RealHeroes-No1--COVER

REVIEW: ‘Real Heroes’ #1

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(Image Comics, 2014)

Created, Written, & Drawn by Bryan Hitch
Inked by Paul Neary
Colored by Laura Martin
Lettered by Chris Eliopoulos
Production by Drew Gill

Well, reader, what can I say about Real Heroes… How about you will never see it coming? Now I’m sure you’re saying, “See what coming?” How about everything? Real Heroes #1 is filled with so many twists and turns at times it was hard to keep up. Ultimately though, it has a great cliff hanger ending that makes you wish Issue #2 was out already. I don’t want to give away too much of the story line, or you will miss out on all the fun of being caught off guard. But I definitely want to talk about the importance of what this comic entails – and that would be none other than the title of this comic.

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The-Field

REVIEW: ‘The Field’ #1

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(Image Comics, 2014)

Illustrated by Simon Roy
Written and Lettered by Ed Brisson
Colored by Simon Gough

The standard for listing creator credits in a comic book is writer, artist, then coloring and lettering if needed, along with the editors and any other illustration or creative help.  When I opened The Field, the first thing I was struck by was that the artist was listed first.  I’m not sure if, pre-reviewing, I would have noticed this, but now it struck out at me from the page.  Why?

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DeadlyClass-No3--COVER

REVIEW: ‘Deadly Class’ #3

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(Image Comics, 2014)

Written by Rick Remender
Artwork by Wes Craig
Color Artwork by Lee Loughridge
Lettering by Rus Wooton

Rick Remender excels at writing damaged characters, characters with lots of baggage and more often than not, these characters are in a state of introspective flux. They are usually on a quest to come to terms with some element of their past or searching for something to heal the wounds of that wreckage.

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JackOfSpades-No1--COVER

REVIEW: ‘Jack of Spades’ #1

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(Sourcepoint Press, 2014)

Written by Trico Lutkins
Art by Joshua Werner

I love social media, from a comic book and reviewer standpoint, because of the ability it gives me to get into contact with people actually working in the industry. To know that the writer of a book read my review and enjoyed it, or that I caught the subtlety in a piece of art that the artist hoped the reader would get, it makes it all worth it.

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REVIEW: ‘Legends of Red Sonja’ #5

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(Dynamite Entertainment, 2014)

Writers – Gail Simone, Blair Butler, Kelly Sue DeConnick
Artists – Jack Jadson, Jim Calafiore, Valentine De Landro
Colors – Salvatore Aiala Studios
Letters – Simon Bowland

Red Sonja has become an iconic figure. Popularized by the Robert E. Howard short story The Shadow of the Vulture from 1934, she has become one of the most recognizable characters in comics.

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Revenge-No2--COVER

REVIEW: ‘Revenge’ #2

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(Image Comics, 2014)

Story – Jonathan Ross
Art – Ian Churchill
Lettering – Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
Coloring – Arif Prianto

*Mature Audiences

Jonathan Ross (Turf, America’s Got Powers) is back with a (re)-Vengeance! Revenge #2 drops this week from Image, and if you thought the first was messed up, wait till you read the second.

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ASHandAODAnn2014-Cov-Calero

REVIEW: ‘Ash and the Army of Darkness’ Annual #1

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(Dynamite Entertainment, 2014)

Written by Shannon Eric Denton
Art by Nacho Tenorio
Colors by Isa Santiago
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Cover by Dennis Calero

I grew up on The Army of Darkness. Along with Mel Brooks movies, it was one that I could quote at random and was constantly dropping phrases from into conversation. (Needless to say “gimme some sugar baby” didn’t get a lot of positive response…must’ve been a context thing.) Sam Raimi’s third in the Evil Dead trilogy has always been one of my favorites.

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DHP-No33-COVER

REVIEW: ‘Kill Me’ #1-3

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(Dark Horse Comics, 2014)

Kill Me 1-3
Collected in Dark Horse Presents #31-#33

Writer – Chad Lambert
Artist – Christine Larsen
Letterer – Jaymes Reed

Everyone can look back on a past event and wish it had turned out differently. Most of the ones that really tug at the emotional heartstrings are those in which we behaved poorly. (It seems for me that the blue and yellow lockers of my high school’s hallways frame nearly all of these.) There is always a moment when we can be more compassionate to others and for whatever reason choose not to be.

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animal-man--No29-COVER

REVIEW: ‘Animal Man’ #29

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(DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Jeff Lemire
Artwork by Travel Foreman, Jeff Lemire
Color Artwork by Lovern Kindzierski, Jose Villarrubia
Lettering by Jared K. Fletcher

Jeff Lemire has taken us on a twenty-nine issue journey with one of the most enigmatic super heroes of all time, Animal Man. Since his first appearance in Strange Adventures #180 forty-nine years ago, Animal Man has presented perhaps the most diverse power set imaginable and that has opened the door to a nearly limitless pool of potential premises and plots. Continue reading →

daredevil_1_cover

REVIEW: ‘Daredevil’ #1

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(Marvel Comics, 2014)

Storytellers: Mark Waid & Chris Samnee
Coloring: Javier Rodriguez
Lettering: VC’s Joe Caramagna

New York City was more than just a location in the previous runs of Daredevil; the city itself was a supporting character in many ways. It provided a lush, complex environment that often insinuated its way into the narrative much as it does in the Spider-Man mythology. Continue reading →

PawnShop--COVER1

REVIEW: ‘Pawn Shop’ Graphic Novel

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(Soup Dad Comics, 2014)

Written By Joey Esposito
Art by Sean Von Gorman
Colors by Jonathan Moore (Chap. 2-4), Sean Von Gorman (Chap. 1 and chapter breaks)
Letters by Adam Pruett
Cover by Jonathan Moore

The dedication of the book says it all. “This book is dedicated to the lonely souls haunting New York City.” Pawn Shop was a fully funded Kickstarter project in 2012 that was recently released as a complete graphic novel in February of this year. Inside writer Joey Esposito explores the interconnectedness of people and Continue reading →

AmericanVampire2ndCycle-No1--COVER

REVIEW: ‘American Vampire: Second Cycle’ #1

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(Vertigo/DC Comics, 2014)

Written by Scott Snyder
Artwork by Rafael Albuquerque
Color Artwork by Dave McCaig
Lettering by Steve Wands

Skinner Sweet and Pearl Jones, the undead stars or Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s epic horror story American Vampire, are back after an extended hiatus and having just read the first issue of the second cycle, I can tell you it is worth the wait. Continue reading →

REVIEW: ‘Curse’ #3

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(BOOM! Studios, 2014)

Written by Michael Moreci and Tim Daniel
Art by Riley Rossmo and Colin Lorimer
Additional Colors by Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by Jim Campbell

We want our favorite comics to go as long as possible. The Walking Dead just released its 123 issue. Spider-Man went to 700 before the reboot. The Curse…well…The Curse is only going to be four issues.

I know right? How could something this cool only go four issues? The answer is simple. Michael Moreci (Hoaxhunters) and Tim Daniel (Enormous) only need four. Continue reading →

ClockworkAngels-No1--COVER

REVIEW: ‘Clockwork Angels’ #1

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(BOOM! Studios, 2014)

Written by Kevin J. Anderson
From a Story and lyrics by Neil Peart
Illustrated by Nick Robles
Lettering by Ed Dukeshire

“A single person in a perfect world is little more than an identical grain of sand or a tiny pebble alongside the road. Yet, if a grain of sand got into the eye, or a sharp pebble in a shoe, it could cause tremendous problems.” Owen Hardy is that grain of sand or sharp pebble. Welcome to the perfectly timed future of Clockwork Angels, released this week from Boom Studios. Continue reading →