Tag Archives: barbaric: hell to pay

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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Superman #1 cover

Wednesdays (and Tuesdays) 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 week.

Banshees #1 (Scout Comics) – A college student discovers the truth about a serial killer that stalked her college campus for a decade.

Barbaric: Hell to Pay #2 (Vault Comics) – It’s a new group of screw up adventurers who are tring to break Owen out of hell. Off the rails fantasy adventuring!

Batman: One Bad Day – Clayface #1 (DC Comics) – Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing telling a Clayface story? Yes please!

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 (Marvel) – We’ve already reviewed it and have high praise!

Blue Book #1 (Dark Horse Comics) – A nonfiction comic book experience depicting true stories of UFO abductions with an eye to capturing the strange essence of those encounters.

Bulls of Beacon Hill #2 (AfterShock) – Boston Surgeon Christopher Boldt is getting more famous by the day – but that’s the problem. Chris’ secret doesn’t just threaten himself, it threatens the person he’s ashamed to say he’s related to: his mobster father. Great first issue which mixed politics, family drama, and a good ole mobster story.

Darkwing Duck #2 (Dynamite Entertainment) – The first issue was fantastic and a return to the animated series we love. Beyond excited for more Darkwing Duck!

First Time for Everything (First Second) – A First Time for Everything is a feel-good coming-of-age memoir based on New York Times-bestselling author and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat’s awkward middle school years.

Gargoyles #3 (Dynamite Entertainment) – The second issue was a bit of a mess but we’re hoping the third issue is more like the first which was beyond fantastic.

GCPD: The Blue Wall #5 (DC Comics) – The last issue was a shocker and the series has taken a hell of a turn. We want to see where it goes.

Godfell #1 (Vault Comics) – One sunny day in the land of Kerethim, God falls dead from the sky. The impact sends out shockwaves that draw in royal families at war, shadowy creatures of the dark, and armies of the dispossessed, all coming to lay claim to parts of God’s body. That just sounds awesome!

Immoral X-Men #1 (Marvel) – A new “Sins of Sinister” tie-in series.

Irmina (SelfMadeHero) – Based on a true story, in the mid-1930s, Irmina, an ambitious young German, moves to London. At a cocktail party, she meets Howard Green, one of the first black students at Oxford, who, like Irmina, is working towards an independent existence. However, their relationship comes to an abrupt end when Irmina, constrained by the political situation in Hitler’s Germany, is forced to return home.

Lazarus Planet: Omega #1 (DC Comics) – The finale leads into “Dawn of DC” which has already kicked off so we’re more intrigued to see where this goes and how it wraps up mixed in with what we’ve already seen.

Local Man #1 (Image Comics) – Tim Seeley and Tony Fleecs alone has this sold for us. But the concept of a former superhero forced to return home to their parent’s basement sounds original and interesting.

Plush #4 (Image Comics) – Every issue has been jaw dropping funny and so over the top.

Rooster Fighter Vol. 3 (VIZ Media) – The concept of a wandering Rooster fighting kaiju might sound silly but it really works and is a hell of a lot of fun.

Savage Avengers #10 (Marvel) – The series has been a lot of fun as writer David Pepose shows off his talent for delivering a remix of sorts of what’s come before. Fans of Marvel 2099 will won’t want to miss the latest arc.

Superman #1 (DC Comics) – It’s “Dawn of DC” and Joshua Williamson writing and Jamal Campbell’s art has us wanting to check out this new Superman series.

Tower #1 (A Wave Blue World) – Real-life contestants battle it out in a video game-style competition to reach the top of the Tower! It’s a familiar plot but we want to see where this one might differ.

Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 continues the off the rails adventure

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Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1

Barbaric is back and headed straight to hell in an all-new arc so big and bloody, it’s getting an extra issue! Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 kicks off a whole new chapter that has Soren and Steel crossing paths with someone else from the barbarian’s past. Who’s now carrying Axe? The off the rails adventure continues with a new mission.

Written by Michael Moreci, Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 is not a bad place to start for new readers while it also brings together a lot of what has come in the past. Owen is somewhere… and Soren and Steel are attempting to find and rescue him. That has them dealing with rather sketchy characters that eventually leads them right into an old acquaintance of Owen’s.

Moreci keeps the familiar formula of solid action, lots of laughs, and characters you both feel a little bad for and also want to punch. They all have their quirks and none of them art particularly totally good in the hero sense. These are the characters that get out of hand when the dungeon master doesn’t have control over the game. They take things over the top with an attitude that a little violence and fighting goes a long way. Mix in some laughs and the result is a really entertaining fantasy ride that has delivered with every volume and release.

The art continues to be top notch. Nathan Gooden‘s pencils, Addison Duke‘s color, and Jim Campbell‘s lettering all come together for a comic that delivers the action visually and knows how to punch up the laughs with smart imagery. Axe particular works so well due to the exaggeration provided and the situations the axe is put in. Want to shut him up? Smash the axe into a tree. It’s a subtle joke that is pulled off due to how it’s portrayed in the panel.

Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 continues the fantasy series with a whole new adventure and the same old attitude. If you like your fantasy tales juiced up to 11, this is a series that’s consistently for you. In a glut of extreme fantasy stories, this series has continually delivered and stood out with a great mix of action, humor, and attitude.

Story: Michael Moreci Art: Nathan Gooden
Color: Addison Duke Letterer: Jim Campbell
Story: 8.1 Art: 8.1 Overall: 8.1 Recommendation: Buy

Vault Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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GCPD: Blue Wall #4

Wednesdays (and Tuesdays) 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 week.

Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1 (Vault Comics) – More Barbaric? Yes please! The series has been amazing off the rails fantasy.

Bomb (Roaring Brook Press) – The story of the development of the nuclear bomb.

Chicken Devils #2 (AfterShock) – A gang is now pissed about the lies our favorite fast food restaurant has been telling. More bodies will pile up in what’s sure to be insane violence!

GCPD: Blue Wall #4 (DC Comics) – The series has been amazing showing the gray and difficulty of being a part of the GCPD.

I Hate Fairyland #3 (Image Comics) – The series has been the full of the over the top violence we’ve been expecting and loved. Here’s hoping it keeps up its balance of insanity.

Immortal Sergeant #1 (Image Comics) – On the eve of his unwelcome retirement, Jim Sargent (aka “Sarge”) a grizzled, old-school detective, catches a break on a murder case that’s haunted him for decades.

Maniac of New York: Don’t Call It a Comeback #1 (AfterShock) – The previous two volumes have been amazing with their riff on classic slasher horror.

Vanity #3 (Scout Comics/Black Caravan) – The true story about Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. This one’s focused on the legendary witch hunts of 15th century Europe and their impact on Bathory.

White Savior #1 (Dark Horse Comics) – it’s up to Japanese-American teacher Todd Parker to warn the good people of Inoki of Nathan Garin’s true nature before he causes the very death and destruction they are counting on him to avert!

Around the Tubes

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Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1

It’s one of two new comic book days today! What are you all excited for? What do you plan on getting? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web.

Boing Boing – Fox News invents a fake Trans Joker controversy to have a melt down over – Sigh.

CBR – Veteran-Owned Alaskan Comic Shop Asks for Help Amid Extreme Weather Setbacks – A shop needs our help!

Kotaku – Our Favorite Cosplay From Los Angeles Comic Con 2022 – What do you think? Any favorites?

Reviews

CBR – Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1
CBR – Night Club #2
Collected Editions – Robins: Being Robin

Vault announces Five New Titles

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Vault has announced not one, not two, but FIVE series that will be released in Spring 2023. Check out what’s coming to comic shops!

BARBARIC: HELL TO PAY #1

Writer: Michael Moreci
Artist: Nathan Gooden
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Designer: Tim Daniel  
Cover A & B: Nathan Gooden
January 2023

Barbaric is back and headed straight to hell in an all-new arc so big and bloody, it’s getting an extra issue! While Owen tames a dragon with an old friend, Soren and Steel cross paths with someone else from our cursed barbarian’s past…who isn’t looking nearly as friendly. Hell hath no fury like a woman stabbed through the heart by an ugly f***ing orc.

Oh, wait! Who’s carrying Axe?

GODFELL #1

Writer: Christopher Sebela
Artist: Ben Hennessy
Colorist: Triona Farrell & Vittorio Astone
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Cover A: Ben Hennessy
Cover B: Nathan Gooden
February 2023

One sunny day in the land of Kerethim, God falls dead from the sky. The impact sends out shockwaves that draw in royal families at war, shadowy creatures of the dark, and armies of the dispossessed, all coming to lay claim to parts of God’s body. Into this power struggle wanders Zanzi Vuiline, a soldier and berserker trying to get home from a years-long war. Forced to fight her way through the strange landscapes in and on God’s corpse, from the soles of its feet through the top of its head, Zanzi will acquire a mysterious traveling companion on her own pilgrimage.

THE NASTY #1

Writer: John Lees
Artist: George Kambadais
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Designer: Tim Daniel 
Cover A: George Kambadais
Cover B: Sally Cantirino
March 2023

Eighteen-year-old Thumper Connell still has an imaginary friend: the masked killer from his favourite slasher film. Thumper is obsessed with horror and always has been. He fills his time with scary VHS rentals and hanging out with his fellow fans, The Murder Club. But everything changes when his local video shop acquires one of the notorious films known as “video nasties” – films so scary, they’re the target of the British Moral Decency League’s crusade to ban and burn. But it’s only a movie, right? It’s all just imaginary, isn’t it?

A story about the perception of evil, the power of genre, the love of fandom, the need to create art, oh, and crap-your-pants TERROR!”

SONGS FOR THE DEAD: AFTERLIFE

Writer: Andrea Fort & MC Heron 
Artist: MJ Erickson
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Andworld
Cover: MJ Erickson
Designer: Tim Daniel
March 2023

Bethany is a necromancer and a hero. Along with her companions, Elissar and Jonas, she has finally found the rumored covenant. Her Perilous journey has brought her to the last bastion of the necromancers, but resurging prejudices have them in shambles. Can Bethany unite them in the face of escalating tensions? Or will the coming war shatter all of her dreams for a peaceful future? 

SONGS FOR THE DEAD: AFTERLIFE

MONEY SHOT COMES AGAIN

Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Gisele Lagace
Colorist: Carlos Badilla Z
Letterer: Crank!
Designer: Tim Daniel
Cover A: Gisele Lagace
Cover B: Tim Seeley & Tim Daniel
April 2023

The XXXplorers are back and on their hands and knees for the good of humanity! When the giant ass space jellyfish who run the ordered universe arrive on earth, the porn-stars-cum-science explorers must put away grudges, crushes and side hustles to once again take one or two or three for the team. Begins an epic new arc, which takes aim at dumb billionaires and bad optics, and guests stars a LEGENDARY underground comix heroine! NEW ARTIST Gisele Lagace puts her sexy spin on the book!

The Barbaric Universe expands in 2023! The year of Axe!

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In 2023, Vault will launch The Year of Axe, a year long event that will dramatically expand the world of Barbaric  with two full new Barbaric arcs, the first ever Barbaric spin-off series, Queen of Swords, an oversized one-shot written with legendary fantasy author Nicholas Eames, and a new line of trade paperback Barbaric collections. The world of Barbaric will never be the same.

Here is the full Barbaric 2023 Year of Axe publishing plan: 

JANUARY 2023: BARBARIC: HELL TO PAY #1 – Now carrying the curse of Axe–who’s as bloodthirsty as ever–Soren works to find a way to get Owen out of hell, and runs into one of the barbarian’s old friends along the way. Meanwhile, Owen is trapped in the underworld–which may not turn out to be such a terrible place after all!

JANUARY 2023: BARBARIC TRADE PAPERBACK LINE LAUNCHES – The first two trade paperback collections of Barbaric drop on the same day as Barbaric: Hell to Pay #1!

MAY 2023: QUEEN OF SWORDS #1: A BARBARIC STORY – You asked for it, you got it! he BARBARIC universe expands with this explosive new series! Following the events of Hell To Pay, Ka, Deadheart–wielding Ganelon, which is now infused with the wretched spirit of Ga’Bar–and Serra form an uneasy alliance and journey to obtain a magical relic that’ll help kill the evil orc Gladius. But can Serra be trusted? And will Ga’Bar ever stop talking sh*t?

SEPTEMBER 2023: THE WRONG KIND OF RIGHTEOUS – From the mind of fantasy superstar writer Nicholas Eames with Michael Moreci comes a one-shot that dives into Owen’s and Axe’s past, chronicling the time they ran into another sentient weapon, a mace named Flail! But Flail is not at all what you’d expect of a talking weapon, nor is the psychotic paladin who wields him!

WINTER 2023L BARBARIC: BORN IN BLOOD #1 – After the game-changing fallout of Hell To Pay, Owen and Soren go on a quest to find the monster that can supposedly explain Owen’s curse–but he’ll have to travel through barbarian lands to get there!

Barbaric is co-created by writer Michael Moreci and artist Nathan Gooden. Among Vault’s best-selling series, Barbaric has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide and was named one of the best comics of 2021 by Entertainment Weekly, Thrillest, CBR, Comics Beat, & more. The story follows Owen, a bloodthirsty barbarian and his drunk axe as they roam an untamed, mythic realm battling supernatural cultists, hungry giants, creatures of the night, and more in their quest to somehow, amidst all this chaos, do some good.