Comics! Comeback #1

Comeback #1 

Written and lettered by Ed Brisson
Illustrated by Michael Walsh

The Solicitation
Reconnect is more than a company - it's an opportunity for good. Reconnect can reverse tragedy by sending agents into the past to rescue your mother, your wife, your brother or father or child moments before their untimely death. Mark is one of these agents. He brings the rescued from the past to the present, to a blessed reunion with their loved ones. He saves lives...or does he?

Preview

Why I Bought It
It was a slow week for the number of books I pick up, and the cover really popped off the shelf to me. Worth a try I guess.

What I Liked
Well, I'm glad I tried that!

Seriously, this was a rather entertaining read. I didn't read the solicitation or understood the concept until after I read it. I was actually a little sad to reach the end of the book to find out that this will only be five issues long, but if the next issue can continue with the greatness that this one was, I will be in it until the end.

This book hit all the points that it needed to in the first issue. You got the concept, got the characters, and were intrigued enough to want more at the end of the issue.

It doesn't seem like this is just a light show to put on for people to scam them of their money, as I am intrigued with what makes time travel at all possible in this book.

The art also is well done. Characters have facial expressions, little character ticks, and nothing too fancy is going on with the panel structure to throw the reader off. Even the cover is well done and is intriguing enough to pop from the comic book shelf, which was part of the reason I picked it up to begin with.

What I Didn't Like
There really wasn't much to complain about, outside of this only being a five issue series. This book was a huge surprise to me and I am going to be recommending it to everyone to pick up.

Panel to Remember
I gotta go with the guy exploding after the time travel. It just really sold it for me at that point that I was going to be in it to find out more about what happened.

Quotable
"We just traveled 62 days into the future. Your future." - Yea, that was the line when I realized that this wasn't just a crime type of book but an awesome sci-fi type of adventure. Hooked.

Grades
Words: 9/10
Pictures: 9/10
Buy Next Issue: Hell yea, sign me up!

Comics! Punk Rock Jesus #5

Punk Rock Jesus #5 

Story and Art by Sean Murphy

The Solicitation
Chris and his band The Flak Jackets go on tour to spread his secular message across America. But his band wants to pull out when the conflict between the New American Christians and the punk army gets brutal. Will Chris be able to put a stop to the anarchy before everything ends in a violently horrible Second Coming?

No Preview

Why I Bought It
I'm into this comic until the end.

What I Liked
In this penultimate chapter of the series, I'm expecting some things to be set up for the conclusion next issue. And the book most certainly does that.

The art and story have remained consistent throughout this series, and that says a lot for Sean Murphy. PRJ begins to build himself as a strong character and shows that he wants to really dive into his new found beliefs head first.

While we almost get a throw away situation for the NAC, I do believe that they will rear their ugly heads again next issue. I'm also liking how this is set up for a couple of endings that seem predictable, but I think may just take a turn at the last minute. For one thing, Slate is seen in this issue, and if there is one thing we can expect from him it is that he will be ready with one last mind trip on all the characters involved.

What I Didn't Like
The end of the comic signals a couple of possible outcomes for the story, and it does make me wonder how it can surprise me. I imagine that there are a couple of outcomes for a conclusion. I imagine we would find out who Chris' father is. There will be a death with either Chris or Thomas biting it. I wonder if we will get the reveal that the good Doctor's daughter is actually Chris' sister. I'm going to be sad that this world is concluding.

Panel to Remember
I'm going with the two page spread where Thomas gets in the car accident. The one page that is mostly in black does a nice job of capturing that moment like a memory. It is dark, the details aren't all there, but it is something that you will remember. the accompanying page on the right shows how to nicely use staggered panels to lead a reader's eye through the chaos that Thomas felt in that moment. I want to say that this has been done before in this series, but if it hasn't then these two pages definitely show how you would have someone's world rocked.

Quotable
"Do you believe in god?"

"Don't be ridiculous." - Slate and the doctor, showing that Slate has been manipulating everyone all along. Like we didn't know that. But it does lend some weight to the idea that Slate is Chris' father.

Grades
Words: 9/10
Pictures: 10/10
Buy Next Issue: It will be the last one. That makes me sad, but I'm still looking forward to it!

Comics! Happy! #2

Happy! #2 

Grant Morrison: writer
Darick Robertson: artist

The Solicitation
Trapped in a mob hospital at the mercy of the cold-eyed torture expert Smoothie and his team of dedicated sadists, the only hope for Nick Sax is Happy the Horse! With three days to Black Christmas, can our unlikely duo stay together long enough to stop Pedo-Santa's rampage?

Preview

Why I Bought It
The first issue was pretty good, and I do like both of the creators. With this series being only 4 issues, I guess you would say I am here until it is over.

What I Liked
Essentially we get more of the same from the first issue into this one. That's not a bad thing by any means, it just means more cursing, more blue horse, and more wonderful Robertson art. So if you take out the typical Morrison weirdness factor and instead substitute in the cursing, then it isn't too bad of a read.

The story does move forward and tell us that Hailey, the girl that Happy has been asking the main character Nick to save, is actually real. And there appears to be a weakness with Happy. Seems like Nick has to actually believe in him to some degree in order for him to be there, but somehow others  have the ability to make him disappear. Maybe Happy is just a symbol for Nick's confidence in himself, or at least confidence in his older self.

Thankfully, the book is entertaining, and is worth the price of admission.

What I Didn't Like
The main story just has a feeling to me of a by the numbers type of story. What I mean is that everything here is pretty expected. There aren't any points of the story that jump out to me as weirdly placed or feel like there is some sort of meta message going on. For a Morrison book, it reads as kinda dull and predictable with his standards. Some good character work is still being done, but it seems like a pretty typical story.

Panel to Remember
I loved the moment when LeDic looks up at his hat to try and see if a blue horse with wings and a horn is actually sitting on the edge of his cowboy hat.

Quotable
"Yerks!" - If this is the new way to have a blue horse show it's surprise, I'm all for it.

Grades
Words: 7/10
Pictures: 9/10
Buy Next Issue: I'm in it to the end.

Comics! Saga #7

Saga #7 

Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Art by Fiona Staples

The Solicitation
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' smash-hit ongoing series returns! An all-new adventure begins, as new parents Marko and Alana make an unexpected discovery in the vast emptiness of outer space.

Preview

Why I Bought It
Oh, Saga. how I missed thee.

What I Liked
I've missed Saga. It was always a great read and a great comic overall. Which makes it a little difficult to review  mostly because there isn't much not to like about it.

Let me put it another way: this is an adult comic for an adult audience who really wants to have a great story told to them. I would say that there really aren't any kid-friendly material around here, and that is what makes it great. The book has a way of knowing the audience and speak directly to that audience.

This was the first issue back after the first trade, and I am getting the feeling that I got when I started to collect the trades for Y: The Last Man. You just can't wait for the book to come out. I resisted getting the individual issues, and I wish I had the will power for this comic as well. Unfortunately, the monthly bug got me so here I am reading away.

What I Didn't Like
I'm fairly certain that this issue was meant to be new reader friendly, but some parts don't come across like that. It does get acknowledged in the letter column in the back of the book that most people picking this issue up are probably familiar with or have picked up the first trade.  I'm pretty sure that anyone picking up this issue for the first time is probably going to go back and pick up the trade or single issues.

Panel to Remember
I kinda like the one page of the big fat naked guy. If anything, it tells me that both the good and the bad of all things nude will be rocking these pages. And I'm interested in seeing how the book picks up this story in the next issue. Should make for an interesting read.

Quotable
"Sankta fek." - I'm pretty sure this was Marko's mom saying something to the equivalent of "holy shit" or "fuck this." Nicely put, and I wonder if we will ever get a way to translate what they are saying.

Grades
Words: 9/10
Pictures: 9/10
Buy Next Issue: No questions asked, I'm down with this book until the end.

Comics! Batman & Robin #14

Batman and Robin #14

Peter J. Tomasi: writer
Patrick Gleason and Tomas Giorello: pencillers
Mick Gray: inker

The Solicitation

• Damian sets out to take down the Z Club!

• Batfans won’t want to miss this lead-in to the “DEATH OF THE FAMILY” event!

Preview

Why I Bought It
Batman and Robin, aka the Damian Show, has had a pretty decent run the past couple of issues. It can't get any worse, right?

What I Liked
I realized this issue that you can only have Gleason draw this comic, and all of the comic, or else anyone subbing in for a couple of pages just looks bad. Gleason started the art with the first few pages, then didn't come back until the end. It would have been better just for him to stay away for the whole issue. Hell, it could have been the past couple of issues if he was falling that far behind.

The only part of the story that I liked was the end when Damian showed the one pearl he found for Bruce that came from his mother's necklace. But it wasn't set up right. It just lacked that emotional payoff that the scene tried to pull off.

What I Didn't Like
This was a mess of a book. Seriously, from the art to the writing. It lacked a lot of emotional punch and consistency. It was a back handed way to tie in the Death of the Family story to the book with Joker being the one in charge of the zombies. How was that? By his use of chemicals in some manner. How did it make everyone want to be like zombies? Who knows.

Panel to Remember
Back in the cave they had a display for Jason Todd's Robin costume. Interesting. I don't remember off hand if this is the first time it is shown in the cave, but man, that is pretty weird.

Quotable
"Eat to live." - if only so I never have to hear that ridiculous phrase ever again.

Grades
Words: 5/10
Pictures: 4/10
Buy Next Issue: It is a Death in the Family official tie-in. I'll give it a go.

The Quick and the Read: 3 New Image Comics

The Quick and The Read: A Trio of First Issues From Image

Taking a look at three recent first issues from Image Comics. Let's get to the quick reviewing!

Point of Impact #1

Story by Jay Faerber
Art & Cover by Koray Kuranel

Preview


What I Liked
The art. I liked the black and white throughout the whole comic and thought it was done very nicely. Apparently this is the debut issue for this artist, and I must say that I am a fan. The fight scene felt very fluid and the use of space was nicely done.

What I Didn't Like
The story just felt very generic. Where as Happy! had the moment of revealing the blue imaginary horse, this story felt like it was missing that twist that would make this story seem to stand out from others like it. This very much felt like a television show or a tryout for a new procedural show.


Grades
Words: 6/10
Pictures: 7/10
Buy Next Issue: It is a four issue series, but I'm just not down with it after the first issue. I'll pass.

Great Pacific #1

Written by Joe Jarris
Art and colors by Matin Morazzo

Preview


What I Liked
I think I liked the idea of this comic more so than the actual execution. The art was OK. It reminded me a bit of a Quietly kind of look mixed with the Luna brothers. The writing itself seemed to be a little all over. It surprised me that this issue was more of a focus of the main character through the set up of him going to the island and what his life was like before jumping on the pile of junk. I think I may have liked the execution better if it had followed something similar to just putting the character in the middle of island and letting the character develop there. Seeing how he was beforehand gives me the same kind of feeling as if we learned about any characters from The Walking Dead before the apocalypse - the characters are such a vast difference from what they were before the event that they don't even seem like those characters any more.

So thus far, we've been introduced to a main character who won't resemble himself in an issue or two, probably.

What I Didn't Like
While the groundwork for the first issue and concept was laid out in the first issue, this felt like a very skippable first issue. The concept and premise sounds good to me, and I think I may pick up the second issue. But unless some stronger legs help stand this story up next issue, I think I may just check out.

Grades
Words: 6/10
Pictures: 7/10
Buy Next Issue: I think I may have to check out some preview pages before making a commitment one way or another.

Storm Dogs #1

Script: David Hine
Art: Doug Braithwaite


Preview

What I Liked
This is a story that definitely needed more pages for the first issue. I like the concept and the story approach, but it just felt very cramped and not developed considering the amount of pages that were involved.

The art work was beautiful.

What I Didn't Like
The story and art both needed to pan back. Together, they both focused on close up shots of the characters and character moments that, while good for individual development, didn't allow for the bigger picture to show. You can tell this when, at the end of the story, new characters appear out of nowhere and you are not quite sure what is going on with them. Should we be scared of them? Will they be there for hope? Who knows.

One sign of a great first issue is being able to lay down what the book will be about and to provide enough to make you care about the characters. While we do get some good info about the characters, there is a lot of the overall story that seems to be missing that was either left on the cutting room floor or will be told in the next issue. Which, again, only makes me think that we need to have some extra pages for this book that could travel into that territory a little more.

Grades
Words: 6/10
Pictures: 7/10
Buy Next Issue: Ultimately, no. There really isn't anything here that has my interest beyond this issue. Looks nice, but not for me.

Comics! Batman #14

Batman #14 

Scott Snyder: writer
Greg Capullo: penciller
Jonathan Glapion: inker
James Tynion IV: writer (backup)
Jock: artwork (backup)

The Solicitation

• "DEATH OF THE FAMILY" continues!

• The Joker is back and somehow more sinister than ever! What caused this change? And can even Batman stop a Joker so driven and dangerous?

• And where is Alfred?

• Plus: In the backup feature, The Penguin is running out of options as he's confronted by The Joker!

This issue is also offered as a combo pack edition with a redemption code for a digital download of this issue.


Preview

Why I Bought It
Let's see where this Joker and Snyder thing goes, shall we?

What I Liked
The art is just amazing. I seriously enjoy the little ticks here and there and little shout outs that really stand out on a second reading with the art. Did anyone notice the Joker colors used for a face like look to Batman's tape player? Or how there are 27 bodies in the river, a certain reference to Batman's first appearance?

There was a lot to like with the art. Joker's face alone is enough to creep things out a bit. But for as much as Capullo carries is off well in the main book, the back up with Jock delivers the goods just as much and just as creepy. Compare both of these works with what is done in Batgirl #14 and you can see where the art is needed to really sell the idea of what Joker has done with his face.

The big twist of the series takes place here, or at least what people perceive to be the big twist. Joker declares that he knows the identity for all the Bat-characters and the he will go after them in order to make Batman better. The other thing, that is a little overlooked, is that Joker blinds Alfred with ammonia to the eyes. I think that both of these scenarios are fake-outs on the hand of Snyder until I see them on panel. First of all, we will have to see Alfred with no eyes on panel and not through speech bubbles in order for me to believe that he is alive. The idea that Joker knows some secret identities will also have to be proven in order for me to believe it.

I do think that Joker knows who Jason Todd is, or at least we get that impression from Red Hood #0. But the idea that Bruce = Batman? I'm going to have to see some more proof on that. Bruce has publicly supported Batman, and I think that Joker is only going after Bruce and Alfred because that will bring out Batman, not the idea that Joker knows the secret ID. I think Joker is saying that he knows who everyone is in order to make them unstable and not think clearly so he can do whatever it is he wants to do here. Is it to make Batman better? Who knows. But we will know hopefully by story's end.

The idea that Batman will be the one to cause everyone's death? Notice that Gordon didn't do too bad until Batman showed up in his home. I think Batman was doused with something while in that tank at the beginning of the issue and as soon as he comes into contact with other characters then something will happen to make them react in a way that Gordon did. So why didn't Nightwing react when he was near Batman? They were in a more open air. Notice that Bruce had to be in the same room with Gordon for awhile before things started to react. Just a theory, but one that will be debunked or made true in the next issue.

What I Didn't Like
As I've mentioned before, the idea of the villain trying to make the hero better at his job was one that Johns did for Wally West Flash with Zoom. I'm OK with the logic behind how Joker will do it to Batman, but things do go a little over the top at times with the writing and Joker's exposition that just doesn't come across as references the Joker would make. Then again, we are dealing with a new Joker in the new 52, so maybe this Joker is a little more intelligent and loves to make literary references nonstop.

I haven't felt yet that this is Snyder's Joker. Outside of thinking that he will make Batman a better Batman, he hasn't done anything in this book that surprises me or makes me think that this version of Joker is owned by Snyder. Capullo has given him a good look, but there isn't anything in the writing yet that really makes me know ho Snyder's Joker ticks. Unless the goal is to make him look crazy as can be at all times, which in that case the art is definitely selling that.

Panel to Remember
I really liked the panel where Joker is leaning over the railing on the last page of the main story. Just to see the close-up look of the new face for Joker was pretty nice.

Quotable
"I burned your eyes with with ammonia." - Joker. That's not a mistake on my part, the word "with" was used twice. Is there a reason for this, or was this a mistake?

Grades
Words: 7/10
Pictures: 9/10
Buy Next Issue: I'm down. Although it is weird to think that I may be buying more to see the art from Capullo than the writing from Snyder.