Comic Reviews

Just in time for the NYCC, IDW has published the third entry of the five issue mini-series ‘Archangel’, William Gibson’s tale of corrupt politicians attempting to disrupt history in their …
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Midnight of the Soul #1 takes Howard Chaykin’s themes back to their violent, mature roots. His art grows, but his writing stagnates.

The Assasin’s Creed series may be taking a year off on gaming consoles, but the comic books from Titan Comics are still going strong. Written and illustrated by Fred Van Lente and …
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The storied flaw of the anthology or the magazine is that they’re uneven. The best of collections can be victims to this pratfall, and in the case of Heavy Metal #275, while there’s a unique unifying element, an important detail is missed that hurts the cohesion of the anthology.

Even when Island Magazine #1 stumbles, it’s a worthwhile read. It’s fresh, it’s new, and it’s going for something that we’re not seeing. It’s a showcase of talent both up-and-coming and well-established (and the well-established talent is doing something out of her usual comfort zone). You may walk in wondering if it’s worth the price point: the answer is a whole-hearted ‘yes.’ Here’s hoping Island Magazine finds an audience and a long lifespan.

To give some benefit of the doubt: first issues are hard, and Ales Kot’s a talented writer. His pretension tends to jump in front of him. He has strong opinions about social issues, and he’s into weird sex, and he’s into Hollywood, and he’s into war, so those trickle their way into his work. Unfortunately, here in Material #1, they add up to absolutely nothing. Perhaps once the trade hits, this will be worth something; on its own, it is a top-to-bottom failure.

The book’s subtitle is Nutpuncher. That should tell you a whole lot right off the bat. Punks the Comic volume 1 shouldn’t be allowed to have a subtitle because …
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One of my favorite episodes of Batman: The Animated Series is “Beware the Grey Ghost” guest starring Adam West. The episode explored the life of former Hollywood actor Simon Trent (played by …
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There’s a certain kind of mythology behind Stray Bullets. The story of ‘regarded indie series comes back after long hiatus’ or ‘long-rumored project appears after (insert number of years)’ is one we’re hearing more and more, but there was an excitement you could feel in the room when Image posted the SB logo with the Image ‘i’ at its side. This wasn’t just a regarded indie book: this was the return of the book that put David Lapham on the map and won near-universal critical acclaim during its run (and lots of grumblings during its too-long hiatus).

There were a couple other questions. Chief among them: can do he it again? and which David Lapham will we be getting?

There are two strong points in Nick Spencer’s favor as a writer: he writes great ‘unlikeable protagonists’, and he’s really funny. Superior Foes of Spider-Man started off as a book that stole everything from Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye that wasn’t bolted down, and ended up as something entirely its own: a book worth reading every month on its own merits, with a sense of humor and a verve almost inimitable. Here, with Ant-Man, he’s heading into similar territory, with similar success.

Being advertised as the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer for a new generation,” Wayward #1 from Image Comics certainly has the right elements in place to grab that title. Written by Jim Zub and …
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Did you think The Wicked and the Divine could’ve used less idol worship? Did you think Stray Bullets could’ve used more weirdness? Did you like the art in both, but your tastes go more to the Matt Kindt side of things? Curt Pires and Jason Copland cooked up some mad science, and Pop #1 might be the book you’ve been waiting for.