Olivier Roth Comic Reviews

The art team of Kudranski and Anderson do a great throughout the issue as they keep up with the script really well. Anderson shines whenever Red Cloud is on the page as you can feel the smoke/cloudiness come off the page. As for Kudranski, my favorite part in the whole issue for him is when Superman and Naomi begin to fly. Showcasing a steady Superman and a very unsteady Naomi was a really good visual.

Adventureman! #1 is just the type of fun, adventure laden comic that is very easy to enjoy. It’s also a great bang for your buck at 64 pages for the regular price of $3.99. It’s a definite buy from me!

Oh, I would be remiss to forget that we are treated to a bonus classic Betty and Veronica story at the end that includes all the best parts found in Archie comics: a competition between the two girls, some magic, and a completely oblivious Archie.

In the end, this story arc may not go down as the greatest of all time, however, Waid and Woods have crafted a story that will have an immediate impact on the residents of Riverdale. And more importantly, it lives up to its "Everything changes" proclamation in the never-changing world of Archie Comics.

On art, Moke continues to amaze. She had done wonderful work in the past on Josie and the Pussycats and she continues to shine on the main title. It’s really hard to find anything bad when reading a comic drawn by Mok and I can’t wait to see more from her. She is fast becoming a favourite of mine.

Month in and month out, Audrey Mok is fast becoming one of my favorite artists. Everything she does is crisp and clean and jumps off the page. However, I have to give her extra props this month for the incredibly fun sequence of Moose riding Tonie’s Dilton-modified scooter. Visual gags are a staple of Archie comics, and this was an extremely fun one this month.

If you aren’t reading this new Archie comic series by Waid and company, I don’t know what you are waiting for. From the first issue onwards, this has consistently been one of the best comics on the newstands in the past two years and you do yourself a disservice not reading it.

All this combined gives us a book that is an extremely fun read every month and is at the top of my recommendations each week it is out. Oh, and let us not forget the amazing work that Mok and Fitzpatrick do every month either. Their work is nothing short of brilliant.

As I mentioned above, Mok continues to be great on art and I really hope she is in for the long haul; Fitzpatrick continues to be one of my favourite colourists out there as everything she does bring life to the pencils. The one thing that I can say never dragged down this series is the art.

One thing that the Archie comics have hit out of the park in the past three years is finding artists to fit the series’ new look. And wow, they found a great one in Marguerite Sauvage. I’ve read a few comics over the past few years that contained Sauvage’s art, but this singular issue is probably the best of hers yet! Since there is no colorist listed (or inker for that matter), I’m going to assume that Sauvage did everything herself and man is it ever pretty. Her use of colors, framing, everything really, makes this a really nice book to not only ready, but to look at. I really hope she’s able to keep up this level of quality for her entire run.

All in all, this issue continues a fantastic start to a new era of Archie comics and it just feels like Spencer and Sauvage are just getting started.

This month, the art duties art split between the team of Grummett and Smith with contributing pages from Burchett. I’m not always a fan of two different art teams on one book (especially a mini-series), but the split is well done within this issue: Grummett and Smith get the “main story” whereas Burchett gets a specific sequence. Grummet and Smith’s collaboration is pretty standard fare for all “non-main” Archie comics. Burchett’s sequence is a little jarring as his style is very different than Grummett but it does work to a degree for the sequence he’s given.

As a debut issue in an anthology. Arya did its job in grabbing my attention and giving me a reason to continue reading. I will admit I preferred Adventure Quest by Akimiya but that is only because of the fact that it reminded so much of my past with my friends: a big plus for a comic.

In all, this was a really strong first issue that set the tone for the rest of the series. It’s a lot of fun and has just the right amount of all its components to be a great thrillride.

On art duties this month is Mike Norton from Battlepug fame. Knowing his pedigree, it is no surprise that G-Dog is probably one of the cutter superheroes around. Aside from that, Norton’s art is superb throughout the issue. I’d like to also mention, his designs for the Pet Patrol were awesome. A Kittyhawk toy/plush would be greatly appreciated.

As simple of a premise as it is, this issue continues to showcase Busiek's brilliance as a writer of the comic form. A comic of this nature doesn't always work, and probably doesn't in most cases, but with his steady hand, you can't help but feel the emotion. Couple that with Anderson's art and you get an understated classic. A comic that may not set the world on fire, but that I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of the genre.

In conclusion, this was a fun debut issue for Carey and Yarar. I was expecting quite a bit from Carey due to his previous work, and was pleasantly surprised by Yarar’s art. I will warn though, for a comic from Dynamite, there is quite a bit of nudity in this issue that I was not expecting, so reader beware.

At first, I thought this series might have been all fluff, relying mostly on name recognition over substance, but Carey and Yarar are slowly changing my mind in that regard.

I’m a broken-record at this point when it comes to the fact that I feel that this comic is the most European comic that I’ve seen in a while, and that continues with this issue. The art is pitch-perfect, the writing is snappy and the short arc feels like it belongs in a European BD (the French term for comics). Couple this with a character that we continue to learn a little more about with each issue in Barbarella and some fantastic sidekicks - the mechanical horse and the little rat thing are stand out - and you get a comic that is really fun to read and just experience.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Fornés joins on art with this issue with Celeste Woods on colours. They do a magnificent job throughout the issue. Fornés has really clean lines and great use of perspective, but Woods’ colours are what really steal the show here. Using more flat colours with heavy emphasis on shadow makes Fornés’ art just come off the page. Really good job here.

Having said that about the story, the pencils from Yarar continue to impress in this issue. His style is very european and as I’ve mentioned, would fit well in those old-school european comics and I love that. His characterizations and staging of action scenes are also on point and add to the story in all the best ways. I continue to thoroughly enjoy his work and this series.

The story continues to fun, Sci-Fi goofiness, and Carey has a pretty interesting antagonist this time around making this issue a good read. I could continue to rave about Yarar’s art, but I don’t really need to. I’ll reaffirm though that he is so well suited to this title that it’s crazy.

This series is definitely one that has probably gone under the radar for most (as a lot of licensed properties are apt to do), but should end up on some year-end best lists.P.S. This cover is probably one of my favorites all year.

My favourite part of the issue is the colours by Nunes . As pretty as Musabekov’s pencils are, Nunes’colouring helps bring to life Barbarella off of the page. The best part of Nunes’colours is his brilliant use of lighting throughout. A comic that has good use of lighting, will always be well received by me.

With great writing, you always hope to get great art, and that is exactly what you get with German Garcia and Addison Duke. They complement each other throughout the issue with fantastic storytelling and really vibrant colors. The choice of using mostly flat colors and utilizing deep blacks to convey depth makes this issue incredibly pleasing to the eye.

Stewarts choice of color pallet is probably the single best feature of this comic as he utilizes a wide range of yellows and oranges during the daytime scenes and blues and grays at night. It may seem like no-brainers to use these color schemes, but it isn’t always so noticeable how beautiful the colors can be used. Very well done.

Basketful of Heads continues to impress and marks another worthy entry into Joe Hill’s burgeoning Hill House imprint at DC. I am really hoping to see a lot more of this imprint going forward.

Basketful of Heads continues to be a really fun comic series and was a great choice to spearhead this new imprint by Joe Hill from DC.

Leomacs this month is assisted by La Bella on pencils, but you really wouldn’t know that there was anything different from previous issues when it comes to the art. La Bella seamlessly blends into Leomacs’ style and everything is brought together by Stewart’s continuously amazing colors. This has been a really fun comic not only to read, but to also see such great visuals from issue to issue.

The art in the issue is typical Di Giandomenico - if you’ve seen their work before, you know what to expect. I really enjoyed them on Flash a few years ago because the fluidity of their art worked really well on Flash. Thankfully, that same fluidity works really well on Batgirl as well. Add in Bellaire’s color choices really helped enhance Di Giandomenico’s pencils throughout.

For all the forward movement that Carmine DiGiandomenico provides, it’s Jordie Bellaire’s colors that really make this issue “pop”. The burning of Burnside would only really work if the colors matched the tone and Bellaire makes you feel the flames coming off of the page and helps with the urgency of the situation. Really nicely done.

Batman Superman #1 may be tied to a greater event, and may have had the issue's title already spoiled, i.e. "Who are the Secret Six?", but it stands really well as its own entity with a great turn by the creative team. Well worth the purchase.

This issue continues the work that the creative has put in the first issue and advances the story enough that I'm intrigued to see who this new Secret Six is going to be (while trying to avoid the spoilers on the news sites).

Having said all that, even with the stellar art and visual storytelling, the issue is light on progression and will probably read a lot better as a trade once the arc is done. Because of this, it’s hard to recommend this single issue to anyone who hasn’t been following the series from the beginning.

Leonardi’s pencils are nice, clean, and fit well with Jurgens’ style of writing, and sometimes give off a Jurgenesque style as well. Favorite panel/full-page spread is when Splitt, well, splits into two while flanking Batman. Parks’ inks are very flattering to Leonardi’s pencils as well as he doesn’t overburden them throughout the issue. Add Sotomayor’s colors to the mix, and you have the recipe for a really nice book.

As for the art, Chen, Parsons and Sotomayor are coming together really quickly as the new art team on the book and are producing some good work. Chen’s pencils can be dynamic at points and he really does have a good eye for action sequences here and there. The only thing I would like to see improve, at least that I’ve seen up to date, is to add a little more life to the quieter moments. A lot of the character work in these scenes can come off a little stiff.

This may be one of those comics that will read a lot better once collected but is already worth it to pick up just on the art alone as well as the intrigue generated throughout.

I can’t recommend this issue enough.

As usual, the art from Cabrera is bright, clean (even though there are roughly 6 Vixens now, they are all distinguishable) and it is all brought to life by Unger's colors.

All in all, Beyond the Breach issue 1 is a pretty strong start for this entire creative team. I’m interested to see where this goes as we’ve seen a lot of survivor-type comics in the past decade, so I’m hoping that this series will be a fresh take on it and not a retread.

On art are Matt Kindt and Sharlene Kindt and they do a marvelous job throughout the issue. Matt Kindt is an artist that is very much entranced in an “indie” style, but even so, his style is what makes this issue stand-out. It’s a style that is definitely “rougher” throughout, but it only adds a uniqueness to the story being told and makes for some compelling visual storytelling.

As with the other specials, we are treated to a few of Kirby's Grabbers, this time around dealing with the denizens of Supertown, namely Fastbak, the Black Racer and Vikyn the Black. These again showcase just how good Kirby was and there really isn't much else to add to that.

For a first chapter, Bombshells United #1 does an excellent job of making you want to read and see more. Bennett and Sauvage continue a partnership that clearly works and are also tackling a subject matter not always widely talked about today.

The second half of this issue, drawn by DiChiara, moves away from the overarching theme, and moves towards a more typical Clayface story: did Clayface replace one of our heroines to gain access to their camp? It’s a tale of two different styles, but it strikes a good balance for this issue to make sure that it isn’t too heavy-handed.

Either way, I continue to be surprised by my enjoyment of this series. It definitely makes me want to go back and read more of Bennett’s take of the DC Bombshell universe.

I continue to enjoy this run by Bennett as the story looks to be hitting its final strides before the end of this first arc and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

In all, Bennett’s take on Wonder Woman and her cast of characters in World War II was a pretty fun read and fits perfectly in the digital-first model. Each chapter of this opening arc truly did feel like I was reading a singular chapter of a greater story. It also helped that Bennett properly utilized this format to tell the story.

One advantage of this issue that helped keep the cohesiveness going was the art of Jarrell with Fitzpatrick on colours. One small critique I've had of previous issues was the fact that the same artist would do consecutive chapters, but those chapters wouldn't be in the same issue. Here, both chapters 11 and 12 keep the same art team throughout and the comic is better for it.

Combined with the art by Ortiz, Bennett’s script for this issue accomplishes exactly what it set out to do: re-introduce a character we haven’t seen for a while in this universe, introduce new ones, and finally, give purpose to the events that unfold. A great start.

Bombshells United continues to be one of those smartly written, extremely fun comics that I find myself coming back to every two weeks (or weekly for those who buy it digitally). I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, DC Comics has maximized their tie-in potential with a lot of their properties in the past few years that has led to some fun comics that aren’t tied down by continuity, only by the creative team's imagination.

This series continues to be a fun look into this world that Bennett and her bevy of artists continue to create. It’s always fun to see what she comes up with next and this story-arc has been a fun ride.

Either way, this was still an enjoyable issue from Bennett, Andolfo and Hahn that is clearly setting up the climax of this story with the following issue.

Jarrell’s art also compliments the story quite well and she has a hint of Cliff Chiang in her style which will keep her on my radar of artists to follow. Her linework though is intensified by probably by my favorite issue on colors that Fitzpatrick has ever done. They are a great team that I hope to see work together again in the future. And to end, the cover for this issue is spectacular. I really want to see a Jarrell/Fitzpatrick Mary Marvel series now.

Jarrell and Fitzpatrick on art continue to do a marvelous job. More and more that I see Fitzpatrick’s colors, more and more I’m beginning to appreciate how good she is and how much she brings to each comic that I read of hers.

Where this issue suffers this week is the plot. I understand that you have to have some sort of conflict within the issue itself, but it becomes pretty lazy storytelling when the go-to plot point is heroes fighting seemingly heroic characters (I’m not sure where faux-Suicide Squad falls right now) over a simple request. Literally everything that goes wrong in this issue is Black Canary’s fault. This in turn doesn’t lend to too much sympathy on my part.

However, the use of the Deus Ex Machina and the flip flopping of antagonist in this story took away from what had been a somewhat enjoyable story. I see why Bennett chose to do it this way, since she is clearly setting up for the final run of issues with this chapter (it was announced that Bombshells United was ending soon). It’s just too bad it was done in such a haphazard way.

On the art front, J. Nanjan has been the colourist throughout this series, but for some reason, seems to have been rushed in this issue. At times, the colours compliment Oum’s pencils, but other times flatten the pencils out completely making it look, dare I say, amateurish. It’s too bad that this is happening with the end of the series on the horizon.

At the end of the day, this issue ameliorates on the previous one in every aspect, but still suffers from a lot of showing without explaining. Many times throughout the issue I was left wondering what exactly was going on (I’m looking at you Super Family flying around the Earth with zero explanation).

David Bowie fans are sure to like this as it is a nice peek at one point of Bowie's career; Allred fans are going to love every single panel and page of this book and comic fans should love it as it is a perfect encapsulation of the art form.

In all, this series has been great fun up to date and reminds me of another bug from the DC Universe: Ambush Bug! I wouldn’t be surprised if the Allreds had some influence from Ambush Bug’s series from the 2000s as a template for this series. They both have similar “hopping” through the DC Universe backlog to them, and as a comic history nerd, this has been a lot of fun.

On art, there’s nothing I could say that has not already been said about the Allred’s. Michael and Laura have their style and have perfected it without a doubt. Everything in this issue is beautiful. One small touch I truly enjoy is the use of non bubbled, for lack of a better word, of Kazuko’s dialogue. It is omnipresent throughout the series, but is always done as funny quips explaining the situation at hand, or simple observations. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I feel it adds just that extra touch to this already great book.

P.S. Kuzuko has fast become one of my favorite new characters this year, and I hope she shows up elsewhere soon.

Abnett, in this first issue, has done a wonderful job of reintroducing the world to Captain Kronos and his assistants to a new generation. In just one issue you already get a sense of who these three characters are. Kronos is the self-assured, strong lead; Grost is the wily veteran with all the knowledge, and Carla is the brash, young newcomer. This, coupled with the fantastic art, truly makes a great first issue.

Popping Jones’ art off of the page is Laura Allred’s amazing colors. If you’ve seen her work before, you know her colors are some of the best in the business. Allred’s style of solid colors really compliment Jone’s line and ink work and make everything look so good.

On art, Von Oeming continues to delight with expressive characters and incredible monster design - the Whisperer, and lackeys, are just the perfect amount of grotesque. As this is predominantly a “talking” issue with some action sprinkled in, the characters tend to be a little more static than I would prefer, but in all, Von Oeming continues to help elevate this comic with his visuals.

This series, as well as all Young Animal titles, have been a blast to read and I’m glad they are continuing, even if it’s not right away. I for one can’t wait to see what Way, Rivera and Avon Oeming have for us next in Cave’s world.

Complimenting Maleev’s line work are Dave Stewarts’s colors - and boy, does Stewart compliment Maleev. Stewart’s mastery of color is expressed wonderfully throughout the issue. I would say there were four distinct set pieces throughout the issue, and the reader was queued visually to know, even without the text, that we had changed scenes, and this was all down to Stewart's colors.In all, the first issue of Checkmate continues a pretty good run for these creators on the Spy side of things in the DC Universe. Time will tell if the ideas seen within the series will bear fruit in the wider DCU - a one year delay and sometimes muddy plans - but I for one can’t wait to see more.

As first issues go, the creators do a great job of introducing the theme of found-family and a clan system that is just ripe to be overthrown. It’s definitely a book worth checking out.

After reading this first issue, I am fairly sure that I understood what I was reading, but knew as well that this story could go in any number of directions. I read Kindt’s Mind MNGT years ago, and Crimson Flower gives off a lot of the same vibes story wise and piqued my curiosity - a good thing with a first issue. It makes you want to see more.

Jones and Madsen on art deliver a very “old-school” horror vibe throughout. It’s not a style you see as frequently these days, which makes it unique in that sense. It’s a little on the dark side, the use of shadows is omnipresent, but that does add to the setting somewhat. Where it detracts a little is that I caught myself sometimes not knowing which character is which in a panel (with the exception of Daphne, who is very distinctive with her long, jet-black hair).

Dark Age issue 1 is a strong first issue from Bunn and Doe and sets the stage for what seems to be a pretty crazy ride for the reader. Bunn smartly chose to start a few different plot threads to keep the reader wanting more. At first, this issue was not even on my radar, but now, I can’t wait to see what comes next. That is the mark of a great first issue.

And to conclude, in the final Grabbers by Kirby himself, we get another story from Supertown and "The All-Seeing Eye" from Tales of the Unexpected #12. Again, both are very fun stories and are great examples of the King's work.

After this first issue, I commend Ennis for continuing this insanely weird ride that DC Comics has taken the reader on with these Hanna-Barbera reimaginings. He nails the witty repartee between Mutt and Dick and sets up some intriguing clues as to what we can expect going forward in the story. If it wasn't clear from my review, Mutt begins as human, but unfortunately the cover does kinda spoil what happens to him after the crash, which you can't always lay at the feet of the writer. Either way, this was a pretty entertaining issue that was made even better by Mauricet's art.

I began the review by indicating this issue is filled with hijinks that you would typically associate with Saturday-morning cartoons, and this is more than accurate as you continue to read, and visually see through Mauricet's art, exactly what is happening to our lead characters. To wit, we have a special agent use a "toy" gun to punch literal holes in people - and they remain alive? We have shark turned into a cartoon shark. And finally, we have a punch heard around the world. Mauricet has done an excellent job at visually representing all that is happening and I like that they chose to change the style enough when the cartoony aspects are on the page. Visually, this has been an excellent series so far.

On art, Mauricet continues to shine as he brings these characters and environment to life. Since we are essentially dealing with cartoons come to life, the art has to be reflective of this and Mauricet never ceases to entertain. The incredible hijinx that he is tasked with drawing simply elevates the story and keeps bringing a smile to my face.

I am not as familiar with Jeremy Cox as a colorist, but I’ll have to start taking notice as his work in this issue elevates the art (as it should). The colors are vibrant when needed (the opening pages especially) and more muted when the action is more grounded. Really well done.

Qualano’s art is a highlight of this issue and I hope to see himon the title for the foreseeable future. I can only describe his linework as “breezy” as it feels like everything is drawn effortlessly on the page. I’m curious to know if he has some kind of bet going on with someone else on the creative team to see how many different outfits he can come up with for Dejah (namely the headdress), as by my count, Dejah is at least 4 different outfits throughout the issue.

Qualano’s art and Pinto’s colors are a bright spot in an otherwise drab second issue. Everything they do simply jumps off of the page. The fluidity of the art is also quite impressive and unique enough to make the comic stand out. No real complaints on this front.

The art from Pasquale Qualano and colors by Pinto continue to be good every month and I will say, they are very consistent, so I will give good marks there. Where I will take some marks away is the two-page spread: usually you want something epic in that spread, but instead we get a very generic and simple background art.

The beginning of this arc is a little cliche as it comes to Mr. Freeze (it’s almost always about his wife), but having read the upcoming solicits, I’m excited to see where this goes.

Speaking of Quinones, I’ve seen some of his work over the years, but after reading this first issue, he’s definitely an artist I’ll be keeping my eye out for. His character and layout work throughout is amazing, but it’s the whole scene with the Dial that sold me. Incredible work!

So as you can see, I really liked this comic. Rarely do I go into a comic thinking I’ll give it a perfect score. With the pedigree of the creators on this title, I made an exception. It really had to screw up pretty badly for me not to give it a 10. And guess what? It didn’t.

If the first is anything to go by, this new series by Gillen, Hans, Cowles and Hughes will be another notch in the belt for Gillen and his inventive, artistic mind.

In all, this new quarterly anthology by IDW is a welcome addition to today’s comic landscape. It is always fun to have a comic like Donald and Mickey that gives us classic Disney stories that can be easily enjoyed by young and old. The art is pure Disney as well, sticking closely to the house-style, which is not a bad thing whatsoever. For most, when they read about Donald and Mickey, they want classic Donald and Mickey and that is exactly what you get here.

As an interlude, this issue of Doom Patrol was a great read and continues what I believe has been quite a successful launch to the DC’s Young Animal line of comics. As well as the Chief’s story in this issue, we were also given a few glimpses into the future, and I for one, can’t wait to see where Way takes the Doom Patrol next.

One thing that has always been great about former Doom Patrol stories has been the sense of forced family that the characters had to endure. Here, Way and Derington do a good job portraying exactly that: Casey isn’t happy about her new position with Danny, stating that she loves her apartment, but is willing to move into Dannyland anyways. We also have Sam trying to reconcile with his wife who’s been in Crazy Jane’s cult for the past four years and their son Lucius experimenting with forces he probably shouldn’t be touching. And finally, we have Cliff beginning to worry about Trainor’s frequent trips to the dream world, leaving the real world behind.

Gary Frank with Brad Anderson were the icing on the cake of this series. I know Frank has been a long time partner to Johns in various other comic ventures, so he was decidedly the best choice to bring Johns’ vision to light. There’s not much you can say of Franks art that hasn’t been said before, so I’ll leave it at this: his art brings a certain realism to the page that only enhances the subject matter and I’m glad I could be part of the ride.

This was another fun tale from a franchise that continues to churn out fun tales to fans of the series and new readers alike.

Kotz and Rennee do an admirable job on art making the city felt lived in and the action look crisp. Through no fault of their own, the fact that the setting is night time drowns out a little bit of the characters throughout the issue since most of them have a darker colour scheme. You can see that Rennee tries to bring added colour on each page, like the villain's red cape, but it still makes for a pretty dark issue all around.

All in all, this was a fun first issue that gives the reader just enough information that you want to know what will come next.

However, all this would be nothing without the art team of Randolph, Lopez and Bennett. Randolph and Lopez compliment each other throughout this first issue as Lopez’s colors allow Randolph's pencils to jump off of the page from panel to panel. Randolph’s choice of panel design also allows for a very dynamic feel throughout as there is an ever present feeling of momentum, especially felt during the action scenes. Couple that with some very nice framing choices, and you get a comic that feels alive throughout.

All in all, this was a really fun issue with its premise and done in one story. The fact that the issue is 30 pages long for the same price as most other issues on the comic rack and it includes some great back matter - a whole separate written mystery was added to the first issue - makes this comic good value for your money.

Coupled with the fun mystery is Claudia Balboni and Marissa Louise on art. This issue, Balboni really played around with the paneling throughout the issue which made her art stand out. For one page, she uses ever-shrinking panels to showcase Faulds inner-thinking, for another she has four square panels with the lettering on the top and bottom of each. There’s plenty of use of negative space to concentrate the eye on the panels as well. It’s a lot of fun little techniques used to really showcase her art throughout. Add some great lettering choices from Bowman, and you have a really beautiful issue to look at.

All in all, this was a fun issue that Alonso summarized quite nicely as being “pulpy” - a favorite genre of mine. With some minor quibbles aside, Cho presented enough to bring me back for a second issue.

On art, Mighten channels somewhat Kirby in his choice of panel layouts and the movement of the characters, but it is subtle enough, that if you didn’t know, you could probably miss it. He brings his own style that is his own to the comic as well, which helps distinguish himself that the inspirations are seen, but are not overwhelming. On colors, Bailey does a fantastic job of not drowning out Fighting American and Speedboy. They are always vibrant in their blue, red and yellow suits and easily stand out from the background.

All in all, this was a really fun read for a first issue of a new property that is paying homage to old brawlers from the 80s and 90s. It’s definitely a comic worth picking up and can still be ordered from your local comic shops - publication of the physical copy will be in June.

In all, this was a very enjoyable issue that made me interested in the storyline requiring only a couple of tweaks.

I think what makes me like the art so much in this issue are Sandoval’s collaborators in Tarragona on inks and Prianto on colors. Tarragona’s inks are clean and crisp throughout and really bring out Sandoval’s pencils off the page. This is only enhanced by Prianto’s very vivid choice of colors and having the reds and yellows surrounding Flash and companion in sharp contrast to the icy blues of Captain Cold’s Central City.

Outside of the speedsters, I did enjoy Duce’s linework for the supporting characters such as Captain Cold and Glider (less so Weather Wizard). His eye for cinematography in the fight scene was again, pretty good, but I would have liked to see a little bit more. His linework is enhanced by Guerrero’s excellent color work and choices throughout.

All in all, this was a very fun issue of The Flash and does an amazing job of setting up not only the upcoming storyline in the series, but also what we can expect potentially in the next year. Great job!

All in all, this was a great debut issue from the team of St. Clarie and Nitz and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Even though this is a first issue, Parker had already laid the groundwork for this series with last year’s Future Quest. With Presents, he continues his strong work introducing a whole new generation to these beloved Hanna-Barbera characters of old and having Space Ghost be the first to get the spotlight was a great move.

Ariel Olivetti brings all this to life with his beautifully painted panel work. It’s strange to say this, but I feel like Olivetti was born to draw Space Ghost and his adventures and because of this, it is almost unfair to critique him on this book.

Another fun issue that continues to keep the Hanna-Barbera spirit alive, and keeps making me feel like a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons. I can’t wait to see what Parker can come up with next.

All in all, this issue continues some great work from the Hanna-Barbera groupement of books published by DC Comics and I can’t wait to see more.

What has been quite enjoyable from this series, as well as all other Hanna-Barbera series, is that all the stories we are getting could easily fit as cartoons as well as comic books. These stories, though nothing revolutionary, are fun, a little crazy, and are great ways to continue the tradition of these classic characters. It also helps that you can get a legend like Steve Rude to join on art duties and bring everything to life is such a fantastic way - and the title page for this issue has an amazing piece by him.

On art, Rude is nothing short of masterful in this issue. His pencils convey so much movement and action in every panel he draws that it will take a few re-reads to fully embrace everything that is going on on the page. Couple that with Kalisz's fantastic colors in this issue and you have a comic that does exactly what a comic should do: be a visual storytelling medium.

Lieber’s art is also excellent throughout the issue with great compliments from Hill on colours. Everything clean, well-staged and pops off the page. It’s the perfect addition to a fun, one-shot story.

All in all, this issue was a lot of fun to read. I think the best part is Aaron Lopresti’s art. I’ve always been a big fan of his over the years and I’m always glad to see his work. I can’t say a bad thing about his art.

Aaron Lopresti on art is, quite simply, one of the best and the Herculoids look amazing under his guidance. I can’t say enough about how gorgeous this whole issue looks. It doesn’t hurt that Ryan on inks brings just the right touch and Hi-Fi’s colours continue to shine.

Russell’s comics at DC have been some of my favorites from the company in the past 5 years as his work takes situations from real life, and sometimes, like this series, straight out of today’s news cycle, and superimposes it on the wackiness that the comic format allows. Whether it be everyday modern life seen through the eyes of prehistoric man in The Flintstones or how social media has consumed and runs our lives like Prez, this mini-series showed us how Lex’s quest for glory would always fall short once the populace saw the man behind the curtain. Couple that with Pugh’s outstanding art and you are treated to a grade A comic!

As a new reader to the series, I have to say that this was an enjoyable issue to read. Sometimes, all you want from a comic is for it to be full of action while still advancing the storyline. Whether Sitterson and Milonogiannis can continue having fun with the book once they get roped into First Strike is still to be determined, but I can see them excelling in that regard.

This was a pretty fun opener for this mini-series concentrating on Helix and Bombstrike's team. It's also a pretty good reintroduction to the Joes themselves and I could easily recommend this to anyone who may remember the Joes from their childhood (in any period) and are looking to jump back in.

In the end, it’s sad to see this series end as it seems like there was definitely more story to tell with this new group of X-kids. I’m just hoping they don’t fall into obscurity as a lot of the other X-kids from the past.

In the end, this was a fun first issue to Baboushka’s second adventure. Though I had my reservations with some of the art and a by-the-book plot, I’m still interested to see where this goes.

Speaking of the action, I will give Chankhamma their due. The action set pieces are excellent. The fight at the beginning between Baboushka and HH felt raw in most of its movement and a lot of fun. And the last action set piece was also a lot of fun to read and see on the page.

Charnkhamma on art improved in this issue. There are still a few hiccups here and there - most notably Helga's face for some reason - but in general, it was a much more pleasing visual experience. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the colours this time around were more vibrant which enhanced the rest of the look of the comic.

In the end, Gotham Academy will be missed. It was a fun three year ride and I truly hope some of these characters will pop up in other books down the line - if not a Gotham Academy: Third Semester book. It would be criminal never to see Maps again.

In all, this is a good opening for DC's new digital-first comic series and should be a fun ride.

I enjoyed this issue as a vehicle to let the reader to get to know more of the characters of this world. Barda comes off, as she usually does, as a brave warrior willing to not only take the fight to the enemy, but also as a protector of her charge. She gives off a “Big sister” vibe when it comes to Kara, willing to protect her at any cost.

The art in this issue was fantastic and helped introduce me to Aneke, an artist I had never seen before. Their line work is perfectly complimented by Fitzpatrick’s colours and really brings this story to life.

This month, the art duties go to Carnero and Mulvihil who do an admirable job with the interior art. Everything is crisp, clear and has some excellent visual storytelling going on. I’m really hoping these two get to work more on this title together.

On art duties this time around sees the return of Doyle in the first chapter. Being the first artist to draw for this series, Doyle established the look and feel of the series and its great to see her back. For the second chapter, Donovan does an admirable job, especially in the flashback sequences.

In all, I’d have to say this is one of the strongest issues of Gotham City Garage up to date and now I’m really looking forward to see what comes next.

I had never heard of Aneke before on art, but they did an admirable job. The fight sequences were fluid and the interpretation of Canary in her Gotham City Garage garb is fantastic. There are a couple of hiccups here and there with the faces throughout, but that is mostly a nitpick.

Through this framing device, we get a reaffirmation of most of the characters reasons for fighting, but also get some last minute character development as well. It’s a good use of this chapter by Kelly and Lanzing as the final issue will deal with the big battle, and more than likely, the fallout.

Another great part of this comic itself is the art from Brian Ching and colors from Fitzpatrick. It is a shame that they weren’t there for the entire run, but it’s nice to have Ching back for the final chapters after doing such a great job launching the series.

The art for the issue is pretty decent but unspectacular at the exact same time. Thinking back on the issue, I can’t even remember what the style was like without actually going back to the comic itself.

If this first issue is any indication, this new version of Green Lantern will be exactly the type of comic you’ll want to read to get that space-faring fix. And with Morrison in the lead and Sharp on art, you just know it’s going to get weird!

This issue, and series, is a great example of how modern comics can pay homage to classic sci-fi while still being new and fresh. It’s a series that I slept on at first, but might have to become a fixture in my reading rotation sooner rather than later.

Succeeding Liam Sharp on art is an artist I am unfamiliar with in Xermanico. Their style isn’t as detailed as Sharp’s, but still has a similar essence that makes all the pages really stand out. You can tell from the first page that Xermanico has a good eye for scale and perspective as we are drawn in as the reader to each image.

On art, Lobosco is also another unknown to me, but again, I was really impressed. Something I've noticed a lot of artists do these days to cut down on time needed to complete a comic is to completely and utterly forget about backgrounds which Lobosco does not. Yes, there are a few panels that don't have any, but for the most part, this comic feels alive and it's not just because of the characters.

Lobosco and O’Halloran continue to work wonders on art. Lobosco’s line work is clean and O’Halloran’s colours give the whole issue a nice, flat look that works well for this type of comic. I like my horror comics o be slightly darker and less flashy.

An excellent third issue to this mini-series.

On art duty, Lobosco’s lines combined with O’Halloran’s colors continue to jump off the page and have been quite the added bonus to this series. Too often with mini’s like these, the art duty will be given to a more subpar talent, but not in this case. It’s always great to discover a new art team (to me in this case) that I’ll look for in the future.

Other than that, there isn’t much else to say about this final issue other than to say it’s a great afternoon read combining two very fun properties. Hopefully we get to see more in the future.

In the end, this is a book that I cannot recommend enough. Too often retellings have a tendency to try and shock the reader instead of providing a coherent story. In Harleen, Stjepan eji successfully takes the original material and adds to it.

eji's art continues to be a treat. There's nothing more I can really add from my review of Book One, but I will say that eji is a master of the on-panel expressions. I've always been a fan of artists like Kevin Maguire who really demonstrate real emotions through their art, and eji is among a select few artists today that I follow that do it really well.

eji's art throughout, is, as always, magnificent. He continually showcases his deft hand at digital drawing (if you've never seen him work, you can check him out on YouTube). He's still one of my favorites when it comes to facial expressions and having characters show their emotions. Throughout you can see both the passion that Dr. Quinzel has, but also how she is slowly descending into madness. The best page of the whole book, and what really feels like the best encapsulation of the character as a whole is the final page. I won't spoil what it is, but it's an image that will stick with me for a long time.

On art, Braga does a good job throughout, but is hampered by today’s comics industry’s need to have a different cover artist than interior artist. I usually don’t mind the disconnect, but in this series, it’s pretty glaring. Braga has her own style that is wildly different than Amanda Connor who provided the covers. That, coupled with the fact that Braga chose t redesign a few characters - I have never seen Mr. Weatherbee that buff - left me wanting more from her. That said, I find she nails the heroines of the book, which is good.

Overall, I have quite enjoyed this zany crossover between four very popular comic characters that you may not have thought would ever meet. Dini and Andreyko give us just the perfect level of hijinx in each issue to keep me entertained and Braggs continues to have fun with the characters she's given.

As much as the hijinx was fun throughout the issue, it still felt a little lacking in parts. Braga and Melo's art continues to be a high point of the series, but the story kinda took a backseat for this issue. It's not that it was bad, not by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that it was riddled with tropes and you could see where most of the story was going from a few pages out.

Since I’m a sucker for these types of “Let’s just have as much fun as possible within this comic”, I can’t recommend this issue enough, even if you aren’t a Harley Quinn fan. Oh, you might want to pick this issue up also if you are a Captain Triumph fan (look him up), since he makes a fun appearance.

Fraga, Friend and Yackey provide really fun and detailed artwork throughout the issue. I really like that Fraga changes his style somewhat between each different type of He-Man - all buff and muscular. The cartoon version is still the most interesting one, as he’s so much different than the rest of the cast and because of this, gets to have a ton of different expressions.

On art, Merino is a welcome addition to Hellblazer. He brings a certain level of grit and noir feel to the series that was sorely missing in previous issues. I have been a big proponent of artists being able to convey emotion through character’s facial expressions and Merino does this admirably in this issue. I can honestly say that Constantine, and Margaret, run the gamut of emotions throughout the issue and this just adds to the story.

Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 was a fun debut issue in the Boom Box line-up of comics. With fun characters and a mini-cliffhanger on the final page, Usdin and Vakueva do a great job of creating interest and intrigue. Oh, and who didn’t want to work at a record store in the 90s?

Vakueva and Nalty continue to impress on art duties. Every single character introduced up to date have their own distinctive look and style that really helps distinguish one from the other. It also gives the reader visual queues on the type of person they may be. Everyone is dynamic on the page, and we can feel each character’s emotion - something I have touched upon on other reviews that I am big proponent of.

The art team also continues to impress this issue. Vakueva brings so much life to the characters on the page that it continues to bring every single character's personality to forefront. I am always a fan of characters that show true emotion in a comic and Vakueva does Chris justice throughout this issue: we see Chris go from pure elation to pure dread, to pure “I’ve figured this out”. Hats off!

In all, Heavy Vinyl has been a fun mini-series that has suffered from a few missteps, but that I would gladly recommend to anyone looking for something different in their comic pull list. I have a feeling that this mini will read much better as a trade paperback (like so many other series these days).

In the end, this was a fantastic debut issue and gives me hope for a very strong new imprint within Vertigo Comics and DC as a whole. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Domo continues to shine in this second issue and you can see that their style is starting to take shape. Of note, I really enjoy the different paneling that is used throughout the issue. We get funkier, offbeat style paneling while in the Dreaming and more traditional in the real world scenes. Small, but awesome little touch.

Cantirino’s art is a great compliment to Cornell’s script as she provides an aesthetic that I find similar to other “horror”-style comics I’ve read in the past few years, but remains her own. One thing that I’m always a fan of in comics is when an artist can convey emotion through their character’s facial features, and here, Cantirino does a marvelous job here. When Jacey is confronting the killer, you can feel her contempt and annoyance at having to be in this situation. Later in the issue, Cantirino has Lacey run the gamut of emotions. I do also like the way Cantirino showcases the blanks in Lacey’s memory - it’s not super subtle, but it’s a little thing that’s fun to see. Couple all of this with Kelly’s colors throughout, this makes for a good looking comic book.

Al Ewing is a rising start at Marvel and you can see why in this issue. Pretty much everyone who is a fan of Marvel these days knows Iron Man's origin story (hell, it's almost a beat for beat retelling and anyone who has seen the movie will instantly recognize it here). However, the way Ewing intersperses parts of not only Thor but Norse mythology itself within the story is what makes it stand out for me from Soldier Supreme.

This gets a definite Buy It from me. Not only does it bring back a long lost character to the Marvel Universe, it also ties-in to the main event in a logical fashion. Great work!

So is it worth it to pick this up? Not really. This is the worst kind of tie-in an event can have: a straight-up money grab for completionists.

All in all, Weapon Hex was a fun ride (minus the horrible Hex puns in the captions) and it would be cool to see more of the character somewhere down the line.

Hopefully, this won’t be last we see of Josie and the Pussycats in this new Archie universe. With The Archies just around the corner, I hope that Josie, Valerie and Melody will get to guest-star from time to time, but a new series would be best.

I think my truly favorite part of the issue was the backmatter as it gave a quick, succinct history of Marvel’s foray into Science-Fiction and how this history molded what Marvel would become. Fun addition!

Snyder has this knack of drawing in readers with his ideas and plot points and you always seem to want to know more. That is the case once again in No Justice.

The art continues to impress. This week Marcus To lends Manapul a hand (probably to make this extremely tight deadline), but it doesn’t come off noticeable at all. Since they work in the same studio, there was probably a lot of back and forth between the two to make sure the art stayed consistent throughout.

In the end, the story continues to showcase some pretty high stakes for all characters. involved and is setting up quite nicely the new launch of Justice League in two weeks. It’s just disappointing that this bait and switch with the art happened in such a highly touted mini.

Broo’s art is a real selling point to this issue. The character work is really sharp and you are never trying to figure out who is who. When the character of Marco is explaining to the reader aspects of the migration of the mullet fish, Broo’s art style changes and it some of the prettiest pages I’ve seen in a while - his color work using reds is really, really nice. The kaiju design, of the one we see in this issue, is also really cool looking.

In the end, Willingham hoodwinked me with this comic. His opening title for the first half of the comic should have been a clear indication that his D&D inspired characters would not be the protagonists of the story, and yet I fell for this little ruse. Only when we are introduced to Lark did I truly feel the story really took off but the story was hurt somewhat by the lackluster art (in the second-half of the book).

What makes this issue even better is that we are treated at the end to a short story written and illustrated by Willingham about a wizard and his genie set in this new world. It’s a fun read and adds some value to the comic - and who doesn’t like Willingham prose.

And you know what, sometimes that is all you need for a comic to be good: a fun plot and be visually appealing. And that is exactly what this issue provides in spades and it all leads to what will be the main driving force for the remainder of this story-arc: the stowaway.

In all, this series is shaping up to be a fun read every month that doesn’t take up to much time, but is still pretty rewarding as a read.

All in all, another fun romp was had in this issue with the stakes on the rise as the families of D’Nar and Miss Thorne start to close in. Should be a fun final two issues.

Buchemi and Augusto team up to bring us some pretty fun art throughout the issue. It’s dynamic when it needs to be and more subdued in other parts. It may not be to everyone’s liking - it does lack polish here and there - but it conveys what it needs to convey. There are a few parts, and I stress just a few, where the backgrounds seem to have been forgotten, but otherwise, a very nice job on their part.

Art duties for a book on Legion can sometimes be tricky, but Wilfredo Torres is up to the task. Legion having so many different power sets will always lead to some spectacular visuals under a steady hand and that is what Torres brings to the table. Everything is sufficiently weird to work.

This comic was a treat to read and proves that the Legion still has a place in today’s comics culture and I really can’t wait to see where this team goes from here.

All in all, this has been a very fun start to the new Legion series and I really hope new and long time fans are giving it a try. It’s still early going in the story, but it feels like something big is just around the corner, and I can’t wait to see what it is.

All in all, this debut issue from Layman and Pitarra was good, but not great. My chief concern after reading it was whether or not they will be able to distinguish themselves from other monster/kaiju fare. The lack of a distinct hook in the story and a pretty bland main character didn’t help much either. I’m fully in “wait and see” mode for the second issue to see if it changes my mind since Chew was one of my favorite non-capes comic of the past ten years.

This is another stellar book coming out from Image and is highly recommended. Also, if you are looking to get this, from the back-matter, it seems this will only be available in single issues for the time being, so if you want a copy, or are usually a trade-waiter, you might want to jump on this fast before they are all gone.

Scott Gross does a wonderful job with the art with just the right amount of zaniness to each panel and great use of color throughout.

All the stories are a lot of fun and make for a nice quick read on a Saturday morning. As for the art, it’s typical Looney Tunes and uses the house-style.

The third, and probably weakest of the shorts this month sees Witch Hazel be hounded by a pair of mice during her vacation. Her biggest issue really is that she would like to deal with them by turning them into mice…. But they're already mice. This would be a perfect example of a one-joke short as the mice repeatedly try and do vacation-type activities only to end up messing up Hazel’s time. It’s funny the first time, not as much by the fifth.

However, for those who added this issue to their pull list expecting a MASK story tie-in to First Strike, they will be sorely disappointed.

Finally, as with the other specials, we are treated to a few classic Kirby “grabbers”. These have been a joy to read and this issue is no different. It’s a great way to experience a slice of Kirby’s excellent work over the years and to also discover how wide his interests seemed to be. I would also like to mention that in “A World of Thinking Robots”, his prediction of the future is eerily accurate.

All in all, this debut issue of Marvel Comics Presents was a little mediocre. The art was fantastic in the first two stories but it wasn’t enough to get me too excited for future issues unfortunately.

In all, this second issue was a step up from the first and I can’t wait to see what comes next. The preview shows a combo of Wolverine, Captain America and Spider-Man next issue, so that should be fun. However, I wish they would utilize some of their more obscure characters instead (like Gorilla-Man).

This issue may not be for everyone, especially at a $4.99 price tag. However, having looked at the preview for this issue, it should not come as a surprise that it is mostly a pin-up book with a little bit of story attached to it.

In all, Mech Cadet Yu is a strong first outing for the team of Pak and Miyazawa. They do a great job of introducing us to Stanford’s world. As mecha comics go, this was a pretty fun first outing and I can’t wait to see where they take it from here.

Now that we are halfway through the initial issues of Mech Cadet Yu, I’ll be interested to see where Pak takes the story going forward. Clearly there is a lot of world building that can continue to take place within the comic and I for one am here for the ride.

Overall, an excellent, sharp issue and I can’t wait to see what Pak and Miyazawa come up with next. The future is definitely bright for Mech Cadet Yu.

Saying all that, I am truly excited to see what comes next from Pak, Miyazawa and the rest of their team.

This all leads to an incredible change to the status-quo as the issue ends and Pak and Miyazawa have definitely piqued my interest to see what comes next.

Miyazawa’s art and Farrell’s colors continue to be one of the biggest draws for this series as well. It’s hard to describe just how good this team is, so I won’t even try. All you need to do is admire the covers and preview art to know how good they are.

I purposely kept the story within this issue vague for good reason: this is one of the series to read and I can promise it should not disappoint. Now, all I need is an announcement from Pak and Miyazawa that they are working on something new together, because this partnership worked wonders on this series.

This issue was a fun introduction by Gage to the concept of the MIcronauts. I had heard the name over the years, known they had comics, toys and the like over the years, but never really paid much attention to them. Gage did a good job of quickly going over the individual Micronauts, their powers and what they bring to the table. This, combined with the overall narrative of including them in not only the crossover event, but linking them to Rom, made for a fun read.

In all, this annual was a disappointment to me as a new reader. Most of the stories relied on past knowledge of the characters showcased and only really Superior and Huck - both Superman pastiches - explained who these characters were.

Mister Miracle #1 is a hard comic to review insofar that it just works. And it works on so many levels. You can always tell when a writer/artist team knows one another pretty well because the writing compliments the art which compliments the writing. King and Gerads opening to this 12-issue mini-series is near perfect in that it gives you just enough information that leaves you wanting more. And with this 12 issue format, we know going in that King and Gerads have this already planned out, and that we won’t be left hanging in the end. I for one, cannot wait for the next issue.

The one thing I’ll add, it is very apparent that Gerards does it all: from pencils to inks to colour. And the colour is some of my favourite. I am always a fan when an artist utilizes colour to distinguish between worlds and Gerards does just that in Mister Miracle: you know when Barda and Scott are on Apokolips or are in the middle of battle - the colour scheme will be much darker and “redder”. Whereas, while on New Genesis, Gerards continues his distinctive style of rough drawings, but we are treated to a much lighter colour palate with extensive use of yellow.

The team-up of King and Gerards continues to astound. Now that we are three issues, you can tell that a lot of love is going into this comic series and that we are all the better for it. King’s writing is a cut above most other series at this time and Gerards art continues to be the perfect complement.

King and Gerards have proven time and time again in these four issues that they clearly have a deep love for these characters and want to do right by them. We, as the readers, are just lucky enough that we get to experience this ride with them. We’re a third through this series and I for one cannot wait to see what comes next.

In the end, this issue perfectly encapsulates the series as a whole in that we get to be a part of an incredible character study that makes us feel all those emotions described in the last paragraph as we follow King and Gerards’ exploration of what makes Scott Free Mister Miracle. With the next issue, we’ll be at the halfway mark, but I can honestly say, this is already shaping up to be one of the best series of the last decade.

Keeping King’s script tied together is the continually amazing work that Gerads brings to this book. Doing everything himself, the care he takes in bringing out pretty much everything from his art is spectacular and one of the main driving forces of this series.

I’d like to also like to point out the awesome product placement of DC Comics t-shirts that Scott keeps wearing. Hell, I own a few of those myself. I’m not sure if this was Gerads who chose to do this or it was done at King’s suggestion, but it’s a fun little easter egg.

My favourite part of this month’s backup is how Hester depicts Debbie and her father apparently putting the pieces together in this case. He does this by changing up the paneling of the page from page to page. On the first page, the panels are actually puzzle pieces and as the story progresses, the pieces/panels start coming together to finally form a complete page. Amazing use of the visual format that is comic books.

In the backup story, Gotham Radio, we finally get the conclusion of this mini-story from Krueger and Hester. In my last review, I mentioned how Hester and Krueger took full advantage of the 3 page format. This issue, however, I’ll admit to being a little lost at first, not realizing at first that we were finally face-to-face with the killers of Danny Ruby. The conclusion itself feels like a bait-and-switch “How the hell was I supposed to see coming?” but in the end, I really enjoyed it. Krueger did a good job with the dialogue to make the reader understand the motivation behind the killing. However, the mystery of the vigilante killer is revealed, so we’ll see if Gotham Radio continues.

This issue is a fantastic opener to this new mini-series and MST3K’s entry into the comic world. I’ll be interested to see what they have planned for this six-issue run. I’m hoping they keep this comic split between the host and comic segments and that they keep the comic they are making fun of to two issues each.

Though it was a slight step down this month, MST3K continues to be a really fun comic to read and I’m hoping that issue 3 delivers.

But what completely negates that negative in my mind is the wonderful work that Jamal Campbell has been doing on art. Every panel seems to have a purpose and this leads to some excellent visual storytelling throughout. You can feel Naomi’s pain and anguish at the confusion that is her life right now through the art alone. Couple that with some incredible splash pages that offer hints to her life makes this a pleasing to the eyes read.

As for the art, there really isn’t more you can say about Campbell and his beautiful, expression heavy style. When reading Naomi, you can feel the existent, the fear, the joy, and all the emotions emanating off of the characters. It’s a perfect complement to the script.

I’ll finish this review with one final tid-bit I noticed: we learn in this issue Naomi’s last name and the moment I read it, I couldn’t help but know that this must be a tribute to a certain creator that passed away a few years ago. And it is a touching tribute at that.

All in all, this was a strong debut for the New Challengers and I can’t wait to read more.

Finally, this special adds two short reprinted Kirby stories written for the early New Gods issues dealing with Lonar and his mighty steed Thunderer. These are two great examples of what made Kirby the King.

Like previous Kirby 100 specials, we are treated to a Kirby “Grabber” starring the Newsboy Legion by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. This was a fun Golden Age tale and a great addition to this somewhat ho-hum special.

The first two issues of Norse Mythology have been fun to read and look at the magnificent art. As someone who had previously read Gaiman’s book, it’s been nice to see his words “come to life” as it were. It’s also a great read for anyone interested in the tales from Norse mythology who may only know the likes of Thor and Loki from Marvel’s perspective.

I’ve always been a proponent that you have to give a new property a chance to succeed and to wow you. Not every comic will do that with the first issue and Oberon has at least piqued my interest in the second issue and we’ll see if the second issue will bring me back for more.

In all, this is a very good debut issue that may be elevated once the other three issues are out. I’ve made the critique that some comics tend to be written for the trade, and right now, this seems to be the case for Olivia Twist. We’ll see if that is truly the case with the next issues.

In all, this was an issue that is too easily forgettable that will probably only really work in trade. It’s too bad, because this is probably the first real issue that I find was a real miss in the Berger Books line.

As a whole, this comic was hands down one of my favorite reads that I've had in quite a while. The whole premise of the issue is fantastic, Barber's writing made me fall in love with Thundercracker and Buster, Tramontano and Griffith's art is fantastic throughout (and when reading Transformers comics, a big positive when you can tell them all apart), and Bove and Burcham's colors just pop off the page (and help quite a bit when distinguishing between Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp - gotta love those repaints right?).

On art, Zama and Burcham do an excellent job. I've always admired artists that get to draw for a Transformers comic because it cannot be easy having to deal with all these different characters and their unique body models.

Kei Zama’s art is widely different than the other artists with Transformers books out this week and I love that! It may simply be that the inks are much darker in this issue, but that works to set the mood of the storyline. An all around excellent job by the art team this month.

This all leads to a final page reveal that I won’t spoil here, but that I expect was a massive shocker to long-time Transformers fans who have been keeping up with the series over the years. Even as a newer fan/reader, I was shocked and credit goes to Barber and Zama for pulling it off so perfectly. I knew in that moment that it was meant to be epic, and that would not have happened without their excellent storytelling.

I don’t usually remark on “Next month on…” pages that appear in some books, but I can’t praise enough how good these have been in the Transformers comics. I’m not sure if these are handled strictly by editorial, but it feels like Barber has a hand in them. This, and issue 17’s, “Next month” features were perfect teases and has built my anticipation for issue #19.

Guidi and Wycough's art was hit or miss for me throughout the issue. First the good: they did an excellent job when it came to the transformers themselves. I've continually been impressed with artists over the years that can get even some detail into these machines and this is the case in this issue. Each transformer is distinct enough from each other that I was able to remember their names throughout. The not so good, however, involves the human characters. For the most part, Faireforne, Action man and Mayday looked okay, but at times it seemed like the artists ran out of time drawing their faces. They sometimes felt "off".

In the end, I found Packs of the Low Country a very enjoyable read. The writing by Dudley was crisp and to the point and never veered into decompression, and the art by Cardenas was greatly enhanced by Mark Dale and Kelly Fitzpatrick’s colours. I can also say, Cardenas can draw a mean forest setting. Whenever our characters were outside in the brush, Cardenas’ art really popped.

All in all, this issue continues the strong work from both Chiang and Vaughan. The story may be slightly convoluted at points, but Vaughan continues to drop enough hints from issue to issue to keep you coming back for more. We are slowly learning who all these extra characters are that the girls keep running into, and thus the bigger picture continues to fill in.

The only real complaint I had about the issue is that it isn’t really new-reader friendly. I say this mostly in the case of the characters themselves. They each clearly have an established history, but that isn’t conveyed in the comic itself. You’d be forgiven if you weren’t sure which one was Seoni and which one was Merisiel when they are first introduced. A very easy solution to this would have been to add a recap page at the beginning listing who was who.

The art continues to be impressive and a lot of fun. During the flashback, Garcia and Hickman use muted colours and a slightly more simplistic art style to demark it from the present day. For the present day, everything is pretty crisp, the colours are vivid, and Garcia’s staging of each panel is really fun to look at. Excellent job all around!

As for the art, Wijngaard provides pencils (and possibly inks) that are dynamic and are greatly enhanced by Safro’s colours. You don’t always have to overcomplicate the art, and the simplicity here is what makes this issue visually appealing. I also really enjoyed the nine-panel grids peppered throughout the issue, because that gives you a visual hint that Peter Cannon is linked to the Watchmen graphic.

Wijngaard's art continues to be amazing throughout as we get to see a little more in terms of action this issue. He does a magnificent job within the confines of the 9-panel grid throughout. The last sequence is probably my favourite so far as well.

All in all, this comic feels like it is aiming at the absolute lowest common denominator of the comic book buying public. If you enjoy poop jokes and violence for violence sake, this comic is for you. Otherwise, you should skip this comic entirely.

All in all, this was probably one of the best first issues I’ve read recently when it comes to reintroducing a world to new readers. Williams does a magnificent job of telling us who these characters are and how they fit into this new “World without wonder.”

Overall, this is a fun debut issue that accomplishes the task of reintroducing a whole new generation to Rainbow Brite. I can see this title having some staying power, especially once it hits the graphic novel market.

All in all, this was a fun debut issue that had enough going for it for me to return for a second issue. Now that the set-up seems to be done, I can’t wait to see what Jordan and Isaacs come up with next.

All in all, this was a fun issue to read as it gave just enough information as to who everybody was (always a nice perk of a comic) and moved the story forward. I'm not sure if Red Hood as a teacher is a story that a lot of legs to it, but we shall see.

Rocafort and Firchow continue to bring the excitement to the visuals as only they can. Rocafort has such a unique style that it makes reading any book that he is on a joy. Couple that with Firchow's complimentary colors to the line-work and inks make for a visually pleasing read.

The art team of Messina and Lokus did a really good job this issue, especially considering that it was mostly walking and talking that was happening with a lot less fight scenes as usual. Messina's art reminds me a lot of Paco Medina's run on Deadpool about a decade ago. It's very clean and detailed, but not too detailed. It's only enhanced by Lokus' colors as he adds a certain polish to everything on the page.

The art, I have absolutely no complaints about. I’m unfamiliar with Carlos Gomez, but he has made a fan of me with this issue. I love the fact that everything he draws seems to have such a nice flow to it throughout the issue. His style is very reminiscent of Amy Reeder who is a favorite of my mine, so I was instantly hooked.

Coupled to Russell’s fantastic script is illustrator Colak’s excellent pencils that do a magnificent job of portraying some quiet moments equally as well as the several fight scenes peppered throughout the issue. Kelly’s colours make Colak’s art pop off the page and really make it a fun read.

On art, Colak and Kelly continue their strong work from the fist issue. This time around it was a lot of standing around and more establishing shots that were called for and Colak did great with those. The character work, positioning, facial features, could be a little more crisp, but that is a minor gripe in an otherwise fantastic issue.

On art, the team of Geovani and Augusto establish a good visual style throughout the issue. Geovani does a great job a layout throughout with neat tricks like the long vertical panel to denote distance, wider shots to capture as much as the action as possible and proper use of a splash page. I was worried at points that his Tarzan was a little on the thin side (Tarzan seems to always be in peak physical condition with bulging muscles), but that was done on purpose it seems for a nice end of issue scene.

As a stand-alone issue, Maxwell and Ewing really brought a fun, yet very campy story this month. However, it was a difficult trying to suspend my disbelief reading this issue since these stories are supposed to be reflective of the ongoing narrative in the TV show which hasn’t really touched on the most supernatural aspects that are commonplace in the Archie comic universe. However, it was an excellent nonetheless and having Joe Eisma at the helm on art greatly added to my enjoyment. His simplistic style has always been appreciated when showcased in comic like Riverdale.

As I said, I’ve really been enjoying Riverdale the comic series as we get to know more about the secondary characters that have not yet gotten their moment in the spotlight on the TV show. The fact that it is written by writers on the show helps make it feel more like a part of the TV series than most tie-ins tend to be.

Riverdale as a whole is a fun, light read every month and it’s a fun way to keep up with the TV show in-between episodes. The art is always pretty good and keeps to the new Archie esthetic pretty closely - Pitilli’s style is similar but not exactly like a lot of other Archie artists these days. In all, a fun issue and great for any fan of the show.

What this tie-in comic really proves to me on a monthly basis is that the TV show proper is missing out on exploring a lot of their secondary characters that are pretty big in the Archie universe proper. The fact that characters like Reggie, Moose, Midge and Dilton are only ever seen from time to time on the show is a real shame. Luckily we have the comic to follow their adventures.

This was a fun debut issue and should continue to be a great way for Riverdale fans to have a little extra when the show isn’t on.

In all, Robotech #1 was an entertaining first issue to this reimagined property. I have come to enjoy a lot of Wood’s work over the years and I am glad that he has taken up the reins of Robotech.

Turini on art continues from last issue in giving the reader some crisp linework - his Veritech fighters look really good, and I do enjoy that they are distinctive enough from other mecha out there to make them easily recognizable.

After an explosive second issue, Wood and Turini have done the right thing in issue #3 and dialled back the action (there is none), to concentrate on the characters themselves. As with Lynn and Rick, we also get to learn some background tidbits about Lisa Hayes (who is on Mars?) and that Captain Gloval and Roy Fokker are hiding something about SDF-1.

Overall, this issue was not my favorite of Wood and Turini’s run on Robotech. Unlike previous issues that had a drive to them, whether it be world building or simply showcasing the robotechnology. This issue just seemed to go for the summer blockbuster, turn off your brain, type action which unfortunately was not supported by the narrative.

As I previously mentioned, this issue for me returns to form as it moves the story along, the SDF-1 has been away for months now in space and is making some progress getting back to Earth, but it also takes the time to add additional motivations for its characters, Rick and Roy’s stories get hints at the future and Lisa is seemingly going to be the focal point for this arc.

The art is, as usual, one of the high-points of this series. It’s hard trying to find new ways to express how much I have been enjoying Marco Turini’s work month-in and month-out. Characters continue to be distinct, the robots look awesome and the action sequences continue to be marvellous.

In all, Robotech continues to be a fun read month in and month out with some excellent scripting from Furman and great visuals from Turini.

I hope this ship (no pun intended) gets steered back on course, or else this is a series that will soon go from being worth a look to a definite pass very soon.

Christ Panda on art, with colours by Garcia Cruz, also impressed me in his take on the Micronauts and Rom. One of the first difficulties in combining these two franchises is to make both seems important on the page and not diminish each other. This is especially true when one of the characters, Rom, is probably hundreds of times larger than his compatriots. At times the scaling of the characters was a little off - the scene where Rom waits on the repairs of the Micronauts ship - but for the most part, you could tell that the Micronauts were not as big as Rom visually. Gage also added some tidbits here and there in the dialogue to also put that point across. I'd like to give special mention to Garcia Cruz's colours: they are bright, vibrant, and jump off the page.

For a first issue of a mini-series, Gage does a great job on all fronts: we get introduced to all the actors within the series - done through both the recap page and within the story. We get the antagonist's motivations right from the beginning. We get some somewhat cheesy exposition that fits really well with the source material. And finally, we are treated to some fantastic art from Villanelli and Alexakis. Great start!

Vilanelli continues to provide some very expressive art throughout the issue. I'm enjoying the fluidity that he provides to the characters and the battles, and they are often enhanced by the colors of Alexakis. Sometimes the shading can be a little much, but that is but a small complaint.

In all, seeing as how this is the midway point of the mini-series, we are getting some good action coupled with good art. Now I am anxiously awaiting what Gage has in store for the next two issues, as one thing this didn't really have, was enough plot advancement, and I hope that changes next issue.

At this point in the story, I'm interested to see where Gage goes from here and how he will resolve everything. It should, like the rest of the series, be fun.

In the end however, was this mini-series worth it? I would say yes, and if you can't track down the individual issues, it would be worth a read in trade. This final issue sees the Micronauts, ROM, and their allies finally confront the Wraiths and Baron Karza, and the choice that is made at the end, which I will not spoil, is one that will indeed have future repercussions if IDW ever goes back to the Micronauts franchise. It was very well executed and left me actually wondering what would happen next. A feat that is not always accomplished with this type of series.

This was a fantastic first issue that did everything right and is highly recommended to anyone who loves comics. This is a must-read.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Something Wicked #1 is a great debut issue from a team that are firing on all cylinders with a character they clearly love. It's also a fun distraction to all the craziness in the world today.

Saga has been one of those comics that has garnered high praise during its publication run and deservedly so. What Staples and Vaughan have crafted is a very personal story told on a grand scale, and chapter forty-five continues this high level of writing and art that we have come to love these last five years. Staples and Vaughan have found the perfect balance when it comes to telling their stories of Marko, Alana and Hazel and it always a pleasure to get to read and experience them.

Staples and Vaughan, it has been said, and should be said over and over, are a powerhouse of a team. This issue continues the trend of excellent self-contained stories that explore many different topics that could easily be seen in our own, real world. In addition to Marko's story, we are shown what a cruel world can do to even the strongest of person's psyche in Petrichor, and we get to explore the topic of loss and remembrance with Hazel and her little brother. There is a reason why this is one of the top rated comics month in and month out.

Saga continues to be an excellently written, beautiful drawn book that is really hard to critique from month to month. I will say that this issue does contain one profanity that I would prefer not be in my comics, but I do understand that this is by no means a comic for children.

I would also like to mention the backup story real quick. I'm sure Dynamite decided to add this backup reprint to justify the $4.99 price tag, but I just wish they had picked something a little better. Thematically, it is very similar to Vampirella, Valaka has a very similar look, but otherwise, this story really felt like baby's first sword and sorcery tale.

Finally, in “UFO-No!”, the gang are lost in the woods when they encounter a beam of light akin to what you see in UFO encounters. This leads them to a concert (weird, but sure) where the main singer has lost her necklace to a UFO. This was a fun story but unfortunately a little forgettable. It had a good placement in the issue as the third short.

The art team of Carzon, Ottolini, Brys and Temofonte do a fantastic job throughout. Carzon’s panel work helps the story along and is never boring - something that can happen in comics for young readers, and the colour work by Brys is just bright enough to distinguish itself and make sure that the reader can follow the action. Great stuff!

This is all ties together with a very vibrant colour scheme by Brys. These comics need to be bright and full of colour and that is exactly what you get.

Brizuela and Riesco do a wonderful job of keeping the art simplistic enough and very close to the cartoons throughout. It’s always difficult trying to review the art for this type of comic because you buy it expecting to see the Scooby gang how you know them in the cartoons and not necessarily reimagined - we’ll leave that to Scooby Apocalypse.

This month we have Dario Brizuela on art and Franco Riesco on colours and both do a fantastic job of keeping that “house-style” for the whole gang. Choosing to use Black Lightning’s 70’s era costume (the original) was also a nice little touch - and gets a nice little joke out of it as well in the issue.

All in all, this issue was great and continues my love of anything that Mark Russell writes and has made me a fan of Richard Pace’s art. Controversy be damned!

All in all, this was a fun first issue from Taylor, Di Nicuolo, Baiamonte, Ranalli and Dukeshire. It’s definitely setting the stage for what comes next, and honestly, I can’t wait to meet our protagonist, hopefully, in the next issue.

This is probably one of the stronger debut issues to a mini-series I’ve seen n the past few months since it checks all the boxes of having a good premise, a good explanation of the current state of the protagonist, and a good introduction of the antagonist for the series.

The only real snaffu in the issue when it comes to color is when Darla and Freddie are making their way to the Darklands, she explains that her dress is losing color… yet it’s the same color as previous panels. Small little error, but noticeable.

Though the infrequency of the releases can be slightly annoying, as long as the quality keeps up, I will be here for every new issue of this wonderful series.

On art, we get the fantastic Moritat, who is just built for this type of series. I was first introduced to his art back in the early 2010s when he was drawing The Spirit for DC, and ever since I will sometimes pick up a comic strictly because of him. This is no different. His use of a messier style (I don’t know how else to describe it) and very expressive characters help the reader feel what is being experienced by the characters. It’s almost a shame that he isn’t also the cover artist, though J. Scott Campbell is no slouch either when it comes to Pin-up style covers.

Sheena Queen of the Jungle continues to be a joy to read. It gives off enough of the classic pulp feel without stagnating in the genre.

On art this month, it shows that Moritat shared art duties with Macheras. Unlike in issue two where it was difficult to distinguish where Moritat started and where he ended with his co-artist, this month, it is pretty clear. Macheras has a great style and it is similar enough to Moritat’s, but distinct enough that there is a clear break when Macheras takes over from Moritat.

All in all, this was a pretty disappointing fourth issue from a series that showed so much promise at first. Hopefully issue 5 will rebound.

We are given some hints towards the future, specifically for Sheena, so future issues may redeem this particular issue, but for now, on its own merits, this issue will remain pretty unremarkable.

The other saving grace is the introduction of Maria Sanapo on art. After being let-down that Moritat seemed to only have been hired for a few issues, they finally replaced him with someone who’s art jumps off the page. It’s by no means perfect, but it does add to the story more so than it did before.

Sanapo with the help of de la Cruz continues this month some great visuals in the comic itself. Her art skirts on the edge of the "bad girl" art of the 90s - mostly due to the subject matter more than by choice - but never fully goes over the line. I'm hoping to see some improvement in the expressions of her characters, something I'm a big proponent of, but otherwise, a pretty good job on her part.

At this point, I’m not sure if the editorial team is really doing their job correctly because a lot of this should have been caught at the editorial phase. This isn’t just limited to the art, however. At points there are missed grammar mistakes as well as missed speech balloons. It’s always regrettable seeing these types of mistakes in a bigger publisher like Dynamite and I hope this gets fixed in the trade/digital issues as well as future issues.

For a first issue, Spy Seal #1 was definitely a fun read that brought me back to my childhood. As with good debut issues, it gave us a good primer for Malcolm’s world and gave us enough to want to come back for more.

My only negative to this issue, and probably to the series in general, is that because it is so reminiscent of European comics, the progression of the story seems a little stilted and would probably benefit if it was a graphic novel instead of individual issues. Once the graphic novel comes out of the first story-arc, it will definitely become a must-read, I’m almost sure of it.

I have one small gripe though and that is general to the use of anthropomorphic of characters in comics. Especially when it comes to birds like Kes. Having the visual of her “flapping” her arms as if they were wings was a little weird to see on the page, but still, a minor gripe.

All in all, Spy Seal was a very fun read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun adventure. Reading it in single issues was a lot of fun, but this may be one of those minis that is best to read in trade, if only to be able to keep track of who is who from moment to moment.

Murphy and Tramontano on art truly capture the style of both cartoon series. Being both from an era where the style was much more simplistic (clean lines, bright colours), it might be a little jarring for some, but for those who were fans at any point, they’ll quite enjoy it.

The only real negative I have for this particular issue is that after establishing the fight in one location for four issues, Barber and Johnson move everything to a second location in the final issue. Small little tidbit, but noticeable.

The creative team has quite a lot of large shoes to fill with this new take on the Suicide Squad, but as a first issue goes, they succeeded in providing a fresher take on the concept while still keeping some of the tried and true concepts intact.

Superman Smashes the Klan is a must read for me. Tackling the subject matter of racism is not always easy, but Yang and Gurihiru do a marvelous job of breaking it down so that anyone can understand the message.

On the art front, as I said in my last review, Gurihiru was almost the perfect choice to draw this series as his style is one that is easily accessible by a wide range of ages - in my opinion. Because of this, and the nature of this story, you can easily hand this to anyone and have them enjoy the art as well as the message that Leun Yang is conveying.

All this amounts to a pretty fun read and some pretty gorgeous art throughout. The one thing you don’t learn right away in this issue, but get a glimpse of as you read the additional pages is, this is a story we’ve seen before. A pretty well-known story at that. But Rodriguez does a good job of hiding that fact throughout the issue, and it is better for it.

To be honest, that is the only true negative of this series up to date, and it is not this series fault - this is a bigger problem in the comics industry in this, the age of the trade paperback where you almost have to read a full story arc in one go (and not month to month) to not get lost in the story.

All in all, Swordquest continues to be an enjoyable read from month to month. Dynamite has been known to snag up fledgling, or even dead properties, and bring new life to them and this is definitely the case with this new Atari line of comics.

Ghostwriter X continues their stellar work on the book. They get to have some fun with Mr. Juros throughout the latter half - he seems to be just an ordinary business man, but X gives him enough presence throughout, with some visual winks and nods here and there, that you know there is something more to the character.

All in all though, I enjoyed the issue and enjoyed the premise of this new take of Tales of Suspense. Rosenberg does a great job at summarizing the events of Secret Empire that have led to this point as well introducing each character in a fun, aka filled way. My favorite part? The letters page at the end. Make sure not to miss it.

In all, Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing of a classic Archie character like Sabrina is a lot of fun. She’s strong-willed, rebellious and will do what she feels is necessary, damn the consequences. After reading this issue, I want to learn more about this new world he is creating for Sabrina and that is never a bad thing.

The art is also a pretty big attraction to this series. Beem is another in a series of artists that paint everything which adds enough uniqueness to the comic that you don’t always see on the shelves. Hopefully Beem will be given enough time between issues to complete them since their style is not always great for a monthly schedule. Time will tell.

Beem’s painted art continues to impress in this second issue and I would recommend this series on Beem’s art alone.The red cheeks that Beem seems to give to everyone can be a little distracting, but otherwise, each page is beautifully painted and helps sell the story as it unfolds.

The Family Trade at first seemed like it was going to be the simple story of our protagonist Jessa as she tries to navigate her way through this strange world. However, now that three issues have come out, you can start to tell that Jordan and Ryan are trying to craft something much more complex than that. The great thing about this series is the postscript that Jordan writes after issue where he explains some of his story related motivations, and in this issue, he touches upon something that isn’t screaming off the page, but that you could surmise is happening: the system that controls the Float, it isn’t perfect by any means and the fact that the Family fights to keep that system in balance doesn’t necessarily make them the good guys in this situation. This ambiguity is then at the heart of the series as we get to follow Jessa as she tries to navigate through all this craziness.

The art by Beem continues to be spectacular throughout the issue. Painted art is always awesome to take in, especially when done right, and Beem does just that. There are sometimes the body compositions seem a little off from panel to panel, but that is a minor gripe. Another minor gripe comes from some of the dialogue in the book - some of the voices, now that we are four issues in, seem stilted at times. It doesn't take you out of the story too much, but just enough to be noticeable at times.

Also, everything in their power they can do should be done to give us more Morgan Beem comics.

The Good Asian is the type of comic that might be slept on, but really shouldn’t. When reviewing comics, you don’t always go out and pick up your own, but this is one comic that will be added to my pull list. And you should add it to yours as well.

In all, I was very impressed by this first issue of a series I quite frankly completely missed the first time around. I’ve been on a pretty big time-travel kick lately and this definitely is a welcome addition.

With the ending though, that opens up quite the possibilities for the next issue and I’ll be curious to see where Teddy and the rest of the characters go from here.

In all, this was a fun series to read and could easily recommend to any fans of comics in general. I’ll admit it was sometimes difficult keeping up month to month with the story - the reason why I think the third issue was a little confusing - but in trade format, this will be an excellent read.

You can see from this first issue that Palmiotti, though writing a more adult themed Jetsons, still demonstrates a love of the original characters. Every one of them has traits from the old cartoon, but now are made more real, with real world problems. It’s a take on an old franchise that I can get behind.

For a second issue, Palomiotti and Brito on art, do a marvelous job in making us continue to care about these characters and what they are going through. I think the best part about the comic is the family dynamic that we get from the various interactions between each Jetson. Even though they all seem to be living their own lives, they are still connected and love one another and want to see each succeed. And having Rosie be the grandmother is still a stroke of genius.

What this issue excels at above all else is the coloring from Gho and White. Throughout the issue I kept thinking how much the coloring brought out Federici’s pencils and added to the atmosphere of the comic. It’s typical for comics to use shades of blue and purple to showcase nighttime, but here, Gho and White’s perfectly us this mix of colors to add a sense of dread to what is to come next.

The Last God is shaping up to be a great addition to the fantasy epics we have come to love and I for one, can't wait to read more.

The art team of Federici & Gho continue to bring stellar work to the series. The action sequences continue to be magnificent and well choreographed, and Gho's use of colors fits the setting really well. Excellent work once more.

This is the first work I’ve been exposed to of Dani’s and throughout, their work is evocative and sets the scenes in both a haunting and quiet manner when the need arises. Not all artists have fun with panels when they are creating, but Dani here used multiple different styles and sizes throughout the issue to lead the reader’s eye to where they want you to go. It doesn’t always work, but in this issue, it does. Couple Dani’s linework with the great colors by Bonvillain, and you have a really fun, almost 80s style Denys Cowan aesthetic to it. Great work!

The rest of the cast comprises a couple of newer characters that long-time Mighty Crusader fans may not know, some older characters as well some that were introduced when Dark Circle came back into print a few years ago. This, combined with a pretty fun first issue, gives me hope that this will be a pretty fun series to read.

Quite frankly, I think what I like the most about The Mighty Crusaders is how it feels like it is trying to harken back to older style tales of superhero teams that we don’t see too much of these days. Yes, sometimes it is best moving forward, but looking back sometimes is fun too.

Kelsey Shannon’s art and colors by Matt Herms is clean and very vibrant and really fits well with the atmosphere of the issue.

All in all, The Mighty Crusaders was a pretty fun, nostalgia filled, read and it is something I would recommend to any fans of these characters (new and old). It’s a fun afternoon read that does harken back to days of old where superhero comics could be simple superhero comics, something we don’t see as much these days.

After this first issue, I’m very intrigued to see where this story goes, especially with the fantastic work that Aja is bringing to the table. The entire issue itself gave enough hints to keep my attention - the whole seeds thing does get mentioned, but not explained - and I’m hoping the end-of-issue reveal proves to be a little more original than what is presented. Good first issue.

Even though, I’ll freely admit, I’m not exactly sure what I’m reading exactly just yet, this series exudes an aura of greatness that propels it forward and is just begging to be read. That might sound like hyperbole, but it’s the truth. I can’t for the next issue and then the next because I want to know what happens and how everything that is presented interconnects. Not a feeling I get too often when reading comics.

In all, this issue does a good job of hooking the reader and I definitely want to read more. I’ve always been a sucker for a good old-fashioned pulp story, and this was a good opening for just that.

As far as pulp-style stories go, this has been a fun series up to date. I actually can’t wait to read more. I really enjoy that not one beat is wasted within the story and that Spurrier and Watters are making sure to tie everything together.

I’ve also enjoyed Spurrier and Watters’ exploration of The Shadow’s past, as Mary keeps finding new ways for her burn-victim to relieve his past and to make some sense to it. These glimpses also provide the reader with a way to better know who this character is, especially those of us who are newer to the character, or haven’t read his stories in years.

And that is essentially the crux of this series: ordinary people get changed when in the presence of the Shadow. Sometimes for the better, but also sometimes for the worse. The entire middle sequence of this issue explores this exact subject as we get to see the Shadow reflect on his past, and get that gem of a quote above.

In all, not the best ending I’ve ever read, but a very serviceable one that I think may be better appreciated if read in trade.

The biggest redeeming factor for this comic is Timpano’s art. Every page was a joy to look at. His Batman, Shadow and Robin all look amazing, dynamic and just the appropriate amount of dark throughout. His style just “fits” with this type of comic and was really enjoyable.

All in all, this was a fun debut issue that set the stage for this new era of the Transformers at IDW. Ruckley has some pretty big shoes to fill, but judging from this first issue, he’s off to a good start.

A great debut issue for this new mini-series from IDW. I was not aware of any previous work by Visaggio, but now that I have read some of her work, definitely a creator I’ll have to keep my eye out for.

On art, Ossio and Garcia Cruz are a pretty great team given the reader some very nice sequences. The battles between Virulina’s people and the Spectral Knights finally showcases their powers (animal specters that come from their staffs). It’s also appreciated that they make an effort to make each character distinct - an easy problem to have with a comic based on a toy/cartoon where a lot of them could sometimes be similar.

We don’t get to see a lot of Cybertronians in this issue, but that’s okay. For this issue, having the spotlight on the Visionaries helps to better establish these characters, who, for all intents and purposes, are still relatively new to this Hasbro universe.

I’m really curious to see how this plays out in the end since the title might say Transformers vs Visionaries, this has been pretty much a vehicle (no pun intended) for the Visionaries with the Transformers there more as chess pieces to be used when needed - a complaint that I’ve heard from all these Transformers vs series, but that I can’t echo due to this being my first such series.

Would I recommend this mini to anyone who has yet to read it? I would say yes, especially if you were a fan of the Visionaries prior to this or would like to learn a little bit more about them.

This was a very strong debut issue that has made me want to know more about these Constructions which, after its billing, makes it a success in my eyes.

In all, this issue was great and it’s making me want to pick up the earlier issues to catch-up to the story, which is great. I also can’t wait to see what comes next.

A great issue all-around and definitely one that makes me want to read more Transformers.

Cahill and Pitre-Durocher’s art continues to be fantastic and continues to be enhanced by the amazing colors of Lafuente. This art team does a wonderful job of conveying the personalities of each individual Transformer throughout the issue, something that isn’t always easy when your main protagonists and antagonists are giant-sized robots.

This is just another fantastic issue that continues to impress me and I really can’t wait to see what comes next.

Speaking of the cast, my only real nitpick is that Lost Light doesn’t have a list of characters at the beginning of the issue like sister title Optimus Prime does. With such a large cast it would be appreciated to have that small reminder every issue of the who’s who.

Excellent penultimate issue and really sad to see it end.

I’m sad to see this series go, but I can’t wait to see what comes next for not only the characters themselves, but for the creators as well.

In the end, this is one pretty fun comic that gives us exactly what it promises: a quick exploration of characters that may not be central to the main First Strike storyline but those are a lot of fun nonetheless. Added to the fun story is the excellent visuals from Tramontano. She can draw one mean transformer (and Arcee and Kup look awesome).

And that leads me to my only real negative for the issues and the series as a whole - too many characters. Barber tries to perfectly juggle a whole host of characters throughout and giving them each their moment, but oftentimes it ends up being simple one panel shout-outs that don’t really advance the story. Not everyone gets a Thundercracker moment.

All in all, it was a fine debut issue for this new volume of Turok. It’s a little light on story, but the intent and set-up for the rest of the series was there.

In the second story in this issue, we get a story that I was able to relate to a bit, since I completely agree with Scrooge: when buying art, do you truly want to spend an exorbitant amount of money on something you believe you can make yourself? And that’s exactly what Scrooge sets out to do: make his own masterpiece. As with the first story, plenty of hijinks follows with an ending that can be seen from a mile away, but nonetheless still makes for a fun story.

His counterpart on art, Broxton has been equally great. All of his characters are a little rough around the edges, but that works for the book. I really enjoy his take on Vampirella as well since he brings a certain coquettishness to our heroine. You know, just by looking at her that she not only has a plan in mind at all times, but knows that she will prevail in the end. It also helps that he is inker and colourist of his own work since it keeps the art consistent throughout, a major plus these days in the comic book world.

Vampirella continues to be a fun read from month to month. Cornell’s take has been quite refreshing and as a fan of his, I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

On art, Belanger does an amazing job at conveying who these characters are. Having to draw multiple versions of Vampirella could have been a chore for other artists, but Belanger works to make sure each and every one of the them resembles their former counterparts in the comics from the past. It’s also the little features that he doesn’t miss, like the popped collar on Classic Vampirella that distinguishes her from other takes that have a similar outfit.

I was a little wary when I saw that this issue had three artists attached to it, since that is usually a sign of lower quality art, but I was pleasantly surprised that each section was turned over to one artist so that it allowed for some continuity in design from page to page. Only when the story beats changed did the artist change which is greatly appreciated.

Reading ahead a little, it seems this is the penultimate issue to Whitley’s run, so I am really curious to see how he wraps everything up in the final issue. It is now two issues in a row that Whitley does a fantastic job of giving an ending to an issue to wet our appetite for the following issue, so we’ll have to see how he decides to wrap everything up in the end.

I'll be sad to see this iteration of the series end, but with Vampirella, it's never truly an ending.

Silva provides an excellent backdrop to this narrative and really showcases a knowledge of these characters. He manages to make them look good and the framing of every scene works. There were only a few panels that I could have done without.

On art, Silva and Ribeiro make sure to make the action fluid and the colors/inks pop off the page. I'll also mention that the design for the Therns and the First Born are interesting and not at all how I previously imagined them. Very good.