Reviews of Two Debuts from Amigo Comics--"Alan Dracon," and, "Unleash."

What is Amigo Comics?

Amigo comics is a smaller publisher who have put out some good stuff--I was a fan of, "The Westwood Witches," for example. They also did a clever scary comic where the Pope is possessed by a demon titled, "Roman Ritual," and had another horror-hit in the form of their series, "Straitjacket." They recently just launched two new series I had the opportunity to grab and read. I enjoyed both but have a favorite of the two.

Alan Dracon #1

Something scary is committing murders,
it's up to Alan Dracon to find out who or what it is.

A black-and-white science-fiction comic, I found, "Alan Dracon," quite enjoyable. Written and illustrated by Stefano Martino, it takes place in a future where technology and corporate espionage run wild. Alan Dracon is a private security guard who is hired by a big company after some gruesome murder results in them being concerned their bio-research is being stolen. Considering this is a six-issue mini-series  I was both surprised and pleased to see the mystery behind who could be the killer solved relatively quickly. Normally comics will give us main characters--such as our Alan Dracon--and tell us they are skilled and intelligent, but then it'll take forever for an obvious mystery to be solved. The fact that Dracon is hired by a company to provide security and figure something out--and then actually does that, instills confidence in the reader we are in fact reading about someone as dangerous and smart as we are told.

Even though this issue involved a lot of sleuthing and sets-up what will surely be an action-packed 2nd issue where the murderer is going to be confronted, there still was some good action in this issue, and Martino's artwork compliments his writing quite well. Were I to have a complaint about the comic, it would maybe be that we only get some peeks into the mind of our title character, through the narration he provides which makes it clear he's a skilled yet sad and lonely individual. I would really like to learn more about Alan Dracon and imagine the upcoming issues will tell us more about him. This was an all-around great debut that gets me excited to see more of Alan Dracon in future issues.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Unleash #1

The, "Machine," is suitably imposing.

If I loved, "Alan Dracon," you could say I simply liked, "Unleash." It has an interesting and twisted idea, where a young woman named Emmie who was sexually assaulted in the past has trained some sort of twisted man to be an unfeeling machine that goes out and rapes rapists. An incredibly dark concept, this issue raises some intriguing questions (who is the machine?) and already seems to intentional be making readers wonder if the young woman who is assaulting criminals with the assistance of her machine is a bit of a monster herself too. The thing is, the book drags a bit with the introduction of some secondary characters who seem to be present to do little more than move the plot along, and a last-page twist that I saw coming from a mile away didn't impress me either.

Written by Jennifer Van Gessel and El Torres with art by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, the book looks really good--with the so-called, "Machine," appearing absolutely terrifying--but Emmie needs more fleshing-out beyond the fact we are told she is herself a victim who now goes out and hurts the victimizers. I see a good deal of potential in this title to impress me as it goes along, but as of right now the first issue stumbles a bit out of the gate. The series could very well find its footing and become a stellar read, or take a tumble and be a great idea with mediocre execution. I guess we will just have to stay tuned to find out! Plus, even if I don't like the comic in the end there is apparently a movie based on the comic which will be coming out soon, so that's snazzy too!
3 out of 5 stars.

Closing Thoughts

I look forward to the next issue of, "Alan Dracon."

These new books from Amigo Comics both have some great ideas, and while one book is really fun and the other has some flaws I enjoyed both and am interested enough in each title to keep following them to see where the stories could go. I encourage you to check out these comics out as you'll probably find yourself wanting to read future issues too!

Rant-Review Mayhem Part 1: Boom! Studios, Amigo Comics, and IDW Publishing

It Begins
We shall start this deluge of reviews with some smaller-sized purveyors of quality comic-books. These are the non-Big-Two publishers that are not necessarily as known as Image, but definitely good-sized contenders in the field of comics (Boom! and IDW) or a relatively newer publisher with enough cool stuff I think they could possibly grow their presence (Amigo).

Review-Time!
Deep State #1
A brand-new release from BOOM! Studios, "Deep State" has the interesting hook that our protagonists are a part of an agency that many don't even know exists and which makes sure certain truths don't get out that could cause the world to collapse. In this issue we are introduced to our aforementioned main characters and learn some shocking things about how the moon landing really went down (basically, we had already been there a bunch before the landing everyone knew about). It's an issue of mostly set-up and I would have liked to learn more about the mysterious fellow known as John Harrow, but I overall enjoyed the issue, and considering how Justin Jordan is a solid writer I expect things will get fleshed-out appropriately in future ones.
3 out of 5 stars.

Thomas Alsop #6
Writer Chris Miskiewicz has been building-up quite the intriguing character in the form of the comic's titular Thomas Alsop. A realty-T.V. star who also is a magician tasked with protecting the island of Manhattan from evil forces. I was hesitant at first when the comic started incorporating 9/11, but it has done it in a way that is quite tasteful and cleverly enough has had other characters calling out Alsop for his plan to perform a ritual at the site of the towers' destruction. This issue moved at a bit quicker of a pace than previous ones, working a lot of events into its page-span and that made it feel a bit more rushed than earlier issues. Thankfully it does still continue to build-up the suspense of if Alsop is going to succeed at his goal of helping the trapped spirits of 9/11 or is going to just make an ass of himself.. Considering he has done an equal mixture of both we will see.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Roman Ritual #1

While Alsop's book may be focused on a more positive kind of exorcism, "Roman Ritual" deals with the nasty demon-influenced kind. Focused on the character of Father Brennan, the comic starts out with us seeing him in a church-imposed exile due to past actions which we only see hints of in this issue. It starts out a bit like your usual dull tale of an exorcist being called by the Catholic church for a big threat, but then the admittedly quite fascinating twist is introduced toward the end of the issue. If I may spoil that reveal, it turns out none other than the pope himself has been possessed by a demon and it may all be up to Father Brennan to attempt and cure him. El Torres wrote another comic I enjoyed, "The Westwood Witches," so I imagine that with things finally starting to get moving at the conclusion of this issue I'll actually quite enjoy the 2nd one. While at first I was bored with this comic, that stellar twist at the end helps this earn a solid...

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Beast Commandos #1
What happens when a joke is delivered so deadpan and without even the slightest wink that you almost think it could be taken at face-value? I guess you might end up with this comic. While the solicitations from Amigo declare this is meant to be a mixture of homage and parody of the over-the-top action comics of the 1990's, it is done without any hint of irony to the degree you could swear it is one of those 1990's comics. This results in a comic that looks good but has a story that is completely uninspiring. If you're going to do a take on the extreme comics of the 1990's and declare it is more than just a love-letter but also a satirical take you have to follow-up that claim with more than the usual "gags" of the hero seeming extreme and violent, or the villain having a slightly funny obsession with guns (maybe the one hint of self-awareness). As I said, at least it looks good and that makes it good enough to be considered average.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

The Bigger Bang #1
A new title from IDW, "The Bigger Bang" is a weird mixture of super-heroics, space opera, and humor. The overall concept is mostly just hinted at until towards the end of the comic and within some of the back-matter where we start to see it revealed how this being known as "Cosmos" has spent billions of years trying to help others throughout the Universe due to the fact that when he was created--in the only other known big bang to occur where there is already matter--he obliterated countless other lives on Earth and Mars along with causing general disruption to the Universe. It's a clever concept and one I wish were explored a bit more outside of the back-matter, as the main comic itself just sort of focuses on Cosmos travelling around space and doing good deeds in an effort to make-up for his own feelings of personal responsibility behind how his birth killed so many others.

The humor comes from an evil alien overlord named King Thulu who is both funny in his ignorance and a bit threatening. His desire to make other planets bow to him and how Cosmos makes that difficult forms the clear signs of some potential conflict, and the art-style is nice in its scratchy-style at making Thulu look a bit absurd and Cosmos appear impressive. This is a strange comic and one that I think I'll need to check out at least the next issue of to get a better feel for where it might be going.
3 out of 5 stars.

A Good Start
We've reviewed the smaller-level publishers and have gotten off to a good start of some mostly-solid comics. In just a bit we'll look at some stuff from Image comics!

Quite A Good Read, The Westwood Witches #1

Amigo comics is a new publisher who've got a few comics coming out. I reviewed their first issue of "Rogues" and found it enjoyable but not overly amazing. When I heard about "The Westwood Witches" I decided I would pick up the first issue, and I'm glad I did as this was quite the stellar comic.

Things start out pretty silly, a man is caught by some witches, and sacrificed to them to call forth a demon. It all reads as quite absurd even if the art by Abel Garcia is good, but then its revealed that the purple-prose we've been reading, is in fact all a fictional story written by our main character, Jack Kurtzberg. It seems he once wrote a  demonic romance-novel as a joke more than anything else, but high-school girls around the nation fell in love with it to a point it became a bestseller with a movie-version on the way. Now, Jack has to write more trashy horror-erotica or his newly plush life will be no more. This little twist at the start of the book was quite cleverly-meta in its commenting on how crappy fiction can become a big seller (not that I'm naming any names...Twilight), and from there on things only get more interesting.

The start of the comic seems silly on purpose.

Jack and his wife move back out to his childhood home of Westwood in the hopes it gets his creative juices flowing again, and we see through a couple of scenes that Jack's neighbors clearly aren't all they seem, and something definitely is amiss. Jack is too busy trying to write his book and keep his wife happy with their newly pampered-life that he doesn't notice that while his new neighbors seem nice, the women are quite clearly...witches. Yes, that makes this sound like the cliche, "Man meets the very monsters he writes about," story, but trust me when I tell you that through El Torres writing you really get a feel for Jack, and the ending of the book makes it clear that it isn't necessarily just witches Jack has to worry about, but even more twisted and demonic creatures.

Jack struggles to write more trashy stories.

"The Westwood Witches" is expertly written, and the art by Abel Garcia impresses throughout the whole book with its mixture of the realistic and ethereal both drawn beautifully. I would definitely recommend people check out this book, and if Amigo's good start with title is an indicator of future books from them, they will definitely be a new publisher to watch.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Afternoon Rant-Reviews--Some DC, Boom, Image, and Other Indie Comics

As I spent the morning discussing Marvel comics, I thought it would make sense to now discuss some of the other varied stuff I've enjoyed/had to endure lately.

3 New Stories
Dash Shaw is a fabulous artist, and even if these three new stories are mostly just funny weird yarns it still is a pleasure to read them. As these are short tales you get nothing as expansive or insanely complex as his other works, but sometimes bite-sized chunks of an otherwise gigantic meal can be satisfying in their own way too.
4 out of 5 stars.

Storm Dogs #5
David Hine is a great writer and this mixture of sci-fi and police procedural is fascinating stuff which proves his skill. In the span of these five issues I care so much about these characters and really hope this sells well enough to get more "seasons" as it is stated by Hine he is eager to do. Plus, the book does a spectacular job asking questions that make you think, be it about sexuality and gender, or what it means to try and "save" a culture by basically destroying it (in this case that culture being all the native aliens our team encounters). Superb stuff even if all the plots being juggled can result in one needing to slow down and think about everything that is going on--but is it ever a bad thing if a comic actually makes you think?
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Green Arrow #20
I honestly did not read this series at all until I heard about it getting what was basically an entirely fresh start under Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, with them providing quality writing and beautiful art, respectively. Once I learned of this soft-reboot (that basically followed the Nu52 hard-reboot of the character, but whatever) I checked the comic out and was extremely impressed by the aforementioned writing and gorgeous drawing. I've been enjoying this series since and this issue was no exception. We get some conclusion to Oliver Queen's conflict with "Komodo" but clearly a lot of the story is still just beginning. Pick up that first Lemire & Sorrentino issue and give this a chance, you'll be glad you did--even if just for the amazing art.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Rogues #1
Ah, the debut issue of new publisher "Amigo Comics" pirates-tale (that actually features a cast from past comics, apparently). This is basically pure fan service with its violence and sex, but the comic's writer El Torres says in the back of the comic book that is kind of the whole point of what he is going for with this series--bringing back that feeling of 1990's excess. It helps that he has the spectacular Juan Jose Ryp on art as there has never been an attractive woman or spurt of blood Ryp would hesitate to draw the heck out of. That said, it is unfortunate that the art is the biggest selling-point of this book because Ryp is no longer doing it after this first issue. Still, it might be worth a glance along with the other upcoming releases from this new comic imprint.
3 out of 5 stars.

Parker VS Aliens #2
I picked both this and the first issue up at once because I have enjoyed watching writer Paul Scheer in his normal work as a comedian ("Human Giant" is one of the best comedy shows ever, for real). That said, while this comic does finally pick up some steam in the second issue I still found myself a bit bored by the plot, characters, and--worst of all considering Scheer wrote this--the jokes. We have the various cliches making up the crew of space deliverymen and the requisite mystery on a strange planet they set off to explore where things unsurprisingly go horribly wrong. It's just all so dull, which is quite unfortunate as I really was hoping for this book to be good. Oh well.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Suicide Risk #1
Mike Carey returns to hero-styled comics! I enjoyed his work on (the older) "X-Men Legacy" and his contributions to the "Endangered Species" back-up/mini that a lot of folk hated but I loved was some of his best stuff too--not that "The Unwritten" is bad, I just kind of quit reading it when I moved almost two years ago and didn't bother to start picking it up again. Anyways, we've now got Carey writing this whole new world where it seems by having a special genetic marker you can pay to have something done to you that grants you superpowers. The problem is that most of the people with these superpowers seem to be villains, so being a hero is a...Suicide Risk (and now you see where that title came from). Carey faces the classic 1st-issue problem of trying to build up a new world and introduce us to our main character, a police officer named Leo. The thing is, Carey takes that problem head-on and does a pretty good job making us care about Leo and also be intrigued by this depressing universe where there are more bad-guys than good. I still am not quite sure what possesses Leo to try and gain powers at the end of the comic (I'm not spoiling anything, the solicit for this series said as much happens) as opposed to just shutting the dealers down, but perhaps as the issues continue things will become clear. A good return to super-heroes for Carey and I am eager to see what happens next.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Justice League of America #3
This is interesting enough, with its mystery of just what a secret society of super-villains could be up to. However, as it has already been basically revealed that all of that ties-in to the upcoming "Trinity War" cross-over I suppose I'm not too excited as what seemed like an interesting story-line is in fact just a lead-up to a big event (kind of like how that Bendis-penned "Moon Knight" series was a big 12-issue promo for "Age of Ultron"). Still, the book looks pretty snazzy, is written decently, and otherwise is an example of how a comic can be good enough to be better than average, without achieving anything resembling greatness.
3 out of 5 stars.

Between my morning-post full of Marvel comics and this afternoon one of a variety of stuff I would hope there is a comic I've discussed that you now know to go and pick-up, or one you are now aware you should avoid like the plague. Whatever the case, have a great rest of your day.