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Mini Reviews: Badrock #3, Hillbilly: The Treason of Twelve-Toe Maggie #1, Adventure Time Halloween Special, lien vs X-Men #1, Hello Kitty #2

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Cover of 'Hello Kitty and Friends: Hello World' comic featuring Hello Kitty with a magnifying glass, My Melody, and Kuromi holding a bag, with colorful background and playful elements.

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.

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Badrock #3 (Image) – Badrock went from being heartfelt, nostalgic, and a little badass to dumb in a hurry. Rob Liefeld, Seth Damoose, and Pedro Estouco serve up reheated Cold War leftovers in a half-assed dystopian world in Badrock #3. I’m also surprised Disney hasn’t sent their lawyers to take out the blatant Deadpool ripoff aka Vandel. But, hey, the action is still pretty cool, and Damoose set up a nice tech vs brawn battle when Badrock and the generically Asian superhuman Chynamo (Wtf is that name?) throw down. Overall: 5.7 Verdict: Pass

Hillbilly: The Treason of Twelve-Toe Maggie #1 (Dark Horse) – This is my first entry into Eric Powell’s Hillbilly stories, and it didn’t disappoint. He re-tells the tragic backstory of Rondell the Witch Killer and sets him off on a new adventure trying to get a magic hat from a particularly spry witch for the titular Twelve-Toe Maggie. There’s a folk poetry to Powell’s writing style, and I love all the digressions and talk of biscuits and molasses. This is basically Appalachian Hellboy/Witcher, and I’m here for it and want to go back and read the previous volumes. Finally, Eric Powell’s art style finds the right balance between pretty and ugly, and I love his design for Leon the wood booger. (I think he might be Mothman.) Overall: 8.8 Verdict: Buy

Adventure Time Halloween Special (Oni Press) – Finn and Jake come face to face with the grey areas between heroes and monsters in the dungeon crawling spectacular Adventure Time Halloween Special from Jeremy Malloul, Adam Seats, and Rebecca Nalty. Jake’s desire to fill up his adventurer punch card backfires, and he and Finn end up as minions in a dungeon with Seats twisting them into stranger shapes as the story progresses. However, walking in the monsters’ shoes basically upends their entire worldview. I love Adam Seats and Nalty zine-style art work and all the RPG references. It’s a fun bizarro version of Adventure Time, and Skeleton Princess is my new fave. Overall: 8.4 Verdict: Buy

Alien vs X-Men #1 (Marvel) – The xenomorphs cut through Marvel’s merry mutants with glee and green gore in Kieron Gillen and Gerardo Borges’ Alien vs X-Men #1. I love the blending of the Astonishing X-Men and Utopia eras, and Gillen and Borges’ take no prisoners approach to character deaths. There’s some crazy body horror stuff going on too. In the Chris Claremont/Dave Messina backup story, Kate Pryde becomes besties with the Brood Queen. This story is a little overwritten, but I’m here for the evil, villainous sapphic vibes between Kitty and Magik. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy

Hello Kitty and Friends: Hello World #2 (IDW Publishing) – Hello Kitty #2 is a super cute celebration of community and also a darn good mystery. Seriously, Mariko Tamaki and Cody Lemieux pull out all the classic mystery stops, including red herrings and one heck of a cliffhanger. They also go deep into the Sanrio bench in this issue while focusing on My Melody’s daily life. (She’s totally me when I’m planning for events at work even though I have more of Kuromi’s sense of style.) This comic is truly my monthly oasis from all the bad things in the world. Overall: 8.9 Verdict: Buy

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100

Wednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at!

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Annihilation Scourge: Beta Ray Bill #1/Annihilation Scourge: Silver Surfer #1 (Marvel) – The return of Marvel’s cosmic has been entertaining so far and though the creative team has been different from the previous Annhilation events, it feels like a solid follow up.

The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child #1 (DC Comics/DC Black Label) – Frank Miller’s latest chapter in his take on Batman.

Far Sector #2 (DC Comics/DC’s Young Animal) – The first issue introduced us to a new Green Lantern and a brand new world. It was an amazing opening with great writing and fantastic art. We’re excited to see where it goes.

Doom 2099 #1/Spider-Man 2099 #1 (Marvel) – Marvel’s return to the world of 2099 has been weird but we’re holding in hoping it all becomes clearer.

Dying is Easy #1 (IDW Publishing) – A new series from Joe Hill and Martin Simmonds follows a disgraced former cop turned stand-up comic turned felon? We’re intrigued.

The Goon #7 (Albatross Funnybooks) – One of the most fun series out there right now.

Rai #2 (Valiant) – One of the best new series of the years. It’s not too late to get in on this which focuses on the future of the Valiant universe.

The Red Mother #1 (BOOM! Studios) – BOOM! has been rocking the new series with each seeing numerous sell-outs. We’re in for this new horror series.

Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #1 (Marvel) – The first volume surprisingly worked as it explored a new chapter during Spider-Man’s blacksuit days. We’re hoping for more of the same fun.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 (IDW Publishing) – Hitting such a huge number, we’re excited to see what IDW has in store.

Undiscovered Country #2 (Image Comics) – The first issue was fantastic as a world contingent entered a United States that has been cut off from the world for decades. The reveal was completely unexpected and promises a wild ride.