Tag Archives: johanna nattalie

FCBD 2023: Star Trek kicks off and teases “Day of Blood” with a prelude

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IDW Publishing used their Free Comic Book Day to focus on the upcoming “Day of Blood” Star Trek event with a prelude comic that delivers some shockers. It also features an excerpt from Lower Decks #1.

Story: Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Christopher Cantwell, Ryan North
Art: Mike Feehan, Chris Fenoglio
Color: Lee Loughridge, Chris Fenoglio
Letterer: Clayton Cowles, Johanna Nattalie

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Review: Star Trek: Lower Decks #1

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Star Trek: Lower Decks #1

Sometimes in life, whenever our intuition gives us clues, we definitely should listen to it.  As whenever we have that feeling,  it becomes nagging. Then whenever we were feeling turns out to b true, we feel vindicated if we trusted it. When we don’t listen to it, we feel cheated.

As you go through life, and have more experiences, you become smarter about knowing when to take heed. As sometimes, they can save your life. That is what those moments your realize them so monumental. In Star Trek: Lower Decks #1, we find the crew of the Cerritos traveling to an unknown planet where there is more than meets the eye.

We open on  the Cerritos in an unknown quadrant, where they are conducting patrol, as they break up a firefight between two alien races. Meanwhile, Captain Freeman, gets an incoming transmission form Starfleet,  that they are being sent to make second with the Qvanti people on a peacekeeping mission. We also find the crew of the Lower Decks getting some well deserved R&R in the Holo Deck, where they go form playing detectives, to being part of the different crews of the Enterprise to the world of Sherlock Holmes with Dracula.  As they approach the planet, an unusual energy pulsates nearby , causing the holodeck to malfunction. By issue’s end, somehow that same energy merges the Holodeck simulation and what the away team sees on the planet, causing something more than trouble.

Overall, Star Trek: Lower Decks #1 is a fun debut issue that reminds fans what makes this series such a joy. The story by North is amazing. The art by the creative team is gorgeous. Altogether, a story that seamlessly brings the spirit of the TV show to comics.

Story: Ryan North Art: Chris Fenoglio Letterer: Johanna Nattalie
Story: 10 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.6 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

Review: Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1

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Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1

As a child of the 1980s, I loved watching Transformers. There was nothing like it, as the cartoon got me into mecha anime altogether. It showed a world where robots coexisted with humans. It also gave me one of my first examples of good and evil.  We saw the Autobots and Decepticions as refugees from planet light-years away from Earth who brought their conflict to our world.

The cartoon was pure fun growing up and was able to surprise fans with major moments like the death in Transformers: The Movie. It rocked most of us to the core, killing off a major character. I still think of how I felt when I saw it and how deaths in most cartoons now are no longer shocking. In the debut issue of Transformers: The Last Bot Standing, we catch up with Rodimus Prime

We’re taken to the planet, Donnokt where a spaceship has just crash landed on this desert planet. We also meet one of the locals, Shib, who runs a small mining business with her brothers. Everything gets tuned on it s head when long slumbering secrets wake up bringing a conflict to Donnokt. By the issue’s end we’re left with many questions as we ponder what the conflict is and how certain bots arrived in the situation they’re in.

Overall, Transformers: The Last Bot Standing #1 is a great beginning to this space western. The story by Nick Roche is exciting. The art by the creative team is gorgeous. Altogether, it’s a story that’s a fine addition to the Space Western canon.

Story: Nick Roche Art: E.J. Su and Nick Roche
Color: Rebecca Nalty Letterer: Johanna Nattalie
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Review: Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1

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Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1

When the last stars flicker and fade, who will be the only Cybertronian left? Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1 is an intriguing concept of a comic. After billions of years of battle, what happens to the last Cybertronian and who will it be? There’s a lot of directions this series can go and after the first issue, I’m not sure which it’ll be in what is a rather frustrating debut.

Written by Nick Roche, Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1 takes us to Donnokt, a planet that’s somewhat like the Wild West but a bit more technology. After a tease of a crash landing of an object, we’re introduced to the locals of a town and particularly one, who is their local delivery person. She’s challenged by a new team offering similar services who use a bit more technology to get it done. The comic, for what feels like about 3/4 of it, is a story of a struggling business who is facing the challenges of new technology. It’s a rather slow, plodding opening where you feel like you want it all to speed up and get to the point. Sure, it throws out some potential themes for the series, but we’re here for the Cybertronians!

Eventually, that happens with a big reveal which doesn’t go as expected. In fact it’s far from that which instantly got me to take notice. Unfortunately, it takes too long to get there. That last 1/4 of the comic is great for its feints and what it sets up. As I said, there’s a lot of potential and a lot of questions to ask and be answered.

Art is provided by E.J. Su and Roche with color by Rebecca Nalty and lettering by Johanna Nattalie. The art is pretty good but feels like it fits more in a Back to the Future story than Transformers. The setting and art style felt more Back to the Future III than the world it’s set in. The art isn’t bad but it doesn’t excite and doesn’t deliver quite enough detail to really give us more of an idea about this world. There’s enough to get the story going but it doesn’t have that little bit extra of small details to really give it a boost. Like the story itself, the art in the last quarter of the comic is what stands out with a brutal battle and some emotional kick.

Transformers: Last Bot Standing #1 isn’t a bad start, it’s just not exciting. It has all the chance of people something great going forward but it takes too long to get to the point and what we’ve come for. It almost feels like two comics and those two don’t quite line up. Still, there’s just enough I want to read more and see if the series goes where it could and really deliver something special.

Story: Nick Roche Art: E.J. Su and Nick Roche
Color: Rebecca Nalty Letterer: Johanna Nattalie
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.25 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Review: Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1

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Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1

It really was only a matter of time before these two properties came together for a story. Godzilla and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, they might not seem like they would go together but it kind of works. The Power Rangers regularly fight giant monsters in their Zords and Godzilla is a giant monster. It might all sound rather silly but Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 generally works though is a bit predictable in the setup.

Let’s face it, the debut issue needs to set everything up and leave us with these two forces meeting somehow. And, it does that and then some. Written by Cullen Bunn, we’re taken through the macguffin that transports the Rangers to Godzilla’s world and gives us just enough of a plot to appreciate the titanic battle that’s to come.

The Rangers are transported to a different world where Godzilla is doing its thing and Rita Repulsa wants to take over. That’s pretty much the plot. It has the expected heroes battling it out as a misunderstanding and sure to team up later. But, Bunn is a solid writer so maybe we get something a bit more than that in the future issues. But, that misunderstanding is entertaining.

It’s the Green Ranger and his Dragonzord taking on Godzilla in a battle that really could have been an entire comic. And, it’d have been pretty entertaining. The expected battle works and works pretty well though overall feels a little short. It does have the moments you’d hope for where it feels like a brutal battle but also has that slightly sanitized feel of the Power Rangers television show.

Freddie Williams II‘s art helps with that with a style that delivers pop sensation through it all. With Andrew Dalhouse on color and Johanna Nattalie on lettering the comic features Williams’ distinct style. I myself both like and dislike it honestly. There’s moments where a panel or page look really great and then others the overall look and coloring isn’t my thing. It’s not this comic where this has happened, it’s Williams’ overall style that I’m a bit mixed on. Still, he captures everything really well with a lot of tropes as far as stances of our heroes and the blending of the Power Rangers cleaner style with the destroyed world of Godzilla is smooth.

Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 is an entertaining debut. It has the moments you want and will get fans of the properties excited for what comes next. It’s also rather predictable in the beats it hits. Hopefully, what’s to come is a bit less so.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Freddie Williams II
Color: Andrew Dalhouse Letterer: Johanna Nattalie
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW