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.

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Alex

Batman #47* I could do with less Jim Gordon and more Bruce Wayne, if I’m being honest, but this was a solid comic. There’s certainly a crescendo we’re building toward here, and it’s gong to be glorious when it breaks. Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

The Shadow #5 was a fairly decent ending to a story that, for the most part was pretty good. And I think that’s the problem here; the story arc was good, but it could have been better.Overall: 8 Recommendation: Read

The Precinct #1. Steam punk, cops and magic. It’s a great combination. Overall 8.75 Recommendation Buy

Heroes Vengeance #3 Yeah, it’s okay. I’m losing more interest issue by issue, which is a shame because this started off very strongly. Still, it’s worth a read – for now. Overall: 6.75 Recommendation: Read

The Troop #1 was an entertaining read. Starting a new superhero universe largely from scratch is never easy, but this one shows promise. It’s got the feel of early X-Men comics, but much less innocent, and in a much darker setting. Well worth checking out. Overall: 8 Recommendation: Read

 

Brett

Street Fighter Unlimited #1 (Udon Entertainment) – I haven’t read a Street Fighter comic in a long time, and appreciate the video game series (though wasn’t very good at it). This comic series feels like an extension of the video games series in a good way, a great adaptation, which is something that completely caught me off guard. You usually don’t see this quality in a video game comic adaptation. The story is solid, focusing on Ryo and the dark energy within him. You don’t need to know the greater Street Fighter world, again a good thing, to enjoy this first comic, everything is laid out perfectly for new and old fans alike. An absolute must get, can’t wait to see what comes down the road. Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

 

Elana

Gotham Academy #13*: I miss Karl Kerschl’s art a lot. Adam Archer’s art style is cartoony but I find it unattractive but I will give him this: the characters of color are clearly drawn with distinctive features. Colorist Serge LaPointe does a great job with skin tones in particular. In a medium where everyone ends up looking white, even when they aren’t, touches like this are really important. Interesting character development here too. Overall 8 Recommendation: Buy

Angela Queen of Hel #2*: It just keeps getting better. I love how the comic is handling the romantic relationship between our two female leads. The jokes are killer. Sera (who is the best) insults Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic”, quotes Pat Benatar and air guitars to Norse Metal. Her answer to “why do you know so much about everything” is essentially “because Bardic Knowledge +20”. Like I said, she’s the best. While the colorist is still making Sera too pale and Kim Jacinto draws her too thin Stephanie Hans nails it every time and her art is always stunning across the board. I’ve also heard that in the future, Sera’s skin-tone will be recolored to be brown as it’s supposed to be. Overall 9 Recommendation: Buy

Monstress #2: The best high fantasy series in ages. Beautiful and disturbing. A fantasy series for grown-ups. Issue 2 fleshes out the world and characters just the right amount and is full of unsettling revelations that feel “earned”. The 25 pages are absolutely packed with story and images you won’t find anywhere else. The costumes in this issue are outstanding. Overall 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

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

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 (**).