Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.

Logan

Bear Pirate Viking Queen #1 (Image) – History and myth blur in Sean Lewis and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia‘s Bear Pirate Viking Queen #1. I wasn’t aware of Barravecchia’s work before this book, but in the future, his stuff will be an instant buy for me as his watercolors convey violence, nightmares, and eventually despair as a British sailor becomes a pirate baron and runs into a nemesis from another era. BPVQ oozes primality, and its cast members die in inventive ways as its protagonist channels a bear spirit until it bites him in the ass. On a more elevator pitch level, this book is basically Master and Commander meets The Northman with idiosyncratic visuals channeling Bill Sienkiewicz and even Ralph Steadman during the more darkly humorous scenes. (In a pirate raid, one of the crew member tries to board the ship by saying he needs to take a shit.) It’s utterly engaging and has a bit of a twist of the end and shift in perspectives that definitely makes me want to follow the rest of the series. Overall: 8.9 Verdict: Buy

Space Ghost #1 (Dynamite) – David Pepose and Jonathan Lau take Space Ghost back to his action adventure roots in this rollicking new series for Dynamite. Space Ghost himself is a mysterious, powerful force in the background while most of the comic is centered around Jan and Jace dealing with the loss of their father while fighting evil. There is tension from page one with explosions galore as Jan and Jace hide from space pirates and eventually fight back with the help of a costumed hero with the perfect Toth silhouette. On a visual level, I love the contrast between the realistic designs for the other characters and the ships and the simple linework for Space Ghost. It makes him look more otherworldly and definitely a little bit scary initially to some kids on their own. However, by the end of the first issue, he’s a true figure of hope against impossible odds as Pepose and Lau marry superheroes and space opera. Overall: 8.5 Verdict: Buy