It’s Roy Wilder’s first day on the most dangerous job in the world.
After a catastrophic nuclear attack, humanity’s last energy source is Lucifium. The mineral, buried miles beneath Earth’s surface, is accessible only by teleportation and navigation through an inhospitable subterranean maze.
The motley brotherhood of “divers” employed by the ONIS corporation gambles their bodies and minds in pursuit of a better future for themselves and their loved ones. The high-risk, high-reward mission attracts the daring and desperate alike, and all must be unflinching to survive under the leadership of grizzled rig boss Jax Ridley. But even the boldest will break when Roy’s initiation cracks the seal on a harrowing corporate secret… and the depths come alive to awaken the crew’s inner demons.
Story: Rob Guillory Art: Sam Lofti Color: Jean-Francois Beaulieu Letterer: Andrew Thomas
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Writer: Kevin Smith Artist: Ahmed Raafat Letterer: Andrew Thomas Cover artist: Ahmed Raafat
The enigmatic Jones sisters have appeared peripherally throughout the View Askewniverse, adding a little free-spirited spice to the day-to-day of Leonardo, New Jersey.
In the final issue of Quick Stops Volume 3, we find all three sisters together for an illuminating family-focused story time. This comic takes place the day after Tricia Jones witnessed a unique live recording of a game show at her local mall in Mallrats, the day Heather Jones and Rick Derris left Quick Stops Groceries for some beach time in Clerks, and while Chasing Amy’s Alyssa Jones trains down from the city to visit her parents.
After their tryst at the beach, Heather and Rick head to the Jones’ family home. There, they catch up with Heather’s sisters Tricia and Alyssa. It turns out Rick and his buddy Cohee Lundin used to spend a lot of time in the Jones’ household and have an…intimate connection to infamous “Finger Cuffs” story. It turns out that there is more to that fateful rendezvous than the malicious rumor mill would have you believe—enough complicated human sexuality that an academic-minded Tricia might even include it in her book!
Writer: Kevin Smith Artist: Mark Reihill Letterer: Andrew Thomas Cover Artist: Mark Reihill
The Buddy Christ has been subject to a holy heist, and everyone’s favorite cannabic duo are at the center of this cardinal calamity. When Jay and Silent Bob’s less than immaculate conception of a plan to summon the Angel of Death goes wrong, they find themselves having a holy reunion with none other than their old Dogma buddy, Metatron—Herald of the Almighty, Voice of the one true God, and dropper of divine nuggets of knowledge. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
This August, renowned director, podcaster, producer, actor, and writer Kevin Smith returns to the View Askewniverse with the third installment in his black-and-white anthology comic series, Quick Stops. Each issue will be written by Smith and will feature different artists. The first issue will be illustrated by John Sprengelmeyer, the second by Ryan Gajda, the third by Mark Reihill, and the fourth by Ahmed Rafaat with lettering by Andrew Thomas on issues #2-4. Issue #1 will also feature two covers by Sprengelmeyer (one exclusive to Secret Stash) and one by Kate Bettini.
In Quick Stops Volume 3, we finally get the chance to read the comic Holden McNeil created about loving and losing Alyssa Jones, as seen in the feature film Chasing Amy. Kevin Smith honors his friend and costar Shannen Doherty with two stories: one about Shannen’s immaculate sense of humor, and the other a requiem for her character in Mallrats, Rene. We witness a touching reunion between Jay and Silent Bob and their old Dogma buddy, Metatron—Herald of the Almighty, Voice of the one true God, and dropper of divine nuggets of knowledge. And last, but not least, we keep up with the Jones sisters and find out the full story behind how Alyssa Jones got the nickname “Finger Cuffs.”
Kevin Smith delivers a few hard-earned life lessons with a heavy dose of signature levity. This volume of Quick Stops will stick with you long after the laughs stop.
Quick Stops 3 #1 (of 4) will be available in comic shops on August 13, 2025. It is now available for pre-order from your local comic shop for $4.99.
Dark Horse Comics and director/actor/producer/podcaster/author Kevin Smith are over to the moon to return to the Askewniverse with the black and white anthology series, Quick Stops ll! Joining Smith is Ahmed Raafat as series artist and Andrew Thomas as letterer. Don’t have a cow though, issue #1 will feature covers by Nate GonzalezChogrin, and Raafat (Secret Stash exclusive variant).
Unlike the first series of Quick Stops, Quick Stops ll will be a four-issue series, spanning one storyline in which readers learn the udder truth about an American icon when a young podcaster tries to milk Mooby creator Nancy Goldruff for the bovine’s beginnings, only to meat a cow tale so shocking, it turns her brain to hamburger!
Quick Stops ll #1(of 4), mooves into comic shops on November 22, 2023. It is now available to pre-order for $3.99 at your local comic shop.
(W) Fred Kennedy (A) Nick Marinkovich (C) Jose Villarrubia (L) Andrew Thomas
The battle builds to its climax with the beleaguered Legions facing thousands of Germanic warriors fighting to free their homeland. Honoria races back to Rome, duty in her heart above Arminius.
With victory finally within his grasp, Arminius wonders what a throne is worth when you’re left to sit alone.
Variant covers by Nick Marinkovich, Rob Brunette, and Kalman Andrasofszky; edited by the Eisner and Schuster award-winning Allison O’Toole.
(W) Fred Kennedy (A/CA) Nick Marinkovich (c) José Villarrubia (L) Andrew Thomas (VCA) Nick Marinkovich, Rob Brunette, Kalman Andrasofszky In Shops: Jul 19, 2023 SRP: $3.99
Arminius basks in the glow of victory, but he still has not found Honoria, so his armies’ cries ring hollow. Honoria and her companions reach the Roman camp, where the remaining generals plot one final, desperate effort to snatch victory from disaster.
BOOM! Studios has revealed a first look at Mosely #5, the final issue of the brand new five-issue limited series from Farmhand creator and co-creator of Chew, Rob Guillory, highly acclaimed artist Sam Lotfi, colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and letterer Andrew Thomas, chronicling one man’s attempt to take down the mighty idols of technology that have captivated the world in the near future. Available in stores June 28, 2023.
After what seemed like the final battle, Mose and family discover the sinister, ancient force behind the Tech Gods themselves! While Mosely and Gloria have to fight the internal demons of their past, they face a very tangible demon, alien and arcane, with a dark link to human history. However, even if they succeed, what will their victory mean for the human race, when they’ve been reliant on AI for so long?
Mosely #5features main and variant cover art by series artist Lotfi with colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and variant covers by series creator Guillory, and highly acclaimed artists George Kambadais and InHyuk Lee.
BOOM! Studios has revealed a first look at Mosely #4, the penultimate issue of the brand new five-issue limited series from Farmhand creator and co-creator of Chew, Rob Guillory, highly acclaimed artist Sam Lotfi, colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and letterer Andrew Thomas, chronicling one man’s attempt to take down the mighty idols of technology that have captivated the world in the near future. Available in stores May 17, 2023.
Mosely is coming to finish off the Tech Gods once and for all and finally smash them into oblivion! Mosely and his family realize that the real threat comes from an ancient power source driving these Tech Gods… and it’s going to take more than a Holy Hammer to shut it down for good.
Mosely #4 features main cover art by series artist Lotfi, and variant covers by series creator Guillory, and highly acclaimed artists Björn Berends and Tradd Moore.
This cover is cooler than anything that happens in the comic.
In 9 CE, an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius defeated three Roman legions and halted the Roman Empire’s expansion into what is now modern day Germany. The new Image Comics series Dead Romansfrom writer Fred Kennedy and artist Nick Marinkovich attempt to retell this epic historical underdog story, but stumbles in characterization and pacing. However, the art is glorious and evokes Heavy Metal and Conan, especially with Villarrubia’s color palette even if the the fight sequences (With one notable exception) are choppy and lack a flow that gets you immersed in the story and setting.
If you’re thinking about reading Dead Romans, reading the Wikipedia page for Arminius and/or the Battle of Teutoberg Forest would be a smart move. Kennedy and Marinkovich don’t do a great job of contextualizing their story beyond some captions about being deep in Augustus’ reign as Roman emperor, and Rome bringing a lot of legions to put down a Germanic uprising. I definitely applaud a show, not tell approach, but Dead Romans #1 doesn’t give a lot of reasons to care about Arminius and his whole situation beyond the Romans having the woman he loves, Honoria, and that he’s also working for them for some reason. Now, I know a little bit about Roman history from taking Latin courses in university (But, honestly, mainly from the Starz Spartacus show) and know that the Roman legions were often supported by auxiliary forces of non-Roman citizens in their various conquests.
However, this isn’t really explained in the comic nor is Arminius’ motivation for fighting against the Romans and his relationship with Honoria. Fred Kennedy and Nick Marinkovich do succeed in showing Arminius’ tactical brilliance (Mainly through dialogue), and their lack of establishing panels actually creates a bit of dark humor when the Roman commander completely misreads that the Germanic tribes are doing textbook guerrilla warfare on them. Big empires and dense forests tend not to work out, in both fact and fiction. But, by the end of the book, there isn’t a lot of psychological insight into the characters, it’s just a flashy retelling of history with some generic thriller elements.
And, honestly, in many cases, it’s okay to have a story that is all visceral action and doesn’t dig particularly deep into its character. However, Dead Romans fails as an action book too. Nick Marinkovich and Jose Villarrubia’s visual style is definitely cool. As mentioned earlier, there’s a little Heavy Metal in it and echoes of more contemporary cartoonists like Stephanie Hans and Rod Reis. I wasn’t really able to connect to the characters via facial expressions, but there are some fun visual flourishes like letterer Andrew Thomas’ sound effects when the Germanic tribes and the Romans throw down for the first time. But the brevity and awkward layouts and page turns for these action scenes hinder their momentum. For example, early in the book, Honoria is talking to a Roman leader who wants to marry her and take her away from everything. (Think Dirty Dancing with a gladiuses.) Then, the Germans attack taking up space under their conversation, which for some reason is a double page spread. Flipping to this page and seeing the attack already distracts from their chat, and then the battle wraps up rather quickly on the next page with Honoria passing out “dead” and not really showing any of the combat between the Romans and Germans. She’s just a victim, and Kennedy and Marinkovich are on to a character they care about more, Arminius. (And he’s good at fighting, but honestly comes across as a bark-y middle manager.)
As well as having issues with its storytelling style, Dead Romans #1’s sole named female character, Honoria, exists only to service the plot, including a cliffhanger that is just a repeat of a page midway through the comic when she’s crawling through the wreckage. Hey, at least, Dead Romans didn’t pull a Spartacus or Gladiator and kill one of their key female characters in the first act. Both Germanic and Roman societies were patriarchal, but one great thing about writing stories set in the past during our current time is recontextualizing them and giving voices to folks who were ignored by the writers and historians of their day. Sadly, Honoria doesn’t get this treatment and definitely fails what Kelly Sue DeConnick calls the “sexy lamp test”. Seriously, she could have been replaced with some of kind of cool sword, an important hill, or a father’s dying wishes.
Although Dead Romans is based on a badass historical event, it sadly doesn’t live up to the hype or the sheer metal quality of its title. Featuring thin characterization, truncated fight scenes, and lack of context about the the twilight years of the Pax Romana and the role its characters play in it, it ends up not having much to offer fans of Roman history or general interest readers.
Story: Fred Kennedy Art: Nick MarinkovichLetters: Andrew Thomas Story: 5.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 6.0 Recommendation: Pass
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
