New Comics Reviews for Wednesdays 8/21 – 8/28
First off, thank you for downloading the show to listen to us discuss (and usually argue about) these comics! But we wanted to give you Listenerds a quick way to keep track of our ratings too. Here are our new comic book reviews, ratings and our choice for the THN Permanent Collection (best of the pile) from Episode 753! You still gotta download the show if you want to hear our full discussion though, so….
CHECK OUT THE FULL EPISODE HERE!
Joe’s Reviews:
8/21
Cover by Jeff Spokes
Jenny Sparks #1
DC Comics/Black Label
Written by Tom King
Art and Colors by Jeff Spokes
Letters by Clayton Cowles
40 pages for $4.99
Solicit: THE WILD STORM BEGINS! What could four strangers have to do with the fate of the world? Find out as Captain Atom goes rogue, threatening to destroy the planet he once swore to protect. Can any hero stop him? Well, it may take the most unconventional of them all…Jenny Sparks, the one woman tasked with keeping ALL the heroes in line, no matter the cost. With a snap of her fingers, she’s entered the fray and won’t quit until the job is done! The Spirit of the 20th Century returns for the 21st in this action-packed new miniseries by Eisner Award-winning writer Tom King (Wonder Woman, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow) and artist Jeff Spokes!
Review: Jenny Sparks #1 is a triumphant return for one the late 90s best new characters. There’s no explanation for why or how she’s back, and we might never get one, but that’s not the point. King’s smart writing and Spokes’s excellent art will definitely appeal to longtime fans and readers unfamiliar with Jenny’s previous adventures. I know I’m on board for sure.
Rating: BUY IT.
Cover by Paul Pope
Huge Detective #1
Titan Comics
Written by Adam Rose
Art by Magenta King
Colors by King and Minimone
Letters by DC Hopkins
Cover by Paul Pope
Solicit: AN ALL-NEW DETECTIVE NOIR OF GIGANTIC PROPORTIONS! CHINATOWN MEETS THE BFG IN AN ORIGINAL SERIES! Something HUGE is coming! WHEN A STRING OF MURDERS AND DISAPPEARANCES SWEEP THE UNITED STATES, A HUMAN AND A GIANT WITH SIZABLE DETECTIVE SKILLS ARE ON THE CASE! After a race of giants emerged from deep sleep beneath the earth, a bloody conflict ensued in what became known as THE OMEGA EVENT. Eventually, a treaty is resolved and state of Brobdingnag is created, allowing humans and giants to co-exist harmoniously. Yet tragedy threatens to shatter the peace, and an unlikely partnership is formed between Detectives Tamaki and GYANT. As the pair attempt to stop the criminal AT LARGE, they find themselves involved in a mystery BIGGER than either could imagine.
Review: There are a lot of moving parts in Huge Detective #1. The human detective has some sort of horrible disease, there are missing Huge(es), something weird’s going on on the moon, and then there’s the actual A-Plot about a murdered girl. But all of these subplots, King’s art, and the premise in general, are compelling enough to keep me invested.
Rating: BUY IT.
8/28
Cover by Danijel Žeželj
Life #1
DSTLRY
Written by Brian Azzarello and Stephanie Phillips
Art by Danijel Zezelj
Colors by Lee Loughridge
Letters and design by Jared K. Fletcher
56 pages for $8.99
Solicit: NEW 56 PAGE SERIES DEBUT. Brian Azzarello (THE BLOOD BROTHERS MOTHER, 100 Bullets) and Stephanie Phillips writing together for the first time (Grim, Harley Quinn) team up with artist Danijel Zezelj (Nostalgia) and colorist Lee Loughridge (Deadly Class) to create a masterfully crafted flip book, housing two enthralling narratives that collide in unexpected ways. In the future, a death penalty will be considered an act of kindness, as covert experiments have forced criminals with multiple life sentences to live all their time to full term. For the “Casanova Killer,” that means living out the nearly 2,400 years of his 32 life sentences mining on a distant prison planet alongside some of humanity’s most heinous offenders. Years pass… Decades turn to centuries, abandoned, the prisoners are shocked to see a ship approaching-filled with thieves hoping that their next big score is on the planet’s long dead mine. They have no idea that the prisoners-are still alive. While the prisoners scheme to find a way off planet, the thieves plan the biggest score of their careers. Each issue of “LIFE” is a flip book, housing one story from two different perspectives. A prison break and a heist both offer interlocking narratives, creating an immersive experience that will challenge your perceptions of justice while begging the immortal question: Who really wants to live forever? For fans of ALIENS, OCEAN’S ELEVEN, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.
Review: DSTLRY hits again with Life #1, a fantastic first issue with familiar themes, but two compelling, interlocking stories deftly told by a great group of creators. Sign me up for more.
Rating: BUY IT.
Cover by Shane Connery Volk
Prairie Gods #1
Mad Cave
Story, art, and colors by Shane Connery Volk
Letters by Becca Carey
28 pages for $4.99
Solicit: Created by the artist of Nottingham, Prairie Gods is The Twilight Zone meets Sin City. Each self-contained issue centers on supernatural events and characters in and around the small prairie town of Broadacres. The series will resonate with fans of Hellboy, while the shifting genres and themes will appeal to fans of Westerns, crime, racecar movies, lost treasure serials, and war stories-with a dose of action throughout. The first exhilarating story features Freddy Davis, a champion race car driver, who has returned home to Broadacres. He buys the abandoned speedway intending to race its only undefeated driver: the Devil himself.
Review: Prairie Gods sounds exactly like the kind of series I love, thematically linked short stories with a horror bent. Issue #1, Race the Devil, features some incredible work by Shane Connery Volk and kicks off the series with a bang.
Rating: BUY IT.
Matt’s Reviews:
8/21
Cover by Greg Capullo
Wolverine: Revenge #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Greg Capullo
Colors by FCO Plascencia
Inks by Tim Townsend
Letters by VC’s Cory Pettit
26 pages for $4.99
Solict: HICKMAN AND CAPULLO JOIN FORCES FOR A WOLVERINE EPIC LIKE NO OTHER! Greg Capullo makes his grand return to Marvel Comics storytelling as he and Jonathan Hickman pit WOLVERINE against a cadre of foes who will turn his world upside down! He’s been beaten! He’s been bloodied! And LOGAN only has one thought on his mind: REVENGE! Don’t miss this prestige miniseries, set to become one of the defining tales in Wolverine’s storied legend!
Review: The first issue of Wolverine Revenge has some trappings of the Krakoan age with the design and some costume/character looks but Hickman didn’t come here to finish Wolive’s previous epic X-story. Instead, he and Capullo seem to be running a very impressive-looking and gory exercise in macho mutant storytelling that doesn’t take place in any continuity I recognize and almost instantly takes all the stakes off the table. I’m not upset this isn’t more of Hickman’s Krakoan age but it’s not even his style. This feels like it could have been written by anyone.
Rating: SKIM IT.
Cover by Scott Kolins
Patra #1
Dark Horse
Written by James Robinson
Art by Scott Kollins
Letters by Jim Campbell
32 pages for $3.99
Solict: From the celebrated creators behind Starman and The Flash comes this new supernatural series about slasher monsters, mad scientists, and cult movie-inspired horror. A young girl named ‘Patra wakes up with no memory of her past. All she knows is that a big knife and a horrific mask appear whenever she’s in danger. Oh, that, and a deranged killer, in the tradition of 1980s slasher films, who is slaughtering families in a small mid-western town, and wants to make Patra his victim too. Join us for a new series as one brave little girl faces both monstrous dangers and mysterious secrets in this homage to the classic horror movies of yore. Celebrated scribe James Robinson and artist Scott Kolins bring a new slasher horror series to Dark Horse!
Review: Robinson and Kollins are both stepping out of their usual work and creating a slasher horror story with a supernatural bent and a creepy hero bound to the killer who murdered her family. Kollins’ art is even more chunky and scribbled than ever giving the book a terrifying and surreal look. This seems like a real departure for them both but the story they’ve set up has me wanting more and I’ve got to see where Patra is going.
Rating: BUY IT.
8/28
Cover by Esad Ribic
*JOE & MATT’S PERMANENT COLLECTION PICK!*
Aliens Vs. Avengers #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Esad Ribic
Colors by Ive Svorcina
Letters by VC’s Cory Pettit
44 pages for $7.99
Solict: ALIENS AND AVENGERS FACE OFF! It’s all led to this: Xenomorphs reach Earth! The perfect organism meets a planet of superhumans. Who will be first to fall? Legendary collaborators Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić cut loose in this four-part epic unmissable for Marvel and Alien fans alike!
Review: Sometimes pairing movie properties up with superheroes doesn’t work at all. See the recent Justice League Godzilla if you need proof but when you have a writer like Hickman who fundamentally understands what makes the Xenomorph so scary paired with an incredible artist like Ribic the results can be better than the last several entries in the film franchise. The creators use a simple trick to give the book the high stakes it needs, the heroes have already lost Earth and like the stars of every Alien film, all they can do now is run. Aliens vs Avengers is bleak, beautiful and terrifying fun that doesn’t need red-banned gore to be scary.
Rating: BUY IT.
Cover by Marcus Williams
Eye Lie Popeye #1
Massive Publishing
Written and drawn by Marcus Williams
Colors by Rodney Velchez
40 pages for $4.99
Solict: Popeye, arguably one of the most iconic characters in comic book history, makes his return to comic shops this May. The century old comic strip and legendary cartoon character is reimagined for the modern age, in this brand new series by Marcus Williams (Marvel’s CAPTAIN AMERICA). Popeye: Eye Lie Popeye reimagines the pop culture staple in a high-energy, manga-inspired monthly comic series that explores Popeye’s past and finally reveals the century-long mystery of how he lost his eye! Was it an epic battle or some nautical accident? The truth finally comes out as an old enemy from the sea returns to face off against the legendary Sailor Man. With the rich history of the character and this action-packed new take lifted from the pages of top-selling manga like One Piece and Dragon Ball, Eye Lie Popeye will appeal to both traditional comic fans and younger manga readers alike.
Review: The return of Popeye with a manga angle turned out to be way more fun than I expected. Marcus Williams is a new creator to me but he’s immensely talented and studied these characters and the storytelling to make sure he was modernizing the monsters and combat a bit but not losing any of the Popeye magic. Eye Lie Popye #1 is an excellent read for all ages and a great way for parents to introduce the superhuman sailor man to a new generation.
Rating: BUY IT.
