MATT LOWDER'S Flash Reviews: BUY, TRY , OR DENY?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Matt Lowder is a member of the Run The Comic 5K review page at the Captain Blue Hen Facebook site. He reads a copious amount of comics (like many of us) but is kind enough to say a few words about them  - - so that we can decide if we want to follow the same trail or not.

REVIEWS BY MATTHEW LOWDER - -  BUY, TRY, OR DENY?  

rated on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 stars being the absolute best

BUY - - - 

We Only Find Them When They're Dead (#1+#2, Boom! Oct 2020) 4.5 stars

Great sci-fi with VERY unique premise of harvesting body parts from massive dead titan-like space gods. Weird!

Lonely Receiver (#2, Aftershock, Oct 2020) 4 stars 

All about that anxiety and depression and love and relationships in an increasingly tech-driven world. Sci-fi drama.

The Walking Dead Deluxe (#1, Image, Oct 2020) 4.5 stars

Possibly sacrilegiously, this is better than the black and white. 





TRY - - -

Brandon Sanderson's Dark One (Vault, summer 2020, #1) 3 stars

 This is a sampler from Free Comic Book Day. The whole story will only be published in a graphic novel stand-alone all at once. Really surprised how much I didn't care for this first chapter. Seemed like an odd and unexciting focus to kick it off for Sanderson. 

Far Sector (#8, DC, Oct 2020) 4 stars

A great comic that's better than any Green lantern I've read. This is a try rather than a buy recommendation since I know not everyone cares for (or is exhausted by) social politics under the microscope. I still think this is smart enough and action-packed enough to ride both trains. 

Spy Island #2 - (Dark Horse, Oct 2020) 3 stars

Really unsure what we're doing here. There a really disjointed quality in the storytelling between the first and second issue. Some bold and brave choices are made,  including fake advertisements as part of the narrative. This is going to be great, or shit the bed.  

DENY - - -

Do I have to talk about these? Okay. They're both all over the place. Neither are focused. I don't know what I'm supposed to care about, and some of the characters agency and the themes are illusive or foggy at best. There's a lot to enjoy about each with the illustrations and color, but when you're talking about character or setting, they're pretty loose.

COFFIN BOUND #7 (Image, Oct 2020) 2.5 stars

We get a continuation of a book that feels like it was written by someone who doesn't write English as their primary language, and they're telling a metaphorical story about god and drugs fused with freakin' Clockwork Orange. Odd, fourth-wall breaking, and nowhere near as good as the first arc (#1-4) with a different character and plot.

Disaster INC #4 (Aftershock, Oct 2020) 2.5 stars

This was just not structured well, despite having really awesome first and second issues. The story I I got was not the one I wanted, and it was hard to follow for me. I may be the only one. If you read #1, however, you know you were entranced and sold. The set-up sounded so good. I don't know. Maybe I gotta read them all again all together. 

 I rated the current issues of Coffin Bound and Disaster Inc at 2.5 stars right now, and both have arcs ending in the next issue, I think. Both series I'd give a 3 or 3.5 stars overall, though. Here's hoping, y'all, to crescendos! 

Pardon any typos or weird grammar. Cheers, everyone! . . . . .  Matt