Colder: The Bad Seed

Weekly Pull Review 2/25/15

ODY-C #3- Image

It’s cyclops time! Woo! The cyclops is one of the best comic book monsters I’ve ever seen- It’s absolutely profane and alien, all at once. A three lobed mouth that looks almost like one of Guillermo Del Toro’s freakish mutant vampires from Blade 2, though not quite, an enormous eye with eyelids that close along a vertical line, enormous breasts running in three rows down its chest- it definitely stands out. We get introduced to new gods this issue- Hera takes a greater role than in the past, and we get properly introduced to Apollo, and more especially Dionysus. Poseidon still takes the cake as the most visually striking god, but Apollo and Dionysus stand up quite well themselves.

Chew #46- Image

This isn’t the first time a major character has died in Chew, but it’s treated very differently this time around. Most characters don’t even know about this death yet- in fact, only one person does. The status quo has undergone a number of other shakeups, as well- beyond all of the characters lying in the hospital, Tony now refuses to work with Colby, and is stuck working with D-Bear, of all people. No signs of the Vampire yet this arc, but considering that this arc is titled Blood Pudding, and has vampire teeth in the logo…

(more…)

Weekly Pull Review 1/28/15

This is an absurdly good week for my comics. I mean, hell yes.

Sex Criminals #10- Image

Sex Criminals is, without a doubt, the single funniest goddamn thing in my pull. Especially the letters column. Oh my god the letters column. Yes. In all seriousness, though- this comic has amazingly developed characters. Jon and Suzie are way more sympathetic than… well, damn near any other comic book characters out there. Almost certainly the best comic book couple. Alana and Marko from Saga have them beat, maaaaayyyybeee? Hard to say. You can definitely feel Fraction’s style in here- comics he writes tend to have some of the highest panel per page counts out there. I mean, it’s not Hawkeye, with that one goddamned 27 panel page, but it’s still pretty crazy, with 10+ panel pages everywhere. That usually just ends up looking like shit, but it works out well here. That probably mostly speaks volumes about Chip Zdarsky (and David Aja on Hawkeye), but I’d still like to see some of Fraction’s scripts. Also, did I mention that this comic is goddamned hilarious? I don’t think I’ll be able to go into a Barnes and Noble without getting the temptation to yell “Vagina Doctor” ever again.

Bitch Planet #2- Image

It’s not even remotely surprising to find two Image titles headlining my pull review. At this point I think it should be obvious that I’m a raving Image fanboy. It should also not be surprising that the two comics headlining my list are by the power couple of comics these days, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Matt Fraction. I usually don’t really throw my weight fully behind a comic until at least issue 3, but this issue has completely locked in this comic for me. The art gives off an awesome pulp vibe that works great for the prison scenes. The scenes in the confession module are fantastic looking- definitely the most eyecatching scenes in the book, though the treadmill scene is pretty close behind it. I wasn’t expecting this book to take the prisoners form a sports team angle, but it could turn out pretty good- especially since we don’t know anything about Megaton yet, other than that it’s really, really violent.

(more…)

Weekly Pull Review 12/24/14

Yes, I know the 24th was a couple days ago. Whatever, it was Ebenezer Scrooge Day. Anyhow…

Hawkeye Vs Deadpool #3- Marvel

If you had told me that one of the enjoyable comics in my pull lately would be one of the bajillion Deadpool miniseries that have been coming, I probably would have… well, maybe not have laughed, but given you a skeptical look. It’s not that most of them are bad, it’s just that they don’t tend to be super interesting. While Deadpool Vs. Hawkeye doesn’t quite measure up to Deadpool at its best, or Hawkeye at all, it does manage to pull in a lot of the charm of both. The characters all click amazingly well, too. Kate Bishop is the real scene-stealer (“Oh god, I blew up New York”), despite Clint Barton and Wade Wilson getting top billing. Watching the bad guys have minor computer problems, like not being able to find a thumb drive on the desktop was the kind of bizarre, mundane, wonderful scene that doesn’t really exist outside this miniseries and its parent series. I’m kinda sad there’s only one more issue left. Also, Deadpool continuing to use Uber (Ooper) to get to and from missions? YES.

Dead Boy Detectives #12- Vertigo

This series just keeps growing and growing on me. The characters feel more fleshed out, the art is really getting into stride… it’s feeling less like just a Sandman Spinoff, and more like its own beast. The philosopher ghost cats work much better as amusing animal sidekicks than the usual addition, which tend to rely on cuteness over actual interesting behavior. The detectives interacting with a medium while she tries to ignore them was confusing, but not in a bad way at all- all of the characters involved in that scene, especially the customer, are absolutely bewildered themselves. It’s a great little setup. Despite the videogame being the cover hook, it doesn’t actually get a lot of screen time, but what we do get looks really good. (more…)