REVIEW: Ludocrats #5 is a fitting finale for a great book

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By Keigen Rea — This is my favorite painting. It’s by Pere Borrell del Caso (funny story, in a class this summer I credited it to Caravaggio, and I aced the class. Hilariously, I did not know Caso was the painter until I started writing this review! Hahahahahaha). Now, I’m probably supposed to like it because of like, brush strokes or something. Maybe realistic lighting? His fuzzy hairs, perhaps. It is not those things that make this painting special to me. This is my favorite painting because of it’s name. That’s dumb, I do not care.

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REVIEW: Department of Truth #1 is a very good first issue

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By Larry Jorash — James Tynion IV has made his name through horror and superhero comics, but in Department of Truth #1, we see him venture into new territory with a noir fiction of sorts. The cover alone will warrant a second glance on shelves from everyone this week, and once the book is cracked, the art will show off mesmerizing design work. Blending hard truths from modern years and soft truths from the past, the story readers will find in this book is nothing if not unique.

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ADVANCED REVIEW: Giga #1, a mech habitat murder mystery

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By Zack Quaintance — Every great once in a while, I read a new comic that feels like it was made just for me. There’s an innate feeling attached to this, one that combines familiar stories of the past I’ve enjoyed with a sense of timely novelty. That’s the best way I can describe it, and it starts at the name and aesthetic of a book, continues on through the creative team and concept, and finally ends with the execution. I felt that feeling through Giga’s announcement, during the conversations around it when the review copy hit, and during my experience with the story. Hell, I still feel it now, just sitting here thinking about the coming issues.

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REVIEW: 2000AD Prog #2200 - A jumping on point

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By Benjamin Morin — Borag thungg Terrans! Welcome to our first foray into the world of 2000AD. For those unaware, 2000AD is a weekly British anthology series published since the late 1970s. Since then they have developed and given rise to some of the best talent in both American and British comics, including Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, and many more. As an anthology, the weekly prog continually moves new stories in and out of the lineup. This prog in particular is one of 2000AD’s signature “jumping-on progs”, where the majority of the stories have fresh starts and provide new readers with an easy access point. So without any more delay, let's get into this latest scrotnig issue.

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TRADE REVIEW: Olympia is a touching and personal love letter to Jack Kirby

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By Jacob Cordas — I’ve said a lot of terrible, fucked-up shit that I regret but the statement that will haunt me for the rest of my life is when I told my mother with the utmost confidence, “You already beat it once. You can do it again.” She was dead only a few months later. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever said. It was just the most wrong.

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TRADE REVIEW: Cult Classic - Creature Feature

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By Ariel Baska — As an ardent fan of John Bivens’s work on Spread, how could I pass up an opportunity to check out his new work on Cult Classics: Creature Feature? In this work, he applies his unique style to a tale of the town of Whisper, where the same aliens who wiped out the dinosaurs happened to submerge a mysterious capsule.

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TRADE REVIEW: The Devil Within

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By Ariel Baska — The dark shadows of this horror story threaten even the most innocuous of frames as a loving couple stumbles back drunkenly to their Filipino home. Even as they fool around, the divisions between the two women are subtle but immediately apparent, as one remarks disparagingly, “Americans!” and the other indicates expressions of jealousy.

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REVIEW: The Autumnal #1 is a beautiful debut, putting atmosphere over plot

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By Keigen Rea — It’s difficult right now for a horror comic to stand out. Everyone has a favorite, and there are plenty of flavors to choose from, from body-horror, to single issue focused, to action oriented, most bases are covered in comics today. In some ways, The Autumnal is unable to really differentiate itself from the lack, but in others it stands above them all.

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REVIEW: Miles to Go #1...'masterful, clean, and attention-grabbing'

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By T.W. Worn — There is something about Miles To Go #1 that grips you by the collar of your shirt and pulls you along its narrative, regardless of how disturbed and unsure you may be. From the first handful of panels, you know you are being dragged across the shattered glass that is the life of Amara Bishop, the main character of the story. From the images of her childhood, shown to use as a recurring dream, to the life of a newly single mother currently going through the difficulties of a divorce, Miles To Go is a slow but enjoyable start to what will hopefully be a series I plan to stick with.

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REVIEW: Engineward #3

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By Benjamin Morin — Engineward #3 carries our protagonists off on their quest for a better world. At only a quarter of the way through this twelve-issue series, Engineward continues to provide a solid sci-fi comic. Mann has woven an intricate conspiracy into the roots of his narrative and issue by issue the mystery deepens. The artistic craft on display enhances the work, but by-the-numbers story progression continues to hold the book back from greatness.

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ADVANCED REVIEW: Commanders in Crisis #1

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By Zack Quaintance — I’m going to get right into this: Commanders in Crisis #1 is a very impressive, must-read comic, that makes me want to ask several questions of the creative team, chief among them: how did you all pull-off something that so many other folks in comics continue to fail at on a near annual basis? And how did you accomplish said thing within the limitations of a single creator-owned book?

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REVIEW: Be Gay, Do Comics from The Nib

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By Jacob Cordas — Queer culture has often had a contentious relationship with comics. Our existence being there in metaphor, but as an unstated one. We were treated to stories that hinted at our truth or stories that leaked from editorial boards showing how close we nearly got.* In the last few years we’ve had gay characters pop up here and there in the mainstream but even they have often been sidestepped and ignored. Sure, there were indie comics you could try to find or the rare big name that was dedicated to more progressive representation - but it never lasted.

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REVIEW: Slaughter-House Five Graphic Novel

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By Zack Quaintance — I have read Kurt Vonnegut’s seminal anti-war novel, Slaughter-House Five, maybe five times, making it the novel I’ve re-read the most in my life. I read it the first time in high school. I read it again in college when I went through a counter-culture 1960s literature fascination. I read it in my early 20s when I first started to write my own prose fiction, wanting to study Vonnegut’s use of distinctive voice, and I read it again with my wife soon after, who’d never read the book herself. I’ve read most of Vonnegut’s other novels, too. Vonnegut and his work are, quite obviously, something I enjoy.

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REVIEW: You Look Like Death - Tales from The Umbrella Academy #1

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By Larry Jorash — As superhero stories, few are as as unique as The Umbrella Academy. The satirically bleak tone, subtle humor, and raw emotion have put Umbrella Academy in a rare niche of mainstream indies. Now, renowned rock-and-roller Gerard Way returns once more to the comic book stage to deliver us back unto the world where it all began….with a flying elbow.

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REVIEW: Dead Day #3 is better than you think

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By Keigen Rea — I mean it in the best way, but Dead Day 3 was not a comic I was prepared to enjoy as much as I do. For some reason, what I expected was something generic and tried, but instead I got a fun blend of concepts, good storytelling, and a great cliffhanger even while delivering a story that’s easy to pick up and follow.

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REVIEWS: Faithless II #4 is an okay conclusion

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By Jacob Cordas — For the first time while reading Faithless, I was confused. It’s a comic that has a meticulously built story and world. Its influences are clear. Its references are well considered. This is clearly a labor of love, one that I have sincerely loved. But this issue makes an odd choice that I can’t understand.

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REVIEW: Heavy #1 is a wonderfully-fun riff on The Punisher

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By Benjamin Morin — What happens when the Punisher goes supernatural? Only the late 1990s had dared to ask such a question up until this point. Now however, we’re not talking about the critically lauded Punisher: Purgatory. No, this question is actually at the center of a new book this week: Heavy #1. Written by Max Bemis and illustrated by Eryk Donovan, Heavy breathes new life into the Punisher concept in this absurdly entertaining debut.

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REVIEW: Billionaire #6 is a perfect finale

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By Jacob Cordas — What an ending to the series. Billionaire Island #6 sticks the landing so effortlessly, while going darker than anything Mark Russell has ever made previously. Over the last six issues, Russell, Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry, and Rob Steen have built a dynamic and engaging satire. The world was never far off, taking a Randian fantasy and pushing it into sci fi realism. Each step of the way was equally mixed with fantastic jokes and cynical morals.

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