CBMFP 195: This Is All Robot Talking

If you clicked on this episode already then you've probably heard me tell you that there's nothing to talk about since we're in that Comic Con lull of news. We do manage to discuss Wynonna Earp heading to SyFy, what's a Wynonna Earp? Well we wonder that as well. Marvel's Hip Hop variants discussion... you're getting one! Books covered on this episode in some way, shape or form:

  • Prez #1-2
  • Oh! My Goddess Omnibus Vol. 1
  • Bizarro #1
  • Black Canary #1
  • Grindhouse: Drive In, Bleed Out #7
  • Old Man Logan #1
  • Gregory Suicide (One-Shot)

CBMFP-195-Full

Last week on the CBMFP...

1999 Cult Sensation Rock N' Roll Frankenstein Coming to DVD and Digital Nov 10, 2015

DVDTalk called it, “an instant exploitation classic.”  Filmthreat called it, “a classic piece of B-Movie Entertainment.”  The official selection of over 20 international film festivals and winner of Melbourne Underground Film Festival’s “Most Gratuitous Violence” Award, Brian O’Hara’s 1999 horror-comedy Rock n Roll Frankenstein is now available to home entertainment for the first time in its native 16x9 aspect ratio. Synopsis

After music agent Bernie Stein loses his last act, he decides the only way to a better life is through the grave…the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame graveyard, that is.  Together with a burned out roadie and a mad scientist, the motley crew set out to build the perfect Rock n Roll Superstar from the remains of dead rockers.  Assembling parts from Elvis, Hendrix, Sid Vicious and others, soon enough the monster is ALIVE!  But things go bad when Liberace's love tool mistakenly ends up in the mix. Equipped with the head of Elvis and the junk of Lee, a schizo relationship develops between the monster and his privates.

Hilarious, tasteless and chocked full of gratuitous violence, Rock n Roll Frankenstein is  “a cult item for movie-goers in search of politically incorrect, mind-warping laughs.”—Fangoria

DVD and Digital Tech Specs Title: Rock N’ Roll Frankenstein SRP: $19.98 Directed by Brian O’Hara Starring Graig Guggenheim, Jayson Spence, Barry Feterman Run Time 88 mins Aspect Ratio: 16x9 Audio 2.0 DVD Extras include feature film audio commentary, Rock N’ Roll Frankenstein trailer, Rock N’ Roll Frankenstein Music Video, “Behind R n R Frankenstein” featurette, trailer vault Full Production Information at imdb.com

Call Girl of Cthulhu slithers to Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital September 15, 2015

From the makers of WNUF HALLOWEEN SPECIAL comes the goriest, most hilarious H.P. Lovecraft tribute to ever splatter the screen – CALL GIRL OF CTHULHU.  Directed and produced by Chris LaMartina and Jimmy George (WITCHES BREW, PRESIDENT’S DAY), CALL GIRL OF CTHULHU  hits home entertainment platformsSeptember 15, 2015, following a year of international film festival and theatrical screenings.  Praised by indie and genre press, CALL GIRL OF CTHULHU has been called "a frenetic dance of exploding heads, genital-mutating STDs, tentacles, zombie hookers, laughs, and love" (addictedtohorrormovies), "Laugh-out-loud funny and lose-your-lunch gross"  (nerdremix) and “an absolute must-see for fans of horror movies, comedies, splatter flicks, and H.P. Lovecraft."

Synopsis

Carter Wilcox (David Phillip Carollo) is a struggling artist who’s been saving his virginity for someone special. When he meets the enchanting escort Riley Whatley (Melissa O'Brien), he believes he’s found the one. Unfortunately, she’s also "someone special" to an ancient cult that believes she is the chosen bride of their alien god, Cthulhu. 

Forced to mate with their tentacled deity, Riley becomes a vessel for the spawn that will destroy mankind. 

Now, Carter and his noise musician roommate, Erica Zann (Nicolette Le Faye), must battle the sinister cult and unimaginable creatures to save Riley... and the rest of humanity. 

Will they save the world or surrender to the slimy grip of the Great Old Ones? 

Review: Burning Fields #6

Six issues in and this comic no longer remains the book it started out as. Gone is the military procedural comic set in the Middle East exploring issues of war profiteering, culture clashes, and paranoia. In its place is an even better military procedural comic set in the Middle East exploring issues of war profiteering, culture clashes, paranoia, strength, and supernatural beings only a few steps apart from zombies. With remarkable grace, the team behind Burning Fields have somehow managed to keep this comic’s story unpredictable while never losing sight of its stellar protagonists’ great characterization and interactions. Given last issue’s great cliffhanger, it’s a bit of a surprise that this issue delays our reentry to Dana and Aban’s standoff with a Carapace soldier right after he has told them about a Carapace squad’s intended attack on a local militant group. Instead, we’re privy to an unsettling scene as an eyeless Decker emerges from the ground and commands a squad of troops. A quick flashback then shows us how Decker manipulates Decker into attacking the local group. It’s not until after this scene that Aban and Dana retake center stage, using some tried and true teamwork to get the upperhand on the Carapace soldier and head towards the coordinates the Carapace squad. Prior to either Carapace or Dana & Aban’s arrival though, Decker’s zonked out Verge group shows up, and all sorts of body horror ensue. Dana & Aban get there in time to catch the second wave of disembowelments, things ending off squarely in horror territory for the two of them.

Burning-Fields-#6Writers Michael Moreci and Tim Daniel provide a motivation for each of their characters, even those that readers typically don’t consider all that often. I love that we got to see Carapace overseer Carey uncertain about whether to proceed with the plan to attack the local militant group only to confidently tell her soldiers that they were needed to ‘stop a war before it starts.’ Once the soldier arrive on-site though and discover that the circumstances are different than what they initially thought, one of their rank suggests abandoning Carey’s order to which the others agree. In both cases, Moreci and Daniel trusts artist Colin Lorimer to convey these characters’ uncertainty or fear in the illustration of their facial expressions. Through a combination of pursed lips and a concerned look in just a single panel, Lorimer shows us Carey’s reluctance to carry through a decision without substantial evidence, imbuing her with some sympathy that was previously absent. Meanwhile, the soldiers display a level of unexpected agency since uniformed characters so often seem to act as little more than cannon fodder, or more accurately ‘crazed undead food’ in this case.

I’m also impressed by the team’s ability to make violence sustainably shocking and emotionally resonant. After five issues of biting, punching and pulling you’d think  it would have lost its initial edge, but there’s at least three panels that had me wincing at the sight of them. Joana Lafuete’s colors play a huge role in this viscera, using reds for blood that leave me queasy and a palette for darkened exteriors that give the impression that things are lurking just outside the panel borders.

Every issue I get nervous that Burning will either make a move I’m not happy about that I’ll have to write about, or surpass my expectations and provide me the herculean task of finding something new way to say how much I dig this comic. Fortunately, the team behind Burning Fields seem just as interested in pushing things each issue as I’m into seeing what direction things go next. Now another month to hibernate before the penultimate issue.

Score: 4/5

Burning Fields #6 Writers: Michael Moreci & Tim Daniel Artist: Colin Lorimer Colorist: Joana Lafuente Letterer: Jim Campbell Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series

Review: Gantz Vol. 36

Volume 36 of Gantz is the penultimate volume of the series and the best volume in quite some time; though, that's not saying much. The centerpiece of this volume is the main characters finally finding out what this whole entire series has been about.  I won't spoil it for you if you're one of the poor souls struggling to limp along with this series to its finish, but it's not the most unsatisfying reveal I have ever seen in a manga.  Big, ambitious series like Gantz usually just drag things along until they're forced to give an explanation, and it's typically one that just keeps the story plodding along without much direction (I'm looking at you, Billy Bat).  I am sure some readers will be underwhelmed at how simple the explanation of this series is, but at least it's an explanation at all, let alone one that makes sense and is final.

The problem I had with this chapter is that the reveal of what this series has been about took a back seat to Gantz's obsession with overwrought emotional drama stemming from a bunch of characters who can't let go of loved ones.  This has been a constant theme of Gantz, and I've never been happy with how it's executed: the series constantly acts as if it's not really about alien wars and tries to plunge deeper into meditations about one's own death and the loss of loved ones.

Gantz-Vol-36But there's a difference between exploring the concept of death and constantly pelting the reader with situations in which characters demonstrate that they have no clue how to deal with death.  Gantz, instead of offering any novel or nuanced take on the impact death has on us and the ones we love, offers caricatures of people who have no idea how to grieve and refuse to take stock of their very small place in a big, scary, infinite universe.

Maybe there's a point to that: maybe Oku is out to demonstrate how unwilling the average human is to face the reality of their inevitable death, and these characters are a parody of that real attitude.  There might be some truth to that.  On that interpretation, Gantz can be seen as being a series about the willingness of people to fight wars, both figurative and literal, rather than deal with the inevitability of death.

That sounds nice, but I think it is way too charitable.  If that's true, then I should be looking down on nearly all of the main characters, especially the two main protagonists.  I should be pitying them, I should see them as pathetic, I should be rooting for them all to go off and just die.  That's strange.  And yes, Gantz is a strange manga, but I am guessing the average person reading this series is rooting for all these loving couples to end up back together, which runs completely counter to the only way I could read this series and not want to gag.

Anyway, if we just ignore all the messy philosophical bull shit, the American squad is knee-capping the last giant aliens in the war and the fight scenes are pretty bad-ass.  If I turn off my brain while reading Gantz, it's a nice mix of violence, boobs, and half-wrought philosophical drivel that you would hear from a kid who read a few pages of Nietzsche and Marcus Aurelius in high school before going out and buying his first fedora.

Score: 3/5

Gantz Vol. 36 Writer/Artist: Hiroya Oku Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $13.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Trade Paperback, Print/Digital

Review: Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #6 

So that’s what Monster’s deal is. David Lapham has managed to do something I thought he wouldn’t attempt, and humanized a character that has so far seemed little more than a hulking sociopath in glasses and sweat pants. In an issue that continues to slowly unwind Beth and Orson’s plot, the point of view comes from a guy whose idea of a doctor’s appointment involves breaking the doctor’s knee, and suggesting to a nurse on the way out that the doctor get a doctor. In addition to some minor hints about what Beth and Orson got going for the Sunshine Gang, this issue gives us a day in the life of Monster, who goes by Stanley Bloch when he’s not sitting in calculated silence or breaking a bottle over someone’s head. Things start out to a meeting held in Scott’s Gentleman’s club where Scott precedes over negotiations between Monster and Dez ‘The Finger’ after Dez removes the thumbs of one of Monster’s crew. Demanding that Dez pay a stipend to support his injured crew member and his mother, Monster spends much of the issue concerned that Dez may retaliate against him, escalating in a bar brawl.

Stray-Bullets-SAR-#6Like each issue of Sunshine and Roses that has looked at one of its mostly one-dimensional secondary characters, this one really works wonders to complicate reader’s opinions about Monster. Like the best of them, Monster is motivated by unrequited romantic love for Beth that he’s been harboring since childhood. His rage upon reflecting on the sight of Beth having sex with Orson shows readers just what happens when Monster’s tamped down emotions surface. Once he finds out that his absence while spying on Beth lost his boss some guns in a robbery, Monster goes on the hunt, collecting himself just enough until he arrives at the location he suspects they’ve been hidden before screaming for the return of the guns.

Although we only get two flashbacks to Monster’s childhood, his attack on other children in defense of Beth shows us that he’s always been willing to resort to violence. Yet, the sweet innocence with which Monster approaches Beth after learning his mom hasn’t grounded him provides a great moment of levity that’s revisited near this issue’s end.

While Lapham is often rightly lauded for his unsentimental displays of violence, this issue reminded me that the guy puts a lot of thought into how people’s possessions reflect their personal world view. In Monster’s case, he lives a very minimal live despite the substantial money he earns. Residing in a studio apartment that hardly fits him, Monster’s apartment contains no non-essentials other than a portrait of Beth from their high school yearbook. The apartment’s design also leads to one of the issue’s few funnier moments as we get to see Monster lying down on his futon.

The issue’s end puts into question whether Monster will act as an additional obstacle for Beth and Orson’s plans. Whether with or against them though, it seems unlikely that this volume will end without Monster bashing in at least one more head.

Score: 4/5

Stray Bullets: Sunshine and Roses #6  Writer/Artist/Creator: David Lapham Publisher: Image/El Capitan Price: $3.50 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Archie vs. Sharknado #1

Let's be for real: Archie Comics is killing it right now.  Archie vs. Sharknado is not the absolute best example of this, but it's still a lot of fun and worth randomly grabbing on your next visit to the shop. Archie is not the center of anybody's world.  Okay, maybe Betty and Veronica's, but speaking from the perspective of people who frequent comic book shops to buy floppies, people aren't clamoring for Archie the way they foam at the mouth for X-Men or Batman.  That hasn't exactly changed, but there is something that has: these days, when I see a new Archie comic, more times than not, I'll throw it on my pile.  These crossovers especially have been a ton of fun.

If you don't like campy things, this comic is obviously not for you; however--and this is going to sound really obvious but it's true--if you like Sharknado and the properties like it, then you will enjoy this comic.  It is honestly as if the world of Sharknado were perfectly subsumed into the cartoon world of Archie via some kind of meta-fictional wizardry.  Nothing in this comic strays from the Sunday Paper style of Archie, and that takes both the campiness and the entertainment up like ten notches.

Archie vs Sharknado #1Seriously, we're talking about Josie and the Pussycats going toe-to-toe with sharks; Jughead in a quest to get his hat back from a flying version of Jaws; Betty and Veronica bro-ing out over their love for Archie while they crank up some chainsaws.  All of the quintessential Archie-ness that gets packed into this comic is heightened by the fact that it wasn't written by someone who is a regular to the Archie series: it was written by Ferrante, the mind behind Sharknado.

Maybe that just speaks to how intangible Archie and his crew are for a couple of generations of readers.  Or, maybe it's just not that complicated and he had a good coach in Archie regular Dan Parent, who helped him script it.  Regardless, he's got a great creative team behind him which deftly transferred his campy, ridiculous vision to the familiar world of Riverdale.

I would rather have a few more of these comics than any more Sharknado films, quite frankly.  And, in a weird way, it's sort of a bummer that this is a one-shot.  But, what makes the story work so well is that it doesn't loiter around the silliness of this idea too long, something that would inevitably pull back the curtain a little too far on how dumb this all is.  Additionally, one of the things that makes this comic work so well is Sharknado's weird place in the current zeitgeist.  Let us not forget either that this comic doesn't happen if not for it being a fun way to plug the movie that comes out this week.  It's hard to be mad at soulless marketing when it's this unapologetically ridiculous and fun.

I cannot insist that you go out and buy this comic, but there really were a lot of impressive little nuggets in what seems like a ridiculous pairing.  I can at the very least promise that you won't regret taking a chance on it if you even sort of think it's your kind of book.

Score: 4/5

Archie vs. Sharknado #1 Writers: Anthony C. Ferrante with Dan Parent Artists:  Dan Parent and Rich Koslowski Publisher: Archie Comics Price: $4.99 Release Date: 7/22/2015 Format:  One-Shot, Print/Digital

Syfy Acquires WYNONNA EARP from SEVEN24 Films and IDW Entertainment

SEVEN24 Films and IDW Entertainment announced today that Syfy has acquired the U.S. rights to Wynonna Earp, a live action television series based on the IDW Publishing comic created by Beau Smith.  Emily Andras (Lost Girl, Killjoys) developed the series for television and will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. With an initial order of 13 one-hour episodes, Wynonna Earp is a fast-paced, contemporary thriller that follows Wyatt Earp’s great granddaughter as she battles demons and other supernatural beings. Wynonna is a witty and wild modern day gunslinger, using her unique abilities and a dysfunctional posse of allies to bring the paranormal to justice.  The series is scheduled to premiere in April 2016.

“Wynonna Earp is a unique contemporary western that will bring high octane, full-throttle, supernatural action to Syfy,” said Chris Regina, SVP, Programming, Syfy. “It is wildly imaginative and we are excited to work with Seven24 Films, IDW Entertainment and Emily on this truly original concept that will showcase fun, stylized visuals and pure escapism.”

DIG010256_11Melanie Scrofano (Damien, Gangland Undercover) will star as Wynonna Earp. Tim Rozon (Being Human, Instant Star) will play legendary con artist Doc Holliday, and Shamier Anderson (Defiance, Constantine) plays the mysterious Agent Dolls.

“Together with SEVEN24 Films, IDW Entertainment, and a virtual dream cast, I’m confident we have something special on our hands: a female-led supernatural series with grand themes of redemption, honor, and the struggle to define good vs. evil.  Not to mention, a kickass biker babe fighting demon outlaws,” said Emily Andras.

Wynonna Earp will be produced in Calgary by SEVEN24 Films, and distributed by IDW Entertainment.  Production is slated to begin in August.  SEVEN24’s Jordy Randall and Tom Cox will serve as Executive Producers.

IDW CEO & Publisher Ted Adams, David Ozer, Peleton Entertainment’s Todd Berger, and Circle of Confusion’s Rick Jacobs packaged and facilitated financing for the series.

“Developing the series has been a passion for our entire creative team and we’re excited to share this new series with Syfy’s equally passionate audience,” said Jordy Randall of SEVEN24 Films.

“Wynonna is an incredible character that will appeal to a global audience.  IDW Entertainment is thrilled that Syfy will be the U.S. home for this fabulous series and we look forward to bringing Wynonna to the global market,” said David Ozer of IDW Entertainment.

Emily Andras is represented by Jeff Alpern of The Alpern Group.  Melanie Scrofano is represented by David Ritchie of Ambition Talent and Matthew Lesher of Insight Entertainment. Shamier Anderson is represented by Douglas Patterson of Patterson Talent Management and Tim Rozon is represented by Paul Hemrend at Edna Talent Management.

Review: Weekly Shonen Jump #34

Weekly Shonen Jump 34 is a reminder that despite the stellar quality of a few staple series, the anthology could benefit from a few more consistently serialized titles. I am not going to say anything this week that I haven't said before: One Piece, My Hero: Academia, and Food Wars are all excellent.  As of this week, however, most of the Jump Starts I've covered, including ones that achieved more success in Japan than they did here (since only one of them gets serialized here and all of them get serialized in Japan), are cancelled or out of Jump.  I think that Kagamiami, Black Clover, and Devily Man are the only three that remain in Jump over in Japan.

That sucks.  First of all, of the three titles that survived, only one of those, Black Clover, is currently being serialized in English in Weekly Shonen Jump.  I quite liked Devily Man, but Kagamigami was not particularly great and has been, on average, hanging below the top ten for a handful of weeks over in Japan: a recipe for cancellation.

WSJ 34 coverThe best thing Weekly Shonen Jump has done in the past year is take series which were only on the cusp of being very successful (Food Wars and Academia), and add them to the English digital lineup.  There are dozens of very good manga series that English-language readers have to wait months sometimes even years to legally see in English: being able to read them in the same week as Japan is a huge deal, and in that sense Weekly Shonen Jump is providing a really awesome and important service for the state of manga in the US.

The Jump Starts are fun, but ultimately unsatisfying when we are left with sparse weeks where the staple series have to carry the entire issue.  Granted, for the price of admission (fifty cents a week ain't bad if you buy an entire year's subscription at once) is more than worth it just to read one of these series' legally; but, if the editors of this anthology are going to hand-pick series for English serialization and make a cohesive anthology, I want to see them continue to take risks and give us more series that are doing fairly well in the midst of their serialization.

So, this was more of an industry-esque rant than a review, but these reviews are pretty much just rolling coverage of the state of Weekly Shonen Jump anyway.  Maybe all my concerns are moot and I should just be happy with getting to read three or four series that are right up my alley.  But that seems pessimistic, and to be honest, there are more like five or six solid series in this anthology: their publishing schedules are just too inconsistent.  Maybe it's just my fault for feeling creepy if I enjoy Nisekoi.

Score: 3/5

Weekly Shonen Jump #34 Writer: Various Artist: Various Publisher: Viz Media Release Date: 7/20/15 Format: Weekly; Digital

Review: Archie vs. Predator #4

This series has been a hoot. It’s been everything you could possibly want from a mashup of two characters that honestly should never be mashed up. That said it was probably an issue too long. Frankly this issue is just okay. There’s resolution, there’s shocking moments and I was proven right about Betty being better than Veronica when by Veronica’s own admission she says that Betty is the prettier of the two. As for the story, well basically it’s the final showdown with our teen Predator who is totally hot for Betty and Veronica. Archie gets injected with steroids and turned into a Predator fighting machine. Veronica puts on a nice dress and fires an Uzi (which would be completely pointless against the Predator, but is visually a lot of fun). Betty snaps by the end of the issue and does something kind of gross when you really overthink it.

Archie-vs-Predator-#4Really I don’t know what I thought would happen for the ending. Frankly it didn’t need to do a lot, I just thought it dragged out a lot in this issue and there weren’t as many laugh out loud moments as the first three issues. The ending was a bit too wocka-wocka for my liking and soured the events leading up to it.

I will say that Veronica calling the Predator a “Twerp” was priceless and so was the framed picture of her with The Punisher. Other than that you don’t really need me drone on about the final issue of this series. I wish I could have covered the third issue because Jughead’s death was hilarious and stupid, but hey… here we are.

If you enjoyed the first three issues you’ll likely enjoy the final issue, but don’t be surprised if you’re a little underwhelmed. I know I was. And if you don’t get your fill of Archie versusing things, you can always pick up Archie vs. Sharknado which is also out this week.

Score: 3/5

Archie vs. Predator #4 (of 4) Writer: Alex de Campi Artist: Fernando Ruiz Publisher: Dark Horse Comics/Archie Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

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: Five Ghosts #17

It’s hard to believe that it has been about three months since we last encountered Fabian Gray with his “Ghosts” doing battle and building on his legend.  It sure hasn’t seemed that long (mercifully).  But with the release of Issue #17, we have finally reached the conclusion of the “Monsters and Men” arc. An arc that has stretched the boundaries of Fabian Gray’s powers, his friendships, and even his own survival as those closest to him are being used against him for no other reason than for who he is and what he has within him. Yes, the “Monsters and Men” arc has been one spectacular cliffhanger after another in build up to this finale featuring the likes of classic literary characters in their own right in the form of Abraham Van Helsing and the dreaded Dr. Moreau. As Issue #17 ends, all bets are off as Moreau has saved his biggest and most nasty monstrous creation for Fabian in the form of his best friend and advisor Sebastian Windsor. Now, Fabian must deal with stopping this hideous beast, yet saving his friend at the same time.

Issue #17 delivers the thrills you would expect as we get a wonderfully choreographed battle between Gray, Van Helsing and the Sebastian beast with Moreau lurking close, eyeing an escape.  We likewise get the backstory with Sebastian and Fabian’s partnership which extends further along the family lines than we once knew.

But like with every Five Ghosts episode/issue, the best is saved for last as Dr. Moreau, with nothing left to lose, goes for broke and makes another creature that makes the Sebastian beast look like a muppet. Do our heroes survive?  Does Sebastian get saved?  Who is the real enemy behind these dread experiments?  All these and more are answered within the pages of this issue.

Five-Ghosts-#17-1I like to say that Five Ghosts is an episode/issue, as each story is played out in traditional movie cliffhanger fashion taken straight from the weekly cinema serials of the 1930s and 40s.  Writer Frank Barbiere and artist Chris Mooneyham have played the cliffhanger serial format from the very beginning evolving Five Ghosts from a miniseries to a full- fledged monthly.  This has been no accident as Barbiere and Mooneyham have created a diverse, devoted, and full on excitement laden title that never fails to disappoint.

I have had very little bad to say regarding nearly any issue of Five Ghosts.  Issue #17 is no exception to that. Barbiere’s words with Mooneyham’s art ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean, ceding to the other as the need be.  But working together also to leave the reader with a most wonderful comic reading experience.

Sometimes, you can just sit there in awe of the art, as Mooneyham tells a visual story that conveys the action perfectly.  Barbiere likewise brings the writing along, taking a relatively simple concept of a guy with a lot of special guys within him used to assist him in his adventures.  And turning it into a complete and epic spectacle making Fabian Gray into a legendary character on par with the five literary characters that are a part of him.  It continues to be the stuff of mystery, magic, and majesty.

Adding to this issue’s overall pleasing read, Fabian apparently has had some side effects to the experimentation of Moreau, giving him enhanced ability with his characters, of which the wizard plays a huge role.  Hell, they all do.  But it was pretty cool seeing the wizard unleash some hardcore fury within these pages.

All in all, Five Ghosts #17 is and continues to be a must for me each release date.  I don’t know when things will end.  But I do know that I plan to be there.  I am looking forward to our next arc as the “personal” nature of Fabian’s battles continue to increase.

Score: 4/5

Five Ghosts #17 Writer: Frank J. Barbiere Artist: Chris Mooneyham Colorist:  Lauren Affe Publisher: Image Comics Price: $3.50 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Rick and Morty #4

Looks like my suggestion worked: Rick and Morty #4 is a ton of fun owing to its brisk pace.  Telling at least one self-contained story per issue is the way to go for this title. The one-shot stories at the end of each issue of Rick and Morty have far and away been the best part of the comics so far (so much so that I recommended buying issue 3 solely on the basis of the mini comic at the end).  It's just a fact with this animation style that longer stories that require serialization are better suited for the cartoon.  If they aren't going to push the envelope on how they illustrate this series in the comics, then the single story, one-shot format of Rick and Morty #4 is the way to go.

The issue even features a callback to a certain feature of one of the earlier issues, and I really enjoyed this.  Why?  Because it proves that they can keep this one-shot thing going while still adding to the richness of the world of Rick and Morty in the comics.  If they continue to deploy features of previous issues then, eventually, they might actually build up to something which justifies a story spanning multiple issues.

Rick and Morty #4I'm hard on Gorman and Cannon for bringing these characters straight to the page as if it were the cartoon, but it simultaneously deserves a great deal of praise: anybody who watches the television show will instantly connect with these characters.  More praise, I think, is due to colorist Ryan Hill and Crank! (that's Chris Crank with one of the best pen name's in the biz) on the letters.

More than anything else, Hill's colors often set the scene and denote changes in mood and setting.  Yes, it's the function of his job: but he does it very well, and he is bringing most of the personality that these stories have as comics.  Additionally, Crank!'s lettering often serves a comedic role that needs to be filled due to the lack of sound.

I still would like to see this comic push the boundaries and offer a fresh visual interpretation of these characters and locales; but, if this creative team continues to crank out one-shot stories that are this entertaining, it's worth buying, especially if you enjoy the show.

Score: 4/5

Rick and Morty #4 Writer: Zac Gorman Artist: CJ Cannon Colorist: Ryan Hill Publisher: Oni Press Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital

Review: Fight Club 2 #3

Luckily for all of us, Godzilla in Hell is not the only book on the shelves this month that makes explicit reference to, and plays with, the inherent dramatic structure of Dante’s Inferno. Fight Club 2’s third issue places the narrator, “Sebastian”, on the porch of the Project Mayhem house and makes it explicitly clear that he is in Limbo. There’s nowhere to go from Limbo but down. For as plot and business-heavy as the first two issues were, this one feels like a nice respite in a porch full of terrible people, as well as a manic experimentation with comic form. The issue as a whole is largely the narrator dreaming of Tyler, having conversations with other people on the porch, examining their new Project Mayhem homework (as a guy who is fucking petrified of needles, Operation Lethal Injection almost made me throw up) and showing just how far the influence of that house goes. Once the narrator passes through porch-Limbo, Tyler helps give him that last final push into the story proper.

This comic is tough to review in terms of issues and final beats and cliffhangers; for as committed as Palahniuk and Stewart are to making the Fight Club universe fit into the comic medium, they’re still playing it as a long novel game, especially in its 12 issue format. They’ve shown a willingness to poke and prod at what works in comics since the first issue and their use of the pills and flowers that separate us from the art, which they continue in this issue with blood splatter. They’re not working gimmicks; you can tell there’s a real love of comic books and prose going on here, and they’re constantly finding new ways to make that into an interesting synthesis.

Fight-Club-2-#3Particularly in this issue, they’re not even concerned with pretending there’s a fourth wall between the comic and the reader. One character takes a phone call from “Mr. Palahniuk” and references a “Ms. Cain,” presumably Chelsea Cain, who is thanked along with Matt Fraction at the beginning of each issue as the “flight crew”. How and when that will come into play (or if it will at all) is anyone’s guess, but with as much fun as Palahniuk and Stewart are having with this story, it may just be a sly wink and nod to the fact that this story takes place in the “Real World,” and Palahniuk himself, renowned novelist Chelsea Cain, and award-winning comic writer Matt Fraction are all involved in the edges of Project Mayhem. Add on to this that Tyler and Sebastian are presented as two separate people, in even more extreme terms than in the original novel: when Tyler and Sebastian switch places, it’s almost like a comic book-y extradimensional shift, where one literally replaces the other, instead of being two people with one face. Add in the aesthetic differences between Sebastian and Tyler, and it’s making excellent use of the medium to get something across efficiently that we already know: Tyler makes the moves, Sebastian tries to stop him.

One striking thing that I’m eagerly anticipating a payoff for is the use of a lot of Old Testament biblical imagery. In the book and the film, there’s a lot of anger at absent fathers, and what better counterpoint to that than the use of an angry absent father named God, and his subjects, Moses and Noah? They follow his orders blindly and they save humanity, but they suffer for it; they’re some of the first flawed heroes, drunks, spilling their seed on the ground without consideration for the wishes of God.

This series is interesting every month in ways that feel wholly original instead of pandering to fans of the original. Add in the fact that the film and the novel lacked the exquisite talents of Cameron Stewart on the drawing board every month, and this is a comic that is not to be missed.

Score: 5/5

Fight Club 2 #3 Writer: Chuck Palahniuk Artist: Cameron Stewart Colorist: Dave Stewart Lettering & Design: Nate Piekos of Blambot Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Power Up #1

There is some pretty big hype around this comic...and rightfully so. Power Up is the beginning of the superhero group we have all been looking for. It’s bright, fun, and Boom! is the publisher. So yeah, it is that damn good. We first learn of a prophecy, which tells of four warriors joining together. The issue is definitely an introduction of these four warriors. They haven’t been formally introduced but what a hell of a team they are going to make. I love how Kate Leth isn’t giving us the typically superhero team. Not only do they not the fit the part physically but they don’t seem to fit at all. Some seem so sweet while others have this clear attitude. Our main character is Amie. She works at the local pet store and is constantly getting hassled by her boss for being late or just all around incompetent. You really just fall in love with this girl right away for obvious reasons. Leth gives her this I don’t give a shit attitude that every human being feels. Again, the issue mostly focuses on her and when she shows up for work one day, it will be a day she never forgets.

Power-Up-#1From there, we get introduced to other members. Kevin who works construction, loves hockey, and has an epic beard. It seems that he is hiding his powers from his close friends. Clearly from the cover, Kevin doesn’t have the cape, underwear over his tights, and the slicked back hair. He has a better outfit! Sandy is a mother with a typical mom hairdo and seems to be always cleaning up after her kids. And then there is the soon to be star of the comic, Silas. When Amie gets her powers so to speak, Silas is right there with her. He changes too. Oh and Silas is the goldfish on the cover, so he has that going for him. All of them aren’t content where they are at. I don’t know what brings them together, but it is clear they all want to do something more. I love the mixture of characters, and it is amazing how you can already see this group being formed. You can see their fights, interactions, and success moments. I have to give it to Leth for providing this strong characterization foreshadowing their relationships.

Then you have Matt Cummings on art. I love cute art, and Cummings art is just so freaking cute. There are bright colors which pop on every panel. Over exaggerated facial expressions which adds to the glorified superhero theme. And then there is some good action too. I loved the scene between Amie and that shadowy figure in a suit. There is a clear contrast between good and evil and also a definite call to action by this shadow dude.

Overall, I was impressed with this first issue. It was highly fun and although it may start off a little typical, the characters inside make this a totally new hero story. I can’t wait to see them all get together, but more importantly I can’t wait to see them in full uniform. It really gets you pumped for those superhero moments again!

Score: 5/5

Power Up #1 Writer: Kate Leth Artist: Matt Cummings Publisher: BOOM!/Boom Box Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: Book of Death: The Fall of Bloodshot

Not every story needs to have a clear reason behind it, but therein lies the problem with Book of Death: Fall of Bloodshot: a bunch of vignettes from Bloodshot's future life does not a story make.  So, who cares? I'm serious, who cares about how Bloodshot dies?  Let me tell you something you might not have realized: death is uninteresting.  It's one of the few things that literally everybody does.  The plot of this comic--and I promise I'm not spoiling anything for you, I'm explaining this book as advertised--is that we glimpse into Bloodshot's future and see how he dies.

But if it's not part of a story that I am invested in, then I have no reason to care!  Of course he dies!  This book is a really bad omen for the rest of the Fall of comics: if these are all just comics that tell some story-in-a-vacuum about the way in which various characters die, with little-to-no deference to a more immersive and interesting story, then all of these books are pointless!

Okay, so it's not a total bust: seeing Bloodshot fighting pirates, robots, and dinosaurs in the span of a single issue is a lot of fun, and Braithwaite and Reber make all of these disparate scenes come to life on the page.

Book of Death - Fall of Bloodshot #1But I just don't care.  Really, I promise that I don't, and that you probably won't either.  This is not a story: this is a series of sound bites from one man's life.  Sure, it's an extraordinary life, but a life is not a story just because it ends.  It is especially not a story when the end--death, the most familiar ending of all--is particularly uninteresting.

I, unlike many of my fellow Bastards, quite liked Death of Wolverine: he's my favorite character and I thought his final moments were leveraged in such a way that they cut right through all the bull shit around the character and got to the heart of what Wolverine meant to the readers, his friends, and the Marvel world.  But that was his actual death, his actual departure from the Marvel Universe (for now), not some flash-forward free of context.  For me to care about a character's future death, you would have to go full Daredevil: End of Days and steep the character's death in a greater mystery.

But Fall of Bloodshot is nothing but a montage leading to nowhere.  There is no reason to buy this comic unless you are interested in ignoring the story and studying the art.  Maybe Valiant has more planned for this outing, but you shouldn’t have to pay four bucks just to wait to find out.

Score: 2/5

Book of Death: The Fall of Bloodshot Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Doug Braithwaite Colorist: Rafael Sandoval Publisher: Valiant Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: One-Shot; Print/Digital

Review: The Disciples #2

Last month, Black Mask Studios released a sci fi horror comic that delivered oozing creepiness in massive quantities.  Coming out of nowhere it would seem, The Disciples captured my imagination and my fear, delivering a very strong and powerful first issue that promised more to come. Following a time in the not so distant future, The Disciples follow a “rescue” mission being carried out by three space mercenaries named Dagmar, Rick, and Jules, headed toward the Jupitar moon of Ganymede.  The person in need of “rescue” is a wayward daughter of a very powerful senator who has fallen prey to a religious cult. Making it particularly interesting is the fact that this cult has been founded by a billionaire industrialist named McCauley Richmond who has reached out into the openness (and freedom) of space to allow him the opportunity to be as a god, having a following and a remote location to do whatever it is he wants to do, without the prying eyes of authority.

Issue #1 began the journey and provided the reader with an ill omen and some pretty intense reality, even before our crew had made it to the Jupiter moon.  As we were left with a big reveal, writer Steve Niles and artist Christopher Mitten placed us on a horrific ledge, not knowing what would come next.  I know that after reading the opening, I was not sure where things would go next.  But I did know that I would be back on that journey.

The Disciples #2So here we are at Issue #2.  And in finishing it, I can say that Niles and Witten do not disappoint.  Things are picked right back up where they left us at #1 with even more danger/threats occurring.  Putting our characters (and the reader) on dark notice.  But as fast as these things happen, they are gone…Poof.

Was it all a hallucination? If so, why did everyone see the same thing?  Was there some bizarre and weird science stuff at play causing what was seen to be seen?  Who knows?  Niles leaves us hanging.  That is, until another “event” occurs that definitely is not a hallucination.

Issue #2 continues down the dark and treacherous slope from #1 as our crew make it to the moon and find the colony intact, but without anyone there at least as far as they can tell.  It looks as if everyone just left. Still though, someone had to let them inside the colony.  So someone must be there. Right?  As the last page turns, we do find out that something is there.  But that something may not be what our crew is wanting to see.

The sense of dread presented to near perfection in the first issue not only continues in #2.  It actually gets upped a notch.  As you read this comic, the feeling that is instilled is a sense of remoteness, loneliness, and dread.  As a reader, you feel awfully alone.  Like no one will be able to hear your screams should something happen to you.  And as things play out throughout the issue, that sense of dread only continues, interspersed with quick shocks and twirls that throw you off balance.

To say that The Disciples will make you paranoid is an understatement.  I actually found myself looking over my shoulder as I read it.  The sense of something sinister and unknown is thick, slapped on with each written word by Niles.  It is super creepy…And…Delightful.

Adding to that building dread and doom is the art of Christopher Mitten.  Everything in the visuals are cold, dark, and empty.  It feels dead and lifeless, but intentionally though.  That depiction helps to build on the increasing paranoia delivered by Niles.  One really nice touch I have found in Mitten’s art are the silky trails that are left by the ship as the approach to Ganymede is depicted.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the trails somehow add to the sense of death and doom, almost like the ship is slowly bleeding to death and leaving a trail of its demise for all to see.

All I know for certain two issues into this disturbing sci fi is that it kills (pun intended) on delivering the dark thrills and chills that make for a strong horror comic.  We still have no idea of really anything happening so far other than some very haunting visuals and some peculiar occurrences.  The meat of the story still awaits us.  Giving me a very strong desire to continue to read this one until its eventual end. Keep bringing on the darkness guys.  I am leaving the lights on high from here on out.

Score: 4/5

The Disciples #2 Writer: Steve Niles Artist: Christopher Mitten Colorist: Jay Fotos Publisher: Black Mask Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital

Review: 2000 AD – Prog 1940

Henry Flint is back on Dredd: if the rest of the issue wasn't also excellent, I would probably still give it a perfect score. "Enceladus: Old Life" is going to be a little confusing if you haven't yet read the "Enceladus: New Life" story (I believe that ran starting from Prog #1924, and it's worth digging for).  Long story short, a ship showed up at the Meg all the way from the penal colonies where they keep Judges elsewhere in the solar system.  It was empty, but somehow covered in ice.  Now that ice--ice that is probably definitely not actually ice--has spread and Dredd and the Meg are in for a class 5 shit storm.

But the readers are in for a treat: I would not shut up about Flint's art (he's doing pencils, inks, and colors) last time he was on Dredd, and I probably won't shut up this time either.  Author Rob Williams has described this run of Dredd as being an opera, and has similarly praised Flint's art--particularly his colors--as being perfectly operatic for this story.  I could not agree more.  The penultimate page of this story is easily my favorite comic page of the week, maybe even one of my favorites of the year, and will satiate anyone from a comic art formalist to someone with a slightly worrisome thirst for violence.

2000-AD---Prog-1940Over in Helium, if you were to ask me whether or not I thought you could pull off a dogfight in a comic, I would wager that it is something not many artists could pull off at any satisfying level.  You have to communicate not just motion, but that the motion is happening at great speeds.  Even more importantly, you have to accurately represent the spatial relationships of different planes as they constantly swerve out of the way of each other's weapons and try to blow the other out of the sky.  Frankly, it's an artist's nightmare.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that D'Israeli makes it look like no problem.  Helium was a treat this week, throwing a welcome little twist in (weekly serialization really helped give the story room to breathe and made the reveal satisfying), while depicting a dogfight that is only just getting started.  More generally speaking, I still can't get over how bright and jovial the color palette of this series is, even at a time like this when things are getting hairy.  What's especially surprising is that the almost playful nature of the protagonists and the world they inhabit never feels out of place.

Absalom packed in some very satisfying action this week and Outlier filled in some blanks for continuing readers which also helped bring lapsed readers of the series like myself up to speed on some of the finer points of the world in which it occurs.  I still haven't warmed up to Jaegir, but it's fun to look at and it's not particularly bad.  I'm guessing it's the kind of series that will benefit from a contiguous read-through.

Score: 5/5

2000 AD – Prog 1940 Writers: Various Artists: Various Publisher: 2000 AD Price: £1.99 (Digital) £2.49 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Weekly; Print/Digital

Review: TMNT: Casey & April #2

I felt a little underwhelmed with the first issue of Casey & April. It wasn’t that it bombed, but it didn’t seem like them. Being a huge TMNT fan, it is hard to get away from those stereotypes we all have about the characters. But I tried to do my best in the last issue, and I tried for this issue as well. And I have to say that I don’t think the out of character Casey and April annoyed me, but the whole plot itself is what did me in. When we last left the two, their little bickering made them annoyed with each other. So when it was time to do two things at once, April took the van to help this old man out, while Casey took the bike. Not a good idea. Of course April’s whole trip for this old man was conjured up by the Rat King. In the TMNT comic, this character annoyed me. His presence didn’t seem to make sense, so to put him in a new story made it more logical.

TMNT_CnA02_cvrSo we jump right into the lovers on their own path. Most the issue is spent with them just driving around not making it to their destination and wondering what is going wrong in their relationship. April has to help someone with a flat tire and tells her life story. Casey doesn’t find the armory, but a group of healers that are worried about his negative energy. It is just too much for me. I don’t mind the over done drama of it all, but the real problem is balance. There is no balance in the first two issues. We go from relationship trouble to relationship trouble. No action in between to break it up. I like when a story can move in a lot of different ways. It can done with action, done with villains, done with relationships, done with individuals, and so on. To stick to one thing doesn’t make it very dynamic. Then to stick to that one thing and try to have little pockets of action or villains makes it all confusing.

For instance, we have to wait for the last page to even see the Rat King again. Nothing happens on the road there. No huge life moments, no making up with Casey, no seeing something unusual. It just gives the comic a poor flow. Then throwing in the randomness of the couple meeting new people feels forced. It happens at all too of a convenient time. I really want to like this series. Irene Koh does a great job on the art. Casey and April look updated without forgetting about the TMNT comic, the emotions are there as well, and the focus on characters as oppose to background make it fit into the theme of the story. So I love the art, plus I just really love Casey and April.

I was interested in seeing what they could do on their own. Casey is always flying solo within the comic or in one-shots. I think April’s character in the past has been underused, so to blend these two together makes perfect sense. But for me, it isn’t working. I am hoping in #3 that once April gets captured and Casey comes to the rescue, we can see something progress and the comic grow into what it can be.

Score: 2/5

TMNT : Casey & April #2 Writer: Mariko Tamaki Artist: Irene Koh Colorist: Brittany Peer Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital