Hot Comics Revue: Eight is Great

Here we are with entry number eight of my now-and-then segment, "Hot Comics Revue." I must, of course, thank the stellar guys and gals at Comics Heating Up for inspiring me to do this occasional segment, which is a great site for comic speculation whereas my segment is about what it already warming-up, red hot, or has steamy potential. With that said, let's talk about three comics that fit that bill.

A Comic That is Warming-Up

Memetic #1
Optioned by Point Grey Pictures, this Seth Rogen-headed production company has plans to adapt this comic about a deadly meme into a flick. With Rogen and Mattson Tomlin (who most recently wrote for the script for the upcoming, "The Batman," movie) apparently writing the adaptation, it has been getting buzz and the first issue is going for about $30 consistently on internet marketplaces. Now, the problem with stuff getting optioned is that sometimes after such a thing occurs that's it--nothing actually gets made. Whether we will be enjoying a, "Memetic," movie in some years or so could really impact if this keeps warming-up or cools off.

A Red-Hot Title

Amazing Spider-Man #101
The first appearance of Morbius has been getting a whole lot of love since the trailer dropped and was surprisingly good. Now even a beat-up copy goes for $100 quite easily and Very Fine to Near-Mint copies being worth about a grand (when officially graded). Keeping in mind how a really high-quality copy was nowhere near that a year ago this time it is on fire. Now, if the movie bombs expect this to crater, but if it is a big ol' hit, well, this issue could go nuclear.

A Comic With Steamy Potential

Lois Lane #8
This one came a bit out of nowhere. Generally, when a series is some issues deep it is under-ordered compared to a first issue, and this issue has the first full appearance of a new character named Kiss of Death (she has a cameo in #7). Between the fact it is ordered less and has a potentially hot new villain, the book has started simmering to a solid degree and is trending for $15-$20 on various sites. It may get hotter or cool, it is hard to say, but right now it shows steamy potential for sure.

Reviews of some BOOM! Studios Comics from the Last Three Weeks

The Fuse is Lit...

I enjoy reading comics from a variety of publishers, but there are some who have stuff I've followed from when they first started to where they are now. One example of a publisher this applies to is BOOM! Studios, or BOOM, as I will refer to them from this point on so as to make my spell-check freak out less about the grammatically-inconvenient exclamation mark. BOOM came into existence in 2005, around when I started reading comics again, and I recall the old and new material fondly.

I remember some of their early stuff, be it Cthulhu-themed comics or the book "Tag" about a curse that causes you to decompose and which the only way to stop is by passing it to someone else--i.e.--tagging them. Yes, there was some good stuff from BOOM. Over time they have grown from their smaller output however, now releasing many comics from a variety of creators, and even acquiring another publisher--Archaia--a little while back as an imprint now. Thankfully, despite getting larger in size and number of comics that hasn't stopped BOOM from putting out books I mostly like. With that in mind, let's examine some of their recent output and my enjoyment of it...

...BOOM!
Memetic #2

I absolutely loved the first issue of "Memetic" and while this one isn't quite as amazing (which is not its fault, as part of the appeal of the first issue was the suspense of wondering what the mysterious meme would do) it still is a really good time. Throughout this issue it begins to become more apparent how the meme may just look like an image, but in fact is a dangerous idea that's in a way viral--and constantly evolving.

In this issue we get a bit more character development between our two main protagonists, a young fellow who is unaffected by the meme due to being color-blind and a former military-man whose loss-of-sight spares him from the danger. I still love the concept as it is still terrifying of how it seems eerily possible for a potentially innocent Jpeg such as the comic's, "Good Times Sloth," to in fact be wielded as a weapon in our incredibly-technologically-connected society. Plus he just looks so cute:

Throughout this issue society continues to fall apart, our characters fight to survive, and the mystery of just who could have been behind the meme grows. All-in-all its a stellar issue and I am excited to see what happens in the upcoming conclusion!
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Escape from New York #1

I haven't seen the film "Escape From New York" in quite a long while, and while I can barely remember the details, this sequel-comic thankfully requires you only recall the ending of the flick (or check Wikipedia for a light plot description) in order to have an idea of what is going on. The reason for this is the comic is written quite well and fills-in-the-blanks of any questions that a reader who is mostly unaware of how the film took place may have. As I mentioned, this is in fact a sequel, starting up at the last moments of the film and proceeding from there. Basically our "hero", Snake Plissken, is on the run from the United States government due to his general refusal to play nice, and along the way encounters a variety of interesting characters.

The comic does a good job supplying the action-feel and dark humor of the original movie, making it clear that this isn't some straight-faced shoot'em-up comic, but one with a bit of a satirical bent, mocking a potential future (now past) in which society has become a laughable mess. Snake doesn't say too much in the comic, but he doesn't need to, what he does says more than any words. It is clear that Snake isn't a simple do-gooder willing to follow orders, but he also can't stand people who are evil and violent for no reason. This leads him to start heading down to Florida to confront a cult-ish militia which seems to have a strange view on the world and which has taken over the state.

This issue ends with Snake arriving in Florida and coming face-to-face with its twin rulers. It is abundantly clear that despite all the trouble we saw Snake go through things aren't going to get any easier, and that is perfectly alright as Snake has yet to meet a task he's unable to tackle.

I enjoyed this comic, but wasn't overly amazed by it. Snake is kind of a strange character, in that he's so amazing and talented it's tricky to give him a true challenge with some risk. If the next issue shows the apparently uber-powerful twins to be that, it will make for a good read. However, should the series just consist of Snake easily dispatching foes it'll get boring fast. As it is, we will have to wait until the 2nd issue and see what happens. For now though, I'm awarding this comic a very respectable...
3 out of 5 stars.

Thomas Alsop #7

This has been an interesting and very weird series. A surreal mixture of magic, media, and a main character who is as easy to despise as he is to love, the life of Thomas Alsop throughout this comic has been one of struggle. Whether that struggle is a personal one in trying to get along with his friends, or a professional one in facing constant backlash for his announcement of how he is going to perform an exorcism on Ground Zero in New York City, Alsop is always up against something, and that's how I like it!

This issue Alsop manages to break out of a police station and narrowly avoid being murdered by some other magic-users who would prefer he didn't exist. Chris Miskiewicz continues to expertly walk the fine-line of dealing with a recent tragedy such as 9/11, having other characters point out how to someone who isn't aware that Aslop means well, his proposal of a big exorcism event is quite offensive.

This is another solid issue of "Thomas Alsop" and with the final one coming up next I am intrigued to see what will happen. Depending on that conclusion I also wonder if we may see more of Alsop in future mini-series or an ongoing-series, but time will only tell about that.
4 out of 5 stars.

Deep State #2

"Deep State" started out in a way I found a bit interesting, with my hoping that we would learn more about our main characters--and the mysterious John Harrow in particular. Unfortunately, this issue is mostly just our main characters dealing with an alien threat from the moon, with us readers seeing the creature beginning to take over a town. It is perfectly alright, but has more of a horror-bent than the first issue with its mostly sci-fi feel, and lacks much of any character-development for our main duo.

The thing keeping this from being an utter disappointment is that the mysterious thing that is working its way through this town is fascinating in its foreign biology. Seeming to be a weird mesh of flesh and machine, the resulting creations it makes are familiar in some ways and entirely alien in others.

As it is, I would say this is perfectly average, but writer Justin Jordan has me hoping he will start to delve into our characters' psyches a bit more at the end of the issue, so this could in fact end up going somewhere pretty cool.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Eternal #1

A series about a future where people can make clones of themselves with all their memories--thereby making a person potentially immortal--this new comic was as interesting to read as it was confusing. The confusing aspect was that there is a lot of talk about "pures" and such, but the comic never exactly spells out what a "pure" is and why it is so important. I'm actually okay with a comic choosing not to hold the reader's hand and give them a big info-dump, instead leaving us to fend for ourselves and figure things out. As best as I can tell, in this future certain people haven't been cloned, and that makes them worth a lot genetically as their "code" is needed for everyone else to continue being cloned--at least, that is my guess.

Another thing that is a bit confusing is that it is not exactly made apparent who the main characters are. Could it be the officer fed-up with how "pures" are treated? Is it someone working to sabotage the genetic purity of others and save them from being harvested (or whatever happens to them)? I don't know, and that is perfectly alright as each individual we see a vignette with seems interesting enough to carry the book on their own. It does bother me that we meet so many characters though, giving each scene a somewhat annoyingly short feeling where as soon as we are getting the feel for things the focus changes.

While I don't mind the lack of having everything spelled-out for me, I do wish the comic explained a little bit more about the background of this cloning technology, and how it came about. I imagine how that occurred along with why exactly "pures" are needed will be touched upon, so I'm not overly worried. I am more perturbed by how the sheer avalanche of characters has made it a bit tricky to keep track of who is who, however. All of that said, this looks to be a promising series and I am interested in seeing how it proceeds.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

And There Was The Explosion

BOOM clearly puts out some good stuff and I didn't even review any titles from the all-ages KaBOOM imprint or now-imprint Archaia in this segment! While not everything is amazing, there still is a good deal to read, and that is why I thought I would spotlight BOOM in this segment. So, go out there and check out some BOOM! Studios comics.

Rant-Reviews of some Newer Releases That Just Started or Concluded

New-Comic Smell
Earlier today I did some rant-reviews of comics that have been out for a bit and either just started or
ended. Now, I would like to talk about some more comics that are beginning or ending, but these ones are slightly newer releases. Shall We?

The Reviews Themselves (Again)
Wytches #1
With Scott Snyder writing a horror-story (and I always think he is at his best when getting a bit horror-styled, even on his "Batman work) and Jock turning in his amazing art, would you really expect this comic to be any less than at least impressive? In all seriousness though, this is a great piece of work, even if the true premise isn't quite clear until some back-matter in the book where Snyder shares his inspiration for the story and how it will deal with the need for people to "pledge" others in order to get wishes they have granted. This issue itself is more of a way to set-up how a family, and their daughter (named Sail) in particular will be suffering due to the Wytches, an ancient evil force that Sail's parents seem to know a bit more about then they are letting on, but future issues will probably reveal more of that.

As always, Jock's art is amazing, with its somewhat scratchy-style complimenting the creepy and at times violent presentation of the story expertly. The Wytches are a somewhat hard-to-picture force, with Jock's hints of their immense scale and power allowing us to see just enough to be intimidated, and hiding just enough to have our imaginations concoct all kinds of horrors. Between Jock's stellar art and Snyder's scary writing this is quite the good first issue, although it was a bit annoying  that to understand the true "concept" of the book I had to read the additional back-matter instead of the story itself explaining things in this debut issue. I imagine future ones will clarify the concept of "Wytches" further however, so I'm not overly concerned.
4 out of 5 stars.

Sabrina #1
Another new series dealing with wytches, but in this case spelled the normal way (witches) and with the twist that this isn't just a normal scary witchcraft yarn, this is with someone who is possibly the most famous witch of all--Sabrina. With the immense success of the "Afterlife with Archie" comics that took the Archie characters and put them into something much darker and violent than usual, it was thought it made sense to do the same thing with Sabrina, although this comic takes place in its own world separate from any of the other Archie-comics.

As with "Afterlife with Archie" part of the thrill of this comic is seeing a character we are used to behaving one way and having it morphed into something quite different. Taking place in the 1960's this comic has a strong horror vibe but does work in some humor so as to keep things a tad fun. Sabrina is of course a teenage witch, but this isn't a light-and-happy witchcraft, it is dark and a bit brutal. Sabrina's cousin Ambrose (a warlock) is an interesting character too as his flippant attitude toward the rules of witchcraft is a good counter to Sabrina's desire to be well-behaved despite having her own selfish desires (such as making a boy at the high-school be attracted to her). The whole thing works quite well between the art and eerie-yet-not-too-dark tone, and I look forward to the next issue.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Standard #5
I've discussed my fondness for this comic before, and this fifth and final double-sized issue (with it even having a break in the middle as if to lead into a sixth) is a solid piece of entertainment. While not as meta as the third issue (something I loved), it brings things to a satisfying conclusion and has overall been a great tale about what happens when a Golden-Age hero ends up having to face the modern world and all its evils. Even though this is the conclusion to the story, certain sub-plots seem unresolved (who was "The Corpse"?) and I could see how this comic could come back in the future if desired by the creators. As it stands now though, this was a delightful mini-series.
4 out of 5 stars.

Punks: The Comic #1
I actually am familiar with the "Punks" comics. I somehow have a little digest containing some stories about the titular "Punks" that I remember enjoying, and am not quite certain how it came into my possession, although I am glad it did because that faint memory of enjoying the other "Punks" works I read helped me know I wanted to get this new release and enjoy it. As I was expecting weird abstract humor with a dash of the absurd I was happy when that was what I got. "Punks" is the sort of comic that makes no sense, but that actually is what makes it most enjoyable. As it takes place in a fiction with no rules, it can do whatever it wants, be that having a joke about pants that can withstand any punch to the groin (Wunderpants!) or suddenly becoming an activity-sheet like you see in restaurants on kids' menus, but of course with a much more twisted sense of humor (it may be juvenile, but the word-search having nothing but, "Poop," as an option made me grin).

One fascinating thing about "Punks" is how it isn't just the writer, Joshua Hale Fialkov, who makes it enjoyable, but in fact the art by Kody Chamberlain that, "Seals the deal," as it were. The artwork is a mish-mash of images that look pasted together almost as a sort of grade-school collage but with hints of well-done illustration. The strangeness of the imagery compliments the story well, with the surreal smiling faces of some murderous garden gnomes that appear early in the story working well to impart just how bizarre all the proceedings in the comic truly are. That said, comedy is a hard thing to do, and while this issue did give me some chuckles, it didn't crack me up as much as I would have hoped to give it a truly stellar rating. Still, for the masterful artwork and some solid gags I still think I can give this...
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Memetic #1
A new BOOM! comic, "Memetic" is a three-issue limited series that was initially promoted  through BOOM! and a bunch of its affiliated creators randomly posting a meme of a smiling sloth. Little did we as the populace know that the sloth himself would end up being a meme that destroys society--in the fiction of the comic only, thankfully. Regardless of if a meme really could destroy the world, this comic makes it seem quite possible and is amazingly good.

When I first heard about how the concept for the comic would how the sudden appearance of a "Good Times Sloth," causes society to fall apart I wasn't sure how writer James Tynion IV would make that work. Well, he makes it work exceptionally well, starting us on day 3 after the appearance of the meme and then rewinding back to the start. An immense feeling of dread built in me as I read the issue, seeing everyone around the world quickly become obsessed with this new meme (not unlike how real society can suddenly care a lot about some random fun image), and wondering when things would go wrong. Well, toward the end of the issue it becomes clear that the meme is not just a cute image, with it in fact causing grisly results 12 hours after once someone is exposed to it--with some exceptions such as one of our main characters, Aaron, being color-blind and therefore unable to be harmed by the meme.

When people start going mad the comic reminds me a bit of a zombie-story but mixed with the fast-moving insane-people of the "28 Days/Weeks" later series or "Crossed". The aspect of the comic that sets it apart from being just a re-hash of those stories however is how it uses the concept of our highly inter-connected society and riffs on the idea that such an easy way to connect with others could easily bring about our world's downfall. Also, the fact that it isn't until towards the end of the comic that all Hell breaks loose allows the comic to have a pace that isn't slow, but also knows better than to rush in to all the madness. By teasing us with a fear of what the "Good Times Sloth" may cause but not revealing it until we are already somewhat emotionally invested in the characters it makes the shock of sudden violence all that more scary. This was a really, really great comic, and I am surprised I loved this as much as I did, considering I expected something just decent. You should check this out for sure, just look out for that meme!
5 out of 5 stars.

Great Fun Was Had
There you go, a bunch of quality-stuff that is a bit newer. Go give them a read!