"Growing Pains" is very much a breather arc between the explosiveness of the previous volume and the impending "Viltrumite War" arc. A portion of the "Growing Pains" is very much a breather arc between the explosiveness of the previous volume and the impending "Viltrumite War" arc. A portion of the story goes towards developing the new partnership between Nolan and Allen the Alien, while the remaining story involves Invincible coming to terms with his new edge with respect to being a superhero. A lot of exposition broken up by small bits of slice-of-life stuff, "Growing Pains" is definitely one of the more clunkier volumes in this stretch of Invincible....more
Opening with a stellar single issue on Angstrom Levy's hare-brained plot involving multiversal Invincibles to an all-out few issue arc featuring a bloOpening with a stellar single issue on Angstrom Levy's hare-brained plot involving multiversal Invincibles to an all-out few issue arc featuring a bloody fight to the death between Invincible and a new Viltrumite foe, "Still Standing" is a strong volume in the Invincible saga. This is really the Ryan Ottley show here as the visceral action is all in the forefront, with Kirkman adding it the right does of emotional punches to tie it all together. The showdown between Invincible and the Conquest remains the apex of the series....more
The creative team behind Stray Dogs comes back with a new project starring some loveable furry pets that are caught up in a horrific setting. FeraThe creative team behind Stray Dogs comes back with a new project starring some loveable furry pets that are caught up in a horrific setting. Feral follows a group of indoor cats who are forced to go on the run when a rabies outbreak tears apart a local community. It's setup in the same way as any zombie apocalypse story would be, except with cats instead of humans. The slight inversion in the premise isn't really enough to make Feral stand on its own two legs as much of the story feels pretty by the numbers. Fleecs does a solid job establishing the characters of Elsie, Lord and Patch, and the reader's investment is really tied into hoping they all make it through the end. But just as with Stray Dogs, there's plenty of brutality to be found. It's not a light-hearted story by any means, so don't let the cuddly animal designs fool you.
Decent enough horror story, though I personally don't feel interested enough with continuing on with the story....more
A loose sequel to the original 1954 film, Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! follows traumatized journalist Kate Marsden who is on the trail of an A loose sequel to the original 1954 film, Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives! follows traumatized journalist Kate Marsden who is on the trail of an American serial killer last seen near the Amazon. Darwin Collier's MO is drowning his victims, which Kate herself found herself on the receiving end of during an unfortunate encounter with him, but was spared due to lucky circumstances. Determined to see Collier to justice, Kate treks deep within the Amazon to stop him. There she encounters Dr. Edwin Thompson (from the original film) who is currently attempting to capture the "Creature" with an interest in understanding a critical missing evolutionary link and also as a means of revenge. Kate works with Edwin and his assistant, Christiano, to seek out Collier and the Creature, both of whom reside deep within the recesses of the Black Lagoon.
The premise is pretty solid for a Creature from the Black Lagoon sequel, and it works pretty well early on. The idea of human cruelty being grafted onto the Creature is not a unique idea, but Watters and Ram V execute it well enough for the first couple issues. Some readers will take issue with the fact that this is mostly a story about Kate's desire to take down Collier than it is about the Creature, who is more or less a background feature more than anything. I personally didn't mind it initially, since there is a lot to be said about how human the concept of "evil" actually is and how little of it can be embodied by a primordial being like the Creature. But this unfortunately has only a limited payoff since a four issue series can hardly explore this concept all that well, and by making Collier the main villain there requires a bit more build up of his character. The last issue is where the story gets disappointingly simplistic, and the ending itself hangs on an open ended point that doesn't really beg the reader to think about much of what came before.
The artwork by Matthew Roberts is decent and functional for the story. I wouldn't expect the same level of grandeur that Martin Simmonds brought to Dracula, but that isn't to say Roberts doesn't do a nice job overall....more
A disillusioned comic book artist named Michael tries to recapture his passion by centering his newest project on the "Deviant Killer", a serial killeA disillusioned comic book artist named Michael tries to recapture his passion by centering his newest project on the "Deviant Killer", a serial killer who operated in Milwaukee in the early '70s. For fifty years, Randall Olsen has lived behind bars with the reputation of having sexually assaulted, murdered and mutilated several young men while wearing a haunting Santa Claus costume. But Michael's angle on telling Olsen' story as the supposed "Deviant Killer" is much more entrenched with untangling the complexities of gender and sexual norms that may have led to Olsen's false conviction. But just as Michael's investigations into Olsen's case ramps up, a copycat killer emerges and carries out a series of grisly murders in Chicago. Volume 1 ends with some questions as to what exactly Michael's role is with respect to the newer iteration of the "Deviant Killer".
While it'll probably read a lot better as a single collected volume, I still found this to be one of Tynion's better recent efforts. A lot of the themes are within his wheelhouse, but The Deviant is sharply written with some great, subtle character work in just these opening few issues. The most intriguing concept explored here is the idea that the poor representation the queer community got for much of the mid-to-late twentieth century whereby both Michael and Randall only first learn about the idea of queerness from the presentation of serial killers in media. It's an idea that percolates from Michael's first visit to Randall in prison, and it colors in a lot of the themes behind this series.
What works a little less is the contemporary storyline featuring a copycat killer, which is unfortunately a major driving force for the narrative. Tynion is clearly trying to implant a story beat that he'll eventually reveal a twist on, and it's all a little too by-the-numbers. We'll see how Tynion brings it home, but I'm less enthused about the copycat killer reveal than I am with finding out what happens next with Randall.
Joshua Hixon's artwork is really great for the story. A vibrant color palette permeates this series, but Hixon tones it down quickly for the more horror-driven sequences. It feels somewhat reminiscent of Jacob Phillips' work on That Texas Blood, even down to the coloring style....more
Picking up threads from "Who's the Boss?", "Happy Days" continues to explore the growing strained relationship between Mark and Oliver. Unlike his oldPicking up threads from "Who's the Boss?", "Happy Days" continues to explore the growing strained relationship between Mark and Oliver. Unlike his older brother, Oliver is much more willing to dole out violence to accomplish his ends which continues to cause turmoil for Invincible. "Happy Days" also includes a short crossover with The Astounding Wolf-Man, but the strongest aspect is the budding relationship between Mark and Eve. This volume holds a nice, toned down slice-of-life vibe in between the superheroics that works pretty well. The crossover itself was fairly uninteresting, but otherwise this was a fun read....more
Up to this volume, Invincible has served as the iron fist for the Global Defence Agency where the commands of the boss Cecil Stedman went mostly unqueUp to this volume, Invincible has served as the iron fist for the Global Defence Agency where the commands of the boss Cecil Stedman went mostly unquestioned. Though some healthy levels of mistrust was always there, "Who's the Boss?" presents Invincible a breaking point with respect to his partnership with Cecil. The crux of this volume involves a harebrained plot by supervillain Doc Seismic who manages to pull it off leading to all of Earth's superheroes being trapped underground. Invincible and Eve come to the rescue, but are nearly overwhelmed until Cecil sends in reinforcements. The only thing is that said reinforcements include Darkwing and D.A. Sinclair's ReAnimen, which serves as a real dropping of the veil behind Cecil's operations. The latter part of this volume includes the falling out between Invincible and Cecil which turns violent really quickly. More about Cecil's own past is elaborated on too, showing that his history dictates his current obsession with means justifying the ends.
"Who's the Boss?" also shows us the budding brotherly relationship between Mark and Oliver, the latter of which has taken up the mantle of Kid Omni-Man. But Oliver's propensity for bloodlust is a little too close to that of the original Omni-Man, leading Invincible to feel some doubt about his ability to mentor a younger superhero.
I thought this was one of the strongest volumes yet, with Kirkman paying off several narrative beats well. Kirkman's strengths remain the longer plotted storylines and Invincible, Vol. 10 serves as a nice demonstration of this....more
A mermaid navigates a post-apocalyptic wasteland in her water-filled mech suit with her cute axolotl sidekick, Lottie. Constantly scavenging for her nA mermaid navigates a post-apocalyptic wasteland in her water-filled mech suit with her cute axolotl sidekick, Lottie. Constantly scavenging for her next source of water to re-fill the mech suit whilst dodging roving bands of mutants, the Last Mermaid embarks on a seemingly very personal quest to achieve a life of peace. Derek Kirk Kim unveils the fairly minimalistic plot slowly across the six issue opening arc, unfolding a new narrative beat with each issue. There isn't too much in the way of what one might consider an original plot - it's pretty comfortable working within the typical structure of many other post-apocalyptic stories. But where it feels light on story, it's rich in visual storytelling.
Kim's artwork is exceedingly similar to that of an animated feature film (no surprise given Kim's roots in animation and that this itself was a proposed animated project initially), but it works incredibly well as a sequential work. Vibrant colors, energetic action sequences, and expressive characters pepper the pages of The Last Mermaid making it a visual treat across all six issues. Though the story itself isn't something that'll necessarily feel novel, there's an intriguing enough premise cultivated here to serve as a strong foundation for subsequent volumes....more
Abraham Morgenstern was born as the antichrist, said to herald the apocalypse and bring Hell on Earth. But eighty years later, Abe lingers on as an olAbraham Morgenstern was born as the antichrist, said to herald the apocalypse and bring Hell on Earth. But eighty years later, Abe lingers on as an old man now diagnosed with terminal cancer. Heading a massive corporation that serves as a front for the world's biggest criminal empire, Abe and his right-hand man Samael decide that one of his three children - Nero, Jackal and Baphomet - must be the one to inherit the keys to kingdom. The siblings don't get along and have rarely been groomed for leadership, so to prevent the ensuing power struggle, Abe decides to choose a successor before he passes on. It's basically Succession with demons, and it's a pretty fun time overall. The characterization of the three siblings works well enough (as good as it'll be for a five-issue series anyways), and the corporate humor blends in well with the hellish imagery.
The real draw for me was John Pearson's artwork, which I first saw on the brilliant sci-fi comics series, Mindset. Utilizing a somewhat abstract style, Pearson easily cultivates unease in the horror imagery that pairs well with the story. Pearson is joined again with lettering powerhouse Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou who complements the unique panel layouts and compositions used by Pearson so elegantly. Though the story is fairly predictable in its outcome, it's an enjoyable affair and Ryan Parrott's script is surprisingly subtle in its humor, most of which works pretty well. I can't tell if there's meant to be more since the ending isn't necessarily conclusive, but it also does work well enough as a standalone comic. I'd be interested in reading on though since the characters of Nero, Jackal and Baphomet made for a fun combination....more
In the far futuristic setting of Neo Novena, a detective on the cusp of retirement is pulled into an old case involving the "One Hand Killer", a notorIn the far futuristic setting of Neo Novena, a detective on the cusp of retirement is pulled into an old case involving the "One Hand Killer", a notorious serial killer whose carnage has spanned decades. Told between two intertwining comic series, The One Hand and The Six Fingers, the story jumps between the perspectives of Detective Ari Nasser and an archaeologist graduate student named Johannes Vale. The two series spin a cat-and-mouse chase between Ari and the One Hand Killer, with each chapter providing new twists along the way.
Ram V and Laurence Campbell serve as writer and artist for The One Hand, while Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar take on The Six Fingers. Despite the different creative teams involved for the two series, the story flows pretty seamlessly across the intertwining issues. Indeed, it makes no sense to read one without reading the other since significant reveals that occur in one series impact the other. It's perhaps that aspect I found a little frustrating since it begs the question why bother with two separate five-issue series when this could have been one ten-issue title. The shifting perspectives matter less and less as the story progresses, and often just serve to repeat the same narrative beats again but from a slightly different angle.
The futuristic setting itself was a bit of a puzzling choice initially, but becomes more apparent why in later issues. Blade Runner is noted as a clear influence on the series and it is evident once the concept of "cogs" is elaborated on. It's a subversive choice that made the series quite more interesting as I read on, though I did feel the "cyberpunk" aesthetic was utterly subdued making the choice of setting feel a little too undercooked. Nonetheless, the mystery itself is solid and the tension ramps up nicely towards the end. There is repetitiveness at times, and I'm guessing it comes about from an assumption that some readers would only pick one title to read but I have to say this series would be quite confusing if not read in the correct issue release order.
It's a pretty trivial mystery thriller that fulfills some common tropes well, but Ram V and Watters execute at a fairly high level to make this enjoyable enough of a read. The artwork by Campbell and Kumar is mostly functional for what is needed even if the setting itself seems fairly understated for the proposed world-building laid out in the earlier issues....more
An action packed final volume leaves Philly devastated and many characters dying, but by the end I felt unphased by it all. Killadelphia begun with a An action packed final volume leaves Philly devastated and many characters dying, but by the end I felt unphased by it all. Killadelphia begun with a familiar setup - what if American history was dictated by vampire cabals and other powerful entities? Killadelphia isn't the first to do this, but writer Rodney Barnes struck a unique angle by looking critically at our history through the lens of slavery and the civil rights movements which worked fairly well at times. But the last few volumes felt the need to escalate the plot into a sense of epic scale, which ultimately read as more silly than anything else. And while Jason Shawn Alexander's artwork did a great job cultivating the tone of horror and grit, a lot of that goes away with new artist Germán Erramouspe whose linework doesn't quite hit the same heights (though Alexander still supplies layouts). Elements of the ending do work, but for the most part readers can simply read the first 1-2 volumes of the series and get the gist of it and not really miss out on much else....more
Further escalation of the story elements introduced in the previous few arcs culminated in "The End of All", a story that now features the first ever Further escalation of the story elements introduced in the previous few arcs culminated in "The End of All", a story that now features the first ever President of the United States as a vampire king himself, locked into mortal combat with Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. We're moving past just vampires at this point as werewolves serve as a prominent feature of the story. As with previous volumes of Killadelphia, the story excels when Barnes focuses on the retelling of history with a vampire mythos attached since he's able to spin the complicated history of the transatlantic slave trade into a compelling fable readily. It's the clash with the modern story elements featuring the Sangster father and son duo making weird allegiances with the other vampires that doesn't quite come together. This volume was the weakest since it does feel almost parodying of a formula that worked better in earlier issues, but now feels like its escalating for the sake of coming to a conclusion. The first volume was a strong self-contained narrative and I do think this series has outstretched far beyond the initial interesting premise. The artwork by Jason Shawn Alexander does continue to excel though....more
Killadelphia continues to escalate stakes with the introduction of a new antagonist - Thomas Jefferson. He's also a vampire, and supplants Adams' roleKilladelphia continues to escalate stakes with the introduction of a new antagonist - Thomas Jefferson. He's also a vampire, and supplants Adams' role as the new vampire king hellbent on bringing darkness on Earth (starting with Philadelphia of course). Jefferson's backstory was shown a little in the previous volume through the story of the former slave turned vampire, Jupiter, so "Home Is Where the Hatred Is" is an extension of the same world-building. The crux of this volume is really Jimmy Sangster Jr.'s transition into a vampire himself and he leans on the support of his father and Seesaw to get through it. The story, despite going in a bit of a repetitive turn, is actually quite engaging here and the artwork by Jason Shawn Alexander continues to deliver on a fantastic horror aesthetic....more
Following the enjoyable first volume, the second arc of Killadelphia feels like a repeat of what we just went through. The vampiric former President JFollowing the enjoyable first volume, the second arc of Killadelphia feels like a repeat of what we just went through. The vampiric former President John Adams and his minions were defeated by our heroes, only for the torch to pass to his wife, Abigail, who represents a more hedonistic and sadistic faction of vampires. Their plan is pretty much a continuation of what Adams planned on doing, just more bloodthirsty. While the first volume briefly examined the legacy of a former president and Founding Father through the lens of vampire mythology, "Burn Baby Burn" takes a hard look at the institution of slavery through which many of our vampire characters lived through. Historic characters like Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings are featured heavily there and I did find that stuff to be pretty interesting. Unfortunately, the major narrative set in present day Philadelphia is even more of a chore to get through here.
Jason Shawn Alexander's artwork continues to shine though, and it's even tighter in its stylistic approach in this volume....more
A ridiculous but fun twist on the vampire mythos, Killadephia explores what happens if the second president of the United States became a vampire and A ridiculous but fun twist on the vampire mythos, Killadephia explores what happens if the second president of the United States became a vampire and what would he look like in modern times. The story follows dual narratives - one of a beat cop mourning the loss of his recently deceased father who was a celebrated detective in Philly, while the other one follows the vampiric John Adams who runs a bloodthirsty cabal seeking to bring hell on Earth. The two stories collide rather quickly as Officer Jimmy Sangster realizes how much vampires were involved in Sangster Sr.'s final investigation, and is soon in the crosshairs of Adams' gang of vampires.
There's some fairly interesting stuff explored by writer Rodney Barnes on the mythos behind the world of Killadelphia - which I enjoyed mostly. The contemporary narrative was actually a bit more dry and obscured in comparison, with the vampires' reasoning for a sudden uprising feeling a little unexplained. I do wish we got further exploration of what it would mean for a Founding Father to have been a vampire, and litigating the legacy of the early presidents through this lens could have been a lot of fun instead of focusing on the modern day stuff. Overall, the story here is a pretty fun time and mostly self-contained into this volume despite some teases for future plot beats. The artwork by Jason Shawn Alexander is great - very atmospheric and the vampire designs are appropriately spooky. Definitely a solid horror season read....more
Port of Earth begins with a great premise and Kaplan introduces some intriguing sociopolitical stuff to explore within the subtext of this sci-fi storPort of Earth begins with a great premise and Kaplan introduces some intriguing sociopolitical stuff to explore within the subtext of this sci-fi story, but unfortunately the comic is less than the sum of its parts. A meandering plot involving two uninteresting police officers who are basically cutouts from any typical police procedural drama is all that really comes out of this series. Even the ending is pretty much a cliffhanger, and with no future volumes in the horizon we're pretty much left with a lackluster sci-fi comic series. Andrea Mutti's artwork is nice throughout, but I do think his more conventional watercolors were missed here....more
Continuing the police procedural style of narrative, Port of Earth continues to explore the concept of spacefarers making use of Earth's trading port Continuing the police procedural style of narrative, Port of Earth continues to explore the concept of spacefarers making use of Earth's trading port while Earth Security Agents Rice and McIntyre struggle to keep the peace between all the disparate factions. The ongoing conspiracy into the politics of the Port of Earth is further established while Rice and Mac deal with a potential alien terrorist threat.
The plot is quite meandering and the characters still feel quite stilted. Andrea Mutti's artwork is pretty nice, but the bland coloring does let it down a bit....more
An intriguing premise drives the initial few issues of Port of Earth where we're introduced to a trans-galactic trade agreement between aliens and manAn intriguing premise drives the initial few issues of Port of Earth where we're introduced to a trans-galactic trade agreement between aliens and mankind. Earth becomes the nexus of intergalactic trade, with humans entrusted with keeping the space port safe for all travelers. What soon becomes apparent is that capitalism breeds the same problems across the stars, and the series becomes a vessel to explore some social commentary on consumerism while centering the narrative on a corporate conspiracy and the police tasked with unraveling it all. Unfortunately, the main characters themselves offer little in the way of being interesting and the outside of the surface level exploration of the premise, much of the sci-fi setting seems bland and uninspired. There are definitely better versions of this type of story out there....more
Houses of the Unholy is the newest comic in the long line of collaborative projects between Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, with colors from regular coHouses of the Unholy is the newest comic in the long line of collaborative projects between Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, with colors from regular contributor Jacob Phillips. Another murder mystery comic, the story here follows the pot-smoking, downtrodden and traumatized protagonist Natalie Burns who gets roped into an FBI investigation into a series of murders linked to the '80s Satanic Panic. Natalie's own history ties her to the current day murders as she was once part of the "Satanic Six", a group of children who alleged abuse at the hands of teachers and school counselors. The narrative bounces between Natalie's own fragmented memories of the past trauma and the contemporary investigation she's aiding a disgraced FBI agent with.
Everything that makes your typical Brubaker x Phillips comic here is technically present - engaging dialogue, twists and turns and moody artwork - and yet Houses of the Unholy feels decidedly lesser than most preceding projects. The story has a messy structure as it rushes towards an ending that reads incomplete with sentiments that are unearned. The twists are surprising to be sure, but largely because they don't really make much sense under scrutiny. (view spoiler)[The biggest contributor to this is the poor characterization of the co-lead, FBI Agent West, who serves as a critical player in the underlying mystery but his characterization is left intentionally obscured for far too long into the narrative. (hide spoiler)] As the twists begin to emerge, I found myself frequently scratching my head as to where the story was actually heading. And unfortunately, there isn't much left in the way of page count to really make the twists work out. On the other hand, there were story beats that did work for me, particularly around Natalie's own history as a member of the Satanic Six. There is fertile ground in looking at how allegations can impact a victim's perspective of trauma, and I do wish Brubaker expanded on this more.
In the end, your enjoyment of this really comes down to whether you're still fully bought into this creative team. I've found some of their more recent entries to be somewhat stale as they continue to tread way too familiar grounds with little in the way of innovating their creative process. Perhaps they've subscribed to the "if it ain't broke" adage and are comfortable with where they are, but I do personally hope they branch out a bit more moving forward. I wouldn't even qualify this as a bad comic by any means - it does provide almost everything fans of Brubaker & Phillips want in their pulpy crime thriller comics. But I did find this to be bland in execution, and really hope their immense talents don't go towards making more of the same comic over and over again....more
Dark Ride is a campy horror series from Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan that features a haunted theme park and the impact its had on the family tDark Ride is a campy horror series from Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan that features a haunted theme park and the impact its had on the family that runs it. There's a comedic undertone to a lot of it so it's not truly a horror series, but Bressan does draw the hell out of some scenes to really amp up the haunted aspect well. As a conclusion, this was a pretty fitting (and also surprisingly wholesome) ending, but I can't say I felt like this story was anything all that memorable. The characters have a heightened lunacy to them to make them feel larger than life, but ultimately I can't say the series did anything particularly interesting with the genre....more
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