Sunday, August 31, 2014

Review: Guardians of The Galaxy #18

Brian Michael Bendis provides an excellent jumping-on point for new fans who have never picked up the comic, but who wholeheartedly enjoyed the movie! The plot of the book has little to do with the movie, but the feel of the movie is captured in the book.
Bendis puts the reader and Starlord on the edges of their seats from the beginning. Gamora has captured Peter Quill and is extensively interrogating him on how Thanos returned from the Cancerverse (“an imploding nightmare universe”), but Nova or Richard Rider did not. Gamora wants the truth and will not accept more of Quill’s lies.
The relationship between Gamora and Quill although being pushed to the limit in an extremely stressful situation is still enjoyable and evokes deep emotions. Quill makes a quip about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Gamora has no clue what he is talking about. Quill explains how he and Nova believed they would be sacrificing their lives to take out Thanos and were content going out in a blaze of glory.
Bendis’ dialogue and narrative gets a major boost from Ed McGuinness’ pencils and Mark Farmer’s inks. The emotion and downcast nature of Quill really emphasizes his regret and sorrow for Nova. McGuinness draws Quill looking forlorn with his head cast downward and his eyes, his eyes just have the look of regret. Farmer is able to provide great shadowing, drawing the reader’s attention to the eyes and reinforcing Quill’s regretful emotional state.
The book transitions wonderfully from Gamora’s interrogation of Quill to the actual events in the Cancerverse. The panels are set up with the interrogation on the left side of the page and the actual events Quill is recalling on the right. Eventually Quill and Gamora are not shown and the reader understands Quill has begun divulging the truth. The Cancerverse is non-stop action. Nova and Quill equipped with some type of cube are pounding the crap out of Thanos and they even receive some unexpected help! Viewers of the movie will not recognize him at all; he looks more like the Hulk than the tattooed blade-wielding Destroyer movie-goers saw.
The artwork in the fight scenes is really good. Drax’s fist connecting with Thanos’ face is glorious to behold from Drax’s wicked grin to Thanos’ grimace as his face buckles and parts of his lips start to flap from the force of the punch. Not only do McGuinness and Farmer make a great team with the artwork, but Justin Ponsor nails the coloring from the red lightning in the background to the cube’s explosions of white light.
There were some minor hiccups when it came to the lettering. VC’s Cory Petit seems to have left out a couple words in a number of bubbles including the 4th panel when Gamora is discussing her spirituality, forgetting the word “the” before Sundance Kid, and one of the most glaring is the misspelling of Richard Rider altogether adding a y in place of the i!

8.0
Guardians of the Galaxy #18 is a fun ride filled with action, humor, and emotional tension that is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Review: C.O.W.L. #4

The Grey Raven and the rest of the union are left in doubt, especially when Geoffrey Warner calls asking for Blaze to forego the picket line to handle a problem. Does Geoffrey Warner really care about the members of C.O.W.L. or is it all about political power? But what you really want to know: is it good?

Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Review: Genius #5

The conclusion to Genius‘ story begins with a race against the National Guard and their Abrams tanks! Destiny must zoom in and out of traffic on her motorcycle to force cars into each other, delaying the Guard as much as possible. Cars are no obstacle to an Abrams tank as they steamroll over them. Hopefully the civilians were able to escape their vehicles before they were smashed to bits. The beginning is full of action and purpose, but does the rest of the comic live up to the exciting beginning? Is it good?

Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Review: Transformers vs. G.I. JOE #2

The Joes have fended off the first incursion of Earth by the Decepticons and have launched their own invasion of Cybertron. The Joes, led by Scarlett and her Star Brigade are relentlessly carpet bombing Cybertron with Green Bombs until they run into Trypticon and the Decepticons.
Will the Joes be able to survive against the “Giant Homicidal Robots?” More importantly, is it good?
Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Review: Genius #4

The party is over and Destiny faces two huge challenges: betrayal and loss in one of two issues of Genius on shelves this week. Will she capitulate and fold her hand or will she continue to fight? But an even better question: is it good?

Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Review: Black Market #2

Ray and Denny return in Black Market #2, but instead of moving the story forward writer Frank Barbiere continues with a retrospective into Ray’s life before he teamed up with his brother Denny and Biochem.
The book begins with Ray working for the police as a medical examiner; he is performing an exam on a hopeful bank robber. Unfortunately for the bank robber, there was a Super who intervened and did he ever intervene. The bank robber has a giant gruesome hole in his chest! The sequence not only gives the reader a glimpse into Ray’s past, but also provides background on the budding conflict between the Supers and everyday folks, especially the police.
Once Ray leaves work and returns home, his brother Denny shows up at his door begging him to save a man’s life at the warehouse! It seems Barbiere is attempting to rewrite Denny’s return into Ray’s life. Here he has Denny showing up on November 8, 2012, although in the first book Denny appeared at Ray’s house for the first time on June 14, 2013 to proposition him to work with Biochem. This plot hole gets even larger when Barbiere jumps to June 15, 2013 where he introduces Ray to the fully stocked warehouse! Is the reader to presume Ray already knows about the warehouse when he is supposedly first being introduced to it?
Following this gaping hole, Barbiere adds another one. After the ending of the first book, Ray is adamant Denny and Bruiser should not drain too much of Hotspot’s blood and leaves them assuming he will not be killed. However, the reader concludes this is in the past since Ray states on the very last page of book one, “… I Kill Superheroes!” The reader is also led to believe Hotspot is their first victim; this is not the case. Following Barbiere’s excellent back story to Bruiser, a former-hero and vigilante crime fighter, the trio pursue and subdue Electric Lad, but what they do with him is left to the reader’s imagination. Most likely he was killed, but then Ray’s protestations in the first book seem to have little or no meaning.
Despite the plot holes, Barbiere is able to create a sense of anger amongst the common folk towards the Supers. During Bruiser’s back story, the Supers were friendly. Both sides were fighting to clean-up the streets, but once the streets were cleaned the Supers became reclusive, retreating amongst themselves. They were not seen as heroes anymore, but threats to a way of a life.
Victor Santos’ artwork continues to provide a good mix of realism with the fantastic. Shan twirling her hair as she flirts with Ray really emphasizes the good life he had before Denny. While the aftereffects of Electric Lad’s powers on Ray and Denny create a real sense of danger and depict the power the Super’s have over the everyday man. Adam Metcalfe’s colors keep the book lively from Electric Lad’s blue to the glowing red of the Super DNA.

6.0
The gaping plot holes disengage the reader from an interesting story idea.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Review: Deadpool vs. X-Force #3

Duane Swierczynski, Pepe Larraz and Nolan Woodard left the reader in China at the turn of the 20th century, a fact which Deadpool is happy to remind the reader. The opening page starts off right with a good chuckle and uses a creative word bubble and the occupying images to replace Cable’s understandable profanity.
Swierczynski keeps the smile on your face as Deadpool tests out his fancy new toy, forcing Cable to march in lockstep and even salute. Unfortunately the story takes a turn for the unbelievable. Deadpool’s toy has absolutely no power over Cable at all; his marching and saluting are all a ploy in order to smooth-talk the mercenary into spilling the beans on his plan. Deadpool, playing the villain, is happy to oblige in a monologue explaining why he meddled in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and now China.
While Deadpool explains his masterful plan, Pepe Larraz maintains the torrid action-packed pace the previous books have set; there is an action scene on almost every page! Boom-Boom is launching fireballs at American forces while Cannonball flies alongside of his namesake tossing revolutionaries through the air. Warpath and Domino are smashing both Confederate cannons and Union techno-monstrosities. The best scenes are with Deadpool, whether he is tearing apart Chinese infantrymen with his gun, sword, or boot or brawling with Cable. Larraz does a great job with Deadpool’s facial expressions especially one scene where Cable reveals his charade and Deadpool knows what is coming: a hurting. However, there was not any “holy crap those fireballs look as if they are flying off the page” moments as there was in the first book.
Nolan Woodard’s colors, especially his use of light when he focuses on Boom-Boom, adds an emotional touch to the story, the reader has not experienced before. He also keeps up the good work with his explosions and gun fire using shades of blue, green, yellow, orange and red to create and denote the different types of explosions and gunfire.
Swierczynski keeps the book entertaining and lively with Deadpool’s commentary and even gives a nod to veteran readers of Deadpool. The most amusing section comes towards the end of the book. Swierczynski pokes fun at the way comics use the asterisk to denote a language translation. The dialogue, though some may deem childish or immature, is effective and had this reviewer laughing.
Swierczynski leaves a huge shocker that few will have seen coming and sets the stage for the grand finale in the fourth and final book.

7.0
The book is not strong on plot, but nevertheless is fun and exciting to read.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Review: The Life After #2

The weird gets weirder in The Life After #2.
Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov explores the strange world of suicide Purgatory, where the main protagonist Jude has found himself. Luckily for Jude he has a guide in the form of Ernest Hemingway, who like Jude is “awake.” Hemingway explains a bit about the place in which Jude has found himself and why people are jumping off bridges -– mainly because that is how they ended up in suicide Purgatory in the first place.

Review: The Fade Out #1

Ed Brubaker weaves a tale of mystery, intrigue, and straight-up lies in the first issue of The Fade Out. The opening sequence is creepy as all get out and seems to bluntly imply Brubaker will be lying to the reader, but this truth does not really sink in until about halfway through.

Read the full review on Adventures in Poor Taste.

Review: Genius #3

Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman begin Genius #3 with an absolute shocker. They take the reader back in time to when Destiny was only 12 or 13 years old and reveal a kid who is not trying to blend in as she was in Genius #1, but is instead taking her first steps on the road of violence.

Check out the full review at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Review: The United States of Murder Inc. #4

The beginning of the story once again begins with a stroll down memory lane; this time Bendis takes us to New York City circa 1971. The power of the Five Families is front and center as they confront a stock broker, who has not been paying his dues. There is no tolerance for failure and the mob’s justice is carried out with the swift chop of a machete. Bendis does an excellent job of fitting in the harsh mob brutality, a quick criticism of the stock market, and the displaying a grand vision all in a page and a half!
Bendis also does not make the mistake of confusing the reader with an out of place time jump. He allows Oeming and Taki Soma’s combination of beautiful artwork and eye-catching color to make his job easier. Oeming emphasizes the grandiose nature of the Five Families’ vision with a large chandelier and craps dice flowing across the page on a sprawling casino floor. Taki Soma’s coloring from the past to the present creates a stark contrast allowing the reader to know they are in a different time even without the prompt informing the reader they have left the past.
Not only does Bendis create fantastic transitions between time and location, he weaves a gripping story throwing multiple curveballs and twists edging the reader closer and closer to the edge of their seat. The comedic breaks are perfectly timed and break the tension between Jagger Rose and Valentine. After an intense battle sequence Valentine references looting the dead bodies as if he just killed an epic boss in World of Warcraft. Rose even makes a veiled Star Wars reference: “Who really did shoot first?”
Leaving Valentine and Rose, Bendis uses the second half of the book to create intense drama whether it is the interrogation of Madonna Gallo or a heated moral discussion on how to preserve the peace not only among the Five Families, but also with the Feds. Bendis weaves an excellent dialogue among the Bonavese Family leaders; he casually drops one of the biggest shockers the story has seen yet!
The only complaint is the transition between three panels. The panels are set up where two are stacked on top of each other while the third is to their right. The reader must read down the first two panels before moving to the larger third panel. They use the same panel setup on the following page, but it flows much better since Bendis places his bubbles at the bottom of the larger panel rather than on the top. It throws the reader for a loop if read out of order and forces them to reread the panel.

9.4
Bendis and Oeming give us their best book in the series! If you are not reading this, you should be!

Review: Genius #2

Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman take the reader out of the war zone and into the press room to unveil another level to Destiny Ajaye’s genius. The war will not only be fought in the streets, but will also be fought in the living rooms of the everyday American watching the late night special or browsing the internet.
Representing the media, Bernardin and Freeman introduce Izzy Cortina, a rough and tumble editor who demands results. She is all about breaking the news and will go to whatever lengths to do so, and does she ever! She jumps out of a helicopter into the South Central streets after her pilot refuses to land fearing being shot down by the LAPD or the gangbangers.
In the meantime, Destiny is still engaging the LAPD on the ground and leading her gangbangers, while her videos go viral on the internet and are picked up by Izzy’s news channel. Destiny’s talents are on display from the mixing of chemicals in the creation of explosives to deftly handling a sub-machine gun all the while keeping her eye on the bigger picture. She juggles everything perfectly forcing the hand of LA’s SWAT team.
Bernardin and Freeman do a wonderful job of adding realism to the story incorporating talking heads arguing over the morality of the “South Central Siege” as well as including leaders such as Al Sharpton and Jim Brown discussing how they will address the situation. They also briefly touch on police corruption. These details add the extra touch in reinforcing the believability of the story.
The book builds to an excellent climax with Destiny and her gangbangers coming to a head with LAPD’s SWAT team. Afua Richardson’s action sequences are up to par whether it is bullets riddling gangbangers or cracking the shield of a cop in cover. Her use of highlighting the characters in certain panels reinforces the emotions of the characters, whether Detective Grey is in orange yelling to pull the officers back or a mother and her two kids highlighted in blue are taking cover from the gun fight. She also does not use traditional panels throughout the book, but on one page has the flow set up wonderfully from a kitchen setting blending into a bird’s eye view of the city with cars burning and police vehicles looking like ants. The page doesn’t end there, but also shifts to Destiny armed with a rifle on the rooftop to a picture of what she is seeing through the scope. Richardson does this a number of times and each time the story flows effortlessly.
Following the battle with SWAT, Bernardin and Freeman leave an excellent cliffhanger that will challenge Destiny in a way the reader has not seen yet and test her genius once again!

8.4
Bernardin and Freeman add another layer to Destiny’s brilliance and, coupled with Richardson’s artwork, improve upon an already entertaining series.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Review: The Squidder #2

Shifting focus from world building and brutal action scenes in the opening book, Ben Templesmith instead turns to developing an intriguing and complex story centered on character development. He introduces a number of new characters which help drive the story and push the Squidder upon his hero quest.
The first character Templesmith introduces is the Squid Priestess, a pawn used by the gangs to obtain power. However, she is much more than first described. Her conversations with the Squidder are the main focal point of the entire book and allow the reader to experience the emotional suffering of both her and the Squidder. The dialogue also exposes the Squidder’s driving motivation, his hate for the Squid, which in this reviewer’s opinion is really only a mask for his love of humanity embodied in the haunting visions of his wife Fiona.
The other two characters Templesmith introduces are members of the Squid, the first being Queen 59B and the second being the Dark Father. These two characters ooze evil in how Templesmith has drawn them. Queen 59B takes the appearance of a humanoid with horns sprouting from her head and spikes protruding from her back. These do not take away from her soft, feminine features, which remind one of a succubus. The Dark Father is the opposite of Queen 59B in that he is a mass of tentacles and eyes hanging from a ceiling. Some of the tentacles flow down taking the shape of a skinless human with two massive horns arising from his skull. Not only are these creatures creepy to look at it, but humans are merely playthings to them. At one point, Queen 59B gifts the Dark Father a decapitated head, which is still screaming, pleading to be killed. The Dark Father adds the head to a growing mass of human flesh he refers to as “our masterpiece.”
Templesmith intersperses the character development with a glimpse into the past of Earth and the battles before hope was lost, as well as some action sequences with the Squidder. The action sequences, though not as shockingly brutal, still hit home when the Squidder decapitates a man with sniper rifle. A battle weakness is also revealed in a skirmish with the local gang when Templesmith draws his intestines flowing out of his stomach.
One of the weaknesses of the story is Templesmith’s use of a prophecy involving the Squidder, making him unique not because of genetic experimentation or his combat prowess, but because of an over-arching divine plan. The introduction of the prophecy is also a tad confusing when the Squidder has two very different reactions, one matter-of-fact and the second anger, all in the same panel.

7.3
Templesmith’s artwork once again steals the show; however the character development and the emotional connection to the Squidder are a close second.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Review: Figment #2

Blarion Mercurial’s journey into a fantastical new world continues in Figment #2! The highlight of the book is of course the title character. Figment provides excellent comedic relief from having no clue what piliferous is to sounding out kah-cough-phony and mentioning a Chair Man.
The world Blair and Figment have arrived in is gorgeous. Jean-Francois Beaulieu uses bright, vibrant colors from pink trees to red birds and dark green plants to long, flowing blue valleys. Artist Filipe Andrade provides a vast landscape with a multitude of terrains. He fills the world with interesting creatures including the aforementioned red birds, but also a giant winged dog-like creature. Andrade really sells the creature as dog-like in its mannerisms from a lolling tongue to its hidden grin as he leads Blair on a game of catch-me-if-you-can.
Writer Jim Zub allows Andrade and Beaulieu to carry much of the story with many of the first pages involving Figment and Blair plummeting to the surface of this new fascinating world. He does build upon their relationship with a combination of serious questions from Blair and playful, pointing out the obvious answers from Figment. However, parts of the dialogue seem forced and unnatural to the characters speaking the words. At one point, a storm is brewing on the horizon and Blair wonders what it could be; Figment responds “You talk too much. This place is wonderful. Let’s explore!”
The book also in parts carries a very different tone from the first one; it becomes more serious especially when the Chair Man attempts to close the portal. Zub introduces the counter to Blair’s imagination and chaotic creativity, Order. The introduction of this character removes the importance of the journey through imagination that Blair is on. The focus shifts from the journey to the apparent villain he will eventually face. This new threat does add another dimension to the realm of imagination. It is not always a joy ride along a yellow brick road, but can sometimes be filled with nightmares.
One of those nightmares pops up in the form of winged-aliens. The winged-aliens set out to capture our lead characters, but in doing so they must use alliteration to “Capture the clowns, quick and quiet!” Zub’s ability to incorporate alliteration into everything the aliens say adds the fun back into the story and he balances a direct, serious threat with fun dialogue.

7.0
The fun journey into imagination is halted with the appearance of a very serious threat, which will need to be confronted.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Review: Genius #1

Genius #1 is the story of Destiny Ajaye and her rise to power in uniting all of the Los Angeles gangs against the Los Angeles Police Department. Writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman begin with a mixed message letter to a Brigadier General that not only identifies Destiny as the leader of the Los Angeles gangs but also refers to her as “Suspect Zero” the unknown leader that only one man, Detective Grey, believes exists. The letter is not really a letter at all, but appears to be a summary and lead-in to the ensuing pages of the book disguised as a letter.
Following the letter to the Brigadier General, Bernardin and Freeman set up a good comparison between how Destiny and her crew are preparing in contrast to the police. Destiny’s crew is stocking supplies, readying weapons, and resting while the police are scrambling, moving into assault mode without a plan, and sending in a desk jockey to figure out what exactly is going on. The two sides could not be further apart when it comes to organization.
However, the meat of the story does not begin until Detective Grey muses on how “Suspect Zero” rose to power through the ranks. The combination of Bernadin and Freeman’s writing with Afua Richardson’s visual portrayal is harmonious. They portray Destiny as a person who “will do anything to keep from getting noticed” through a simple multiple choice test where she erases Portugal and circles Germany to answer which country is not an Axis Power. It is extremely simple but conveys the powerful message of needing to fit in to survive. There is one panel where she discovers the game of chess and her face is superimposed over the board. The reader can tell she just gets it and her intellect for tactics will be hard to rival.
The police find out the hard way. Destiny deploys her troops wonderfully when the police move in. The way she is able to eliminate the police air support is exceptional and really shows how brilliant her tactical strategies are. Not only does she have an excellent tactical mind, but she is ruthless too. Richardson once again does a good job of presenting the reader with the visual, highlighting Destiny in red to portray her brutality. The red ribbon she uses on the page to connect Destiny to her victims is an added effect, symbolizing not only the bullets’ paths but also a trail of blood she leaves in her wake.
Not everything is rosy; there are some minor annoyances including what seems to be a recurring theme in opening books— multiple time jumps from the past to the present without any cues to let the reader know. There also seem to be some panels that are forced in to create a transition, but come off as awkward and out of place.
Bernardin, Freeman and Richardson have created a riveting story where the biggest question yet to be answered is can Detective Grey stop Destiny before the LAPD is wiped out?

7.8
An exhilarating story of a rise to power and a gang war against the LAPD make Destiny Ajaye one to keep your eye on.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Review: Dead Letters #2

Writer Chris Sebela shifts gear from the heart-pounding action of Dead Letters #1 to begin to shape the world of Here. The reader is exposed to a short history lesson of what Here is, how it was supposed to function, and how it all went wrong, mainly underestimating people and their ability for free will.
The history and world building create a nice flow for Sam’s new employment. He sets off investigating the disappearance of a woman named Beryl who was in deep with both of the major gangs led by Jones and Ma. Sam’s internal monologue once again steals the show as he dives into his work in an attempt to save his mind. Sam is not only distracting himself when he begins to follow Beryl’s footsteps through Here, but Sebela uses the opportunity to build up how society has changed when time is no longer the most important commodity. And maybe the most frightening aspect is Sam’s idea that it hasn’t really changed much at all. “Life ain’t fair. Turns out Death ain’t either.”
Beryl’s path eventually leads Sam to a club and her former husband. The setting is perfect for a nice shoot ‘em up sequence. Chris Visions’ art during the action sequence again is great; he includes the fine details of the shot glass being splattered by the bullets to the alcohol running off the bar into Sam’s hair. Jones’ big thug is especially terrifying in his red suit and yellow shirt with his evil smile screaming “I’m evil and I’m going to hurt you.” One of the best panels in the book is when Jones is recounting his life before he arrived in Here. Visions combines Sebela’s narrative with a fantastic visual of Jones’ past being shown in his sunglasses from the barn where he was raised to the tools he used.
Following the initial world-building process and an enjoyable action sequence, Sebela gets back to character development and discovering more of Sam’s hidden talents: specifically his resourcefulness, street smarts, and most importantly his talented tongue. Sam is a masterful politician playing Jones and Ma off each other as he continues to dig up more information about Beryl and what happened to her.
The ending of the book gets a little bit confusing attempting to follow the panels, although that might be because what is happening in the panels is chaos. At one point Sam slips away and appears to find what he has been looking for. Yet it is not clear exactly what he has found - whether he is peering into the past using an advanced relic or has actually found hard files. After finding the information, the story jumps to one of sheer terror and one thing is for sure Sam’s talents might not be able to get him out of the mess he has found himself in.

8.7
The book starts off a little slow as Sebela and Visions build the world of Here, but ramps up the action, mystery and sheer terror towards the end.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Review: Storm #1

Storm #1 takes the reader on Storm’s journey to find out where she belongs. It is an interesting premise especially when Greg Pak unloads all of Storm’s identities and places she has called home on the second page! It is also surprising the story ends up being a journey of self-discovery. Since on the first page Storm declares she is older and a little wiser, which leads one to believe she has already found herself and is comfortable in her own skin.
Storm also doesn’t seem to be wiser at all; she is stubborn, impatient, and quick to anger. Despite being the Headmistress of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, she doesn’t feel a part of the school. Instead, she seems to be more independent, free from the school, doing her own thing, and even questioning her association with the school.
One of the strangest scenes in the book is when Storm is confronted by one of her pupils, Marisol Guerra, who is homesick and upset she is not able to be home. Marisol gets in Storm’s face calling her a sellout and accuses her of kidnapping her and stealing her from her home. The argument seems altogether ludicrous since everything this reviewer has read is all students voluntarily come to the school and no one is forcing them to stay. Storm is befuddled and does not address this issue at all, but attempts to address an accusation of mutant ideology indoctrination. The argument escalates and Storm reacts violently summoning a lightning storm within the school and stomps out of the room like a spoiled brat. Pak himself admits the insult shouldn’t bother Storm, but it does and she abandons her responsibility to Marisol and the school in a fit of a rage unbecoming of a Headmistress and a supposed wiser and older Storm.
The abandonment does lead to a foreseeable climax where Victor Ibanez gets to show off more of Storm’s impressive powers, tossing tanks through the air and sending soldiers flying with a gust of wind. Ibanez really excels in the emotional range he is able to convey through Storm’s facial features from remorse and happiness to anger and pride. However, not all of the artwork is as impressive. Beast looks more like a walking hunchbacked ape than an intelligent and strong mutant.
Returning to the story, Pak attempts to bring Storm’s journey of finding herself full circle, even making a jab at it by hinting Storm herself will “lose and find where she belongs a hundred times.” The story is a slap in the face of the reader telling us Storm is wiser and older, only to have her go and lose herself and act like a young, immature, hotheaded teenager.

4.8
A plot line that takes the reader from a wise, strong and in-charge Storm to a loose cannon who forsakes her responsibilities in a fit of rage disrespects not only the reader but the character as well.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Review: Low #1

Humanity has fled the surface of Earth into the depths of the oceans to avoid the expanding sun and its blistering heat. They have fled to an underwater city known as Salus, where the Caine family uses an advanced robotic suit technology to hunt the predators of the deep and provide sustenance for the citizens of Salus.
Writer Rick Remender uses the beginning pages to introduce the reader to the world of Low, life under the dome of Salus, and the Caine family. Salus is luxurious and artist Greg Tochinni makes sure the reader understands it. He uses bright greens, yellows, oranges, and blues to highlight a roaring fireplace, sweeping staircases, towering skyscrapers, and lush vegetation among a few of the niceties in Salus.
Everything is not hunky-dory. Stel Caine tracks thousands of deep space probes in their effort to find a habitable planet for relocation. In the meantime, Johl Caine, Stel’s husband is “the last Great Helsman of Salus” and in order for the city and his family to survive he must take on the role of the hunter. The two are not alone and they have three children, two daughters, Della and Tajo, and a son, Marik. In what seems to be fashionable, typical gender roles are reversed among the children. The daughters wish to follow their father and learn to be helmswomen, while Marik is content to stay in Salus and takes after his more cerebral mother.
Remender takes his time introducing the story and allows Tochinni ample opportunity to use a 1950s-esque art-style to show off the world of Low. Eventually, Remender takes the family minus Marik out past the confines of Salus on a hunting mission. Not only are there massive underwater creatures, but there is also the threat of the Scurvy Horde.
Strangely, both the massive underwater squid-like creatures and the Scurvy Horde are able to communicate and execute a well-timed ambush. Tochinni adjusts the coloring adding in more reds signifying the seriousness of the danger. The leader of the Scurvy Horde oddly does not resemble the rest of the Horde at all. He is very humanoid and resembles the Caine family, while the rest of the Horde appears skeletal and not of the living breathing world.
Remender uses interesting dialogue for the villain, having him taunt the Caines with every word he says attempting to wound their soul rather than physically harm them. However, the dialogue cannot cover the overall ease the Horde has of taking over the Caine ship, especially after building up the family’s mythos in the preceding pages. There are also a few panels where it becomes hard to follow via the artwork. At one point what appears to be the Helmsman technology hits the ground, but in the next panel the Horde is vacating the Caine’s ship. In general, Tochinni’s artwork does a fabulous job of complementing Remender’s story creating both an intriguing world as well as strong emotional characters.
Remender creates a good origin story, one that has made the likes of Batman and Spiderman legendary although Remender changes the formula up just a tad adding in a dose of hope.

8.4
Fantastic artwork with only a few missteps and a good solid origin story with an intriguing new world and strong characters have Low being nowhere near the bottom of the stack.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Review: Bodies #1

Bodies explores four detectives investigating four murders in four different time periods with each time period having its own artist! The only thing connecting each of the four different story lines, the same murdered body in the same location, Long Harvest Lane, London. And of course the number four.
Writer Si Spencer starts the reader off with the familiar, dropping them in modern day London in the middle of a large protest being broken up by the police. The dialogue is fun and even flirtatious in some parts; Spencer uses it to make some political commentary on immigration, minority issues especially in regards to the Muslim community, and police brutality. Meghan Hetrick artwork does a good job of representing the time frame, it is realistic although D.S. Hasan’s hijab did not clearly portray it was a hijab, this might have been the fact she is a detective in riot gear bashing demonstrators skulls in.
Spencer switches from the modern era to the late 19th century where the reader meets Inspector Hillinghead; where again Spencer touches on a hot-button political issue. Spencer reveals more about the dead body specifically the types of wounds it has sustained. Artist Dean Ormston makes the world believable using the shadowing of blacks and greys effectively. Ormston also exposes the reader to Inspector Hillinghead’s crime photos with close-ups of the hand and face. However, Spencer creates a little bit of intrigue and mystery when the Inspector’s co-workers, apparent members of the Order of Mithras, discuss a beginning.
Following the mysterious meeting, Spencer cranks up the extremely weird in jumping into the future to 2050 to meet Detective Maplewood. London has changed in the 30 plus years since D.S. Hasan’s time and something known as the pulsewave affects the detective’s short-term memory. The dialogue seems to be an attempt at humor, but it came off as very strange. The strangeness doesn’t stop with Maplewood’s external dialogue with herself, but gets amped way up and brings back memories of the Shining. Tulo Lotay does a good job of capturing the horror imagery from the streaks on the wall to the shape of the puddle underneath the girl’s feet. However, Lotay’s artwork doesn’t inspire hope for the future, Long Harvest Lane looks abandoned and barren with the buildings crumbling apart. The rough shadow lines cast a bleak outlook. The biggest gripe is the body does not have the same feel or look in the previous two time frames. Lee Loughridge does a great job with his bright greens and yellows to display the face that the time frame is in the future.
Spencer moves to the final detective in Inspector Charles Whiteman, who looks more like an Al Capone gangster than a police detective. Spencer uses Phil Winslade’s artwork to a tee making an overt reference to police brutality, this time the brutality isn’t whacking a protestor with a billy club, but using a blow torch in some creative ways. Winslade’s art evokes noir from the cobblestone streets to the policeman’s helmet. Spencer brings the book full circle leaving the reader with a dead body, having us wonder who they are and what happened to them?

7.7
An inventive story filled with political commentary, intrigue, and at times the strange that is setback by mixed levels of artwork.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Review: Ragnarok #1

The gods have been slain and the world has been cast asunder. Thor, the mighty son of Odin is defeated by Terminus, the glorious offspring of Earth. This is the world Walter Simonson casts the reader into.
The story follows Brynja, a Black Elf assassin, on her assignment to kill a dead god. Simonson’s first introduction to the character is very intriguing and he switches up gender roles. Brynja is a female assassin, who leaves her husband and young daughter behind to pursue what she hopes will be her last mission securing the future of her family especially her daughter.
The story is familiar to many other hero stories and has many characteristics of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Brynja leaves her family and sets off on a journey. She makes a deal with a villainous character with high reward and high risk upon completion or failure. Her journey requires her to gather mercenaries as she travels across the deserted world to confront and kill a dead god.
There is a reason why the tale of the hero is so popular-- it can be extremely enjoyable, and Simonson does an excellent job of doing just that. He also spices it up with a little bit of mystery. The sequence of Brynja accepting her contract is extremely mysterious and adds a level of the unknown to what appears a very straight-forward story. Simonson ups the mystery even more when Brynja’s daughter, Drifa, experiences an all too real nightmare. The only problem is the writing can be a little too in-your-face with quotes like “We are there.” And “I have gold.”
Simonson really shines in developing an immersive world. Although much of it barren, it has areas where the world comes to life. Whether it is in the ruins where Brynja is meeting her mysterious and sinister boss or at Kliffborg, the Fortress at the Edge of the Worlds, there are many places to explore. Simonson’s artwork not only explores geographic expanses but captures the realm of fantasy through the different types of creatures and animals he introduces. Brynja’s mount is the most prominent: a horse with an elongated snout and teeth as sharp as razors. All of these details from the geography to the animals to the characters themselves create a very beautiful fantasy setting.
A fantasy world is not complete without magic, and the panels where Brynja is casting her spells are very intriguing especially since Simonson had the words of the spell outline one of the panels; it is an added touch that heightens the fantastical elements. Laura Martin’s coloring is up to snuff and she shows her ability to contrast timelines allowing the reader to easily transition from the first few pages to the introduction of Brynja and her family.

7.5
Fantastic artwork and a fun fantasy story rooted in Norse mythology will have you subbing before you know it!

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Review: Guardians of The Galaxy #18

Brian Michael Bendis provides an excellent jumping-on point for new fans who have never picked up the comic, but who wholeheartedly enjoyed the movie! The plot of the book has little to do with the movie, but the feel of the movie is captured in the book.
Bendis puts the reader and Starlord on the edges of their seats from the beginning. Gamora has captured Peter Quill and is extensively interrogating him on how Thanos returned from the Cancerverse (“an imploding nightmare universe”), but Nova or Richard Rider did not. Gamora wants the truth and will not accept more of Quill’s lies.
The relationship between Gamora and Quill although being pushed to the limit in an extremely stressful situation is still enjoyable and evokes deep emotions. Quill makes a quip about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Gamora has no clue what he is talking about. Quill explains how he and Nova believed they would be sacrificing their lives to take out Thanos and were content going out in a blaze of glory.
Bendis’ dialogue and narrative gets a major boost from Ed McGuinness’ pencils and Mark Farmer’s inks. The emotion and downcast nature of Quill really emphasizes his regret and sorrow for Nova. McGuinness draws Quill looking forlorn with his head cast downward and his eyes, his eyes just have the look of regret. Farmer is able to provide great shadowing, drawing the reader’s attention to the eyes and reinforcing Quill’s regretful emotional state.
The book transitions wonderfully from Gamora’s interrogation of Quill to the actual events in the Cancerverse. The panels are set up with the interrogation on the left side of the page and the actual events Quill is recalling on the right. Eventually Quill and Gamora are not shown and the reader understands Quill has begun divulging the truth. The Cancerverse is non-stop action. Nova and Quill equipped with some type of cube are pounding the crap out of Thanos and they even receive some unexpected help! Viewers of the movie will not recognize him at all; he looks more like the Hulk than the tattooed blade-wielding Destroyer movie-goers saw.
The artwork in the fight scenes is really good. Drax’s fist connecting with Thanos’ face is glorious to behold from Drax’s wicked grin to Thanos’ grimace as his face buckles and parts of his lips start to flap from the force of the punch. Not only do McGuinness and Farmer make a great team with the artwork, but Justin Ponsor nails the coloring from the red lightning in the background to the cube’s explosions of white light.
There were some minor hiccups when it came to the lettering. VC’s Cory Petit seems to have left out a couple words in a number of bubbles including the 4th panel when Gamora is discussing her spirituality, forgetting the word “the” before Sundance Kid, and one of the most glaring is the misspelling of Richard Rider altogether adding a y in place of the i!

8.0
Guardians of the Galaxy #18 is a fun ride filled with action, humor, and emotional tension that is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers!

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Review: C.O.W.L. #4

The Grey Raven and the rest of the union are left in doubt, especially when Geoffrey Warner calls asking for Blaze to forego the picket line to handle a problem. Does Geoffrey Warner really care about the members of C.O.W.L. or is it all about political power? But what you really want to know: is it good?

Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Review: Genius #5

The conclusion to Genius‘ story begins with a race against the National Guard and their Abrams tanks! Destiny must zoom in and out of traffic on her motorcycle to force cars into each other, delaying the Guard as much as possible. Cars are no obstacle to an Abrams tank as they steamroll over them. Hopefully the civilians were able to escape their vehicles before they were smashed to bits. The beginning is full of action and purpose, but does the rest of the comic live up to the exciting beginning? Is it good?

Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Review: Transformers vs. G.I. JOE #2

The Joes have fended off the first incursion of Earth by the Decepticons and have launched their own invasion of Cybertron. The Joes, led by Scarlett and her Star Brigade are relentlessly carpet bombing Cybertron with Green Bombs until they run into Trypticon and the Decepticons.
Will the Joes be able to survive against the “Giant Homicidal Robots?” More importantly, is it good?
Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Review: Genius #4

The party is over and Destiny faces two huge challenges: betrayal and loss in one of two issues of Genius on shelves this week. Will she capitulate and fold her hand or will she continue to fight? But an even better question: is it good?

Continue reading at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Monday, August 25, 2014

Review: Black Market #2

Ray and Denny return in Black Market #2, but instead of moving the story forward writer Frank Barbiere continues with a retrospective into Ray’s life before he teamed up with his brother Denny and Biochem.
The book begins with Ray working for the police as a medical examiner; he is performing an exam on a hopeful bank robber. Unfortunately for the bank robber, there was a Super who intervened and did he ever intervene. The bank robber has a giant gruesome hole in his chest! The sequence not only gives the reader a glimpse into Ray’s past, but also provides background on the budding conflict between the Supers and everyday folks, especially the police.
Once Ray leaves work and returns home, his brother Denny shows up at his door begging him to save a man’s life at the warehouse! It seems Barbiere is attempting to rewrite Denny’s return into Ray’s life. Here he has Denny showing up on November 8, 2012, although in the first book Denny appeared at Ray’s house for the first time on June 14, 2013 to proposition him to work with Biochem. This plot hole gets even larger when Barbiere jumps to June 15, 2013 where he introduces Ray to the fully stocked warehouse! Is the reader to presume Ray already knows about the warehouse when he is supposedly first being introduced to it?
Following this gaping hole, Barbiere adds another one. After the ending of the first book, Ray is adamant Denny and Bruiser should not drain too much of Hotspot’s blood and leaves them assuming he will not be killed. However, the reader concludes this is in the past since Ray states on the very last page of book one, “… I Kill Superheroes!” The reader is also led to believe Hotspot is their first victim; this is not the case. Following Barbiere’s excellent back story to Bruiser, a former-hero and vigilante crime fighter, the trio pursue and subdue Electric Lad, but what they do with him is left to the reader’s imagination. Most likely he was killed, but then Ray’s protestations in the first book seem to have little or no meaning.
Despite the plot holes, Barbiere is able to create a sense of anger amongst the common folk towards the Supers. During Bruiser’s back story, the Supers were friendly. Both sides were fighting to clean-up the streets, but once the streets were cleaned the Supers became reclusive, retreating amongst themselves. They were not seen as heroes anymore, but threats to a way of a life.
Victor Santos’ artwork continues to provide a good mix of realism with the fantastic. Shan twirling her hair as she flirts with Ray really emphasizes the good life he had before Denny. While the aftereffects of Electric Lad’s powers on Ray and Denny create a real sense of danger and depict the power the Super’s have over the everyday man. Adam Metcalfe’s colors keep the book lively from Electric Lad’s blue to the glowing red of the Super DNA.

6.0
The gaping plot holes disengage the reader from an interesting story idea.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Review: Deadpool vs. X-Force #3

Duane Swierczynski, Pepe Larraz and Nolan Woodard left the reader in China at the turn of the 20th century, a fact which Deadpool is happy to remind the reader. The opening page starts off right with a good chuckle and uses a creative word bubble and the occupying images to replace Cable’s understandable profanity.
Swierczynski keeps the smile on your face as Deadpool tests out his fancy new toy, forcing Cable to march in lockstep and even salute. Unfortunately the story takes a turn for the unbelievable. Deadpool’s toy has absolutely no power over Cable at all; his marching and saluting are all a ploy in order to smooth-talk the mercenary into spilling the beans on his plan. Deadpool, playing the villain, is happy to oblige in a monologue explaining why he meddled in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and now China.
While Deadpool explains his masterful plan, Pepe Larraz maintains the torrid action-packed pace the previous books have set; there is an action scene on almost every page! Boom-Boom is launching fireballs at American forces while Cannonball flies alongside of his namesake tossing revolutionaries through the air. Warpath and Domino are smashing both Confederate cannons and Union techno-monstrosities. The best scenes are with Deadpool, whether he is tearing apart Chinese infantrymen with his gun, sword, or boot or brawling with Cable. Larraz does a great job with Deadpool’s facial expressions especially one scene where Cable reveals his charade and Deadpool knows what is coming: a hurting. However, there was not any “holy crap those fireballs look as if they are flying off the page” moments as there was in the first book.
Nolan Woodard’s colors, especially his use of light when he focuses on Boom-Boom, adds an emotional touch to the story, the reader has not experienced before. He also keeps up the good work with his explosions and gun fire using shades of blue, green, yellow, orange and red to create and denote the different types of explosions and gunfire.
Swierczynski keeps the book entertaining and lively with Deadpool’s commentary and even gives a nod to veteran readers of Deadpool. The most amusing section comes towards the end of the book. Swierczynski pokes fun at the way comics use the asterisk to denote a language translation. The dialogue, though some may deem childish or immature, is effective and had this reviewer laughing.
Swierczynski leaves a huge shocker that few will have seen coming and sets the stage for the grand finale in the fourth and final book.

7.0
The book is not strong on plot, but nevertheless is fun and exciting to read.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Review: The Life After #2

The weird gets weirder in The Life After #2.
Writer Joshua Hale Fialkov explores the strange world of suicide Purgatory, where the main protagonist Jude has found himself. Luckily for Jude he has a guide in the form of Ernest Hemingway, who like Jude is “awake.” Hemingway explains a bit about the place in which Jude has found himself and why people are jumping off bridges -– mainly because that is how they ended up in suicide Purgatory in the first place.

Review: The Fade Out #1

Ed Brubaker weaves a tale of mystery, intrigue, and straight-up lies in the first issue of The Fade Out. The opening sequence is creepy as all get out and seems to bluntly imply Brubaker will be lying to the reader, but this truth does not really sink in until about halfway through.

Read the full review on Adventures in Poor Taste.

Review: Genius #3

Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman begin Genius #3 with an absolute shocker. They take the reader back in time to when Destiny was only 12 or 13 years old and reveal a kid who is not trying to blend in as she was in Genius #1, but is instead taking her first steps on the road of violence.

Check out the full review at Adventures in Poor Taste!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Review: The United States of Murder Inc. #4

The beginning of the story once again begins with a stroll down memory lane; this time Bendis takes us to New York City circa 1971. The power of the Five Families is front and center as they confront a stock broker, who has not been paying his dues. There is no tolerance for failure and the mob’s justice is carried out with the swift chop of a machete. Bendis does an excellent job of fitting in the harsh mob brutality, a quick criticism of the stock market, and the displaying a grand vision all in a page and a half!
Bendis also does not make the mistake of confusing the reader with an out of place time jump. He allows Oeming and Taki Soma’s combination of beautiful artwork and eye-catching color to make his job easier. Oeming emphasizes the grandiose nature of the Five Families’ vision with a large chandelier and craps dice flowing across the page on a sprawling casino floor. Taki Soma’s coloring from the past to the present creates a stark contrast allowing the reader to know they are in a different time even without the prompt informing the reader they have left the past.
Not only does Bendis create fantastic transitions between time and location, he weaves a gripping story throwing multiple curveballs and twists edging the reader closer and closer to the edge of their seat. The comedic breaks are perfectly timed and break the tension between Jagger Rose and Valentine. After an intense battle sequence Valentine references looting the dead bodies as if he just killed an epic boss in World of Warcraft. Rose even makes a veiled Star Wars reference: “Who really did shoot first?”
Leaving Valentine and Rose, Bendis uses the second half of the book to create intense drama whether it is the interrogation of Madonna Gallo or a heated moral discussion on how to preserve the peace not only among the Five Families, but also with the Feds. Bendis weaves an excellent dialogue among the Bonavese Family leaders; he casually drops one of the biggest shockers the story has seen yet!
The only complaint is the transition between three panels. The panels are set up where two are stacked on top of each other while the third is to their right. The reader must read down the first two panels before moving to the larger third panel. They use the same panel setup on the following page, but it flows much better since Bendis places his bubbles at the bottom of the larger panel rather than on the top. It throws the reader for a loop if read out of order and forces them to reread the panel.

9.4
Bendis and Oeming give us their best book in the series! If you are not reading this, you should be!

Review: Genius #2

Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman take the reader out of the war zone and into the press room to unveil another level to Destiny Ajaye’s genius. The war will not only be fought in the streets, but will also be fought in the living rooms of the everyday American watching the late night special or browsing the internet.
Representing the media, Bernardin and Freeman introduce Izzy Cortina, a rough and tumble editor who demands results. She is all about breaking the news and will go to whatever lengths to do so, and does she ever! She jumps out of a helicopter into the South Central streets after her pilot refuses to land fearing being shot down by the LAPD or the gangbangers.
In the meantime, Destiny is still engaging the LAPD on the ground and leading her gangbangers, while her videos go viral on the internet and are picked up by Izzy’s news channel. Destiny’s talents are on display from the mixing of chemicals in the creation of explosives to deftly handling a sub-machine gun all the while keeping her eye on the bigger picture. She juggles everything perfectly forcing the hand of LA’s SWAT team.
Bernardin and Freeman do a wonderful job of adding realism to the story incorporating talking heads arguing over the morality of the “South Central Siege” as well as including leaders such as Al Sharpton and Jim Brown discussing how they will address the situation. They also briefly touch on police corruption. These details add the extra touch in reinforcing the believability of the story.
The book builds to an excellent climax with Destiny and her gangbangers coming to a head with LAPD’s SWAT team. Afua Richardson’s action sequences are up to par whether it is bullets riddling gangbangers or cracking the shield of a cop in cover. Her use of highlighting the characters in certain panels reinforces the emotions of the characters, whether Detective Grey is in orange yelling to pull the officers back or a mother and her two kids highlighted in blue are taking cover from the gun fight. She also does not use traditional panels throughout the book, but on one page has the flow set up wonderfully from a kitchen setting blending into a bird’s eye view of the city with cars burning and police vehicles looking like ants. The page doesn’t end there, but also shifts to Destiny armed with a rifle on the rooftop to a picture of what she is seeing through the scope. Richardson does this a number of times and each time the story flows effortlessly.
Following the battle with SWAT, Bernardin and Freeman leave an excellent cliffhanger that will challenge Destiny in a way the reader has not seen yet and test her genius once again!

8.4
Bernardin and Freeman add another layer to Destiny’s brilliance and, coupled with Richardson’s artwork, improve upon an already entertaining series.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Review: The Squidder #2

Shifting focus from world building and brutal action scenes in the opening book, Ben Templesmith instead turns to developing an intriguing and complex story centered on character development. He introduces a number of new characters which help drive the story and push the Squidder upon his hero quest.
The first character Templesmith introduces is the Squid Priestess, a pawn used by the gangs to obtain power. However, she is much more than first described. Her conversations with the Squidder are the main focal point of the entire book and allow the reader to experience the emotional suffering of both her and the Squidder. The dialogue also exposes the Squidder’s driving motivation, his hate for the Squid, which in this reviewer’s opinion is really only a mask for his love of humanity embodied in the haunting visions of his wife Fiona.
The other two characters Templesmith introduces are members of the Squid, the first being Queen 59B and the second being the Dark Father. These two characters ooze evil in how Templesmith has drawn them. Queen 59B takes the appearance of a humanoid with horns sprouting from her head and spikes protruding from her back. These do not take away from her soft, feminine features, which remind one of a succubus. The Dark Father is the opposite of Queen 59B in that he is a mass of tentacles and eyes hanging from a ceiling. Some of the tentacles flow down taking the shape of a skinless human with two massive horns arising from his skull. Not only are these creatures creepy to look at it, but humans are merely playthings to them. At one point, Queen 59B gifts the Dark Father a decapitated head, which is still screaming, pleading to be killed. The Dark Father adds the head to a growing mass of human flesh he refers to as “our masterpiece.”
Templesmith intersperses the character development with a glimpse into the past of Earth and the battles before hope was lost, as well as some action sequences with the Squidder. The action sequences, though not as shockingly brutal, still hit home when the Squidder decapitates a man with sniper rifle. A battle weakness is also revealed in a skirmish with the local gang when Templesmith draws his intestines flowing out of his stomach.
One of the weaknesses of the story is Templesmith’s use of a prophecy involving the Squidder, making him unique not because of genetic experimentation or his combat prowess, but because of an over-arching divine plan. The introduction of the prophecy is also a tad confusing when the Squidder has two very different reactions, one matter-of-fact and the second anger, all in the same panel.

7.3
Templesmith’s artwork once again steals the show; however the character development and the emotional connection to the Squidder are a close second.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Review: Figment #2

Blarion Mercurial’s journey into a fantastical new world continues in Figment #2! The highlight of the book is of course the title character. Figment provides excellent comedic relief from having no clue what piliferous is to sounding out kah-cough-phony and mentioning a Chair Man.
The world Blair and Figment have arrived in is gorgeous. Jean-Francois Beaulieu uses bright, vibrant colors from pink trees to red birds and dark green plants to long, flowing blue valleys. Artist Filipe Andrade provides a vast landscape with a multitude of terrains. He fills the world with interesting creatures including the aforementioned red birds, but also a giant winged dog-like creature. Andrade really sells the creature as dog-like in its mannerisms from a lolling tongue to its hidden grin as he leads Blair on a game of catch-me-if-you-can.
Writer Jim Zub allows Andrade and Beaulieu to carry much of the story with many of the first pages involving Figment and Blair plummeting to the surface of this new fascinating world. He does build upon their relationship with a combination of serious questions from Blair and playful, pointing out the obvious answers from Figment. However, parts of the dialogue seem forced and unnatural to the characters speaking the words. At one point, a storm is brewing on the horizon and Blair wonders what it could be; Figment responds “You talk too much. This place is wonderful. Let’s explore!”
The book also in parts carries a very different tone from the first one; it becomes more serious especially when the Chair Man attempts to close the portal. Zub introduces the counter to Blair’s imagination and chaotic creativity, Order. The introduction of this character removes the importance of the journey through imagination that Blair is on. The focus shifts from the journey to the apparent villain he will eventually face. This new threat does add another dimension to the realm of imagination. It is not always a joy ride along a yellow brick road, but can sometimes be filled with nightmares.
One of those nightmares pops up in the form of winged-aliens. The winged-aliens set out to capture our lead characters, but in doing so they must use alliteration to “Capture the clowns, quick and quiet!” Zub’s ability to incorporate alliteration into everything the aliens say adds the fun back into the story and he balances a direct, serious threat with fun dialogue.

7.0
The fun journey into imagination is halted with the appearance of a very serious threat, which will need to be confronted.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Review: Genius #1

Genius #1 is the story of Destiny Ajaye and her rise to power in uniting all of the Los Angeles gangs against the Los Angeles Police Department. Writers Marc Bernardin and Adam Freeman begin with a mixed message letter to a Brigadier General that not only identifies Destiny as the leader of the Los Angeles gangs but also refers to her as “Suspect Zero” the unknown leader that only one man, Detective Grey, believes exists. The letter is not really a letter at all, but appears to be a summary and lead-in to the ensuing pages of the book disguised as a letter.
Following the letter to the Brigadier General, Bernardin and Freeman set up a good comparison between how Destiny and her crew are preparing in contrast to the police. Destiny’s crew is stocking supplies, readying weapons, and resting while the police are scrambling, moving into assault mode without a plan, and sending in a desk jockey to figure out what exactly is going on. The two sides could not be further apart when it comes to organization.
However, the meat of the story does not begin until Detective Grey muses on how “Suspect Zero” rose to power through the ranks. The combination of Bernadin and Freeman’s writing with Afua Richardson’s visual portrayal is harmonious. They portray Destiny as a person who “will do anything to keep from getting noticed” through a simple multiple choice test where she erases Portugal and circles Germany to answer which country is not an Axis Power. It is extremely simple but conveys the powerful message of needing to fit in to survive. There is one panel where she discovers the game of chess and her face is superimposed over the board. The reader can tell she just gets it and her intellect for tactics will be hard to rival.
The police find out the hard way. Destiny deploys her troops wonderfully when the police move in. The way she is able to eliminate the police air support is exceptional and really shows how brilliant her tactical strategies are. Not only does she have an excellent tactical mind, but she is ruthless too. Richardson once again does a good job of presenting the reader with the visual, highlighting Destiny in red to portray her brutality. The red ribbon she uses on the page to connect Destiny to her victims is an added effect, symbolizing not only the bullets’ paths but also a trail of blood she leaves in her wake.
Not everything is rosy; there are some minor annoyances including what seems to be a recurring theme in opening books— multiple time jumps from the past to the present without any cues to let the reader know. There also seem to be some panels that are forced in to create a transition, but come off as awkward and out of place.
Bernardin, Freeman and Richardson have created a riveting story where the biggest question yet to be answered is can Detective Grey stop Destiny before the LAPD is wiped out?

7.8
An exhilarating story of a rise to power and a gang war against the LAPD make Destiny Ajaye one to keep your eye on.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Review: Dead Letters #2

Writer Chris Sebela shifts gear from the heart-pounding action of Dead Letters #1 to begin to shape the world of Here. The reader is exposed to a short history lesson of what Here is, how it was supposed to function, and how it all went wrong, mainly underestimating people and their ability for free will.
The history and world building create a nice flow for Sam’s new employment. He sets off investigating the disappearance of a woman named Beryl who was in deep with both of the major gangs led by Jones and Ma. Sam’s internal monologue once again steals the show as he dives into his work in an attempt to save his mind. Sam is not only distracting himself when he begins to follow Beryl’s footsteps through Here, but Sebela uses the opportunity to build up how society has changed when time is no longer the most important commodity. And maybe the most frightening aspect is Sam’s idea that it hasn’t really changed much at all. “Life ain’t fair. Turns out Death ain’t either.”
Beryl’s path eventually leads Sam to a club and her former husband. The setting is perfect for a nice shoot ‘em up sequence. Chris Visions’ art during the action sequence again is great; he includes the fine details of the shot glass being splattered by the bullets to the alcohol running off the bar into Sam’s hair. Jones’ big thug is especially terrifying in his red suit and yellow shirt with his evil smile screaming “I’m evil and I’m going to hurt you.” One of the best panels in the book is when Jones is recounting his life before he arrived in Here. Visions combines Sebela’s narrative with a fantastic visual of Jones’ past being shown in his sunglasses from the barn where he was raised to the tools he used.
Following the initial world-building process and an enjoyable action sequence, Sebela gets back to character development and discovering more of Sam’s hidden talents: specifically his resourcefulness, street smarts, and most importantly his talented tongue. Sam is a masterful politician playing Jones and Ma off each other as he continues to dig up more information about Beryl and what happened to her.
The ending of the book gets a little bit confusing attempting to follow the panels, although that might be because what is happening in the panels is chaos. At one point Sam slips away and appears to find what he has been looking for. Yet it is not clear exactly what he has found - whether he is peering into the past using an advanced relic or has actually found hard files. After finding the information, the story jumps to one of sheer terror and one thing is for sure Sam’s talents might not be able to get him out of the mess he has found himself in.

8.7
The book starts off a little slow as Sebela and Visions build the world of Here, but ramps up the action, mystery and sheer terror towards the end.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Review: Storm #1

Storm #1 takes the reader on Storm’s journey to find out where she belongs. It is an interesting premise especially when Greg Pak unloads all of Storm’s identities and places she has called home on the second page! It is also surprising the story ends up being a journey of self-discovery. Since on the first page Storm declares she is older and a little wiser, which leads one to believe she has already found herself and is comfortable in her own skin.
Storm also doesn’t seem to be wiser at all; she is stubborn, impatient, and quick to anger. Despite being the Headmistress of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, she doesn’t feel a part of the school. Instead, she seems to be more independent, free from the school, doing her own thing, and even questioning her association with the school.
One of the strangest scenes in the book is when Storm is confronted by one of her pupils, Marisol Guerra, who is homesick and upset she is not able to be home. Marisol gets in Storm’s face calling her a sellout and accuses her of kidnapping her and stealing her from her home. The argument seems altogether ludicrous since everything this reviewer has read is all students voluntarily come to the school and no one is forcing them to stay. Storm is befuddled and does not address this issue at all, but attempts to address an accusation of mutant ideology indoctrination. The argument escalates and Storm reacts violently summoning a lightning storm within the school and stomps out of the room like a spoiled brat. Pak himself admits the insult shouldn’t bother Storm, but it does and she abandons her responsibility to Marisol and the school in a fit of a rage unbecoming of a Headmistress and a supposed wiser and older Storm.
The abandonment does lead to a foreseeable climax where Victor Ibanez gets to show off more of Storm’s impressive powers, tossing tanks through the air and sending soldiers flying with a gust of wind. Ibanez really excels in the emotional range he is able to convey through Storm’s facial features from remorse and happiness to anger and pride. However, not all of the artwork is as impressive. Beast looks more like a walking hunchbacked ape than an intelligent and strong mutant.
Returning to the story, Pak attempts to bring Storm’s journey of finding herself full circle, even making a jab at it by hinting Storm herself will “lose and find where she belongs a hundred times.” The story is a slap in the face of the reader telling us Storm is wiser and older, only to have her go and lose herself and act like a young, immature, hotheaded teenager.

4.8
A plot line that takes the reader from a wise, strong and in-charge Storm to a loose cannon who forsakes her responsibilities in a fit of rage disrespects not only the reader but the character as well.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Review: Low #1

Humanity has fled the surface of Earth into the depths of the oceans to avoid the expanding sun and its blistering heat. They have fled to an underwater city known as Salus, where the Caine family uses an advanced robotic suit technology to hunt the predators of the deep and provide sustenance for the citizens of Salus.
Writer Rick Remender uses the beginning pages to introduce the reader to the world of Low, life under the dome of Salus, and the Caine family. Salus is luxurious and artist Greg Tochinni makes sure the reader understands it. He uses bright greens, yellows, oranges, and blues to highlight a roaring fireplace, sweeping staircases, towering skyscrapers, and lush vegetation among a few of the niceties in Salus.
Everything is not hunky-dory. Stel Caine tracks thousands of deep space probes in their effort to find a habitable planet for relocation. In the meantime, Johl Caine, Stel’s husband is “the last Great Helsman of Salus” and in order for the city and his family to survive he must take on the role of the hunter. The two are not alone and they have three children, two daughters, Della and Tajo, and a son, Marik. In what seems to be fashionable, typical gender roles are reversed among the children. The daughters wish to follow their father and learn to be helmswomen, while Marik is content to stay in Salus and takes after his more cerebral mother.
Remender takes his time introducing the story and allows Tochinni ample opportunity to use a 1950s-esque art-style to show off the world of Low. Eventually, Remender takes the family minus Marik out past the confines of Salus on a hunting mission. Not only are there massive underwater creatures, but there is also the threat of the Scurvy Horde.
Strangely, both the massive underwater squid-like creatures and the Scurvy Horde are able to communicate and execute a well-timed ambush. Tochinni adjusts the coloring adding in more reds signifying the seriousness of the danger. The leader of the Scurvy Horde oddly does not resemble the rest of the Horde at all. He is very humanoid and resembles the Caine family, while the rest of the Horde appears skeletal and not of the living breathing world.
Remender uses interesting dialogue for the villain, having him taunt the Caines with every word he says attempting to wound their soul rather than physically harm them. However, the dialogue cannot cover the overall ease the Horde has of taking over the Caine ship, especially after building up the family’s mythos in the preceding pages. There are also a few panels where it becomes hard to follow via the artwork. At one point what appears to be the Helmsman technology hits the ground, but in the next panel the Horde is vacating the Caine’s ship. In general, Tochinni’s artwork does a fabulous job of complementing Remender’s story creating both an intriguing world as well as strong emotional characters.
Remender creates a good origin story, one that has made the likes of Batman and Spiderman legendary although Remender changes the formula up just a tad adding in a dose of hope.

8.4
Fantastic artwork with only a few missteps and a good solid origin story with an intriguing new world and strong characters have Low being nowhere near the bottom of the stack.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Review: Bodies #1

Bodies explores four detectives investigating four murders in four different time periods with each time period having its own artist! The only thing connecting each of the four different story lines, the same murdered body in the same location, Long Harvest Lane, London. And of course the number four.
Writer Si Spencer starts the reader off with the familiar, dropping them in modern day London in the middle of a large protest being broken up by the police. The dialogue is fun and even flirtatious in some parts; Spencer uses it to make some political commentary on immigration, minority issues especially in regards to the Muslim community, and police brutality. Meghan Hetrick artwork does a good job of representing the time frame, it is realistic although D.S. Hasan’s hijab did not clearly portray it was a hijab, this might have been the fact she is a detective in riot gear bashing demonstrators skulls in.
Spencer switches from the modern era to the late 19th century where the reader meets Inspector Hillinghead; where again Spencer touches on a hot-button political issue. Spencer reveals more about the dead body specifically the types of wounds it has sustained. Artist Dean Ormston makes the world believable using the shadowing of blacks and greys effectively. Ormston also exposes the reader to Inspector Hillinghead’s crime photos with close-ups of the hand and face. However, Spencer creates a little bit of intrigue and mystery when the Inspector’s co-workers, apparent members of the Order of Mithras, discuss a beginning.
Following the mysterious meeting, Spencer cranks up the extremely weird in jumping into the future to 2050 to meet Detective Maplewood. London has changed in the 30 plus years since D.S. Hasan’s time and something known as the pulsewave affects the detective’s short-term memory. The dialogue seems to be an attempt at humor, but it came off as very strange. The strangeness doesn’t stop with Maplewood’s external dialogue with herself, but gets amped way up and brings back memories of the Shining. Tulo Lotay does a good job of capturing the horror imagery from the streaks on the wall to the shape of the puddle underneath the girl’s feet. However, Lotay’s artwork doesn’t inspire hope for the future, Long Harvest Lane looks abandoned and barren with the buildings crumbling apart. The rough shadow lines cast a bleak outlook. The biggest gripe is the body does not have the same feel or look in the previous two time frames. Lee Loughridge does a great job with his bright greens and yellows to display the face that the time frame is in the future.
Spencer moves to the final detective in Inspector Charles Whiteman, who looks more like an Al Capone gangster than a police detective. Spencer uses Phil Winslade’s artwork to a tee making an overt reference to police brutality, this time the brutality isn’t whacking a protestor with a billy club, but using a blow torch in some creative ways. Winslade’s art evokes noir from the cobblestone streets to the policeman’s helmet. Spencer brings the book full circle leaving the reader with a dead body, having us wonder who they are and what happened to them?

7.7
An inventive story filled with political commentary, intrigue, and at times the strange that is setback by mixed levels of artwork.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Review: Ragnarok #1

The gods have been slain and the world has been cast asunder. Thor, the mighty son of Odin is defeated by Terminus, the glorious offspring of Earth. This is the world Walter Simonson casts the reader into.
The story follows Brynja, a Black Elf assassin, on her assignment to kill a dead god. Simonson’s first introduction to the character is very intriguing and he switches up gender roles. Brynja is a female assassin, who leaves her husband and young daughter behind to pursue what she hopes will be her last mission securing the future of her family especially her daughter.
The story is familiar to many other hero stories and has many characteristics of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Brynja leaves her family and sets off on a journey. She makes a deal with a villainous character with high reward and high risk upon completion or failure. Her journey requires her to gather mercenaries as she travels across the deserted world to confront and kill a dead god.
There is a reason why the tale of the hero is so popular-- it can be extremely enjoyable, and Simonson does an excellent job of doing just that. He also spices it up with a little bit of mystery. The sequence of Brynja accepting her contract is extremely mysterious and adds a level of the unknown to what appears a very straight-forward story. Simonson ups the mystery even more when Brynja’s daughter, Drifa, experiences an all too real nightmare. The only problem is the writing can be a little too in-your-face with quotes like “We are there.” And “I have gold.”
Simonson really shines in developing an immersive world. Although much of it barren, it has areas where the world comes to life. Whether it is in the ruins where Brynja is meeting her mysterious and sinister boss or at Kliffborg, the Fortress at the Edge of the Worlds, there are many places to explore. Simonson’s artwork not only explores geographic expanses but captures the realm of fantasy through the different types of creatures and animals he introduces. Brynja’s mount is the most prominent: a horse with an elongated snout and teeth as sharp as razors. All of these details from the geography to the animals to the characters themselves create a very beautiful fantasy setting.
A fantasy world is not complete without magic, and the panels where Brynja is casting her spells are very intriguing especially since Simonson had the words of the spell outline one of the panels; it is an added touch that heightens the fantastical elements. Laura Martin’s coloring is up to snuff and she shows her ability to contrast timelines allowing the reader to easily transition from the first few pages to the introduction of Brynja and her family.

7.5
Fantastic artwork and a fun fantasy story rooted in Norse mythology will have you subbing before you know it!