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!

A Glowing Review of the 3rd Issue of "The Standard"

In a previous post I discussed some of the comics coming out from new publisher Comixtribe. My favorite as of only its first issue was "The Standard" and with it now on its 3rd issue, I continue to greatly enjoy the comic. I find it a pleasurable read not just because the characters are interesting, the art is good, and the main plot is intriguing, but also because of how the comic subtly explores and comments on the classic tropes of super-hero comics and how they have evolved over time. As I discussed in my previous post, the first issue dealt with a protege of the famous hero "The Standard" who later assumed the title. Named Alex Thomas he took over the mantle some time ago but was often more busy being a reality T.V. star (that reminds me of my other post today about super-heroes and the media) than fighting crime, even if his heart was in the right place. If I may spoil how the first issue ends, Alex Thomas ends up murdered mysteriously and as of the 2nd issue the original Standard, elderly Gilbert Graham, has taken his heroic mantle back-up.

The things about the series that are most interesting are seeing how Gilbert's past exploits compare to today's conflicts. In scenes set in the past right around when the cute innocence of heroic comics started to end it is seen how Gilbert went up against silly villains such as, "The Skunk" who would say cute puns--whereas today Gilbert is fighting super-powered people abducting children and committing all sorts of heinous crimes.

The most telling scene of meta-commentary is where one of Gilbert's foes, the aforementioned Skunk, is almost murdered by an overzealous police officer and in the process of defending himself accidentally kills the lawman. He bemoans, "I've never killed anybody before. I never wanted to, that's not what I do this for. This is supposed to be fun. There's some thrills, some bumps and bruises, but no one gets hurt. Not really. No one is supposed to get hurt! What's happening to us? How did it come to this?" It is as if the comic is showing us what might have been going through the minds of our fictional characters had they been real heroes seeing as their world slowly went from foiling simple bank robberies to horrible crimes. These elements of "The Standard" are what take it from a pretty good comic about heroes to a great comic about heroes and how we as a society view and treat them in our fiction.

As the latest issue of "The Standard " comes to an end some sub-plots have been resolved but the overall mystery of just who or what killed Alex Thomas remains. If "The Standard" keeps providing not only great storytelling, but clever commentary on super-hero comics, I'll be extremely excited to follow this story to its conclusion.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Rant-Reviews--Funny Comics, Serious Comics, and Just Plain Confusing Ones

Adventures in Reading
Even though my blog had been a bit sparse on the posting until this avalanche of content, I still was reading plenty of comics when I had the chance. Therefore, I now present to you my thoughts on some of them.

Deadpool #7
Poshen and Duggan have been writing one fun Deadpool. Despite a start that I found a bit weak, once the book found its footing around issue #3 it became highly enjoyable. Interestingly enough, this issue doesn't continue the story of the first six issues, choosing instead to be a faux-inventory issue set around the Bronze Age of comics. With an art style that could easily pass as being from then you could almost believe this were set in the past, were it not for the fact that Deadpool hadn't been created yet back then (plus there are some smart little winks to the future in a few of the jokes). Scott Koblish absolutely nails the aforementioned art and most of the jokes are successful in making me laugh. Whoever said you can't do quality done-in-one issues this modern day was as liar, as this comic proves otherwise.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Stormwatch #19
I've seen some positive reviews of this issue and am wondering if something is wrong with me and the not comic. I say that because I read this issue and instead of fully liking or hating the it I can only wonder just what the Hell is happening. It seems the current Stormwatch has been erased from existence so now heroes are being pulled from other dimensions to form a new team, but some of them are the previous versions of Stormwatch characters? Is that what is going on? Do those weird robot-looking things that are altering history serve as villains or are they actually doing good things and we don't realize it? Why is that creepy guy with the huge eyes around, as I've read writer Jim Starlin created him long ago for a different comic? Seriously, what is happening in this comic? I ask because I truly have no clue, and that makes it pretty low in enjoyment-levels.
2 out of 5 stars.

The Standard #2
It is only on its second issue, but after its strong debut (as I've discussed before in a post on new publisher Comixtribe) and this equally excellent entry I'm prepared to say "The Standard" is shaping up to be one stellar story. Between its clever bouncing-around from the past to present, an older superhero investigating the death of his former sidekick, and some clever meta-commentary on how heroes have functioned in society's psyche ("If people see us as fun and colorful they're not as scared of us") this is definitely a comic worth buying, or demanding your store start stocking if they haven't been carrying it yet.
4.5 out of 5 stars.


Batman #19
The opening to this issue had me absolutely scratching my head until I reached the conclusion (which I'm going to spoil) some 20-ish pages later. After that everything made sense. Writer Scott Snyder is at his best when instead of trying to tell complicated sweeping tales (such as "Court of the Owls") he focuses in on characters and their motivations. His run on "Detective Comics" was stellar in making James Gordon extremely creepy, and in this single issue Snyder has made the villain of the issue, Clayface, pretty interesting between his powers changing and new mysterious motivations occurring. Clearly the evil Bruce Wayne at the start of the issue is Clayface, but the question now is what does he have planned, and why? After the somewhat disappointing, "Death of the family" arc with the Joker I'm pleased to see the book become a good read again.
4 out of 5 stars.

Team 7 #7
I've given up on trying to understand this comic. The characters that randomly show-up, their motivations, what the overall plot is, I just don't care. This thing went from moving at a relatively leisurely pace to throwing out every random idea it has now that the series dies a sad and unnoticed death next issue. This is just bad comic-booking right here.
1 out of 5 stars.


Age of Ultron #6
This came out today and I read it first out of my stack of new comics. I didn't do this because it is such an amazing comic that I have to read it as soon as I buy it. No, it is more a curiosity about if Bendis can keep this pretty-good-so-far story moving along as well as he has. Perhaps having Bryan Hitch turn in lovely artwork those first five issues helped as his super-detailed way of drawing scenery really imparted the destruction being wreaked by Ultron. That, and things are relatively fun with the whole, "The heroes lost and are just trying to survive now," plot. Also, Bendis has a tendency to have a huge team then strangely just focus-in on a single character or two, but that has worked pretty well in this series, giving everyone a bit of limelight. Be it showing Black Widow and Moon Knight on the West Coast, Hawkeye and Spider-Man escaping a bunch of villains, or Luke Cage and She-Hulk working together to trick Ultron, having all these little moments of duos has helped move things along pretty well.

One thing that has bugged me is we still haven't actually seen the main Ultron doing all this and learned what his true motivations are beyond killing everything--and we're more than half-way through the series now. Perhaps there isn't much of a twist beyond, "Ultron hates human life," but the story has kept hinting at such a thing, be it in the text or with the weird announcement that a character Neil Gaiman wrote for an issue of "Spawn" will be showing up at the end (I still can't wrap my head Angela showing up like that). I'm just concerned with the next issue seeming to go the, "We changed the past and ruined the future!" route if it turns out that actually occurs. Still, the accelerated release schedule of the book has been great as it keeps it fresh in readers' minds and means the event won't go on forever ("Secret Invasion" felt like it took 2 years). I'm liking this still, and that's always good.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

That's All She/He Wrote
We've got some comics reviewed, some being quite good and others pretty bad. I guess at the end of the day all you can do is hope the positive outweighs the negative. Then again, most comics weigh the same so that saying doesn't really work now, does it? Such is life...

A New Comic Publisher Whose Work I'm Enjoying--Comixtribe

Some Good Stuff

Comixtribe is an independent comic's publisher that has put out some neat stuff. They started out super small-press, not even using Diamond Distributors as they were just so new and little-known. Instead they went directly to comic stores and would see if said stores were interested in stocking their comics. That is how I came across some of Comixtribe's stuff a bit ago in one of my stores, "Newcastle Comics". I've been happy to see they have grown enough to the point you can now find their fine books in "Previews". Thanks to my store having a good stock of it, I have read everything they have put out so far. Therefore, I thought I would discuss their comics.

"Scam" #1-3

This has had the most issues put out so far, with three currently released. This is has been described by folk as "Ocean's 11" with superpowers and I'd agree. You've got a team of people trying to run a con-job on a casino owned by a former member of their team who screwed them all over awhile ago. It's a a fun read that I've enjoyed but have a complaint about. The art is quite nice, but doesn't always make all the characters look too different, which can be a problem as the story mainly focuses on a few of them resulting in the rest feeling a bit interchangeable or otherwise forgettable. The plot itself is continuing to intrigue me however, as the twists and turns are not always what I expect--a hard trick to pull off on someone who has read enough comics to often accurately predict what is going to happen in a book.
3 out of 5 stars (for all the issues together)

"The Red Ten" #1-2 & "Oxymoron" Hardcover

I supported the "Oxymoron" Kickstarter and was pleased to see it grow into a bigger hardcover with nice alternate covers and other goodies. I supported it at the level where (with some extra funds for other goodies I wanted) I got the signed book (with a snazzy alternate cover) and it had an artist's sketch inside, some pins, a bookmark, an art print, and Kickstarter-exclusive alternate-cover versions of "The Red Ten" #1 and #2. All this was 40-ish dollars and a good deal if I do say so myself. The "Oxymoron" book focuses on the villain of, "The Red Ten" as he engages in various adventures, some humorous, others gruesome. While he may be inspired by the joker what with the grin and his nemesis being an analogue of Batman, Oxymoron is unique enough that it doesn't bother me. He's a villain obsessed with contradictions enough to a point he'll even do seemingly "heroic" things such as fight zombies attacking the town because he can't stand something as oxymoronic as the "living dead".

The cool alternate cover I got via Kickstarter

Oxy is no sweetheart however, doing things in his hardcover to people that are just cruel and monstrous. Be it forcing a supposedly "selfless" man to make a horrible choice, or crashing a beauty pageant and making everyone grossly deformed, Oxymoron is a sick man. That makes it all the more interesting how in the first issue of "The Red Ten" Oxymoron apparently has killed himself after killing the hero who always stopped his exploits. Having lured the rest of the heroic group to his island however things get interesting when it becomes apparent everyone is going to be killed one-by-one. The heroes are all substitutes of sorts for other famous heroes--which is acknowledged in the first issue's afterword--but as is also pointed out, because these aren't Superman or somebody else we actually could see these characters die. Plus, the heroes that have spoken so far have enough of a personality all their own I don't mind the clear similarity to other "big name" heroes.

The dark humor of the "Oxymoron" book is enjoyable, plus the "And Then There Were None," styled retelling with superheroes in, "The Red Ten" also is proving fun. The characters in these books seem to have more personality than in, "Scam," and my only issue with these publications might be that because the "Oxymoron" book has a variety of writers and artists at times the tone and look can seem to swing from funny to scary at a jarring pace. "The Red Ten" is a bit more tonally consistent so that isn't a problem with the comic series. I would definitely recommend "The Red Ten" if you want a fun tale where the heroes may actually meet their doom (spoiler for those who never read "And Then There Were None", it doesn't end happily). If you find yourself intrigued by the character of Oxymoron then check out his book too, though it isn't necessary to get enjoyment from "The Red Ten".
Oxymoron Hardcover
3.5 out of 5 stars
The Red Ten (both issues)
4 out of 5 stars.

"The Standard" #1

Only one issue of this has come out so far (via Comixtribe, it was distributed in the UK previously) but I've enjoyed it so much this is probably the Comixtribe comic I'm most excited to read more of. It is focused on how there was a superhero named "The Standard" who retired and his protege took over. The protege revealed his identity however and now is a celebrity who does more work for his reality TV show than actually fighting serious crime. The shock ending of the first issue is what really grabbed me and made it apparent the old "Standard" is going to need to come back to hero-ing. The comic has a single artist but he alters his style to show the old-times with the Standard being fun and fluffy while in the present day things can get pretty grim and violent as that shocking ending showed. The next issue can't come soon enough!
4.5 out of 5 stars.

Conclusion: Give Them A Try
Sometimes it can be scary to try a comic by a company you haven't ever read the work of, or which features new characters. You shouldn't be afraid to try new stuff however, because you might discover a neat publisher with some snazzy books. Comixtribe's works aren't perfect, but of a great quality and very enjoyable. You should definitely give one or two of their publications a try if you want comics about powered-folk with interesting twists.