by: Anton Kromoff
Amazing X-Men #002 - #003
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Published By : Marvel Comics
Okay, it’s an X-men book, by its very nature it irritates me only because as a small child I sat in a hospital bed waiting for a letter from Charles School For Gifted Youth to show up and take me away from all the sadness and pain of being a real life mutant. That being said, Aaron's writing is a bit soap-opera. I know, I know, its X-Men, it's a soap-opera, it's just kind’a what you get when you have a bunch of beautiful super powered mutants running around in skin-tight cloths. I am not picking it up for the story. I am picking it up because Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, and Marte Gracia are KILLING IT on the art side of this book. Everything is bright, thick lines, and organic shapes. The cool visual storytelling abounds. Its looks like how one would want a Saturday Morning cartoon to look. Its fun and filled with crazy ideas and over the top choices. The art end is Amazing, the story is... well.... more X-Men, complete with one liners, the use of "Bub" and "Shnik" and some B story love fest between Nightcrawler and Storm. If you are going to pick up the book, and you are looking for a fluffy read then by all means, this is for you.
B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth #115
Writer’s: Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Artist: James Harren
Published By: Dark Horse Comics
B.P.R.D. #115 hit the shelves today and damn it was a fun read. I have come to expect no less. James Harren's art with colors by Dave Stewart continue to set the moody tone that has been the slow downfall of mankind over the last few years. It never ceases to amaze me that in its now 115 issue run, this book always has a way of stunning me into silence with its captivating story and its immaculately polished illustrations. There is a panel towards the middle of the book, where a character holds a blade across his back in an almost relaxed nonchalant manner, as he stands in knee-deep muck-filled water. A single moment captured on the page, but now branded into my mind. A shining example of comic making at its best. When even a non-action page can just stick with you.
Forever Evil: Arkham War #4
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Artist: Scott Eaton & Jaime Mendoza
Published By: DC Comics
Forever Evil: Arkham War #4 is more of the same from previous issues in the series. By that I mean HOLY GOD THIS IS TRUE BLISS! Okay, so I am not going to tell you anything about the book, because you need to be reading it. I will however tell you this. Bane has forged a Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller Style Batman Suit and is now running around Gotham as Batman, and he has employed William Cobb, Dick Grayson's Grandfather who just so happens to be one of the Talons from The Court of Owls as his side kick. So “Bane Batman” and “Court of Owls Nigthwing” are running around Gotham wrecking house and saving citizens from thugs and killers. This is indeed AMAZING!
FPB#7
Writer: Simon Oliver
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Published By: Vertigo
Finally got around to reading FBP#7. First off let me just say I want to own a Pancake Hole. That being said, this book continues to surprise me. I have already accepted the art of Robbi Rodriguez with the symphony of color by Rico Renzi is going to be a treat for the eyes and imagination fuel for years to come. But Simon Oliver's story telling skills, just when you think you have it figured out, something shifts, and you realize things are bigger, there are many more rabbit holes, the wonder of the whole FBP world grows. Truly a modern classic in the making.
Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #4Writer: Brian BuccellatoArtist: Scott HepburnPublished By: DC ComicsForever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #4 was GREAT! First off, Trickster VS Zsasz was the best two page fight I have seen in comics in a long time and not a single punch was thrown, for those two pages alone it was worth the $2.99 cover price. Past that Rouges Rebellion feels like a call back to the early 2000’s Suicide Squad books. The Rogues are well Flash’s Rogues, but they have their own quirks, they make fun of people who are fighting them even when they are getting beat down. It’s nice to see villains with some depth, characters with character. Definitely check it out.
Justice League 3000 #2
Writer: Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Howard Porter
Published By: DC Comics
Justice League 3000 #2 was weird. Not that I did not enjoy it, I mean for a few pages there it felt really out of sorts, but it seems to be pushing towards some rushed bigger picture that may well set the stage for the series. I like what its setting up, but I am not sure if it is going to pay off soon, or if this is going to be a slow burn. So I will still get issue #3... and hope it keeps me hooked, if not, this may be something I have to drop from my pull box.
The Sixth Gun #37
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Brian Hurtt
Published By: Oni Press
I opened Issue #37 of The Sixth Gun, by the time I finished it, my eyes were wide, the last page was pure magic. Hot Damn! this is one hell of an amazing comic, if you are not reading it, you really are missing out. Cullen Bunn delivers a double barrel blast of storytelling that blends compelling character development moments with high action beats. Brian Hurtt continues to delight with the constant evolution of the characters. His attention to detail from the facial hair growth, to the way there posture and attitude have changed and evolved since issue one constantly surprises me and really makes the story feel as if we are on a journey with these characters, watching them as they grow and survive the thing that have come, all the while prepare for whatever is in store in the coming issues.
Black Science #2
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Matteo Scalera
Published By: Image
Black Science #2 I could rave about Matteo Scalera’s amazing art. I could go on and on about Rick Remender’s writing style. But none of it would make much sense if you did not have the book in your hand. It's so out there, so off the beaten path, so otherworldly and unique that anything short of me telling you to go out and read it would not do it justice. So with that my only review of this book is. “Read It…”
Pretty Deadly#4
Writer: Kelly Sue Deconnick
Artist: Emma Rios
Published By: Image
Pretty Deadly #4 delivers more shreds of the strangely compelling story that started with issue#1. I have in my short life on this spinning rock read quite a great many things. Sandman, The Invisibles, The Complete works of Poe and Lovecraft, real out of this world stuff, and I am still pretty much a ship without a rudder when it comes to Pretty Deadly. Its beautiful, the writing reads more like some epic poem or notes scribed into the margins of a journal and the art is just as wild and alive. This story does not seem to have direction, as much as it seems to have raw movement behind it. Its cryptic, slightly creepy, and every page has me flipping back to the page before to see if I have somehow missed something. Its crazy, but that is where the true beauty of the comic comes from. It’s beautiful in both the word choice and the artistic direction, but past that, I have no idea what is going on. I will indeed be getting the next issue, for no other reason than I want to see where this is going.
Batman #27
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Greg Capullo
Published By: DC Comics
Batman #27 continues the Zero Year story arc started in issue #21. To say the book is brilliant would not do it justice. This issue actually got me choked up at a few points. Alfred Pennyworth delivers some lines of dialog to Batman so powerful that I had to close the book and center myself to avoid shedding a tear. Snyder is indeed retelling a story that someone who has read comics for 25 years has read over and over, but he's doing it in such a way that it feels fresh, relevant, and compelling. A young Bruce Wayne in his infancy as Batman, a worried Alfred Pennyworth overjoyed at the return of his ward and at the same time worried about the man he is becoming, and a driven and honourable Jim Gordon just trying to make the corrupt city a better place. We know these characters, they are the pillars that the mythology that Batman is built off of, and yet in these pages they seem so down to earth, so human, that it feels we are reading a whole new story. Most assuredly a must read.