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REVIEW: “X” #3

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(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)

Review by Cory Thrall

STORY BY:  Duane Swierczynski
ARTWORK BY:  Eric Nguyen
COLOR ARTWORK BY:  Michelle Madsen

Dark Horse’s recent relaunch of the tile “X” has been a good ride so far.  I was hesitant at first, as I had not read the 90’s incarnation.  I just didn’t seem interesting to me at the time.  Beginning with issue #0, the story of our mysterious ‘anti-hero’ X is one mixed with Mobsters, heavy amounts of crime, and lots and lots of bloody violence.  Sound like a rehashed idea?  Maybe in a way it is.  Whatever it may be, it works in a way I hadn’t expected.  After reading issue #0 a bit ago, I was excited for #1’s release, and had this excitement rewarded with a high quality book.  While it seemed to step away from the ultra-violence of #0 in a way, it had the needed good set up and enough action to make it a solid beginning.  The issues to come, leading us here to issue #3 - have been a little more troubled. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: “Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem” #2

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(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)

Reviewed by Cory Thrall

WRITTEN BY:  Steve Niles, Matt Santoro
ARTWORK BY:  Dave Wachter
COVER ARTWORK:  Dave Wachter

The varied stories of the Golem have been in Jewish Folklore for centuries.  This is a common story linked from generation to generation over time, with multiple tales and takes on what we now consider the Golem - a speechless, towering ‘man’ made of mud, dirt, sometimes ash.  We’ve seen in films from many periods how this can go wrong, how a mindless creature following orders exactly as they are given can lead to a nightmarish situation - one where the creator is forced to trick the Golem into its own destruction.  This is a bit of folklore that has transcended from these old stories into a commonly shared one, regardless of the origins of this creature.  Now, here in the 21st century, there are but a small number of films or media regarding this tale.  Luckily for comic fans and history/folklore fans alike, we now have the 3 issue mini-series “Breath of Bones: A Tale of the Golem”. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: “Black Beetle: No Way Out” #0-4

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(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)

Review by Raymond Jacques

Story & Art by Francesco Francavilla
Lettering by Nate Piekos of BlamBot
Covers by Francesco Francavilla
Series Editor:  Jim Gibbons

Let’s be clear: I LOVE FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA. That is a fact. You NEED to know that right off the bat.

And another point of interest: You NEED to love Francesco Francavilla, too! Beyond being one of the industry’s most sought after cover artists he’s also one of the absolute best comic book storytelling artists in the game. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: “Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin” #1

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(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)

Review by Cory Thrall

WRITTEN BY:  Tim Siedell
PENCILS BY:  Stephen Thompson
INKS BY:  Mark Irwin
COLORS BY:  Michael Atiyeh
LETTERS BY:  Michael Heisler

“Star Wars: Darth Vader & the Ninth Assassin” is one of those Star Wars titles that stand out to me.  One, it has Darth Vader (always helpful), and two - it deals with the post-Episode 3 through pre-Episode 4 part of the Star Wars timeline - an era that has captured my attention, especially in more recent times.  I really find the younger Vader a complex and interesting character, even when played down in this first issue - which, sadly, is one of my main gripes about this first issue. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: “Hellboy: In Hell”

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(Dark Horse, 2013)

Reviewed by Chris Ambrosio

WRITER & ARTWORK: Mike Mignola
COLOR ARTWORK: Dave Stewart
COVER ARTIST: Mike Mignola

It has been a while since I have seen Mignola do work with Dark Horse for Hellboy, since 2005 I believe. With Mignola being gone for so long, we all were stuck wondering if he was ever going to return and if he did was he going to be able to return with a big BOOM! Continue reading →

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REVIEW: “Star Wars” #2

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(Dark Horse Comics, 2013)

Review by Cory Thrall

Dark Horse made a very curious and dangerous move with the announcement of their new ‘Star Wars’ title, one that obviously would be taken pretty seriously by a ton of comic and Star Wars fans.  The issue being, of course, that this would be focusing on the main characters from the original films, and would be a story taking place between ‘Star Wars’ and ‘the Empire Strikes Back’.  Truth be told, when I had heard that this title was coming, I was very surprised. Continue reading →