Author Archives: Brett

The Reformation of the World as Overseen by A Realist Demon King Vol. 4 kicks off the next mission

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Astaroth’s winning combination of strategy and teamwork proves fatal for yet another demon king when Eligos falls before him! While Astaroth considers how to best utilize his new land, his people celebrate the victory as their king’s fearsome reputation spreads throughout the realm. There’s just one more order of business, though—summoning new allies to aid him in battle! What kind of powerful ally will join his ranks…?

Story: Ryosuke Hata
Art: Manatsu Suzuki
Character Design: Yuugen
Translation: Andria McKnight
Letterer: Anthony Quintessenza

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle

Yen Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Action Comics #1067 features a bit of a throwback vibe

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Action Comics #1067

Action Comics #1067 is an issue I’ve had on my radar for some time. It features two fantastic writers, Gail Simone and Rainbow Rowell dipping their toes into the playground that is Superman’s world. Featuring two stories, the issue is a mix of throwback and modern resulting in a fun read that entertains.

Written by Gail Simone, “Challenge From the Stars” has Superman battling against aliens in a feats contest for the fate of Earth and more. Taking place “early in his career,” the comic has a vibe that’s more 70s than anything and can be enjoyed on its own without knowing anything. I’ll admit, where it fits in Superman’s history did pop up in my head a few times, but overall, it’s a detail that just doesn’t matter.

Simone for the most part delivers a story that we’ve seen many times before, a contest for the fate of a planet. But, there’s something a bit fun and innocent about this with the first battle taking place on an aircraft carrier hanging over the city. That bit, along with a plan by an evil developer makes the comic a weird place in time where some things say modern and others retro as to when it takes place.

Part of the fun of the story is from the art by Eddy Barrows. I love the look of Superman, especially the throwback “S” and there’s some moments that are super dynamic. The quality of the art does make some issues stand out in that most of it is so good, there’s some moments that just aren’t to that level. Barrows is joined by Danny Miki on ink, Rex Lokus on color, and Dave Sharpe on lettering. Overall, it looks solid.

“Lois & Clark: In Love. At Work.” features writing by Rainbow Rowell, art by Cian Tormey, color by Romulo Fajardo Jr., and lettering by Dave Sharpe. Set in modern continuity, Lois is Editor-in-Chief and struggling with her position. She’s not sure if she’s as respected enough and overall, if she’s a good fit for the job. The team does a great job conveying the internal struggle of Lois as she talks to Clark about the situation. Not only does the dialogue deliver, the body language really brings home the unease. But, where the story really takes shape and becomes interesting is when Lois makes a tough call about a story. It’s a decision and an issue that’s something I’ve wondered about for a long time and in reality, a tough but correct call.

Action Comics #1067 is a fun comic. You don’t need to be familiar with all that’s going on with Superman and can just dive in and enjoy it. Both stories, while wildly different, have a lot that stands out for each and both entertain in different ways. It’s a nice arc for each so far with two voices that bring something different and fun to the classic characters.

Story: Gail Simone, Rainbow Rowell Art: Eddy Barrows, Cian Tormey
Ink: Danny Miki Color: Rex Lokus, Romulo Fajardo Jr. Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Story: 7.75 Art: 7.75 Overall: 7.75 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle

Transformers #10 continues to shock and surprise

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Transformers #10

Can the Autobots recover from their latest loss in time to save everyone? Transformers #10 features some answers and fills in more backstory as it also delivers horror and surprises.

Written by Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers #10 is another fantastic issue in a series that has taken the familiar and twisted it enough to surprise long time fans. While the series started off in a similar way to the classic animated series, it has been planting its own flag along the way and carved out a voice that’s far from the kid-friendly cartoon of the 80s. This issue is a prime example of that as We learn who the damaged Autobot from Cybertron is, Shockwave tortures his captives, and Beachcomber catches us up on what he’s been up to.

Transformers #10 answers some questions that have been raised in the last few issues. While the “stripped” Autobot shouldn’t be too surprising, there’s still something horrific about his state and what has happened to him. Beachcomber talks about not wanting to bring destruction to Earth, while others debate torture in war. It’s a comic that delivers far more depth than its “based on toys” would make you expect.

The art by Jorge Corona continues to be solid. With color by Mike Spicer and lettering by Rus Wooton, the comic continues a style that’s similar to Johnson’s from the first arc but also of its own. Corona and the team also deliver the horror of what’s going on so well. The stripped Autobot, what happens to Cliffjumper, it’s all enhanced with a visual unease that’ll make readers imagine the worst. It’s a great example of giving just enough to tease and scare. There’s also a great delivery of emotions. There’s the terror from Jazz and Cliffjumper but Beachcomber has a sadness about him and his interaction with Astrotrain also gives a bit of humor as well. All a great mix of dialogue, narrative, and art.

Transformers #10 is another fantastic issue in a series that has delivered with every release. It’s great for longtime fans and friendly for those that are new as well. It’s a great comic that’s part of a fantastic shared Energon Universe. It’s one that you can look forward to every release and know you’ll be entertained and surprised.

Story: Daniel Warren Johnson Art: Jorge Corona
Color: Mike Spicer Letterer: Rus Wooton
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Skybound provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle

Kill All Immortals #1 Has Us Hooked

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Kill All Immortals #1

A thousand years ago, Viking explorer Erik the Red and his four adult children discovered a mysterious source of immortality. Now, in our modern world, they are an enigmatic billionaire family with a powerful banking empire. But when Erik’s only daughter, Frey Asvald, seeks to finally be free from her family’s influence, she must be prepared to reveal their supernatural secrets and confront her well-trained siblings in a deadly and epic struggle for power. Kill All Immortals #1 kicks off an intriguing series that feels like a bloody version of Succession.

Written by Zack Kaplan, Kill All Immortals #1 is a solid start to the series. It teases its concept throughout the issue, instead focusing on its main characters who we’re quickly taught to fear. They’re businessmen who bring a brutal and bloody aspect to how they go about theirs. It’s an interesting start that sets up a myth and then quickly shows readers that myth is reality.

Kaplan makes sure to deliver twists and turns and what seems like a story of corporate battles, is in fact a much deeper family struggle with an ending that feels more like The Menu than anything else.

The larger than life characters are brought to life through the art of Fico Ossio whose art emphasizes their cold strength. With color by Thiago Rocha and lettering by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, the visuals are perfect for the comic. From glitzy and glam to bloody and brutal, the art captures each moment and gives us a perfect understanding of the characters that will make up our power struggle.

Kill All Immortals #1 is an interesting debut that has us wanting to read the second issue immediately. Yes, there’s a dash of Succession but it feels more like the horror of The Menu and its cat and mouse game by the end. Where this series goes will be interesting and we can’t wait to find out.

Story: Zack Kaplan Art: Fico Ossio
Color: Thiago Rocha Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Story: 9.0 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle

Penguin Random House Goes BOOM!

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BOOM! Studios logo

After a few weeks of rumors, it’s official, Penguin Random House will acquire BOOM! Studios. The deal is expected to close later this summer. The news broke today (I was expecting an announcement at San Diego Comic Con). The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

BOOM! was founded in 2005 by Ross Richie and and Andrew Crosby in part of a period of publisher growth. 19 years later, the comic publisher has outlasted them all and known for its mix of licensed comics and originals.

In 2017, 20th Century Fox purchased a minority interest in BOOM! and that was passed on to Disney when it purchased Fox in 2019. This resulted in some animated films based on BOOM! comics being scrapped due to their redundancy at Disney.

BOOM!’s editorial staff will continue to run the imprint which becomes part of Random House Worlds’ portfolio. They’ll report to Scott Shannon, President of Random House Worlds. Random House Worlds is the division focused on licensed book publishing working with such properties as Star Wars, Minecraft, Marvel, Magic: The Gathering, and more.

BOOM! will continue to be distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors to the direct market and Simon & Schuster to the bookstore trade. It had been expected they’d have moved to Penguin House’s own distribution network.

In the announcement it seems that BOOM! current Chairman and Founder Richie will be moving away from the company. In the announcement he stated:

It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to launch a company, build it, and sell it to the best. I’m excited to hand the reins of BOOM! over to the best and largest publisher in the world. Their focus on readers and retail partnerships will build upon our work and help our creators achieve even more success. Personally, it’s time for me to take some much-needed time off with my family and explore what’s next.

BOOM! consists of BOOM! Studios, BOOM! Box, KaBOOM!, and Archaia, which it purchased in 2013. Penguin Random House has been looking to expand and attempted to purchase Simon & Schuster, a deal that was blocked by the Department of Justice.

The deal is a sign of confidence in the comic market, enough that PRH would want to make, what we assume is, a sizeable investment. As the largest publisher in the world with a reach far beyond the traditional comic market, it creates enormous potential for BOOM! and its creators.

X-Men #1 Kicks Off a Mixed Start for Post-Krakoa

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X-Men #1

This is it. Krakoa is gone, Orchis has fallen… but the X-Men continue on. Now, split into multiple teams, Cyclops leads a team featuring Beast, Magneto, Psylocke, Kid Omega, Temper, Magik, and Juggernaut out of their new headquarters and home in Alaska. X-Men #1 kicks off the next era for the X-Men and the result is… ok.

Written by Jed MacKay, X-Men #1 is an interesting debut and start for the new mutant era. It’s a bit mixed in the results from the writing to the art, creating a rocky and disappointing start. The issue is packed with action but splits its time between a mission and an introduction to the new status-quo and headquarters. Cyclops leads his team against a break-off group from Orchis who sees the future as a merging of artificial intelligence, humanity, and mutants into something else. MacKay teases some intriguing concepts as these adults have been able to turn on their X-Gene and register as mutants while two individuals lurk in the shadows. It’s decent action with some bad dialogue and moments but also mixed with really great moments too. It’s a swing in quality that changes from page to page and panel to panel. It packs in a lot though. There’s references to past storylines for characters as well as teasing past romances. It’s not quite as new reader friendly as you’d expect with those diving in possibly feeling like they’re missing something. It does a lot of that with clunky dialogue that doesn’t feel natural for the moment and instead feels like its only goal is to drop a factoid.

Where that also comes is a tour of the new headquarters as Beast gives a tour to the local sheriff. We get a better idea of what has happened post-Krakoa literally building off of what has come before. There’s also an interesting mix of characters with Beast playing good cop to Magneto’s bad cop. Again, it teases some potential for what’s to come.

The art by Ryan Stegman is… just not good. I usually love Stegman’s work but this just doesn’t feel like his. With ink by JP Mayer and color by Marte Gracia, the art feels like a fill-in artist you’d get in-between story arcs. The characters look odd at times with Cyclops switching between stick thin and normal look and Juggernaut being inconsistent in looks. There’s a kinetic quality to the action sequences but this isn’t what I expected visually going into this and just doesn’t feel like Stegman’s usual high quality art. It’s like Stegman mixed with Romita.

X-Men #1 is a bump of a start. There’s aspects that are good and aspects that are bad but overall it feels like a lot of potential. It sets things out well and presents something that feels new to deal with. But overall, it feels like it attempts to balance the past, present, and future, and does so at the detriment of the experience. There’s a bit too much dwelling on the past and dancing around past plotlines instead of charting a new path for what’s to come instead of saving all of that for future issues. It’s a new era that feels like it has a foot in the past.

Story: Jed MacKay Art: Ryan Stegman
Ink: JP Mayer Color: Marte Gracia
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle

All-Star Superman’s DC Compact Series has issues

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We’ve already done a review of the DC Compact Comics version of All-Star Superman but what we didn’t mention were some issues the new format has…

Story: Grant Morrison
Art: Frank Quitely
Ink and Color: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsman, Travis Lanham

Get your copy in comic shops! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

The Boxer Vol. 7 is another amazing entry in a series that gets better with every release

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“GET YOUR REVENGE IN THE RING.” Coach K’s words echo in Yu’s ears, the image of Carmen’s unconscious body still fresh in his mind. Dirty tricks had always been a possibility―the Santorinos were known to use underhanded tactics like bribing referees and doping to gain an edge in their matches. But attacking Carmen took things too far…and Yu is going to make Fabrizio pay. When the day of the middleweight championship arrives, the audience quickly realizes they have bought tickets to a showdown between a man and a monster. Yet the true monster may not even be in the ring at all…

Covering chapters 58 to 67

Story: JH
Art: JH
Translation: Webtoon
Letterer: Adnazeer Macalangcom

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon

Yen Press provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Wētā Workshop teases an Abaddon the Despoiler Statue

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In September 2023, Games Workshop announced a partnership with Wētā Workshop to produce 1:6 scale premium statues.

So far, the collaboration has resulted in one release, a statue of Lieutenant Titus which retails for $1,199 and was revealed in November 2023. Now, it looks like we’re getting a second release, Abbadon the Despoiler!

While only a shoulder has been shown, this promises to be a hell of a release that’ll be a centerpiece for any collector and a massive dent in one’s wallet.

Abbadon the Despoiler Wētā Workshop statue teaser
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