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Stringers #1 Advance Review

7/29/2015

Stringers #1 Advance Review

Oni Press 2015 on sale 08/25

Written by Marc Guggenheim

Illustrated by Justin Greenwood

Coloured by Ryan Hill

I love having no idea what to expect coming into a new series but when there’s a writer attached to it like Marc’s well you kind of have an idea that it’ll be pretty darn good. Now I had no idea what a stringer was before reading this but now I’m fascinated by these guys and what they do here. A cut throat business obtaining footage for networks to run well okay i’m intrigued but then what else he does here that just took a different level and made it too interesting to pass up.

Justin and Ryan do a really nice on the interiors here. They really manage to capture the motion of the car and traveling at high speeds in it nicely without making it seem like it’s some special effects trick. The faces and the expressions on them are wonderful expressive and give off a wide range of feelings and emotions so can understand their personalities better. There’s a nice attention to detail in panels where it’s needed to help set up what and where the character is.

Aside from the obvious dangers of the profession they’ve chosen there’s more going on here than you expect. Honestly the opening dialogue is fantastic and immediately tells you what kind of friends these two men are. It’s the kind of banter than only true friends can have with one another so right off the bat you kind of like em before even really meeting them. Paul and Nick partners and they seem to have been for quite some time they are the two men we’re going to be following throughout this story and they are actually likable.

There’s secrets between them that we aren’t privy to at the moment but somehow throughout the course of action we see this issue I doubt that will matter much in the long run. A simple job to get the shot and make the news and get paid is what the game is all about but what we see happen here goes past that and almost verges on the chasers making the news themselves as well as crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Now the pair are dangerously close to more involved in the story than they’d ever dream of being and the question now becomes are the ready for the aftermath?

With strong writing and excellent characterization, plot advancement and a helluva premise alongside some absolutely fitting interior artwork Oni Press has another strong title that is sure to thrill readers.

Surface Tension #3

7/29/2015

Surface Tension #3

Titan Comics 2015

Written & Illustrated by Jay Gunn

The ‘Sea Sickness’ swept the world. 99% of the world’s human population walked into the sea, drawn by mysterious coral structures. There, they dissolved.

Two people – Megumi Suzuki and Ryan Fisher – returned to the island of Breith, home to a community of survivors. Fearing further infection, the pair were quarantined.

Megumi, with the help of Mary Maybel, has been unlocking her memories, including her connection to the coral, and the dreamlike, interconnected world it contains. Her guide within that world is a mysterious figure in a shell-like mask, wreathed in an iridescent cloak.

Ryan, too, has been exploring his past, in the company of his former girlfriend, Shauna. His alcoholic father survived the Sea Sickness – but no-one knows the fate of his younger brother, Kyle.

Something monstrous returned with the pair from the sea. It has been attacking the islanders, and island leader Jean Cassel is making plans to deal with it.

But Megumi has sensed a change in the corals that could spell doom for these few survivors...

I really am enamored with this series. From its concept, writing, characterization and it’s really incredibly detailed and beautiful artwork that belies the dangers it has that uniqueness to it that seems to be missing so much today. That we don’t get to see right away why this whole thing started and that the mystery behind it still remains and is being slowly revealed to us in the way Jay’s doing it is gripping and even exciting.

Ever since the pair came back from the sea we’ve seen something follow them looking for them to reunite them with the collective. It’s like they’ve somehow managed to disengage themselves from the hive mind and now they wanted to be brought back into it. With everything we learn about Megumi it seems she is the one who plays an integral role and as we see more and more revealed it’s fantastic to see just how important she is and why the collective wants her back so badly.

This poor otherwise idyllic island city has already faced so much and now they have to make a stand against what’s happening and coming out of the sea. Seeing who steps up and does what is one of those things where it demonstrates the diverse human nature we all have and it raises the question what would you do. Would you risk your own life so others could live or would you run and hide and hope that it all blows over? The characterization here is freakin stellar as we see different individuals in various situations and their reactions to events that unfold before them.

I’m also somewhat in awe of Jay’s imagination as he brings the monstrous creature to life and it’s agents that it dispatches to find the pair not to mention how Megumi and Ryan keep changing and evolving themselves the longer they remain separated from the collective. There are moments where you shake your head, when they wear gas masks as if that’s going to protect them from being infected to seeing a storm coming and it all that entails you just find yourself lost in the story.

The fact that Jay can make this as beautiful as it is and as equally horrific and deadly at the same time should be experienced by everyone because this is storytelling at it’s finest. One man, one vision and to see it come to fruition in such a dramatic way isn’t to be missed.

The Shrinking Man #1

7/29/2015

The Shrinking Man #1

IDW Publishing 2015

Adaptation by Ted Adams

Illustrated & Designed by Mark Torres

Coloured by Tomi Varga

I wasn’t sure what this was going to be about but when I read it I realized I had recently seen the movie as part of Svengoolie’s Saturday night movies. This is a fantastic adaptation so far and the first does exactly what it should do and that’s capture the reader’s attention, imagination and brings an excitement to it.

The biggest question is how do you adapt something this well known keeping it as close to the original as possible but also making it relevant today?   Well I can safely say that Ted found a way that’s for sure the way he’s gone back and forth between his current predicament and how it all started and began is well done here. With the catalyst appearing on the first page happening through unknown origins in 1956 the technology and science available at the time well it’s more limited than we think about making what he goes through even more thrilling.

I love the interior artwork by Mark and Tomi too. The emotion that comes off Scott’s face throughout this whole thing, and that of his wife’s as well, is fantastic as you see the worry, fear and even resignation and a sense of weariness come off him it’s really good. Also throughout his shrinking we see how the perspective changes and that’s really well done through the artwork too.   That the perspective is done so well makes the story so much believable for me.

Poor Scott the emotion, i’ll use that word a lot because it’s essential to the main character here, we see from the writing and artwork taking it’s toll on him with his unique condition and toll it takes on his sanity shines through nicely here as well. I mean who wants to be poked and prodded by doctors all the time as a scientific curiosity?   Aside from the real question as to how the heck this could have happened the real interesting stuff is the human drama between husband and wife and then the human will to survive against impossible odds. Both of which are being handled in such great ways.

This is a prime example of how to take what we now call classic literature and make it more accessible to a new audience who probably wouldn’t have been exposed to it otherwise. Heck even myself it makes me want to go out and see if Half Price Books has a copy to reread it and discover it all over again. It’s important to remember where a lot of stories come from and i’m sure books like the Shrinking Man had some sort of influence on characters like the Atom or vice versa and that literature over the ages has shaped comics creators in so many ways. This retelling of such an interesting here and now in this medium just goes to show how powerful an impact comics can have.

Classics Illustrated may be a thing of the past but thankfully the influence of books and bringing them to us this way has evolved into series like this one.

The Accelerators: Momentum #3

7/28/2015

The Accelerators: Momentum #3 (of 4)

Blue Juice Comics 2015

Created & Written by R.F.I. Porto

Illustrated by Gavin P. Smith

Coloured by Tim Yates

After jumping forward through a series of nightmarish futures, our heroes arrive at a small country town in what seems like the pre-industrial past. While searching for an explanation, Spatz encounters an old-fashioned constable who somehow renders their technology useless and demands that they surrender their accelerator.

Wow this issue showcases something we’ve not seen here before and yet feels like a most natural progression of the series. It both throws out what we’ve seen before and yet establishes previous events firmly at the forefront. Spatz is the clear star of the series at this point as we’ve seen him go from unwilling passenger to finding out his much older self plays a huge role in the Accelerator’s actions. Yet none of that can prepare you for what goes on this issue and it’s actually some of the best storytelling I’ve experienced in this series to date.

So last issue they found this retro town and this issue we pick up with the gang now finding themselves in new roles. Spatz is now the son of Louis and Alexa, the army guy now with a wooden leg instead of a bionic one and his scientist wife. His gramps is the guy is basically a cyborg and then there’s our gladiator who is a foreigner who saved dad in the war and came back to care of gramps. Yeah none of that makes any sense as I write it down but if you read the story you’ll understand it completely.

So there seems to be something sinister about this town but they have no idea what that is because they seem to be living out a life that has been scripted for them. Sure Spatz seems to innately know something is wrong and when he meets Bob in her new role and her memories are awakened thanks to his proximity/touch well she is dealt with. How you’ll have to read, but suffice it to say this is the beginning of how we learn how important to all this Spatz really is.

Porto has really surprised me here. This issue really has so much more going on than usual and his pacing, narration and characterization has been incredible. This issue took me by such surprise in that the direction it took was so different than what I’ve become accustomed to and that in itself is magnificent. Just the way he was able to reveal what he did here leaving us with more questions than answers but still reminding us of what kind of disaster the whole Accelerator program caused well it’s pretty epic. Plus I really enjoyed seeing who was able to retain a bigger part of themselves throughout all this that was nicely demonstrated.

Gavin does he usual wonderful work on the interiors as we see such an old fashioned dress on the characters making me long for a time when people actually dressed to leave the house, though the women well their attire is too old fashioned but still impressive. While I do still wish Spatz would get a haircut the depiction Gavin brings of each character is really nice. Even more impressive is when we see Bob and the flashback to what’s happened as well as the bigger reveal towards the end shows such a growth in his work and should lead him to work on larger projects.

Blue Juice has found itself one of the books to cornerstone it’s company on here, that signature series that should be used as an example of the offerings they give. Strong, ever growing with a great premise and fantastic interiors this series is a must read!

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #4

7/28/2015

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #4

Archie Comics Publications 2014

Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Illustrated by Robert Hack

This series is without a doubt one of the most haunting I’ve had the pleasure to read. Roberto is just managing to take the dark side of being a witch and bringing it to life in such a way that it lives up the Chilling part of it’s title. With Robert’s interiors this is the kind of stuff that nightmares are made of and could honestly rival anything Anne Rice did with her witches saga.

Last issue young Harvey was in the woods on the eve of Sabrina’s baptism and interrupted the ceremony and we pick up right there this issue. Harvey running through the woods as we see a flashback to a few years earlier. This flashback demonstrates nothing more than a slice of life for a regular eleven year old boy finding curiosity in the opposite sex and finding a stack of girlie magazines then running from the boys who’d placed them there. The running in the woods the only common thread and this is a perfect demonstration of how things in life happen the weird memories we experience.

However this time Harvey is running for his life from a large group of witches and this makes the situation even more dire. Back at the clearing one witch, the nun called Della, accuses the Spellman’s of treachery in bringing the boy here and we see some of Sabrina’s power come to light. She also has the clarity of seeing what would have happened if she’d chosen the path of light instead of darkness as her aunt’s had done.

This depiction of her aunts after that night in the woods doesn’t portray them as loving caring women but of witches of the night who toe the line of their coven’s rules and are resigned to live as they are told, as they should or face the dark ones wrath. The writing here is so strong and poignant that you understand the world she hails from and the loneliness that encompasses and how difficult it has to be to come from a world like that where until you are sixteen you experience a normal life until it’s all turned upside down on it’s head.

Cousin Ambrose seems the most normal of her relatives and genuinely cares about how she’s feeling and you get the impression that perhaps because they are true witches her aunts just don’t know how to act with any compassion. So for reason you’ll understand when you read the issue the gang from nearby Riverdale comes to town and by george Robert’s depiction of them is spectacular! I mean such a different realistic look them in the nineteen fifties style they had once upon a time. So why focus on that well it does make for an interesting plot twist and one that well seems a little on the absurd side but hey it really adds something to the mix.

Then there’s Ms. Porter and all her machinations both previously and in this issue start coming faster to the forefront.

This really is one of the most interesting, well written, drawn and thought out series out today. It’s such an emotional roller coaster filled with acts that chill you to the bone and leave you breathless and wanting more. Archies scores a perfect 10 with this series!

Winter World: Frozen Fleet #3

7/28/2015

Winter World Frozen Fleet #3

IDW Publishing 2015

Written by Chuck Dixon

Illustrated by Esteve Polls

Coloured by Diego Rodriguez

Scully and his fourteen-year-old charge, Wynn, are survivors on an Earth that has become a barren, lifeless wasteland. Together they travel across a brutal world in search of Wynn’s parents, only to find that the coldest place on Earth is the human heart.

Their search has been sidetracked as the pair help Trina and her previously missing and presumed dead husband, Reynold, find some missing children. On the run from some local savages, the group has found allies in a frozen shipyard but the savages weren’t far behind.

I like that this is a world where the next ice age occurred and stayed giving us a different view of how the world has become. Scully and Wynn have become this new kind of dynamic duo bringing us into their world and their lives on their journey to find her parents and along the way we get this intense and sometimes scary look at how mankind has regressed to it’s most primal state. This issue showcases savages who roam the frozen wasteland and take whatever they can find to survive.

Esteve actually does some of the most intricate artwork here and you can almost see the dormant genes we’ve got inside us coming back to help man adapt to such a harsh landscape. Some remain completely homo-sapien while others look neanderthal in nature. The ship they’ve boarded and are using to recoup and recover from recent events is now under attack and the brutality shown here is remarkable. We see such emotion in both the crew and the savages and the violence is done very old school where he shows the result instead of the gore he really brings this to life so beautifully.

I find myself really surprised by this issue and how much I enjoyed it. There’s so much action going on around us here it’s exciting and that we see more, just a hint, of something we got a peek at coming back to set up the next arc. With Reynold still suspicious and combative with Scully in the midst of the ships invasion just adds to the drama of it all making the read that much more interesting.

Chuck has really managed to create this world wonderfully and bring us into it in such a strong way. The characterization is stellar and the pacing of the story through these chapters has been excellent keeping them short sweet and moving forward at a great pace. That the next chapter seems to be heading towards a look at what would could be left of some form of government or group that has remained in the shadows building and growing perhaps finally giving us a chance to see learn more information about the world at large keeping this story growing in scope again makes for an exciting new chapter in their current history.

This continues to be a thrilling and exciting look at a world we could end up in with a new Ice Age and it’s both frightening and interesting to see how Chuck and Esteve depict it.

Sidekick #11

7/27/2015

Sidekick #11

Joe’s Comics/Image Comics 2013

Created & Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Illustrated by Tom Mandrake

Coloured by HiFi

Recently Julia helped reveal Barry’s new alter ego to the world as the villain Sidekick, while the Red Cowl, in hiding, begins to suspect that someone is tracking him.

After publicly reenacting the death of the Red Cowl, Julia comes to Barry seeking to be a balm to what she thinks is a fractured psyche, only to discover...Barry has a terrible secret he has not yet revealed.

Holy Smokes everything I’ve thought about what has been happening here has in one fell swoop been turned upside down and on it’s ear! Straczynski has gone and put one hell of a plot twist into play here that blew me away. I mean i’ve really been enjoying the way we’ve seen Julia manipulate Barry and turn him from the Red Cowl’s sidekick to his worst enemy. Granted along the way we’ve seen the difficulty Barry’s had in making the transition from kid sidekick to hero in his own right and I thought that perhaps that had wrecked havoc on his psyche. Not getting the respect he thought he deserved or craved and not being the Red Cowl’s beloved replacement when he was thought dead it’s been a long and dark road for Barry.

The characterization and Julia’s affects on him have been beautifully portrayed and now that Julia’s beginning to feel guilty for her actions it’s time for Barry’s never before revealed origin to be told. Before we get into that I love that Julia is having the whole revenge isn’t so sweet and what have I done to you moment and if she really does love him then well this shouldn’t change that one bit.

We literally go back to Barry’s beginning, his birth as we get our first glance at his parents during the delivery. Then we skip ahead to when he’s maybe six years old and he’s chasing butterflies and uhm well not on the ground. This sends his parents into a frenzy as they meet with a professional and the answers for meta-persons aren’t known and how Barry got his powers well it’s like finding out one side of the family, or both, have that disgusting gene no one wants to talk about be it the “gay” or “diseased” stuff that brings shame upon the family.

Their reaction to Barry’s abilities set the stage for the life he’s going to live and the man he’s destined to become. Though before the meeting with the expert is over we do learn there’s a school for kids like Barry where they learn to control their powers and blend in and lead normal lives so there’s a whole new world of possibilities in this world they live in. The way his life story unfolds from there is one mind you know what. Everything that he has to go through up to the point where it looks like he’s going to meet the Red Cowl is nothing you can actually prepare yourself for. It’s this kind of writing that makes Straczynski such a stand out.

Tom’s interiors just go from this extreme of happy child to disgruntled teen with all kinds of family problems, well the way his parents think anyway, coupled with such vivid backgrounds and the introduction of the Surgeon and his lair well his work runs the gamut here it’s brilliantly done and really helps keep the suspense and drama of the words at the forefront.

This book really has been one of those rare reads that you never saw coming and the fact that it’s been taken to a whole place just reaffirms why we wait and read Straczynski’s work. Definitely worth the wait!

Fight Club 2 #3

7/27/2015

Fight Club 2 #3

Dark Horse Comics 2015

Written by Chuck Palahniuk

Illustrated by Cameron Stewart

Coloured by Dave Stewart

This series just keeps delving further and further into the fractured psyche of Sebastian and Tyler. Already we’ve seen his psychologist using hypnosis to bring Tyler out where he’s been building his own army and manipulating the world to his advantage while his wife bored with their relationship has been skimming his meds so she can have the excitement that Tyler brings during sex. With all these actions Sebastian’s life has been sent into turmoil and when at first they think his son is killed then realize he’s been kidnapped thing change dramatically.

Maria feeling guilty in her own part in all this has found some comfort in the oddest of places and that’s the children’s support group whom her story has won over. Yes they are those that age at an impossible rate but somehow the interaction and the friendship they are building give these children a little purpose and they are actually good for one another.

So before Sebastian can find his son and rescue him he has to once again immerse himself in Tyler’s world. Can he surrender himself completely or is there a chance he can exert some sort of control over Tyler so he can do what he’s set out to do. There’s too great a chance he’ll lose himself again in Tyler and things will happen that irrevocable. Chuck’s decision to revisit this world in this form is something he’s doing with care and reverence and it’s even more powerful than the original movie. He’s able to go deeper into backgrounds and personalities to showcase just what kind of men live in the same body and it’s pretty freakin amazing.

As a reader sometimes I can’t tell what’s real or what’s imaginary and that in itself is the sign of some just top notch writing.   By using logic even if it’s slanted or twisted like why Moses wandered the desert for so many years makes complete sense and yet you think how does he come up with this stuff and why haven’t I heard this before, it’s that believable.   So is this little army Tyler’s been assembling and what they do to weed out the weak and the “undesirables” it seems like it’s something natural when in reality it’s horrific. Like when we saw that student with the GPA anyone of us would’ve been proud of was killed and we see more about that today and you realize just how dangerous Tyler really is.

Could all this time being trapped in Sebastian and not being allowed out caused him to become even more extreme than ever before? Or is this what he’s really like deep down and Sebastian is just the mask he wears to appear normal?   The fact that I think of these things when reading this story should tell you that you have to really read it because there are some wonderful subtle things happening that you’ll miss if you skim through it. It also makes this a much more powerful read and a true unexpected delight that goes beyond what we expect of it.

Cameron and Dave’s work on the interiors has this gritty detail to it that suits the subject matter wonderfully.   Their ability to create and showcase such a wide array of characters here from the disenfranchised to the sick children all of whom exude their own personality traits and determination really just add this oomph to the story that makes it that much more powerful.

It’s my humble opinion that this surpasses the original material and expands on it in ways that puts this in contention for story of the year.

Sons of the Devil #3

7/27/2015

Sons of the Devil #3

Image Comics

Written by Brian Buccellato

Illustrated by Toni Infante

We open with Vanessa and Tilly meeting her father as they’ve snuck away from David for this meeting and express their desire to leave where they’ve found themselves. Could this be where Travis comes from and how he found himself lost and adrift or is that the beginning of something else that will also cause his world to crash down around him? We know that David fathered a lot of children and that the cult he leads has a more sinister origin but how does this all really tie into the story? It’s these questions that keep us coming back to find out.

Mel and Travis have moved in together and while she’s peripherally aware of what’s happening in his life and has been helping him as best she can you alse feel the tension between straining their relationship. Have to give props here because seeing Mel in the grocery store with it’s attention to detail is fantastic to see. I love this kind of artwork that they took the care and attention to her surroundings it just helps paint a more complete picture and sometimes we lose that in comics so seeing it here is fantastic.

When Travis can’t get out of the court mandated counseling we meet a new character there and we see him and kind of learn the root of his anger issues. Now the introduction of Jenny at the group is something suspicious and you can’t put your finger on it, is she trying to seduce him or is she spying on him it’s totally unclear and that kind of ambiguity about her is nice because again it’s another reason to keep reading this so we can find out.

I like the characterization here I mean Travis really is trying extremely hard to be a good man and he loves Mel and he’s genuinely trying but in this case he just can’t fight his nature. He’s already seen way too much in the last two issues but his anger and his I want to say true nature keeps bubbling to the surface and we see that here as well. Once again in an attempt to be the good guy his nature gets the better of him and he ends up in the back of a squad car.

Oh we do get to see Travis’ group counselor as he communes with the Dark One keeping this whole supernatural, evil, deal with the actual devil stuff moving forward without revealing anything really. Again it’s this kind of writing that entices you as a reader because the more you see the more you want to know and it’s not forthcoming so you have to come back and see exactly what’s happening though we do have clues if you are paying attention.

So with the big somewhat twist reveal ending it looks like things are going to be moving forward at a faster pace now. Pieces of the puzzle are coming together and it looks like whether he likes it or not Travis’ role in the upcoming events put him squarely in the middle of it all.

With this really unique style of interior artwork that manages to also be expressive and ambiguous we are immersed in this story so completely. I mean I really digging the work here and there are times like on page twenty that you see things in a kind of hazy detail that leaves no room for doubt about what’s going on and doing so just that dramatically that you feel the intention of the story full force.

This really is a different kind of story that is both easy and hard to figure out so that we’re drawn into it and it leaves a powerful impression.

Swords of Sorrow: Red Sonja & Jungle Girl #1

7/26/2015

Swords of Sorrow: Red Sonja & Jungle Girl #1 (of 3)

Dynamite Entertainment 2015

Written by Marguerite Bennet

Illustrated by Mirka Andolfo

Honestly I haven’t been following the whole story but I thought that a team-up between Red Sonja and Jungle Girl was something I’d be interested in reading about. Turns out I was right this isn’t your ordinary team-up and both women have their own unique worlds from which they hail making their encounter that much more interesting.

We start off this story with Sonja on Mars, presumably having just had an adventure with Dejah Thoris, seeking a portal back to her home. She does indeed find a portal though and with what comes through it before she leaves well let’s just say I doubt it’s the one she’s looking for. Going through the portal with that very unique looking cat she ends up somewhere she’s never been or seen before. The look we get at the land she sees is magnificent however it’s prehistoric looking and it’s home to Jungle Girl.

After the initial misunderstanding battle where both women can get a guage on the other it’s very quickly realized that they should be allies not enemies. For two scantily clad women I have to hand it to Mirka for what he manages to do with them, it doesn’t seem rally fanboy to me just more like their normal everyday attire making them less sexualized in some weird way and that’s appreciated by me.

Marguerite’s writing here is excellent as well I mean the banter the two women have is actually endearing and makes me think why haven’t these two met before? They seem to both be speaking Hyrkanian which is kind of fun since both worlds language seems to have stemmed the same way meaning they can of course communicate easily enough even if some words haven’t be created on Jana’s.

The pacing of the story and the information we get through their discussion, and the hint of who’s watching them, flows very well. Not feeling rushed, three issues isn’t always a lot to tell a story in, this is a comfortable pace and a bonding moment. I have to say I am appreciating Sonja’s swearing it’s phrases like these that make wish to adapt them for myself. Also the way she was able to weave in a most unexpected villainess into this story was nicely done.

From the interesting premise that leads to an even more interesting team-up and one heck of foe to fight this story is one that shows incredible promise. Plus with some very nice artwork Dynamite has found another way to interweave it’s characters to create something new and unique and thrilling.