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Mini Reviews: Die, Namor, Border Town, Shazam! and More!

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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 short reviews from the staff of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full review for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews.

Elana

Die #1 (Image Comics)* – Easily a best new series of 2018. This is a power team of two of my favorite creators: Stephanie Hans and Kieron Gillen. Gillen knows his table-top Role Playing Games, his magical world building, his teen comics, his team comics, his emotionally vulnerable men and women and casts that are diverse racially, sexually and in social class. He’s doing all of that here and it shines. Stephanie Hans creates luminous paintings. Her faces are sensitive and unmistakable. Her character designs are exciting in both the real world and fantasy world the story takes place. These are two of the best talents in comics today doing what they do best. I couldn’t be more excited. Overall 10 Recommendation: Buy! (PS: Our latest episode of Graphic Policy Radio is an interview with Gillen and Hans.)

Jon

Die #1 (Image Comics)* – Kieron Gillen’s latest offering is built on a very simple premise: what might have happened to the kids from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon when they returned from their adventures in a magical land? The result is the most sublime merger of comics and gaming to hit the page and that’s saying quite a bit given all the great books that have built on the tropes of both mediums over the last few years. Gillen never misses a beat, introducing us to a group of characters we want to know more about. Though not for everyone, Stephanie Hans artwork is a great complement to it, equal parts menacing and fantastic. I got to the end and I want another issue now. Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Shean

Namor: The Best Defense #1 (Marvel)* – In what could be worst timing, we get Marvel’s own underwater superhero. As this could have been a great story, but never has the similarities been more apparent than on this one shot, as it comes off as straight up plagiarism.As this version is not formidable in anyway and is a much more neutered iteration of the character. I would say to read it simpl as an origin story, otherwise, nothing new here at all. Story: 4 Art: 6 Overall: 5 Recommendation: Read

Star Wars: Qui-Gon Jinn #1 (Marvel)* – In what definitely feels a companion story , we find Qui Gon Jinn at unease with the force. As him and a much younger Obi-Wan, find themselves rescuing a princess in the middle of a civil war. As Qui-Gon’s instincts leads him to a place where his Visions becomes amplified. By issue’s end, we see Qui-Gon is the first Jedi to foresee the wrath headed their way by way of the Sith. Story: 9 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Killmonger #1 (Marvel)* – In probably the best debut issue of an origin story I have read in a minute, we definitely get a masterclass in character study. As we find Erik as he is about to graduate MIT , his first instinct is to satisfy his blood lust for Klawe. He gets interrupted by Kingpin’s henchmen, King, Rook and Knight. by issue’s end, he begrudgingly joins this motley crew, even if it is just a stepping stone. Story :10 Art:10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Immortal Hulk: Best Defense #1 (Marvel)* – We find Bruce Banner looking for what happened to Doctor Strange. As the book unfolds like a sleepy town mystery, one which Captivates the reader from the onset. He soon finds more quandaries than he initially expected. By issue’s end, Bruce and Hulk must find a way forward and the road into gets more treacherous. Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Ryan C

Martian Manhunter #1 (DC Comics)** – I went in to this one with zero preconceptions and was absolutely blown away. Riley Rossmo’s art is a joy to behold, as usual, all inventive page layouts and ultra-expressive characters and chaotic action scenes, but Steve Orlando, well — he’s pretty up-and-down, isn’t he? Fortunately, he’s “up” here in a big way, re-envisioning J’Onn J’Onzz as a dirty cop from Mars trying to atone for past sins as a clean cop here on Earth. Oh, and there’s a Martian sex scene in here that you’ve gotta see to believe. Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Shazam! #1 (DC Comics)** – I suppose I should have known better, but — anyway, this is unmitigated crap. Geoff Johns’ updating of the Marvel family is obvious and unimaginative, Dale Eaglesham’s art is way too ’90s Image for a project like this — and nothing much really happens in the book, either, it’s pretty much all stage-setting. I enjoyed Mayo “Sen” Naito’s art on the backup strip, but that’s about all I can say for this poorly-considered work. Doc Shaner, Chris Samnee, Steve Rude — I’d love to see a “Shazam!” comic from one of them, but the approach DC is taking here is fundamentally flawed from the outset. Overall: 2 Recommendation: Pass

Batman #60 (DC Comics)** – Probably the best issue in quite some time, as Tom King’s Penguin/Bane storyline finally gels into something teeming with both suspense and menace, and the alternating art of Jorge Fornes and Mikel Janin accentuates the drama inherent in different scenes in fundamentally opposite, but equally appealing, styles. Oh, and that cliffhanger — holy shit! Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Border Town #4 (DC Comics/Vertigo)** – Yeah, okay, this issue is “guilty” of burying its storyline beneath its polemic, especially in the clumsy “info-dump” writer Eric M. Esquivel resorts to in his stage-setting for a Joe Arapaio stand-in character, but it’s still fun and engaging stuff with compelling characters, smart “world-building,” plenty of humor, and superb Ramon Villalobos art. Esquivel is a bit too “tell, don’t show” as a writer too frequently, but it’s not an ever-present feature at this point like it was in issue one. Yeah, this isn’t as good a #3, which remains the best installment to date, but it’s still pretty damn good and well worth four bucks. Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Buy

Mr. H

Shazam! #1 (DC Comics)* – I cannot express how excited I was for this one. Geoff Johns and Gary Franks take on the big red cheese was so refreshing. The way they flipped Billy Batson from aw shucks to street smart wiseass with a heart of gold. That along with Gary Franks gorgeous art made a spectacular combination. Well I’m happy to say this story picks up where that left off. Billy has gone from house outcast to leader of the pack and the whole Marvel Family is just a joy to see in action. Now sure not a lot happens this issue but that is not to say it isn’t a lot of fun. Seeing the group discuss their superhero team name was a gas the art by Dale Eaglesham was a great successor to Gary Frank. The colors were vibrant and just whole lot of fun. The cliffhanger with a return of a long thought dead character sets up some serious intrigue and I am definitely back next month. Fun, laughs, and a sprinkle of action. This was everything monthy comics should be. Overall: great feel and continuity and good to see a monthly from Captain Marvel again. Overall: 8.9 Recommendation: Buy

Well, there you have it, folks. The reviews we didn’t quite get a chance to write. See you next week!

Please note that with some of the above comics, Graphic Policy was provided FREE copies for review. Where we purchased the comics, you’ll see an asterisk (*). If you don’t see that, you can infer the comic was a review copy. In cases where we were provided a review copy and we also purchased the comic you’ll see two asterisks (**).

Die with Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans. Listen on Demand

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Die is a pitch-black fantasy published by Image Comics where a group of forty-something adults have to deal with the returning unearthly horror they barely survived as teenage role-players. If Kieron’s in a rush, he describes it as “Goth Jumanji.” That only captures a sliver of what you’ll find in oversized debut issue—where fantasy gets all too real.

I got to interview two of the biggest talents making comics today: Gillen and Hans.

Kieron Gillen is an award-winning writer based in London, Britain. He is best known as the co-creator of The Wicked + the Divine and Phonogram. His comics work has been published by basically everyone and he’s written all the Marvel superheroes you’ve heard of and a few you’ve haven’t. He has written extensively for Star Wars, and is the co-creator of Doctor Aphra. Die is his latest ongoing comic. He mainly plays fighters with big mouths.

Stephanie Hans is an artist based in Toulouse, France. She is one of the most prolific and in demand cover artists in the anglophone sphere, and has worked for all the major comic publishers. Her sequential work has been seen in the Wicked + the Divine, Spider-Man, Angela, Journey into Mystery and Batwoman. Die is her first ongoing comic. She mainly plays wizards with big swords.

Discussing:

  • Role Playing Games is being in a band, but for story-telling.
  • Wrestling with Tolkien
  • RPG handling of class and Class, race and Race.
  • “If anyone is going to pick up on that it’s Elana”
  • “All the metal album covers are real”
  • Fantasy is a peacock
  • The birth of the 90s
  • Gaming and comics as collective storytelling
  • Sensitive metal-heads
  • And which new RPGs to pick up!

Die Gets a 2E with a New Printing

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Image Comics has announced that Die #1has been greenlit for a second printing to keep up with this week’s overwhelming consumer enthusiasm for the new series by New York Times bestselling creator Kieron Gillen and artist Stephanie Hans. Die is Gillen’s first new ongoing series at Image Comics on the tails of The Wicked + The Divine’s success and marks Hans’ debut as a co-creator and series artist. 

Die is a pitch-black fantasy where a group of forty-something adults have to deal with the returning unearthly horror they barely survived as teenage role-players. If Kieron’s in a rush, he describes it as “Goth Jumanji.” That only captures a sliver of what you’ll find in the oversized debut issue—where fantasy gets all too real.

Die #1, 2nd printing (Diamond Code OCT188783), Die #2 Cover A by Hans (Diamond Code NOV180129), and Die #2 Cover B by Jana Schirmer (Diamond Code NOV180130) will be available on Wednesday, January 9th. The final order cutoff deadline for comics retailers is Monday, December 10th.

Review: Die #1

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Die #1 is a strange beast. It’s part love letter to the fantasy genre, and it’s part puking revulsion and wanting to move on with your life. Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans’ story begins in 1991 when a teenager Sol decides to run a custom fantasy RPG for his and his friend Ash’s 16th birthday and invites Ash’s sister cyberpunk obsessed Angela and their friends Chuck, Isabelle, and Matt to play. Sol makes a big deal of how the RPG isn’t your run of the mill Dungeon and Dragons clone with the interesting gameplay mechanism of having a character roll a certain “die” depending on their personality. However, once the dice are rolled, scary unseen things happen to the party, Sol goes missing and is presumed dead, and the story jumps to the characters in their forties.

Gillen writing middle aged characters is quite a treat, and Hans’ art is both immersive and tragic. She shows some amazing depths as a cartoonist that I noticed most not in the rain swept vistas or introduction to the RPG turned real life fantasy world, but in the not so pretty faces of characters like Chuck. Up to this point in her career, Hans has drawn badass lesbian angel bounty hunters, problematic white girls dressing up like Japanese deities, Norse trickster gods, and the Father of Lies himself in Vertigo’s Lucifer, but Die #1 shows that she gets ordinary people too while still displaying amazing command of light and atmosphere. Every time a die is thrown, the page is vivisected into points of light, and the barrier between our world and the fantasy one is non-existent. People talking in shadow filled rooms is nice, but Die really reaches another gear when Hans gets to draw panel after panel of fantasy environment and put the main characters into their in-game “costumes”.

However, she doesn’t skimp on the kids in a room talking shit about a game part either, and Gillen definitely takes his time in Die #1 establishing the ensemble of characters and the mystery of the Grandmaster and this RPG world before a big time final page cliffhanger. From his work on well-crafted series like WicDiv and Journey into Mystery, he knows that giving away too much about the world and the underpinnings could lead to disinterest so Gillen leaves out much of the world-building minutia and spends time on the interactions between the main cast of characters and using the game to fill it out like Sol’s pretentious girlfriend Isabelle, who creates a way too cool for school character and chides him for not reading the Mervyn Peake novel she lent him.

Thankfully, knowledge of table top RPG and high or portal fantasy (Think Chronicles of Narnia) ephemera aren’t required for Die #1, which has a simple and accessible core centered around childhood friends who have grown apart and are trying to reconnect after experiencing a tragedy at a young age. It’s like Stand By Me 20 Years Later, but more DnD, or Stranger Things if the main young male cast plus Eleven experienced the events of the show, but no one else did. But, unlike this slowly improving TV show, Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans aren’t really beholden to any kind of nostalgia except for the long lasting kind of the first time you dip into an epic fantasy series, roll a D20 during your first DnD campaign, or wander around an open world fantasy RPG.

Die #1 is a book where you kind of geek out about the formerly drably dressed kids/40-somethings in full epic mode with swords, cool hair, and jewelry and then realize that they’re only in this world because they were transported by an object with the blood of their long lost friend. Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Han don’t treat the fantasy elements of Die like an adventure, but more like a mystery or something freakier. What happened to them at Ash and Sol’s 16th birthday is something so traumatic that they haven’t spoken about it in decades, and it shows even though we only get the slightest of details about what went on towards the end of the comic.

Stephanie Hans shows these unspoken moments through silent panels of people walking, rain falling, and keeps her color palette low before going a little dream world for the die throwing sequences and bright for the scenes in the fantasy world. The group of friends might exchange friendly small talk when they meet up to discuss Sol and the bloody D20, but there is a strain to their relationship that is revealed through Kieron Gillen’s caption boxes and the shadows in Hans’ art. It’s the awkwardness of meeting with people who once meant a great deal to you, but not for some time combined with the dredging of old trauma.

I’m here for Stephanie Hans’ fantasy world construction in Die and Kieron Gillen’s tempering of the joy of fantasy with the horror of loss. Die #1 makes a smart choice by presenting character dynamics in the foreground and cool, scary fantasy world-building in the background. But Hans’ memorable visuals is what will stick with me the most. Never has the casual roll of dice had so much power.

Story: Kieron Gillen Art: Stephanie Hans Letters: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Around the Tubes

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It was new comic book day yesterday! What’d folks get? What’d you like? What’d you dislike? Sound off in the comments below! While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

Central Jersey – Local Business Sends 400 comic books to troops and families – Fantastic to see things like this.

The Beat – Image’s Infidel Film Adaptation Secures its Director – Can’t wait for this!

 

Reviews

ICv2 – The Book of Ballads and Sagas

Mandatory – The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling

The Beat – Die #1

Comics Bulletin – Doomsday Clock #8

Talking Comics – Ironheart #1

The Outhousers – Nightwing Vol. 6

The Beat – Paradiso Vol. 2

The Beat – Punks Not Dead

The Outhousers – Transformers: Unicron #5

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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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.

Border Town #4 (DC Comics/Vertigo) – Each issue has been fantastic giving us a monster story with a look and monsters we rarely see in entertainment and comics. This is a solid update to the Scooby-Doo concept and it works so well.

Dark Ark #12 (AfterShock Comics) – The new spin on classic Bible stories is fantastic bringing a sense of horror that’s beyond entertaining.

Die #1 (Image Comics) – Adults have to deal with the returning horror they barely survived as teenage role-players. Yeah, we’re in.

Doomsday Clock #8 (DC Comics) – We’re this far into this series, we really want to see what’s next and what the hell is going on.

Freeze #1 (Image Comics/Top Cow Productions) – People around the world are frozen and one person can fix that but should he? We’ve seen the concept in manga but we want to see this Western take on the concept.

Killmonger #1 (Marvel) – The breakout character from the Black Panther film gets his own miniseries that adds more to his history.

Laguardia #1 (Dark Horse/Berger Books) – A new series that looks at immigration and discrimination in America.

Martian Manhunter #1 (DC Comics) – The character has been put center of the DC Universe playing a big role with the Justice League and we want to see what this series brings and adds to the character.

Prodigy #1 (Image Comics/Millarworld/Netflix) – A new Mark Millar property and we want to see what this whole deal with Netflix is bringing to the comic market.

Self Made #1 (Image Comics) – A new series that sounds like a fantasy world that’s a bit focused on castes which is interesting enough. An Image #1 issue is something we want to check out.

Shazam #1 (DC Comics) – With a film out soon, it’s not surprising that we’re getting a new series and we want to see where this characters fits in the Rebirth DC Universe.

Snap Flash Hustle #1 (Black Mask Studio) – If it’s Black Mask, we check out the first issue. They tend to be a lot of future stars and interesting concepts.

Winter Soldier #1 (Marvel) – This new spin on the character sounds different enough from what we’ve seen before, a character who’s attempting to find redemption by helping others.

Wizard Beach #1 (BOOM! Studios) – This story about slackers wizards sounds fun and entertaining so we want to check out this debut issue.

The Wrong Earth #4 (AHOY Comics) – One of the best comics on the shelves right now.

X-Men: Exterminated #1 (Marvel) – The event still has one issue to go but this is the aftermath, yay delays! Still, we want to see this sendoff for the classic Cable before kid Cable takes over. Plus, we’re sure there’ll be spoilers for how it all ends.

Gamemasters Kieron Gillen & Stephanie Hans roll out all new series in DIE

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Writer and co-creator of bestselling and Eisner Award-nominated The Wicked + The Divine, Kieron Gillen teams up with highly sought-after artist Stephanie Hans in an all-new, ongoing series titled DIE. The series will launch with an oversized debut issue from Image Comics this December.

DIE is a pitch-black fantasy where a group of adults have to deal with the returning unearthly horror they barely survived as teenage role-players.

Perfect for fans of The Wicked + The Divine’s urban fantasy, DIE can best be described as Jumanji with goth sensibilities.

DIE #1 Cover A by Hans (Diamond Code OCT180012) and DIE #1 Cover B by Jamie McKelvie (Diamond Code OCT180013) will be available on Wednesday, December 5th.

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