REVIEW: A Dark Interlude #1 brings the return of Henry, Henry (who is still the worst)

By Zack Quaintance — For a book determined to malign and dissect the very idea of sequels, A Dark Interlude #1 sure knows how to do a sequel right. Whether you want to call it a sequel or go along with narrator Henry Henry and shun the phrase, A Dark Interlude #1 is the first issue of a followup to Fearscape, which ranks as a singular and impossible-to-classify title within the diverse and excellent Vault Comics stable.

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REVIEW: Vampire The Masquerade - Winter's Teeth #3

By Gabe Gonzalez — So, I’m just going to get right to it: I really enjoyed Vampire The Masquerade Winter’s Teeth #3. This is a third issue that demands attention on every panel and every page, doing so with a careful balance of world-building, intrigue, and fantastic narrative flow. The book continues utilizing the modern gothic-horror at its foundation while also bringing in ideas and new spins on creations from the genre’s past. The creative team continues the impressive work of taking a sibling drama spliced with a coming-of-age story and embedding it into a world of crimson chaos.

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ADVANCED REVIEW: The Devil’s Red Bride #1 is gritty, authentic

By Zack Quaintance — I’ve never really thought about this at length, but within comics, the batting average for great samurai stories is very high. Maybe I’m forgetting the bad or mediocre forays into the genre, or maybe those books often don’t get much notoriety, but when I list samurai comics off the top of my head, they tend to range from great to amazing to all-time classic, be it Usagi Yojimbo and Lone Wolf and Cub, or less heralded recent indie books like Samurai Grandpa.

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ADVANCED REVIEW: Giga #1, a mech habitat murder mystery

By Zack Quaintance — Every great once in a while, I read a new comic that feels like it was made just for me. There’s an innate feeling attached to this, one that combines familiar stories of the past I’ve enjoyed with a sense of timely novelty. That’s the best way I can describe it, and it starts at the name and aesthetic of a book, continues on through the creative team and concept, and finally ends with the execution. I felt that feeling through Giga’s announcement, during the conversations around it when the review copy hit, and during my experience with the story. Hell, I still feel it now, just sitting here thinking about the coming issues.

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TRADE REVIEW: Cult Classic - Creature Feature

By Ariel Baska — As an ardent fan of John Bivens’s work on Spread, how could I pass up an opportunity to check out his new work on Cult Classics: Creature Feature? In this work, he applies his unique style to a tale of the town of Whisper, where the same aliens who wiped out the dinosaurs happened to submerge a mysterious capsule.

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REVIEW: The Autumnal #1 is a beautiful debut, putting atmosphere over plot

By Keigen Rea — It’s difficult right now for a horror comic to stand out. Everyone has a favorite, and there are plenty of flavors to choose from, from body-horror, to single issue focused, to action oriented, most bases are covered in comics today. In some ways, The Autumnal is unable to really differentiate itself from the lack, but in others it stands above them all.

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REVIEW: Engineward #3

By Benjamin Morin — Engineward #3 carries our protagonists off on their quest for a better world. At only a quarter of the way through this twelve-issue series, Engineward continues to provide a solid sci-fi comic. Mann has woven an intricate conspiracy into the roots of his narrative and issue by issue the mystery deepens. The artistic craft on display enhances the work, but by-the-numbers story progression continues to hold the book back from greatness.

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REVIEW: Heavy #1 is a wonderfully-fun riff on The Punisher

By Benjamin Morin — What happens when the Punisher goes supernatural? Only the late 1990s had dared to ask such a question up until this point. Now however, we’re not talking about the critically lauded Punisher: Purgatory. No, this question is actually at the center of a new book this week: Heavy #1. Written by Max Bemis and illustrated by Eryk Donovan, Heavy breathes new life into the Punisher concept in this absurdly entertaining debut.

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