Comic Book Review: The Life After #7

A little bit of office turmoil, a not so joyous reunion, and a journey through some collapsing tunnels are just a few things you will see in The Life After #7. Is it good?

Joshua Hale Fialkov seems to be making it a trend in this arc to flashback and world build all the while keeping us even more confused as we continue to wonder about what is actually happening in the world of Jude and Ernest Hemmingway.

After reuniting Nettie with Jude and Ernest, Fialkov has decided to split the trio up. Nettie stays with the giant god bunny and her daughter while Jude and Ernest are marching through the tunnels. The split doesn’t help the pacing of the book giving it a fragmented feel as Fialkov jumps between the characters too often not giving them enough panel time to continue to develop and grow. He is juggling four distinct storylines at this point. It also reduces the time readers have to connect with the characters. There is an extremely emotional scene with Nettie that you just pass over with the jump to Jude and Ernest.

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Comic Book Review: The Life After #6

Enormous rabbits and an eyeless ninja keep The Life After #6 as strange as the previous five installments. Is it good?

Joshua Hale Fialkov and Gabo take a step back in time to open the new arc; unfortunately it does not catch or grab your attention especially if you are just jumping into the series. It is a rather dull conversation on rebuilding the Afterlife, but this time they will use computers! Thankfully, Fialkov injects some bureaucratic humor in the next two pages.

The humor continues throughout the issue whether it is Jude using a counting rhyme, Hemingway lamenting certain actions he is unable to perform in the Afterlife, or the Consultant’s reaction to an enormous rabbit. Nothing gets one giggling like “Holy fucking balls.” Gabo really sells the Consultant, drawing her in demonic form with a very human “surprise” face, jaw hanging wide open.

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Comic Book Review: Brides of Helheim #3

Raevil has been captured, but mystery still surrounds him. Has he been so easily cowed? Is it good?

Right off the bat Cullen Bunn and Joëlle Jones make the reader wait to see what will happen between Rikard and Raevil. Instead, Sigrid and Brand are front and center and once again the opening sequence is rather uninspiring. Brand comes off as a sappy, love-sick puppy while Sigrid is impetuous and immature. If Sigrid’s character couldn’t get any more annoying after this opening scene with Brand, she has become infatuated with Rikard.

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Comic Book Review: Brides of Helheim #2

The spae witches’ quest for vengeance takes center stage as Rikard begins his hunt for Raevil. Is it good?

Cullen Bunn’s first part of the story seems altogether pointless. He uses two full pages to detail the fact that Rikard is no longer a man, but an undead draugr. Something readers are well aware of if they read the first book or Helheim itself. After these two pages the history of the spae women and how they became the witches they are, is revealed.

Joëlle Jones places a background behind the panels to cue the ensuing sequence is taking place in the past. There is no need for a written cue because of the visual effect, where the panels are centered on the page and do not take up as much of the page as the panels occurring in the present.

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Comic Book Review: The Life After #5

The Life After #5 introduces a major player in the game, while reintroducing a character from the very first installment. Is it good?

Following the shock of the last book where Nettie had somehow been pulled back into Purgatory from Heaven, Joshua Hale Fialkov begins The Life After #5 by filling the reader in on what has happened to Nettie since Jude sent her skyward. One would think after reading four books, the reader would be prepared for some curve balls out of strange field. However, there are no curveballs; Gabo is upfront with the strange depicting a husband’s face in a state of melting and one of the most grotesque baby’s you will lay your eyes on.

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Review: Brides of Helheim #1

Cullen Bunn and Joëlle Jones venture back into the world of witches, draugr and Helheim. Is the return good?

If you were thinking the main protagonist would be Rikard and the witches, you are in for surprise. Sigrid, a fiery young blonde, carries the weight of the story. She is accompanied by her friend, Brand, as they journey to the Old Village. Bunn provides an excellent build-up for those unfamiliar with the backstory of Helheim (like this reviewer). He creates a sense of fear and foreboding with regards to the Old Village. There are tales and stories the elders have whispered in the young ears of Sigrid and Brand. Brand, especially, has a healthy fear of the Old Village and the potential realities of his fate.

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Review: The Life After #3

Joshua Hale Fialkov and Gabo’s journey into Purgatory continues to get weirder by the page, even venturing into the beginning of time. It is strange, that’s for sure, but is it good?

Fialkov and Gabo begin by reintroducing the traditional Biblical story of Jesus Christ. Fialkov adds some light humor when God interacts with Mary telling her straight-up to avoid conversation about her betrothed because after all God does not want to be the other man. Unfortunately his plan fails. Jesus is crucified and the world continues to wage war.

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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.

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