Review: The Motorcycle Samurai – Vol. 1: A Fiery Demise

When planning my “wants list” for the releases during Free Comic Book Day, I had checked off a little known web comic from Thrillbent that was being released in print by Top Shelf Productions for the first time.  Described as “Mad Max meets Kill Bill”, The Motorcycle Samurai sounded like just the type of graphic story that would satisfy my twisted tastes.  I was looking diligently for that special issue. But alas, whether it was due to my remote living location or my lateness in getting to the Free Comic Book Day festivities, I was unable to secure said copy.  I was a little bit bummed out at the time.  But time pushed forward.  Needless to say, when I saw that Top Shelf was planning to release the title in a full volume format in July 2015. Well, let’s just say that my interest and my hope returned back to the level that it had been a couple of months ago.

Covering a prologue, five chapters, and having a whopping 176 pages, The Motorcycle Samurai Volume 1: A Fiery Demise was well worth the wait.  In fact, I loved it.  But I have to say that I absolutely reject the whole “Mad Max meets Kill Bill” description as it really does not cover anywhere near the complexity of or style that writer/artist Chris Sheridan brings to the title.  But it has to be read to see that complexity.

Upon initial view, you see Sheridan’s rather clunky artistic renderings and wonder what in world this whole thing is about.  It looks kind freaky on the cover.  But as you read through the pages, you get a sprawling scrawled epic that reminds me something of a Sergio Leone spaghetti western if he had decided to do one of his westerns under a post-apocalyptic setting.  But of course, this “man with no name” from the Leone classics is not a man at all. She’s a woman.  And that woman does indeed have a name…The White Bolt.

Motorcycle Samurai CoverAs a huge fan of the Leone westerns as well as the more contemporary Sam Raimi hyper western The Quick and the Dead, I see the elements of both within the pages of The Motorcycle Samurai.  Sheridan spends a great deal of time with facial close ups used to convey tension, action, and story, along with distance shots and even the use of music to bring a feel to the comic that you can taste, smell, and enjoy.  We have a strongly diverse set of characters, sprawled out within a desolate desert territory known as The Badlands, flush with persons trying to find identity amongst themselves from a nation defeated along with everything else presumably in a war to end all wars.  All that remains are gangs, brutal overseers, soldiers of fortune, and the masses of victims and would be victims caught in the middle of a chess game played in the dirt with no real power achieved by anyone that are only as strong as their current alliances.  Well that, and maybe possession of a “Boom Stick”

The Motorcycle Samurai follows the White Bolt in her drive to the a town called Trouble, in tow with a bounty of a man named “Happy” who just happens to have his face under a burlap sack with a smiley face drawn on it.  Happy has a history in Trouble and there are many people with a desire to receive him so as to deal the justice deserved.  The only thing is, that justice has different meanings for different people. QUE THE ENNIO MORRICONE MUSIC…(From the Good the Bad and the Ugly)

For the widow Boss Parker, Happy is her brother and the man who killed her husband, the former Sheriff of Trouble.  For Pierre Parker, known as the Iron King and second only to Boss Parker, Happy (also his brother) is a chance at respect.  For the current Sheriff of Trouble, a big haired man known as the “All Star” Roy Keane, his view of Happy is to make a play in establishing true law and order in a town that may have never had it to begin with.  And as for the White Bolt…Her justice involves something a little bit further down the road.

This volume is riveting from beginning to end, chock full with high impact explosive action, ever changing agendas/loyalties, and deep introspective contemplation of what this world is all about now that it is in its current run down and beaten state.  Sheridan writes the tale with slow dialogues allowing the lines to ooze with the seriousness (or whimsy) that they are meant to represent.  There is deep wisdom in Sheridan’s words.  Not to mention that this story has some of the more positive and unbiased depictions of women within the comics universe that I have seen.  Equality is routine and well-orchestrated with each line written.

Art wise, I don’t know if it is my love for Jeff Lemire’s work or not, but I like the slightly clunky, clanky, and crude renderings given by Sheridan.  Each character has a uniqueness to them whether it be the White Bolt’s feathers on her skull mask, Beane’s Evel Knievel jumpsuit, The Iron King’s mask or Boss Parker’s ferocious facial features.  Each rendering with corresponding close up and dialogue elicits a response that I found comforting and easy to follow.  The art grows on you as you read to where it fits in well with all of the action involved with the story.

I can’t say that everyone will like this title as not everyone digs on Sergio Leone movies (poor souls). But in regard to this Comic Bastard, I place this Volume of The Motorcycle Samurai as one of the better trades that I have read this year.  It is top notch work that deserves praise and hopefully will bring an interesting comic talent to the forefront in Chris Sheridan.  We don’t even know why The Motorcycle Samurai is even called that at this point.  But I do believe that as the White Bolt’s tale (and legend) plays out, there will be more answers to that mystery.

Score: 5/5

The Motorcycle Samurai – Vol. 1: A Fiery Demise Writer/Artist/Creator: Chris Sheridan Publisher: Top Shelf Productions/IDW Price: $19.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Trade Paperback; Print/Digital

Review: Wolf #1

This comic is interesting. It had me at first, then it lost me… then it brought me back around only to then very quickly loose me again, but just as quickly as it lost me… brought me back one more time. Then on the very last page… lost me again. I don’t mean “lost” as in I didn’t get what I was reading, but “lost” as in lost me as a reader. As it is, I don’t know if I would honestly come back for the second issue of Wolf. The story and dialogue are unfortunately pretty standard of any Ales Kot comic. I suppose for some that’s a good thing, but for me I’ve really grown tired of his ideology of writing in which I feel like I’m wasting my time reading bullshit dialogue that serves no point. For instance, there’s a scene with a Cthulhu looking dude that became painful to read. Painful. And it just keeps going for more pages than necessary. The only pertinent information is that this character is having a problem with their landlord. Sadly, it’s not until the next scene in which useful information is given and it feels out of place and just exposition for the reader making the previous scene all the more pointless to have read.

I supposed I should take a step back and tell you about the story, if that’s annoying, well it’s intentional. I want you to hold on to that annoyed feeling during this review so I can make a point later on.

Steve said it best on the CBMFP this week when he said that Wolf is if David Blaine was really doing what he says he’s doing. I’m actually going to add to that by saying it’s a cross between street magic and Criminal Macabre. In fact, I think it started off as the later and grew into the former because… Ales Kot.

Our main character Antoine Wolfe or as he’s known to others… Wolf… let’s all just have a deep sigh before I move on since it’s perhaps the most annoying thing in a comic book to have a character known as the same name, but different spelling… it’s completely pointless since everyone will be saying it the same way while reading it. That and if I’m not mistaken Mr. Wolfe here is supposed to be American given his dog tags and something revealed towards the end of the book making it all the more confusing based on his English (think the country, not the language) spelling of the name… just saying, if you’re going to be very specific about the region and background of a character, maybe don’t fuck up and be cute with the last name.

Wolf-#1So Wolf as I’m going to call him kicks off the issue on fire, in a straight-jacket, singing and walking calmly. We see him later and he’s no longer on fire and being questioned by the police because he put himself out in someone’s pool. This is all just to introduce him as someone known by the police and that there’s a myth that he’s immortal. At this point in the story I wasn’t onboard, but I did like the opening.

After this Wolf rides the bus home and runs into a hypnotist who robs a lady, but Wolf steps in and well we have to assume something happened because we just zoom in on their mouths and get the vague impression that Wolf hypnotized the man and yeah… then we just leave the scene. Then there’s some business with a mafia dude that’s racist. We only know that because Wolf says it over and over and while I don’t really need a demonstration of his racism, I also don’t need to be told over and over. I will admit that other than that fact, I liked what I read. The comic also comes to a very natural stopping point at the conclusion of this scene… and then continues going.

During a few scenes we also meet a girl that’s had her family killed, stands in a visual vagina and talks to someone unseen by the human eye and throws herself out of a moving car on an LA highway and not only lives, but manages to evade the police… I’m going to venture a guess that Ales Kot hasn’t been on too many LA highways because the probability of either of those things happening are very slim. Also I want to say that Child Services would have been on scene with the child before leaving the crime scene, but I could be wrong.

The rest of the issue is with our Cthulhu friend and his landlord which starts to get really interesting and then we hit two black pages, one of which reads, “Don’t Worry. We’ll come back to that” and the other reading “Chapter Two. Later that night.”

Remember when I jumped around at the beginning and told you it was intentional? Well me doing that made more sense than basically dick teasing the story and then leaving it to move forward with the actual narrative. Why the fuck would we need to go back? You’ve already shown us what’s next which completely invalidates any outcome that scene would have provided. Frankly it’s not the only time the story jumps around like an asshole, but it does have the biggest “fuck you” with its two black pages stonewalling the story. And “Chapter Two”? What? There’s only four pages after that… how is that chapter two? I mean this is basically a double-sized issue and around half way through there’s a natural stopping point. If it wasn’t meant to be a “first chapter” then Kot’s writing is lacking a lot of structure.

I do have what’s kind of a petty gripe with this story. Kot is from the U.K. which I know and granted maybe everyone reading Wolf or his work won’t know that. The story takes place in LA or kind of Hollywood in a way and frankly as someone that lives in LA I can tell you that Kot does not know LA. They say “write what you know” and really what that saying is implying is “don’t bullshit what you don’t know.” I could get more nitpicky, but basically Kot picks well known things about LA and mashes them pointlessly into the story. Now granted most people probably won’t know that or care, but that’s where the Criminal Macabre comparison comes in because the writer/creator of that series, Steve Niles, knew LA very well and used that in his story which is also about a paranormal detective. Not to compare the two, but one story benefits from this on-site knowledge, whereas the other comes across as a Google search. Okay, it’s Wolf that comes across as a Google search.

The art is the one decent thing about this comic. I liked it for the most part except for the landmarks that felt too referenced and out of place with the rest of the story. Sometimes it felt like an illustration sitting on top of a photo. Think Muppet Babies if you need a visual reference point. Otherwise the art does it’s best to present the story in a cohesive way, but frankly there’s too much going on and too many problems with the pacing.

As I said in the beginning, I jumped on and off this book a lot. Someone out there may find everything I’ve said about it interesting and actually enjoy it. Maybe I was just too nitpicky, but considering there were parts that I honestly liked, I don’t think I am. Maybe on the LA thing, but even then I don’t think so considering how much the story tries to include it (also in California you can’t raise the rent more than 10% in a 12-month time period not 25%, I knew that already, but a quick google search double verified it… Kot could have done the same).

At the end of the day I think this comic frustrated and annoyed me more than it entertained. I don’t know about you, but I don’t tend to stick around on stories that don’t first entertain me. If you are a Kot fan then you’ll probably like this story, it’s very much in tune with everything else he writes and frankly that’s becoming annoying in and of itself. If you’re not a Kot fan or you’ve gone sour on him like I have, then this won’t bring you back around. But hey, it’s creator-owned so if you want to chance it at least you’ll be supporting the creators and not a corporation.

Score: 2/5

Wolf #1 Writer: Ales Kot Artist: Matt Taylor Colorist: Lee Loughridge Publisher: Image Comics Price: $4.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Print/Digital

Take A Looks At Steve Niles and Nat Jones' Broken Moon

Broken Moon is releasing soon, but I don't have an exact date yet. I'm really digging the new line of books from American Gothic Press; first sci-fi and now horror. Can't really go wrong with that combination. Now Steve Niles has been hit or miss lately, but after the last few titles he's written it seems like he's regained his focus and is not turning out some great stories yet again. Broken Moon has an interesting concept and while it's Niles taking on horror which isn't that new, when he's on it's pretty damn great. From what little I read of this preview, well I'm going to say that Broken Moon has a good chance of ending up pretty damn great.

Check out American Gothic Press' site for more info.

Vreckless Vrestlers Creator Heads To Patreon

If you didn't check out the all silent series from creator Łukasz Kowalczuk, by the name of Vreckless Vrestlers, then you really missed out. Unless you're not into wrestling or action figure style cartoon characters brawling for sport! If you aren't, then I don't wanna know you. Just kidding we can hang. Anyway, Łukasz (same as Lucas) has taken the bold as step of quitting his day job and gone to Patreon to attempt to fund what he loves doing... making stupid comics for smart people. His words not mine. So hey, if you were a fan of Vreckless Vrestlers then maybe you want to support him. You can do that by clicking the link below.

Patreon Link!!

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Brand New SFV Character and Gameplay Details Revealed at EVO 2015

Announced at EVO 2015 in Las Vegas, Capcom confirmed the first brand new fighter to join the Street Fighter V roster - the mysterious Necalli! Capcom also confirmed the details of the content plan for Street Fighter V. The initial game purchase will be the only disc or full game download you will ever need to own. For the first time ever, all post-launch gameplay related content will be earnable via gameplay, totally free of charge. Players will also have the option to purchase the content as soon as it’s available if they wish to do so. Any balance and system adjustments will be available for free also. Releasing in Spring 2016, the title will launch with a core roster of 16 characters, including 4 brand new fighters to the Street Fighter universe. Capcom will continually add additional characters, making this the first iteration in the franchise where it’s possible for dedicated players to continue to expand on their gameplay experience without the need to purchase further titles in the series.

About Necalli

Possessing a wide variety of savage and close range attacks, all of Necalli’s moves have been forged through the heat of battle to ensure he’s inflicting maximum pain upon his opponents.  Making full use of the Battle System mechanics, Necalli’s V-Skill allows him to pound the ground with both fists, creating an explosion that damages the enemy whereas the powerful V-Trigger allows him to channel a mysterious energy that changes his hair colour and alters his personality for a short period of time. Capcom will be revealing more information on Necalli’s origin and storyline in the coming months so stay tuned for more details.

About Street Fighter V

The legendary fighting franchise returns with Street Fighter V! Stunning visuals depict the next generation of World Warriors in unprecedented detail, while exciting and accessible battle mechanics deliver endless fighting fun that both beginners and veterans can enjoy. Challenge friends online, or compete for fame and glory on the Capcom Pro Tour.

CBMFP 194: Die Harderist

How'd you like that double episode last week? Hated it? Yeah okay we decided only to do one episode this week. We've got some Comic Con hangovers to talk about in the form of Max Landis on Superman and some leaked footage talk. For new news, well there's nothing for comics since we just had a big fucking con, but there is X-Men: Apocalypse to talk about... wow indeed! Books covered on this episode:

  • Power Up #1
  • Archie Vs. Predator #4
  • Arcadia #3
  • Wolf #1

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Last time on the CBMFP...

Monster & Wine: Episode 46 - My Podcast Life

Summer is in full swing and Wine gets this party started with a tale of suspense involving a backpack, a flashing red light and an indistinguishable liquid. Monster mentions his new-found interest in TLC's, "My Giant Life" and the duo discuss a few of the big movie trailers that premiered at this years San Diego Comic-Con. It's been a while since we did "questions" so this time we have a hearty blend of...

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Korrigans: Kingdom Wars, An Epic Fantasy Strategy Game, Is Now Available

Fabulapps, maker of the hugely successful MMORPG Heroic Legends, today announced the launch of its latest fantasy strategy mobile game, Korrigans: Kingdom Wars, on the Apple App Store. In the free-to-play mobile game, players join the ancient people of Brittany, the Korrigans, in the battle to save the kingdom from the evil forces of Onalgar. The game enables players to build their empire, form an alliance and fight in tactical, action-packed real-time battles against terrifying creatures.In Korrigans, up to three players can battle in 3D-rendered arenas together against a creature/boss, in real time and with a turn-based system. In addition, they can train troops to grow an army; enhance heroes' abilities; and conspire against their rivals to forge a clan with friends and defeat fierce creatures in varied arenas. Players can also descend upon adversaries with alliances in raids across the virtual world; all while chatting live with thousands of other players around the real world.

Based in France, Fabulapps was founded by the two-man team of Thomas Pagot and Gildas Quiniou, who also create and develop each title on their own.  Their goal with Korrigans was to make a free strategy game that would not only be engaging, but also not pay-to-win like too many games in this genre. This allows players to upgrade buildings and conquer new territories to increase their empire and resources, without having to pay additional funds to get ahead.

“With Korrigans, we decided we didn’t want to sell resources directly; players would have to earn them the hard way so that the game felt as though it had a more even playing field. This was very important to us,” said Pagot. “This game has been a two-year labor of love, and we are proud to say that we definitely thought more about making an awesome fun-to-play game and less about the monetization…though don’t tell our wives.”

Korrigans: Kingdom Wars is available now for free on the Apple App Store at http://bit.ly/1dKhQlh.

Like Korrigans on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/korrigansonline Follow Korrigans on Twitter at: Twitter: https://twitter.com/korrigansgame

Viz Media Announces Home Media Release of Sailor Moon R - Set 1

VIZ Media delivers exciting new action to home media audiences with the release of SAILOR MOON R Set 1 as a special Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack as well as a multi-disc Standard Edition DVD Set. The sets are available now at favorite retailers. The greatest magical girl anime series of all time continues in the second season of the original SAILOR MOON. Fans can expand their home media collections with 22 uncut episodes, presented on Blu-ray and loaded with many never-before-seen extras. Uncut English dubbed as well as Japanese subtitled dialogue options are available on both formats. SAILOR MOON R is rated "TV-PG.”

In SAILOR MOON R, Usagi and her friends return to their normal lives after their epic battle, but the Sailor Guardians are called back into action when powerful new enemies appear. By the power of the Legendary Silver Crystal, Sailor Moon gains strength with a dazzling new attack and transformation. The coming battle won't be easy, but things get even more complicated when a mysterious pink-haired girl falls form the sky and goes after Mamoru!

The new SAILOR MOON R Set 1 Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack contains a deluxe, 6-disc collection (3 DVDs & 3 Blu-rays), packaged in a beautiful reflective chipboard box with extra space to house the concluding edition of the second season of the series. The Combo Pack features Episodes 47-68, presented in crisp 1080p video preserving the original 4:3 aspect ratio. The combo pack also includes exclusive bonus content such as special cast interviews, behind-the-scenes footage from the English dub recording sessions as well as clean opening and ending segments, digital art galleries, and official series trailers. The Limited Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack also comes with a 96-page full-color episode guide. MSRP will be $79.98 U.S. / $93.99 CAN. A Standard Edition Combo Pack is also available for $69.99 U.S. / $81.99 CAN featuring the same on-disc content.

The SAILOR MOON R Set 1 DVD Set contains 3 discs (featuring Episodes 47-68) with beautifully illustrated variant O-card packaging and embossed holofoil printing. Episodes are presented in 480p standard video format. Uncut English dubbed as well as Japanese subtitled dialogue options are available. MSRP will be $44.82 U.S. / $51.99 CAN.

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The legendary SAILOR MOON anime series depicts the adventures of Usagi Tsukino, a cheerful 14-year-old schoolgirl who often finds herself in unwanted trouble. One day, she saves a talking cat named Luna from some mean kids, and her life is changed forever. Luna gives Usagi a magic brooch that transforms her into Sailor Moon, guardian of love and justice! Now Usagi must work with Luna to find the other Sailor Guardians and the Moon Princess, whose Legendary Silver Crystal is Earth’s only hope against the dark forces of the evil Queen Beryl!

The SAILOR MOON anime series is inspired by the bestselling manga (graphic novel) series created by Naoko Takeuchi (published in North America by Kodansha). In the series, Usagi Tsukino is a clumsy but kindhearted teenage girl who transforms into the powerful guardian of love and justice, Sailor Moon. Meeting allies along the way who share similar fates, Usagi and her team of planetary Sailor Guardians fight to protect the universe from forces of evil and total annihilation!

SAILOR MOON Season 1, Sets 1 and 2 are also available for home media viewers as  Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs and also as Standard DVD Editions.

For more information on SAILOR MOON, or other award-winning anime titles from VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

Review: Suburban Vermin – Headless Over Heels

If there’s a gimmick in comics that I like its music in comics. Some of my favorite comics are music centric and so if I stumble upon a new property that relates to music I’m usually down to try it. Suburban Vermin is actually a band that decided to make a comic of the same name. I will be straight up and say that I didn’t enjoy one page of this comic. The entire thing is an anthology style comic with each few pages being a new song. The only narration comes to us in the form of song lyrics. Each new song has a different artist and each artist brings their own interruption of the lyrics to the page.

Which is part of the problem.

Clearly there’s a bit of a theme to the songs due to some shit going on in life when the lyrics were written so some of the stories feel like repeats. Without the music present I can’t really say if it feels the same way on the album when you hear the actual music, but it felt that way while reading.

Suburban-Vermin-Headless-Over-Heels-1The other problem is that each story is short. Really short. So short that sometimes nothing seems to happen. Nothing of interest at least. And because the art switches so often it’s incredibly difficult to care about anything going on on the page.

Speaking more of the art changes it would have been perhaps better to find artists that at least have the same realm of style. If you’re going to go super detailed, cluttering the page with objects and people then stick with that. But to then switch to a very cleanly computer drawn style that heavily relies on grey tones… well the shift is too jarring and breaks any atmosphere the anthology may have held. To use a music example, it’s like having a classic country folk song leading followed by a very technical hardcore song. You would wonder what the fuck you were listening to and that’s kind of how I ended up feeling about what I was reading.

Clearly there wasn’t a strong understanding of anthologies when creating this comic. There’s two types of anthologies, ones that have no uniting theme and just tell a lot of stories (though to be successful each creator must know their own pacing and be on point) or one that has a uniting theme. This one attempts theme, but the art plays the biggest role in that. You can break it up by having different styles, but its choosing when that is and what comes before and after that’s so important.

I’m going to skip talking about the page count in detail and just say that the creators weren’t given enough pages to be successful. I understand that they probably couldn’t afford to do more so I’m not going to fault it, but maybe the same page count with half the stories would have been more successful.

Clearly there was a lot of heart and creativity put into this comic and I wish I could reward it, but it became a chore to read and so as much fun as the creators had it didn’t translate over to the rest of us.

Score: 1/5

Suburban Vermin – Headless Over Heels Creators: Various Website

Review: The Demon Prince of Momochi House - Vol. 1

The Demon Prince of Momochi House is an interesting concept, but suffers from a lack of character development. That’s the short version of this review. I’ve read manga primarily geared towards women before so while this was my first Shojo Beat, it wasn’t my first dip in this pool. The overall idea behind the story is that Himari Momochi inherits a house on her sixteenth birthday. Since she’s an orphan she decides to move into the house right away, but finds people squatting inside. Well, actually she finds a naked boy her age inside and becomes confused by the entire situation. She’s told to leave the house by the squatters, but she ignores them and begins cleaning up her house. The leader of the squatters and our formerly naked dude, Aoi Nanamori, is the first to encourage Himari to leave. He’s not threating about it, but rather concerned. Eventually there’s a spiritual attack and Aoi is revealed to be the guardian of the house and of the spirit and human world. He’s the only thing stopping the spirit world for seeping into our world.

Demon Prince vol. 1It also becomes clear that this job was meant for Himari, but due to the death of her parents it never happened. We also learn that Aoi has basically been stuck in the house ever since he discovered it and that his friends are actually spirits as well. Things get interesting when the house starts listening to Himari, the proper owner.

I dug the concept, but there’s a lot of belief that you have to suspend in order to buy into the story. That parts not impossible and hey and I’ve read enough manga and seen enough anime to just buy whatever plot element removes the parents from the scenario.

The problem I had with the story was the characters. Aoi doesn’t have enough personality and Himari’s is too inconsistent. She’s lovestruck and then ruthless all in the same scene. I especially lost interest in her character when her gimmick became that of “landlord” and she tried to collect money from the spirits. It just really made me sigh. The rest of the cast of characters where architypes which didn’t make them interesting.

The art is great though. I loved the balance between humor and seriousness, even if I wasn’t laughing at the jokes. The visuals where really impressive. I have to imagine that the art is a big selling point to this title since it’s very clean and detailed all the way through.

The Demon Prince of Momochi House isn’t a bad story, but I don’t know if there was enough to interest me into coming back for more. I think Aya Shouoto’s artwork is incredible, but this isn’t the series for me. I will keep my eye out for whatever she ends up doing when this eventually concludes. If a supernatural love story sounds interesting to you then check it out, but if you like strong characters then you may find yourself smitten with the art more than the story.

Score: 3/5

The Demon Prince of Momochi House Vol. 1 Story & Art: Aya Shouoto Publisher: Viz Media/Shojo Beat Price: $9.99 – P, $6.99 – D Release Date: 7/7/15 Format: Trade Paperback; Print/Digital

Review: Gunsuits #1

Not having the proper time to speak about Gunsuits a few weeks back on the CBMFP, I wanted to make sure that I was able to give it a fair shake during this review. It’s honestly been a while since I read a sci-fi story that was good and actually stuck around. I know that I’ve read several this year alone, but none that stayed with me which is the sign of a good sci-fi. The first issue of Gunsuits is a slow burn. It starts off with a pretty cool action sequence in which we see a squad of men getting blindsided by what looks like an alien attack. The gunsuit arrives and it looks a bit inspired by EXO Squad or really any wearable mech tech that you’ve seen. The driver is a woman named Potts and you’re pretty sure she’s the main character… until she dies. I won’t say what transpires exactly. From there we pull out from some monitors and find that the people that have been narrating to us are actually watching the events unfold and there’s another Potts…

From there we watch and learn that they’re seeking a world in which some version of Potts has a successful defense against the invaders that are apparently attacking every possible version of earth that’s out there. Potts is at the center of it each time and she watches herself die over and over and over until finally she decides to take a break. The thing is… her world is under siege as this going on so it’s not like they have the luxury of time on their side. The last bit of the story I’ll give you is that they do manage to find an earth that has some defense against the invaders, but the twist that happens with that is actually more shocking than two Potts talking to themselves.

Gunsuits1The concept and story are pretty great. I haven’t been tickled by a sci-fi concept like this in ages so once the hook was revealed I was in. Then the twist happened and I anteed up again. The only part that suffers is the dialogue, but strangely enough only for the first half of the comic. Potts and her team have awkward moments and they sound like they don’t know each other even though it’s clear that they’ve been doing this for hour upon hours each day. After a while though, you get through the rough patch and it’s not so bad. I’ll be curious to see how it plays out in the second issue.

The art by PJ Holden is solid. Holden is a consistent and detailed artist so the only reason you’d have to not like the art is if you’re not a fan of it. I dig it. I think Holden’s style matches the story and I really liked EXO Squad so seeing something that reminded me of that (even if that wasn’t the inspiration) was a good thing. Visually it’s a solid sci-fi world which is very important for the genre.

The coloring is kind of strange. When they’re viewing it through a monitor it’s really good and detailed. When you’re viewing them normally it’s a bit two-toned and lacks the same depth of color field. It happens over and over and so what ends up happening is that it looks inconsistent and shifting when it’s not. Clearly it was intentional, but I think it would look even better if the non-monitor colored world looked as good as the monitors.

New sci-fi properties are tough. They can fail instantly if they don’t find their fanbase or they can live forever if they find the right fanbase. Hopefully Gunsuits finds it’s fanbase because I’m really enjoying it. With it only being four issues I wonder what’s going to happen to resolve this storyline because a rather large plotline has been established in this first issue. Time will tell and I for one will definitely be there to find out.

Score: 4/5

Gunsuits #1 Writer: Paul Tobin Artist: P.J. Holden Publisher: American Gothic Press Price: $3.99 Format: Mini-Series Website

Review: Cat Person

To start with, if you’re not a cat person then you can still read this book. I know it says Cat Person right on the cover, but the later chapters step away from cats so you’re okay. Cat Person is an autobiographical comic that’s been collected. It’s about creator Seo Kim and of course created by Seo Kim. Personally I really enjoy autobiographical comics because I think they take the most courage to produce. To let strangers into your life and to be honest about your quirks and life style is not something everyone can do. Then there’s the business of doing it effectively which again, not everyone can do.

There’s three chapters to Cat Person. The first chapter is dedicated to cats. Having two cats that dominate my life, my house and my clothing… well, let’s just say that I related to a lot of the jokes and stories. Two strips stuck out the most to me because they happen to me daily. The first is about cat food and how Seo adds the tiniest bit to an already full bowl of food to get her cat Jimmy to eat. It’s funny how these creatures really are the same for everyone. The second shows a series of everyday objects covered in cat hair with cat features and the caption “Everything is a cat when you have a cat.” No truer worlds have ever been spoken… ever… seriously.

Cat PersonThe next chapter is all about Seo. Just her quirks and everyday life stuff that much like the cat strips, you can find surprisingly relatable. It’s funny how these humans are really the same… wait I already said that about cats… well same thing applies. The next chapter is about relationships and if you don’t find that relatable then you’ve yet to have one.

Overall I enjoyed all the stories. The themes never ran too long and I can only recall one or two strips that I wasn’t interested in.

Kim’s style is interesting. Sometimes it was very stylized and colorful. Other times it’s in black and white and while not sloppy, it’s just not the same level of detail as the other strips. It’s still way better than my art and I really liked the overly detailed facial expressions. In general the art style was the right fit for the story and felt intimate at times which is good for this genre of comic.

Again, you don’t have to be a cat person to enjoy Cat Person. It helps on that first chapter for sure, but there’s plenty here to enjoy from beginning to end.

Score: 4/5

Cat Person Creator: Seo Kim Publisher: Koyama Press Price: $5.99 (On Sequential’s Summer Sale ending August 1st), $20 - Print Format: Trade Paperback; Print/Digital

Review: Awkwood

The opening to Awkwood is super weird and I’ll admit I really liked it. We find the main character on the front cover laying in a field looking all dead. Suddenly he rips from his own chest, symbolizing that he’s been reborn. We know this because a guy wearing a cat-head hat and robe shows up and tells him as much. Soon he’s rushed off to meditate and let the “Awkwood” take effect. Liam wakes up in the past and sees himself riding a bike and having fun. His younger self is confronted by a bully who decides to punch him for just having fun. At this point older Liam hides from himself, but his younger self rides over to him and asks why he let the other kid hit him, but phrases it as if it happened to older Liam and not his younger self. Suddenly the young Liam turns into a giant monster and begins attacking. Liam runs and is ushered by a voice into the sewers.

Down there he meets the doctor’s assistant who reminds Liam a bit of why he’s there, though the rest will be revealed later. She sends him to 1998, the year and party that he first tried heavy drugs. The party is broken up though when his younger self or his “Inner Bad” shows up. The doctor’s pull him out of his memories because of his heart rate and we learn that Liam is there for drug rehab. He heads home, but the Awkwood may have released his Inner Bad into the real world.

AwkwoodBack home we see that his roommate is part of Liam’s problem as he instantly offers him drugs and acts like Liam is being an ass for not taking them. He basically lives with his dealer which sounds terrible. Back at his job he gets laid off and now kind of has no excuse to not go to open mic night. He chickens out though and begins drinking and looks like an ass in front of a woman performing that he’s impressed by. Things get crazy though when his Inner Bad shows up and wrecks the place and Liam is rescued by the woman that performed. Eventually the assistant shows up to help Liam before his Inner Bad destroys everything.

Awkwood is an interesting look at addiction and confidence. The two can definitely relate to one another depending on the person. You really feel for Liam because clearly he’s lacked confidence for so long and done drugs to appease others for so long that he can’t break the cycle. I really liked the ending though and how he overcame his “friend.” It was poetic justice and thankfully wasn’t the bulk of the story which made it rewarding.

Overall the writing is very strong. The characters are believable and the dialogue felt really natural, even when it was intentionally being trippy. That’s my biggest gripe with stories that try to “trip out”, if you’re dialogue is difficult to read then the story is annoying to read. With Awkwood it is jarring at first, but then becomes quit natural.

The art was definitely my favorite part. It’s familiar looking. It’s a style I’ve seen done before to some degree and it’s one that I really like. It’s what drew me to the story in the first place. It definitely has an animated look to it which is always an easy sell for me.

The art is in all black and white and it’s clear that Jace Harper understood that. Sometimes black and white art is just non-colored art which doesn’t look good or use the medium properly. Here, Harper uses the negative space to his advantage as needed. His linework is also very clear making everything clear and easy to look at. Even though it’s stylized it’s still very detailed which was a nice touch. Harper also does a great job of world building with his story and art. Liam’s world feels real and lived in which is always an important touch.

At the end of the day you may or may not be inspired by this story. You may overcome your own confidence problems and if so then that’s great. If not, well that doesn’t change the fact that this is a well told story with some great art.

Score: 4/5

Awkwood Writer/Artist/Creator: Jace Harper Publisher: Milk Shadow Books Price: $15.95 Format: Trade Paperback; Print Website

Review: Death Head #1

I am a sucker for old school horror comics.  It has been with me from a very young age.  I just can’t shake it.  Something about the art, the slow, smooth, and deadly melody these stories play that lures me in and traps me, like many of the victims of these aforementioned types of comics.   Hell, I think I have read every old Fawcett Comics horror issue that they ever printed. So as I perused through the new releases for this week and saw an original Dark Horse Comics offering within this vein.  Well, I simply couldn’t pass it up.  The cover had me locked in as well, ushering me into those great Eerie and Creepy comic covers of yore.  Yeah, I was ready to roll.

Death Head #1 starts out simply enough.  We are introduced to a young couple, Niles and Justine, on a backpacking trip in Shadowcliff National Park.  They apparently are looking for Death-Head Hawkmoths, of which this park has the largest population (who knew?).  Now why in the hell would these two decide to go off the civilization track to get away from everything desiring to view one of God’s creepiest creations is beyond me.  But at least they do discuss this fact within the early pages.  Eventually, the couple stumble upon a village that looks like it was pulled right out of puritan times that is not on their map.  Think of Salem, Massachusetts, fresh with a hangman’s area.  The two decide that this must be a reenactment village (ok, sure, why not?).  They explore and…and…and…Well, I will just say that they definitely find some Death-Head Hawkmoths, as well as some other rather interesting finds.  Things get a little bit hot out there.  Someone or something may have also found them too.  We shall see?

The Issue shifts from this story to two others.  One that features rebellious Catholic school girls of which one has a secret (and a funky drug trip).  And another story featuring bullies throwing a kid down a sewer drain that has a boogeyman past known as The Man in the Sewer.  The kid survives, but encounters someone in the sewer who shouldn’t be there.

Death-Head-#1So goes Death Head #1.  How these three stories tie in with the others are anybody’s guess.  Our cover figure mystery man in the Death Head mask does appear in the sewer and couple tales.  But there seems to be nothing of him with the Catholic girls.  Who knows?  And it is with this confusion that makes this who issue out of whack.

Well that and the fact that our couple, Niles and Justine, seem way too nonchalant in addressing the many things that they encounter.  It is as almost like they accept their fate with some sort of childlike “gee whiz” dismissal.  I truly think that most people would be freaked out at the least, and stone cold frozen with fear at the worst.  But they are good.  They are all good.  Looking death right in the eye? Cool (Sheesh).

I wanted to like this issue.  The art by Joanna Estep is really good and out of her wheelhouse as she has done quite a few more kiddie oriented renderings in her past.  With this title, Estep shows some seriously good (and scary) diversity that almost made me give this issue a higher mark than I originally had prepared.  Her work is real chilling and foreboding at one step, while being hell hot and intense  at another.  The art makes your skin crawl, yet throwing you out of whack too.  But in a good way.  The drug trip art is as beautiful as the scenes in the woods are disturbing.  Estep has skills.  I desire to see more from her and hope things work their way out in future issues of this title.

But with the writing, credited to Zack Keller and Nick Keller, I feel left out and empty.  The stories have no real connection at this time, even though I recognize that they are trying to portray the Death Head mask wearing man as something more supernatural, spanning different spaces and times.  I get that. But the connections are loose and not very well portrayed.  The whole Niles and Justine part just doesn’t make any sense as I can’t think of people who would act as they do regarding what they encounter or why they were even out there in the first place.  It is just not believable.  Now the Catholic girl story does feel more real as does the kid with the bullies.  But those two tales are really side tales with the primary focus being  on Niles and Justine.  Perhaps this will change.  But as for now, we are where we are.

Overall, I was not pleased with the writing of this issue.  The art almost saved it, but not quite.  Of course though, I am still a sucker for old school style horror comics and will continue to give Zack and Nick Keller a chance to right the ship and pull some of these tidbits of creepiness out forming a cohesive and truly scary story.

Score: 2/5

Death Head #1 Writers: Zack Keller and Nick Keller Artist: Joanna Estep Colorist: Kelly Fitzpatrick Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/15/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Escape from Jesus Island #3

One of the best parts of working with Comic Bastards is that I get an opportunity to review some pretty freaky and cutting edge independent offerings out there that might not be quite ready for the mainstream.  I delight in these types of comics as they are the epitome of what free speech and expression are all about.  Even if the subject matter of said comics might not quite gel with what people call the “norm”.  It is through the indy comic genre where some things can be viewed in a different light and from a different angle.  I applaud those creators who are out there on the frontlines of the fringe, taking chances and throwing caution to the wind.  They are my heroes. Now of those types of comics, many of the unconventional ones might not exactly be that good.  Some of them even kind of suck.  But when I do come across one of those that not only doesn’t suck, it actually breaks new and powerful ground.  Well then, I get quite excited and worked up about it. And when I find an indy comic that not only rocks it, but it continues to rock it with each released issue, that is something to really get excited about.

Rejoice my brothers and sisters, for I found such a comic.  Actually, I found it a little while back.  But a third issue has been released and it doesn’t suck at all.  In fact, it is really quite great, paying tribute to those ghoulish stories of yore while cutting a new path into shock gruesome and awesome action territory.  Escape from Jesus Island, Act I, Episode III is such a comic.

Escape-from-Jesus-Island-#3When we last left writer Shawn French and artist Mortimer Glum’s ode to Messianic DNA, dark science, and literal mutant inbred biblical freaks, we found a crack team of Vatican black ops tasked with linking to the Regen Corporation’s cloning facility on Malsum Island with one objective.  Get the cloned Son of the Living God that has been successfully cloned and get him back to the Vatican to give a chance of saving a dying pope’s life.  Sounds simple enough.

The only problem is that when Jesus was successfully cloned, a twin was likewise created that might not quite have the Pope’s plan of saving in mind.  He has a different view regarding humans and their ways.  And in his salvation, it requires quite a bit more suffering and pain than most followers would want I would say.

Anyway, the crack team made to the island last issue, but things didn’t quite go the way they wanted.  Now, they are in a fight to finish their mission and stay alive as the Antichrist Yeshua is aware of their presence.  The hunt is on.  And it ain’t pretty.

Saying that this issue is “white knuckled”, really doesn’t give the story the credit for what it is.  This issue is actually what I would call “bloody knuckled” as in the liberal amount of blood, brains, entrails, and about every other gross internal body part you could think of laid out in full on color.  And it bloody disgusting….Way bloody disgusting…And, it is bloody awesome too.

I love the action of this issue as we see the Vatican’s team, aided by their strongman and overall crusader bad ass Oleg “Barracuda” Arlovski taking on Yeshua and his mutated minions.  The battles are fierce and intense and the outcomes….Well, I will just say that for the first time in the series, we get a glimpse of some of the power that Yeshua is bringing.  And it is dag nasty.

Writer Shawn French has really captured something special with this issue and the series at large.  He has created something that is repulsive and entertaining as hell at the same time.  That is no easy feat.  But in the way that he writes the story, we have a healthy balancing act of humor and horror that works magnificently.  It is something in the vein of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead franchise, of which I am a huge fan. Escape from Jesus Island is a perfect mixture of fun and fright.  I give French huge props for bringing it as you can tell he is having an absolute blast in writing every single slithery line.

As for Mortimer Glum on the art.  “Underrated” is the word that I give.  Where in the hell has this guy been?  I don’t know if demons dream or not.  But if they do, I am pretty certain that their nightmares would be Glum’s imagery.  It is unbelievably detailed, creepy, crawly, and cool.  I am never short of amazed at what I see.  I give credit to not only Glums art, but his flow of coloring is top shelf as well, making the blood splatters particularly gooey with head smashing ferocity.

Is this comic controversial? Oh sure.  Is it for everyone?  No freaking way.  Is it for you?  I don’t know.  But I do know that this little indy might be one of the most entertaining reads you will have should you decide to take a shot of courage, refuse to pander to the haters, and read this deliciously devilish opus.

Score: 5/5

Escape From Jesus Island Writer: Shawn French Artist:  Mortimer Glum Colorist: Mortimer Glum Publisher: Wisdumb Productions Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/15/15 Website

Review: iHero #2

What if you could use your smart phone to activate magnificent super powers such as strength, speed or flight?  What if everybody else did the same?  Such is the premise of iHero, an interesting little concept comic from writer Luke J. Halsall and artist Graeme Kennedy. Issue #1 addressed the many ups and downs of the iHero technology along with the mysterious murder of iHero founder Jack Taylor.  It was a pretty good issue and quite a unique idea exploring something that was interesting in concept and style.  I liked Issue #1 quite a bit and had put it up there on my “look out for” list when a new issue might be released.

Well, it has been almost a two years, but we finally have an iHero Issue #2.  But unfortunately for the title, I could have used a refresher as to what happened in the opener.  It took some reacquainting to the story upon opening read. As I did read it however, my memory did eventually return to me and things started to fall back into place.  Issue #2 does some flashbacks and flash forwards in regard to the murder of Jack Taylor and in the hunt for answers by The Icon, an original super powered being who became the first spokesperson for the iHero product, his daughter Inamorata, and Sovereign, a renegade hero who will not bow to the corporate sponsor, delivering justice the way she determines is best, to include death to the baddies.

iHero-#2Issue #2 also has the backstory of The Icon and a secret that he has been hiding.  Once known, we get an idea as to what things happen as they do here. We continue the issue by getting some looks at the beginnings of the iHero movement, some rather interesting uses for the product, as well as some of the more social impacts of the product.  Finally, there is some mystery going on regarding Jack’s murder, but little time is spent on that area where more needed to be spent and things get very muddled because of this, feeling like the creators wanted to load this issue with as much stuff as possible.

It truly is a pity, as I wanted to like this title.  I found the first issue fresh, unique, and fun.  With Issue #2 however, the story feels confused, uninspired, and lacks that umph that would put this indy title to the top.  Writer Luke J. Halsall who brought fun to the opening entry, has blah here.  We have flat dialogue, cardboard characters, and weak progression.  It truly did sadden me as I was wanting more.

Artist Graeme Kennedy is no better, as his art, though appropriate for the title, only shows glimpses of greatness.  There is no consistency and everybody scowls.  Everybody that is but jack Taylor and he is dead.  We get no great insight into the mystery of the murder and I almost felt that the dreaded “predictable” label crossed my mind a few times as a read it.  Things seem to be falling into something that seems like it has been done before and with better presentation.

This title likewise does the reader a great disservice by not having a summary blurb from Issue #1.  I had a lot of trouble in following what was happening in this issue, and I had read Issue #1 albeit a couple of years ago.  For someone who comes to this issue green with no idea of that first issue, I fear that they may be even more confused with what is happening.  This is a real concern as the cover is the best thing going for this comic.  It catches the eye and encourages you to read further.  Unfortunately from there, you don’t get a whole lot.  I am sincerely hoping when Issue #3 rolls out, that these items will be addressed and the title will return to the track that it was on with #1.

Score: 2/5

iHero #2 Writer:  Luke J. Halsall Artist:  Graeme Kennedy Colorist: Graeme Kennedy Publisher: OR Comics Release Date: 7/15/15 Website

DeNA and Anime Consortium Japan to Stream Anime through MyAnimeList

DeNA Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2432) and Anime Consortium Japan Inc. (ACJ) announced today that they plan to stream Japanese anime titles through MyAnimeList, one of the world’s largest website for anime fans, beginning July 17, 2015. MyAnimeList, LLC, DeNA’s U.S. subsidiary, and ACJ plan to embed anime titles streamed on DAISUKI.net, an anime distribution website operated by ACJ, onto MyAnimeList. The first titles to be streamed through MyAnimeList will be Idol Master Cinderella Girls and God Eater with Japanese audio and English subtitles. ACJ plans to increase the number of titles accessible through MyAnimeList as embedded video or hyperlinks; however, the videos will not be accessible from Japan.

“Together with Anime Consortium Japan, we look forward to delivering authentic Japanese anime titles to the millions of anime fans around the world who visit MyAnimeList,” said Takeshi Sumida, CEO of MyAnimeList, LLC. “With this alliance, we hope to make our own contribution to Japan’s anime and manga industry.”

Review: Tether #3

Take a little bit of the Fritz Lang classic silent film Metropolis.  Add equal portions of the movies Gladiator, Spartacus, and the Star Trek television episode “Bread and Circuses”.  Mix in a little bit of Caligula and some mad science/bad medicine and you could have one hell of an awful mess.  But in the hands of writer and master chef Chuck Amadori, you have Issue # 3 of Tether, a working epic, spanning several characters, several landscapes, and several facets of a rich and interesting tapestry, both in written and visual form. I have been largely impressed with Amadori’s epic.  Impressed I would say with his ability to cram a whole lot of story unto a 24-page format.  With Issue #3, that ability continues to be demonstrated as we spend equal time with the struggle of gladiator’s/torture victims Alina and Velang, rebellious slave Zarran, decadent and disturbed Emperor Trovaar, Doctor Cybin, and Doctor Murrell.  And finally, bad assed warrior Primus Plask.  I told you that a whole lot gets covered here.

Tether-#3At the heart of these stories, we are seeing some forms of connection, but the links remain elusive.  Emperor Trovaar apparently has an issue that requires assistance from Doctor Murrell.  But what that is, we are not quite sure.  It apparently is a secret, kept even from a rather intimate companion in Dr. Cybin.  As for Zarran, he has been working to rally the slaves down in the bowls of Tether Mountain to revolt and escape.  But he has not had a whole lot of success to date.  Things happen within this issue however that might just change all that.  Regarding Alina and Velang, recovery from the sadism of Doctor Murrell is the bill of fare with an uncomfortable proposition laid out to be played within the future between these two.  I’m not going to tell you where Primus Plask fits in, but he aims to play an intricate part as things move forward. Things are getting kind of tense.

It has been fun watching writer Chuck Amadori move the various pieces around the table like a chess master with very little strategy being revealed as of yet.  Within Issue #3 though, that strategy (among other things) are starting to be revealed quite prominently.  The big pieces are starting to move and the pawns have stopped.  I look forward to see where Amadori’s pieces go from here.

New for this issue, the art duties have been left to Edson Alves on pencils and Marcelo Dantas on inks who replace Ruvel Abril and Marcelo Salaza.  And they do a very satisfactory job in portraying Amadori’s vision.  Alves has a strong eye to body symmetry that works well with the changing balances of the different stories at play.  The images are pretty to look at with strong sharpness and contrast provided by Dantas as well as coloring through Matheus Bronca and Bobby Penafiel.  All contribute to make Amadori’s story pop.

Overall, I found this third issue of Tether to be the best to date of a strong series.  The nice thing about it all is that the ceiling is high, allowing for more room to continue the growth.   I don’t see things stalling out anytime soon.  In fact, it looks like the action is getting ready to hit on all fronts at the same time.

Score: 4/5

Tether #3 Writer:  Chuck Amadori Artist(s): Edson Alves (Pencils), Marcelo Dantas (Inks) Colorist(s): Matheus Bronca, Bobby Penafiel (Flats) Publisher: Isle Squared Price: $1.99 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Kaijumax #4

Kaijumax always seems to hit when life is it’s busiest. Since my first review I haven’t been back to review since, but I’ve kept up on the series which has become… well interesting to say the least. The first issue I thought this was supposed to be a comedy of sorts. I mean it ridiculous otherwise right? You have “Ultramen” inspired police enforcers locking up Kaiju on a monster island, but then it’s all prison based so then there’s everything that goes along with that. Slang, drugs, gangs and now… rape.

After the first issue I stopped chuckling at this story and I wonder if I was supposed to find anything funny about the first issue. Again, maybe it was just too ridiculous to take serious, but here we are now three issues later and this maybe one of the most serious books on the market.

Last time we were introduced to a Kaiju that had history with one of the robots locked up and after basically putting the robot in his place just strolled along like he owned the prison. The thing is… he kind of does.

Kaijumax-#4Zonn is the character in question and what makes him dangerous is his words… among other things. Now I’m going to talk about everything he does this issue so there will be some pretty big spoilers. The issue starts off with him talking to the first Kaiju that we were introduced to in the series, Electrogor. After a very pleasant talk, Zonn hits it off with Electrogor like no one else has been able to. Then suddenly Electrogor is attacked by Zonn and the aforementioned rape happens.

Yeah. Suddenly this cartoonish looking book about Kaiju really put a lot of emphasis on the “Max” part of the title. Zonn was already a shady dude, but damn did this make him the worst asshole ever. The strange part is that you kind of want to see what he’ll do next, even if it’s just to see him get his in the end. The story moves on we spend some time with Electrogor, but another big event happens as well… the first casualty of the story. I won’t spoil that, but at the end the prison doc is really broken up about it and who should appear… Zonn! And he sweet talks her in two seconds flat and makes out with her… which was really weird!

I point this out because it shows how layered the story Zander Cannon is telling. He’s interwoven all these different elements and you can kind of see how they’re going to come into play. Now Zonn has a jailer in his pocket and it’s the very same one that showed Electrogor pity.

There is just something about this story that brings me back. I’m not a big fan of prison stories and yet Cannon has found a way to make one that I’ll read. His Kaiju references definitely help, but at the end of the day this is really all about the prison life and he captures that incredibly well.

Now I know that this review was a bit recappy, but I have the feeling that a lot of people either passed on this book thinking it was a joke or maybe they got scared off. This book is hard and I don’t mean to read. If you haven’t given it a shot, then do. It’s surprising just how good it is.

Score: 4/5

Kaijumax #4 Writer/Artist: Zander Cannon Publisher: Oni Press Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/15/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital