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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The Ambassadors #1 (Image) – Frank Quitely does some rare interior art and colors on the latest high-concept Mark Millar comic, The Ambassadors. Basically, the code for superpowers has been cracked by a South Korean scientist, and Willy-Wonka style (Millar mentions this in the dialogue while Quitely does body swapping body horror.), she’s giving them to the six most altruistic people in the world. The Ambassadors #1 strikes a balance between edginess and wholesomeness with new takes on superhero landings and secret bases as well as blood and guts ultraviolence that is even more sickening thanks to Frank Quitely’s detailed art style. All of Quitely’s tricks are here, including freezing the panel in slow motion for a particularly interesting or horrifying moment, like when an ape boy stops a truck in slow motion, and all the doo-dads on the dashboards are suspended in air. The Ambassadors #1 has both a strong story hook, and I’m interested to see all the different star artists’ take on the emerging cast of characters. Overall: 8.7 Verdict: Buy
Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #2 (Marvel) – The second installment of Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain explores both multiverses and magic as Askani and Betsy Braddock fight Morgan LeFay in the Captain Carter universe. Tini Howard‘s script keeps everything clear for Captain Carter fans who might have not been keeping up with the Captain Britain stuff and vice versa, and there’s tons of action courtesy of artist Vasco Georgiev and colorist Erick Arciniega, who has a field day with all the psychic knives, blasts, and of course, sorcery. Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #2 continues to build up Morgan LeFay as a xenophobic baddie who wants a non-mutant baddie, and Howard and Georgiev root in her both Arthurian legends and Celtic (Specifically Welsh) folklore. The whole multiversal aspect keeps BBCB #2 from being a retread of Excalibur, and overall, this issue is a fun beat ’em up with queer romance, magic, psychic powers, and plenty of intrigue to keep the overall story moving. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy
It’s Jeff #1 (Marvel) – This is the cutest, heckin’ comic ever from Kelly Thompson and Gurihuru. It features the silent adventures of Jeff the Landshark from West Coast Avengers and his various shenanigans with different members of the Marvel Universe. This compilation of three page stories ranging from Jeff channeling his inner Jaws at a pool party to continually stealing Captain America’s shield and especially when he uses fake backdrops to get online clout are sure to make even the most cynical comics fan crack a smile. It’s also a showcase for Gurihu’s skill as visual storytellers, and I love their takes on the different Marvel heroes, especially a perpetually exasperated Kate Bishop. Overall: 10 Verdict: 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 (**).
