The Sisterhood #1 – Review

By: Christopher Golden & Tom Sniegosky (writer), Wellington Alves (illustrator) & Andrew Dalhouse (colors)

I bought this comic hoping that I would get a decent rip-off of Top Cow’s Magdalena and I wasn’t disappointed with that in mind. The story is about a group of specially trained nuns from the Order of the Holy Sepulcher whom perform exorcisms. The twist to this is that these nuns don’t kill the demons they exorcise – but instead absorb the demons, thus becoming part of their souls, imprisoning them, if you will.

The kicker here is if one of the nuns is killed or die an unnatural death, the demons get released again to the world. If one dies a peaceful natural death, the demons die as well. These nuns have a limited amount of demons they can hold, and when they’re “filled to capacity” they’re forced to retire to a secret sanctuary to spend their last days in peace. Too bad some Snake Eyes type of commando kills them all at their Greek sanctuary, releasing all the demons back into the world! Enter Sister Eden Parish, a young nun who in charge of solving the who’s and why’s of these assassinations.

I enjoyed this book a good deal. It’s not bad at all. It was probably unfair of me to compare it to Magdalena, because it stands completely on its own. The only major drawbacks for me was design of the assassin and the main character. They look almost the same, and it confused me for a moment. Maybe they’re twin sisters and we’ll learn it in issue #2. Please check the 9 page preview. I think you’ll enjoy it. (Grade: B)

-Daniel Yanez

Mouse Guard – Winter: 1152 #3

By David Petersen

After months of delays, issue #3 has arrived. I’ll be frank. It had been so long since the last issue came out that I almost didn’t buy this book out of protest and was just going to wait for the inevitable trade to come out next year (or whenever). I mean, this book was so late that I feared I’d forgotten too much of Winter: 1152’s story. Thankfully, David Petersen was smart enough to put a synopsis page at the beginning. With a few paragraphs I was right back where I left off. Whew!

I am so glad I bought this issue. I know it’s not really fair to make comparisons between the two, but the thing I like about this book over The Mice Templar is how Petersen is able to tell an engaging story without the use of much dialogue. His characters talk concisely and yet still manage to emit a lot of personality. The other thing I like is that the mice aren’t the only ones who can talk or have intelligence – all the creatures in this series have minds of their owns and aren’t limited to being “primitive”.

So what do we get from this issue? Bats, snow, and owls! The conspiracy against Lockhaven’s shield bearer is briefly touched upon in the beginning, but it goes largely ignored. And that’s fine, I can wait with that. We finally learn a bit more about the legend of the Black Axe. Though we’re not told the whole story, we’re given just enough to be left wanting more. Then there’s the whole sequence with the bats that is the centerpiece of the story and boy, is it awesome. The history of their race and the way they’re portrayed is just wonderful.

Despite being months late, Petersen gets a pass for coming back and delivering a strong, fun-filled adventure. His art really shines this issue (I think this is his best art yet) and his double page splash with the bats is incredible. I’m drooling for issue #4. Please don’t be late! (Grade: A)

– J. Montes