Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 4/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: Bobby Curnow, Comic Reviews, Dan Duncan, IDW, IDW Publishing, Kevin Eastman, Ninja Turtles, Ronda Pattison, Shawn Lee, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT, Tom Waltz | 1 Comment »
Full Circle; Man Down
Written by: Greg Pak
Illustrated by: Tony Parker
Colored by: Peter Steigerwald; David Curiel
Lettered by: Josh Reed
Covers 0C, 1A: Tony Parker, Peter Steigerwald
Published by: Aspen Comics
I came into Dead Man’s Run having no honest idea what it was about. The title itself suggested maybe someone dies and comes back, or has some fatal countdown looming and they have some mission to carry out despite knowing death is imminent.
Turns out there’s this prison, with guards and all that…and what they’re guarding is Hell. Like…THAT Hell. Their prisoners belong there, and they basically just make sure they stay put. There’s a warden who seems to be something more, and some plot seems to be in motion.
The zero issue sees the death of a guard who with his last breath as a live man requests another. In the premiere issue, we meet Sam–a doomed cartographer who finds himself stuck in Hell at the side of the deceased guard, who seems poised to show Sam a whole different world than he ever dreamed existed. Meanwhile, we get a hint at the nature of the warden, and some of Sam’s motivation (the car wreck that he died in and woke up in Hell also left his sister in Hell–something he’s not going to take lying down).
This #0 and #1 really feel like the pilot episode of a tv series, more than just the premiere of a new comic series. The story–what’s set up so far and where it seems it might go, and the execution–seem very cinematic in a tv sort of way. I’m not entirely thrilled with that, because I don’t know that I want to READ a tv series.
That said…the story’s got a couple interesting hooks that leave me curious for the next issue. The art is very solid and in general makes the story flow. Stylistically it doesn’t seem at all like a super-hero comic (which is good, because this most certainly is not of that genre) nor does it seem hyper-realistic. It just has a comfortable feel that carries things alone.
The writing is solid…I know next to nothing about these characters, but there’s enough there for the potential to shine. It’ll be interesting to find out more about Sam’s past and the relationship with his sister–and if there’s anything special about either of them that’ll play into things. The prison guard, too, has a glimmer of something more. The glimpses we get of the warden suggest a lot more to her as well, that COULD wind up being cliche, or could provide something that might make for an interesting (eventual) comparison to the Hell we find in Gaiman‘s The Sandman: Season of Mists.
I made the reference above about this being like a tv series. Using that comparison….this puts me in mind of the first season of Prison Break if the imprisoned brother arranged for the other to be jailed, but dealing with a prison of hellfire and brimstone rather than steel and concrete.
Aside from the story and art, there’s also the fact that this is backed by Gale Anne Hurd’s studio…so I’m inclined to give this a bit of time to take shape if someone who helped to get The Walking Dead from comic to tv endorses it.
I received these two issues free as review copies, so the only up front cost to me was the time taken to read these. I don’t see a price on the #0 issue, but #1 is listed as $3.50…which earns points from me for being $.49 cheaper than most Marvel comics. As something cheaper than a standard Marvel, I’m more apt to buy #2 than I am one of those $3.99 Marvels.
The story so far seems to be–as said–like a pilot episode, so I’m not entirely sold on the singles, but reading these has me definitely interested in either picking up the next issue when I notice it on the shelf, or at least checking back before too long for a graphic novel collection.
You could certainly do much worse than this book…and it’s not off to a bad start at all.
Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Filed under: Dead Man's Run (Aspen), INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS | Tagged: Aspen Comics, Comic Reviews, David Curiel, Dead Man's Run, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Pak, Josh Reed, Peter Steigerwald, Tony Parker, Valhalla Entertainment | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: Bobby Curnow, Brian Lynch, Casey Jones, Chris Mowry, Comic Reviews, cxPulp, cxPulp.com, David Petersen, Fabio Mantovani, Franco Urru, IDW, Micro Series, Ninja Turtles, Raphael, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT | 1 Comment »
Story: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Layouts: Kevin Eastman
Art: Dan Duncan
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Associate Editor: Bobby Curnow
Published by:IDW
I’ll talk about the “bad” here, first. This is not the TMNT that I grew up with. The characters themselves–as we’ve learned in these last couple issues–are quite different from previous iterations. For one thing, so far, we don’t even have all four turtles together as one family–three believe their ‘brother’ may not even exist, while this ‘brother’ doesn’t even know about the others or how he came to be what and where he is at present. And after half a decade of the primary TMNT book being Tales of the TMNT, a monthly series with mainly done-in-one stories, I can’t help but feel like this story is decompressed, and I’m anxious to see the turtles as a group–it seems so obvious that they’re not going to be kept apart more than perhaps this arc, so it’s easy to just want to get to that point and get on with things.
But–and this is in the face of any and all complaints listed above or not–I am loving this book on the whole. I’m still getting used to Duncan‘s art, but with the assumption that he’s going to be “the” TMNT artist long-term, it’s easy to see how I’m going to find myself embracing this vision of the turtles. Much as Lawson defined these characters for me for years on the Mirage series, I totally expect Duncan‘s will as well. I certainly hope so, anyway. There’s a sort of sketch-like quality to the art that in many cases would tend to put me off a bit, but here, it manages to–through the colors–evoke a bit of the more familiar black-and-white take on the characters. The colors are a bit muted, which lends another quality to the visuals that I like. There’s plenty of color…but the muted tones fit with the sort of muted story.
These are not super-heroes…these are mutants living in a sewer, trying to avoid detection while seeking out a lost family member. I wish I could say that Eastman‘s breakdowns were obvious to me–but I only know that work based on the issue’s credits. However, it’s cool (at least on a meta level) knowing he’s got that sort of hand in this as a part of the overall visual storytelling on this series, and lends a bit of continuity between the classic and the current.
The story itself is actually quite good–I’m really enjoying it, despite it feeling stretched and such. That, or it’s just got me that hooked and engaged that I’m eagerly awaiting each new issue, and it’s always at the top of my stack when I decide what I’m going to read first. Eastman obviously gets the characters, having co-created them. And while I’m otherwise unfamiliar with Waltz, he’s got a big part in this, too, or wouldn’t be credited as he is.
This issue opens with a several-page fight scene in which Raphael (well, we know it’s him but he doesn’t) and Casey beat on some purse-snatchers, while their banter serves to give us exposition, filling things out about the characters more rapidly than otherwise possible, given the flow of story. In their home, the other turtles finish a training session before touching off an ongoing argument amongst themselves and Splinter. A flashback further fleshes out the characters’ current origin. Finally, it seems the two groups may soon converge, as we’re left on a cliffhanger that may or may not be a bigger deal than it looks.
Oh, and just in case anyone’s wondering: there is as yet no mention of Oroku Saki, no mention of a Shredder…and to me, that’s a fantastic blast of fresh air. I’m thankful for a nemesis that is not just another re-tread of a character who was never supposed to appear beyond the original TMNT #1 27 years ago. If you’re at all interested in the TMNT–this is a great re-imagining of the characters, worthy so far of the classic work and certainly a wonderful entry point for new readers. Whether you’re steeped in TMNT mythology or brand-new, there’s plenty here for all.
Story: 8/10
Art: 8.5/10
Whole: 9/10
Filed under: INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: Bobby Curnow, Dan Duncan, IDW, IDW Publishing, Kevin Eastman, Ninja Turtles, Ronda Pattison, Scott Dunbier, Shawn Lee, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT, Tom Waltz | 1 Comment »
Written by: Erik Burnham
Art by: Dan Schoening
Colors by: Luis Antonio Delgado
PCOC Pages by: Tristan Jones
Letters by: Shawn Lee
Associate Edits by: Bobby Curnow
Edits by: Tom Waltz
I vaguely recall picking up a premiere issue of a Ghostbusters series a few years back…maybe 2004 or so. Unfortunately, I never kept up with it, and pretty much lost track of the property again. Earlier this year, I was ever so slightly reintroduced to the Ghostbusters through the 2-issue micro-series tie-in to the Infestation event. And now, here…a premiere issue, picking up with the characters, sometime after the films.
The lead story of the issue introduces us to the characters where they are in the present…and even though it’s been years since I’ve even seen the films…these felt like those characters. After introductions are out of the way, things get moving, as a series of interactions lead to Winston taking on a pro bono case and dragging Peter into it…where they find themselves faced with a familiar ghost messing up an apartment building.
After this lead story ends on its cliffhanger, we’re given a brief scene as officials discuss the need for someone to oversee the activities of the Ghostbusters and those like them, inducting an old face to head the group: the Paranormal Contracts Oversight Commission.
I’m not familiar offhand with Erik Burnham, at least not consciously by name. Which I think makes this that much more an enjoyable read: I’m here for the Ghostbusters, period. Not the Ghostbusters as written by _______. And as said above…reading this issue, I really got the feeling these are the characters from the films, with a touch of the animated series The Real Ghostbusters. Burnham seems to have a great grasp on these characters, and does a fantastic job of reintroducing me to them, setting up the current status quo, and introducing the group’s first threat here.
Schoening‘s art reminds me a lot of contemporary cartoons…rather stylized and not terribly realistic…but not devolved into goofy caricature. He makes these characters his own…and yet manages to capture the essense of the actors who’d portrayed them. The coloring seems a bit heavy and computerized, almost too “shiny” overall for my tastes. That makes me wonder what the art would look like in strict black and white…probably have a definite manga feel to it at that point. Despite the extra shininess…really can’t complain, as mixed with the writing, this was an enjoyable story overall with a nice cliffhanger.
Jones‘ scene at the end provides an interesting concept, and I look forward to seeing how this aspect of things will play out in the coming issues. The writing and the art have a much more serious, gritty feel to them than the lead…but that makes this work. It’s a much different style than the lead feature…but then, it feels like it could be setting up its own series set in the Ghostbusters universe; Sort of like a Marvel Knights to the Marvel Universe, for lack of a better analogy offhand. Same universe, fits together, but quite different…yet a good mix.
Even with my “limited engagement” with Infestation: Ghostbusters a few months back…this is the third IDW book in the last couple months to fully engage me, hook me, and leave me very much anticipating the next issue.
If you’re familiar with the Ghostbusters, this ought to be a fun ride, checking back in to the characters with a fresh-ish start. At the same time, if you don’t know the characters…this seems a solid point to jump in.
Recommended!
Story: 8/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 8.5/10
Filed under: Ghostbusters (IDW), INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS | Tagged: Bobby Curnow, Comic Reviews, Dan Schoening, Erik Burnham, Ghostbusters, IDW, Luis Antonio Delgado, Shawn Lee, Tom Waltz, Tristan Jones | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 4/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: Bobby Curnow, Comic Reviews, cxPulp, Dan Duncan, Donatello, IDW, IDW Publishing, Kevin Eastman, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Ninja Turtles, Raphael, Robbie Robins, Ronda Pattison, Scott Dunbier, splinter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT, Tom Waltz | 1 Comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, DuckTales (Kaboom/Boom Studios) | Tagged: Boom! Studios, Braden Lamb, Christopher Burns, Comic Reviews, Deron Bennett, ducktales, Jose Massaroli, Kaboom, Leonel Castellani, magic eye studios, Many Happy Returns, Rightful Owners, Scrooge McDuck, Uncle Scrooge, Warren Spector | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Story: 3.5/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Mega Man (Archie) | Tagged: archie, Archie Comics, Capcom, Comic Reviews, Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, Ian Flynn, John Workman, Matt Herms, Mega Man, MegaMan, MIke Pellerito, Patrick Spaziante, Paul Kaminski, Rock, Roll, Victor Gorelick | Leave a comment »
Quick Rating: Good!
Title: Untitled
An early Joe mission creates the Snake-Eyes readers were introduced to in the original G.I. Joe # 1…
Story: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Emiliano Santalucia
Colors: Jason Jensen
Letters: Brian Crowley
Cover Art: Emiliano Santalucia & Jeremy Roberts
Publisher: Devil’s Due
This issue wraps up the Snake-Eyes Declassified story, detailing in six issues the true "origin" of the man known to us only as Snake-Eyes.
This issue takes us into Snake-Eyes’ earliest days with the G.I. Joe team, and details the mission that largely shaped the character, particularly as he was first seen in the original Marvel series, way back in # 1.
As a reader who’s not terribly familiar with the character, I can say only that I enjoyed this issue, and that it seems to have certain elements I was aware of from flashbacks. Discussing the issue with a friend, it seems that not only this issue, but throughout the series, there have been scenes taken directly from those earliest issues, and given that, lends even more credibility/authenticity to this story.
After trauma in/surrounding his service to his country, Snake-Eyes has been through a lot, and has ultimately wound up on a "daring, highly-trained special mission force" where he can put his experience/training/abilities to good use. The Joes are sent on a rescue mission, but a mechanical failure with a helicopter leads to disaster, and in the midst of the disaster, several key things occur that close the gap between previous issues of this mini and the first issue of the Marvel series.
The art works very well here, conveying exactly what needs to be gotten across to the reader, including something as simple and subtle as the shifting of eyes in a 3-panel sequence at the beginning.
In the end, this story works very well as a story in and of itself–of a man’s trauma and the things he goes through as he deals with loss and hurt–but it also places into a single coherent chronicle the backstory to what is arguably one of (if not the) most popular characters of the G.I. Joe saga.
Though a "#6 of 6" is not necessarily the best jumping-on point, if you’ve followed this series thus far, I highly recommend getting this final issue. And if you’ve passe don the series–do consider checking out the TPB when it (inevitably) comes out.
Highly recommended.
Ratings:
Story: 4/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Filed under: Classic Reviews, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Snake-Eyes: Declassified (Devil's Due) | Tagged: Brandon Jerwa, Brian Crowley, Comic Reviews, Declassified, Devil's Due, Devil's Due Publishing, Emiliano Santalucia, G.I. Joe, G.I.Joe, GI Joe: A Real American Hero, GIJoe, Jason Jensen, Jeremy Roberts, Snake-Eyes | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to cxPulp.com.
Rating: 3.5/5
Filed under: cxPulp.com, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Infestation (IDW) [event], Infestation: Transformers | Tagged: Andy Lanning, Andy Schmidt, Bobby Curnow, Comic Reviews, Dan Abnett, IDW, IDW Publishing, Infestation, Joana Lafuente, Nick Roche, Robbie Robbins, transformers | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 