Ben Boruff's Comic Reviews

Reviewer For: Comic Watch, Comic Bastards, Impulse Gamer, Geek'd Out Reviews: 14
8.3Avg. Review Rating

7.8
Absolute Power: Task Force VII (2024) #1

Jul 15, 2024

This arc promises to be action-packed, and I cannot wait to see where it leads. My hope is that future issues continue to incorporate minor, intriguing DC characters into the narrative.

View Issue       View Full Review
8.9
All The Things We Didn't Do Last Night (2024) #1

Jul 5, 2024

All The Things We Didn't Do Last Night is a brilliantly tantalizing story. It represents the best of what the Soft Swindle Chic genre can be: luxurious, sultry, mysterious, and effortlessly fun. The first issue of this three-part series has set the bar high. I have no doubt that the next issues will continue to seduce readers.

View Issue       View Full Review
8.9
Barfly (2024) #1

Jul 15, 2024

Barfly is The Boys meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Its funny, well-paced, and surprisingly insightful. I recommend giving it a try.

View Issue       View Full Review
7.7
Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown #1

Jul 3, 2024

The first issue of Cyberpunk 2077: Kickdown offers little new: it is a collection of science-fiction tropes communicated through semi-juvenile dialogue and electrifying color. However, I have some trust in Marchewkas ability to craft a compelling story, and I imagine the next issues will deliver.

View Issue       View Full Review
8.4
Daredevil: Woman Without Fear (2024) #1

Jul 22, 2024

Daredevil: Woman Without Fear #1 is well worth reading: for the action, the poses, the colors, and more. Its enough to wake you up inside.

View Issue       View Full Review
8
Deer Editor (2023) #1

Mar 23, 2016

I read Deer Editor shortly after watching the producers of Spotlight"the biographical film about the journalists from The Boston Globe who exposed sex abuse in the Boston area by Catholic priests"take home the Oscar for Best Picture, and I believe that, though Spotlight deals with some heavier issues, audiences today appreciate the relevance of both stories. Maybe that appreciation is fueled by pervasive cynicism and a widespread belief that the inveterate criminals of today need to be exposed. Maybe we see ourselves, on some level, as investigative antiheroes, flawed individuals who search for truth, so we relate to characters like Bucky. Whatever the reasons, Deer Editor is a fun, meaningful read, and I recommend it.

View Issue       View Full Review
10
Godshaper #1

Apr 12, 2017

Reading Godshaper is a refreshing experience"notably different than reading the often trite, two-fisted pages of simpler stories. Godshaper is a groundbreaking comic, full of exciting motion and thoughtful commentary. In an animalistic world filled with subpar stories and derivative artwork, Godshaper stands tall as proof that comics can evolve.

View Issue       View Full Review
8.1
Judge Dredd: False Witness #1

Mar 27, 2020

Fans of Judge Dredd will enjoy this comic because it offers Dredds quintessential no-nonsense intensity. New readers will also appreciate Judge Dredd: False Witness #1: it offers a lens through which to see our own world. And it judges our worldharshly.

View Issue       View Full Review
8.2
Ludocrats #1

Apr 1, 2020

So if you like stories that feel like a 1990s Jim Carrey acting out Hieronymus Bosch's fever dream, you will enjoy The Ludocrats. It has violence, fourth wall breaks, and a character named Voldigan the Perfidious. If nothing else, comics like these help us appreciate the silliness of life and the value of spontaneity. For those reasons, I recommend it.

View Issue       View Full Review
10
Past the Last Mountain #1

Jun 22, 2016

Past the Last Mountain is more than a fantasy comic: it is an exciting, heartfelt action story that uses interactions between fairy-tale characters and government officials to create an effective social commentary. Allor's narrative soars gracefully from page to page on the wings of Joyce's nuanced artwork. The characters are complicated, which makes them refreshingly relatable, and the story is relevant. In a 2013 lecture for the Reading Agency, author Neil Gaiman noted the benefits of escapism, arguing that fantasy worlds offer readers a safe place to acquire knowledge and tools with which to better tackle problems in real life. Past the Last Mountain offers this sort of fantasy world"use it.

View Issue       View Full Review
7
Santeria: The Goddess Kiss #1

Mar 30, 2016

Santeria: The Goddess Kissis an ambitious comic, and I appreciate the attempt to pack one comic with a variety of locations, characters, and moral questions. Though the first issue was weighed down by exposition, it presented some exciting themes, and maybe the next few issues will offer fewer words and more characterization. If so, I look forward to reading them.

View Issue       View Full Review
9.3
Supermassive (2022): 2024

Jul 25, 2024

Supermassive 2024 is a crossover event you dont want to miss. Brush up on your Massive-Verse knowledge and join the fun.

View Issue       View Full Review
6
The Living Finger #1

Jun 13, 2016

Many plot-based questions remain after the last panel of this issue, but the characterization of Jason causes most of my confusion. Reactions to this protagonist come in two mutually exclusive forms: apathy or disgust. Either Jason is an empty vessel that carries the reader from moment to moment, or he is an intensely lonely sociopath who falls in love with Wendy, his pet finger. Hopefully, future issues will point us in the right direction.

View Issue       View Full Review
8
The Living Finger #2

Jul 13, 2016

I refuse to believe that The Living Finger's living finger is just a living finger. It means something, and I will figure it out. In the meantime, this comic offers enough intriguing action to satisfy my need for bizarre entertainment, and I look forward to more in the next issue.

View Issue       View Full Review

Reviews for the Week of...

November

6th

October

More