In 2021 I set a goal to post reviews here for 1,000 comics, and finished the year at 1,008 reviews. It was a stretch - - not to read that many comics, because I actually read quite a bit more. The challenge is to find and take the time to write a fair review of what I read - - but I made it. I’m up for a new year, and a new challenge. My goal for 2022 is to read and document 1,200 comics. That’s an average of 100 books per month, easy enough to check and update. Wish me luck!
# GOAL FOR FEBRUARY 19, 2022 . . . 167 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 169 comics documented
#141 LAND OF THE LIVING GODS #1 (AfterShock, February 9 release date)
I’m not going to spoil much here except to say this: if you haven’t been feeling the proper vibe with your monthly comics reading choices - - this may just be the shot of something different, something that feels fresh to get you trembling again (in the right way, the way that feels good).
The short pitch: learn about South African culture, beliefs, and traditions in a land reminiscent of the Mad Max films.
Written by Isaac Mogajane, a writer/producer/director from Johannesburg and incorporating Zulu, Sotho and Xhosa expressions into the story (with translations). The illustrations by Brazilian artist/colorist Santtos are imaginative and influenced by classic European stylists.
The world building in LAND OF THE LIVING GODS is inventive, and this is only the beginning - - a tale of survival, hope and faith in a desolate future.
FOUR STARS.
#142 - #145 MR. PUNCH, DELUXE HARDCOVER ANNIVERSARY EDITION I posted a detailed review of this on the blog for February 10. FOUR STARS.
He doesn’t identify himself, but the populace (especially law enforcement) refer to him as The Sentinel or The Guardian. Criminals call him the Reaper, as he prefer to crash into a bank robbery or crime scene with his black-mobile or drop out of a skylight with two guns blazing and kill the criminals with deadly accurate head-shots. He has a young side-kick who’s used more as a tool and is definitely not mentored in the way that Robin was. Just as soon as the city gets used to the presence of the mysterious vigilante, The Guardian disappears.
Twenty-five years later, a local billionaire with a somewhat familiar name (Bruce Wayne, meet Byron West) hires a low-rent private detective, Jake Stevens, to find out what happened to Sentinel/Guardian. Every eyewitness or contact that Stevens interviews winds up dead, and he becomes suspect number one.
Written by Dark Horse founder Mike Richardson, there is a cool noir vibe to the proceedings, helped by the art that reminds me a little bit of Mike Deodato Jr., although Jordi Armengol is not quite on the same level. He seems to favor just a few select poses for the vigilante, and all of his characters have swollen facial features that looks like they are all recovering from a beat-down.
Thanks to Joe Murray for accidentally introducing me to this title, which missed my attention otherwise. Issue #3 comes out this Wednesday. FOUR STARS.
Back in the black and white magazine glory days, HEAVY METAL and EPIC ILLUSTRATED ruled. Eclipse Comics entered the arena with ECLIPSE, notable for a wider variety of genres beyond science fiction and fantasy the other two seemed to specialize in.
Like the other two, ECLIPSE carried several continuing series: Steve Englehart’s edgy psychedelic Coyote is here, illustrated by Marshall Rogers; the first chapter of Demon Chronicles introducing a team of psychic investigators; Dope, an adaptation of Sax Rohmer’s novel about drug addiction in the early days of Hollywood written and illustrated by trina Robbins; Kontiki, a 1960’s underground comics-flavored humor piece by Hunt Emerson; and Ms. Tree, Max Allan Collin’s and Terry Beatty’s nourish detective.
The stand-alone story by Don McGregor and Billy Graham, A Fistful of Graveyard Dirt, is my favorite piece of the issue. A Victorian Murder by Rick Geary is neat nine-panels-per-page period drama.
FOUR STARS.
You can usually count on an issue to contain a Judge Dredd story, my favorite original U.K. character. Dredd’s the top motorcycle cop in Mega-City One, 2132 A.D. (East Coast, U.S.A.) Over-crowded with 400 million citizens, it’s an urban nightmare. In Part Five/Conclusion of The Skinning Room, Dredd finally tracks down The Grinder and his creepy black-market body organ operation. There’s a funny aside to the Dredd film when the investigation finds a movie poster for The Burning Man starring Urb Karlan.
In Come Die With Me, Part Two of Two, Dredd breaks up the illegal webs Gastrodome Xtreme (you can just imagine).
The other series in these issues that intrigued me were Defoe/A Murder of Angels featuring an elite squad of zombie hunters in 1669 London; Sinister Dexter/Are You Being Severed? featuring two hitmen in a futuristic Euro-city; Slaine, the barbarian fighting demons from Celtic legends; and Dandrige/Return of The Chap, a Victorian ghost finder at the turn of the century. FOUR STARS.
Bar Sinister is a team book spun out of Grell’s other creation, SHAMAN’S TEARS. Grell is just the writer here, turning over the art chores to similar stylist Rick Hoberg. Bar Sinister, billed as”The World’s Ugliest Super-Heroes” are a group of genetically engineered human/animal half breeds (sort of a spin on The Island Of Doctor Moreau) that are constantly pursued by law enforcement (a total misunderstanding) and seeks sanctuary in the burned out ruins of a cathedral. The characters are more human than animal, and act accordingly.
There are eight members of the team, the most interesting being: Sigil, an albino female/vampire bat with echolocation and aerial maneuverability; Signet, a female/ermine “progenitor capable of dispassionate killing”; and Animus Prime, a male/African lion with “supra-genius IQ combined with extreme violent tendencies.Special handling required.” THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
I would easily dismiss this if not for all the extras that writer Donny Cates includes. At it's heart this is a family saga with a good back-story and lots of conflict/drama. The cattle beef/partnership with a BBQ restaurant (run by "familiars") is clever. Grandpa represents the older, more bloodthirsty side of the family and this creates clashes with family leaders JV and Bartlett.
The art is interesting, which may remind some of the styles employed on CHEW and THE WALKING DEAD, with one big exception. While the action scenes and big panels are expressive, artist Lisandro Estherren doesn't do enough to distinguish between JV and Bartlett and other characters. They all have big droopy mustaches and you need to have them addressed by name in the dialogue to tell which person is in the panel. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
The second story arc was even better than the first. If you're a fan of the TRUE BLOOD series or SOUTHERN BASTARDS comics by Jason Aaron you'll like this as well.
It's the vivid characterization by Donny Cates that makes this all work. These are fascinating people and the back-stories just get better and better. Just don't get attached to any particular characters, as Cates throws a number of twists and surprises into the mix.
I'm getting more accustomed to the art, which I felt was distracting in Volume One. There are plenty of bloody, violent scenes here. REDNECK is like a classic Appalachian battle between the Hatfields and the McCoys except it takes place in Texas and the Bowmans and Landrys are vampires (well, most of them). I've become a fan of this series.
FOUR STARS.
The young survivor of the subway massacre in Volume One, who may have uncovered the one vulnerability in Harry, manages to miss the bus in time to get her to the school and help out the detectives.
Harry manages to get away, despite the additional of more New York City police and a S.W.A.T. team into the bloody school hallways, but is pursued by the detectives. Looks like he’s ready to make the move up to the major leagues. Oh oh.
Eight issues in so far in the saga of Harry and we still don’t know his background/origins. Does it matter? Nah, not as long as the script is this crisp and the amazing Andrea Mutti is on board to illustrate and color the proceedings. FOUR STARS.
In the past, The Guardian is recognized for foiling an assassination attempt. In the present, detective Jake Stevens is called into the police department for questioning related to the deaths of two persons he interviewed while researching the history/disappearance of The Guardian for an ultra-wealthy client.
Steven’s next lead takes him to the Merriman Sanitarium to interview Geoffry Walton, the Joker-like criminal who was the Guardian’s frequent foe. Oh oh, looks like Stevens is headed back to the police department for more questioning.
It’s hard not to consider Stevens as the main character in this intriguing mystery as he gets more panel time than the vigilante hero. I’m expecting some kind of twist in the final issue.
THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
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