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.

Logan

American Psycho #1 (Sumerian) – The American Psycho comic from Mike Calero and Piotr Kowalski reads like a hybrid of the original American Psycho film and its not as memorable sequel American Psycho 2. One half of the story shows Patrick Bateman’s killing spree from the POV of private eye Donald Kimball (Played by Willem Dafoe in the film), and the other sets up a new killer in 2011 with young woman Charlene Carruthers as the protagonist. Calero nails the self-satisfied style of narration in the film while Kowalski lays out the kills (real and imagined) in a suitably graphic way. Calero digs into some of the homerotic elements of the source material with the way Kimball gazes at Bateman and appreciates his body, especially when he’s killing. There’s some fun voyeurism going on. However, my main issue with this comic is that beyond the violence, axes, and basic commentary on men being creepy along with copious drug use is that the dual plot lines don’t really intersect. Because of this, American Psycho might read better as a trade paperback. Overall: 7.4 Verdict: Read

Wesley Dodds: Sandman #1 (DC Comics) – Robert Venditti, Riley Rossmo, and Ivan Plascencia breathe new life into the original Sandman in an action-packed, social-commentary filled first issue. Even though Sandman #1 takes place entirely in 1940, war, inequality, and fear are conflict that every era has to deal with as Wesley Dodds struggles to use his privilege and scientific know-how to make the world a better place, both at home and potentially abroad. Rossmo’s angular style fits the surreal nature of a comic starring a nightmare-plagued, gas mask wearing, and sleep gun wielding superhero. The cold open of the comic is especially memorable with a gas mask silhouette taking up the page and causing a crime lord to squeal. With his mix of competency and insecurities and hate for Nazis and the 1%, Dodds is a protagonist that’s easy to latch onto, and Sandman #1 is a solid introduction to the classic Golden Age crime fighter. Overall: 8.6 Verdict: Buy

Brett

Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 (Marvel) – I’m a fan of writer Dan Slott‘s original run of Superior Spider-Man. The concept of Doc Ock being in Peter’s body delivered something a bit different and added some more depth to the classic villain. It created a path that was interesting with things I felt like I never saw in a Spider-Man comic. Superior Spider-Man Returns #1 takes us back to that time as Doc Ock in modern times attempts to remember some details of something he did. With a new series coming, the issue really just comes off as a really bad “0” issue. With a story by Slott and script by Christos Gage, the issue feels like recent Marvel releases that fill in missing time. The art is packed with artists including Mark Bagley, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, ink by John Dell, JP Mayer, and Victor Olazaba, and color by Edgar Delgado with lettering by Joe Caramagna. Despite a movie crawl of artists, the comic is pretty good in the visual department with just a few bumps along the way. I was excited for what’s to come but the issue pretty much killed that adding not all that interesting and instead just feeling like an addition to that run that wasn’t needed and whose end result could have been handled a different way. It’s an issue that didn’t need to exist and the story that’s to come could have just given us everything here easily. Overall: 6.0 Verdict: Pass