The 1,000 Comic Challenge, Part 4

HELLBOY AND THE B.P.R.D.: THE BEAST OF VARGU one-shot  (Dark Horse, June 2019) Hellboy travels to Romania in 1962 to locate Castle Vargu and rid the world of a demonic beast, not before requiring the help of a duo of gypsy witches. Fantastic art by Ducan Fegredo, and amazing color work by Dave Stewart enhance Mike Mignola’s story. 4 STARS.

THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR #1-5 (Marvel, 2019) Matt Murdock nearly dies, has plenty of time to reflect while recuperating in the hospital. He's seriously thinking about hanging up his DD clothes and just being Matt Murdock. Friends, ex-lovers, and associates all try to talk him out of it, and in an unusual twist the least likely person convinces him to stay in the game. Masterful. 5 STARS.

JIMMY'S BASTARDS, VOLUME 1 (Aftershock, January 2018) Garth Ennis does for super-spies and James Bond the same service he did for super-heroes in The Boys. Make us laugh! Just as violent and ribald as you would expect. A secret weapon gives the whole population (except for agent Jimmy Regent and Nancy) a sex change free of charge. Fabulous art by Russ Braun. 5 Stars again! (Why spend your time reading dreck?)

JIMMY'S BASTARDS VOLUME 2: WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? (Aftershock, July 2018) The conclusion of the story. Ultra-violence. Dark humor. I loved every panel of it. Garth Ennis and Russ Braun rule! 5 STARS.

PLUTO, VOLUME 1: I've finally found some manga that appeals to me! Thanks to Captain Blue Hen's Book Club for brining this to my attention. The most popular robots in a future society are marked for destruction, and being murdered one by one. The detective assigned to investigate is a robot as well, although of the humanoid variety. A compelling murder/mystery that also touches on so much more. What defines humanity? 5 STARS.

Three TRUE BELIEVER reprints . . . . . .

TRUE BELIEVERS: STAR WARS HUTT RUN A great one-shot story. Han Solo and Chewbacca transport a Hutt prisoner to a Rebel Alliance prison and get intercepted by the Empire. 4 Stars.

TRUE BELIEVERS: STAR WARS REBEL JAIL Doctor Aphra, in cahoots with Darth Vader, gets captured by the Rebel Alliance and put in a planet prison. 3 Stars.

TRUE BELIEVERS: STAR WARS SHATTERED EMPIRE I had better expectations of a Greg Rucka story. All the familiar characters are here, but this reprint of the first issue seems rushed and kind of lackluster. The only empathy I can muster is for the displaced Alliance fighters couple who were trying to settle down before this went down. 2 Stars.