Category Archives: Comics

Preview: Masks 2 #6

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Masks 2 #6

writer: Cullen Bunn
artist: Eman Casallos
covers: Butch Guice (a), Jae Lee (b)
subscription cover: Gabriel Hardman
incentive covers: Colton Worley (Black Bat), Butch Guice (B/W art), Jae Lee (B/W art), Gabriel Hardman (B/W art)
Fans & retailers, order the cover of your choice!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • Teen+

Cast through the time stream, the masked heroes of three different eras find themselves face to face with the sinister forces that spawned the Red Death… the menace who has laid waste to the world! But wild adventures through time have brought about amazing… and sometimes horrific… changes in the Shadow, Green Hornet, Black Sparrow, and the others. In order to set things right, the league of heroes–like you’ve NEVER seen them before–must band together in hopes of saving all of reality.

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Review: Star-Lord And Kitty Pryde #3

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The stories of the Guardians of the Galaxy have not always contained a comedic undertone, nor do they all presently, but the influence of the surprise hit movie from 2014 made it so that comedy is a necessary ingredient for readers, especially those that started reading only because of the movie.  Whether or not this comedic approach is necessary it has nonetheless been present in a few of the spin-offs from the main series, and as it been present in the Secret Wars tie-in to the Guardians stories, in this case the Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde series.  The series has also been one that is very different from what has come before, or at least that was established in the relatively short Star-Lord series, the romantic attraction of Kitty Pryde to Peter Quill.  As has been presented in the series, one of the alternate versions of Peter and Kitty have crossed paths, Peter being lovesick over her death long ago, and the alternate version of her being somewhat too serious to ever consider something like romance.

The fourth and final issue follows the two of them as they attempt to retrieve the object that Kitty is after, a specific artifact deemed important enough by those who follow Doom.  Peter is drawn into helping her because of his love for her, even if that love is not entirely genuine in this case.  They have to overcome the scenario in which they are depicted on the cover, as Gambit has them trapped and ready to kill after they have failed to retrieve the object from him.

The issue plays out as a not-so-serious take on the pre-Secret Wars world.  While there was some comedy in their stories before, it never came off quite as screwball as it does here.  Problems are solved not necessarily by the ingenuity, skills or powers of the two heroes, but rather by plot developments which are set-up to provide a humorous end result.  While it doesn’t hit as hard as it could, it is not really the point either, as the relationship between these two is what has been the special find in the past year.  Where the story is basic and the humor is somewhat lacking, this issue still puts the right focus on the two of these characters together, and the result is satisfactory if not noteworthy.

Story: Sam Humphries Art: Alti Firmansyah 
Story: 8.1  Art: 8.1  Overall: 8.1 Recommendation: Read

Dark Knight III: The Master Race’s Store Cover Variant Revealed

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The first cover for Dark Knight III: The Master Race is in!

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 is coming November 25th—and DC’s kicking it off big by revealing the first of several retail variant covers available at your local comics retailer!

With art by Dave Johnson, based on a sketch by Jim Lee, this take on the iconic Dark Knight Returns finale features your local comic shop store logo placed near the top.

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Exclusive Preview: Wonder Woman ‘77 Chapter #8,

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Wonder Woman ’77 Chapter #8

Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Richard Ortiz

Wonder Woman ‘77 Chapter #8, the second part of a three part storyline featuring the debut of Wonder Woman’s notorious arch nemesis… The Cheetah!

At the grand opening of Wonder Woman’s museum exhibit, Cheetah crashes the event with a dart gun and all chaos ensues! Can Wonder Woman save the day from this catastrophe?

Don’t miss this digital-first special based on the classic TV series starring Lynda Carter!

The chapter releases this Thursday via the DC Comics App, Readdcentertainment.com, iBooks, comiXology.com, Google Play, Kindle Store, Nook Store, and iVerse ComicsPlus.

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Review: Green Arrow #44

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Green Arrow #44 CoverThe secret mythology of Green Arrow’s new pet wolf is revealed—plus Oliver’s women troubles escalate as Tarantula bullies her way into his life, demanding his help in the battle against the skeletons.

Some folks might see a dog and an archer and immediately think writer Benjamin Percy and DC Comics are attempting to create their own Pizza Dog. For those who have read this comic, you know that’s far from reality.

Green Arrow #44 gives us the story of the dog who has become a friend of Oliver Queen, giving us the dog’s origin tale. It’s very interesting mixing in some mysticism, Native culture, it’s kind of cool aspect that will blend well into the character of Green Arrow, and move him away from the “urban” feel a little. I do wish Percy spent more time on the abuse leveled on the dog, if nothing else to maybe give some more depth as to his behavior and also to shine a light on such a horrific treatment of an animal. Making the story completely silent with that as a big focus, a psychological story about a dog, might have been stronger.

Percy also weaves in Oliver Queen’s personal relationships, which plays well into the dog’s backstory (which in a way is about relationships too). The little it’s brought it, it still is very affective and adds a solid humanizing layer to the story.

Artist Patrick Zircher continues his gritty style which feels like a great look for the nature of this story (no pun intended). The violent tale is told with some pretty ferocious panels and Zircher captures it well.

Overall, we’re seeing the next step for the Emerald Archer, and while the first story of this new arc didn’t have me pumped with excitement, it did have me very intrigued to see where it all goes from here.

Story: Benjamin Percy Art: Patrick Zircher
Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Batman Beyond #4

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Batman Beyond #4 CoverEveryone knew he wasn’t good enough to be Batman, and now Tim’s mistake has put humanity at risk. But when all seems lost, an old friend takes him back where it all started. Will a gift from the past give Tim what he needs to save the future?

Batman Beyond has taken DC’s weekly series Futures End, and stretched it out, throwing us into that familiar, but different future. Much like Tim Drake, we’re figuring out what’s different, what’s new, and what happened!? This issue has a lot of that in what’s a pretty action-packed story that has the future Batman battling brother Eye, and then catapulting that battle into a new battlefield that I wouldn’t have expected for another few issues at least.

Writer Dan Jurgens has amped up the battle, making it really feel like a final last stand. This is a series whose future might be a bit tedious, and the story feels like anything can happen because of that. This is a good thing as it had me excited to see what’s next and I really felt like anyone could die, be turned, or, well, who knows! It felt like a more adult action cartoon throughout.

Jurgens also digs into Drake’s past and mines the self-doubt and shoes he has to fill. Not just the previous’ future Batman’s but also Bruce Wayne too. It personalizes the story a bit more, and fills it into the legacy of the character nicely.

All that action is brought to us by Bernard Chang who mixes the war-torn environment into a future scape, and a future city with a seamless flow where everything goes together though it really shouldn’t. Brother Eye’s forces too are a mix of familiar robot constructs and twisted nightmares.

The comic felt like one big fight, not something I generally enjoy, until the end, which features a twist that ties in what’s currently going on in the various current Batman series directly into this. It’s not something I thought about, and it shows there’s a greater plan out there for what’s going on. That ending had me more excited to see what’s coming in the next issue.

Story: Dan Jurgens Art: Bernard Chang
Story: 7.25 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.35 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Weirdworld #1 Brings the Strange & Bizarre to the Marvel Universe This December!

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Just when you thought the journey was coming to an end! This December, book an extended stay in the Marvel Universe’s newest and most dangerous destination in Weirdworld #1 – a brand new ongoing series set in the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe! Critically acclaimed writer Sam Humphries joins forces with fan-favorite Weirdworld artist Mike Del Mundo for a brand new adventure ripped from the pages of Secret Wars and planted firmly in the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe!

In an interview with Marvel.com, Humphries said:

Weirdworld is a place where anything can happen. Weirdworld is a place inside the Marvel Universe. Weirdworld is a place where the lost can be found. But only if you’re strong enough…

Imagine a world of sword and sorcery, a land where lost things go. Now imagine being trapped there with zero sword or sorcery experience! Meet Becca, an ordinary girl in an extraordinary world with one mission in mind – GET HOME ALIVE! Easier said than done! But how did she come to be here? And how can she hope to escape in one piece?

Barbarians! Wizards! Goblins! Even tricked out sports cars! All await Becca around every turn in the depths of Weirdworld. Be there as Marvel’s own twisted fantasy realm comes alive before your eyes as Humphries & Del Mundo plunge headlong into Weirdworld #1!

WEIRDWORLD #1
Written by SAM HUMPHRIES
Art & Cover by MIKE DEL MUNDO
On Sale This December!

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Review: Lazarus #19

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lazarus019Lazarus has enjoyed a relatively long run under its publication by Image, and it has done so almost completely through the use of its titular character, the Lazarus protector of the family Carlyle, holding the spotlight for a vast majority of the time in the series.  There have been other moments which have examined the post-apocalyptic world which the character lives in, as well as other asides some as the Lift for the elevation of regular citizens into something more, but Forever Carlyle has maintained most of the focus, whether it be her general appeal as a female superhero or whether it be the questions which pertain to her background.  A little of that changed in the last issue with the closing panels as Forever was shot and presumably killed with a head wound that she did not seem to be getting up from.  The question then becomes exactly what is this series without its main star.

Not surprisingly it is still a lot, and for the first time this gives the other characters time to shine.  With Forever out of commission, the squad questions how to proceed, as after all they were supposed to be a small unit on a covert operation, and without Forever they don’t seem to have much hope for the success of the mission.  Casey, once lifted in Denver and now a soldier, refuses to back down as she takes command and forces the mission to completion.  Meanwhile Michael at the Lazarus compound works feverishly for a solution to the various medical problems, the most obvious of which is Forever’s supposed death.

The change in focus works really well here as the secondary characters get more of the spotlight for the first time in this series.  Of course as the series has a presumably preset path upon which it is going to unravel some of the mysteries of this world, it would be nearly impossible to tell this story focusing solely on the main character.  Her future allies seem set in the discussion of where she is going and only the question is of how she will get there.  In the mean time this was an excellent issue to draw some of the focus away from her only in this series and to put it elsewhere.  It adds another layer of complexity to the series and helps to elevate by doing so.

Story: Greg Rucka Art: Michael Lark
Story: 8.7 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.7 Recommendation: Buy

Image provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.  

Review: Silk #7

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silk007Thanks to the monthly format of most comics, one of the strangest trends in comics is the rushed final issue.  While the creative team has a bigger story to tell for the series main characters, an editorial decision is made elsewhere to cancel the series and what is left is a final issue that has an entire story arc (or more) worth of developments instead crammed into 20 or so pages of panels.  The reasons for the cancellation of the series are usually poor sales, but sometimes in the case of Silk it is something else, and that is in this case the tie-in to Secret Wars.  While Secret Wars has drawn in most of the main characters into its huge crossover, it has left a few others alone, with their ongoing series somewhat untouched, except by the final end of the Earth, and this has been the case with Silk as well.

This issue tells the story of Silk’s and the Earth’s final hours.  Still dutifully responding to her job as a journalist even as the world is falling down around her, she is given an “assignment” by J. Jonah Jameson to go find her brother, or at least the person that might be her brother.  She has to make her way through apocalyptic New York City, saving people along the way, unaware that anyone that she saves is getting only a few extra hours of life, not a few extra decades.  This does allow the creative team to highlight her character, and she is soon thrown into the situation which the series seemed to be poised to answer over the course of a long run, not rushed into this final issue, the location of her family.

Unfortunately but also predictably, the story ends up missing its mark because of it.  The rushed nature of the story detracts already from what has come before, but the tie-in to Secret Wars makes it all the worse as the story is chaotic and unordered.  In effect the lasting legacy of this final issue is almost to erase all of the good that was done in this short lives series with this character.  She could have used a better send-off, and while she will presumably return in the new Marvel Universe, her handling here is maybe not the best bellwether for her return as this ends up being a rushed mess that does little good and unfortunately leaves the new series on a low note.

Story: Robbie Thompson Art: Tana Ford
Story: 5.5 Art: 5.5 Overall: 5.5 Recommendation: Pass

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