash in Special Olympics. Kirk decides to leave, but Uhura ‘commandeers’ a shuttle and saves her boy toy, Spock.

Everyone lives. No one dies. And no one gets in trouble. It’s that fucking stupid, and that fucking SAFE.

What’s up at IDW? Do they put no effort into making a story interesting? I know they can’t kill a major character, so there’s no chance of real risk. But there’s no story element to make this comic worthwhile.

Save for one: those spear and ax-wielding apes were bad-ass. Give them their own comic. Maybe I will have to read the Planet of the Apes comic.

Score: 1 ax ape attacker out of 5

Writer: Mike Johnson Layouts: Stephen Molnar Pencils/Inks: Joe Phillips Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/28/11

Review: TMNT – Micro Series #2: Michelangelo

This was a fun romp. I can’t say that it enriched the main series in the way that Raphael’s issue did, but it could also be that I haven’tread the fifth issue yet and it actually does. Just like with Raph’s one-shot,this issue only follows Mikey around as he sits all day in a movie theater being romanced by the silver screen; enough that he’s reluctant about heading home to his brothers, but instead wants to have a solo adventure on New Year’s Eve.

He ends up at a museum event that is playing host to a costume party. Mikey takes advantage of this situation after a man dressed as a dinosaur decides not to attend. Once inside, Mikey is mistaken for the man who left the party and gave Mikey his change to enter. He finds himself in the middle of jewel heist but decides to play along. He uses his brother’s training to get himself out of the situation, but finds that in the end it’s more complex than even he thought.

Again, this book is fun. I’m sure the end sequence will come into play in the main story, but for now I was content with the issue being just fun and exploring Mikey’s personality more. In the old Turtles dynamic he was always under-developed and really just there for a one off gag. Now he has much more personality thanks in large part to Brian Lynch.

The art style is really good and once again fits the Turtles really well. Andy Kuhn has a very fitting style that I would enjoy seeing on future issues. Frankly the art for this micro-series has been much better than that of the Godzilla series. Kuhn is a strong artist with a great style that fits the series and the writing very well, which makes the Godzilla series all the more disappointing.

There is no love lost between the between the Turtles and the Bastards, so it should come as no surprise that this book was very good. It was simple, but at the same time very deep with character development. If you’ve enjoyed IDW’s Turtles so far, then this is another worthy addition to the team.

 

Score: 4/5

Writer: Brian Lynch

Penciller: Andy Kuhn

Colors: Bill Crabtree

Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99

Release Date: 12/28/2011

Review: Space Warped #6

Okay, if you like Star Wars spoofs here you go. This is the final book of the series based on the second half of Return of the Jedi. And I found it quite comical. The story is base as the final battle of End or En Dior in the book. I really don’t need to elaborate any more. I enjoyed this spoof because it was a little different from other.  It was not really futuristic more of a medieval background. Instead of speeders they had ponies and it was a castle not a death star, but best of all was the awesome cannon of awesomeness.  I have to say one of the best parts for me was when Jean Luc Ground walker tells Lady Leica that they are brother and sister and the slap fight that ensues.  Trust me growing up with sisters... this is very true.  The art is very Saturday morning cartoon, but works because well it’s mainly for kids. But adults will love this book too especially if you grew up with Star Wars.  I recommend picking this up well because it’s a good spoof and doesn’t try too hard to be funny.

Score: 4/5

Review: Deadhorse #1

Deadhorse surprised the hell out of me. How this book made it under my radar is beyond me, but now that it’s been brought to my attention I will be paying close attention to the series as it progresses. The book reminds me of other comics like Chew, Fell and even a short-lived mini called Pigtale, but not in the typical way. That is to say that the book can draw comparisons in story structure and art style, but it’s influences are not that transparent and it doesn't barrow any of those series concepts. The story opens in Denali, Alaska in the year 1877. A team of five men find a camp site with a huge group of dead bodies. The younger Gadsworth finds his father’s dead body clutching a box with the writing “DamuAbi Lu” on it, and snatches it from the dead man’s hands. Afterwards he lights the camp on fire to burn all of the remains. In present day Anchorage, a man stands in his shower trying to reason with a beetle that sits upon his toilet seat. It’s clear that the man, Mr. Pike is a germaphobe that doesn’t want to touch the bug, in a strange act the bug jumps into the toilet and allows him to flush.

Mr. Pike prepares to leave his apartment for the first time in a long while after receiving a letter from his deceased father. He needs to track down a man his father thinks he can trust and figure out what’s going on with the strange letter. As he leaves one of his neighbors invites him in for a quick sandwich that his wife made. Reluctantly Mr. Pike enters their home, only to have them try to kill him. Thankfully the elderly couple is terrible at killing and Pike is able to get away after jumping down from the building.

I can’t quite describe why this book is so good; it’s a strange comic that just really caught my attention with its quirkiness. The mystery of the Gadsworth Company and Mr. Pike was instantly interesting and I can’t wait to see how more of it progresses. Writer Eric Grissom does a great job of making Pike a strange character that is very interesting due to his strangeness. Grissom does a great job with the pacing of the story and the overall structure of the issue. I don’t know if he’s written other comics before, but this work does not come off as a newcomer wrote it.

The art style is to die for. I loved it immediately and it won me over when it exceeded my expectations. Grissom is a good storyteller,but his counterpart Phil Sloan does a tremendous job with the visuals. Sloan adds tons of personality to the characters that would otherwise be missing from the story. The style has an edgy cartoon look to it that is familiar, but I can’t quite peg where I’ve seen something similar. The art really sold me on this book and again doesn’t look like a newcomer to the comic scene.

I almost feel guilty telling you that this book is only available digitally right now… and that it’s free! Head over to the Deadhorse site to get the full scoop, but you can pick it up pretty quick from Graphicly. The second issue is also available there for just a dollar; I strongly suggest you check it out considering I’ll be reviewing it later this week as well. Overall this book is pretty damn good and I’m looking forward to future issues already.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Eric Grissom Artist: Phil Sloan You can now get the first volume on Comixology Submit for $9.99

Review: Fathom - Vol. 4 #3

I have to say that this issue wasn’t half bad. It had a lot of what I’ve come to expect from Scott Lobdell (Superboy, Red Hood and the Outlaws), but at the same time he managed to surprise me and really show the beautiful world that’s made Fathom stand out from its male counterparts in the comic world (looking at you Namor and Aquaman). Lobdell really allows penciller Alex Konat and colorist Beth Sotelo to showcase the beautiful world under the sea that I can only image was one of Michael Turner’s goals with the series. The issue opens with, well filler really. Its Lobdell’s typical attempts at humor, but really the dialog is just there. It doesn’t drive the story forward and really falls to the background compared to Aspen’sown narration. In reality the difference between the spoken dialog and the silent narration is worlds apart. Aspen and friends turn down a room full of supermodel men from around the globe as they settle in for the night. The Sheik’s welcoming present wasn’t a hit with Aspen, but she’s still there to find out what the Sheik is up to on the ocean floor.

After more throwaway dialog and much better narrations, Aspen and crew begin diving through a huge hole in the ground that the Sheik has dug.They dive through lava until hitting water and finding the “life blood” of the earth. Once there they encounter an amphibious female swimming under the water.Aspen takes one look at her and knows that this is a man-made creation. She leaves the diving ship and heads out into the water to talk with this monstrosity of human science, only to find her attacked by the woman.

Aspen’s narration saves this book immensely. Without it this books dialog would be just terrible as every character on Aspen’s crew talks like a snarky jerk. Lobdell writes them all as if they had a huge chip on their shoulder, but doesn’t give any insight as to why with the exception of Aspen.It’s a strange book that suffers and yet excels due to the writing. Also I found it funny that Lobdell’s Executive Assistant series makes an appearance here. It’s not a crossover event since we know that’s not happening any time soon, but it was a cool fan service and a smart way to incorporate the two worlds.

The art is beautiful for the most part. There are times when it’s clear that Konat struggles with the human form, but mostly with the female form. He draws a room of ten male models perfectly, but two women looking a teach other through glass ends up with strange bends in their neck in order to make the scene work. Some of the finest work is complimented by Sotelo’s coloring though. The water panels are as breath taking as the characters say they are which is rarely if ever the response of the reader at the same time.

I didn’t go into this book expecting much to be honest. The cover really put me off as it looked like a bad scene from a horror movie. Instead I found a book that has its faults, but was actually very enjoyable. Lobdell may not be perfect, but this is leaps and bounds better than Superboy. Long time Fathom fans will be happy with this issue, but new readers shouldn't be afraid to check it out either.

Score: 3/5

The 80's Called... They Said This Is Pretty Radical

If you haven't noticed, it's a slow news week and everyone is basically kissing the industries ass when it comes to their end of the year awards. I guess there was that whole Watchmen 2 thing, but honestly if you're surprised by that then you weren't paying attention when DC said, "Yeah we're totally going to do a prequel to the comic" three years ago. This is after all the same company that thinks the majority of people still need a drink holder because, "cans are just too damn cold when I'm drunk." I haven't seen one of these bad boys in the wild since I was a kid stuck on a boat while my parents were water skiing/knee boarding.

Review: Carnage U.S.A #1

Carnage U.S.A. opens with a goose bump-inducing scenario that gave me the chills more than any horror/zombie book that I’ve read in the last year. Sheriff Bryan O’Neil rushes home. He’s bloody. He’s battered. And he’s scared. O’Neil discovered that Cletus Kasady, the Spider-villain known as Carnage, assimilates new victims through the water supply (like Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever). He checks on his family only to find that his son is giving his baby brother a bath. The painted artwork done with dark tones provides a chilling visual when we get to see the results.

I was hoping that this tone would continue, and we’d get an ordinary man vs. villain story. However, a collection of heroes steps in: Captain America, Spiderman, Hawkeye, Wolverine, and The Thing. Sigh. Every hero in the book was recently used in a Marvel film. That means we possibly have a book of toy/film cross-promoting heroes. Here’s where a great Darkhold Redeemers story could have kicked in. Anyone remember Darkhold Redeemers? Never mind.

Hawkeye provides some humorous banter about the Thing. Yadda-yadda. It works. It doesn’t impress. It works.

By the end the heroes confront Carnage after a walk through town akin to The Wild Bunch. Carnage overtakes the town in the way the Joker taints the citizens of Gotham with his laughing gas. The townspeople have wide grins on their faces to signify Carnage’s invasion. When the villain appears, he subdues all of the heroes except, you guessed it, Spiderman.

So the story ends like Archie #627 (Archie Meets Kiss) where Riverdale has been turned into zombies; the town has been turned into Carnage zombies.

With the T+ rating, the book could provide some additional chills. But that’s IF Marvel takes off the leash and lets things go crazy. That’s a big IF. This is a good start for this miniseries. I enjoyed this chapter, and I hope it gets better from here. Show me something crazy, and don’t be afraid to take some risks, Marvel. And please don’t let me be right about the heroes selected for this book being chosen because they are the movie flavor of the month.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Zeb Wells Artist: Clayton Crain Publisher: Marvel Comics Price: $3.99

2011 Comic Book Round-Up - The Good and Bad

For those of you that are more visual or were tired of re-listening to the last podcast in order to write down the books we talk about, here is the list finally. There are a few that are on there that we didn't talk about... maybe only one actually, but this is the list. Nothing added in the way of commentary so if you still haven't heard the podcast then check it out.

The Highest of the High

Best Book of the Year – Pinpoint #1 (Big Dog Ink)

Best Book of 2010 That We’re Still Talking About – Titans Villains For Hire Special (DC Comics)

Best Childhood Revival – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDWPublishing)

Best Mini-Series – Loose Ends (12 Gauge Comics) and 27 (Image Comics)

RunnerUp – Strange Case of Mr. Hyde (Dark Horse Comics), Strange Talent of LutherStrode (Image Comics), Who Is Jake Ellis (Image Comics) and Crossed: Psychopath (Avatar)

Best Ongoing – Hellraiser (Boom! Studios)

RunnerUp – Li’L Depressed Boy (Image Comics)

Best Original Graphic Novel – Seeds (Com.x)

Best One-Shot – The Tattered Man (Image Comics)

Best Mega Indie Book – Zombie Tramp Vol. 2 #1 (Super RealGraphics)

TriggerMen #1-3 (Triptych Books)

Best Collected 90’s Work – Major Bummer Summer Slacktacular(Dark Horse Comics

RunnerUp – Milk and Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad (Dark Horse Comics)

Best All Ages Book – Rust Vol. 1: Visitor In The Field(Archaia Press) and Sketch Monsters (Oni Press)

The Highs

DC Reboot – Bout time they pulled the trigger!

Johnny Storm’s Death – It was good until Marvel spoiled it and then ruined it.

Strangest/Coolest Book – Caligula (Avatar Press)

Best Book About Vampires – Goon #34 (Dark Horse Comics)

The Lows

Mini-series That Will Make It To Next Year – Artifacts (TopCow Comics) Ran for so long they made it ongoing.

Great cover, but the book sucks

Worst Ongoing Series – Anything Batman or X-Men.

Worst Book Of The Year – The Infinite (Skybound Comics)

Worst Childhood Revival – Ghostbusters (IDW Publishing)

Worst 90’s Revival – Tie – Vampirella (Dynamite) and LadyDeath (Avatar)

Worst Big Event – Fear Itself

Strangest Creative Team On Any Book – JT Krul, Dan Jurgens andGeorge Perez on Green Arrow (DC)

Most Annoying Industry Habit of 2011 – Getting Alan Moore’sopinion on everything.

Runner Up - Tweeting in books

Worst Movie Adaptation – Total Recall (Dynamite)

Worst Convention I Went To This Year – NYCC, close second SDCC.

Landmark Issues That Had No Real Effect On Anything – Spawn# 200

Review: Swords #1 - The Beginning

I have to say that one of my favorite things about Comic Bastards is the opportunity to review indie and foreign books. Swords, was originally published in Hungary and will be released in 2012 in the States. Let me just say that when people say that “comics are dying” that things like this give me hope that the medium will continue on no matter what. Enough of that though, you want to know what Swords is about and why you should pick it up right? Then let’s get started. The opening of the book is slow; in fact you’re exposed to bits and pieces of the story, but the plot remains hidden until nearly the end of the book. We open with two knights being relieved of their guard posting and through their banter it’s revealed that there are in charge of watching two princesses. The two guards that are released, The Ginger twins, are sent to escort a healer outside of the palace. She is going to cure a sickness that literally burns the person from the inside out. They arrive and the healer goes to work on the woman, but soon discovers that she’s been set up and a demon possession the woman takes over her body. This demon’s goal is to get into the palace but for what, is not known yet.

Back at the Palace, the Lost Prince returns. He’s been on a five-year voyage with 1,000 men and is the only one to return. His wife is cursed and he’s been seeking an item to rid her of the curse. Apparently he had a son while he was gone that he’s never met before, but they hit it off great. That part really bothered me, but we’ll continue any ways. The Prince takes a wrapped sword down to the dungeon of the castle and visits a chained goblin looking man as the demon possessed healer looks on at them.

This book is strangely good. The pacing and story structure shouldn’t work, but it does and that’s really cool. Typically a book that would build this slowly would frustrate me to read, but with this book its rhythm is perfect. The writer knows just when to cut to something different or to reveal the next chunk of the story. I really enjoyed the concept of the “Lost Prince” and that he’s probably fulfilled some terrible prophecy in order to keep his wife alive. After all, giving a sword to prisoner is always a bad idea. The only things that bothered me about the story was the forgotten son, literally the Lost Prince was like, “Hey a son, cool.” He just starts playing with him like he’d known him his entire life and there was really no true sense of emotions in the scene. Then the Prince became more concerned about keeping his wife alive then to learn about his family. Some of the dialog is a bit cheesy, but I think that’s true for any story that’s translated. You’re going to have to settle here and there to get the gist of the dialog across, but otherwise it’s a good story.

I enjoyed the art a lot. It has a 3-D modeling studio feel to it due to its consistency, but the artist Tibor Szendrei could just be that good. There are also art touch ups by Gergely Devenyi so I can’t say for certain what was used. I will say that it is very good art and competes with anything we have in the States. I’m waiting to see what battles and action look like, but it’s safe to say that the art team does a good job of keeping this mostly plot driven issue interesting and beautiful to look at.

This story reminds me a lot of George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight, both in story and art. The stories share similarities in the fact that they both take place during peaceful times with bored Knights. The difference being that Swords is clearly gearing up towards a new battle which gives it a Lord of the Rings feel to it as well. Now it’s more of epic battles and good vs. evil part of LOTR than the journey and the fellowship so don’t get confused. Swords will be coming out on the iOS and Android platforms soon enough, but you can also buy the book in print as well. The digital version, I’m told is going to have lots of extra goodies for free such as: Concept art, animated/voice version and extra bits of the story. All in all I enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading the next chapter and seeing their US release.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Attila Nemeskeri Artist: Tibor Szendrei Redrawing: Gergely Devenyi Publisher: Phantom Shock Website

Oops! It's Christmas!

Right in the fuckin' ear too! Damn Dawg!

WTF Review: Ghostbusters #4

Now finishing this story there is so much to say let’s start with WTF. Let’s review the story; Idulnas has Ray trapped while trying to implant an idea how to destroy the world again because the first attempt was a defeated (the Marshmallow Man). The rest of the crew is planning how to save Ray and the rest of the world. You open up here with Ray in a dream state with Jake Blues talking to him (yes this is true if not its very similar) and how to save the world and remembering the Marshmallow Man. The rest of the crew is flying to the top of the building where Ray is for the rescue. The epic battle is about to begin. Well I now can call this Ghostbusters 1.5. It’s just an extended version of Ghostbusters so we can see fan favorites again. Last issue could have built to so, so much more and I believe it was blown. So yes I was disappointed as a fan boy I have to say the ending was rushed. To be honest it feels like this was brought back for nostalgia and sales.

This story would have been awesome if I was seven and I was trying to get the toys and cars and watch every movie seven times a day. I hope, but it probably won’t happen, that they can turn this ship around and make a decent story. And one other thing... you can’t crossover Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters they are based in two different worlds/cities and it just doesn’t work for me and I was about to drop the book right there. This book went down like a heaping flaming pile of marshmallows.

Score: 1/5