Turf #2 – Review

By: Jonathan Ross (writer & creator), Tommy Lee Edwards (artist & creator) & John Workman (letters)

The Story: As the war between vampires and Prohibition-era NYC mafia families gets hot, the cops and aliens from space enter the fray.

What’s Good: I wish Tommy Lee Edwards did more comic art because I could look at this stuff all day.  His art is a wonderful combination of rough and sketchy where you can see the individual pencil lines in the character’s faces and very intricate and detailed backgrounds.  It’s a great combination for a crime-themed book.  I would also say that this is a great way to do photo reference.  Edwards is clearly using some pictures as a guide here, but it looks good and I didn’t spend the entire issue trying to figure out what B-movie actors he was using.

The story is still ramping up in this second issue (out of five).  The first issue (from what I remember of it, more on that below) had established that the vampires were moving in on the mafia families.  This issue introduces a shipwrecked alien to the story and also some crooked cops.  This would have the makings of a good crime/mafia comic anyway, but adding vampires and aliens just makes it better.  Your results may vary, but I enjoyed it.  The scenes of the mobsters fighting with the vampires were really cool!

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman: The Return Of Bruce Wayne #3 – While the Return of Bruce Wayne was briefly in contention, there’s no doubt that X-Men Legacy #237 was on another level. The sheer number of brilliant, stick-in-your-mind moments was off the scale. I mean, the master mold of the future (2 of them!), Magneto’s injured stand, Cable’s desperate rearguard action, Cypher shooting for all the marbles…breathtaking. Second Coming is the game to beat.

Most Anticipated: Green Lantern #55: Brightest Day is marching on, and the mystery of the white lantern is still to be resolved. I’m gambling that despite Lobo (whom I can’t stand as a character), Johns is going to deliver a solid issue.

Other Top Picks: Astonishing X-Men #34, Captain America #607

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Legion of Super-Heroes #2 -Another amazingly stuffed issue for the Legion and another fantastic experience.  This is definitely a series to hop on-board for, whether you’re a Legion aficionado or novice.

Most Anticipated: Green Lantern #55 – Lobo?!  Hell yeah!

Other Picks: Secret Avengers #2, Captain America #607, The Flash #3, Madame Xanadu #24, Thor #611, Unknown Soldier #21, Wonder Woman #600

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Amazing Spider-Man #635 – This was a really awesome issue.  In hindsight, I think we’ll probably find out that it was Kaine in the Spidey-suit, but a comic still doesn’t often hit you in the face the way this one did on the first reading (especially not in this age of advance solicitations, previews and online teasers).  If you ever needed a reason to NEVER click on an 7-page advance preview, this was it.

Most Anticipated: Invincible Iron Man Annual #1 – Besides all the hoopla surrounding this issue because it’ll be released digitally via the Marvel app, I’m just hoping for a good Iron Man story.  Invincible Iron Man has been dull recently and Iron Man Legacy just stinks.  Hopefully this story about the Mandarin will save the day.

Other Top Picks: Batman Beyond #1, Elephantmen #26, Turf #2, Secret Avengers #2, Whatever Happened to Baron von Shock #2