The Woods #7 – Review

By: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (art), Josan Gonzalez (colors)

The Story: Ben’s dad makes the prospect of him getting a chest tattoo the least awkward part of the evening. Well done, dad…

The Review: A couple of months ago, James Tynion told a story in an instant, when he threw Benjamin Stone and a girl in a beautiful dress into the background of his spotlight on Karen. The pathos was palpable, but the details were almost painfully vague. Ben’s quiet stoicism has made him one of the most interesting characters in James Tynion’s incredible indie mag, as well as one of the most understated. I’ve been itching to get to know him better, and this issue presents the chance to do so.

This string of interlocking character studies has really brought out the strengths of this title. James Tynion clearly still understands teens and isn’t afraid to credit them and their problems with weight and agency. While I usually think of this series as not requiring any special classification, it occurs to me that, while the themes are heavy, the content itself is really the only thing keeping younger readers away. I do wonder how reading this title is different as a high schooler, but that way lies madness, speculation, and feeling far too old for my age.

The issue also possesses Tynion’s distinct talent for character writing. More than many writers, and more than in any of his other works that I’m familiar with, Tynion proves able to communicate his characters though the details and without losing their depth in doing so. Just as he instilled in me a wariness of Kayla back in issue #5, one page quickly makes her one of the most likable characters in the whole series. I seriously hope that she turns up back at the school, though I’m not sure she even attends Bay Point.

The Woods #6 – Review

By: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (artist), Josan Gonzalez (colors)

The Story: They’re no elephants, but they’ll do…

The Review: After an impressive look into Karen’s character last month, James Tynion and Michael Dialynas are back with another character study that’s very much follow-up to the previous issue’s success.

Calder has very much been the break out character of The Woods for me. I’m actually really fond of Ben, but there’s no denying that Tynion comes alive a little whenever Calder’s on the page. It’s only natural that an entire issue dedicated to him would work.

While the focus on Hannibal could have been diluted a bit, the structure of the issue is as strong as it’s ever been. It was clever to set Calder’s adventures on the night of the school play, allowing last issue to carry some of the storytelling weight and reminding us that all of these characters are living their own struggles and triumphs simultaneously.

Tynion paints Calder as a truly tragic figure with nearly unsettling specificity. The relationship between Calder and Casey mixes the logical quality of a business transaction with the kind of instinctive, conditioned fear that only the abused know. It’s something of a tragic story and one that sticks into you, in the best way. It isn’t fair, but that’s the point.

The Woods #5 – Review

By: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (art), Josan Gonzalez (colors)

The Story: Yubou wubill ubalwubays bube thube uboubne tubo fubind mube.

The Review: With Coach Clay in retreat for the moment, Maria Remirez and James Tynion have a little less on their plate. Nonetheless, neither one is resting on their laurels, and Tynion frames issue 5 of The Woods with a glimpse into the characters’ pasts.

I’ve personally found Karen Jacobs to be one of the weakest characters in Tynion’s story so far. Karen has largely been set up as the voice of reason, lacking the passion Maria or Adrian possess and the sense of humor that keeps Calder or Isaac going. Even her introductory detail, her distress at not being accepted to college, merely implied to me that she felt that she was worthy of admittance and was, therefore, interesting not for her previous actions but how she reacted to unexpected situations.

Thankfully Tynion tackles all of these issues head-on this month, with a story that examines and deepens Karen and Sanami’s friendship for the reader. Rather than a dramatic deviation, we see here that Karen’s teaser description, “The Screw-Up”, long predates her rejection letters. In these flashbacks Karen gains a charming sense of humor and a simmering bitterness that seems bound for bigger things as situations grow more and more extreme.

The Woods #4 – Review

By: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (art), Josan Gonzalez (colors)

The Story: Who runs the school? Who owns the woods?

The Review: As we rejoin the stranded cast of James Tynion IV’s The Woods, a sense of hopelessness begins to creep in even further. The students and teachers are starting to understand that there may be no going home.

While we’re still waiting for a gamechanger that will differentiate this story from the countless others that share its basic question, The Woods continues to stand out based on the strength of its characters. Tynion cruelly but wisely denies us further exploration of some of the most interesting threads of last month’s issue while providing closure on others and giving readers a much needed glimpse at what the series will look at in coming months.

While this is very much an ensemble cast, it’s clear that Tynion has favorites and characters that stand out to him. This week finds Calder Macready in the spotlight. Calder has been a strong presence all through the series but, more than ever, he seems a player to keep an eye on. Calder represents a figure many of us know too well, the loudmouthed boy no one expected anything from who opted not to disappoint. There’s an innocence as he shows off, a morbidity in his dialogue, a power in his moments of intimacy that practically screams to tell you that still waters, or perhaps deceptively rough waters, run deep.

Though it would be nice to get such a sense from characters like Karen or Dominic, who haven’t had as many chances to shine, characters like Calder and Adrian remind you to stay aware. Even when characters play to type, it often feels like a conscious choice, and that’s a great strength of the series.

There is one featured monologue that feels a little disconnected from the matters at hand, but it’s a brief diversion and one that likely could have been great if it fit into the narrative a little cleaner.

The plot, overall, is a little slow. Some moments, while helpful or interesting, feel redundant when considering the month between chapters and twenty page chunks in which we are receiving the story. It’s not a serious failing of the story, after all it allows that careful characterization I mentioned earlier, but it does sap a little excitement from the issue. When you’re interested the story goes too fast. When the story loosens its hold on you it begins to drag. It’s a shame the whole issue doesn’t manage a more even distribution, but I know that Tynion has the technical prowess to get us to that place. But while the issue could have been more evenly paced, it’s hard to complain when one plotline, Coach Clay’s new government, sees such dramatic resolution. Those expecting a lengthy revolution or a new status quo for Maria will be surprised to see how it all goes down.

Steven Universe #1 – Review

By: Jeremy Sorese (Writer), Coleman Engle (Artist), Bridget Underwood (Cover A Artist), Raven M. Molisee, Kali Ciesemier, Josceline Fenton, Zac Gorman (Supplemental Stories/Material)

The Story: Behind every gray cloud is a rainbow cloud monster.

The Review: In case you didn’t notice, this really is a good time for kids’ animated cartoons. One of the latest contenders is Steven Universe, a quirky, not-quite-adventure/not-quite-coming-of-age kind of show coming from the mind of one of the writers of Adventure Time, Rebecca Sugar. And in case you didn’t notice, Boom! Comics/Kaboom! has been putting out quality Cartoon Network licensed comics that embrace the creativity and wonder in these unique properties, and so it was perhaps only a matter of time before we got a Steven Universe comic.

Steven Universe #1 hits all the right notes you’d want, and the best praise is that you can hear all the voices perfectly and envision this as an episode in its own right. Now, you should understand that this could also mean that you might pick up this this book and not “get it.” The story set-up about Steven, the nature of the Crystal Gems (the trio of other heroes), and the threats they face is not explained at all. Which, to be fair, is also a feature/flaw of the show itself, depending on your perspective. The current aesthetic of kids’ shows seem to feature a level of absurdity and surrealism that is creeping into traditional plot structure and the story engines themselves. I would recommend the book for fans of Steven Universe already or for those who like jumping into ongoing conversations and trying to keep up.

The book is broken up into two Steven Universe stories, a one-page gag strip, a one-page recipe, and a two-page gag/preview for a new comic based on the cartoon Uncle Grandpa, all of which display a mix of experimental art styles (such as the second story being completely black and white with liberal use of gradient textures.)

The main story seems perfect for a Steven Universe cartoon– Steven is more interested in wearing crazy sunglasses and enjoying a beach day even though there’s an evil gem that needs to be contained. Part of the fun of Steven Universe is how the characters deal with the craziness as if it’s completely normal. Or sub-normal, even, and this is no exception.

The Woods #3 – Review

By: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (art), Josan Gonzalez (colors)

The Story: You know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby…

The Review: As The Woods #3 opens Principal Beaumont is giving an impassioned speech. He swears his dedication to the cause and promises to protect his students. The first page is barely over and you’re already sure that Beaumont didn’t write his own speech.

The Woods #3 shows a deft mixture of character work and plot progression. As our attention shifts back towards the adventuring party and into the darkest parts of the school, we’re seeing the characters as individuals. This remains the series’ greatest strength. While it’s admittedly hard to believe that none of the teens have the utter freak out that the situation deserves, the least composed of them quietly panicking or merely welching on heroic actions, the woods are revealing their character in a way that many such scenarios simply fail to do.

Adrian Roth doesn’t get the kind of screen time you might expect this month, but he has a single moment that is bound to change the dynamic of the series going forward and immediately puts him back in the spotlight. Likewise Ben continues to be my favorite character by a long margin, displaying an equal and opposite reaction.

These are big moments that you expect, but one of the most crucial moments, in my view, is a quiet one, easy to overlook. When Adrian makes his choice, one character questions him, but they don’t press the issue. Tynion is a smart writer, one who obviously considers issues in a way that acknowledges the power of compliancy. It’s the sturdiness of Tynion’s writing that makes The Woods, the sense that he has given this the thought and the empathy it needs to thrive.

The Woods #2 – Review

By: James Tynion IV (writer), Michael Dialynas (art), Josan Gonzalez (colors)

The Story: As the party struggles with natural predators, the schoolbound discover that they’re subject to the food chain as well.

The Review: A big part of the success of the first issue of The Woods was how relatable the characters were, how easy it was to like them. For the second installment, James Tynion decides to prove he can inspire loathing just as easily.

One thing you’ll notice pretty immediately in reading The Woods is that Tynion understands teenagers. Admittedly, he’s not exactly an older writer, but there are plenty of teenagers who don’t respect teenagers, so it’s all the more noticeable and all the more important that Tynion is willing to allow these young people agency and fallibility.

While the core of the series seems to be the adventuring party set up in the premiere issue, issue #2 turns our attention back towards the school and the five-hundred students and faculty still holed up there. The sheer number of immediate crises is staggering and there’s really no one right way to deal with them. The only way the school will survive is together, which is great. Unfortunately, sometimes panic and togetherness don’t mix well. It’s up to those who can unite the school and not all of them are ideal candidates.

Big Trouble in Little China #1 – Review

By: John Carpenter & Eric Powell (Story), Eric Powell (Writer), Brian Churilla (Artist), Michael Garland (Color Artist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer)

The Story:
妖魔大鬧小神州, of course

The Review:
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” they say. In this case, however, you should absolutely judge this book by its cover. Or, at least, it’s basic, non-alternate cover, which is clearly evocative to the original Big Trouble in Little China and how it exemplifies cult action-adventure films from the 80s. From the title’s font/logo, to characters’ arrangement, to the lighting and texture and caricature, it’s a pleasingly retro homage.

Inside, the caricature continues, with the figures looking cartoony enough for a MAD Magazine story, yet without degenerating into demeaning exaggeration or stereotypes. Or at least, not relying on them. It’s an interesting choice– it helps keep the humorous tone, establishes close ties to the original movie, and, yes, even dates itself a little bit. Speaking of which, I wonder that is also supposed to be the effect of the same-ness of all the dialogue bubbles. They seem to all be the same shape/dimensions regardless of size or position, which again makes things seem more like a MAD Magazine strip but also a bit stale and undynamic.

As the cover suggests, this is a sequel to the movie, and in fact, it picks up merely seconds after the film ends. A hell-beast has followed Jack Burton home (or at least, to his big rig) but not for the reasons you’d expect, which brings him back to Little China/San Francisco where supernatural gangs continue to plague the lives of his friends. It all makes the story feel very “real” as a genuine part of Jack Burton’s story (even if it’s been many years since I’ve seen the movie) but it somewhat relies on the film to have done all the heavy lifting for its characters and their inter-relationships. A little exposition would have been nice, especially if this is to capture a feeling of “new” just as much as it’s trying to be the next chapter of “before.”

The only bit of new character/world building comes from Jack Burton’s 3-page recount of his second marriage, complete with a comicbook-style flashback that takes advantage of artistic montage. In just this brief moment, we get see/read about Mexican bikers, bat-faced luchadores, giant Día de Los Muetros heads, and Babylonian demi-gods in Nebraska. Now THAT sounds fun and offers genuinely new weirdness, but it’s too brief and quite tangential to any other plot development.

Bee and Puppycat #1 – Review

By: Natasha Allegri and Garrett Jackson (Writers) Natasha Allegri/Madéleine Flores (Artist/Backup Artist), Natasha Allegri and Patrick Seery (Color Artists)

The Story:
Don’t let Dalí-style lucid dreaming get in the way of your temp work, which itself is basically Dalí-style lucid dreaming.

The Review:
There’s quite a story behind Bee and Puppycat. The property, I mean. The story of the characters is, in fact, pretty simple– Bee is an Every-girl who one day gets a magical pet for no reason, and the pet, Puppycat, takes her on magical, dream-like adventures that are in fact part of some cosmic temp agency.

Their creator, Natasha Allegri, is one of the team of artists/animators behind Frederator/Cartoon Hangover, the same team that brings you Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors. (Allegri is credited for creating the fan-favorite gender-swapped Fionna and Cake for Adventure Time.) Bee and Puppycat were brought to life via Cartoon Hangover’s YouTube channel, and then to Kickstarter, and its campaign ended up being “the most successful animation Kickstarter in history, the #4 film/video Kickstarter (only behind three Hollywood based projects), and the #1 Kickstarter based on a YouTube video” (thanks, Wikipedia!).

Six-Gun Gorilla #6 – Review

by Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jeff Stokely (Artist), André May (Colorist)

The Story: Blue gets to see the ending of the story, as do all those who were watching his development.

The Review: Endings are tricky. With so many stories going on and on, it’s hard to see how everything could or should conclude, leaving many stories going on indefinitely as a result. This could be something that identify super hero comics in general, but it’s something a bit more than that, actually. Television series, movies, books and all sorts of work of fiction simply don’t know where to leave things. Not all writers do, mind you, but it’s become a bit of a trope to leave everything in ways that either feel final or ambiguous in ways that don’t always seem satisfactory with what the readers and characters went through.

Simon Spurrier does not seem to have that problem, as while he does seem to do many of the things described above, there is one thing that he does in this conclusion that is rather remarkable: he finish the story that Blue is a part of. Of course, many of the ongoing themes of this mini-series are handled and presented fairly well throughout the story, but Spurrier does a little more with his ending than the usual.

Supurbia #12 – Review

By: Grace Randolph (writer), Russell Dauterman (art), Gabriel Cassata (colors)

The Story: Shapeshifters, man…shapeshifters…

The Review: At Comic-Con, Dan DiDio commented that he didn’t want his superhero stories to be about a marriage. I found that to be a reasonable statement that I didn’t totally agree with, but I can’t help but come back to it as I read this climactic issue of Supurbia.

Supurbia #12 is a prolonged final clash between the Meta Legion and the shapeshifting androids that have haunted the cul-de-sac since the series began. And while the stakes are certainly high enough – an attack from within, a sixteen issue threat brought to bear, loved ones in danger – the issue doesn’t go where you might expect.

In keeping with their nature, the shapeshifters’ methods are more insidious than your standard endgame opponent. Those looking for a stream of escalating apotheosis will largely be left disappointed, though Eli gets saved in a rather satisfying way. Indeed, if there’s a weakness to this issue it’s that it’s really a comic of ideas.

Six-Gun Gorilla #5 – Review

Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jeff Stokely (Artist), André May (Colorist)

The Story: Blue gets into a huge mind-trip as lessons are learned, with people watching him live no less!

The Review: Morals and philosophy are hard things to properly insert in a story. While introspection and life-lessons aren’t necessary per se in a story, it can be pretty entertaining when done well. However, it can be done in a manner that is too preachy, resulting in a story that forces its ideas down the readers throat, or it can be too vague, leaving an ambiguity that merely diminish the work in general. Many could agree that any piece of fiction can pull this off, but it’s always a challenge to do so effectively without boring or insulting the readers intelligence in the process.

It’s a good thing then that not only does Simon Spurrier pulls it off in this issue, but he also does it by using some of the inherent strengths of the comic medium in the process of telling his story. This issue not only provides some answers to the general weirdness of the situation and to Blue’s predicament, but it does so in a way that does not cheaply betray the very spirit that drove this series forward to begin with.

This issue, in order to tell some of its morals, focus a lot more on Blue, as we get to learn a bit more in the process of his struggle with the world he’s stuck in. Despite the fact that the issue jumps around a bit with the media, how society sees the struggle of a single blue-cameraman and Blue’s ex-wife, this part of the tale is centered around him, which makes for a better read. As he lives the moral through some kind of crazy introspection forced upon him by the planet, the readers gets to experience this as well as the viewers on Earth, which makes for an apt comparison that revolves around the very lesson Spurrier gives.

Regular Show #4 – Review

by KC Green, Rachel Conner (Writers), Allison Strejlau, Josceline Fenton (Artists), Lisa Moore (Colorist)

The Story: Mordecai gets a rather embarrassing haircut. In the backup, Rigby fears about something involving his brother and Eileen.

The Review: People who watches The Regular Show on television on a regular or semi-regular basis must know by now the formula behind the series. The formula is rather simple, as Mordecai and Rigby needs to perform a basic task or accomplish a rather easy goal, only for surreal stuff to happen and make their job much more difficult than it has to be. Most episodes seems to follow this sequence to show the crazier side of the series, as both protagonists, along with their fellow workers, had to beat Death in a hot-dog eating contest, battle a demon that escaped through an arcade cabin and so on. It’s rather silly, yet its surreal fun and it delivers on most fronts.

However, the main story from this issue seems to understand the basic premise behind the show, yet fail to delivers as this issue is mostly setup without much of what makes the show entertaining to begin with. All the actions that leads to the generally insane action is presented in this issue, yet stops exactly when it could get much more interesting conceptually. It all ends up being more of a tease, which is disappointing to say the least.

What makes it doubly so is that KC Green do seems to get how to portray these characters, like the rivalry with Muscle Man, how Mordecai and Rigby interacts with each other, the optimism of Pops and so on. It seems that most of the elements are there to make this story succeeds, except for the climax.

Six-Gun Gorilla #4 – Review

by Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jeff Stokely (Artist) André May (Colorist)

The Story: As Blue is getting lectured by the gorilla about what might be happening to him, trouble happen in the town of Tango.

The Review: Mini-series are curious things. Marketed as being complete stories told in a limited number of issues, most of them are prone to their own logics. The pacing, how the themes are handled, how the characters are presented are all handled by the creative team and their own desires. While some of these traits can also be attributed to the regular ongoing adventures in other comics, there is a self-inflicted limit on mini-series on their length, which makes some of the decision either surprising or very confusing for some readers.

Six-Gun Gorilla could pretty much be one of the poster child for such a statement, as the half-point is past and the overall direction of the mini-series still seem to be mysterious even at that point. It is both a strength and a weakness, as it provide enough plot points to be able to thoroughly take the readers by surprise, yet those who really want to know why there’s such a focus on Blue and what the medallion means may see a certain degradation of their patience. Even in this issue we don’t really get any answer as merely a few of the pieces on the chessboard moving toward their eventual final position.

Regular Show #3 – Review

Since this is a book featuring three different tales with a creative team for each of them, this review will be a bit different as each of these stories shall be analyzed individually. A grade will be assigned to each of them and a final grade will be given based on the whole issue as a consensus will be met. With that said, let’s begin.

Sombrero World: Zack Smith (Writer), Brad McGinty (Artist)

As this story begins, the formula of the show can actually be seen, which shows the readers that Mordecai and Rigby needs to do a simple job, yet as usual, chaotic shenanigans involving the strange world they live in makes their task much harder than it has to be. Right there, Zack Smith understand the dynamics between the two protagonist as he advance the plot fairly well in the few pages he gets while giving the readers the kind of insanity that is expected from the show, with the threat this time being a huge Mexican restaurant that is also a robot that tries to trap tourists using its robot legs and arms. The art itself is also very energetic and highly expressive, yet in a very cartoonish way, which suits the story very well. The colors are also quite bombastic, which does accentuate the madness of the tale as there is a very high amount of warm colors with a low usage of cold ones. Overall, a very nice effort that is very faithful to the show. B+

Arm Skills : Kevin Church (Writer), Brooke Allen (Artist), Whitney Cogar (Colorist)

This is another strong outing, as the story revolve round Mordecai and Rigby entering an arm-wrestling tournament in order to win cash as they face off against a cast of colorful characters, including truckers, robots and costumed wrestlers. Like the previous story, the writer knows what the shows permit, as he use the setting to indulge in the weird, yet very wild story that becomes quickly unpredictable in a very fun way. He uses the cast well, with Skips being the regular knows-it-all guy that always help the protagonists out. The art is a bit sketchy when it comes to characters in some of the pages, yet Brooke Allen still manage to ramp up the insanity in some of the key panels as the action get more intense and the stakes even crazier. His panels are busy, yet never in a way that gets in the readers enjoyment. The color is also quite nice, as they are diverse and bright, bringing in the various elements quite well despite the growing chaos. This is another good entry when it comes down to it. B

Supurbia #10 – Review

By: Grace Randolph (writer), Russel Dauterman (art), Gabriel Cassata (colors)

The Story: Ever wanted to see a naked Superman demolish a house? Well, have I got a comic for you!

The Review: Some of you may have heard Grace Randolph’s Superbia described as the Real Housewives of the JLA. Technically that’s true, but Superbia is so much more.

Indeed, there are very few moments in this issue where you’d think ‘I’m reading about the hero’s wife.’ Most of the women are either heroes themselves or serve as essential support staff to the spandex set. What’s more, gender balance is more even than you might think. Whether it’s Sovereign, Eli, or Agent Twilight the men are active participants in the story. I actually would have liked to see a little more of some of the female characters, Batu or her daughter, for instance.

In fact, I’d have liked to have seen more of any of the characters. Superbia is a comic about a community rather than an individual, however, this month we see the down side of having so many characters in play. The comic flits around every couple of pages, popping in on another member of the cast. Some, like Sovereign get a moment out of this, but all too often it just feels like the writer taking inventory.

The tragedy of this is that Randolph has two excellent superhero adventures to play with and a myriad of interpersonal dramas yet can’t pick one to devote the issue to. Past months have focused on Hector Hall’s abduction of Zari, but that plot line ends up a bait and switch as we transition to the shape-shifter plot just in time for the comic to end.

Six-Gun Gorilla #3 – Review

Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jeff Stokely (Artist), André May (Colorist)

The Story: Blue becomes an unfortunate listener as people tells them the woe brought by the war. He also tries to escape from such a predicament.

The Review: Some series tries too hard. Being larger-than-life, full of neat concepts, original ideas and characters don’t always result in a comic that is enjoyable or actually smart. Ambition don’t always mean quality, though authors who show signs of it always earn credits for trying.

Of course, not every comic can be qualified as a simple hit or a miss. Every writers have strengths and weaknesses, subjects and themes that they are much more familiar with. Simon Spurrier, it seems, is quite apt when it comes to social commentary and science-fiction. Combining many of these elements into his narrative and his characters, Spurrier manage to create a lot of hits, although he is not perfect.

One of the better aspects of this issue, one that is shown many times, is the way most characters speaks at Blue indirectly, knowing that he is linked directly to a live feed on another planet. It is a smart way to use reality shows and how they seems to make a simulacrum of reality by making each people talk to Blue without actually wishing to converse or tell them their piece personally. In a way, Blue represents a normality, the citizen not exactly informed or touched by a certain situation, yet isn’t completely unaware of its existence. No one seems interested in Blue and the character is actually aware of this fact, which makes his monologue about who he is rather fascinating in terms of analysis. The way that he is set in such a situation, yet no one, except perhaps his ex, seems to care about him makes for a rather easily identifiable protagonist.

Jennifer Blood #29 – Review

By: Mike Carroll (story), Eman Casillos (art), Inlight Studios (colors)

The Review: Jennifer Blood did something that very few comics are courageous enough to do – completely reimagine and recreate itself. Garth Ennis created Jennifer Blute / Blood as a woman who faked her own death and emerged from her fabricated disappearance as a sweet, slightly kooky suburban housewife. The happy housewife, however is a disguise that she wears. In reality, Jennifer is a cold, calculating, vengeance consumed woman who married a convenient sap and had two children while plotting the deaths of her mafia-affiliated family.  Ennis steered Jen through her first story arc in which she completed her mission of revenge oftentimes hilariously between baking cookies and attending PTA meetings.

Al Ewing took over the writing chores and continued Jennifer’s murderous nocturnal activities and the easy thing to do would be to have Jen manage to evade detection and slip from near-miss to near-miss indefinitely but each issue brought Jen inexorably closer to capture. Jennifer became a less attractive character with each revelation; for instance when Jen’s son finds her stash of weapons, she plays a cruel mind-game with him, putting tremendous psychological pressure and stress on a seven year old. Ewing tightened the noose with each issue culminating with Jen’s murder of her husband, a harmless and loving bird watcher. Again, the easy thing to do would be for Jen to bury the body, develop some cover story to explain her husband’s sudden disappearance and conveniently resume her “normal” suburban life, but the creators of this book don’t do anything the easy way.  Jen’s homicidal alter – ego is discovered and she becomes a fugitive running and hiding with her children in tow.

The twists and turns and suspense continue as Jen is caught and thrown in jail where she spends a year surviving and plotting until she is broken out of jail by a cabal of rich guys that want her to participate in some crazy human hunting game where, if she survives, she wins her freedom. The easy thing to do here would be for Jen to spend a couple of issues running through the woods and evading capture until she manages to turn the game around and become the hunter, but Mike Carroll is following the model of the previous writers and throwing all the rules out the window. Jen rejects the offer, murders the people that helped her escape from prison, takes a bunch of hostages and manages to make her escape from a one-story building completely surrounded by police and SWAT teams.   Jen is determined to find her children and get them back and will stop at nothing to accomplish this mission.

Six-Gun Gorilla #2 – Review

Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jeff Stokely (Artist), André May (Colorist)

The Story: As the Gorilla introduces himself, Blue sees just how rough life on this planet is for those caught in the middle of the conflict.

The Review: Do you like weird comics? Do you enjoy a comic that seems to go ahead with plenty of strange concepts, one that almost challenge your suspension of disbelief? Do you have a tendency to be pleased when you read a comic that mix many genres together, like war, western and social commentary?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then congratulation, for Six-Gun Gorilla is pretty much everything mentioned earlier and more. It is a story that is ambitious, weird and that is unafraid to be original, yet is not without its share of flaws as well.

One of the biggest strength of this issue would be the creativity and the overall strangeness of the premise and its character. As we have close to no idea who is the gorilla, where the series is going or what this strange world is, Simon Spurrier is able to bring something that is always nice: an element of surprise. With each answer to our question or exploration of an element on the war and the planet, we can get stuff that is worth investing our interest in. It’s not every comic that dares to bring out so many unexplored elements like that. For the sheer guts of that, the comic is enjoyable.

Of course, there is also the plot to consider. In many ways, it is both a weakness and a strength, as Spurrier has perhaps a little bit much to explain, introduce and play with. With so any elements in the book, it feels like that some of them have more time and have perhaps more work put into them. The exploration of Blue on the Planet and his encounter with the titular gorilla is very interesting, yet there are too many other plot threads that don’t have enough space to be anything more than tease for further development. It is good to see the seed of further things happening, yet there are perhaps a bit too many of them here.

Six-Gun Gorilla #1 – Review

By: Simon Spurrier (Writer), Jeff Stokely (Artist), André May (Colorist)

The Story: There’s a huge war going on as suicidal persons decide to film it for the rich people out there. Oh, there’s also a gorilla with a six-shooter.

The Review: I had no idea what kind of comic I’d be reading when I bought this. It starred a gorilla with a six-shooter and a poncho, combining some vague hints about a genre I love, Westerns, with an animal I like. The fact that it’s written by Simon Spurrier, who I discovered thanks to X-Men Legacy, a weird little title that I like very much, really helped in my decision to buy it. Deciding to go on ahead and pick it up, I thought I’d have a silly and fun little read.

What I got instead was some kind of futuristic and fantastical world where we see a suicidal main character gets thrown on the front line of a big war in order to film it for rich people to see. It was a sci-fi, war, western and social comic with a talking gorilla thrown in just for safe measure. It was a weird, almost philosophical experience that was silly, yet also spoke about some of the human nature and a bit about depression along the way. I loved it.

The Regular Show #1 – Review

By: KC Green (Writer), Allison Strejlau (Artist), Lisa Moore (Colorist) with Brian Butler (Writer/Artist)

The Story: It seems like there are certain rules on how to establish a mosh pit, as not following them might have dire consequences…

The Review: I have a confession to make: I don’t watch The Regular Show at all. I don’t have cable or any channels in my home, as I have grown with the years a habit of just not watching it at all, so there are plenty of shows I’m missing out on. I have no idea what this show is about, who the characters are and what are the themes or the recurring jokes. Since I am a fan of the Adventure Time comics, one of the persons working at the LCS I usually go to told me I should try this, as the humor is pretty close in tone to this comic, as in it is a show that does have subtle adult humor. Trusting his judgment, I just bought the issue and went on to read it.

At first, it seemed like a standard comic, with anthropomorphic creatures working in what seems to be a park, as we are introduced to some of the characters, like Rigby the racoon and Mordecai the blue jay. Taking its time to set up the mood, we see that they are ‘’hard’’ at work while there is some kind of concert given in the park. With the tone of the music being quite calm, they are met by a green man with some kind of ghost hand as they claim that the show right there is absolutely boring. With the green man, named Muscle Man, deciding to liven things up by creating a mosh pit, our two heroes watch as they see him try to do so with so calm an audience.

Freelancers #1 – Quick Review

By: Ian Brill (writer), Joshua Covey (art), Justin Stewart, Vladimir Popov & Zack Sterling (colors) & Pat Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Two young PI-ish ladies are “freelancers.”

Review: I hate to use a cliche term like “meh,” but that’s how this comic left me feeling: “meh.”  The internet is so full of hyperbole that if you aren’t calling a comic the “greatest thing since Watchmen” it somehow means you hated it.  That’s not the case here.  Freelancers #1 is a perfectly fine comic; there are a lot of comics better and I presume there are many comics that are worse (although I don’t really know because I don’t read crappy comics).

The set-up is pretty basic: two young ladies have known each other since they were childhood orphans.  Now they are bottom rung “freelancers” at a kinda private investigator agency.  They’re kinda sexy and kinda sassy.  They know kung-fu.  They go out on cases and are jealous of the #1 freelancer at the agency.  That’s the story…

Irredeemable #30 – Review

By: Mark Waid (writer/creator), Diego Barreto & Damian Couceiro (art), Zac Atkinson & Archie Van Buren (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Shannon Watters (associate editor) & Matt Gagnon (editor)

The Story: Cary/Survivor may have a plan to power up to yet another level, Plutonian and Bette Noir get reacquainted & the surviving human government’s do something.

What’s Good: The arc of Cary/Survivor is really interesting as this series has really become about moral grey areas and whether “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.  One of the great reveals of this series was when Survivor powered up after his brother was killed by Plutonian because it turned out that the brothers shared a finite pool of power.  That enhancement allowed Survivor to smash Plutonian and become the alpha dog of the Earth, but we’ve watched him struggle with that power as Waid has made it clear that Survivor isn’t a bad man, but he might be willing to do bad things to achieve good ends.

So, now that Plutonian has returned with a gang of uber-powered psychopaths from around the galaxy, Survivor needs power up again and goes to confront his OTHER brother (the fact that there is an “other” brother is a little cliché, but I’ll roll with it…).  The other brother has left superheroing and become a priest and the confrontation between the two reminded me very much of the scene with Tuco and his brother in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  Tuco wouldn’t tolerate his brother’s sanctimony because it was Tuco’s life as a bandit that allowed the family to eat and survive and gave his brother the luxury of being a priest instead of providing for him family.  Tuco’s lines, “You couldn’t do what I do.” and “You did your thing and I did mind, but my way was harder.” really ring true here.  Can his brother have moral superiority when he has the powerset to do so much more, yet he is “wasting” his time helping one victim of the Plutonian at a time?

And there’s also the issue of whether Survivor will kill his brother the priest to level up again?  That’s really a question of the ends justifying the means.  I’ll be curious to see it play out because you know Waid isn’t afraid to do something shocking.  And….it would be a pretty big power-up for Survivor.  When Brother #1 died, he went from having 1/3 of the family’s power to 1/2; and that allowed him to smash Plutonian.  If the priest dies, he’ll go from 1/2 to ALL the power and would probably be able to take Plutonian’s gang out.

Incorruptible #22 – Review

By: Mark Waid (writer), Marcio Takara (art), Nolan Woodard (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters) & Shannon Watters

The Story: Max Damage finishes his building project and faces a old-time enemy.

What’s Good: SPOILER WARNING…      Plutonian finally shows up at the ending of this issue.  It’s taken a long time for us to get to this point (almost 2 years) but it was high time we saw this interaction between the hero-gone-bad and the bad-guy-made-good, even if I can even understand why it took so long.  Whereas it was pretty easy to show the concept of a hero going to the dark side (just show him killing innocent civilians), it is much harder for a writer to demonstrate that a villain has really become the good guy: saving one little old lady isn’t going to cut it.  Max Damage has been on quite a journey over the last couple of years and it’ll be interesting to see how this next phase of his life plays out.

And, that’s especially true now that a certain underage former female accomplice is back on the scene.  Having Jailbait back might be a real treat because Waid wrote her so well in the early issues.  We’ve seen Max’s moral absolutes be applied to just about everyone else around him, but will he be quite as fast to punish a character like Jailbait when he knows that she is really “his fault”?  Can’t wait to see that….

There’s a lot to look forward to in this book.

Irredeemable #29 – Review

By: Mark Waid (writer), Eduardo Barreto & Diego Barreto (art), Zac Atkinson (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Shannon Watters (assistant editor) & Matt Gagnon (editor)

The Story: Plutonian is back on Earth and the heroes and nations thereof have to rally to its defense.

What’s Good: As much as I enjoyed the 5-6 issue stint where Plutonian got kidnapped by aliens and sent to a galactic institue for the criminally insane, I kinda missed our original cast of characters.  During that time, we got the see Quibit and got brief snippets of Kaiden, but what happened to Bette Noir and that dude with the wings?

Well, this issue features a big comeback by the original members of the Paradigm superhero team.  That’s much appreciated because us readers spent the first ~15 issues reading nothing but this team’s struggle to fight the Plutonian.  They had all become interesting characters and then – Poof! – they were shuffled off-screen.  It was especially troubling with a character like Kaiden because we had just really learned the depths of her power.  Early on, we’d seen her summoning spirit forms of Japanese folklore characters to fight her battles, but we learned later that she could summon anyone who was dead.  I remember that being quite a revelation and thinking, “Wow!  So, all these dead guys like the Batman-guy and the black dude with lightning powers can come back and fight now!  They might be more useful in death than in life!”, so it’s great to have the team back together.

The reappearance of Bette also bodes well for the future as I suspect that it will lead to kinky and duplicitous behavior with the Plutonian.  There’s a sense of anticipation every time Bette is on the page because you never quite know what you’re going to get with her.

While I do miss Peter Krause and this book is losing something without his artwork, this comic looks fine from a linework standpoint.  There’s nothing blowing me away, but everything is just very solid and professional: you can tell who the characters are, everyone is accurately drawn, the action is clear, etc.  Sequential art should be about telling the story and not doing a fancy splash page and Irredeemable never goes in for artistic flourishes as the expense of story.

What’s not so good: Not much.  I guess this issue was more about anticipating what I hope/think is coming than having a lot of intrinsic meat on the bone.  So there’s that…  There is also a subplot with the humans of the Earth having some scheme to stop the Plutonian, but I just don’t care.  Perhaps I should give Waid more credit because the last time the humans had a plan, it resulted in that weird demon-hunter dude, Orian.  That was pretty cool.  But, if the plan is going to be nuclear bombs or something like that I’d rather just watch the superpowered beings fight.