"White Boat," #3 Finally Was Released and is a Stellar Finale

The first issue of, "White Boat," came out from DSTLRY back in mid-2024. It took some time, but the second issue was released as well, and a hoot. Then...delays. It got to the point DSTLRY announced a temporary shutdown/pause, and it had me worried there wouldn't be a third and final issue. Thankfully, they got back up and running, with, "White Boat," #3 finally hitting stands this week. Writer Scott Snyder and artist Francesco Francavilla have crafted a masterful tale of surreal genetic experiments, ancient secret technologies, and a big ol' superyacht. 

Considering how long it took for all these issues to come out, it did take me a minute to remember a few plot details, but by the issue's end, I was just as engaged as back in 2024 with the first issue, and this tale that, at its heart, is about the love one has for their sibling/s through good and bad. Plus, the magazine-size format lets Francavilla's art truly sing. There will be a full collection of, "White Boat" before long, and I'd highly encourage folks to pick it up so they can enjoy it without any extensive waits between chapters.

5 out of 5 Stars.

Some of My Favorite Comics This Year--2025 in Review

There were many great comics throughout 2025. When I thought really hard about what stood out in my mind, however, five series released during this year/books published this year stuck out in my mind. Well, it was actually six series, but one was featured last year (more on that in a second), so I disqualified it. Anyway, here are some of my favorite comics/graphic novels/etc. this year.

Ultimates

Full disclosure, this and, "Ultimate Spider-Man," were the two Ultimate titles I adored this year and couldn't wait to read every month from the first issues on back in 2024 to now. That said, I already put USM in this sort of list last year so I cut it this time and thought I would focus on, "Ultimates." For real, however, if you want the main/big book that is key to this latest Ultimate Universe, "Ultimates," is a fantastic read from start to (rapidly approaching) finish. Deniz Camp has consistently written a superb comic about heroes in a broken World who dream of a better tomorrow (with Juan Frigeri generally on art), and I'm here for it.

Orla!

A comic about a woman named Orla with a literal monster inside her that devours bad dates. Yeah, its a horror comedy, but it has some sweet romance elements too when Orla falls for a guy she doesn't want to ingest. An incredibly funny and clever mix of genres, "Orla!" has just concluded as of this month (I need to grab the last issue), and I would encourage everyone to purchase the upcoming trade paperback collection!

Santos Sisters Volume 1

This one is a bit technical, as the first volume of, "Santos Sisters," collects the initial five issues printed before 2025. That said, this book was released in this year, so I say it counts! In my review of the first TPB, I state how it is, "Joyful, undiluted fun." I continue to feel that way about Greg & Fake's superb mix of vintage Archie-esque style with modern and clever jokes. Definitely a book worth picking up.

Absolute Batman

The earlier issues of, "Absolute Batman," were solid, but as we entered 2025, the book started rolling full steam ahead. The mix of crime drama, body horror, and amazing artwork by Nick Dragotta, among others (with superb writing by Scott Snyder) has resulted in what is undoubtedly my favorite Absolute book of the line--although all of them are solid and have charms. It is wild to think that when the Absolute line was first announced how skeptical many of us were. Now, here we are with Absolute books, and, "Absolute Batman," in particular, getting rave reviews and selling lots of copies. The old adage remains true to not judge a book (or comic) by its cover.

Holy Lacrimony

Michael DeForge is a modern master when it comes to making comics. His original graphic novel, "Holy Lacrimony," is a superb read about alien abductions, support groups, and sadness. Quite trippy and a little raunchy at points while also being laugh-out-loud hilarious, I was super-into this book and consider it another masterful entry in DeForge's oeuvre. 2025 clearly had some quality comics, and I'm pleased to have enjoyed these among other stellar reads!

Those New DC Magazines Are Neat!

DC released some new special magazines to newsstands at pharmacies/grocery stores/Target but didn't mention it to anyone--as odd as that sounds. Bleeding Cool noticed and made a little article about this, humorously enough. There is a Batman one and a Superman one. They contain the first parts of various stories with foreward text explaining a bit about the tale. Then, I was at Target yesterday with Clarkson to get some groceries, and I did indeed notice the Batman magazine.

I bought the Batman issue and brought it home. It has the first issue of the New 52 relaunch of Batman, the Rebirth-era relaunch (Snyder and Capullo did a lot of cool stuff), and the first issue of, "The Long Halloween." I enjoyed the New 52 era of Batman and, "Long Halloween," has amazing art by Tim Sale (and decent writing by Jeph Loeb when he was more solid than hit-or-miss), so both of those are rad. The Rebirth Batman run by Tom King had an extremely mixed reception, but I found it fun and I'd say all three stories are good ways to be, "Introduced," to various takes on Batman from the last decade-and-change.

Each of the three stories are merely the start of runs or a mini-series, and I don't know if the plan is to have a second issue of a magazine for each issue to continue those stories or if the idea is folks will go seek out trade paperbacks of these yarns. As I mentioned, there is a Superman magazine too and I could imagine magazines being done for other characters from Wonder Woman, to the various Green Lanterns, Aquaman, and so forth. As it stands, this is a nice way to sample some comics if you're more of a, "Mainstream," audience that knows of superhero characters but who doesn't read many comics.

The, "DC All-In Special," #1 is a Promising and Creative Start of a New Venture

DC is launching their, "All-In," Initiative which involves the standard DC Universe and an alternate one (the Absolute one) somewhat co-existing and (one assumes) eventually overlapping in some fashion. It's a bit like the original or new Ultimate Universe Marvel is doing, in other words. This new, "DC All-In Special," #1 is a one-shot that kicks everything off...and it actually does so in a clever way.

There is a lot of artistic creativity in this special that makes a big commercial endeavor actually feel almost a bit quirky--and I like that. You see, this is a flipbook that tells the same story from vastly different viewpoints and uses that format for all kinds of intriguing ways to tell a surreal story. We see things from the perspective of the heroes on the main DC Earth as they expand the Justice League--and Booster Gold is there as everything goes wrong with  Daniel Sampere providing some solid art. 

We also witness Darkseid getting up to a bunch of evil stuff and enacting a master plan...with Booster Gold yet again there from a slightly different metaphorical angle as everything goes wrong (the man can't catch a break in this comic). I liked seeing an alternate take of the same yarn and the Wes Craig artwork on the, "Evil," side is especially impressive--as others have observed. I give props to writers Joshua Williamson and Scott Snyder for their creative use of the comic-book format and using that to give us two stories that end up uniting beautifully as one twisted tale.

The, "DC All-in Special," #1 is much more experimental than I expected for a random one-shot that launches a new line of stories (and a whole new Universe of heroes). This gives me some optimism for the upcoming Absolute titles--I was thinking of at least trying their first issues and definitely plan to do so now--and makes me curious about what will be happening in some of the, "Main," DC books as well like the upcoming, "New Gods," series. Color me pleasantly shocked at how good this was. I tip my hat to DC for getting me excited about all the other things coming down the pipeline for, "All-In."

5 out of 5 Stars.

"White Boat," #1 is Creepy and Gorgeous

"White Boat," #1 is a new series from the publisher DSTLRY, who make treasury-sized comics in various genres. A short promotion for the story was in the debut book from the publisher, "The Devil's Cut," #1, along with other titles and it was the most intriguing yarn to me. The first full issue is a treat, with writer Scott Snyder and artist Francesco Francavilla following a character named Lee who writes about yachts for a living while trying to function with the horrible trauma of having lost his brother in a freak boating accident when they were young. Lee finds himself invited to tour the mysterious mega-yacht known as the White Boat, and from there, things only get weirder.

Both Snyder and Francavilla have been making comics long enough I expected them to knock it out of the park with this first issue of, "White Boat." They surpassed my already lofty expectations, as this initial issue was amazing. Full of moody imagery, things really get scary when Lee finds himself trapped deep within the boat and it morphs and shifts in ways that seem impossible. If the whole series had Lee stuck in a boat that might get old, but by the issue's end it seems the White Boat is only the start of a wild and twisty journey. I eagerly await the next issue!

5 out of 5 stars.

DC Comics Allegedly to Launch an, "Absolute," Line of Comics With Scott Snyder at the Helm

Marvel and DC love creating lines of comics set in alternate universes. Whether it is Marvel's Ultimate line (which is now back and doing well in a new iteration), the New Universe, DC's Elseworlds or some of the Vertigo stuff (that's a little complicated), unique lines of comics often occur over the decades. It seems Marvel bringing back the aforementioned Ultimate line has piqued DC's interest as they aren't going to do a full reboot like in 2011 with the New 52, but are going to launch an, "Absolute," line which is not to be confused with their big hardcover Absolute collections. Bleeding Cool is a bit of a tabloid site with way too many ads (seriously, without an adblocker it is impossible to navigate) but it sometimes breaks big news and it seems Rich Johnston and company found somebody to leak them the juicy story about the Abstolue line.

These Absolute Comics will have a separate continuity and start DC over fresh in a new-reader-friendly manner. The rest of the DC Universe will continue doing its own thing so as not to enrage longtime readers and Scott Snyder--a skilled writer for sure--is spearheading much (if not all) of this new Absolute Comics line. The heroes in Absolute Comic will be heavily reworked versions of DC heroes and will share their own universe but be separate from the main DC one. It'll all be the same multiverse, apparently, so I imagine in 10 or so years these heroes might overlap with the main DC ones or such as eventually all the separate Universes end up interacting at some point or another. The line supposedly will kick off in late 2024 and early 2025, so now we just await the, "Official," announcement from DC since this big ol' leak.

"The Devil's Cut," is a Strong Start for DSTLRY

DSTLRY is a new publisher with plans to release a variety of creator-owned comics, as well as collectibles. They've done some weird stuff with digital scarcity that are not NFTs, but still strange (you can only buy a digital copy of stuff to a certain date then it is gone or something unless you resell a digital copy to someone else) and have hyped up how their first one-shot, "The Devil's Cut," will never be reprinted but all that silly buzz aside I was curious about the aforementioned debut one-shot they released this past Wednesday. It's an anthology of short stories and previews and having read it, my interest is piqued in DSTLRY's possible future offerings.

"The Devil's Cut," is itself an impressive comic. It looks like an oversized magazine with an eye-catching cover by Jock (other covers look neat too) that just begs a reader to open it up and check it out. Then you dive in and see it is an anthology book with shorter stories, that can inspire some worries. Anthology comics are practically by law a mixed bag. You get a mix of good and bad, with the hope being that there is enough great stuff you can forgive the yarns that are lacking. From reading, "The Devil's Cut," I can say no stories were atrocious and certain ones were quite cool. 

I'm down with the first part, okay with the second, a bit befuddled by the third.

When it comes to what I dug in, "The Devil's Cut," certain shorts stick out. A futuristic thief story by Jock titled, "The Stowaway," looked gorgeous as anything by Jock is wont to do. "What Happens Next," by Jamie McKelvie (writer and artist) and Aditya Bidikar as the letterer is a snazzy sci-fi yarn. The best of the bunch in my opinion, however, was, "White Boat," by Scott Snyder and Francesco Fancavilla with Andworld Design as the letterer and Tyler Jennes as a story assistant. It's a creepy horror tale that feels right out of a good episode of, "The Twilight Zone," and hits the reader hard. Those stories were quite fun.

"The Devil's Cut," is an impressive first release from DSTLRY. I'm not big on the whole digital scarcity thing they are hyping but I'm totally down for big, well-written, and gorgeous comics done by fantastic creators who own the rights to their creations and see a profit from them as opposed to being mistreated by a publisher. Should you be in the mood for some wild narratives I'd recommend picking up, "The Devil's Cut," from your local comic shop.

5 out of 5 stars.

Read This Oral History of the New 52 For Some Fascinating Insights!

If you are someone who enjoys, "Seeing how the sausage is made," when it comes to comic books, this oral history of the New 52 that Polygon published is a stellar read. They have one anonymous quote and note a number of people contacted didn't want to, "Spill any beans," as it were, but they do get some juicy insights from former DC head honcho Dan Didio (who we may recall was suddenly laid-off from DC in 2020 and has nothing to lose sharing his thoughts), Scott Snyder, Judd Winick, Christy Marx, and more. Didio provides a ton of info and even though his relationship did not end with DC on the best of terms as far as we know he doesn't come off as bitter at all, just a bit melancholic about how the New 52 ended up working out (long story short: it didn't work out well in the long run at all).

I always think of the New 52 as having a ton of potential it didn't quite reach. The article itself points out we all have an, "Underrated New 52 comic," that we feel deserved more attention (for me it is, "Men of War," without a doubt). The New 52 was a cool attempt at doing a brand-new relaunch/reboot and even if DC undid basically everything some years later, I have some fondness for the era. Reading how it came to be and end is a nice treat.

What is this, "Substack," Comic Creators Are Talking About?

If you like to follow specific comic creators you may have heard about more and more doing something called, "Substack." Scott Snyder revealed he signed a lucrative deal with them, James Tynion IV just announced he'll be leaving his work on titles such as, "Batman," to focus on creator-owned works for various publishers and Substack. Jonathan Hickman is involved. What is Substack, though?

Substack is basically a paid newsletter. It can have essays, articles, and whatever else along with comics. When it first emerged on the scene the focus was as a way for journalists to earn money for their hard work creating informative content, but then Nick Spencer spearheaded a new initiative. He came to Substack with an idea where comic creators will make comics for subscribers and these creators will be paid by Substack while keeping ownership of their work. Creators get a bunch of subscription revenue, Substack takes a small cut, and followers of creators they like get a steady stream of quality comics delivered to their inbox. As Comicsbeat details, there is a mixture of excitement and dread from all this.

An upcoming comic on Substack.

If you like digital comics this is interesting. If you prefer physical comics, it maybe doesn't appeal as much. Should you be a huge fan of a certain creator who is moving towards Substack you might feel tempted to subscribe. This could be the next huge thing or it could implode horrifically. One thing I and others have noticed is that this is mainly people known for writing comics now making the newsletters. They will have various popular artists working on titles with them and those artists will have ownership of the comics, but the, "Name," attracting subscribers is a comic-book writer. One exception to this is Molly Ostertag, but a lot of the folks are primarily writers (yes, Hickman drew some of his earliest work, but he hasn't illustrated many things beyond his interesting infographics for some time).

So, there you go. Substack is a paid newsletter service that has attracted some popular comic-makers with some juicy deals. Now we wait and see if the subscribers will be there to justify all this.

Big Names, Bigger Kickstaters, Massive Controversy?

Way back in...let me check my notes, 2015, I made a post evaluating the idea of Kickstarter and having it compete with or compliment retail. The main idea was looking at how appropriate or inappropriate it is to run a Kickstarter if you're also releasing your comic for retail--e.g. in comic stores. My overall conclusion was I was pretty much okay with bigger name creators making a comic, putting it on Kickstarter, and having special versions of that comic be exclusive to Kickstarter. I reasoned it was a way to test the waters for a comic idea so you could see if it was viable. It is now...let me check my notes again, 2020, the worst year so far in recent memory, and I still feel that way. A new Kickstarter by Scott Snyder and Tony Daniel has the opinions of others split, however.

Scott Snyder is a big name who has done some great comics for Image and some mega-books for DC. Tony Daniel is a longtime comic artist who appears on a number of notable books. They are established, successful guys and are teaming-up for, "Nocternal." It is a sci-fi comic about Earth being stuck in permanent darkness and how people react to that kind of situation. There is a deluxe edition that will be available solely through Kickstarter, but "Nocternal," is also going to have a conventional release from Image. Again, I'm okay with this, but some are not. There are folk out there saying big names like Snyder and Daniel don't really need Kickstarter--just mill around Twitter for some choice words. Then again, some would argue with how volatile comic-books have become, this is the new way to have some sense of stability in a very unstable business.

It stands to reason as the comic-book industry only gets rockier we will see even more, "Established," creators turning to methods like Kickstarter or a surge of self-publishing again. How the fanbase of these creators will respond to such a thing--with enthusiasm or trepidation/outright anger remains to be seen and will be a big factor in the success of these increasingly popular alternative methods of selling comics and making a living.

"Dark Nights: Death Metal," #1 Is A Crazy Story With Gorgeous Artwork

"Dark Nights: Death Metal,"#1 came out last Wednesday and it has a plot that encompasses a whole lot of stuff. From different reality Batmen (including a Doctor Manhattan-looking one like from, "Watchmen,") to Wonder Woman ruling Hell, Wally West having unique powers, Sgt. Rock, Black Lantern powers, Lobo, Superboy Prime, and more, it is just...a lot. Scott Snyder crams a lot of story into these pages and it is absolutely insane.  I didn't mind, though, because the artwork by Greg Capullo is just plain gorgeous. Capullo draws everything crazy with gusto, from a T-Rex Batman to a fiery Swamp Thing.

The whole book is just a treat for the eyes, even if I'm overwhelmed by the story being so busy. This isn't really a review so much as an observation that I'd recommend checking out, "Dark Nights: Death Metal," #1 if you are a fan of stellar visuals in your comics and are cool with a truly out-there storyline.

DC's Newly Announced, "Black Label," Line Sounds Like a Bland Concept With Potentially Stellar Comics

It had been rumored for a bit, but today DC officially announced their new, "Black Label line," of comics which will basically consist of R-rated and potentially out-of-continuity stories featuring popular characters. It is a little funny as back in the day DC's now-basically-dead Vertigo line was kind of an, "R-rated Elseworlds," and the current oft-delayed books in the, "Young Animal," line can be pretty mature what-with the swearing--and let's be honest, this line sounds like an excuse to let Batman say an unedited, "Fuck," and maybe show some illustrated breasts as DC already has shared extreme violence with us in the past via their non-mature readers comics (remember when it felt like every DC book had to feature someone getting an arm ripped-off? Wild times). This whole, "Black Label," honestly sounds like a somewhat dumb idea except for the fact that the announced books actually appear like they could be really, really good.

Putting aside how annoying, "Black Label," sounds as a line name (is DC trying to riff-on alcohol brands to seem extra grown-up?) the creative teams are mostly solid, with people like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo working on Batman and Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo doing a book about the Dark Knight as well,  John Ridley's earlier-disclosed book about the, "Other history," of the DC Universe being a part of this, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Greg Rucka both writing a Wonder Woman title, and, um, Frank Miller giving us, "Superman: Year One," with John Romita Jr. That last one could be good or an abomination (hey, I said the teams were, "Mostly solid," not entirely).

If these titles had simply been announced as general comics that were possibly not a part of the, "Main," DC continuity I would have still been intrigued by many of them. This whole, "Black Label," however sounds like a bland concept--"Elseworlds with boobies and cursing!"--with some potentially stellar content from the creative teams. I'm for sure curious about almost all of the announced books and want to at least give them a shot regardless of if they are a part of this new Black Label, or whatever other line DC wants to throw-out a name for.

Whether the, "Black Label," as a concept is a hit or a miss is really only of concern for me if it possibly means we will get more cool-sounding books announced. If I have to put-up with DC using this dumb new name for a line of really cool comics I'll withstand the idiocy of how it'll sound when I go into the comic shop and ask for the latest, "Black Label," as if I'm ordering a drink. Now we just need to wait for the books to come-out and hopefully be great.

Is DC's Latest Event-Teasing Comic Any Good? A Review of, "Dark Days: The Forge #1"

I love doing my rant-reviews/capsule reviews but sometimes you just wanna do a deeper-dive into a single comic because there is a variety to discuss. This book was interesting because it was strange, and while I wasn't amazed, I did overall at least like this comic. First off, the artwork is solid throughout as various talents pop-up to provide their talents (Jim Lee, Andy Kubert, and John Romita Jr.), but Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV really have maybe a bit too much going on within the span of this single comic for much to make any sense.

"The Forge," leads into the upcoming DC event, "Metal," which seems to be about how a mystical metal provides many famous artifacts in the DC Universe with power. This isn't just about that though, it involves other worlds, past Universes such as the New 52 one, and the denizens of that universe such as Plastic Man, plus we have one of the, "Three Jokers," a version of, "The Outsiders," so-called, "Immortal Men," the possibility of a dystopia ruled by Batman, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl play a role too. Also, Green Lantern is involved too because something is up with his ring that relates to all this. Yes, there is a lot going on here and it can be a bit much.

Oh, I didn't even mention the dimensional tuning-fork

To the credit of all these competing stories, enough stuff is interesting that I'm considering giving, "Metal," some attention. While I could take-or-leave the idea of various powerful items in the DC Universe all sharing some mystical metal, I'm a fan of stories that involve alternate universes as well as tales where those dimensions meet-up. This book isn't exactly friendly to casual readers of the DC Universe however (like myself) who just dip our toes into various books. No, this is the kind of thing that rewards folk with extensive knowledge of DC and I had to look-up a lot of reviews and break-downs to make sense of some things.

"Dark Days: The Forge," is a comic so loaded with teasers for a variety of story-elements that it hampers the overall flow of the plot a bit with an unclear focus. Is this a tale of magical metals, alternate universes, dark futures ruled over by Batman, or a multitude of other things? Thankfully a variety of these ideas are compelling and--as I said--the book looks quite good, so I overall liked this comic and am curious what comes next--which was arguably its whole intent, to get us intrigued in future stories.
3 out of 5 stars.

Rant-Reviews: Mini-Themes

Mini-Themes Today
I don't always have a theme for my capsule-style reviews, and sure enough today lacks much of an overall theme. However, I have noticed a few mini-themes between some of the comics that I felt was worth spotlighting.

Theme: Humans Are Violent and Terrible
These three comics illustrate that sadly humans can often be violent and terrible creatures. Whether it is through our racism, because we want to be entertained, or a desire for money, human beings can kind of suck, you know?

Black #2

Anything else aside this is a great hook: A comic imagining a world where only a small percentage of people ever happen to gain powers, and all of those people happen to be black. It's a pretty charged concept but to the credit of the creative team--which includes stellar artist Jamal Igle--it so far has been working. It is also addressed how something as shocking as this idea could remain a secret in the world, namely that the Government/s out there have worked their darnedest to make sure the populace doesn't know about such a super-powered minority. Whether this is being done in the guise of, "If people knew they would treat black people unfairly [with the irony being they already are discriminated against]," or if therre are even more evil plans in-the-waiting is yet to be revealed, but I doubt anyone murdering witnesses to super-powered black folk has kind intentions for those with powers.

Another element of the book I like is that while there are clearly bad-guys and good-guys there is plenty of gray situated between these black-and-white matters (pun not intended, but I'll take credit for it anyways). There is a white police officer who helps another investigating the conspiracy because he feels he isn't, "Like the others," meaning other white police officers--although he previously shot some black teens who, "Fit the description," of an APB, so he ain't that innocent either. This is just one example of the ways, "Black," discusses racial politics, but don't think this is just a dull treatise on race-relations--the aforementioned Jamal Igle illustrates scenes of action wonderfully and his skill as always is something marvelous to behold. Between the creative storytelling and superb art I am quite enjoying, "Black," and look forward to future issues.
4 out of 5 stars.

Fish Eye #1
This comic is a little bit of a mixture of, "The Truman Show," and a really violent Tarantino movie, with all the positives and negatives that entails. The plot of this comic is that our protagonist, a small-town cop named Travis, is actually the star of a reality show completely unbeknownst to him. Everyone around him is an actor in this town and his adventures have been broadcast to an attentive audience. The thing is, ratings are slipping so the creator of the show has agreed to kill-off Travis and proceed onto other projects. However, Travis is maybe too good of a hero in this story, putting up an immense fight for the fictional world he holds so dear.

Putting aside the logic-question of how this show could get away with literally murdering someone (there aren't any hints this is some kind of ruined-future where such a thing would fly, it seems to be indicated this is a normal world just like ours), it is a clever concept and seeing the creator of the show distraught about having to kill his, "Baby," e.g. the son he's secretly cared-for through all these years running the show--brings with it some interesting moments too. The atrocious thing is the idea of a star being killed by disinterest of the very fans who once loved him/her isn't that far-fetched in some ways. Right now the book seems to be working at getting its footing with all these ideas, and sometimes it seems unsure if it wants to be more focused on gory-fighting or exploring concepts of entertainment and morality, but it' is still a solid first issue and a series worth checking-out.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Deathstroke #7
I'm just so happy that Christopher Priest has come back to comics (occasional toe-dipping back into a short project here-and-there aside) and is writing such a stellar series in the form of, "Deathstroke." It is saying something that a character I never, ever cared about and who seemed to be defined by, "He kills people and likes money," suddenly is so fascinating to me thanks to a talent like Priest. One thing I love is that Deathstroke's adventures clearly stand on their own but as he is a member of the DC-universe that brings with it the baggage and benefits one would expect. We've seen Batman in previous issues and this one gives us a very perturbed Superman. The amazing thing though is that Priest has been telling his own awesome and epic story while incorporating all these characters in a way that feels natural and makes sense. I mean, the skill on display isn't surprising considering how much experience Priest has in the field of comics, but its always just wonderful to read something so good. As I said, before I read Priest's first issue of this series I couldn't care less about Deathstroke, and now this comic is one of the books I get most excited to read when I see it waiting for me at the comic-shop. That is a testament to Priest's abilities and my statement about why you should be reading this book right now!
5 out of 5 stars.

Theme: Belief Can Be Dangerous
The things we believe and entertain ourselves with can be dangerous. We may joke about Krampus and have all the bible stories about Noah and the flood, but these comics show that mystical creatures and conceptions of wiping the world clean are not a laughing matter. After all, the power of a belief can be immense.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #101
I realize I didn't actually review the 100th issue of, "Tarot," and feel a bit bad as it was of course a fun and great issue, with it being a huge accomplishment for an independent publisher to successfully hit triple-digits with a title. After all, how many publishers fold before even hitting a 10th issue with any of their books? Meanwhile, Broadsword (the publisher of, "Tarot,") has put out an issue of this book without fail every 2 months since its start (and other cool mini-series as well). That is a big achievement, and to the credit of Jim Balent and Holly Golightly they didn't rest on their laurels after hitting #100, they went and released this fun holiday piece that continues covering the, "Krampus," creatures that were introduced some years ago and have continuously caused trouble for Tarot and her sister (the start of this issue) Raven Hex.

The gist of this issue is that Raven tries to stop a number of Krampus (Krampuses?) from kidnapping and punishing naughty children, because even kids who misbehave don't deserve to be murdered, after all. However, in her effort to stop the Krampus-mayhem, Raven actually summons a horrific monster that destroys everything. It is pointed-out by a Krampus they aren't necessarily evil, they just kind of, exist, and it is because people believe in them they do what they do (e.g. kidnapping and punishing kids). The argument is made that Raven herself got revenge on kids who teased her when she was young and that she isn't too far removed from being a bit of a Krampus herself--so maybe there's a little Krampus in all of us? It's an intriguing concept if also a bit of a downer. Then again, if there is a little evil in all of us perhaps hopefully there is a lot of good? Whatever the case, another great issue of, "Tarot," was had!
4 out of 5 stars.

The Goddamned #5

I thought about putting this in the first theme about how humans are violent and terrible, because this comic has a ton of that. In the end however, the main reason all the humans in this story are so disgusting is because of belief. Jason Aaron has discussed before how this comic is his coming to terms with growing-up Southern Baptist before becoming somewhat irreligious. The story in these issues has concerned the biblical Cain fighting with the biblical Noah and it being clear that both men are doomed by an excess or lack of belief. The man cursed to roam this horrible Earth--Cain--believes in basically nothing, and the man who thinks he was told by God to build an ark and gather animals--Noah--violently forces others to assist him in his mission from God. The most depressing thing about this last issue before the next story-arc in 2017 is that right at the end when Cain feels like he may have found something to live for, it is violently taken away by yet another character who believes that eliminating something that made them weak/care was the right action. Belief in nothing or blind faith both bring little but ruin, as with everything in life there needs to be a balance of faith in self, others, and a higher power. Too much of anything just brings destruction, as this comic makes abundantly clear.

5 out of 5 stars.

Seven to Eternity #3
Man, this comic has just been gorgeous thanks to Jerome Opeña, and the idea behind it is clever, but the execution of the story just has left a lot to be desired for me. The concept of how a humanoid (there are all kinds of creatures in this series) developed the ability to give people their wishes in exchange for seeing through their eyes and was able to take over the world this way is smart  (a ruler who nobody realizes rules) but for some reason I just find the rest of the story isn't clicking for me. It is like I see all this potential (and again, it looks beautiful) but I'm not quite feeling it. Still, I love that idea of a man who people pledge allegiance to in exchange for their wish but in a process lose a bit of themselves. That is a good metaphor for how we will often give up much of ourselves in the hopes of achieving a dream or belief. I just wish the rest of the comic lived-up to that great concept and the visual splendor Opeña provides.
2.5 out of 5 stars, mostly thanks to the artwork.

Theme: Comics Experimenting With Form

I wanted to close with some delightfully different books. You see, the art-form of comics can be especially interesting when it experiments a bit. These two comics do some unique things with the comic-form, bringing in aspects of prose, or placing in-story, "Documents," into the book to further establish the world.

The Black Monday Murders #3 and #4

I know the 4th issue just came out (and it was great) but I wanted to talk about the 3rd and 4th issues together, if that's alright. "The Black Monday Murders," gives us these massive issues loaded with comic-pages as well as prose, faux police-records, and all sorts of interesting things; I feel that while the 1st and 2nd issue had to work at introducing the rather large cast, things really get going in the 3rd issue with the 4th being impressive too. Jonathan Hickman and Tomm Coker just are hitting it out of the park, as the saying goes. The overall idea of the story seems to be that fiance as we know it is a living and otherwordly creature--Cthulhu-esque almost. In order for the rich to remain rich they have to pay this force, and that payment is in blood. A lot of questions remain unanswered about a mysterious ancient language, and just how these strange groups full of arcane rituals and orders began. I'm eager to learn more however, and the clever incorporation of journal-entries, files, and other in-universe materials within the story continues to serve it well.
Issue #3: 5 out of 5 stars thanks to an awesome final scene.
Issue #4: 4 out of 5 stars for being great but a bit slower than the previous issue.

A.D. After Death #1

This is going to be three issues long and this first issue feels more like a mini-novel than a comic considering how it is both huge (it is quite taller and wider than a comic) and has a spine much like a book. From what I've observed, the present-day scenes take place in a world where death itself has been cured/beaten, but in the process of that happening Earth became a ruined planet we fled for what may be another dimension or a space-ship (it's not quite clear). These present-time scenes are also more in a general comic-format. However, when the character tells us about his background, growing-up, and seems to hint at how he's responsible for destroying Earth and curing death at the same time, in those segments everything becomes text-heavy with some pictures to establish the story but less in a comic-form and more like a picture-book with long strings of narration and an occasional image.

This format makes the story flow in an interesting way where the present-day scenes in comic-form breeze by much like the years of everyone's deathless lives and the past-tense moments are slow and methodical, breaking down small moments into long chunks of reading--almost as if simulating how when life was more precious we savored every moment, both the good and the bad. Scott Snyder is a writer who I've found to both create incredible stuff (I'm still waiting for more, "Wytches,") and terrible pieces just as well (his epic run on, "Batman," was itself full of peaks and valleys), and Jeff Lemire is both a stellar writer and magnificent illustrator who's drawings compliment the quiet melancholy of this book perfectly. Parts of, "A.D. After Death," are mysterious and make little sense, but I'm betting before too long a lot more will be clearer and just as fascinating.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Mini-Themes Are Now Mini-Done
I hope my reviews of these latest books made for good reading--and that if you pick-up the books I recommended that they make for good reading in your opinion as well!

Reviews of Some DC Collections I Read Thanks to the Library

I Really do Love the Library

I've read some DC Comic Collections lately thanks to my library system carrying all the books I've heard are interesting but which I don't want to buy because my collection is getting too big for stuff that I might enjoy (plus I only have so much funds). I quit reading a lot of the DC books monthly before the latest, "Rebirth," re-launch but wanted to check some of the books out that I had either followed before dropping them (like, "Batman,") or which good things were being said about. With that established, here are some DC collections of comics I've read!

Justice League Volume 7: Darkseid War Part 1, Justice League Volume 8: Darkseid War Part 2, and Justice League: The Darkseid War: Power of the Gods

Yes, that last book's title  has a colon within a colon. It is odd, I know. Anyways, I mostly quit following the, "Justice League," comic after, "Forever Evil," and Lex Luthor figuring out how Bruce Wayne was Batman (not that impressive considering a kid, Tim Drake, has done it too, but whatever, I'll give Luthor the win). I guess that resulted in Luthor being allowed by Batman/blackmailing Batman onto the Justice League because here he is fighting against Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor AKA the secret bad-guy behind the villains of, "Forever Evil," fleeing their ruined home-world. Other heroes and villains pop-up such as Mister Miracle and a lady named Grail who is Wonder Woman's evil Amazon counterpart due to being born the same day (or something), but things don't actually get all that interesting until toward the end of Volume 7/Part 1 when a bunch of the Justice League members gain incredible powers in the process of killing Darkseid.

To name some changes: Batman finds his way onto the chair of Metron and gains near-infinite knowledge, the Flash gets the power of death (or something) and Superman seems to be basically the same in strength but now fully black-and-white in coloration and really pissed-off all the time. These alterations to our heroes is explored further in the double-colon, "Justice League: Darkseid War: Power of the Gods," which collects some one-shots that came out during the even chronicling what our heroes got up to during their time gifted with immense power although I only found the, "Batman," one particularly interesting with its focus on Batman causing a headache for the legal system due to his now capturing perpetrators because they can actually commit a crime. The Superman one wasn't too bad either with it hinting how even when vaguely-corrupted by the powers of Darkseid a hero like Superman has bits of humanity in him still.

Once Volume 8/Part 2 kicks in since the climax of Darkseid's violent defeat the story gets moving a lot more as the Anti-Monitor tries to destroy Earth and Justice League has to team-up with the Crime Syndicate (the evil heroes from that, "Forever Evil," event) and release them from prison in order to fight the Anti-Monitor whilst fighting their own new powers that are making them act weird. Wonder Woman is one of the few heroes not corrupted so a lot of Volume 8 involves her viewpoint and thinking about how she's possibly the only person staying sane as the whole team falls apart--a nice touch as outside of her solo-comics we don't see much of Wonder Woman's viewpoint in regards to when she is in a team-book.

It was a little odd seeing the Anti-Monitor--a being who can destroy all of reality--just slowly destroying Earth considering his immense powers, but it is addressed how he is a bit weaker from his fight with Darkseid and in some ways likes having the more, "Personal," touch of evaporating a single planet as opposed to doing damage on a massive scale--a weak explanation, but an explanation nonetheless. Plus, compared to how weird and confusing things start to get toward the end of Volume 8/Part 2 that's nothing. You see, the Superwoman of the Crime Syndicate is pregnant, and gives birth to a baby, that somehow is morphed into a full-grown Darkseid who is controlled by Wonder Woman's aforementioned evil fellow Amazon, Grail. So we've got the Justice League dealing with corrupted powers, the Crime Syndicate reappearing, as well as extra villains and heroes from various planets resulting in the last few chapters of this volume being a bit of a jumble of a ton of characters struggling to get, "Screen-time." The Justice League of course overcomes evil and saves the day, but it is really messy considering how many characters and plot-lines are fighting for attention. Still, overall this was decently-entertaining even if it was heavily flawed, so I would rate it as....
3 out of 5 stars.

Batman Volume 9: Bloom

The conclusion of Scott Snyder's immense run on, "Batman," and I think the only Nu52 book that kept the same writer from beginning to when it ended for, "Rebirth," starting-up. A whole bunch of things happened over Snyder's run from the introduction of the Court of Owls, to repeated appearances by the Joker, the late-series introduction of this, "Bloom," baddie, and towards the end Bruce Wayne was, "Cured," of the trauma of being Batman and quit doing it long enough for Jim Gordon to step-in and tackle the job for a bit. Don't worry though, before that could stick for too long Snyder essentially resets almost everything as Bruce Wayne becomes Batman again and the only meaningful alteration is how a young man named Duke Thomas joins-up to become a new bird-themed sidekick (Lark).

Also, we never learn the true identity of who this, "Bloom," person is because I guess the concept is how anyone could be a terrifying monster or a hero? I dunno. At least some of the time we get awesome art by Greg Capullo who also was with this run from the start but had the occasional fill-in artist. Snyder and Capullo gave us a, "Batman," comic that was at times ingenious, at other times terrible, but overall was a pretty good time, kind of like this concluding book. Not too bad of stuff.
3.5 out of 5 stars.


The Omega Men: The End is Here

This book won all sorts of critical awards and through the sheer protest of fans alone was kept from being cancelled early when the creators had said it was planned as a 12-issue epic and DC threatened to truncate that. Happily it kept going and then once collected shot-up the New York Times best-seller list, so hooray for critical reception turning into commercial success for once too!

"Omega Men," takes place in the DC Universe but in many ways works to be its own removed entity, focusing on a solar-system that has purposely kept itself removed from the affairs of the Universe--even the galaxies-spanning Green Lantern Corps. However, lantern Kyle Rayner comes to try and negotiate peace between warring groups and then things just get really depressing. Essentially this is a comic about how sometimes no matter how hard we want there to be a happy medium or a positive solution, sometimes shit just ends up being awful. It is a message I'm not sure I fully agree with, but kudos to writer Tom King for giving us a comic that eerily-mirrors much of the drama befalling nations today with our whole, "War on terror," except the twist in this case is that the terrorists are actually the good guys, maybe?

You see, even with the right-or-wrong ideas the comics covers, a whole lot of gray still exists and you as the reader are never sure exactly who to cheer for---the morality of everything is extremely murky. It is a really good read and one I would recommend you check-out via your library/borrowing from a friend/buying at a store or online. It's a fantastically good read.
5 out of  5 stars.

Thanks Again to the Library!

Thanks once more to my local county libraries! As a resident of Saint Louis County I actually can acquire a library card for the City libraries too (Saint Louis City counts as its own County), and have done so--some of the stuff I read for my post about manga was actually from the city. I plan to read more books via those libraries too and in the future bet I will be thanking both the County and City profusely as I keep making posts about the stuff I've read!

Mother's Day Rant Reviews--Drugs, Viruses,Jokers, and Squirrel Girls

A Holiday For Mom, A Bunch of Comics For Me

It's Mother's Day! What better way to spend the holiday than by reading some comics and discussing them? To tie-in with the holiday I'll have my usual stars I reward a comic, but then add a thought on what kind of mom would enjoy such a comic!

Good Reading
Miami Vice: Remix #2
Joe Casey is a stellar writer and makes stuff I often love, but the real draw for this comic being published in a partnership between IDW and Lion Forge Comics is the incredible art of Jim Mahfood. Thanks to Mahfood's artwork Miami Vice is looking even more like a neon-drenched acid-trip than it ever has. Plus, tying-into that whole media-sensation of "Bath Salts" and how it made some people attack others, we get to see voodoo-zombies tripping on "Miami Bath Salts" and attacking our famous heroes, Crockett and Tubbs. It's all very silly, but self-aware enough to know you're reading for a good time, not a serious exploration of the morality of police-work and undercover life. Thanks to Casey turning in a wild script and Mahfood providing pitch-perfect art, a solidly entertaining time will be had by anyone who reads this comic.
4 out of 5 stars.
Give this comic to your mom if--She still fondly talks about watching "Miami Vice" back when it was the hottest thing on T.V.

Zero #16 and Dead Drop #1
Both of these comics are written by Ales Kot, a writer I have been excitedly following the works of ("Zero" was in fact one of my favorite comics of 2014). I'm noticing certain themes popping-up in his books that make it interesting how even if the things he writes are in different comic-universes certain concepts keep popping-up that make it apparent Kot has a bit of a thematic-link between titles. Whether it is how "Zero" makes mention of mental holograms (a concept discussed in Kot's comic, "The Surface," or how issues of "Zero" have focused on a mushroom spore that spreads in a viral way whilst meanwhile the first issue of "Dead Drop" touches upon a viral entity with a consciousness that terrorist-styled anarchists want to use, Kot is making different comics, but in some ways is creating his own multi-line singular piece of work with ruminations on the mind along with literal and figurative viruses. It helps that each of his works are all very strong, thanks to his unique writing-voice and the solid art turned-in by his contributors.

Upon my hearing that "Zero" was ending with its 18th issue I felt sad, but as this 16th issue makes clear, Kot is clearly building up to something epic, with what started as a simple future-spy story morphing into a treatsie on how we perceive reality, the meaning of life, and lots of really gross mushrooms. Meanwhile it appears that "Dead Drop" will incorporate various characters of the Valiant comic-universe in fun ways, as everyone heroic in that world works to keep the utter destruction of Earth from happening. It sounds dreary, but "Dead Drop" is actually written with a fun and humorous tone that makes all talk about how "This virus will destroy our planet!"not as dramatic and upsetting as things would seem. With both comics we have something good--an intriguing nearing of the end with one, and a solid start with the other. Kot is definitely a writer to keep watching, as his output should only grow more and more interesting.
Zero #16: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Dead Drop #1: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Give these comics to your mom If--She likes deep explorations of what it means to be human ("Zero), or just enjoys a good chase-scene ("Dead Drop").

Batman #40
Well, here we are. Another issue of Batman, another "Final fight," against his greatest foe, the Joker, followed by another apparent death. I don't know, perhaps I'm a little cranky because I felt Morrison did it better with his run of Batman where he killed Bruce Wayne and then brought him back, and that was so recent. It just feels like this is recently-trodden territory with the only big shocking change being that apparently Jim Gordon is going to be the new Batman as DC's latest releases have made clear. Still, Snyder gives us a passably mediocre conclusion, Greg Capullo provides stellar art, and now we get to the play the betting-game of wagering how long it will be until Bruce Wayne returns to reclaim the mantle of Batman. I guess I just expected more than another apparent death of our hero and potential death of his villain. Sigh.
2.5 out of 5 stars (I would rate it lower, but Capullo really is a great artist).
Give this comic to your mom if--You want to show her an example of how comics are always killing off characters only to have them inevitably return some years (or even months) later.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #5
Just when I start to think "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl" can't get even more fun, it goes and does. This issue primarily involves our heroine's college roommate stuck in the head of the Statue of Liberty with a bunch of other hostages while they tell stories about her that seem quite similar to other heroic-yarns. Whether riffing on the Spider-Man of the 1990's and his clone wars, giving a shout-out to "The Dark Knight Returns," or touching upon the 2099 comic-Universe, each story is incredibly funny to witness, as it becomes more and more apparent that the people being held hostage either are making things up about Squirrel Girl, or just have a horrible memory in regards to their heroes. It is just super-awesome fun.
5 out of 5 stars.
Give this comic to your mom if--She has expressed interest in super-hero titles, but wants something more fun than grim.

Thanks to all the Moms!

That's my special Mother's Day-edition of my Rant-Reviews. I hope everyone has a great rest of their day!

Rant-Reviews--Two New Image Books, Howard the Duck, and a Weird Issue of Batman

A Strange Assortment
For this smattering of Rant-Reviews I thought I would share my thoughts on two new Image books that came out this week, the newest launch of a Howard the Duck comic, and the 39th issue of Batman, with the series having gotten really strange lately.

The Reviews
The Surface #1
I am a fan of Ales Kot, so almost anything he writes is bound to be something I like. The Surface is his newest release with stellar and surreal art by Langdon Foss, and it reads like how people in the past might have predicted our comics in the future would read. It randomly bounces around between our main story and faux-articles about technology or interviews with some mysterious artist. It focuses on a world where we are so obsessed with our computers we let them share all our lives, and in the process lose any privacy (sound at all familiar to today), and some young hackers desire to fix this by finding a mysterious space called, "The Surface," which may or may  not prove all of our existence is a hologram

The comic clearly draws influences from Warren Ellis' famous "Transmetropolitian" comic with its satire of our society, and proudly wears such an influence on its sleeve, with one newsfeed we see flutter by in the comic mentioning a, "Spider Jerusalem" as a graffiti tag. The comic is also pretty humorous and a bit sad in the manner "Transmet" was but is clearly its own strange beast too. Foss' artwork has a realism to it that makes its ability to also look exaggerated and cartoonish even more impressive.  I'm not quite certain where Kot is going with this title, but I bet it will be pretty weird. In case you weren't sure, that is a good thing.
4 out of 5 stars.

Southern Cross #1
I like Becky Cloonan, and her writing for this comic set in the future (also like fellow image comic, "The Surface", go figure) carries a relaxed and down-to-earth tone with our main character, something that serves as a good counter to the fantastic space-elements as Alex Braith goes to the moon of Titan to recover her sister's body from a sleazy corporation that mines the planet--and one which Braith suspects might have had a hand in her sister's death. We don't actually learn this issue what happened to Braith's sister, but I am sure as the story continues more will be revealed. A solid start for the series, even if that weird last-page reveal is more confusing than anything else.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Howard the Duck #1
I have seen it discussed how doing a "Howard the Duck" comic without the late Steve Gerber feels wrong, for a variety of reasons ranging to how he and Marvel quarreled about the character to how no one else seemed to write the character as well as Gerber did. I will agree there is some discomfort to such a comic appearing, but after the surprise cameo by Howard in last year's, "Guardians of the Galaxy," (Um, spoiler-alert for the one person who still hasn't seen it)" and the roaring response that got should we really be surprised if Marvel/Disney sees a chance to make money they take such a chance and run as fast to the bank with it as they can?

That said, it really helps that Chip Zdarsky (normally known for his art on "Sex Criminals") turns in some superb writing, giving us a comic full of gags and self-aware humor--even acknowledging Howard's at-times painful past with cinema (George Lucas, anyone?). Between making fun of everything from Spider-Man's obsession with Uncle Ben dying to She-Hulk pointing out Howard has an office straight out of the 1960's, Zdarsky writes a truly laugh-out-loud title. Joe Quinones supplies art that matches the tone perfectly, with a bright and poppy appearance hearkening back to Howard's old days while simultaneously fitting-in with today's era. It may feel sacrilegious to have Howard without Gerber, but even if we can't have that ever again at least this is a superb first issue.

5 out of 5 stars.

Batman #39

"Batman" has been quite strange as of late. Snyder wrapped up "Zero Year" to take us to events set after "Batman: Eternal" with the Joker causing utter mayhem. Joker has always had a variety of origins,  and the previous issue added another wrinkle claiming that some strange chemical has kept him alive for centuries, always being a troublemaker--as I said, kinda weird. Whether the story is true or pure nonsense may not really matter--as even the back-up story makes clear with the argument that the Joker is everything to everyone who needs some sort of boogeyman. That said, I've always been quite partial to the Alan Moore argument made in "The Killing Joke" that the Joker was simply a normal man who had a terrible day, with just the right elements leading him to crack. Whatever the case, writer Scott Snyder has made it clear that the Joker is done playing around, knows exactly who Batman really is in his public life, and wants to utterly destroy city.

The thing that makes this all a bit more interesting than any other time Joker had almost destroyed Gotham is the element of how the Court of Owls (characters Snyder introduced in this title's debut arc) may tie in with their chemicals that keep people alive, along with the interesting addition at the climax of this issue where Batman enlists the help of some of his other foes who despise him but also realize that if Joker obliterates Gotham they are out of luck too. Capullo also continues to supply art at an amazing level that makes you wonder where he was all these years before doing "Batman"--and the answer is that he was trapped in the hell of doing "Spawn" comics, a fate that can befall many a good artist, with even the phenomenal Ashley Wood once stuck illustrating a "Spawn" mini-series that was decent, but still "Spawn".

Snyder and Capullo have consistently made "Batman" a comic that is fascinating; whether is it good, bad, weird, or whatever else they choose it manages to consistently surprise me, something that I enjoy having occur.

4 out of 5 stars. 

Conclusions

Some good comics have been coming out lately, and whether on their debut issue or further along I found each of these at least pretty entertaining. That's always a good thing, you know?

Rant-Reviews: Horror is Hard

Terror is Subjective
Just like the title says, horror is a hard thing to do well. Whether that means creating a story that is sufficiently, "Scary," exciting, or capable of making the viewer/reader think, horror just is tricky business. It doesn't help that a sense of terror is subjective to each person, with something that scares me possibly not making you fearful in the least. These comics below illustrate how sometimes attempts at horror can make for great results, and other times...well, as I said, it's a hard thing to do well.

Shivering in Your Seat Versus Laughing in the Lounger
Dark Gods #4
I'd been reading this Avatar Press title, hoping it would an enjoyable take on deities in the modern age (perhaps a bit like "God is Dead") but after a decent first issue have found myself incredibly bored by this title. The idea that our modern technology could help open a portal to evil Gods is clever, but I've see that sort of concept before. This issue we have more revealed about just what kind of evil a corporation has been up to, but really this is just a comic full of dull conversation and some decent artwork. I love a lot of Avatar publications, but I'm afraid I shall be quitting this one.
1 out of 5 stars.

Crossed +100 #2
Ah, now this is more like it. Written by the incredibly-famous Alan Moore, this comic takes place a hundred years since the initial, "Crossed," outbreak and while taking being in the same sort of continuity as the other many titles, really stands alone. This is a comic that at first blush sounds more science-fiction than anything else, and it is indeed sci-fi, but don't get it twisted--some horrifying things occur.  Gabriel Andrade supplies some miraculous art to accompany a story full of beautifully eerie abandoned buildings and the occasional burst of violence too, but possibly the most fascinating aspect of this book is actually how Alan Moore takes the English language and changes it. The meanings of words have shifted since the world ended, and while people still speak a language we find familiar, much has altered (it is kind of hilarious to see how our overuse today of the word, "Fuck," could result in the word basically just being a normal inoffensive verb/noun/whatever in the future).

Alan Moore is a fascinating man who sometimes runs of the risk of letting his own mystique and occasional press-statements on the comic-book industry get more attention than his capabilities as a writer. Titles such as these illustrate that even if Moore never makes another "Watchmen" or "The Killing Joke" he still is undoubtedly one of the most creative voices to formerly and currently pen comic-book yarns.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Nameless #1
I love so much of Grant Morrison's work, and some of my favorite titles by him are books which I at first had some trouble understanding but knew if I stuck with them would reward my patience (and they often did).  This though, this I just don't get. There seems to be something with aliens, dreams, rich men on the other side of the moon, and all kinds of random nonsense. I didn't find this especially horror-styled, or anything other than a confusing mess, frankly. The one saving grace is Chris Burnham with his flat-out gorgeous art that looks somewhere between being a mixture of Frank Quitely's style and the doodles in gritty 1980's 'zines. Besides the skill of Burnham though, this is just one big disappointment. At least some other stuff Morrison is putting out continues to impress ("Annihilator" is cool for sure).
2 out of 5 stars.

Wytches #4
Yes, sometimes certain plot elements will seem hokey, the whole, "Everything you know about [Insert Blank] is wrong!" trope has been played out, and perhaps writer Scott Snyder took his time getting to the point of explaining just how the Wytches work, but I don't mind any of that because this book is just so damn terrifying. Whether exploring everyday fears such as failing as a parent, or delving into the gruesome way the Wytches like to eat those whom are, "Pledged," to them, this comic continues to be a read that both fascinates me and makes me wriggle with discomfort--but in a good way.

The way Jock illustrates the comic creates an atmosphere that is foreboding and unpleasant, capable of taking things we normally associate with joy (such as a carnival) and making them another image to shiver at the thought of. Through Jock's masterful artwork and Snyder digging deep into the kinds of things we hide under the covers from, a true piece of horror perfection is presented to us in this issue, and with the next marking the end of the first arc I can only hope things turn out okay for all the characters--although I kind of doubt they will. This is just a really, really, scary comic. That's probably why I like it so much.
5 out of 5 stars.

Fearful, or Just Fun?
As is evident from my reviews, we all have our own interpretations of horror--writers and artists included. That said, when it comes to horror something doesn't just have to be about monsters or witches (although it can be), but can cover all the kinds of fears we may face--be they as simple as surviving another day of high school, or as outlandish as living through the end of the world. At the end of the day, it is about what scares you, and how eager you are to be impacted by it.

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!