It seems lately that finding time to do most anything is tough with it getting super busy at the old 9 to 5 gig and catching a cold and just shaking that off too. So I am trying to catch up with some recent reviews with some comic that has been released over the past few weeks.
Vertigo Quarterly: CMYK Cyan
Vertigo Comics Writers & Artist Various
Vertigo is releasing four quarterly books and each “theme” is based on a color. The first color cyan (blue) landed in stores a few weeks ago. The plot from Vertigo is, The four colors that are the basis of comics coloring serve as the jumping-off point for creators to push the boundaries of short graphic fiction in the new VERTIGO QUARTERLY: CMYK series. Starting with stunningly simple, bold covers, CMYK will defy all conventions of traditional comics anthologies. The unifying color could suggest a mood, a plot point, a coloring technique – limited only by the imagination of the fantastic creators we’ve lined up. And starting with CYAN, we have tales by some of the best talents in comics – a who’s who of creative minds. Jock, Fabio Moon, James Tynion IV, Robert Rodi, Shaun Simon, Amy Chu, Joe Keatinge, Cris Peter, Tony Akins and more will take on the challenge of telling compelling stories that scream cool “blue.” There are nine stories in this one-shot and as with most anthologies each story may be or not be to your liking. First up is probably my favorite Serial Artist by writer Shaun Simon and artist Tory Akins is the story of a mortuary run by Mike and Liz and Liz is killing people to do art and drum up business. It has a nice twist and shows that a great story can be done in eight pages. 918 by writer Joe Keating and artist Ken Garing has a nice twist on trying to seek a purpose in life gone wrong with drugs. Blue Sundae by writer Lee Garbett and artist Jock that is a story of a mysterious creature and an ice cream truck. This is another one of my favorites in this issue. So Blue by writer Amy Chu and artist Alitha Martinez is a tale of be careful who you tell your secrets to type of story. It was nice but was kind of OK in the end. Much Ado About Nothing by writer Monty Nero and artist Al Davison tells the story of a message from space that turns out to be one that shouldn’t have been read. This story at first was a little confusing but after I noticed that the art was in fact numbers it all came together. This is a really solid story and art that bring it all together in such a great short story. Rebolt by writers Cris Peter & Ana Koehler with art by Koehler and is a mix of old victorian period and the industrial revolution mixed with corporate greed and rebel uprising. It was a decent story but just OK in the end. Madame Bluebeard by writer Robert Rodi and artist Javi Fernandez tells the story of a gay movie star that seeks out a woman to help him hide his personal life from the public. It’s a tale of be careful what you wish for because you may fall in the trap. Once Upon the End of Time… by James Tynion IV and artist Martin Morazzo that is probably the most hauntingly beautiful stories in the whole book. It’s a story of you only have to look to see the beauty of the world. I really loved this story and it really will stick with you. Breaking News of the Wonders the Futures Holds by writer and artist Fabio Moon is a story of no matter what happens the future always will look bright. It’s a sweet little story.
Is this book worth your time and money? So at $7.99 for nine complete stories it’s a pretty good deal. Thankfully there are no clunkers in the bunch. There are some that are better than others and I would give five of the nine stories really high marks and work really well. The other four are good but didn’t really stick with me too much. Overall I would say that it was a very good read and was overall not disappointed with the book. If you are looking for something a little different then this might me a book that you should pick up.
Futures End #0 & #1
DC Comics Writers Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, & Keith Giffen Artist Issue #0 Ethan Van Sciver, Patrick Zircher Aaron Lopristi & Art Thibert, Dan Jergens & Mark Irwin, Jesus Merino & Dan Green, Letterer Carlos Mangual Issue #1 Patrick Zircher Colorist Hi-Fi, Letterer Dezi Sienty
Last week I reviewed Marvels big “event” blowout Original Sin and so I sat down to read Futures End #1 and discovered something. The plot from DC is, Five years from now, the DC Universe is reeling from a war with another Earth, leaving the world unprepared for an approaching evil that threatens to destroy the future. Can a time-traveling Batman Beyond help a massive cast of the DCU’s finest avert the impending apocalypse? Find out in this new weekly series that will forever alter the direction of The New 52! In this debut issue of The New 52’s weekly series, Batman Beyond arrives five years later! Grifter turns against humanity! And a Justice League member DIES! So after reading issue #1 I was a little lost with the story so I forgot to read the Free Comic Day issue #0 So I read that and then re-read issue #1 and it made a lot more sense. And there in lies a bit of the problem. While it’s great that the first issue of this series was free but not everyone is able to get the #0 issue and are stuck being confused with the #1 issue. DC probably should have offered a special edition that included both issues for a buck or two more so the people who missed #0 wouldn’t be so lost. So let’s get the elephant out of the room first. It’s the Terminator that is in turn really based on Harlan Ellison’s Soldier and Demon with the Glass Hand. It’s a time travel story that has been told a million times before and so how does DC version stack up? It was better than I thought it was going to be but as with most “event” comics is it really worth it? I’m not sure yet. I will say that it’s worth reading but as to if it’s going to be any good in the long run, that is a little more cloudy. I will see what the next couple of issue turn out to be to see if the book is worth sticking to. The key is ultimately is it going to go somewhere and will I care? The book is written by four writers so it doesn’t feel like anyone of them at any time so it’s really hard to say who did what on it. The regular artist on the series Zicher does a nice job on the art and captures the varied cast nicely with both the dialog scenes and the bigger action ones. Over all nice art but nothing that is going to knock your socks off either.
Is this book worth your time and money? Certainly not original by any means it was a bit better than Marvels Original Sin because at least something happened in this book compared to it. It has a decent set up but overall it was OK. It has a slim chance of being interesting but the next couple of issue are going to be make or break for the book.
Nail Biter #1
Image Comics Writer Joshua Williamson, Artist Mike Henderson Colorist Adam Guzowski, Letterer John J. Hill
While the cover image is perfect and striking for this series it’s not maybe the best choice for some readers. The plot from Image is,Buckaroo, Oregon has given birth to sixteen of the vilest serial killers in the world. An obsessed FBI profiler investigating the town has suddenly gone missing, and now an NSA Agent must work with the notorious serial killer Edward “Nailbiter” Warren to find his friend and solve the mystery of “Where do serial killers come from?” On the surface the book is about serial killers but once you read the first issue it’s so much more than that. There are shades of a television procedural but thankfully doesn’t stick too close to that formula. The first issue is a set up of things to come but it never gets bogged down with it. While there is a lot of exposition going on setting up the cast and story you never feel as if the story drags along that so many first issue suffer from. Williamson sets up a lot of questions in the first issue and I really enjoyed the pacing of the story. He gave a lot of information but still keeps many secrets close to his vest for later use in the story line. I was very impressed with Henderson’s artwork on the issue. He has a really nice style to the art and does a nice job of the layouts of the story that has a great flow that really makes the story come to life. The color work by Guzowski is very good and really complements Henderson’s artwork by using the color as art in some of the backgrounds. Instead of using flat color to fill the background Guzowski fills it with great color that sets a great mood to the artwork.
Is this book worth your time and money? I was very impressed by this first issue and if you are turned off by the cover in thinking that the book is a bloodbath then you really need to read the story. Sure the cover is shocking but the story has so much depth to it that it’s just not about serial killers and blood and guts. Williamson fills the story with great characters and a really intriguing mystery. The first issue is a really good set up to the story that I really am looking forward to the nest issue. VERY RECOMMENDED!
Moon Knight #3
Marvel Comics Writer Warren Ellis, Artist Declan Shalvey, Colorist Jordie Bellaire, Letterer Chris Eliopoulos
Warren Ellis continues his run on the new Moon Knight book. The plot from Marvel is (I kid you not), In this issue: Moon Knight punches ghosts. Well the story is more of how Moon Knight learns from Khonshu that the items that Spector has collected from ancient Egypt will aid in his fight of the supernatural such as ghost. While Ellis’s story is good it does suffer from the fact that I would have hoped by the third issue that an overall story line would start to develop. This is another mostly standalone story that only rally has minor movement in the overall story. This seems to be a pattern with some of the new books that Marvel has been releasing lately. Ellis needs to start doing something with the overall point of the book. The first three issues have been good but the book has no direction at this point and that is very troubling. Shalvey’s art is still top-notch with the book and is one of the reasons that the book is so good right now. Bellaire’s color work on this issue is really nice and she really captures the ghost quite well with the coloring.
Is this book worth your time and money? While the first three issues are good I am very concerned that there is not any real overall plot that is driving the book beyond the solo stories. The book is really lacking direction at this point and that is very troubling. I do like the book but it’s really lacking the punch that could really make this a very good book. Moon Knight is a great character but Ellis is not bringing much to the series at this point. It starting to skate on thin ice at this point.
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