Arron Ferguson Comic Reviews

But the whole Mignolaverse has been taking a goth tinged saunter toward the apocalypse for some time now. Perhaps too long. And it would appear we have finally reached the last corner to turn around.

Right now this is 4-star book,but only because it doesn't quite deliver as a solo issue. As it feels, much how the cover was an overture for the book, the book is an overture for the impending final issue. It's easy to imagine that if issue #36 delivers quite how #34 & #35 have, and #35's role in setting up #36 becomes clear, this review may require an edit to tip it over to 5-stars.

In many ways Cage! #1 sets up this four-part mini to be to Luke Cage whatBatman '66 was to Batman. Some will see it as mindless, campy fluff. Others will see it as glorious, visually inventive,fun. If youread comics for some trashy fun instead of Alan Moore-style heaviness, this is a book you need to check out.

Overall this issue is not perfect, maybe a 3-star comic, but we're bunging on an extra star because it absolutely drips in potential for where this series is going. No comic this week has quite captured a sense of "just wait until you read the next one" quite like Captain America: Steve Rogers #2. It would be nice to see Spencer scale down the dialogue and let Saiz shine more, but that's a tiny issue; especially considering that the nature of this issue makes it a special case and that level of words & art may be different in the "business as usual" issues. All round this is a strong sidestep before we launch into this incredibly exciting "Cap in Hydra story" that's peppered with genius gems from Spencer and lovely little details from Saiz. On that note, keep an eye out for a certain little girl's choice of teddy! Deliciously twisted comedy.

Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #1 (go on then, it deserves its full name) may be the most experimental book yet to come out of DC's experimental Young Animal line. It takes the visual flare of the other titles (such as Doom Patrol & Shade, the Changing Girl) but pairs it with more sophisticated themes and maturer ideas. Should, in future issues, each idea get the breathing room it needs, Carson could grow to be one of the more exciting series to come out of DC in a long while: an indie book hiding under DC garnish.

If you're even the slightest bit tempted to jump on Dept. H, do yourself a massive favor and dive in. With only three issues down, there's no way to know how this series is going to go but one thing is for sure: It's going to be a hell of a ride from here on in.

Aside from a couple clanging pieces of exposition heavy dialogue,Descender has turned out yet another great issue. This is a team that gets the best out of one another. Lemire's fascination for all things melancholy and Nguyen's en-capturing of fragility are perfect counterparts. The caliber of their work and their suiting of one another makes clear that this pair are swiftly cementing themselves as the creative team to rival Vaughan and Staples.

Detective Comics launched as one of the better books post-Rebirthand now takes a brave first step in what looks to be a great second story. Restassured, it's growing into the Batman & Friends book the creative team promised,with each player as worthy as Bats himself of being the lead.

If this relatively small (in terms of distribution) yet big (in terms of quality) miniseries has passed you by, pick up the trade when it arrives in October 2016. Head Lopper is a visually arresting, perfectly paced and devilishly funny epic of aesthetic & narrative scope, brought to life with the richest characters in comics in years.

Overall this is a fun first half of what looks to be a promising two-parter, in which story and art bind together and enforce each other to achieve a stronger whole.

Lobster Johnson: Metal Monsters of Midtown Issue #2 (of 3)is a playful pulp romp full of mystery & intrigue wedged nicely between, presumably, two issues of madcap action. Not for everyone, but glorious good fun for those willing to go along with the ride. Its lack of real depth holds it back from the 5-star rating a similar Hellboy book would have got, but this is brilliant fun none-the-less.

After six issues of only being really great, Paper Girls has finally inched its way toward Saga level greatness.

Bar a semi jolting jump in pace, Plutona #5 is a perfect end to a wonderful miniseries about the death of childhood, represented very literally in one instance, that feels it will work better when read as a collection in one sitting instead of in the monthly format.The TPB of Plutonais available as of July 20th. Grab a copy, read it in one sitting at 4:00 am by torch-light whilst listening to an album by a band like Animal Collective and remind yourself of the numb pain of being forced unwilling into the black skied world of adulthood…

Reborn is an interesting continuation of Mark Millar's recent foray into bigger more challenging ideas, anchored by Capullo's art. Should the stumbling blocks of issue #1 fall away as the seriesmove forward, this could be the book that catapults Capullo from "the guy who drew Spawn and Batman" to creator-owned super stardom. About time.

Though a little stagnant on the story-front, and a little lacking in motion in the art- Star Wars #20 is the third beautifully painted fun diversion from the main story in the time of Old Ben's exile that celebrates the lost art of a great one-shot.

Ultimately this is a truly beautiful issue, but the story is too flawed and too unsatisfying to allow this to sore. It's best not to treat this issue as an issue, but instead as a series of wonderful images used to bring life to a dreary & misguided tale.

Where Lemire may have faced trouble is in taking something that feels so cosmic and grandiose and giving it a sense of intimacy. But personal pain is Lemire's stock-in-trade and, whilst it takes him a whole issue to do it, he gets there. The problem with Thanos is how to humanize him. Lemire gives us a final page twist that gives The Mad Titan a more personal problem, immediately making him more relatable moving forward. It's a clich twist. We've seen it before. But Lemire is a writer you can trust to do bigger, bolder things with it.

In short: The Flintstonesis a little good. A little bad. But very interesting…

This book is fun, atmospheric, slow building and tense; in contrast to the more bombastic Monsters of Midtown. There is such an expert grasp of its tone you can almost smell the dusty old paper of forgotten libraries and hear the sharp whistle of London wind.

This is a simmering issue and more of a prologue to the story than part of the story itself. This book feels like the tinkering piano instrumental at the top of an album before the explosion of vocals. Something bombastic and exciting is coming and though it does not quite erupt in these 20 pages, you can FEEL it is only an issue or two way. That's what the team achieves so well here: FEELING. This book is about emotion, and tension and heart. This could be frustrating for some readers who would rather a series that delivered issue after issue of high-octane comic-book storytelling. There's a chance this series could go on to face criticisms of its pace in the long-term, and some may see the developing Trevor subplot as a shaggydog story in waiting, but in a post-Game of Thrones world, of stories that simmer and stew before erupting in a fashion nobody could foresee, this may well be the perfect superhero book for NOW.