Rachel Pollack Has Passed

Rachel Pollack did a superb run on, "Doom Patrol," among other comics, was one of the first openly Transgender creators in comics, wrote some very neat fiction and non-books, knew a ton about Tarot cards, and was all-around a neat person. Sadly, she passed at the age of 77 after having been diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in July 2022. She moved to hospice care this past March and now has left this realm but leaves behind a fantastic body of work and fond memories I've seen loved ones sharing. 

She is survived by her wife, Judith Zoe Mateen who wrote when discussing Pollack's passing, "I know that Rachel will continue to be a Light in this world and in the next. She will continue to inspire so many of our beloved Tarot community, the Science Fiction and Fantasy community, the Comics community, and the Transgender community for whom she shared so much respect and care." She will be missed.

Rant-Reviews: Popularity Contest

Much-Discussed as Well as Little-Known
When comic-books are coming out (and long after their release) some find themselves with immense popularity and others struggle to gain much recognition. A number of factors can play a role here, from advertising, to word-of-mouth, how well-known the creator of a book is, what company publishes it, and plenty more elements. The quality of a book matters too, obviously, but there are a ton of critical darlings just as smash-hit garbage can exist too. With the idea of how some comics get immense buzz and others fly under the radar a concept inn mind let's review some assorted books of varying popularity!

The Books Many (or Few) Have Read
Babyteeth #11
While the writer of this series (Donny Cates) might be writing some red-hot titles for Marvel where he signed an exclusivity deal (his time on, "Thanos," sold like hotcakes), this little book he's been working away on for Aftershock (he started it before the deal, hence being allowed to continue it) hasn't quite gotten the same degree of buzz since a bit of interest when it first launched. The concept has been great--a teenage girl named Sadie gives birth to an Antichrist she names Clark and lots of people have motives relating to that--and the series has had Cates mixture of wit, action, and heartfelt moments. Perhaps because the book lacks any big-name superheroes people just aren't as aware of this as say, his re-launched version of, "Venom." That's as shame as the series continues to be a great read, using this issue to tell us about what is basically a version of Hell that Clark has ended-up within whle Sadie and others hope to go into to rescue him. As this issue makes clear however that isn't going to be an easy feat. It's a quieter issue that serves more of a purpose of setting-up the next big conflict (going into Hell)  than anything else, but Cates always keeps things interesting.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Black Hammer: The Dark Age #3
Jeff Lemire's comics about the world of, "Black Hammer," have been a certifiable surprise hit for Dark Horse, with a variety of spin-off books either having come-out or in the process of starting-up whilst the main series wrapped its first arc and then launched into this new, "Dark Age." The series has always been interestingly meta and minimalist, with heroes who defeated a huge evil force finding themselves stuck for years in a weird happy little town that's almost like an otherwordly limbo--one they want out of. Lemire has thankfully kept interesting developments coming quickly enough with shocking twists and turns (and just enough answers that this doesn't feel like a never-ending barrage of mysteries) that I've been loving the book. As I mentioned this has been a meta-styled comic, and that is ever the more apparent here as a character finds themselves peeking-in at various, "Stories," with some looking quite familiar (I see you, "Sweet Tooth," another work of Lemire!). It is discussed how all stories are in a way true and its delightfully odd. It serves as yet another example of why, "Black Hammer," has been such a fantastic comic and will hopefully continue to be a rollicking read.
5 out of 5 stars.

Damage #6

A lot of books launched as a part of DC's, "New Age of Heroes," and sadly many of them have either done modest numbers or outright flopped hard enough that it looks questionable if a single title will even make it to issue #12. That's a shame as despite some weaker books coming out there has been some solid reads such as the horror-comic within the DCU, "The Curse of Brimstone," the joyfully weird, "The Terrifics," and of course the comic I'm reviewing here, DC's kinda-Hulk, "Damage." The main character is a main named Evan who every 24 hours can transform into a big monster. He's on the run from the Government and in the process has bumped into all sorts of DC heroes and villains. Like, almost too many, with it feeling a bit like the comic is throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what--if anything--will stick. I can practically hear DC going, "Maybe have Damage fight Poison Ivy? No wait, Gorilla Grodd? Throw in some Swamp Thing too perhaps, something has got to boost sales!" As it is, this is a solidly entertaining comic and it is sad to see it along with most other of the newest DC books not quite finding their footing in the same way as re-launches of popular properties such as, "Justice League," seem to be succeeding.
3 out of 5 stars.

Bloodstrike: Brutalists #0
The early Image comics of the 1990's were of course big sellers, and they have been reinterpreted many times by creators at the publisher since. However, when I heard Michel Fife (a creator whose work I love) was going to be bringing his interesting art sensibility often found in more indie-circles to the quite mainstream, "Bloodstrike," I was intrigued to see this artsy-meets-commercial creation. Well, having the read first AKA zero issue I had a stellar time reading this! Fife gives everything a nice retro vibe mixed with his modern sheen and a few short pieces by other talented creators such as Benjamin Marra and Charles Forsman help round-out this delightfully oxymoron futuristic take on the past. It's some good stuff.
5 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #110
"Tarot," is not a massively popular property by any means. You don't see merchandise of the character in Target like other big-name entities, after all. That said, "Tarot," is probably the closest thing to an exact definition of a cult-favorite comic-book than anything else you'd come up with. After all, this series by Jim Balent and Holly GoLightly has been in print for over a decade and has gone past 100 issues--a major accomplishment for any comic, be it put-out by a big publisher or small one. A lot of success is owed to how, "Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose," has its general focus on Wicca and enjoyable cheesecake imagery, but besides that the comic is not beholden to any specific storytelling genres. Sometimes the book is more fantastical, other times scary, it maybe riffs on super-heroes, or has a humor-focused issue. It has its foundation but always builds interesting and new things upon this base, and that keeps readers coming back. This issue is in the vein of a big and epic story, with a lot of text accompanying various images. It is more Tarot-y goodness and sure to please any fans of the series!
4 out of 5 stars.

Thor #1

While there was a time his comics were doing so poorly Marvel actually killed him off for a couple years, Thor has lately been big business thanks to his movies and a number of high-profile comic events. We've got yet another re-launch of the book with the generally-great writer Jason Aaron at the helm (as he has been for a good deal of Thor's adventures lately). A new Marvel #1 generally sees a boost in sales, but does the latest relaunch of, "Thor," at least justify this stunt after Marvel made such a fuss about big ol' numbering for the failure that was, "Marvel Legacy," or is it a hollow effort? To answer that question, I'll say the comic is fine, but nothing screams that its some brand-new epic start to the saga of Thor. He still isn't, "Worthy," of holding the hammer as he has been dealing with lately, but is going by Thor again after Jane Foster has finished her stint as the character. It feels like we are just joining a lot of stories-in-progress in the main part of the comic and a back-up story reintroducing some characters from yet another run on a, "Thor," book Jason Aaron did before is solid too, but nothing amazing. It's just a passable comic that doesn't really make it clear why a, "#1," was needed as if marking some kind of special occasion. It'll still sell a ton of copies I bet though.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Uber: Invasion #13
"Uber," and its sequel series, "Uber: Invasion," have been steady sellers for publisher Avatar Press, as writer Kieron Gillen imagines an Earth where World War II was horrifically prolonged by the development of Superhumans by the Nazis and then other nations as they struggled to catch-up. This series has been as dark and depressing as you could imagine, bringing a Garth Ennis-level detail to discussing warfare tactics within the comic plus a mixture of gruesome gore as these human, "Battleships," rip into one another. While this isn't some mega-seller, in terms of the kind of profits a smaller comic-publisher might like to achieve, "Uber/Uber: Invasion," has been a consistent winner. This issue moves the plot along, introducing some new wrinkles to fighting on, "The Eastern Front," as the Soviets find themselves beginning to struggle further in the war. Also, we meet one of the most hideous and deformed powered-characters yet, a design that is as interesting to witness as it is disgusting. I mean, "Uber," has never been known for skimping on gore or twisted flesh along with interesting alternative-takes on history, and this is more of that which is sure to continue being a solid seller for Avatar.
4 out of 5 stars.

Becoming Renowned or Possibly Suffering in Obscurity

Sometimes a comic is a hit, other times its a steady-seller, cult classic, or just kinda fails. I said quality matters, and I mean that, but we all know that one big element of comic-books is how at the end of the day it is a bit of a popularity contest. We all want the, "Hot," books and the ones less sought-after end-up in a dollar bin. It is nice when something is great and sells a bunch of copies too, of course. I just get sad when the things I love are cancelled, but so it goes.

Rant-Reviews: Cheesecake Appreciation

Why Not?
I have previously expressed an appreciation for publishers such as Boundless and other companies who put out cheesecake-styled comics (e.g. comic-books with sexy artwork) with a self-aware wink. We as a society (when we aren't being prudish) of course enjoy sexy illustrations of the human body and comic-books at times can provide that. With this in mind, I thought it might be fun to review some comics that don't hesitate to provide anything from a little pin-up art to ones that can be surprisingly detailed in their drawings of human genitalia. Oh, and note that it is hard to find much Cheesecake of men but it is out there, it just is less common so I don't really touch upon it in these reviews as I couldn't find any lately (whenever a, "Gambit," comic is coming out he seems to shower a lot though).

Sexy Reads
Amerikarate #7
This comic has been one big funny spoof of various 1970's and 1980's movies and all the over-the-top elements found within them. Whether riffing on, "Footloose," "Death Wish," or in this issue, "Robocop," the comic always manages to have immense bloodshed and usually at least one sex scene. Also, there are various covers each issue and there is always one variant (which also seem to be the more popular variants in terms of aftermarket sales) every month featuring adult film actress and known nerd April O'Neil (that Twitter is NOT safe for work) in various cosplay outfits that relate to the issue.

 These books are always good dumb fun, with the film references being subtle and well-incorporated enough that it isn't just an annoying game of, "Let's shout-out various things that make people nostalgic and act like that's funny!" Plus, I mean, this issue draws from the classic, "Robocop," so how can you wrong? "Amerikarate," isn't super cheesecakey outside of some of those April O'Neil variants and some suggestive scenes but it is hilarious so I would encourage anyone with a fondness for humorous titles check it out. Purchase issues on eBay, on MyComicShop, or from Things From Another World.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

VS: Vamps Vs Wolves #2

My good friends at ComicsHeatingUp had a post about this cool self-published book and I eagerly bought it on the interwebs from creator Scott Blair. The story involves a long-running feud between Vampires and Werewolves who had an uneasy truce that has fallen apart--and to add to the complications there are hunters of the supernatural present to disrupt everything too! Blair's pin-up style artwork evokes a strong 1950's sensibility with his curvy women and the cheeky way he covers-up the naughtiest bits of characters to keep things PG-13-ish in terms of flesh shown (plenty of blood and swearing occurs, however). The comic reminds me of those classic cheeky horror-movies you would see at the drive-in full of innuendo and excessive blood-effects, and that my friends is a good thing. I would recommend picking-up the first two issues that have come out so far from Blair's store on eBay and I know I'm looking forward to issue #3!
5 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #106

"Tarot," is of course the long-running book from creators Jim Balent and Holly Golightly they put out via their publisher, Broadsword comics. Featuring the adventures of titular witch, Tarot, the books often will jump around in theme and tones, sometimes being more about Wicca and the supernatural, other times joking about super-heroes, and always looking great thanks to Balent's decades of comic-experience making his artwork fantastic (with Golightly's lettering and fantastic color-work being the metaphorical cherry on top).

This issue follows Tarot, her sister Raven, friend-and-lover Boo Cat, and husband Jon as they fight against a Halloween spirit that is turning the residents of the town of Salem where they live into all kinds of monstrous creatures in an effort to spread the Halloween mood. It's a good yarn and works-in some funny jokes about the trials of Trick-or-Treating too that anyone who ever has gone door-to-door in an effort to get candy to relate to (we've all had the religious holy-rollers scold us about this evil holiday and make us wonder why they even leave their lights on if they're just going to be unpleasant).

The cheesecake element comes-in where Tarot and her friends often aren't especially clothed and even when they are various things occur that put them in states of undress. I mean, the comic has a half-naked witch fighting werewolves and works in a message about not making assumptions about people (like why do witches need to be green in many stories, seriously, why?), so what's not to like? Should you want to pick-up this or any other issue of, "Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose," Things From Another World, eBay, and MyComicShop all are stellar resources.
5 out of 5 stars.

Lookers: Ember #2

If some of these books have featured suggestive artwork or tasteful nudity, then "Lookers: Ember," is admittedly just straight-up raunch. As I've talked about in the past however, it is smart and self-aware raunch, so I can't help but like it. While the other comics maybe give us the equivalent of R-rated love-making scenes, "Lookers: Ember," flirts with being outright an outright porn-comic if it did't also have a good deal of plot, action scenes, and admittedly interesting ideas you wouldn't expect in a cheesecake comic. The general plot has meshed another property from the publisher (Boundless), incorporating their hero-esque character, "Ember," and having her seek out the private detectives known as, "Lookers," who work to help women victimized by men online--a topic that continues to be relevant.

It seems her cell-phone was stolen and features a sex-tape of her and a politician. Us readers see a group of Men's Right Activist-types have it and plan to sell it to embarrass Ember and show women they need to, "Respect their place," so yes, we are getting a comic that is a strange marriage of porny-sex and weirdly topical themes of feminism and how men troll women online. There are some drug dealers involved too who have an interest in the tape that may relate more to the politician than super-hero Ember and it is all interesting, well-illustrated, and to top it off features some really graphic sex-scenes just to ensure everyone is getting entertained. "Lookers: Ember," probably won't be winning any awards in the comic's biz but it is a damn well done book. It may be a guilty-pleasure styled read, but its good stuff, and I believe the third issue is released tomorrow! You can get yourself a copy on eBay, or Things From Another World.
5 out of 5 stars.

That Was Fun
Well, these books maybe aren't the most high-brown or fancy, but it sure was fun to read and review them!

Rant-Reviews: Checking-In

Time To Check-In

There are a number of comics I read and enjoy whenever they come out, but don't necessarily always post reviews of. I thought it might be good to check-in on these titles and see how good a job they are doing of continuing to hopefully entertain me!

How's It Been Going?

Redneck #4
Donny Cates has been blowing-up lately, with superb books like, "God Country," and the recent news he will be writing titles for Marvel. I've of course been a fan of his since the amazing, "Buzzkill," and continue to enjoy his work on titles such as, "Redneck." A comic about a family of Vampires who mostly keep to themselves in Texas until all kinds of fighting breaks-out, this book in some ways reminds me of the stellar, "Southern Bastards," which also comes out from Image in its focus on the South and how it has horribly broken people as main characters. That isn't to say, "Redneck," is at all a copy of that book, as this baby is its own unique weird mixture of Western, Horror, and a bit of a Supernatural-yarn too, what with the Vampiric element. Still, Cates himself has said to simply call this a book about vampires would be highly reductive as it is about a lot more.

This is a book about family, and the terrible lengths we will go to for the people we love and care about. A lot of this issue involves one vampire as she uses her psychic powers to go into another's memories and provides us readers with some more back-story. This background helps give the current-day events a lot more context and also helps to illustrate how whether we are humans or vampires that escaping the constant cycle of bloodshed within life can be quite hard. Violence begets violence and no matter what era we live in people seem to find an excuse to fight. It's tragic and fascinating to read, making, "Redneck," one of those books you've probably heard a lot of hype about and might be surprised to learn actually lives-up to all the accolades!
5 out of 5 stars.

Deathstroke #21

21 issues in (well, a bit more counting the, "Rebirth," one-shot and a recent cross-over) and Christopher Priest continues to make a character I had never cared about a fascinating lead in a really good book. Slade Wilson AKA Deathstroke has always been a horribly flawed person and a villain, but what if he tries to be a hero? Is such a thing even possible? Well, as of this issue Priest is starting to explore that concept and making it clear even a, "Heroic," Deathstroke is pretty dangerous. This was one of my favorite comics of 2016 with Priest being one of my favorite writers last year too, and, "Deathstroke," continues to impress.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Black Hammer #11

Jeff Lemire's comic, "Black Hammer," has slowly grown from an intriguing little title to something really special and fascinating. A super-hero book that isn't in fact a hero-comic in most definitions of the word, we follow some heroes who were able to stop a great evil, but then ended up trapped in some weird normal-ish town removed from the rest of reality. The book works so well because it isn't just a nostalgic look at Golden-age heroes or a dark post-modern take on the concept of heroism it is just an earnest exploration of people who have powers and are stuck in a weird situation and trying their hardest to make the best of it.

In this issue a recent joiner of the heroes from the, "Real-world," continues to investigate how odd this town is, a character I adore almost (but thankfully doesn't) die, and things just get more and more mysterious and ominous. In other words, more stellar comic-making. I personally feel this is one of the best books coming out currently from Dark Horse, and one of the best books in comics in general!
5 out of 5 stars.

Jessica Jones #10

I was a huge fan of, "Alias," back when Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos were doing that O.G. Marvel Max title. Later Jones of course popped-up in various titles but we didn't get any more, "Alias." This is the closet to that as it isn't a Max title, but still slips in some stronger language than most Marvel books and features that original creative team. Some of the old magic is for sure there, but instead of being a mostly self-contained kind of book this draws heavily from recent Marvel events and whereas, "Alias," could have been read mostly independently of other Marvel stuff this will leave you scratching your head should you not have at least Googled what Marvel's been up to (two major plot points in the first arc came from the recent, "Secret Wars," and had a minor character from, "Civil War II," involved as hiring Jones. In other words, this is good, but different from the classic, "Alias."

I should be annoyed with how reliant this book is on the rest of Marvel's events that are going on as opposed to being more self-contained, but Bendis' still gives us such a compelling character in the form of Jones and Gaydos is an artist whose work I always enjoy. Gaydos splotchy and borderline-abstract style just really appeals to me, I guess. This book isn't perfect, but it is still good fun.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

I Hate Fairyland #14

Skottie Young continues to use his ability to make cute child-friendly images to take those adorable drawings and draw them swearing and being violent. The saga of Gertrude AKA Gert as she has struggled to escape Fairyland has been hilarious to witness, with this issue continuing a recent them of Gert trying to be a good person in the hopes that will assist in her actually getting-out. In this issue that involves her working through a confusing labyrinth full of random and creepy dudes who in a hilarious running-gag want Gert to marry them, with her observing it is a strange cliché how in magical realms all these older dudes want to hook-up with young chicks. Young's combination of writing and fantastic artwork makes everything delightful in its twisted-humor and the shocking last page that shows Gert might actually--gasp--become a good person has me eagerly awaiting the next issue to see how it all goes humorously wrong (which I would bet it will).
4 out of 5 stars. 

All Caught-Up!
It is good to see a lot of the books I've been liking have continued to be at least good and sometimes great reads.

Rant-Reviews: Comics I Recently Enjoyed

Shall We Begin?
I have no particular theme this time other than these are all comics I read recently and enjoyed. Sometimes my doing a simple concept is the best one, I feel.

Review-Time!
Saga #43
After the heartbreaking conclusion of issue #42 where a world ends and the remaining pages of the comic are literally just pure black nothingness, we arrive at the start of a new arc featuring an issue that can be purchased for just a 25 cents. That's right, a single quarter can get you this amazing book that has continuously brought me immense joy and sorrow. I imagine that quarter-price is also meant to encourage new readers as we get a significant chunk of reviewing what's happened previously within the series during this issue, but plenty of immense interest to us current readers happens too, so I'm still very pleased.

Essentially everyone has gotten themselves into yet another mess, with a devastating miscarriage resulting in a surprising amount of humor (laughter in tragedy, as they say) as the members of two warring races who fell in love--Alana and Marko--have to figure out what to do considering the unborn 2nd-child they were going to have would raise a lot of questions if either of them went to their home-planets. Also, there are monsters made out of literal shit, so yeah, "Saga," continues to be one of the best books on the stands and at a price this good to start reading it, you don't really have an excuse for missing-out on this series.
5 out of 5 stars.

Infamous Iron Man #8
Brian Michael Bendis, you can be as enjoyable a writer as an infuriating one. Whether turning in amazing work on books such as, "Daredevil," and, "Alias," or the recent kinda-continuation of Alias, "Jessica Jones," you can tell some great solo-character tales (and mess-up sometimes too), but you honestly struggle at times with team books, either turning-in decent stuff like, "New Avengers," or absolute garbage such as...your other Avengers stuff. Also, you can't write events. In other words, you can be amazing or really suck, and, "Infamous Iron Man," has actually been...really good?

I picked-up this book as I still hold fond memories of when Bendis and illustrator Alex Maleev worked on the aforementioned, "Daredevil," so seeing he was doing the artwork made me pick-up this book that spins-out of the atrocious, "Civil War II," where Tony Stark apparently was beaten into a coma by Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel for...reasons? Anyways, it follows Dr. Doom who has a repaired face thanks to, "Secret Wars," and now wants to be a hero. The book has been enjoyable in its studying of both good guys and bad guys who just can't believe that of all people Victor Von Doom is trying to be heroic. It seems like he might actually be trying though, and its been a fun read (with awesome art) as he tries. So, of course we need to muddy things further with an evil version of Reed Richards from the now-dead Ultimate Universe. That aside, this issue was more good stuff of Dr. Doom (and an appearance by fellow Ironman-suit-utilizer Riri Williams). Now we just have to hope this book continues to be good and doesn't fall apart or get sucked into some event (I have really been hating the Marvel events lately).
4 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #104
I continue to read and enjoy, "Tarot," thanks to its delightful writing, and artwork brought to us by the talented Jim Balent and Holly Golightly. Ever since the big wedding issue a variety of challenges have come Tarot's way, as well as her sister, Raven Hex. That makes this issue where everyone goes to a big Pagan High-Ritual known as, "Beltane," more of a relaxed pause in the series as opposed to some of the more action-packed or plot-filled issues. It still is good fun however, and develops some ongoing stories, such as how the happy-go-lucky character of Jon/Skeleton Man may have actually kept a lot of darkness from his past hidden.

Balent continues to illustrate mystical creatures, scenes of fighting, and the female form beautifully, and colorist and letterer Holly Golightly expertly ties everything together as per usual. I can't brag and say I've read, "Tarot," from the start, but I have been reading it for a good deal of time now and always find it to be a highly enjoyable time. Over the years these characters have really grown on me and I look forward to hopefully many more years with them.
5 out of 5 stars.

'Namwolf #2
When I first saw the solicit for this series, I was basically sold on the idea of a Werewolf in Vietnam. I figured as long as this comic gave me that I would be happy. The first issue supplied that and then in this issue we get to watch our werewolf fight a weird green bat-monster too, so yes, I'm pleased! Fabian Rangel Jr. (who also was a part of the, "Tarantula," graphic novel I loved and recently reviewed) writes and Logan Faerber masterfully illustrates this tale of a young man going to Vietnam and discovering a monster lives inside him, eager to get out.

The whole concept (a werewolf in Vietnam) is itself silly, so the book thankfully doesn't play things completely serious, but it also manages to avoid seeming utterly silly. It is like those old 1980's action flicks with a dash of horror that were just self-aware enough to avoid seeming dumb (which the creators have said is in fact the intention). I wish we would get a little more characterization of everyone besides the titular 'Namwolf as outside of learning their names in the previous issue the rest of the platoon has been pretty undefined and just kind of, there. That slight aside, the second issue of "'Namwolf," is a fun read and one I look forward to reading the next issue of!
4 out of 5 stars.

The Divided States of Hysteria #1
Howard Chaykin is an interesting person in the field of comics. He's been making them for decades and almost everyone loves his, "Early," stuff but the material he puts out now later in his career gets him regarded as either a genius or utterly insane. I personally feel he maybe is a bit of both. As he says in an essay in the back of this first issue, when this comic was first announced and being made he and everyone else thought Hillary Clinton would be President and this book imaging a world full of terrorism, racism, homophobia, and people acting violent towards each other would be more of a tale saying, "Here's the worst-case scenario that could have happened," as opposed to being more of a reflection of current events with just a little bit of hyperbole (in ""The Divided States of Hysteria," there have already been more terror attacks on the nation and our President was assassinated in a failed coup of sorts, so thing aren't yet quite this awful).

Chaykin is both the writer and illustrator here, giving us some bloody violence and sex while presenting a narrative of a nation creeping close a tipping-point of utter chaos now that the myths everyone believed of American exceptionalism have clearly been destroyed and everyone seems to hate each other...God, it really is like a fun-house mirror of today, ain't it? At the issues' conclusion it is clear yet another terrorist attack has begun on America and things will only get worse. It is a brutally bleak comic considering how right now terrorist attacks are actively happening in other parts of the world and our whole country is holding its breath in hopes we aren't attacked and our horrifically incompetent President (seriously, fuck Trump) has to try and be effective. It is depressing to think a comic that was supposed to seem over-the-top now reads as uncomfortably plausible, but I would say no matter how horrific, "The Divided States of Hysteria," seems, it is a wholly necessary hard look in the mirror of the path our nation is on and desperately needs to get off of. Yeah, Chaykin is definitely both a bit of a genius and crazy.
5 out of 5 stars.

All Quality Reads
I like when I can just kick-back on the couch (or a smaller-but-comfy chair, whatever works), relax, and read a good comic. I'm happy these books helped me achieve that goal.

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!

Three Comic-Related Kickstarter Campaigns That Are Worth Your Support: Tarot, Hard Code, and Big Ol Box of Stuff

Three Cool Kickstaters

I'll discuss Kickstarter on the site sometimes, be it to spotlight neat looking things or complain about Kickstarter campaigns that strike me as lame. Today I'd like to cover three that I thought appear to be worth backing.

The Campaigns

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose: Issue #100 Extended Edition
I know what you might be thinking--"David, didn't you just rip Avatar Press a new one for doing a Kickstarter? Isn't this a publisher too?" To your question I respond, yes, I did really criticize Avatar Press (out of love, because they are a great publisher, after all), but I feel Broadsword Comics (the publisher of, "Tarot,") is not in the wrong here. Broadsword is a much smaller company--basically consisting solely of husband and wife team Jim Balent and Holly Golightly--and while a publisher like Avatar undoubtedly is flush with funds to make their next, "Uber," mini-series and seems to be offering little more than variant covers, I can understand if Jim and Holly want to make a special edition of the big 100th issue of, "Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose," and see if fans are interested. Plus, this isn't just some variant covers, this is a big extended book full of extras and other interesting stuff die-hard fans of, "Tarot," are bound to enjoy.

Should someone really enjoy this series I imagine they would eagerly jump on the opportunity to buy a special edition of the 100th issue available exclusively through Kickstarter, and Jim and Holly are doing this to make sure that regular fans can get the normal 100th issue for a reasonable price while us big fans can have an extra-big one. As a person who greatly enjoys this comic I'm excited for this huge anniversary and would say this is a Kickstarter worth checking out. Give it a gander here.

The Hard Code 1 & 2
"The Hard Code," is a comic that had a small release of the first issue and is in the process of getting the second issue lettered. Is from writer Ramon Gil with art by none other than Trevor Von Eeden. I've enjoyed Von Eeden's work whenever I've seen his older or newer stuff, and the story-line sounds interesting with its allegory of a world where humans and androids are fighting over rights (considering what's going on all over the U.S. and world currently with various people being denied basic human dignities it is quite topical). I'm always a sucker for a good science-fiction story so this looks right up my alley with its mixture of futurism, current-event metaphors, and stellar artwork.

I'll see many promising Kickstarter campaigns that never, "Deliver the goods," but this one clearly outlines in the video how money shall be spent and Gil has had successful Kickstarter campaigns before, so that inspires confidence as well. The pledge levels are really reasonable too, with print copies of issue #1 and #2 available for just a $10.00 pledge and $3.00 shipping (so $13.00 total, not bad at all)! Check out the campaign and pledge here!

Big ol Box of Stuff Needs Your Help
I of course love subscription boxes and Big Ol Box of Stuff--BoBos for short--is one that has been around for a bit over a year. One thing that has bugged me with various sub-boxes is that sometimes they will have one two great items, but then lame filler/fluff stuff. Plus, there is always the concern of a box containing an item that in theory is cool, but could be related to something I have zero interest towards (like the time I got a t-shirt that tied-in with, "Game of Thrones," and people said how great it was but all I could do was shrug). For those reasons what BoBos does struck me as genius. You fill-out a questionnaire with a wide range of your interests and get a box tailored to what you would like--including a variety of comic-related options! This is a stupendous concept and they have been doing pretty well, which leads to the question of why they would need a Kickstarter campaign.

Well, in a very well-produced video that I enjoyed watching, the folk behind BoBos (which is mostly a family-operation that works impressively hard to satisfy their hundreds of subscribers) it is explained clearly and concisely how with the funds from this Kickstarter campaign they will be able to increase their inventory. That way they will be able to make their business run even more smoothly and efficiently, thereby ensuring the continued success of BoBos. That this box has already been around for over a year and is not facing an imminent risk of shutting down as opposed to just needing more funds to function makes me think this Kickstarter should deliver the goods. Give them your support here.

In Closing

There are many upon many Kickstarter campaigns going on at one time, that is obvious. Without a doubt plenty more Kickstarters worth your attention are going on too, but I just wanted to put a spotlight on these as they caught my eye and--most importantly of all--appear as if they will fulfill their promises (always a concern after all the stories of successfully-funded campaigns that never delivered the goods). Kickstarter continues to be a fascinating platform and through its ups and downs I am always fascinated by what the people who utilize it create for us.

Rant-Reviews: A Hodge-Podge of Comics

Scattered Assortment
I have no particular theme today for these reviews, it is just a random assortment of stuff I've read lately and felt like discussing.

Throw it in the Melting-Pot of Entertainment!

Deathstroke: Rebirth #1
Christopher Priest is a writer who does not get nearly enough credit as he deserves. He has written a ton of stellar books before at times stepping-away from comics to pursue other interests when he gets fed-up with the industry B.S. He's back with DC however now though, and writing about Deathstroke, a random character but one that he tackles handling with his usual craft. I am overjoyed to see him writing a character I generally have had no interest in, because that means he'll be able to use his skill and talent to show me why I should give even a solitary damn about Deathstroke. This issue seems to serve as a prologue of sorts to the main series, being one of the, "Rebirth," one-shots DC is apparently doing--I'm not sure exactly how that all works as this is seriously the only DC book I'm reading now and that is solely down to how I love Priest's work.

It's a great issue, if a tad confusing for someone who knows absolutely nothing about Deathstroke (real name Slade Wilson) or his past. We have flashbacks with when he was still simply a man named Salde, moments in the present where he embarks on various violent missions, and a bunch of mysteries that Priest expertly sets-up about just who certain people are and why Slade seems to care about them--despite the fact he normally doesn't care about anyone but himself. Priest works in a number of jokes, political observations, and basically does in 20-ish pages what most writers can't even do over an entire story-arc: Gives me information about a character, tells me his motivation, shows me an exciting story with this character, and leaves me wanting more. I already said I'm not reading any other of DC's, "Rebirth," books, but this is one I will undoubtedly be picking-up into the foreseeable future.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Trees #14
I don't know if this comic comes out sporadically as I feel it does, but between the breaks during arcs and then sensation of it popping-up only every two or three months thereafter, I have a sensation as if this comic has a somewhat unreliable release pattern. That's annoying as I have been quite liking, "Trees," since it finally made things interestingly dangerous at the conclusion of the first arc--when it became apparent the mysterious alien monoliths were possibly sending out destructive signals via weird black roses. It is all drawn in a wonderfully creepy manner by artist Jason Howard, whose artwork is just at home during scenes of violent action or moments of quiet contemplation (such as when a character eyes the roses with suspicion). The ominous appearance of the roses during this arc in various locations has served as a delightfully eerie foreshadowing of trouble to come, and is complimented well by the assorted political intrigue and futurism that fills the book--which is to be expected when you have a writer such as Warren Ellis doing the story. This is the end of the 2nd arc and Lord only knows when the 3rd one will begin. I don't really mind waiting, however, because this is a solid read anytime an issue eventually comes out.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Paybacks #1
This series is a sort-of sequel to the phenomenal, "Buzzkill," that features the same creative team as that book and a few of the same characters; it also started out at Dark Horse before suddenly ending with its 4th issue and now resuming with a brand-new #1 over at Heavy Metal (the people who put out that big comic-magazine Grant Morrison took over). Considering when we last saw the team were on part 4 of what I recall to be a 5-part arc  I was curious what this re-launch with a new publisher would do in terms of storytelling. When, "The Paybacks," first launched you needn't have read, "Buzzkill," to enjoy the book but could understand some of the references if you had. Now the question becomes if you need to have read, "The Paybacks," at Dark Horse to have a clue what is going on in, "The Paybacks," at Heavy Metal--plus one has to consider if the comic is even good as well. So, is the book possible to follow going in fresh? Kind of. Also, is the book good? Yes, for sure.

New readers are without question going to find themselves overwhelmed and confused, but anyone who was already following this comic is going to be able to pick things up without any problem and continue to enjoy this stellar read. I wouldn't recommend going into this, "Blind," as it were, but would recommend reading the comic for sure after you check out the previous issues of, "The Paybacks," and read, "Buzzkill," too because it is an awesome book.
4 out of 5 stars.

Lady Killer 2 #1
Joelle Jones returns with her wild tale of a peppy 1950's housewife named Josie who was a trained killer for a mysterious company that may or may not have been evil (it probably was), but left it at the conclusion of the last mini-series. She's running her own murder-for-hire business now and the comic continues its jarring mixture of hideous violence and faux-nostalgia for a, "Better time," that the comic actually points out was full of sexism and a myriad of issues. The humor isn't just dark, it is absolutely pitch-black (putting body parts in leftover Tupperware containers from a party, for example), and Jones is as great an illustrator as she is a writer. Fantastically twisted and monstrous stuff.
5 out of 5 stars.

Mockingbird #5
Another comic about a woman who kicks-butts for a shadowy agency, but in this comic written by Chelsea Cain, we finally get some answers after that bizarre first issue that showed us glimpses of the aftermath following issues #2-#4 and now takes us back to the end that we saw in the beginning and oh dear my brain hurts now. Cleverly confusing set-up of the debut-arc aside, this is a great end to the arc, full of the usual humor Cain has brought during the comic as well as a lesson in the biologic history of viruses and a twist-ending I honestly didn't predict. I believe the sixth issue is out today. I'll be sure to read it after this great opening-arc.
5 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #99
The issue of a comic that occurs before a big event faces an unenviable job. It can either be wholly removed from the big issue that follows it and tell its own story or work to help set-up the big-deal issue after it and basically get zero thanks for its hard work. If it stands alone it is simply a good comic that most people ignore/forget about and if it sets-up the exciting issue following it everyone just talks about how great that issue was and ignores/forgets all the effort the prologue did. Therefore, no matter what the issue #99 of a series does it probably faces the depressing fate of being ignored/forgotten, and that would be shame if that happens with this issue of, "Tarot," because while the exciting big-deal 100th issue is next, this comic's portrayal of events serving as the follow-up to the big wedding between Tarot and Jon is a great piece of entertainment and contains a huge cliff-hanger.

If I may spoil the book, it covers Tarot going to a party within another realm full of faeries in honor of her upcoming wedding. Once there she reminisces about the past with friends and it seems like we will be getting a quiet filler-issue. However, things get very interesting when a shadowy cloaked figure and his/her snake accomplice attack Tarot and via the snake's venomous bites incapacitate our heroine and replace her with a doppelganger who no doubt will be getting up to nefarious deeds. We end this issue on the morning of Tarot's wedding to her beloved, Jon, and are shown that the evil copy is clearly still in place. The importance this 99th issue therefore plays in setting-up the 100th issue results in a book that thankfully won't be forgotten or ignored by fans, as it is clearly a key element in what I imagine will be a huge conflict when the series hits the triple-digits shortly. It's a great read and I tip my hat to the creative team of Jim Balent and Holly Golightly for crafting yet another stupendous issue of, "Tarot."
5 out of 5 stars.

A Medley of Good Stuff
I hope you enjoyed reading about the various comics as much as I did reading them!

Rant-Reviews: The Real and the Fantastical

Imaginary Reality
Some comics take reality and smash it up against the fantastical. With a mixture of things that seem possible as well as the impossible a great blend can be made. The comics below have a variety of fantastical elements that play a major role in creating their tales.

Entering a New World
The Joyners #1
Fantastical Element: It's the future and our technology has advanced, but of course it goes horribly wrong.
As I understand it (and somewhat recall), this was originally a big graphic novel that could be read with 3-D glasses. Now however it is being collected in a monthly format minus the 3-D aspect and in standard color. I don't think the book suffers too much from the lack of the extra dimension, as the artwork by David Marquez and Kelly Fitzpatrick works well with the writing of R.J. Ryan to create a sci-fi tale that has my interest piqued. We open in a prologue that is also the end of the story it appears, where things have gotten to a bad point for our characters, then jump to the past to witness the discussion of a new invention that is going to change everything for the better. Clearly, if the main character ruined things that isn't the case.

The artwork is gorgeous and I said the story has my attention, but one huge flaw is you can really tell this was originally written for trade as this first of the four issues comes-off as really decompressed. A ton of questions are raised with nearly none answered, which makes sense if it's the first chapter of a book, but when you're serializing a story you've gotta give the reader something to grab onto. The lack of answers doesn't upset me as much as this reviewer, but clearly others are a bit perturbed too. My concerns about how serialization will impact the story may hopefully be addressed by a 2nd issue that explains more, but for now I'm mostly confused, but at least have some great artwork to be confused with.
3 out of 5 stars.

The Dark #1
Fantastical Element: It's a quiet forest, with something horrible lurking in it.
Suppose that the legends of Sasquatch were a bit wrong. Imagine that the theoretically hairy big creature were in a fact a hideous witch who wears the skin of her victims. Yeah, that's terrifying. Writer and artist Kelly Williams fills us in about the witch and sets up a lot of story before a very scary conclusion. This is labeled as, "Chapter One: Boo Hag," so I'm thinking future issues will tackle other things that lurk in the dark (hence the title). Williams says a bit more in the back about the Boo Hag and how the idea of it draws from a variety of mythologies and I appreciated the extra history.

Williams art is minimalist yet expressive, with the grotesque imagery appearing as really unpleasant (which is the intention). I'm just tickled by the concept that the potentially big, smelly, and hairy creature we all talk about could very well be a shriveled-up and hideous witch. This was a great first issue and has me excited for future ones. As this is a digital comic from Alterna you can find it here and purchase a copy for your enjoyment.
4 out of 5 stars.

I Hate Fairyland #6
Fantastical Element: An adult trapped in a child's body is forced to live in a magical land she despises.
Writer and artist Skottie Young admits to pulling a bit of a bait-and-switch this issue in the back-matter, as when (spoiler) Gertrude is only briefly queen despite having taken on the role at the end of the last arc it is a bit surprising. Young says how this allows him to have her go back out into the magical world, and it's his story so he can do whatever he wants. Regardless of the power Gertrude is or isn't wielding however, her snark and attitude always are awesome. The weird mixture of adorable artwork and gore still impresses and I really get the vibe that Young is happy to let out some twisted dark humor after doing all those books that were strictly kid-geared for years.

While the art and humor continue to be great, honestly not that much occurs this issue. Gertrude whines about being bored and things are a little more dull than some previous issues. It could be due to the fact that this is the start of a new arc that it feels that way, but at least--as I've said--things look awesome and are hilarious.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #98
Fantastical Element: Witches and ghosts go up against criminals
"Tarot," is a comic that I at first found incredibly weird when I first started reading it. I was at times a little tough on it in old reviews, but then I started to enjoy it more and more as I kept picking it up to the point now it is one of my favorite books. As we near the 100th issue, which will feature the wedding of Tarot and her fiancé Jon, this issue actually has them out doing their own things until they meet-up at the end to relax after a long night.

In this issue Jon fights some grave-robbing criminals and Tarot wraps-up a loose end of fighting an old foe. Jim Balent and Holly Golightly turn in a great comic with the scenes featuring Jon being full of action and Tarot's part of the comic having a strong horror-element as she faces-off against an eerie Doll-Woman she beat once before. I like the way that the Tarot comics feature a world that seems normal but reveals such an image to be a paper-thin veneer hiding a whole world full of weird and magical stuff. I look forward to the next issue and am even more excited for when it hits triple digits!
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Vote Loki #1
Fantastical Element: The God of Lies runs for President...so actually not that unrealistic.
This comic hits really uncomfortably close to home. In its process of Loki saying how he might run for President and stating, "If I were your President, I'd have the guts to lie right to your face. And you'd love it," is grotesque in how right now in the real world we see the American people loving it when they are lied to by someone whom it is proven repeatedly tells falsehoods (I'm talking about Trump, in case you live under a rock). Characters in the comic talk about how politicians shift stories to fit their statements, and when followers are faced with evidence to the contrary it simply hardens their beliefs. The whole thing reads like a startlingly accurate take on American politics that happens to feature the Trickster God running for President, and looking really popular whilst doing so.

It's an amazing comic that is full of humor, but the kind of humor that makes you laugh and then feel really troubled about how you're laughing at something quite accurate. The anxiety comes from the fact that a hero known for lying seems to take so well to politics, because it is absolutely terrifying to think the personification of falsehoods and trickery fits perfectly as a candidate for the highest office in our Nation. This is a book to follow without a doubt.
5 out of 5 stars.

Fantasies Fulfilled...Wait, that Sounds Vaguely Dirty
Now that we have run through some comics with a mixture of the fantastical and more realistic it is clear that injecting a bit of imagination into our more normal reality almost always makes for something fun to read. At the end of the day our comics have gotta entertain us after all!

Rant Reviews Where I Check-In on Some Series

It's Not Only About Brand-New Stuff
I of course love to review and discuss new series. That said, they are plenty of ongoing series and mini-series I've been reading which deserve some attention too. Shall we review some?

As We Resume Reading...
Regular Show #34
I always enjoy a good 15-minute burst of, "Regular Show," with its quirky sense of humor complimenting my desire for televised absurdity very well. The tie-in comic is now up to its 34th issue and with this one we begin a new three-part arc where Mordecai and Rigby argue about which movie action-heroes have the best weapons. It is as usual a seemingly simple concept that flies off into all sorts of zaniness and hints at some dangerous trouble brewing for the next issue. There also is a funny back-up where the guys face-off against some bikers who also happen to be little babies. Again, it is very silly and if you don't have the kind of humor the show appeals to you may scratch your head in confusion about why people enjoy this stuff. However, should you be like me, and like a dollop of weird with your jokes, you'll have some fun with this.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #97
This issue concludes a short story-arc which follows Tarot, her fiance Jon, and sister Raven, as they are transported into a surreal horror-tinged world apparently set within a demonic video-game console. The result is our heroes falling prey to various horror motifs (Tarot becomes a Frankenstein's monster, Raven is turned into a vampire, and Jon finds himself moprhed into a werewolf), and fighting against the evil entities of the world. I enjoyed this issue, and writer-artist Jim Balent sure can draw a superb werewolf. My only big complaint would be that the ending feels rushed and a bit anti-climatic, with another character who has activated the evil game console simply having himself disconnected from it, allowing Tarot, Raven, and Jon, to be transported back to the real world. I wouldn't have minded this story being allowed to breathe a bit with a third issue that follows our heroes working to find a way out of the twisted horror-world, but perhaps I'm just saying that because werewolf-Jon looked really cool. Whatever the case, as "Tarot," approaches issue #100--a huge milestone for any comic, especially an independent one--it continues to be as enjoyable as ever.
4 out of 5 stars.

Jacked #5
Written by Eric Kripke--who apparently helped create the show, "Supernatural," which my sister-in-law adores, "Jacked," has been a darkly humorous take on what happens when a normal guy named Josh who desperately wants to be powerful finds a drug named Jacked that inexplicably makes him, well, "Jacked." It has been a fun series so far but this issue really brings things to a head when Josh confronts some gangsters while high on some expired Jacked. This allows the artists, John Higgins and Marc Olivent to draw some impressively bizarre hallucinations ranging from talking snack-cakes to a brief appearance of some DC heroes (being a Vertigo comic has its perks if you want a Superman or Batman cameo it seems). The series started out a bit more sarcastic and fun before getting a bit more depressing, but a scene here where Josh realizes his family is the most important thing to him of all regardless of Jacked is sweet if a little bit on-the-nose. There is one issue left in this mini-series and I hope things work out okay for Josh, which is a sign of good writing when you care enough about a fictional character to desire they turn-out alright.
4 out of 5 stars.

Saga #35
Do I honestly need to review this? I mean, it's, "Saga." Many people love it, a few folk inexplicably hate it, but I find it to be one of the most consistently entertaining and engaging comics coming out. Plus, as this issue draws a bunch of plot threads together it is exciting to guess how much havoc is going to be breaking out soon. A good way to summarize this is to simply say: "'Saga,' it's the comic everyone should be reading." Plus, as is pointed out in the letters page, this is the issue before the last one which will be followed usual in-between-arcs-break has a literal cliffhanger, that's always fun!
5 out of 5 stars.

Spook #4
I read this and realized it was actually the last issue of the mini-series, making it less a case of checking-in on a comic than it is observing the conclusion. I'm still going to review it though because I found the series pretty interesting overall if a bit slow-moving at times. The basic idea is the CIA has in fact been able to turn a dead agent into a ghost--although it took until the end of issue #2 for that to occur--and thankfully after the slower-start things picked-up with the third issue and this now concluding one. The artwork is solid, a bit scratchy and impressionistic, and the plot has an interesting hook with some good dialogue even if the exact motivations of certain characters at times seems a little unclear (so why did the bad guy keep a potential threat alive? He doesn't ever really give a particularly good reason). Still, it was a solid read that hints at future series where more CIA ghost-agents are around, so if a sequel occurs I'll check it out, methinks.
3 out of 5 stars.

The Wicked and the Divine #18
Man, it really seems like forever since that last issue, and it in fact has been a couple of months as there was a break before this new episode in the increasingly twisty and complex, "WIC+DIV," as the kids call it--I think, at least; who knows what kids are into these days? Things definitely start off with a bang, as it is revealed someone we all thought dead--Laura, the main character for much of the earlier issues--is in fact doing quite alright, and ready to raise a bit of a ruckus. A ruckus does indeed get raised, as this is one of the most action-packed issues of the series thus far--writer Kieron Gillen admits in the back-matter that this latest story-arc is one where if something could blow up, it will. I'm quite excited to see where things go now.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Vision #6
This issue a whole bunch of nasty truths come out, some disturbing home surgery is performed and shit otherwise continues to get real. Awesome stuff. Seriously though, who would have predicted some months ago a comic about a robot (pardon me, synthezoid) that almost zero people care about would turn into what is possibly the best comic--not just best Marvel comic, but best comic, period--currently on the stands? From the intensely ominous first issue to the growing violence, fear, and general paranoia in later ones, a book about a lame Avenger within six issues has turned into a must-read series that has been confirmed as ending with issue #12, but if writer Tom King says that lets him tell the entire story he wanted to tell before going-off and becoming DC-exclusive then dear God let's treasure this half-way point. I say we should treasure it because the sixth issue is another stupendous piece within this magnum opus that is already being compared with other comic masterworks.
5 out of 5 stars.

It's Good to Keep in Touch
It is always good to check-in on titles, I'm glad they all seem to be doing at least moderately well or continuing to prove themselves as excellent.

Project: Comic-Con 2015 Reflections Part 2--Some of The Stuff I Got

Such Marvelous Things to Get!

My most recent post was about all the great folk I met at this years Project: Comic-Con, but what about all the awesome stuff I picked-up while attending too? Well, this post is here to show-off a bunch of my swag I got thanks to saving up some funds for the show (always save for conventions, you never know what cool stuff you'll want)! I now present, what I purchased...

Stuff I Bought

I thought it would make sense to begin with the only, "Commission," of sorts I got at the show, a fantastic trading-card sized drawing of Moon Knight that just looks incredible. René Barr was kind enough to create this gorgeous image for me and I thanked her profusely.

I mentioned Lindsay and James Hornsby in the previous post, and this comic about "Princess Pups" as well as the fun stickers and print come from Mrs. Hornsby. I thought it was too adorable to pass-up and am pleased I got it!

Meredith Finch is of course the current writer of "Wonder Woman". I have not read the title under her penmanship but did just pick-up her first arc in trade paperback form thanks to my local library and plan to give it a gander. When I saw this great cover to the first issue she wrote and David Finch drew however I bought it and she was kind enough to sign it with a bright gold pen so that her signature now really pops-out on the black-and-white illustration. Here is a closer-look at her autograph:

I've read mixed things about her time on the title and will probably offer an opinion once I give it a look-over, but regardless of if you are a fan of her or not you gotta admit that looks snazzy!

Staying on the subject of DC-characters and their creative teams, this is of course quite possibly my favorite cover to "Detective Comics" as I discussed waaaaaayy back on my birthday in 2011. Hence, when I saw it being sold at the show signed by both Scott Snyder and the artist, Jock, I grabbed that eagerly after negotiating the price down a bit!

The tin of tea themed with a classy Velociraptor came to me courtesy of Ms. Allison Bannister and her Dino Teas brand. I was lucky enough to purchase the last Earl Grey tin at the show and have enjoyed it a lot!

Llama Land was a comic for sale by Ella Kindt, the child of fellow comic-maker Matt Kindt. As someone who loves Llamas and Alpacas this was an obvious purchase. I have to admit I am quite jealous however as Ms. Kindt is not even a teenager yet and her art is better than anything I could ever make.

Not at all for kids but also quite fun is the "Smut Peddler 2014" trade paperback I purchased. Made by Iron Circus Comics, this anthology of sex-positive comics is a peppy and charming as it is raunchy! The 2016 edition apparently launches soon and I can't wait!

The latest issue of, "Robot Pulp," was a fascinating looking magazine with a mixture of prose and comics that I was pleased to acquire as I love me some robots and pulp yarns.

My wife and I adore Grumpy Cat, so when one of the covers that can be harder to find was for sale at the 'con I got it for her! She was very pleased.

"No Mercy" is a collaborative comic between two great creators, Alex De Campi and Carla Speed McNeil. I was pumped to be able to buy a trade of the first volume and have them sign it!

I also picked up the first collection of McNeil's "Finder" series and am eager to dive-in and give it a read.

The last item I bought with the bit of cash I had left was a Trader paperback for the 4th collection of, "Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose," created by Jim Balent and Holly Golightly, which also includes a cool lithograph signed by Balent himself! I've enjoyed interviewing  the creator-couple for the blog before and they are indeed quite cool folk. "Tarot" is of course a title I have at times been really hard on and at other times quite complimentary to, as overall I enjoy how off-the-wall it is. This 4th collection has a slightly-saucy cover I edited a tad so that you can continue to enjoy my site at work or the library without any eyebrows being raised.

Final Thoughts

This year's Project: Comic-Con was another great show, full of spectacular people and some awesome items. I had such a wonderful time and greatly look forward to the next show!

Rant-Reviews: A Smaller Publisher Examination

It Starts
There are other comic publishers besides the, "Big Two," as those of you who read comics a lot
undoubtedly know. However, plenty of folk don't necessarily hear this and assume Marvel or DC put out all the comics in the world. They don't, and I felt like spotlighting such a fact with some comics from other publishers that are of note due to their high-quality or being less-than-good. Let's begin...

The Meat of the Article
Uber #21
Avatar Press has been putting out more and more quality comics since the early 2000's. Kieron Gillen continues to write a stellar comic set in an alternate World War II where the invention of super-powers dramatically altered events. This issue also has Caanan White, the initial artist on the series, penciling this so as to provide some high-quality visuals, drawing the bejeezus out of super-powered people beating each other to a pulp. It's violent, full of dramatic characters, and just thoughtful enough to be more than simple ultra-violence. There's a reason Gillen was my favorite writer of 2014 and quality comics such as these are why.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Supreme: Blue Rose #6
I know Image isn't necessarily a smaller publisher--I mean, they have "The Walking Dead" for goodness' sake--but your general consumer of comics probably is unaware of this publisher by name, and this is my post, so I'm gonna do what I want and review this extremely opaque comic.

I am a huge fan of Warren Ellis; he is one of my favorite writers of comics and fiction books ever, so I 'm sorry to say he has really been annoying me with this title. In this penultimate issue of the mini-series some things are starting to become clear, but everything still is mostly confusing as Hell. I think the idea is that we are witnessing an alternate Universe where characters from other "Supreme" comics have been written out of reality but still exist in another land where they live when their stories aren't taking place.

Throughout the series we have seen some of the residents of this new universe struggling to figure things out, with some of them possibly recalling what happened, and others now existing as characters on a television show, etc., etc. It's actually kind of a Morrison-esque idea, that all the stories we've ever told about particular characters are in essence "true" and just waiting for a chance to return. At least, I think that is what we are getting at after an hour of sitting around and thinking about the series so far. I could be completely wrong, and that's the problem with this series making so little sense (other reviews mention confusion too, so it ain't just me).

The saving grace of this series has been the incredible artwork by Tula Lotay which is absolutely, incredibly, undeniably, gorgeous. Unless this final issue delivers some answers this will have basically been just seven issues of amazing visuals and a story that made practically zero sense. For now though, I would be tempted to give this just a below-average score, but that artwork raises this up to at least being fair enough I'll read the last issue in the hope things get cleared-up. If not, at least it'll look purty.
2.5 out of 5 stars.

Lady Killer #1
Another publisher that isn't necessarily that small (Dark Horse), but still a brand most civilians (e.g. non-comic readers) would be unfamiliar with. This comic is the most bizarre mixture of ideas, with a happy-go-lucky housewife in the 1960's also being a bad-ass assassin.  It's a strange juxtaposition between Joelle Jone's art looking perky and silver-agey and then getting really gruesome, but it works quite well.

There is something interesting in seeing how despite being a dangerous killer the protagonist also wants a happy home-life and has to put up with sexism in her own job of spy-work. This first issue establishes a good "feel" for the story and introduces a variety of characters, but for now it is still a little too early to tell if this is going to be great series, or a one-note idea that wears out its welcome quickly. We shall see, but regardless of what future issues hold this debut was promising.
3 out of 5 stars.

Holy F*ck #1
When I heard about this I really thought it would be better than it is, and that's disappointing. A comic inspired by the grindhouse films of the 1970's and 80's full of over the top violence, sex, and featuring a religious twist. The basic idea is that Jesus is back on Earth and is recruited by a Nun to stop other deities from wrecking the world and causing people to worship them. It's a clever idea, but the comic seems more interested in saying, "Look how controversial I am," instead of being good.

The art is cartoony, which works for the comic, but is also extremely simplistic and lacks much of any detail, which doesn't work well at all. You can only get so much mileage about of pure shock value, and while Jesus smoking drugs and kissing Satan at the end of the comic is surprising, a fun story it does not make. There are plenty of excellent comics that use religion as a springboard for controversial stories (just look at "Preacher"), but this one reads more like a half-baked idea with quarter-baked presentation. It's a shame, as publisher Action Lab does have some good stuff coming out. At least this has a few jokes that save it from being awful.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Terminal Hero #5
One more issue after this and "Terminal Hero" will be done with its unique and quite strange story. I've discussed in the past how this comic seemed to moving at too-fast a speed, and I'm glad that in these later issues things have slowed down a bit to develop Rory's character and his motivations. I've enjoyed this series so far and as long as it manages to, "Stick the landing," it will be a good example of what the publisher, Dynamite, is capable of with their Creator's Unleashed brand.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #90
Throughout the history of "Tarot: With of the Black Rose" Jim Balent has been the writer and artist, with Holly Golightly providing the color-work. Also, Golightly has done a webcomic with print collections titled, "School Bites," which is a manga-esque creation. Each title has been done by the husband or wife of this famous duo, but other than Golightly providing the colors on "Tarot" there has not been any cross-over. That changes with this 90th issue, in which the teenaged vampires of School Bites find themselves in the "Tarot" Universe. I've always enjoyed "Tarot" despite some dismissing it as sheer cheesecake, instead often finding stories that are generally clever and enjoyably, "different," one could say.

Switching up the usual routine, both Holly and Jim co-write and illustrate this issue, with the art-style switching off between Jim's art and Holly's manga-look at various points where either style is better representative of the action in the story. The plot for the characters meeting-up is a bit simplistic (a time machine malfunctions and instead changes realities), but in the case of 99% of cross-overs the reason for various realities meeting-up is silly so I'll let that slide--after all, the reason we really read cross-overs is to see what happens when different characters are put together.

So, we are reading this to see different world collide, and this issue serves as a good introduction to the school of vampires that teaches them to drink blood responsibly, but if I were to have a complaint about the book it would be how Tarot and her sister, Raven Hex, actually appear in the book for less than half of the issue. As someone unfamiliar with "School Bites" I did appreciate the lengthy introduction to the cast, but would have loved to see more of them interacting with "Tarot" and crew (it would have been especially fun for Jon AKA Skeleton Man to show-up drawn in Holly's style, but one can't get greedy with cross-overs).

Between the usual strong art from Jim and injection of extra-cuteness from Holly we get another solid issue of "Tarot" which also will probably help raise awareness of "School Bites". A successfully entertaining issue that takes advantage of being an independent comic by being its usual awesomely strange self.
4 out of 5 stars.

In Closing
You may be "In the know," about how there are more comics than by Marvel and DC out there, but many people are unaware. As these reviews illustrate, there is a lot of stuff out there beyond what the biggest names put out, and there is plenty of it to pursue...and honestly, avoid. Anyways, I hope you enjoy what I recommend (and skip what I don't). Should you know of any good indie comic I've never mentioned on the blog do please mention it too as I'm always on the look-out for quality reads.