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 short reviews from the staff of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full review for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews.

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Alex

Doctor Strange / The Punisher: Magic Bullets #1 (Marvel) There are some fantastic layouts here, but the story is a little… lacking. Not a bad book overall, but nothing spectacular. Overall: 6.75 Recommendation: Read.

Hawkeye #1 (Marvel) Reading this without paying attention to the front cover meant that I was expecting the other Hawkeye (the review copy was coverless and I was intrigued by the title alone), rather than Kate Bishop. I certainly wasn’t expecting a story about a private investigator. And yet… it was really quite good. There are some fantastic moments where Hawkeye has to deal with not being the “real” Hawkeye that probably worked better for me because of which Hawkeye I expected to be starring in the book.  Overall: 8 Recommendation: Read

Inhumans Vs X-Men (Marvel) As yet another event from The House Of Ideas pitting one faction against another arrives, I’m still not entirely sure if Civil War II has ended yet (or whether anybody cares at this point). That said, IvX doesn’t start off too badly, with the first issue doing an admirable job of establishing the nature of the up coming conflict negating the need to read Death Of X in order to understand said conflict. A decent start to Marvel’s latest event. Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

Old Man Logan #15 (Marvel)** Concluding Old Man Logan’s team up with the Howling Commandos begun last issue, Old Man Logan #15 also sees our hero go toe to toe with Dracula. Or at least, I think it does; it’s pretty tough to tell because the art can get pretty murky here, and at times it can be tough to figure out what is happening (I read this issue physically, so for once it wasn’t a problem with my laptop screen). The story, from what I could tell, was okay – more filler than anything else, but at least it’s half-decent filler. Overall: 6.75 Recommendation: Read if you read part one, skip otherwise.

Christopher

Aliens: Life and death #3 (Dark Horse)– Things manage to go from bad to worse. Bringing in more carnage, and violence as this part of the story arc ends. The writing and art are both fantastic. Showing off the talent of both the writer and the artist in a bold fashion. Yet the end of this story arc is just beginning. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Dept H #9 (Dark Horse)-Kindt does a fabulous job at creating this underwater murder mystery. Carrying on the sheer sense of dread and danger that each past issue possessed. While this issue may be a little short on dialogue. It more then makes up with for it by gorgeous visuals and a great story. Overall:8 Recommendation: Buy

Spell on Wheels #3 (Dark Horse)– A quick-paced story and polished artwork. Leth and levans do a solid job making this magical and at times dark story oddly bright. Creating an almost kid friendly read as the story continues. This issue brings in some additional story. Along with showing what the rest of the world knows about magic. Overall:8 Recommendation: Buy

Joe

Inhumans vs X-Men #1 (Marvel) – I was planning to not like this book. Not because I doubt Soule or Lemire as writers, I enjoy a lot of their work, but mostly because Death of X, aside from the twist ending that I enjoyed, was underwhelming and borderline unnecessary. Thankfully I can say IvX doesn’t suffer from either of those problems. The book offers a ton of story in the first major issue (although there is issue #0 as well), and sets up some massive things for the two teams to deal with. We see some almost heist movie level planning in how the mutants will deal with the Inhumans, and some nice pay off. Also the art by Leinil Francis Yu is incredible. Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Hawkeye #1 (Marvel) – The new Marvel Now! launch has been a mixed bag. While most of the already ongoing books have been solid or great, a few of the new series first issues have not lived up to the hype. There has been an exception here or there, and Hawkeye #1 definitely fits into that. This book gives us the younger female Hawkeye back after she last was featured in the great Matt Fraction run. There will be some people who will be mad, as they often are lately for Marvel diversifying their legacy characters, but Kate is an awesome Hawkeye, and Clint is making a cool story for himself in Occupy Avengers. I loved how this book embraced people commenting on the “Real Hawkeye” and did so in a funny way which Kate rolls her eyes at. I really enjoyed the plot and want to see where it goes from here. Great first issue. Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Doctor Strange / The Punisher: Magic Bullets #1 (Marvel) – What a fun book. This isn’t the first time these two have teamed up, but it is still a fun premise. I was curious to see what the story behind this would be, and of course it has to deal with magic, demons, and other things that a killing machine like Frank Castle can’t deal with on his own. This is where Stephen Strange comes in. The two agree to work together to figure out whatever this threat that Frank found in a restaurant filled with mobsters is, and then stop it. The writing is funny, and it captures the two characters well. I also appreciated the attention to detail on some of Dr. Strange’s panels which followed the art style to his own book. Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1 (DC) – This is a larger special comic with multiple holiday stories in it. The writers do a good job of recognizing Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Three Kings Day, New Years, Winter Solstice, and more. There are some forgettable stories, but there were a few that stood out. The Detective Chimp and Batman story, Superman trying to get Superboy a last minute toy he wanted, and The Flash and the Rogues stories were probably my favorites. While the book did have some fun moments, and is meant to be a light book, aside from a few stories, it wasn’t for me. However, if you are a big Harley fan or like the goofier side of stories, you may enjoy it. Overall: 5.0 Recommendation: Pass

Logan

Ghost Rider Xmas Special #1 (Marvel)* Ring in the holidays with a heartwarming tale of hellfire, goat demons, and a possible cameo from Santa himself in Ghost Rider Xmas Special #1. Wu Tang Clan’s Method Man co-writes a classic holiday tale featuring Robbie Reyes as Ghost Rider, and his little brother Gabe, who still believes in Santa even if his friends mock him. Co-writer Anthony Piper also handles the art duties with an animation inspired, reader friendly style with plenty of speed lines and emotive faces. He can do creepy too as this comic features a kid torturing a pet and some Gremlin-like elf demons. But it’s really a comic about hope and believing in the impossible, which is really something we could all use right now as 2016 comes to a close. Also, Gabe and Robbie have an adorable relationship, and his version of Ghost Rider has some sensitivity to go with the flames and sports cars. Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Buy

Young Terrorists #2 (Black Mask) Matt Pizzolo’s Young Terrorists #2 is a Molotov cocktail of violence and a revolutionary message seasoned with relentless art from Amancay Nahuelpan and grotesque colors from Jean-Paul Csuka. Using an action/conspiracy thriller setup, the comic looks at real world issues like undocumented immigrants and factory farms. It also asks the question: should revolutions be violent as its young protagonist, Cesar, gets drawn into a world of jetpacks, slave armies, and killing children all for a “good cause”. Entertaining, thought provoking, and has a diabolical sense of humor to boot. Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Ryan C

Foolkiller #2 (Marvel)** – Max Bemis and Dalibor Talajic follow up their very promising first issue with an even stronger second chapter that sees newly-minted psychiatrist Greg Salinger completely lose it and fall back into his murderous former persona — with the full blessing of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Nobody since his creator, Steve Gerber, has ever gotten this idiosyncratic character exactly right — until now. Pass on this series at your peril. Overall: 9. Recommendation: Buy.

Jessica Jones #3 (Marvel)** – To date I’ve been reasonably intrigued, if not blown away, by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos’ return engagement with the character they created, but I think that interest has well and truly waned with this issue. The art’s fine, if unspectacular, but stilted, poorly-written dialogue robs the mystery of “who is this Jessica’s talking to, anyway?” that’s at the heart of this installment of any impact, and the end result is a seriously flat, uninvolving story. Not much fun to be had here, I’m sorry to say. Overall: 3. Recommendation: Pass.

Wonder Woman #12 (DC)** – Is it just me, or is Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott’s “Year One” storyline just getting stronger as it goes on? Granted, the revelation of the “Big Bad” that’s been manipulating events behind the scenes is hardly a surprise, but this issue features such spot-on characterization and breathtakingly superb artwork that even this well-worn path looks and feels both reasonably fresh and undeniably exciting. Overall: 8.5. Recommendation: Buy. 

Moonshine #3 (Image)** – Great-looking art, as usual, from Eduardo Risso is the standout feature this issue (I swear, we’re truly spoiled by this guy), but Brian Azzarello’s script more or less runs in place this time out, with minimal (though still somewhat significant) plot progression and hackneyed dialogue standing out as the main drawbacks of this lackluster-on-the-whole installment. I’m still on board with this series, and will be as long as Risso’s drawing it (which I’m assuming will be for the duration), but damn, let’s kick the the storyline back into gear, please. Overall: 5. Recommendation: Read.

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Well, there you have it, folks. The reviews we didn’t quite get a chance to write. See you next week!

Please note that with some of the above comics, Graphic Policy was provided FREE copies for review. Where we purchased the comics, you’ll see an asterisk (*). If you don’t see that, you can infer the comic was a review copy. In cases where we were provided a review copy and we also purchased the comic you’ll see two asterisks (**).