REVIEW: X-Ray Robot #3 is charming, unique, and utterly absurd

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By Benjamin Morin — In a comics landscape that is continually flooded with new indie sci-fi books, it can be difficult to stand out. Books like Tartarus, Ascender, We Only Find Them When They’re Dead, and many more tend to occupy the frontrunners for the genre, which unfortunately leaves titles like X-Ray Robot in the more niche categories. X-Ray Robot is the kind of book that seems written for a very particular audience yet should be widely read and experienced. I personally went in with no expectations other than a passing acknowledgement of the name Mike Allred and came out pleasantly surprised.

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REVIEW: Sympathy for No Devils #1

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By T.W. WORN — It is a crisp Autumn night in 2018, and turbulent psychedelic rays of light bounce above the sweating crowd of a busy bar on a busy night. The thumping bass of the speakers leaks onto the ground, the patrons bobbing in the rhythm as they wade through fellow patrons to the bar. I am sitting, in a suit, next to my friends. The sound of laughter slinks through my ears, echoes in my head, and pours out my mouth along with the rest of the group. The music in the bar shifts in tone, no longer a grooving anthem of eternal adolescence. It is slow and sinister. The cold frequency of a pipe organ. I look over to the DJ, confused. They say something about how he has finally arrived for us, and laughs. I tilt my head in confusion.

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ADVANCED REVIEW: Planet Paradise Vol. 1 by Jesse Lonergan

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By Bruno Savill De Jong — Jesse Lonergan’s Planet Paradise is foremost an experiment of layouts and design. In this book, the sequential storytelling of comics is rearranged with large blank-spaces and innovative panel juxtaposition, reveling as much in ‘where’ the images are placed as ‘what’ is in them. It’s appropriate for a comic about a woman, Eunice, whose tourist space-ship heading for the titular pleasure planet gets knocked off-course onto a hostile world; her pre-arranged settings and plans have been displaced. Once there, Eunice fights off alien lifeforms and cares for the crotchety spaceship captain as they wait to get the passengers (still safely in hyper-sleep) back on-track.

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REVIEW: November Book Three...November? In October??

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By Keigen Rea — Between its elaborate non-conventional format and sporadic shipping schedule, I feel like November hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves as one of the finest comics of 2020. Which to a certain degree also feels disingenuous. Any mention of it has been positive, at least from what I’ve seen, but it feels like people are over emphasizing writer Matt Fraction’s role, and, crucially, under-emphasizing artist Elsa Charretier.

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REVIEW: Stillwater #2 continues one of 2020's best new series

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By Keigen Rea — Stillwater’s second issue falls into some common problems of issue twos, but ultimately proves itself as one of my favorite comics of the year. Picking up after last issue’s cliffhanger, this issue is dialogue and exposition heavy, as second issues tend to be. We meet The Judge, a town cop, and are reacquainted with the kids from last issue.

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REVIEW: The Scumbag #1 is a good-bad taste spy thriller

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By T.W. Worn — I'm going to write this review a little bit different than normal. I usually like to make a few jokes, or have a wacky set up for my review but The Scumbag deserves so much more than that. It deserves an honest review because no matter what I write, it will never be as batshit insane as this comic. Now mind you, the comic as a whole is not that crazy, but its the combination of good-bad taste and spy thriller that makes this comic so incredible.

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REVIEW: Dune - House Atreides #1 from BOOM!

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By Zack Quaintance — This week’s prequel comic, Dune House Atreides #1, is much more than your usual film tie-in comic. It’s much more than an afterthought or attempt to cash in on a forthcoming film adaptation (which, let’s face it, might remain forthcoming for a while due to pandemic). It’s a clear and evident addition to Dune cannon, penned by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the stewards of all things Dune following original creator Frank Herbert’s death some years ago.

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

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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: The Lonely Receiver #2 is an A+ breakup story

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By Zack Quaintance — The second issue of The Lonely Receiver — an artificial intelligence breakup comic by the team of writer Zac Thompson, artist Jen Hickman, and letterer Simon Bowland — is past needing to dole out exposition, which was done and done well in the debut. With orienting readers out of the way, this second issue can get to the core of what this book is really about — capturing the utter devastation of losing a long-term relationship.

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

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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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REVIEW: True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - National Anthem #1

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By Larry Jorash — Look alive, Sunshine! Oh, how the music world has missed the wildly creative and intense music of My Chemical Romance and front man Gerard Way. When not working with the band, Way has spent time becoming a major force in the comic book industry. His pen has stretched from the alleyways of Gotham City to the fateful grassy knoll of Dallas, TX, circa 1963. Way consistently deploys a shamelessly bizarre storytelling style aimed at niche ideas and properties. For Way fans picking up his new comic True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - National Anthem #1 today, be sure to have the album Danger Days cranked in your headphones, because the nostalgia is coming.

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REVIEW: Concrete Jungle #1 doesn't quite click...yet

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By T.W. Worn — In 1996, Mojo Records released one of the most quintessential albums of my lifetime; Turn the Radio Off by Reel Big Fish. The Ska Punk album that defined a generation as well as set the tone for 3rd and post-3rd wave ska for the next 20 years. The opening track, Sell Out, is a tale about a fast food worker turned music star but slowly starts to realize they didn't get signed to a label to be artists. They got bagged and tagged by a record label to sell an MTV style package of stardom. I bring up this album for two reasons.

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