In 2021 I’d like to cross over the 1,000 comics review barrier, meaning reviews that I (Mike Clarke a.k.a. pghhead) contribute to the blog. That’s what this odyssey is about, beginning January 01, 2021. Wish me luck. . . .
# GOAL FOR AUGUST 31 . . . 667 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 556 comics documented
Best-selling author Olivia Kade has written Satyr, a non-fiction unmasking of human nature that is being “blamed for acts of senseless violence and bloodshed all over the world”. When her book-signing tour puts her in deadly danger, she hires a security guard who must pledge that he will not read her book.
“Predator or Prey? Polite society tells us there is a difference. But - - deep down - - we know better. We’re both. We’re neither. We’re Prey . . right up until the moment we hunt.”
Is Kade the prophet of the coming collapse, or is there something even more sinister going on? An absolutely brilliant debut issue. If this plays out correctly, it could be among the top horror comics of the year. FIVE STARS.
Not quite. Things are not that simple here. Without any preface or back-story, writer Cullen Bunn drops readers directly into the heart of the story which must be a continuation of what has come before. That leaves me feeling at a disadvantage, although I can still appreciate what is being offered here.
Main character Emma (still a young girl) has walked out of Harrow County in an effort to keep the powerful Hester Beck from coming back.
It’s now years later, and Emma’s friend Bernice fears that she may be trapped in a goblin realm and starts a search with new friend Georgia. Before too long, they meet a toothy winged creature with a tri-corner hat who leads them into a subterranean world of fairies and goblins.
Emmy Schnall’s appealing art seems to be illustrating a whimsical children’s book until we get deeper into the story where it gets darker. A nice beginning, but I’ll have to decide if I want to pick up those prior volumes before I go further with this. What you get so far is a little bit of warm and sincere friendship/love, an adventurous quest, and of course - - horror. FOUR STARS.
I forget how many times I’ve read this debut issue. Every time I notice something fresh or gain renewed appreciation for scenes that I recalled from previous readings. That’s the mark of a well-constructed book, and a premium read deserving of high praise.
There are a multitude of ways that James Tynion IV could have introduced the premise of the story. The way he decided on is masterful, as it creates curiosity and pulls readers into the story from the get-go. The opening page features Ryan, one of the main characters (and narrator), in a battered state and is a perfect foreshadowing that indicates dire straits ahead, despite the flashback/preface to simpler times. Ironic indeed, as her involvement in the whole affair began as a flirtatious question from Walter: “How do you think the world will end?”
Much later, Ryan gets an invitation to join Walter and others at an upstate Wisconsin lake house for a getaway weekend. Ten of the invited show up, each with a connection to Walter, who has given each guest a nickname that corresponds to their professions. Soon after arrival, dinner, and relaxation the news of firestorms devastating the world reaches them.
In a stunning cliffhanger of an ending and a big reveal by Walter the world ends, except for the ten at the lake who must be wondering what makes them special?
Alvaro Martinez Bueno’s stylish art has the look of 1960’s architectural design magazines and is the perfect compliment to Tynion’s story. What a set-up, with intriguing characters. This is brilliant. FIVE STARS.
#544 NICE HOUSE ON THE LAKE #2 (DC/Black Label, July 2021) The covers to this series have been great, and very symbolic. It seems that every issue will open with a different narrator, who tells in flashback what happened at the lake house. This time it’s Rick (The Pianist) who has been friends with Walter since college.
There’s a deadly mishap and a disappearance at the end of Issue #1. To relate what happens immediately after as the house guests scramble to sort out what happened and give first aid to the injured Nora (The Writer) would have required several pages to detail and illustrate. Instead, Tynion shares a page of text, a house log/transcript of the conversations. It’s a neat touch, and an economy of scale that’s all the more dreadful in that it reveals that everything is being recorded/documented.
Some guests accept the situation for what it is. Others reject it and fret. The threads of unity are starting to unravel. Walter has an itinerary for the group but rarely shows himself, except for one-on-one conversations or to simply observe the interactions from a distance. The mystery and creepiness of this title are maintained. Issue #2 just builds on the premise. Science-fiction? Perhaps. Horror? It’s already dreadful. Another FIVE STARS.
#545 BASILISK #1 (Boom!, June 2021) “Down From The Mountains”
Another creepy, mysterious horror tale from the pen of the prolific Cullen Bunn. I adore the gorgeous art on this book, from the evocative images and shading of Jonas Scharf to the bold use of colors by Alex Guimaraes.
The basilisk is a creature of European mythology, a lizard so venomous it can kill with a single glance. In Bunn’s hands the basilisks are humanoids who walk into the domain of mankind and create death and/or blindness with their gaze. One member of the pack, Regan, grows disillusioned by their travels and breaks away to go it alone. This leads to her capture by Hannah, a tough gun-toting woman haunted by the memories of what Regan’s group did to her town.
Will Regan help Hannah in her quest for vengeance, or will the sentry crows or basilisk-worshipping biker gang put an end to it before the basilisk family reunites?
FOUR STARS.
I’m wondering if the referral to the mythological hybrid creature in this issue’s story title is more foreshadowing. In a conversation with Hannah, Rachel reveals “there are four other senses. Bringing the others out of hiding . . . it’s dangerous. If you bring them out, innocent people will die.” Indeed.
The opening flashback with scenes of the massacre at Kingsbury that caused Rachel to walk away is horrific.
The Chimera reference comes up again in a diner scene, where a couple recognizes two basilisks for what they are and pay a fatal price. There’s a new player among the group, with the power to control the actions of diner employees and customers in nasty ways. FOUR STARS.
One issue away from the big wrap-up/finale in two months. Al Ewing and Joe Bennett make a change in the story-telling this issue and it ends up working, very refreshing.
Ewing has the entire story narrated by news reporter Jackie, who has been hanging around with this crowd since the early issues. Her thoughts are captured in white text on a vertical black border that takes up the left side of each page. That leaves the 75% remaining for a single image from the pen of Bennett and boy, does he ever show what he can do!
Hulk, Jackie, and She-Hulk head to FF HQ on a promise from Ben Grimm. The Avengers head them off in one of the shortest battles ever between these two - - but those big panel images convey a lot. After the cease-fire/truce the FF use the Forever Gate to transport Hulk (and last minute companion Jackie) to the Leader’s backyard (maybe).
I’m so sorry to see this title end. It’s the only Marvel series that I was following each month, right from the start. Ah well, that frees up $3.99 to spend on the indie books! FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
When Ablaze first started reprinting these European Conan comics I picked up the first two issues but wasn’t impressed enough or excited by the storytelling to keep going. I’m enjoying this limited series quite a bit more. The art and colors by Virginie Augustin (who also scripted the adaptation) is interesting and engaging.
Conan helps a runaway slave girl to escape via boat to a small island. They believe they are alone, but discover the ruins of a weird temple with giant iron statues in alcoves. During the evening strange realistic dreams interrupt their sleep and they exit the temple only to find that a ship full of pirates has landed on the island.
Ablaze is still using the cover banner proclaiming “Robert E. Howard’s Savage Hero UNCENSORED!” The first time I saw this it created the expectation that these would be bloodier and sexier versions of Conan. That is incorrect. As the text pieces reprinting the Howard story “Shadows In The Moonlight” (Weird Tales, April 1934) reveal, they used every single bit of that short story with no changes, a la “uncensored”. Now you know. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
This is an entertaining set-up issue with a great opening narration/summary of his life and situation by Red Hood/Robin #2/Jason Todd that really establishes the noir feel. This is followed by some snappy dialogue between Todd and Waller that lets us know that while this series may be gritty and nasty it’s also going to be amusing.
There’s some familiar as well as new faces among the rest of the Squad that Red Hood will lead: Firefly (arsonist), Silver Banshee (energy absorption), Pebbles (ha, a big hulking strongman), Meow Meow (kills cells on contact), Plastique (explosive terrorist), Wild Dog (vigilante with guns and attitude, haven’t seen him since the 1980’s), Yonder Man (teleporter), and Harley Quinn (crazy/nuts).
With Toyman as their on-site contact, you know somebody’s going to be deceased by the last page. (But the method is quite surprising.) The mission: kill Joker, who’s currently being financed by Russians to cause havoc (transit delays, new urban legends, GPS driving takeovers).
The first confrontation doesn’t go well, not to mention the difficulty in coordinating/leading this group. I enjoyed this so much I read it all over again. Jump on now. FOUR STARS.
The rotating art between Jesus Merino and Joshua Hixson helps a bit with the memory sequences, but is also a bit jarring as they are two distinctly different styles (also colored differently).
The Riddler has been murdered, and with the Bat family’s assistance the GCPD gather up a group of Rogues Gallery super-villains and confine them to a large single cell. The only one willing to talk to Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock is The Joker, who spins some wild tales (truth) about a mysterious box and the Riddler’s quest to obtain it.
I expect there to be quite a bit of misdirection here, which Rosenberg will surely have fun with while entertaining us with some quippy dialogue exchanges during the proceedings. I obtained an opportunity to read this accidentally, so I’m not planning to pick up the remainder of this mini-series. Not because I didn’t like it - - I’m just saturated with unread comics at present and trying to manage the backlog.
Since this series is definitely worth bringing to your attention and sharing - - I’m sharing. FOUR STARS.
I really wanted to like this series more than I actually do. I’m a fan of Darick Robertson’s distinctive art style, which is on fine display here.
I’m not as enthusiastic about his story-telling abilities. He does have the elements down pat. There’s nothing confusing or told out of place in the story. It’s just that it may be too old school for my liking. There’s plenty going on, but nothing that really grabs and holds my attention, with the exception of a passage where Batman contemplates whether or not to give a weakened Joke the toxin antidote.
I was a fan of the original LEGENDS OF THE DARK NIGHT series back in the day - - short story arcs with a new creative team every time one ended and a new one started up. I used to look forward to many of those, based on seeing how specific creators would tell a good Batman story. I believe that is the same formula for this new series, with a different writer/artist taking over when Robertson completes his story. I’ll probably finish this one off and then stick around to see who’s next. THREE STARS.
In the capable hands of scripter Al Ewing this is more than just another super-hero team comic book. It’s a cosmic book! Kenneth Rocafort is the perfect artist to visualize Ewing’s unreal concepts and galaxy-spanning scenarios.
In this opening two-part story The Ultimates go big and start out with a confrontation with the world-devouring Galactus. “The ultimate team has come together to solve the ultimate problems”: Blue Marvel, Black Panther, Spectrum, Captain Marvel, and Ms. America.
Rather than a full-on assault in the opening round, The Ultimates try a diplomatic approach and have Black Panther try to reason with him. I won’t spoil what happens but the solution to the Galactus problem involves a transformation.
This was good, heady stuff. FOUR STARS.
The crime mini-series put out by Titan under the Hard Case banner have been hit or miss. While there are some really good ones (Triggerman, for example) I’m kind of on the fence about this one. While the story is edgy it seems a bit too formulaic for me. (Maybe my fault for reading so much crime fiction).
Times Square, New York. Xmas Eve 1986 - the seedier section of town where Roxy works as a peep show stripper. Dirty Dick (suggestive nickname) is a regular customer. He’s also an amateur video-taper of on the street soft porn, where he asks women passing by to show their breasts for the camera. When he accidentally captures a murder on film he’s a wanted man on the run. He drops off the video with Roxy for safe-keeping.
You can imagine where this is going from there. We'll see. THREE STARS.
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