REVIEW: BANG! #3 is a fun issue that stumbles in one area

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By Keigen Rea — Bang! #3 isn’t a book I expected to think much of, but I’m surprised by how fun it is, yet it misses the mark with the main character’s portrayal. Largely, this is a fun gender-swapped Knight Rider homage. A car talks. Bad guys get beaten up. It’s very fun, which would be good enough to read, but it’s elevated by the craft on display.

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TRADE RATING: Black Hammer ‘45 Vol. 1

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By Toren Chenault — The Black Hammer Universe is filled with superheroes. When it debuted in 2016, it was clear from solicits that writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston wanted to change superhero comics with Black Hammer. And that’s exactly what they did. I worked at a comic book shop for most of 2018 and part of 2019. The first Black Hammer trade was one of the books I sold the most. I would pitch it to comic readers and say “Imagine if Watchmen expanded into a full-blown universe. But was a bit more modern.” And that would work most of the time. But to be honest, most of the sales came from people who had never heard of the title or read any of Lemire’s other work.

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REVIEW: BANG! #2 is a killer story within a story...within a story

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By Toren Chenault — Bang! #2 is another example of writer Matt Kindt (joined here by Wilfredo Torres) excelling at telling a story within a story...within a story. With this comic, we’re reading a story from the creative team, while the people in the story are experiencing it as well, but they are also a part of a story, one they don’t seem to have control over. I know it sounds wild, but this actually isn’t something Kindt is new at. And it’s not something entirely alien to fiction writing, especially comics.

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REVIEW: BANG! #1 is bold, exciting, and weird in a perfect way

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By Toren Chenault — I remember an interview with comic writer and artist Matt Kindt on YouTube. I think it was an interview he did right before the release of a new Valiant book. Kindt was talking about how everything in his career would be judged against his breakout hit, MIND MGMT. He said anything else he put out would be compared to a comic a lot of people consider a masterpiece. Kindt even admitted he wasn’t sure he could harness the same level of creative energy for a story like MIND MGMT ever again. Not only has Kindt channeled that creative energy since, however, he’s done it repeatedly with sensational stories like Dept H, Black Badge, Grass Kings, and Ether. Bang! #1 from Darkhorse Comics is another example of a writer clearly in the midst of an extended creative prime.

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