REVIEW: Her Infernal Descent #3 by Lonnie Nadler & Zac Thompson, Kyle Charles, Dee Cunniffe, & Ryan Ferrier

By Zack Quaintance — Her Infernal Descent is the story of Lynn, a mother literally marching through hell in search of her recently-deceased family. Put simply, it's one unique comic. A loose retelling of Dante’s Inferno, it stars a fairly typical mom plus a host of dead celebrities, from Jimi Hendrix to Homer (Odyssey not Simpson) to Kafka, ironically serving as a judge.

This issue is three of five, and in it, the qualities that made the first two installments so interesting have been upped: dry humor, surreal encounters with departed artists, and the melancholy motivating Lynn to traverse literal hell. There’s quite a bit to be impressed with, both holistically as well as within this singular issue, but let’s start with the writing.

The duo of Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson are on the rise, catching much buzz with their work on Marvel’s Cable, taking over Valiant's Bloodshot, and writing the excellent body horror book Come Into Me. Although it’s early in their careers to brand them with a regular motif, I’d still say this book seems like a departure, at once under and overstated—understated with its characterization of Lynn and overstated with the absurd hell unfolding around her.

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The cover of Her Infernal Descent #3 is an excellent summation of what this book's art does so well, juxtaposing the protagonist's outward normalcy with her madcap and macabre surroundings.

The mom-ness of our hero is so well done, especially in interactions with deceased members of the intelligentsia. She’s unimpressed but tolerant of William Blake yet thrilled to meet Agatha Christie. When Andy Warhol tells her he’s trying to be nice, she replies Try harder. She uses old school mom-typical expressions like Hey buster, Oh for Pete’s sake, or ...that time I smoked the danged reefer. Obviously these writers aren’t mothers, but they seem to be working hard to see and convey their own moms' perspectives. The result is a character who is utterly relatable.

The real heart of the book, however, is Lynn's regret over her lost loved ones. In this issue, hellions try to torture her with her own memories in a poignant spread that nearly brought me to tears. We also see Lynn recall that normal life had perhaps pushed her to drinking. Like the earlier charm, these tragedies are never belabored, and that's a credit to the scripting.

The visuals, of course, also deserve much credit. Kyle Charles and Dee Cunniffe are a versatile team, capable of both quiet emotions and of depicting hell. They bounce between these modes, often integrating them into shared environs. The cover to issue three is a great example. We see Lynn with her practical haircut and dress navigating a labyrinth of the macabre. Within this cover, Charles and Cunniffe so thoroughly convey her driving mission so well that ifI think about it too long I’ll get emotional.

On that note, I’ll conclude by noting this book is built to hurt your heart, badly, the moment she reunites with her family, and I for one am there for the devastation.

Overall: In Her Infernal Descent #3, the qualities that make this comic so enthralling are ratcheted up, resulting in the best issue yet. This is a literary comic of the highest order, a well-constructed story rich with melancholic moments, intelligentsia in-jokes, and a layer of subtle charm. 9.0/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Quantum and Woody! (2017) #7 by Eliot Rahal, Francis Portela, Andrew Dalhouse, & Dave Sharpe

Quantum and Woody #7 is a bold issue.

By Zack Quaintance — Quantum and Woody! #7 makes a lot of bold choices, the majority of which work. It's the second issue of new writer Eliot Rahal’s run, and whereas last issue was a heart-felt full-blown superhero action romp, complete with what felt like urgent and high stakes, this issue is a trip into Woody’s psyche, with a splash of Quantum’s mind thrown in, too.

I absolutely loved Quantum and Woody! #6, which I came away from with huge expectations for where Rahal and team would take this book. While this next issue did nothing to dampen my excitement, it did lack a bit of the compressed sense of purpose of its predecessor. This is, by design, a more mindful issue, one that is almost entirely about fears in the context of character growth. It compliments last issue, which saw the guys both decide to face great danger without their powers, but it’s not nearly as easy of a read as its predecessor. This, I suppose, is just a necessary effect of setting the bar so high at the start of the run while also laying pipe for the future.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a very strong comic. Rahal has said that as his run progresses he’ll get back to the humor that marked his predecessor Daniel Kibblesmith’s run, which is good because humor is largely what this franchise is known for. Rahal is a funny guy, too, and there are hints of that in the way Woody banters with those around him. Francis Portela also does an excellent job illustrating the ideas in this script, making scenes ethereal and dreamlike around the characters when the story calls for blurring reality.

Perhaps the biggest strength of this particular issue though is where it leaves its heroes at the end: tangled together and presumably ready to combine forces yet again to overcome a shared problem, whether they want to or not. Basically, like all good Quantum and Woody stories, the heart of this one is the past and present dynamic between the two lead characters.

Looking forward, Rahal seems driven to do big things with this book. The ambition of this issue, as I said earlier, is incredibly bold, almost daring, and he's shown in his other work (Cult Classic, The Paybacks) that he's more than capable of executing ambitious visions. That said, I know I’m personally on board as long as he’s writing this book.

Overall: Like all of the best issues of Quantum and Woody, this one puts the past and present dynamic between the two leads at its heart. What’s especially impressive is it manages to do so by delving into their psyches, making for a story that is at once abstract and character-driven. 8.0/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Harbinger Wars 2 #2 by Matt Kindt, Tomas Giorello, Diego Rodriguez, Renato Guedes, & Dave Sharpe

There is a level of novelty to Harbinger Wars 2 #2 that Marvel and DC are no longer capable of reaching.

By Zack Quaintance — Harbinger Wars is one of the first superhero events in a long while that feels totally justified, in large part because Valiant hasn’t overdone its crossovers. It's a luxury Marvel and DC no longer have, and it adds a level of relevance to this huge story, taking it to a significant place those larger publishers are perhaps not capable of reaching, not anymore. This all occurred to me about halfway through Harbinger Wars #2. Long-running characters were meeting/fighting on the page for the first time—what was this feeling? The story seemed...important? Maybe not quite that, but it at least seemed novel.

It was a feeling I remembered from when I was a much younger reader, and the Big 2 had a few relationships that weren’t quite as rote as they are nowadays. In recent years, event stories at those publishers have seen characters take self-aware, here we go again attitudes toward massive galactic threats. There are exceptions, of course (Hickman’s Avengers stands out), but for the most part, the major dangers of the galaxy or multiverse are met with a wink. As a younger publisher with less continuity, however, Valiant has the luxury of acting like they haven’t been here before, despite this all being a sequel to a previous event.

That to me is the single greatest strength of Matt Kindt and Tomas Giorello’s Harbinger Wars 2 #2. Not to give specific plot points away, but there were fights here that had me rooting for both sides with no idea what would happen, which is very rare for superhero comics. There were also character interactions that felt weighted and poignant, like the world depended on them, even if it was just two heads talking. That’s no easy feat, especially given one scene in particular that involved characters Kindt hasn’t recently been writing.

This issue works really well for the most part, even if Giorello’s hyper-realistic artwork felt a little out of place for characters that are usually depicted by less realistic artists, like Animalia and Faith. The range of emotions in this book is pretty stunning, though, specifically in a scene where Kindt uses a young psiot to remind us of something Marvel’s X-Men used to do better—that many of these abilities make lives worse, much much worse. It’s a brief scene of well-tread thematic space, but it’s well executed, reminding us of the human stakes behind the superhero war.

Overall: Harbinger Wars #2 has just enough action as it builds toward what is presumably a gigantic climax in the final two issues of this event. Kindt and Giorello especially excel here at giving character interactions and conflicts the weight an event story deserves. 8.0/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Outpost Zero #1 by Sean McKeever, Alexandre Tefenkgi, & Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Outpost Zero #1 is out July 11.

By Zack Quaintance —  When I start an original series, I usually have preview text handy to orient myself and keep from wondering questions that might bog down the narrative. I’m sure some purists would say a comic should stand by itself, but I’m fine with this. Comics is a serialized medium informed by its past arguably more than any other storytelling format. Spider-Man has decades of audience familiarization; I'm cool allotting new books a few sentences.

Anyway, with Outpost Zero #1, the preview talks of a small town where people work the land, spend Fridays watching sports, and often lack grand aspirations because survival is so demanding. As a result, I expected this book to be analogous of modern small-town America. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that while there are hints of that, the book’s aspirations are much broader.

It’s actually not the plight of resource-poor regions this book is concerned with, not entirely, but rather grander philosophical questions about practicality versus ambition, both as applied to the individual and to society. Do you keep your head down and focus on your day-to-day, or do you fight to change the world? It’s a question I’ve wrestled with in my life, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

A preview page from Outpost Zero #1.

And it’s actually a question the creators float early in this first issue, before later applying it to a familiar debate about science. Do we push our economy forward in brief spurts, or do we invest in a culture of innovation and knowledge? As someone whose day job is to write about how local governments deploy innovation and technology, I found this all especially compelling, but I’m sure for those outside my (incredibly) niche industry, it will be of interest as well, given our current national climate.

Philosophy aside, this is just a well-done comic, as I’ve come to expect from the Skybound imprint. The art is top-tier, the character’s faces emotive, and the sci-fi outpost a perfect blend of familiar Earth trappings and tools of futuristic survival. The dialogue accomplishes the heavy scientific and philosophical lifting, and it rarely seems contrived, stumbling a bit during the talk between teenagers (something 98 percent of comic writers fumble).

In the end, though, it's a surprising yet logical character-driven choice that has me coming back for issue two. To say anymore would risk a spoiler.

Overall: This issue does what Skybound books do best: leaves you badly wanting to know what happens next. It seems outwardly simple, but this book is layered, character-driven, and deceptively complex. The creative team behind Outpost Zero #1 has planted some compelling seeds. 8.0/10

Outpost Zero #1 will be available July 11.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Farmhand #1 by Rob Guillory, Taylor Wells, & Kody Chamberlain

Farmhand #1 mixes body horror, espionage, and father-son drama.

By Zack Quaintance — Farmhand #1 is as packed as the fertile soil that is so central to its plot. Or maybe loose soil is better for growing? I’m not sure, as I know so very little about farming, but I am sure that there is a lot going on in this book. This book contains a father-son story, a corporate espionage subplot, an examination of the medical good versus the religious stigma of working with stem cell research, and a whole heck of a lot of scary and grotesque body horror imagery.

It’s a credit to writer/artist Rob Guillory that this issue is so linear and easy to follow. With all of its ambition, Farmhand #1 could have gotten confusing or clunky, and it never once tips into that. The pacing is strong and the on-panel action engaging, the exposition doled out in chewable (sorry!) bits that don’t slow the proceedings any more than they need to.

This greatest strength, to me, was actually its charm and levity. I know, I know — I just ran through a whopping list of heavy contents above. Also, this is a story about scientific breakthrough that enables the growing of body parts from trees, bushes, and the ground. Yet here I go calling it charming?

It’s true, though, and furthermore I would credit it to Guillory taking advantage of doing both writing and illustrating duty by throwing in background site gags at so many turns (a breakfast cereal called Chupacbr-os, a sign that reads No pets allowed, they smell. -mgmt, etc.). He’s clearly having a blast drawing this complex tale, and it shows. It’s hard not to enjoy yourself when a storytelling is having so much visceral fun with his world.

What I did struggle with a bit while reading Farmhand #1 was focus. There’s a dream scenario that opens the book that made me think we were in a straight-up sort of old school zombie horror book. Not to go into specific (spoilers!) but there was just so much more to the plot. I am, however, dead set on returning for a second issue, suspecting as I do that subsequent chapters in this story will crystalize what the book’s primary concern is as our story progresses. Guillroy has earned as much.

Overall:  Farmhand #1 is a singular and at times charming vision that juggles a super wide range of concerns. It’s an easy and entertaining comic, if a little overburden at times with its ambition. I’m very much interested to see how writer/artist Rob Guillroy will pull it all together in coming issues. 7.0/10

Farmhand #1 is out July 11 from Image Comics.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Skyward #3 by Joe Henderson, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela, & Simon Bowland

For the third straight issue, Skyward shows itself to be a gorgeous and charming comic.

By Zack Quaintance — The concept in Skyward has been strong from the start—gravity has inexplicably lessened, sending humans floating fatally into the sky—as has the delivery of information about our characters and the world’s plight. Skyward #1, to be perfectly blunt, was a book I had few expectations for, as the creative team was unfamiliar to me, but I loved the first issue. Why? I attribute the ongoing success of this book in large part to how expertly information has been doled out from its start.

One of the most difficult tricks in plotting is knowing what to reveal and when, how to hit a sweet spot and orient an audience without gumming up the pacing with too much info. A lot of debut issues suffer from that, as if creators have accepted forced exposition as a necessary problem of #1 issues and are spilling it fast so they can get the actual story.

Skyward does not once make a concession in that regard, instead finding organic and natural ways to let us know about our hero, her family, and what’s happened to the world. The book essentially floats through its earliest reveals, focusing heavily on the family—a girl and her parents—that is at the heart of our story. The result is one of the most charming books in comics. This issue continues to be excellent.  

Skyward expertly uses storytelling tools unique to comics, including a juxtaposition of the shading and reaction in the bottom right panel.

Last issue ended with our protagonist’s optimism, trust, and naivety catapulting her into danger, and Skyward #3 picks up immediately there. The expert reveals continue, but I also began to notice new strengths, too. Admittedly, I’ve maybe been too preoccupied with Henderson’s script choices to notice the feats of characterization Garbett and Fabela have pulled off with the artwork. This issue, though, it really stood out. The panels here are framed to reveal fear or recklessness, while the characters are shaded to indicate sinister motives or apprehension. Hell, even the walls in the villain's place tip toward emergency red. It’s just all so well done, using the full breadth of storytelling tools comics put at one’s disposal.

This issue also ratchets up the intensity, with some well-placed but tasteful violence. Even so, the book maintains its heart by deploying sharp incidental humor between tense moments (the bit where a kid asks a question about weak gravity creating—ahem—a new way to get pregnant is so sharp), before wrapping up with an absolutely killer cliffhanger for the third time in as many issues.

Overall: Skyward’s incredibly adept use of pacing and its engrossing concept—the gravity that once bound humans to the earth has dissipated—continue to make for one of the best original comics of the year. The team of Henderson, Garbett, Fabela, and Bowland are doing so many things right. I am once again surprised at how thoroughly I’m enjoying this book. 9.5/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Crude #3 by Steve Orlando, Garry Brown, Lee Loughridge, & Thomas Mauer

Crude is a violent and complex revenge story, driven by a father-son relationship.

By Zack Quaintance — As much as I liked Crude #1 and #2—and I did, a lot—it’s #3 that firmly establishes the book as one of my favorite ongoing creator-owned titles, up there with Saga, Monstress, and Southern Bastards. To get even more specific, it was actually this issue’s last panel that cemented it with such lofty company, a panel I will, of course, only discuss in vague terms here, because spoilers are bad, etc.

Anyway, a quick refresher: Crude is from writer Steve Orlando, artist Garry Brown, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Thomas Mauer, and it's about a former Russian assassin seeking information on/revenge for the death of a son he never understood, a son who sought a new life in a far-flung oil city in Siberia (I think). When that son is murdered amid a dispute between rival oil companies, our hero heads to Siberia to do what he should have done in life—get to know his boy. And also to kick an incredible amount of ass, usually shirtless and streaked in greasy filth for a tactical advantage (I’m telling you, this comic rules).

Badassery aside, Crude’s compelling character motives and poignant imagery make it truly special. Let’s look at both of those in detail, starting with motives. Piotr (our hero) is on a dual quest, one for physical revenge, and another to know his son better. It’s the second one that’s really compelling. In fact, one gets the sense Piotr is less distraught by death—in his reality life is cheap—than by never being emotionally honest with his son, which causes him to feel culpable for the murder. Simply put, I fear more for Piotr emotionally than physically, as I learned in this issue when our hero learned details about his son during a pair of fight scenes. There’s just so much relatable father-son BS masculine angst.

Basically though, the aforementioned dual motivations are what push the book forward. An ubiquitous piece of creative writing advice is to create a character and give that character something they want, badly. The more we know what the character cares about, the more we care about the character. And the more wanting something puts the character in difficult situations, the better. That’s what Crude does so effectively (again, see #3’s final panel!).  

Garry Brown is doing career best work in Crude, especially as it pertains to the conceptualization of the imagery.

The second strength—poignant imagery—makes Piotr’s motivations all the more visceral, the way only comics can. Every issue has had a haunting panel conveying Piotr’s mourning and regret. This issue, however, has the most memorable yet, wherein Piotr walks through a seedy alley with a ghostly coffin chained to his neck, ridden by his son who waves his arms as if it were the bomb in Doctor Strangelove. Oof.

Overall: Crude #3 exceeds previous installments, raising this book up among my favorite creator-owned titles right now, as well as among my favorite Image books period. It’s well-constructed and perfectly-executed, a bleak and deeply emotional story about damage caused by emotional distance and dishonesty between fathers and sons. 9.8/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Shanghai Red #1 by Christopher Sebela, Joshua Hixson, & Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Try not to fall overboard (sorry) during the incredible action sequence that opens this comic.

By Zack Quaintance — Shanghai Red—a new creator-owned book from Image by the rising team of writer Christopher Sebela, artist Joshua Hixson, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou—is an ambitious comic, one that opens fast and vicious, with art that makes readers all but feel salty blood mingling with the unforgiving sea. It quickly gives us a protagonist—murderous and mysterious Jack—and a reason to root for them in spite of the violence they’re committing, that reason being that they’ve spent years on the boat enslaved.

After a white-knuckled opening volley, however, Shanghai Red #1 grinds to a bit of a halt in the service of necessary but slow backstory dissemination. This exposition isn’t bad or clumsy here, no. It does, however, feel abrupt and incongruous with the high action opening of the book’s first act. As a result, the pacing in Shanghai Red is almost at odds with itself, creating an effect presumably akin to battling for your life against a mugger and then having to immediately sit through a lesson about history. No matter how exciting that history is, that shift is still a tough adjustment.

Simply put, the middle of this comic feels a bit slow relative to the action of its beginning and the tense foreboding crescendo of its end (which, no spoilers). Still, with our protagonist’s backstory so thoroughly and thoughtfully laid out, there’s every reason to believe Shanghai Red will establish itself in coming issues as a top-tier comic. The artwork is especially something to behold, not just for the craft and visual quality, but for the choices Hixson makes with perspective.

Hixson does a masterful job using space to convey the contrasting claustrophobia and limitlessness inherent to sailing the ocean.

I was particularly impressed with the way he used spacing in each panel to convey what the characters within must have felt. Scenes below deck were kept dark and cluttered, claustrophobic the way ships in the 1800s surely felt, while scenes with characters looking to horizons were wide and free, sometimes taking up entire pages. The end result is feeling at once trapped and limitless, as if readers too were traversing the seas.

Overall: Shanghai Red #1 is the first issue of a book with MASSIVE potential, and both the writer and artist hit some truly impressive heights here. Now that the protagonist’s backstory has been made clear in great detail, this book seems poised to sail (sorry!) to some really exciting places. 8.0/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Lost City Explorers #1 by Zack Kaplan, Alvaro Sarraseca, Chris Blythe, & Troy Peteri

Lost City Explorers #1 is out June 20. 

By Zack Quaintance — There’s an interesting dichotomy in AfterShock Comics’ latest series, Lost City Explorers. On its surface, the book has all the trappings of a traditional teen adventure story—bickering siblings, a diverse group of friends, a parent lost to a mysterious realm beneath the city—but rather than lean into the ‘80s nostalgia that has come to define this sort of story in recent years (see Netflix’s Stranger Things), this comic goes the other way, makings its protagonists very much of our time.

For example, the introductory scene depicts a science experiment deep beneath New York City that suddenly goes wrong and swallows its researchers. This entire scene feels timeless, as if it could have happened from 1950 on. Once it has concluded though, artists Alvaro Sarraseca and Chris Blythe give us an establishing shot of modern New York City (with One World Trade Center and all) that next gives way to teens at a Bleachers concert (great band, btw).

The characters in the first scene may as well be ‘80s teen adventurers grown up, while those who follow are their kids, left to navigate a less rosy world. In fact, our protagonist’s fitting first line is, This world sucks. And the scene goes on from there to expertly capture the vast uncertainty of heading toward high school graduation without a blueprint for what comes next. One fantastic panel has main character Hel standing with her toes over the edge of subway platform, musing, Everything just seems so pointless. 

This comic brings the teen adventure genre out of the '80s and into 2018.

Essentially, Lost City Explorers #1 seems to have its kids saying, Yes, we remember teen movie nostalgia, but what does that have to do with our plight? It’s an interesting ideological contrast, and I hope the book delves into it more substantially as things progress.

This issue is ambitious, deliberately working toward its (excellent) final panel, which marks the proper start of the adventure to come. In getting there, however, there is A LOT of exposition, dolled out in too-large chunks that occasionally slow the pacing. Kaplan writes great dialogue, but in one scene following a funeral, a character lapses into straight info dumping that feels a little jarring.

I can’t, however, imagine there’s much left to impart in the second issue, and as such I’m optimistic this book will get even better as it goes. For now, though, I’d say this is a solid comic, very much worth a read for fans of teen adventure stories, especially those born after 1994 who just don’t understand my (slightly...only slightly!) older generation’s fascination with the ‘80s.

Overall: Lost City Explorers #1 is a mashup of bygone teen adventure stories and 2018 sensibilities, blending earnest wonder with the blunted expectations of today. It's a really interesting book, seemingly bent on reclaiming the genre from decades past. There is, however, much exposition in this first issue, and I won’t be surprised if #2 is stronger. 7.8/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Unnatural #1 by Mirka Andolfo

Look carefully and you may miss the pig features, likely a deliberate blurring of perception by artist/writer Mirka Andolfo.

By Zack Quaintance — Unnatural #1 has intrigued me since it was announced. The first sentence of its summary reads: Leslie is a simple pig girl. She loves sushi, she's stuck with a job she hates, and she lives under a brutal totalitarian government—one that punishes transgressors for anything deemed "unnatural." Meanwhile, its cover features said pig girl in a state of undress. Look quickly, and you almost miss the pig, so faint are the animal touches. See what I mean? Intriguing.

That aside, I didn’t know what to expect from this, first of a 12-part story originally published in writer/artist Mirka Andolfo’s native Italy. It is, however, pretty straightforward. Unnatural #1 is essentially an exploration of government interfering with sex and freedom. Andolfo has cited George Orwell’s novels as inspiration, which certainly shows. Indeed, a simplistic and reductive pitch for this book could be: Animal Farm meets 1984 with a dose of 2018 sexual politics.

The result, though, is a comic of the highest order. I loved Unnatural #1, from the artwork to the capital B Big ideas beneath it. This first issue is a joy, both entertaining and filled with smart questions. There’s a central metaphor here conjures images of governmental decisions on birth control, abortion, same-sex marriage...all of which are recent or ongoing.

This is, perhaps, part of why Unnatural works so well on an intellectual level. There has been tension between government and its constituents in this area likely back to the dawn of civilization, and Unnatural extrapolates what could happen if that tension tipped too far toward one side (in this story it’s a prurient interest in further reproduction among the same species).

Unnatural #1 does a wonderful job using relatable character moments to deliver its complex questions and central metaphor.

Past the Big ideas, however, the book is well-done and engaging, devoting time to relatable character moments—a love of sushi, a disdain for rain, banter between roommates—while checking standard first issue boxes: world-building, character names, cliffhanger ending, etc. As for the art, Andolfo’s work is sexy, reductive as that sounds. It isolates notions of beauty—steely blue eyes, voluptuousness, confident smirks—and telegraphs them onto anthropomorphic figures, giving the animals desirability, if only for a moment. Andolfo has said she doesn’t like drawing humans, and her choice to go anthropomorphic may be simple as that, but I suspect blurring lust lines between species was a deliberate means of depicting inherently fuzzy lines of sexual attraction.

I only took issue with one panel in this book. A lot of comics do a wonderful job of subtly building a central conceit without explicitly stating it—before going ahead and stating it anyway. One famous example is The Walking Dead, with a full-page early on wherein protagonist Rick Grimes yells something like, Don’t you see? WE are the walking dead? There’s a similar panel in Unnatural, though not as grievous. Really, it’s a small compliant in an otherwise stellar comic.

Overall: This is a captivating book, at once smart, poignant, and stylish. Andolfo clearly has strong thoughts about the intersection of sex and government, but she also knows well that those thoughts are best served by first and foremost telling an entertaining story. As a result, Unnatural #1 is not to be missed. 9.5/10

Unnatural #1 comes out July 4, 2018.

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Plastic Man #1 by Gail Simone, Adriana Melo, Kelly Fitzpatrick, & Simon Bowland

Plastic Man #1 cover by Aaron Lopresti.

By Zack Quaintance — Plastic Man has gotten much run lately in the DC Universe, first as part of the uber event Dark Nights Metal and next as a member of The Terrifics, a Fantastic Four homage and standout title from DC’s New Age of Heroes line. Now, he’s starring in a 6-issue Plastic Man mini series by Gail Simone, Adriana Melo, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Simon Bowland. Like Plastic Man himself, issue #1 is madcap and tense to the point of straining, yet it never breaks, resulting in an entertaining superhero comic that lends a different and refreshing voice to the DCU.

On a craft level, this book is incredibly well done. Simone is a veteran with all-time great runs to her name, and while this is my first exposure to Melo, her visuals cohere quite well with the script, which excels at building flourishes around fundamentals. In almost all Simone’s #1 issues, she wastes little time having both hero and villain introduce themselves, be it via dialogue or narration, but she also leaves room between exposition for killer writing, like: Cole City. A city where commerce takes place in the alleys and gutters. But not without a certain style… That’s an A+ opener.

Melo and Fitzpatrick’s art, meanwhile, gives Plastic Man #1 a timelessness similar to that of the character. The setting could be anywhere from the 1930s up to modern times. I don’t think Plastic Man himself is really certain, which brings me to the story’s greatest strength: it’s unreliable narrator. This book features the comic equivalent of what fiction writers call close first-person narration, and as such, it seems like Plastic Man’s own disorientation about his origin is influencing the story. It really works.

Humor is, of course, inherent to a hero called Plastic Man, yet he's not quite as self-aware or meta as characters like Deadpool or Harley Quinn, which is nice. His humor functions within the plot. Not all the jokes landed for me (humor is risky in comics), but I appreciated what the script was trying to do at all times.

How far will Plastic Man stretch seems to be the metaphorical question at the heart of this series.

Basically, Plastic Man #1 features big personality and a set of loosely-defined boundaries. It’s a special type of superhero comic dealing in dark contrasts, featuring one panel where the narrator tells readers, They’re my best friends in the world...as said best friends whack him in the face with a baseball bat. His signature humor seems to be hiding great pain and darkness. Perhaps it’s fitting then that Plas himself says at one point, I’m not entirely sure how far I stretch. Before I snap, I mean. Wanna see? Let’s! He may as well be asking us.

Overall: Simone and Melo deploy a set of storytelling tools that create a unique aesthetic and tone, setting this book apart from DC’s line the same way Plastic Man stands out from their other heroes. Mileage may vary by sense of humor, but most fans will agree this book is fascinating and unique. 8.5/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Deep Roots #2 by Dan Watters, Val Rodrigues, & Triona Farrell

Deep Roots No. 2 takes readers—ahem—deeper into the world of the story, and the book is all the more compelling for it. As I wrote last month in my review of No. 1, there’s a dual narrative in play here, with one story rooted (sorry) in the familiar world we know and another that details a knight lost in another realm, a realm of flora and more flora but not much fauna. In this issue, the distinction between the two dimensions crumbles a bit, as the creators do a wonderful job of starting to entangle the plots they set into motion during the first installment.

The artwork by Rodrigues and Farrell is incredibly strong. It’s no easy thing to flow so seamlessly between drawing a fight between a knight and a hulking grotesque monster in a world that exists only in tree roots, to the back of a limo on a crowded street in London, where  high-ranking government operatives discuss a massive civic emergency. But Rodrigues creates two fascinating environments, which Farrell easily differentiates via subtle shifts in color. All throughout, Watters knows exactly when to back off with dialogue or narration to let the visuals shine.

I wrote pretty glowingly about Deep Roots in my last review, so hooked was I by the first issue and the premise, and when one is so taken with a first issue, there’s always a risk the second will come be a let down. Deep Roots avoids that, and it actually felt like the team was freer in this issue, having established just enough exposition to really start hitting its plot points. In other words, none of my excitement for Deep Roots has diminished.

“To read a history of the world in the trunk of a great oak…”

I’m way in on all the book's main themes, the commentary about the environment, about what’s happened to man in technological world, and about governmental response to  crisis. I also like the characters, especially the dynamic between the two women who've gone into the other realm in search of the knight from our ongoing legend. And although I’m yet to grasp it, there seems to be something consequential happening with time, as the tagline of the book is “To read a history of the world in the trunk of a great oak…”, and our other world leaves behind those who have inadvertently gone to wander among the plants. I don’t yet have a supposition about what it all means, but I’m excited to find out.

Overall: Deep Roots No. 2 continues to build on the bold vision from the first issue. I went to bat hard for this book after reading part one, and in this second issue the story progressed in a substantial way that made me feel validated. Deep Roots is quickly growing (I’ll see myself out) into one of the best indie books on the market. 9.5/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

Rodrigues and Farrell's artwork shows hints of tree rings in the characters' faces.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Euthanauts #1 by Tini Howard, Nick Robles, & Aditya Bidikar

Euthanauts #1 is an intriguing comic that lives up to its incredible cover art.

Tini Howard and Nick Robles’ Euthanuats #1 first caught my attention weeks ago with its title and cover. In tandem, the two evoke thoughts of a woman journeying through death, body withered to bones as her head and mind are protected by a glass bauble, one that glows with life and attracts insects like a light bulb. My interest was bolstered further by the books presence on IDW’s imprint, Black Crown, from former long-time Vertigo editor Shelly Bond. I’ve enjoyed all Black Crown offerings (more here), but it was another book by Howard that really stood out to me: Assassinistas, a collaboration with the legendary Gilbert Hernandez that applies complex modern family dynamics to an archetypal femme fatale death squad.

Whereas Assassinistas is more of a character study, one laced with appropriate bits of humor and modest bouts of action, Euthanuats is better-described as an abstract and surreal walk through our fears, expectations and attitudes around death. Our protagonist is an alienated receptionist who works in a funeral home and is dissatisfied with her life and friendships. For the first two-thirds of the book, the story grounds us in this struggle, functioning well as a slice-of-life comic.

Howard’s characterization is strong, with effective interior monologue lines like, “I was thinking about how weird it is that I don’t like my friends and they don’t really like me—when I first saw her…”, as well as snappy character banter, such as, “It’s like, communism works just fine, you just have to really, really likeable.” Robles art is also wonderful, detailed and realistic, glazed over with a fitting color palette that manages to be forlorn without tipping into morbid or noir.

Nick Robles' art in Euthanauts #1 depicts a non-conventional side of death.

It is, however, the plot point that catapults us into the third act that really establishes this book as something special. Not to give too much away, but reality blurs into a world of ethereal surrealism, seemingly a realm of death, or near death. It's unclear, and the book makes a wise decision to keep readers disoriented. I’ve been reading comics for two decades and change, and as such I’ve seen an excessive number of visual depictions of death, limbo, the afterlife, etc. I’ve rarely seen one as intriguing as in Euthanuats, which I take as a testament to both the imagination and research that went into this story.

This has already been a fantastic year for comics as unfettered explorations of nigh-universal fears, concerns, or hang ups (see Eternity Girl, Mister Miracle, and several inward-facing horror books), but Euthanauts charges headlong at the most towering concern of all—death—and emerges with a fascinating and beautifully-told story. I barely have a guess for where this book is headed next, and I love that.

Overall: Engrossing and complex, Euthanauts is the best book yet from former Vertigo editor Shelly Bond’s new IDW imprint, Black Crown. Howard’s script dives confidentiality into a universal concern—death—as Robles' ethereal visuals blur reality. An intriguing and gorgeous comic, this one is highly recommended. 9.0/10

Euthanauts #1 is out July 18. Learn more about it here!

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: The Unexpected #1 by Steve Orlando, Ryan Sook, Cary Nord, & Team

The Unexpected #1 cover by Ryan Sook.

The Unexpected by Steve Orlando, Ryan Sook, and Cary Nord is the eighth and final book of the New Age of DC Heroes line, and—to be direct—it is also the best.

More on New Age of Heroes later, but first let’s talk about what works for this debut. Strength one is the seamless efficiency with which the book familiarizes readers with an entirely new hero, one whose meta-human situation is (improbably) a somewhat fresh concept. Without giving too much away, our protagonist has a condition in which she must physically fight every 24 hours, lest her heart shut down. Our protagonist also happens to be a fearless nurse, one who has treated bystanders in a number of recent DCU mega events (Darkseid Wars, Black Lanterns, Crime Syndicate, etc.). This creates an interesting dichotomy between her meta-human self—who must be violent to live—and her alter-ego, who is dedicated to healing.

This is all made clear within three pages via an intro and killer two-page spread. With questions answered about who the hero is and why readers should care, the creative team then goes full bore into putting its hero to the test with challenges and twists, and ho man are there ever twists. In fact, The Unexpected’s second major strength is how quickly and confidently it subverts reader expectations, going to an—ahem—unexpected and darker place than previews suggested.

And that’s the third major strength: pacing. There is a confidence to this Orlando, Sook, and Nord story that keeps the pages turning like an action movie with well-realized stakes, freeing Orlando to dispense killer, quintessential anti-hero lines like, “I fight to live and I’m undefeated,” lines he honed during his run on Midnighter (2015) and seems thrilled to be writing again. Sook and Nord’s art, brought to life by inkers Mike Gray and Wade von Grawbadger and colorist FCO Plascencia, is also top tier. Sook’s character designs are especially impressive, creating original aesthetics for a previously-unseen batch of superheroes, all of which are unique while also fitting into the DC Universe...which brings us back to discussing the New Age of DC Heroes.

I’m reading and enjoying many of the line's titles (shout outs to Sideways and The Terrifics). One knock, however, has been that the books were marketed as driven by big name artists, yet many of the biggest names left after early issues. As it applies to The Unexpected, Sook seemingly departed at the start to draw Man of Steel #3 (perhaps contributing to this book’s tardy debut), but Cord’s work is strong. Essentially, it remains to be seen if artist turnover will be a problem here, given that this first issue was such a collaboration.

All the character designs in The Unexpected are good, but the Bad Samaritan stands above.

Spare Thoughts: The Bad Samaritan has one of the best villain designs I’ve ever seen, and whoever came up with that name for the bad guy should be proud.

This book ties into Metal in multiple interesting ways, giving it the most direct connection to the event of any in the line.

Overall: Unexpected #1 is the best debut of the New Age of DC Heroes line, delivering a compelling protagonist with conflicting priorities that pit her needs versus her desires. Add a confident, intriguing twist that subverts expectations, and The Unexpected could very well be DC’s best new original book since New Super-Man. 9.3/10

Zack Quaintance is a career journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Wasted Space #2 by Michael Moreci, Hayden Sherman, Jason Wordie, & Jim Campbell

Wasted Space #2 cover by Marguerite Sauvage

Michael Moreci and Hayden Sherman’s Wasted Space #2 brings more of its central protagonists’ backstories into focus, putting the duo at a bar, getting them drunk, and having them share tales of mutual prescience. One of these characters—Billy Bane—acts as a stand-in for the audience, voicing a question inherent to the first issue, namely how legit are the future-predicting/God-seeing powers that are in play here? He then posits that his abilities may be a product of his own insanity.

As a result, I’m not sure whether we learn if Billy’s powers are legit, not just yet, but I think the structural choice is a solid one for this second issue, one that lets readers know Moreci is aware of what they’re wondering and also that they can trust him to deliver a satisfying payoff eventually. So, I’m very much with all of that. Another choice I enjoyed in this issue was Moreci continuing to pose capital B Big, sweeping questions about humanity, specifically asking whether the species is doomed to forever war and jockey for position because that’s what it took to get us to the top of the evolutionary chain.

Without giving anything specific away, one of the plot developments here also seems to make a statement about political extremism, specifically about the merits of having a predictable and intact system versus moving toward anarchy by forcing norms and structure to die and crumble. It’s the best kind of surprise twist, at once thrilling and meaningful.

Hayden Sherman is establishing himself as one of the best sci-fi artists in comics.

And this is all heady stuff, especially considering the thematic and philosophical weight introduced in the first book, which basically opened with a drug dealer arguing that the Greek mythological figure of Sisyphus—fated to forever push a boulder up a hill that just rolled back down again later—actually had a great life free of confusing distractions and filled with focus. Oh, and the first issue also took a David Foster Wallace-esque stance on escapism, painting it as the author did in his opus Infinite Jest as at once incredibly dangerous but also possibly mankind’s natural and necessary state.

There are a lot of massive ideas here, so many that this story falls a bit into a common trap of second issues, lacking action in parts as it dispenses exposition left out of the previous issue. Sherman and Wordie’s art, however, makes the flashbacks and contemplations visually engaging, so much so that Sherman again furthers his case as one of the premiere sci-fi artists in all of comics (shout out to his other ongoing book, Cold War), both in terms of his technology and cityscapes.

Overall: This issue sought to meet a huge bar set by its predecessor, which as I wrote in my Wasted Space #1 review did an incredible job balancing action and ideas. The second issue falls just short of the first, but it’s still fantastic, doing the difficult yet necessary work of familiarizing us with our leads. I will for sure get wasted again next month. 8.5/10

Zack Quaintance is a career journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Vagrant Queen #1 by Magdalene Visaggio, Jason Smith, Harry Saxon, & Zakk Saam

Vagrant Queen No. 1 is the latest book from Vault Comics, which has been on a hot streak this year (at least for my tastes) with Cult Classic, Deep Roots, and Wasted Space, in addition to its several excellent ongoing titles. One thing I’m fond of saying about Vault is that the publisher has one of the highest minimum bars for quality of any in the indie comics game.

Really, a high level of artistry and storytelling is the only major commonality between Vault’s disparate titles, although they are all generally built upon sci-fi or fantasy concepts (Cult Classic notwithstanding, as it has more of a nostalgia-driven horror bend). With this in mind, Vagrant Queen builds on that reputation, while giving the publisher a book that is just a bit different from its other recent efforts.

Vagrant Queen stands out in that it puts good ol’ fashioned quips and space opera in front of the capital B Big ideas that have driven many other recent Vault books, including Deep Roots and Wasted Space. The concept is still a high-minded one, with a tagline on its back cover that really lets you know what’s for sale here: “They took her throne. She told them to keep it.” This is a sci-fi action book about a deposed princess with no interest in her own privilege.

Smith and Saxon excel at conveying impact in Vagrant Queen #1.

Writer Magdalene Visaggio first earned my trust earlier this year with her work on Eternity Girl, the breakout hit of DC’s soon-to-be-concluded Young Animal line, and this debut made me an immediate fan of both artist Jason Smith and colorist Harry Saxon. That team uses wide but tight, almost claustrophobic panels for its action sequences, ones that really emphasize points of contact to convey the force of impact. It’s a great and exciting effect.

Really, I’m always and forever down to watch wily heroes shoot at gaggles of soldiers as they hastily board a spaceship to make an escape. This one is a fast read, too, one you may return to the start of once you’re finished to take it in a second time. Visaggio, Smith, and the team have built an intriguing lead in to a world here, one that promises prison world’s, exploration of monarchical hypocrisy, and a perfectly-coiffed sinisterly-smiling bad guy who I want to see more of—I’ll definitely be back for a second issue.

Overall: Vagrant Queen #1 is an action-packed and quick debut for another exciting new series from Vault Comics, one that almost surgically familiarizes us with our characters and our world. It’s a bit lighter on big ideas than other recent Vault debuts, but the action and pacing works so well that it hardly matters. 7.8/10

Zack Quaintance is a career journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Pestilence - A Story of Satan #1 by Frank Tieri, Oleg Okunev, Rob Schwager, & Marshall Dillon

An upcoming cover by Tim Bradstreet for Pestilence: Story of Satan from AfterShock Comics.

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #1 marks the start of the second volume of an ongoing story in which the bubonic plague, aka The Black Death, of the late 14th Century was actually mankind’s first brush with zombies. Church and religion factor into its plot, as do the political power structures associated with those institutions. To up the stakes this time around, the antagonist is now Satan. So yes, there is quite a bit going on here narratively.

Make no mistake though, in spite of the historic and theological trappings, the core of this book is good ol’ fashioned zombie killing and survivalism, and the creative team is well aware. The plot constructs are mostly used as an interesting lens to filter the tropes of zombie horror through, to create a different set of circumstances for readers to imagine themselves in and contemplate what they would do if faced with the same odds, which to me is the core of any good zombie story.

And as with most zombie stories, there’s also plenty of cheese here. Satan is grotesquely and perfectly rendered by Okunev and Schwager’s artistry, while simultaneously being portrayed by Tieri’s script as a lord of fire and brimstone mixed with that one friend you don’t call much anymore because he swears around your kids, brags about the deal he got on his whatever, and punches you in the arm as a greeting. Satan is terrifying but also the absolute worst.

For example...WARNING, profane language...in the space of two pages, Satan says the following: “...stupid mortal c**ts…” “...you fleshbag t*at…” and “Shut the f*ck up!” The profanity works though, and in this book there is over-the-top fun on nearly every page. Tieri also does a great job nailing his plot twists and ending, making for a quick and suspenseful read that does its duty with exposition while also peaking at its end, thereby enticing anyone who enjoyed this first issue back for another installment.

In a larger context, this book fits nicely with the rest of its publisher’s line. It is essentially an action-packed, B movie-esque horror alternative that compliments AfterShock Comics’ more literary and mysterious takes on fear, specifically newer books like A Walk Through Hell and Her Infernal Descent (both of which I love). It is, to be blunt, one hell of a bloody good time (sorry!).

Overall: I recommended this book for fans of both alternate takes on history and of horror stories co-mingled with theology, and I suspect it's also well worth a look for fans of the zombie genre. Pestilence: A Story of Satan #1 is an uncouth variation of standard zombie tropes made more interesting by its continued secret history premise. 7.5/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Vampironica #2 by Greg Smallwood & Meg Smallwood

Vampironica No. 1 was essentially just a brief introduction to Archie Comics’ latest horror book. It was a fast and good-looking comic, one that got the horror started, laid on some heavily eerie ambiance, turned Veronica Lodge into the titular Vampironica, and gave all of us readers some of Greg Smallwood’s creeptacular imagery to feast our eyeballs on (much like Vampironica feasted on supple necks). But that first issue wasn’t a substantial read, and, truth be told, it didn’t really have to be. It was a hook and that was just fine.

Now, fast-forward a couple months (there have been delays), and here we are at Vampironica No. 2, which does a solid-to-very-good job of filling in any expository blanks left by its predecessor, questions like who turned Veronica, what's this story going to be about, and exactly what sort of vampire will she be? Vampironica No. 2, to put it simply, delivers missing context, while also upping the ante by throwing in usual Riverdale melodrama (of the Archie-Betty-Veronica variety, of course), plus an unexpected twist.

This issue strikes an excellent middle ground between horror and camp, the exact tone these Archie horror books need to hit in order to work best. Greg and Meg Smallwood (who joins her husband here for a story by credit) are clearly fans of both Archie and horror, and they seem to lean into what they're inner fans would like to see.

I won’t spoil it, but there is one particularly campy and grotesque dream sequence about midway through the book that let me know the Smallwoods were in full control, and that we as readers/Archie horror fans could just sit back and trust in the upcoming bloody fun.

Smallwood draws a great OMG! face.

Smallwood’s art is, of course, excellent throughout, but he especially excels with Veronica’s facial expressions, which run the usual Veronica gamut from OMG what am I even doing in Riverdale I’m a Lodge! to very charming and sweet. As far as the story goes, this is also a deceptively-dense script, one driven by three distinct types of storytelling: Riverdale, horror, and mythology.

By the time we reach our end, we’ve gotten key ingredients of our hero’s journey: Veronica has a mentor for the threshold she’s crossed, and we as an audience have a villain to watch machinate against her. This issue basically assures us that the book will go to some delightfully-dark places, made even livelier by Smallwood’s strong artwork.

Overall: Vampironica No. 2 delivers any and all missing context that the first issue that was withheld in favor of stylish brevity. Smallwood’s artwork is strong and creepy as ever, and the Smallwood’s story shows not just an excellent grasp of Riverdale, but that they might just have a bit more planned than Vampironica biting a bloody path through high school. 7.7/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

REVIEW: Quantum and Woody! (2017) #6 by Eliot Rahal, Francis Portela, Andrew Dalhouse, & Dave Sharpe

There may be a high intimidation factor to Quantum and Woody! #6 for some. It’s billed in part as a tie-in to Harbinger Wars 2, it’s six issues into a run, and it’s the first issue by a new creative team. Any of those things might discourage a new reader from picking up this book, but none of them should. Quantum and Woody! #6 is a simple but surprisingly emotional comic book that requires no prior knowledge of the characters, preceding issues, or even the Valiant Universe.

I’ve read Quantum and Woody! sporadically, depending on the creative team, but I’d caught all of this run from Daniel Kibblesmith and Kano. I also came into this book previously familiar with writer Eliot Rahal, whose own career is not short on humor writing, as he used to do stand-up comedy and also co-wrote an amusing The Paybacks book with Donny Cates. Kibblesmith is a blast on Twitter and his run on this book conveyed his humor well. That’s all a way of saying I came into this book maybe expecting Rahal to try to out-joke him, but what I found was a much richer reading experience.

Instead, this issue is a rare superhero comic wherein I could see myself very clearly facing the same predicament as the heroes: a burning building filled with imperiled people that the heroes as able-bodied passerbys (without their powers for a reason unbeknownst to them) felt obligated to help. No spoilers (always and forever), but Quantum and Woody have to make difficult choices, take risks, and ultimately sacrifice, leaning on each other for support.

See? Like I said, simple but surprisingly emotional. Much credit is due to the scope of Rahal’s script, which doesn’t ever needlessly exaggerate the situation or odds Quantum and Woody face. Francis Portela’s art (with colors by Andrew Dalhouse and lettering by Dave Sharpe) is also on point. Valiant in recent years has at times seemed to have a house style that favors full room perspectives and intricate detail, and Portela deploys it here expertly, also doing a great job of capturing the calamity that eventually befalls the heroes.

This arc stands to be brief—just this issue plus next month’s—but Rahal will be staying on the book longer, eventually teaming with Joe Eisma (who’s done some great work for Archie Comics of late) through the end of the summer at least. This issue stands alone really well, but Rahal also captures a few small moments that would seem to strongly indicate he has an expert grasp on the tentative, brotherly dynamic that drives Quantum and Woody! I for one will be following this title during his tenure to see where else he takes it.

Overall: Despite being six issues into a run and billed as a tie-in to Valiant’s big summer event, this issue of Quantum and Woody! stands well on its own as a simple but surprisingly emotional tale of self-sacrifice and heroism. 9.0/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.

ADVANCED REVIEW: Harbinger Wars 2 #1 by Matt Kindt, Tomas Giorello, & Diego Rodriguez

I’ve always thought of Harbinger as Valiant’s answer to X-Men, which is, admittedly, a fairly obvious comparison to draw. Harbinger Wars 2 #1, however, was actually a really nice reminder that this franchise’s significantly more under-the-radar status allows it a degree of agility the now-hulking X-Men behemoth no longer has, and it uses that degree expertly in this issue to play upon current societal woes and concerns. Essentially, the first part of this summer’s Harbinger Wars 2 event is a poignant and engaging story, involving nearly all of Valiant’s best characters (where’s the Eternal Warrior at these days, btw?).

As it should. The Harbinger concept to me is the center of Valiant’s universe (or was until Divinity showed up, anyway), and this event is poised to treat it as such. It’s yet another tale of superheros turning against each, and as common as that has become these days, doing it convincingly is still tricky business. Without giving anything away, I’ll say this book handles it better than most in recent memory, rich as it with solid and believable motivations for the involved heroes to take their respective sides. The action of the shadowy government types here are a little harder to fathom, as they almost always are, but I digress.

But let’s keep it abstract, seeing as this is an advanced review (this book drops May 30) and I don’t go in for spoilers. Let’s get away from details and talk about the commentary. In a sense, the themes in Matt Kindt’s script are nothing we haven’t seen done or attempted by X-Men several times over the years: an outcast population, children on the run because of who they are, a government acting out of fear, a debate over what constitutes proper methods of resistance.

Kindt, however, is an incredibly nuanced writer who doesn’t need to hit us over the end with any of that to make this story compelling. He puts all those questions and themes in here seemingly as a mechanism for understanding the reasons our characters have for fighting, then he gives them all plans that start to pull them together. Each page pulls our opposed characters closer, revealing more about their motivations as it does so and setting the stage for a massive rumble to come.

There’s a cinematic quality to this story, in both its structure and scope, as well as in the way characters from various Valiant franchises are introduced, presented in big splashy panels as if they were leaving room for an applause break. Tomas Giorello hits the artwork here out of the park, as he has during previous collaborations with Kindt in Valiant’s best ongoing right now, XO Manowar.

Overall: Come for the incredibly tense and entertaining story, stay for the subtle commentary on our times—exactly as a book about outcasts persecuted by vast governmental power structures should be. This issue is all rising action, bringing in power players and stopping just short of slamming together. I can’t wait for No. 2. 9.3/10

Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.