Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Elektra: Black, White, and Blood #1 (of 4)

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Elektra: Black, White, and Blood #1 (of 4)

When it comes to the Marvel Universe, there are very few characters as polarizing as Elektra. She started off as a love interest for Daredevil, but proved throughout the years to be a formidable hero and villain. She has proven to be Matt Murdock’s most enduring rogue, sometime being an ally, other times being his foe, as in the time she became Black Sky. Her onscreen representation may have given audiences a different view.

As her representation in the movies was less than astounding, as Jennifer Garner, though a brilliant actress , she could only do so much with her appearance in the Daredevil movie and her spinoff. In the Daredevil series, Elodie Yung, gave fans what we always wanted , Matt’s antagonistic foil, who could meet him intellectually and then some.  It is fair to say, her journey within comic books has been better written than it has been onscreen. In a celebration of the character, Marvel has rounded up some of the best scribes who have ever written her. Elektra: Black, White, Blood #1 kicks things off with a trio of stories showing her at her best.

In ”Red Dawn”,  Elektra loses a a battle to a band of vampires but not before taking down some , as she relishes her last few hours, saying goodbye , only face the sunlight for the last time. In “Not The Devil”, Elektra has a hard time taking out a Yakuza target, as past trauma stops her from finishing a job, one that she happily walks away from. In “The Crimson Path”, we are taken to a mystical realm, where she must fight off a hoard to save a young girl, but as we soon find out it is an allegory for salvation that well crave. By the issue’s end, we get different looks at the same character showing off how multifaceted she can be.

Overall, Elektra: Black, White, and Blood #1 is a great first issue that is both deep and action packed. The stories by the different writers are incredible. The art the different artists  is stunning. Altogether, a set of stories that shows the versatility of the Assassin in Red.

Story: Leonardo Romero, Declan Shalvey, Charles Soule
Art: Leonardo Romero, Mark Bagley, Simone D’Armini
Ink: John Dell Color: Edgar Delgado
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Wastelanders: Doom #1

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Wastelanders: Doom

Once you have everything you ever wanted in life, can you truly be happy? Reaching your goals, means that you have reached your zenith?  As people can get this feeling misdiagnosed. Throughout the world, they have different adjectives for this, but the most common being angst, ennui or weltschmerz.

We generally feel angst, when we worry but that would be reductionist, as it can be more directly described as a feeling that disrupts peace and contentment for no definable reason.  Then there is Ennui, which dates back to the French Revolution, and is described as feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction. Then there is Weltschmerz, which dates back to the Romantic Era in Germany and rightfully so, as it can be described as when the one who suffers wishes the world to be otherwise.  In the latest one shot story in the Wastelands, we get Wastelanders: Doom, where the wary ruler , seemingly has gotten everything but suffers a combination of angst, ennui or weltschmerz in varying degrees.

We are taken to Doom’s Lair, where Doctor Doom rules his territory of the Wastelands, and as such, since Red Skull’s death, chaos has spilled over, whereby rogue groups have since emerged. As Doom lays waste to one of these groups of raiders, he discovers a small town somehow in his territory but not of his knowledge,  but it is not what it seems, as it is trap made by magic. As it is realm protected by witches who only induce his nightmares, filled with memories from his childhood, and of the past, when he welcomed his goddaughter, Valeria Richards, Reed’s daughter. As he finds himself enchanted by the possibilities of staying there, but is told the cost would losing a precious memory, and right when he is about to make a choice, he finds the puppet master behind the rouse, Baron Mordo. By the issue’s end, Mordo finds the source of the magic was Darkhold ,trapping hundreds of people include Sofia Strange and Agatha Harkness who helps Doom give a decisive blow to Mordo once and for all.

Overall, Wastelanders: Doom is an excellent entry into the Wastelanders canon that shows villains can be a hero even when they don’t look to be. The story by Gronbekk is amazing. The art by the creative is breathtaking. Altogether, a story which shows why the MCU should bring Viktor Von Doom into the MCU sooner than later.

Story: Torunn Gronbekk Art: Julius Ohta
Color: Bryan Valenza Letterer: Cory Pettit
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: Magic #10

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Magic: The Gathering comes to comics courtesy of BOOM! Studios. Magic #10 brings the battle against Marit Lage to its conclusion and not everyone will survive!

Story: Jed MacKay
Art: Ig Guara
Color: Arianna Consonni
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

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.

comiXology
Kindle
Zeus Comics

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Review: Odinn’s Eye #4

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Solveig, a young farm girl of great promise, is haunted by visions from the god-king Odinn himself. An epic adventure begins here as Solveig has burn down her past life and begins her quest.

Solveig discovers familiar allies in her quest as we find out about where they came from and go further into the mountain.

Story: Joshua Dysart, Robert Venditti
Art: Thomas Giorello, David Lapham
Color: Diego Rodriguez
Letterer: Simon Bowland, Dave Sharpe

Find a comic shop to get your copy

Or, buy your copy at the link below:

Zeus Comics

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

Review: Dark Knights of Steel #3

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Dark Knights of Steel #3

Dark Knights of Steel has delivered a hell of a rollercoaster ride so far. The series follows a fantasy take on familiar superheroes with Black Lightning’s family ruling one kingdom and Superman’s family ruling another. Jor-El is murdered by King Jefferson leading to Zala Jor-El to attack Jefferson’s kingdom killing his son. A war is brewing and Dark Knights of Steel #3 sees the various factions jockeying and preparing for what’s to come.

Written by Tom Taylor, the first three issues have very much been the setup of the clash to come. There’s lots of mystery brewing, like why Zala is just out killing folks now, but it’s the machinations and planning by the rulers that’s most interesting.

Dark Knights of Steel #3 has Jefferson attempt to woo the Amazons to his side. But, is that really his goal overall? There’s an intelligence as to what Taylor is brewing that has the reader questioning what might behind everyone’s actions. Things can’t just be straightforward, can they?

Taylor also does a fantastic job of using DC’s characters without just having them in different costumes. There’s hints and teases in some cases where just a name or color of armor let you know what their main DC Universe equivalent is. It’s fun in that way that has you partially playing “who’s that character?”.

The art by Yasmine Putri has been fantastic. With color by Arif Prianto and lettering by Wes Abbott, each issue looks stunning and Dark Knights of Steel #3 is no exception. As said above, the characters look like they fit in this world without just slightly tweaking their normal costumes. Normal knight armor might just be colored in a way to tip off readers. There’s also a great use of events off page. With Zala on the warpath, some of her actions happen off the page with the reader only seeing the beginning and then the destruction. That leaves the imagination to run wild and fill in the blanks, which is far worse than what Putri would be able to show.

Dark Knights of Steel #3 is another solid issue of the series. It’s slowly building the intrigue and action to come instead of just rushing into things. It also has no problem piling up the bodies and destruction. In other words, it’s using its disconnect from continuity to full advantage and delivering a reading experience that’s familiar but also keeps readers on their toes.

Story: Tom Taylor Art: Yasmine Putri
Color: Arif Prianto Letterer: Wes Abbott
Story: 8.75 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Review: Nocterra: Blacktop Bill Special

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Nocterra: Blacktop Bill Special

Nocterra was a very interesting series when it debuted. In a world plunged in darkness it followed Val, a ferryman who hauls cargo through the dark world while dodging the horrors that awaits. When Val is hired to drive two individuals, she finds herself being pursued by Blacktop Bill, a mysterious villain we’re told little about. Nocterra: Blacktop Bill Special pulls back the curtain, promising the origin of this shroud of a character and it sort of delivers. But, is this something we really need?

With a story by Scott Snyder and Tony S. Daniel, we’re told the origin of Blacktop Bill and it’s honestly a bit yawn inducing. Basically, Bill likes to kill. He’s a hitman’s hitman. He’s a killer’s killer. Does that really add anything to the character? We know Bill is a killer. We know Bill can drive. He’s a force of nature and after reading this “origin” the character was better off remaining a mystery.

Like Boba Fett and so many more Blacktop Bill wasn’t just cool based on his actions but also his look and most importantly the mystery. The readers didn’t need to know his origin the appreciate the threat that Bill is in the first volume of the series. He presented himself as such. So, saying he’s a really good killer doesn’t add a whole lot to the situation. There’s no tragedy here. There’s no major event that turns him into what he is.

The biggest question, the “armor” he wears now isn’t really explained at all, that’s being saved for another story. So, in the end we’re told the killer is a killer and enjoys is and he should be feared. It’s everything we already know. It doesn’t add anything really to his story beyond he’s good at his job.

Denys Cowan‘s art is the highlight of the comic. He keeps Bill in the shadow never really showing us much of the man. The panels with Bill have the reader straining and attempting to get a peak of what he looks like but always coming up empty. Cowan is joined by Kent Williams on ink, Chris Sotomayor on color, and Andworld Design on lettering. There’s something interesting in seeing the world of Nocterra without the darkness and it all feels rather mundane and average, which is sort of the point. The visuals drag the reader in to show us how normal Bill is… beyond the killing. If that was played up a bit more there might have been something a bit disturbing and more intriguing about the issue. But, it looks nice, so there’s that.

Nocterra: Blacktop Bill Special takes some of the mystery of the character away and adds little in its place. It’s an issue we don’t really need and feels like material you’d find and as a backup story throughout a few issues. This is one for the hardcore Nocterra fans but be prepared to have the real questions not answered.

Story: Scott Snyder, Tony S. Daniel Art: Denys Cowan
Ink: Kent Williams Color: Chris Sotomayor Letterer: Andworld Design
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.1 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Review: Blue, Barry & Pancakes: Danger on Mount Choco

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Blue, Barry, and Pancakes are back for more adventure and more lessons about friendship.

Blue, Barry & Pancakes: Danger on Mount Choco continues the fantastic series full of humor, entertainment, and lessons for younger readers. This time, the trio enter a contest to make sundaes!

Story/Art: Daniel Rajai Abdo, Jason Linwood Patterson

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.

Amazon
Kindle
Bookshop

First Second 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

Review: Bylines in Blood #1

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Bylines in Blood #1

Throw us in a future that has echoes of our own reality. Follow the “Lady Dick” Satya, a former journalist turned gumshoe attempting to solve the murder of her former boss. The result is Bylines in Blood #1, an interesting new detective series that dances around what we experience every day.

Written by Erica Schultz and Van Jensen, Bylines in Blood #1 hits close to home in a thinly veiled mystery. A warped view of what reality is, corrupt politicians beholden to their donors, a plague that has split society, the series uses what we’ve experienced these past years as a building block for its story.

But, underneath all of that, the series seems to be focused on something so many are fighting for today, the discovery of the truth. This seems to be a story about manipulation by the powerful and the failure of our institutions to deal with that.

Schultz and Jensen have presented an interesting character in Satya. She’s not the usual detective, a former cop turned one. Instead, she’s a journalist turned one. We’re reminded she was a good journalist who strived to discover the truth, and along with her editor, made enemies along the way doing exactly that. It’s a subtle dig at our current systems where the truth isn’t generally a priority, establishing one’s own reality is. Schultz and Jensen seem to be reminding us that the system is failing us and institutions whose roles should be so clear, aren’t living up to them. In this case, it’s the police and clearly corrupt officers on the take of politicians. Throw in politicians themselves, religion, and even technology, and there’s a clear focus on what these two writers are trying to get at, our entire society is broken.

Aneke handles the art and gives us a future that’s very close to our own. It’s now so different than ours that throws us off and has us looking at all the neat new toys. Things are a bit advance, such as floating cameras that record everything going on. It’s an interesting take on a world that’s clearly a mirror to ours. The visuals are very much like that too with a slight exaggeration to our reality, much like the story itself. The art nails the pacing too delivering a slightly dour visual world that feels a bit dark but it doesn’t go over the top. The visuals capture the “detective” aspect of the story.

Bylines in Blood #1 is a pretty solid debut for those that enjoy detective stories. There’s something that really works but it’s the deeper themes and concepts that really stand out.

Story: Erica Schultz, Van Jensen Art: Aneke Letterer: Cardinal Rae
Story: 8.15 Art: 8.15 Overall: 8.15 Recommendation: Buy

AfterShock provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Review: Crush and Lobo #8

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Crush and Lobo #8

Crush and Lobo #8 wraps the series up with mayhem-filled, fourth wall busting team-up between father and daughter Czarnian. Both Crush and Lobo are back in jail together, and they have to find some way to get out and maybe learn some life lessons along the way. Well, maybe not the life lessons part as Mariko Tamaki’s narrator voice for Crush continues to be snarky and fun as hell firmly planting her into the anti-hero category if not as scummy as her father. And, thankfully, Crush and Lobo #8 isn’t all talking heads as Amancay Nahuelpan and Tamra Bonvillain bring the property destruction and colorful aliens to wrap the storyline up with some familiar faces from earlier in the series making a return.

I love Crush and Lobo #8 goes from probing the relationship between Crush and Lobo as well as ideas like nature vs nurture, or if people (Aliens in this case) can really change to just being snarky one-liners and punching. Tamaki’s narration adds layers to what was already a fun action book, and she and Nahuelpan play with different tropes like big romantic gestures and fight first and team-up later. However, this comic ends up being about Crush taking control of her own destiny and not being the teen version of her dad although she is skilled at taking money to bring in alien criminals. But that’s not all she does as Crush still holds a torch for Katie and is still on decent terms with the Titans even though she missed a lot of Red Arrow’s texts in space. After eight issues, Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan have definitely forged a unique and lively personality for Lobo and leave the door open for them or other creators to craft more funny, violent, and maybe slightly heartbreaking adventures for her.

Even if Crush and Lobo end up punching a lot of robot therapists in the head with colorful blood effects from Bonvillain, Crush and Lobo #8 takes a fair and smart approach to therapy that Crush applies to her own experience with clairvoyant aliens and Katie, who goes to therapy. It’s not about being the subject of a book or science experiment or a lost cause, but about learning about yourself and coping mechanisms from an intuitive, well-trained third party aka not the robots in Lobo’s prison. Change is difficult, but still doable, especially in small ways. This applies to Crush and Lobo as Tamaki and Nahuelpan don’t make sweeping changes to Crush’s status quo (And as the more well-known of the pair, Lobo is an incredibly static character.), but have her make small changes and do-overs. For example, she’s honest about her feelings towards Katie and drinks coffee like a regular customer instead of blowing up the space coffee shop. Crush isn’t going to be a paragon of good any time soon, but her messiness and the fact that she might actually give a shit underneath the quips and cool exterior is what makes her a character that I could connect to and can definitely anchor her own series.

Crush and Lobo concludes with big splashy punches and pages from Amancay Nahuelpan seasoned with self-aware scripting from Mariko Tamaki and a color palette from Tamra Bonvillain that ranges from garish to sterile depending on if the scene is set on cool planets or in jail. It’s an entertaining series and definitely proves that Crush can stand on her own apart from her more famous father even though their interactions led to a lot of humor and a little bit of soul searching.

Story: Mariko Tamaki Art: Amancay Nahuelpan
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain Letters: Ariana Maher
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics

Review: Batman #119

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Batman #119

After the impressive event “Fear State”, I’ve been intrigued to see where Batman would go. The event gave us new villains and an epic feel that had the present and future Gotham in mind. Batman #119 continues the new direction for the series that feels much more grounded befitting the character’s current status-quo.

Batman Inc. is surprisingly still in business with a new bonus, Lex Luthor. Members of the organization have been accused of killing a villain and it’s up to Batman to figure out what has happened.

Writer Joshua Williamson has grounded Batman #119 in a fantastic way. He’s taken out of the larger than life setting that is Gotham. Instead, this new direction has the character back to basics in some ways. He doesn’t have his great toys and we’re reminded he doesn’t have his money. With Luthor knowing Batman’s alter-ego, the issue gets more interesting as the two dance around each other both in and out of costume.

Williamson delivers a hell of a moment where Bruce and Luthor meet for food. The moves and choices of Lex are interesting and can be dissected as to the meaning of each. Every word, every action, feels like Williamson has thought through how this might really play out. This doesn’t feel as much a superhero comic as two individuals sparring verbally and over food. Lex’s actions are a consistent reminder of what Bruce has lost, his fortune. The words are chosen in such a way as to make sure to get a reaction from Bruce. It’s a beautiful dance.

There’s also a lot of action and that’s delivered by Jorge Molina, Adriano Di Benedetto, and Mikel Janín. Along with color by Tomeu Morey and lettering by Clayton Cowles, the comic looks great. It balances that verbal sparring with solid physical moments and action. There’s something about the look, along with the story, that feels a bit retro in a way, a bit conservative. And that’s not a bad thing. The art dials things back in a way focusing in on very specific moments and purposely hiding others to deliver surprises and shock.

Batman #119 is a solid issue that dials things back and gives us something that feels much more like a detective story. It also makes sure to remind us that this is a Batman who is generally stripped of his greatest tool, his wealth. With a nice mix of action, verbal sparring, and an intriguing villain, this continues an intriguing direction.

Story: Joshua Williamson Art: Jorge Molina, Adriano Di Benedetto, Mikel Janín
Color: Tomeu Morey Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.15 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

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