By Jacob Cordas — We are gonna to need to get mean for a second. We are gonna need to get mean the way that Ionesco got during Rhinoceros, the way that Sam Greenlee and Melvin Clay got during The Spook By The Door and the way that Garth Ennis got during The Boys. We gotta take a moment and talk about the necessity of this meanness.
Read MoreBy Zack Quaintance — The Vain #1 is first and foremost a relentlessly stylish comic, drawing on a timeless sense of glamour that lends an over-arching sophistication to this story about vampires, heists, and going to war. Indeed, there is a whiff of the television show Mad Men to this comic, not in the subject matter but in the approach it takes to the styles and values of the times: the characters in this book are not old-fashioned (not even the immortal ones) and neither is there culture. No, they dress as they do and act in a certain way because they are, in fact, quite vain (hey, that’s the title!).
Read MoreBy Larry Jorash — Members of society with disabilities are, I think it’s fair to say, often left out of comics. There are some examples in mainstream books, to be sure, including Barbara Gordon for many years as Oracle in DC Comics, as well as Daredevil on Marvel’s rooftops. Now, with the forthcoming book from Mad Cave Studios, Pantomime, we get a pair of new characters in that group — Haley and Max.
Read MoreBy Ariel Baska — Mtsyry Octobriana 1976 opens with a bang on page one, with an experimental sexual orgy, amid psychedelic color contrasts. Opposite, there appears the figure of a woman, naked but for her leopard print scarf, sniper rifle, and belt of ammo. One character looks out of frame to ask, “Who are you?”
Read MoreBy Keigen Rea — It is genuinely delightful to have a comic that’s being marketed as a slice of life story, especially at Image. That alone makes Getting it Together an interesting and unique comic, and one that’s been on my radar since it was announced. This first issue isn’t one I’m completely head over heels for, but it goes make me confident enough to be on board for this miniseries.
Read MoreBy T.W. Worn — You're in line at a Burger King when you look over at the door, distracted from the menu by the sound of it opening. Inside walks a Spuds MacKenzie impersonator. The dog walks up to you, drops a piece of paper it was holding in its mouth at your feet, and trots away. You grab and unfold the sheet of paper to see it read: Copper Tin Inn. Roof. 7PM.
Read MoreBy Benjamin Morin — Ever since I played the latest God of War game I have been obsessed with Norse mythology. For the unfamiliar, the game follows the titular God of War, Kratos, as he battles the pantheon of Norse gods. In between fighting monsters or other gods, there are slow moments where your guide — the decapitated Mimir — tells you the epic stories of the Nordic myths. It is in these quiet moments that Mimir’s tales grasped my imagination with stories I had never heard of before, such as Odin being the lord of the hanged and the blessing of the mead of poets. My exposure to these stories led me to search out a collection of these myths which inevitably brought me to Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology.
Read MoreBy Jacob Cordas — You’re a hero but you’re always second best. You’re not shot off to be the shining example of your culture. You’re abandoned. You desperately want to go home. You feel insecure and insincere. The world seems to agree. That is Penultiman. He’s a sad sack of a Superman.
Read MoreBy Zack Quaintance — This week saw the return of writer Scott Snyder and artist Rafael Albuquerque’s series, American Vampire, via the release of the first issue of a new series, American Vampire 1976 #1. As the title indicates, this book is a continuation of the series — which has sat dormant for a bit — in the year 1976.
Read MoreBy 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.
Read MoreBy Keigen Rea — This is my favorite painting. It’s by Pere Borrell del Caso (funny story, in a class this summer I credited it to Caravaggio, and I aced the class. Hilariously, I did not know Caso was the painter until I started writing this review! Hahahahahaha). Now, I’m probably supposed to like it because of like, brush strokes or something. Maybe realistic lighting? His fuzzy hairs, perhaps. It is not those things that make this painting special to me. This is my favorite painting because of it’s name. That’s dumb, I do not care.
Read MoreBy Larry Jorash — James Tynion IV has made his name through horror and superhero comics, but in Department of Truth #1, we see him venture into new territory with a noir fiction of sorts. The cover alone will warrant a second glance on shelves from everyone this week, and once the book is cracked, the art will show off mesmerizing design work. Blending hard truths from modern years and soft truths from the past, the story readers will find in this book is nothing if not unique.
Read MoreBy 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.
Read MoreBy 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.
Read MoreBy T.W. Worn — There is something about Miles To Go #1 that grips you by the collar of your shirt and pulls you along its narrative, regardless of how disturbed and unsure you may be. From the first handful of panels, you know you are being dragged across the shattered glass that is the life of Amara Bishop, the main character of the story. From the images of her childhood, shown to use as a recurring dream, to the life of a newly single mother currently going through the difficulties of a divorce, Miles To Go is a slow but enjoyable start to what will hopefully be a series I plan to stick with.
Read MoreBy 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.
Read MoreBy Jacob Cordas — Undiscovered Country #8 finally lets us explore the second region of this nightmarish America and it does not disappoint. This world is designed to a tee. Every issue has done some of the best implied ...
Read MoreBy Jacob Cordas — An Unkindess Of Ravens is hokey in all the right ways. It’s charming and delightful exuding sincerity on every page. It takes the charm of how we remember Archie and mixes it with a dash of Hanna-Barbera magic to make something unique and refreshing.
Read MoreBy Zack Quaintance — I’m going to get right into this: Commanders in Crisis #1 is a very impressive, must-read comic, that makes me want to ask several questions of the creative team, chief among them: how did you all pull-off something that so many other folks in comics continue to fail at on a near annual basis? And how did you accomplish said thing within the limitations of a single creator-owned book?
Read MoreBy Larry Jorash — As superhero stories, few are as as unique as The Umbrella Academy. The satirically bleak tone, subtle humor, and raw emotion have put Umbrella Academy in a rare niche of mainstream indies. Now, renowned rock-and-roller Gerard Way returns once more to the comic book stage to deliver us back unto the world where it all began….with a flying elbow.
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