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

Exceptional X-Men #1 (Marvel) – Exceptional X-Men #1 is the best first issue of “From the Ashes” by a mile. Eve Ewing, Carmen Carnero, and Nolan Woodard craft a Millennial/Gen Z alliance in superhero garb as ordinary bartender Kitty Pryde saves burgeoning mutant Trista at a Bunny Starlite Dream gig. The Black and queer subtexts become text in this book, but Carnero also draws some dynamic action sequences with pops of color from Woodard, especially during the concert. This is the smart, relatable, slice of life X-Book, but it’s definitely not a Kitty Pryde solo book if the last few pages have anything to say. Overall: 9.1 Verdict: Buy

Public Domain #8 (Image) – In Public Domain #8, Dallas Comics is up and running with a brusque, no-nonsense colorist and a taciturn letterer being added to the staff. Of course, there’s personal complications galore as well as their distinguished competition in the way of their triumphant creator-owned comic book success. I love how Chip Zdarsky melds late stage capitalism along with the history of comics in this issue. For example, there’s a bullpen, but not a lot of collaboration in it because of clashes in working personalities. Also, some of the trademark battles between Dallas and Jaspers evoke the Golden and Silver Age of Comics in trying to trademark characters and variant of characters. (E.g. Wonder Man, Captain Marvel to name a few.) And, of course, it’s all drawn lovingly with distinct personalities for each character by Zdarsky. The flat colors work well for the kind of story that’s being told like a fading gold sunset for the Dallas Comics team all being in the office at once. Featuring family drama, inside baseball, and nine panel grids, Public Domain continues to be a tense delight. Overall: 8.9 Verdict: Buy

Minor Arcana #1 (BOOM! Studios) -From its dreamy living inside a tarot card intro, Jeff Lemire‘s Minor Arcana #1 has got atmosphere in spades. It follows a young woman named Theresa who moves back to the small town of Limberlost to help her sick mom and run her magic shop even though she doesn’t believe in those kind of things. Minor Arcana is an immersive read with wispy linework from Lemire to go with the terse, angsty prose. Theresa doesn’t want to be in her old haunts where she’s confronted by spectres of her past, including her alcohol addiction when she automatically stumbles into a bar after a tiff with her mother. Minor Arcana #1 is a melancholy tone poem that hits like the scrawly Depeche Mode and The Cure posters in Theresa’s childhood bedroom. Overall: 8.7 Verdict: Buy

Cruel Universe #2 (Oni Press) – Cruel Universe #2 kicks off with “Organic”, a portrait of pure disgust from Stephanie Phillips and Riley Rossmo that pokes fun at the hypocrisy of so-called organic companies. It’s about a farm where humans are the meat and everyone’s okay with that in a delightfully deadpan way. There aren’t any real personalities to latch onto, but Rossmo’s layout for the slaughter sequence has to be seen to be believed. Next is “Brilliant and Deceived”, a classic twist-ending two page shocker from Ben H. Winters, Leomacs, and Inak Azpaizu that riffs on the Bride of Frankenstein. It feels like a classic EC story thanks to Leomacs’ retro style art and costuming plus Azpaizu’s flat colors The third story is “And the Profit Said…” by Chris Condon, Javier Fernandez, and Alessandro Santoro. It’s about a man with inoperable brain cancer working a dead end job who gets some experimental surgery from his employer and sees the future. This begins as a gift, but eventually becomes a curse. I love the bits of this story that are a dark reflection of the American dream, but the ending seems rushed and unsatisfying. Fernandez’s visuals are quite gruesome though, and Santoro’s palette truly captures the emptiness of corporate life. Finally, a sci-fi gun changes an injured cowboy’s life in the fittingly named “Ray Gun” from Christopher Cantwell, David Lapham, and Nick Filardi. Thanks to Lapham’s chops, this story has the slickest panel to panel storytelling of any of the stories in Cruel Universe #2, and the effects of the gun itself is sci-fi horror at its finest. At first, it’s cathartic to see protagonist Buck gun down his asshole boss, but this power is slippery slope and he’s just a pawn in a bigger game. Cruel Universe #2 is a showcase for some talented comics artists and really captures the helplessness of life under late stage capitalism with a side of cannibalism, mad scientists, precognition and ray guns. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy