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Review: X-Files Deviations One-Shot

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(IDW 2016)

Writer: Amy Chu

Art: Elena Casagrande and Silvia Califano

Colors: Arianna Florean

Letters: Robbie Robbins

Regular Cover: Cat Staggs

Subscription Cover: Gordon Purcell & Monica Kubina

Prepare to believe in a whole new reality in IDW Publishing’s The X-Files Deviations, a world where fate took a very different path after the young Fox Mulder was mysteriously abducted by aliens in 1973 instead of his sister, Samantha, and never seen again. Now another Mulder has become the believer working at the FBI on the X-Files, Samantha Mulder, and despite the reservations of her skeptical new partner, Agent Dana Scully, Samantha won’t rest until she discovers the truth about what really happened to her brother. Continue reading →

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Review: Judge Dredd #1

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(IDW-2015)

Writers- Ulises Farinas & Erick Freitas

Artist- Dan McDaid

Colorist- Ryan Hill

Letterer- Chris Mowry

Editor- Denton J. Tipton

Judge Dredd has been a staple character in the comic book industry since his inception by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, in 1977.  He has been through so many incarnations and seen so many different takes that a new on-going series would seem to be like trying to get artistic inspiration from a used coloring book.  It’s not going to be easy. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: The Fly: Outbreak #1

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(IDW Publishing, 2015)

Written by Brandon Seifert
Art by menton3
Lettered by Tom B. Long

The Fly is a seminal film. David Cronenberg directed a George Langelaan adapted short story (screenplay was by Charles Edward Pogue) and made it into a film that makes your skin crawl 30 years after it was first released. (1986)  This book comes out fortuitously. I just watched this movie last week so the images and creepy-crawly feelings are still pretty fresh in my mind. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Orphan Black #2

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(IDW Publishing, 2015)

Written by Graeme Manson and John Fawcett with Jody Houser
Art by Szymon Kudranski
Colors by Mat Lopes
Letters by Neil Uyetake

I am a tabula rasa when it comes to Orphan Black. I am, in fact, writing this forward before I’ve read either of the comics, numbers one or two, so that I can try to get a before and after impression. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Star Trek/Planet of the Apes #3

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(IDW Publishing / Boom! Studios, 2015)

Written by Scott and David Tipton
Art by Rachael Stott
Colors by Charlie Krichoff
Lettered by Tom B. Long

I was never a Trekkie. I never had that fanboy appreciation for the series or films that ensnares half of the geek culture. (because let’s face it, you’re either a Trek fan or a Star Wars fan.) I came to Star Trek by a much longer route, through the films, Wrath of Kahn is still my favorite, and eventually through my children. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: Zombies Versus Robots #1

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(IDW Publishing, 2015)

Written by Chris Ryall and Steve Niles
Art by Anthony Diecidue, Ashley Wood, and Val Mayerik
Colors by Jay Fotos

There are times that my docket for reviews is nearly empty, and other times when my desktop is so full of PDF icons that I can hardly see the picture of my children, peering out from the background. This is one of those times, and I admit, I lucked out, because as I was clicking through them, getting and idea for what was there, I happened upon this gem.

Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘In The Dark: A Horror Anthology’

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(Tiny Behemoth Press & IDW Publishing, 2014)

Edited by Rachel Deering

Writers – (in order of appearance) Cullen Bunn, Justin Jordan, Rachel Deering, Michael Moreci, Steve Seeley, Mike Oliveri, Steve Niles, Tim Seeley, Christopher Sebella, Tom Taylor, James Tynion IV, Duane Swiercynski, Matthew Down Smith, F. Paul Wilson, Scott Snyder, Sean E. Williams, Brian Keene, Jody Leheup, Nate Southard, Thomas Boatwright, Ed Brisson, Paul Tobin, Valerie D’Orazio, and Marguerite Bennett Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Star Slammers’ #3

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Written by Walter Simonson
Artwork by Walter Simonson
Color Artwork by Len O’Grady
Lettering by John Workman

Walter Simonson is a member of that ultra-elite class of comic book creators that sadly gets smaller every year. He has brought his highly recognizable and unique visual style to the most iconic characters of both DC and Marvel at some point in his illustrious career. His work at DC includes groundbreaking runs on Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘The Crow: Pestilence’ #1

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Writer: Frank Bill
Artist: Drew Moss
Colorist: Oliver Lee Arce
Editor: Sarah Gaydos

In 1989 I was fully in the thrall of the X-Men and Spider-Man, but there were other books out there, something mysterious called “indie” comics, that would shape my later life. 1994 saw the release of The Crow, the Brandon Lee film, and I was enthralled. It was a superhero movie. We were on the heels of Batman Returns Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Monster and Madman’ #1

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Writer – Steve Niles
Artist – Damien Worm
Editor – Chris Ryall

If Mary Shelley could have known what she was doing, would she still have done it? The same question could have been asked of the doctor in her most famous work. From a vacation on the banks of Lake Geneva with Lord Byron was born the stuff of legends, and constant reinvention, as well as re-animation, of one of the classic characters in literature. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Star Trek’ #29

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Written by Mike Johnson
Art by Yasmin Liang
Colours by Zak Atkinson
Letters by Gilberto Lazcano

This Star Trek comic takes place after the events of Star Trek into Darkness, which makes it instantly comparable to comics like Smallville: Season 11 and X-Files Season 10 that take characters and events established on screen and continue telling that story in a different medium. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Gateway’ #2

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Created by Joe Halpin Sr. and Joe Halpin Jr.
Written by Joe Halpin Sr.
Pencils and Inks by Juanfrancisco Moyano
Assistant Inker: D.F. Martin
Colorist: Joe Halpin Jr.
Assistant Colorist: Joaquin Pereyra
Letterer: Tom B. Long

Hell is terrifying. That’s sort of the point. We’ve seen it as a setting over and over again throughout literature and right into comic books. And it’s been proven as a great setting for comics. Spawn comes to the fore without even thinking about it. Of course there is always the flip side of that as well Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Haunted Horror’ #9

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Writers and Artists: Various
Editors: Steve Banes, Clizia Gussoni and Craig Yoe
Contributing Editors: Mike Howlett, Toxic Tommy O’Brien and Tillmann Courth

Often, there tends to be a bias against purchasing comics in reprints. This could be fueled by the speculator market, in which reprints or second printings might be seen as being inauthentic or worth less because they’re not the original. To that I say, comics are meant for reading. Value should be an afterthought. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Half Past Danger’

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Created, Written & Drawn by Stephen Mooney
Color Artwork (Issue #1) by Stephen Mooney
Color Artwork (Issues #2-6) by Jordie Bellaire

Half Past Danger is a book you should pick up. Really. You should stop now and go buy it. I could end the review right there, but then it wouldn’t be much of a review and my editor would stop sending me stuff and I would be out all of these wonderful comics and things…and the chance to see more work from Stephen Mooney. Continue reading →

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REVIEW: ‘Ghostbusters’ #12

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(IDW Publishing, 2014)

Written by Erik Burnham
Art by Dan Schoening
Colors by Luis Antonio Delgado

“Mass Hysteria! Prelude #2”
Written by Erik Burnham
Art by Erik Evensen
Letters by Gilberto Lazcano

The Ghostbusters is a franchise near and dear to me. The original film is in my top five of all time. I love it for reasons that will probably be familiar to so many people that are in their mid-30’s. The two films, the accompanying soundtracks (“Who you gonna’ call?”) the breakfast cereal, the “Real” Ghostbusters cartoon Continue reading →