Personally, I didn't enjoy how the Abrams duo has characterized Peter Parker. My idealized version of Peter wouldn't do what Peter does in this story, but this is really a story about Peter & MJ's son Ben, so they had to get Peter out of the way, so it is what it is. After reading the 1st 2 issues, I think I can safely skip the rest of the series at full price. I suspect the balance of these issues are going to be in dollar bins within a year or so. I also suspect when this is collected the trade paperback will sell decently well to people curious to see a Spidey story by JJ Abrams, essentially the same demographic that went out and bought lots of issue #1.

My quibble over the pricing of this series aside, it really is a great story (5/5 – 1 point for predatory marketing). A good story for new readers, but given that this will run 6 issues and it's reprints anyway, it might be a good idea to skip six $4.99 issues that will cost ~$30 and just get the collected edition when it comes out. I suspect it will be fairly easy to get the collection at a price less than $30.

There's a lot more story to tell, Grace & Keenan have just revealed the tip of an iceberg in this debut issue. I look forward to continuing on with the series as they flesh out the Ghostly characters and build more out of their interactions with the living world, as well as Daphne's continuing adjustment to life in L.A. I can see this growing into a solid spot in my top 10 if I enjoy subsequent issues as much as this debut.

This is an interesting take on the post-apocalyptic in that it doesn't just focus on basic survival, instead telling tales of adventuring in the altered world. The current series of this being published as single issues, is called “Afterburn: Crossfire” and issue #3 is in the current May Previews catalog as MAY191884.

This 100-page 4 chapter story is well worth finding, though I understand it is selling out at many stores. Hopefully it will get a second print or be added to some collection. It deserves to stay in print and available to fans who would like to read a really nice "behind the scenes" story about Clark Kent as he transitions to his more famous identity. I also appreciate that no attempt is made to shoehorn it into current DC continuity. It's a nice tale that stands on its own outside of the shackles of a continuity that changes fairly regularly anyway. This is highly recommended for all fans of the man behind the Superman.

Norroway is what I'd consider a truly "all ages" book (like Bone). It is not written "down" to kids and can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. I read this on my own and it's something I that would be great to read to your kids, if they are of the age where you still read to them (my son is 27 so read it himself"and loved it). If you can't find this at your local shop & they cannot reorder it for you from Diamond, it is also available on Amazon.com.

If Gaiman was actually writing any of these they would be auto buys, but with his limited oversight level of participation, seeing the samples presented here, the only one I feel strongly compelled to try is The Dreaming. House of Whispers is a "wait for the trade". Lucifer & Books of Magic are "if I see them in bargain bins".

Lemire really bellies up to the bar and delivers a noir tale paired with Risso that is a world-class example of the genre. Fans of the genre who are not turned off by language, violence, and peril, go out and grab a copy of this issue before it's gone. The cliff-hanger of this issue certainly has me anticipating how Mindy's going to get out of this one, I will definitely be back for issue #6.

I went in expecting a story purely set in the war time, but Starkings masterfully segued to current time and set this up as a first installment that read satisfyingly on its own but also left me wanting to know “what happens next?”. Everything an installment of a comic should be. I'll be back for part 2! If I had to pay for this, I'd personally wait and read the $6.99 collection. There is no “having the 1st printing” thing to massage my collector's mentality when dealing with a digital comic. If you are an Amazon Prime member, this is a no brainer. Go hit your “Prime Reading” and search for “Elephantmen 2261”.

Ironically, previous to reading this FCBD comic I was NOT planning to read the Avengers series and I was looking forward to Cap. This comic flipped both of those decisions and now I'm getting Avengers #1 (it's in my "to read" pile right now), and I'll be avoiding Cap's fresh start.

If you're a fan of crime comics that give you an insider's POV, this should be right up your alley. If you have read any of the numerous Quarry novels, you might well enjoy seeing him ‘brought to life' visually in the comic. It's working the reverse way for me: I was unaware of the character and I really enjoyed the story here, so I just purchased the first few novels. I'll be giving those a read to learn a lot more about Quarry. That, plus I'll be back again next month for more of this story that's fleshing out Quarry's early days, both his time in Vietnam and his early days of working for The Broker as a hitman for the mob.

I'm a sucker for comics that present characters that I immediately fall in love with and care about what happens to them. Vaughn and del Duca have done this with Poppy and Cyrenic. I'm hooked and I want to find out more. I want their backstory, I want to see their story moving forward, and I want to learn more about the world they inhabit.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fu Jitsu from beginning to end. It was a welcome relief to both the from reality I see on the nightly news every day, as well as to a lot of other comics that have a darker take on storytelling. I liked the title character immediately and I want to know more about him and his world. That's 100% all the creative team needed to do to get me to come back for #2, but they added onto that with engaging dialogue and kinetic art that drew me into the world. Fu Jitsu is one of my favorite new series of the past few months and I'll definitely be back for more.

Bunn set up the premise, introduced characters, and a few potential points of conflict to play off of in future issues, but nothing that I drew a strong attachment to.

People who read my reviews know that I'm a big fan of “different” and Angelic #1 certainly ticks that box on the checklist. I've never read another comic quite like this one, it stands out on the rack if you pick it up and flip through it and in stands out in my mind; this is a series I won't have any trouble remembering month to month, it absolutely won't blend into anything else I'm reading. A winged monkey fighting the oppressive mores of monk society whilst also embarking on an adventure of discovery in Spurrier & Wijngaard's post-apocalyptic world. I'm looking forward to whatever new discoveries Qora makes on her journeys as Angelic marches on.

Hi-Fi Fight Club stands out for me as unique among the 140+ comics I read each month. There's nothing else like it on the stands and that in and of itself is enough to get me to come back for more. Add in the crisp art and dialogue, captivating characters, and the touch of mystery with a real possibility for a unique take on how that mystery will be investigated and solved and I was sold. I'll definitely be back for more!

Inhumans: Once & Future Kings #1 gets a big thumbs up from me. Priest sets up some nasty politics and court intrigue surrounding Black Bolt & Maximus's Father (not the nicest guy) and the obligatory evil court advisor, as well as budding revolution and a moral conflict surrounding the Alpha Primitives. A lot of story packed into a first issue that did its job in selling me on this series that I had previously passed over. That makes it a 100% successful 1st issue for me and a series that I look forward to reading more of.

I was captivated by Bill Willingham's storytelling and dialogue and enchanted by Mark Dos Santos' art and am glad that my local comic shop had a copy of this on their rack so I could discover it.

It's a new world and the lack of a familiar super-hero universe means that anything can happen, and most likely it will. What Ales Kot and Andr Lima Arajo have done here is make something totally different out of something very familiar. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, this first issue is definitely lacking in "let's punch each other" style action, at least not YET, I think that's coming.

Chaykin is building a dystopian near-future that may be a bit too close to something that could actually happen for comfort. As a reader, I am assuming this first issue is really following the “introduce the team members” trope, with issue #2 being where they are brought together to complete some mission related to the inciting event on the last page. While this is definitely not for everyone, if you don't mind violence with a side order of sex then this is worth checking out. At its core it is classic Chaykin, as he has evolved for the 21st century.

As a long-time Marvel reader and someone who is actually enjoying the Secret Empire event (a rarity among most outspoken people on the internet) I thought Nick Spencer's Secret Empire story was pretty decent, especially since I've been reading Captain America Steve Rogers and I had already read Secret Empire #0. As an intro issue to new readers who wandered into a comic shop on Free Comic Boom Day and picked this up I think it is an epic failure ans a huge wasted opportunity. It didn't have to be. It could have easily explained what was going on in a very clear and concise manner, stressing for new readers that the whole "Cap as Hydra" is the result of cosmic cube manipulation on the part of the bad guys and giving a primer on the current Marvel status quo that could lead a new reader through the confusing stuff that is not 100% easy to comprehend even for veteran readers. What a terrible waste of a comic that could have been so much more inviting to new comics readers.

Ultimately, I think Ahmed will make a fine comic book writer if he can get a handle at pacing stories that will work for both monthly installments and the collected editions. I definitely didn't think I got a satisfying chunk of story in this issue, and would recommend this as a "wait for the trade" series.

This is a book I will definitely not be returning to. The art, while beautiful, for me worked against the storytelling which itself moved too slowly to get me hooked on the series. Maybe I'll give it a try again if I find issues in a $1 bin down the line, but it's not getting full price support from me.

I can appreciate that Peter David is trying to make Ben different from Peter, but after this first issue I'm not sure this is a character I want to read more about. Here, he's able to focus on just a few characters so his art looks great. As a side note, Ben now has a severely disfigured face, which makes me think of Deadpool even more. I'm willing to give David and Bagley a chance here since I enjoy most of their work, but based solely on this 1st issue, I'm not that confident this series will stay on my pull list.

The bottom line is that if you find the idea of a brawny naked guy fighting bears funny, know that the only proper topping for a flapjack (don't you DARE call it a pancake) is 100% pure maple syrup, and like your humor when it crosses over into the absurd, then you should be talking to your local comic shop and asking them to pre-order Shirtless Bear Fighter #1 for you. FOC is May 29th. Previews order codes are APR170718 & APR170719, and the comic will be in your shop in June. I think you'll be glad you did. Shirtless Bear Fighter is hilarious, if you like that sort of thing! Now I'm going to go and read my review copies again…

"The Button" is shaping up to be an epic storyline that could delight some fans and enrage others (like pretty much any comic story that changes the status quo).

If you're a fan of alternate history stories with a fantastical element mixed in to provide the divergence point, Darkness Visible should be right up your alley. I was suitably impressed with issue #3 and I believe it can be read as a standalone story, or as a precursor to buying the 1st 2 issues to see the story that has been set up in the present day, following that with issues 4 and beyond. I enjoyed the 1st 2 issues but #3 kicked it up a notch by providing this excellent exploration of the backstory that resulted in the world we were dropped into in issue #1. This isn't a comic that will jump off the rack at most readers, but it's well worth tracking down or asking your local shop to order for you if you like these kinds of stories.

Beautiful Canvas is not for the squeamish, there is language and graphic violence. Aside from being a story about a hitwoman, we come to find that her boss is FAR worse. There are some very twisted aspects to what makes the billionaire tick and I have a feeling we've only scratched the surface in issue #1. Beautiful Canvas gave me a lot of things to think about (while being careful not to overthink) especially in light of the last panel revelation.

Cadmus is a tale of the times when gods walked the earth regularly interacting with humans; helping them, vexing them, in some cases marrying them, in others just leaving them with children out of wedlock. If you're a fan of Greek mythology, this is a must read comic. It tells a tales that I've never seen before in comics, so is likely not one of the more common ones and I've read my fair share of tales of this type. This comic is from one of the smaller publishers and is a niche topic, so it may not be on the rack at every comic shop, but it's worth asking your shop to place a reorder for a copy if this sounds interesting to you!

Savage Things pulls no punches and I have the feeling that by the end of this 8 issue series Justin Jordan will have taken us on a tour of the world-view of sociopath assassins, both those who have gone off the rails and those that have been reined in to serve the side of good. I have the additional feeling that “good” in the context of this series is going to be a lot more of a grey area, mostly good in contrast to the very clearly delineated “bad”. If you like thrillers with mysteries to be solved, clandestine government agencies, and action like you'd find in Bourne or Bond, then Savage Things is probably going to be right up your alley. It's a series that is, for me, right in the classic Vertigo sweet spot. I loved this issue, the only negative for me is that this is an 8 issue series and not the beginning of an epic series like 100 Bullets.

The Dregs is a great example of what Black Mask does best: edgy comics with a touch of a social awareness message mixed in to add flavor to the story. I found the underlying mystery to be gripping, particularly after the gut-punch of the horrific opening sequence. Ultimately I was rooting for the protagonist in his search for his friend and against the greedy politicians and businessmen who were in it to line their own pockets with little regard for the well-being of others. If you'd like to try a comic that plays well outside the realm of the capes and cowls, The Dregs is worth a look.

These kinds of crossovers are targeted at fans of one (or even better BOTH) of the franchises involved. In this first issue the Green Lantern mythos seemed to have much more of a role. People not familiar with the GL Corps, especially the various colored Corps from the last decade or so, would likely be a bit lost. Similarly, having at least a basic knowledge of the original Planet of the Apes movie and its first sequel is really helpful. Fortunately I'm versed in both of these things so was really in the “marketing sweet spot” for this series. As a result I really enjoyed the story and I'll be back for the remainder of the series. If you're like me and are a fan of the two franchises you should definitely be checking out this comic.

This is a really strange review for me to write, and I apologize for mostly listing the characters who appear, but that's pretty much what happens. This debut issue is monsters from space causing mayhem followed by groups of heroes being introduced so they can punch those monsters. Fans of "Hey look at the super-cool giant monster getting hit!!" are going to absolutely love this. I'm sure I would have thought this was a LOT cooler 20 years ago. But all was not lost. Cullen Bunn grabbed my attention at the very end with a really intriguing concept that he set up in the last few pages, really sealing the deal on the final page of the issue. This hook, by itself, is going to bring me back for #2. It makes me hopeful that Bunn is going to bring the story up a level from "look at these heroes punching monsters!". By itself, this 1st issue was $4.99 eye candy with a solid closing hook. I didn't feel like I got $4.99 worth of story, but Your Mileage May Vary. This wasn

Supergirl: Being Super is the perfect comic to hand to a young girl to get her interested in comics as an art form (as long as she is from a tolerant/progressive family, since there is a diversity of characters that certain conservatives may not approve of). This first issue is mostly teen drama and story setup, but there is the promise of some action (and maybe even a costume) coming up in part two. I suspect this will be collected into a single volume, that may be the preferable way of getting this into the hands of young readers. For people who have been around comics for a while, especially if you like series like Giant Days or Jonesy, don't let this one pass you by.

Writers Tomasi and Gleason kick off the Multiplicity storyline strong in issue #14. I don't want to give away specifics about where the story gets really interesting, but it involves quite a few alternate takes of super-heroes from other Earths (5, 11, 18, 20, 23, 30 and 36) . In particular, I won't reveal what happens on the last 3 pages, except to say they're what really sold me on this storyline. Despite my reservations about the continually rotating art team, the writing was strong enough to ensure that I'll be back for next issue.

Peter David's Artful is a story that I enjoyed quite a lot in its prose form. This adaptation did not rise to the occasion of providing me any extra “wow factor” for seeing this in a visual form. The art was visually uninteresting and the pacing of the issue felt off. It seemed like the whole adaptation had been laid out with no regard for it being serialized in 21 page chunks and when this issue just got to page 21, I got a “let's stop here” feeling, with no sense of closure for the 1st installment. Very poorly executed on the part of I'm not sure who: editorial or the writer Nicole D'Andria (who is adapting Peter David's prose novel). This is definitely not a series I'll be coming back to in comics form, I'd rather let the completed story live on in my memory as something I enjoyed as a novel.

What really sold me on the book was the main character, Hannah Gregory; liking the lead character is always a key element in getting me to want to continue on with a new series. Her tough, no-nonsense, straight to the point attitude was very appealing. The final page grabbed me and really made me want to come back to see what happens next. The Palickis did a great job of utilizing the monthly format with this strong cliffhanger. That's the way to get a reader to come back for the next issue! This came out a few weeks ago and is well worth checking with your local shops to see if you can score a copy.

The art was the main draw on this for me as I initially browsed the comic, but I was then drawn in by the story and the world, particularly as presented by the creative team of Easton and Broussard. I cannot speak to how this comic will work for people who have a previous familiarity with the Vampire Hunter D character, but it worked great for me as an introduction to the character and his world. I appreciate the fact that Stranger added a couple of pages at the back of the comic detailing the publication history of the character as well as the basic backstory of the character. This is a seemingly simple thing to add that a lot of comics skip. It added a lot of value for me and I really appreciate it. I'm definitely on board for this 5 issue series. The next issue is due out in January, and it has been added to my pull list!

Lemire has a great handle on these characters and has put together a nice setup for the next chapter in Marvel's cosmic saga. It all builds up to a shocking final page that I won't spoil, but I'll be back for next issue to see where this is going.

This is not the kind of book that is likely to appeal to every reader of super-hero comics. If you like big super-hero action, this is probably not in your wheelhouse. On the other hand, if you'd like to balance out the "super-heroes punching each other" that you get in lots of other comics with something a bit different, this is worth a try.

Motro is not for younger kids because of the level of violence (like a fist literally punching a guy's face in) but should be suitable for teens who are not adversely affected by comical levels of graphic violence. This isn't a book I pre-ordered, but I was drawn into it by the art when I browsed a sample copy. I look forward to more of the world building by Farinas and Freitas, as well as more development of Motro and his story/backstory. I want to know what makes him and this world tick. Making me care what happens is what is bringing me back for #2, so the job of issue #1 was successfully carried out. I'm looking forward to Dec 14th, when issue #2 should be hitting the stands.

Far from being a series that exists to grab some extra $$ for Marvel in the wake of the Doctor Strange movie, this is a solid series featuring lots of Marvel's mystical practitioners from across the ages. I'm looking forward to next issue and beyond.

Quilte artist Iain Laurie has an extremely non-conventional style, and it is a wonderful match for the creepy on off-kilter story by John Lees. This is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it. You can download a preview of this issue from the Halloween ComicFest website and have a look for yourself. If you like what you see as much as I did, check with your local comic shops and see if they got any copies of this (or can re-order one) for you. This is the kind of comic that reinvigorates my love of the medium, so different from everything else on the stands and telling a take that seems to work best in comics where the art and story work together to tell the story paced out precisely on the printed page by the creators.

Dead No More is looking like it may be one of the best Spider-Man stories in the past decade or more, but this tie-in book certainly does not seem to be essential to the storytelling. Unfortunately, this is par for the course with a large number of tie-in books created to capitalize on super-hero events. I typically avoid them and wish I had held the line and skipped this one too.

The result is a comic that is entertaining for a reader who is familiar with the obscure stuff, but seems like it should be just as entertaining for someone who has had no exposure to the character because the stuff that is truly intriguing about this story is all the material that is being made up by Way and Rivera to flesh out Cave's backstory and introduce him to a new generation of readers. I'm looking forward to learning more about a character who I've know for decades, but at the same time not really known very much about.

This first issue sets the stage, but we won't have long to wait for a conclusion, this is only a two issue series, so next issue will wrap things up. Far from old fashioned, there are a lot of modern dynamics at play in this issue, including ones of sexuality and gender identity that are handled very subtly. Vaughn is adept at weaving these into the fabric of the characters, making them just a part of fleshing out the personalities and lives of the people she is writing about instead of blatantly cudgeling the reader with really overt cues. These are facets of the characters but are not made to seem as though the only reason the characters exist in the story is to be a platform to showcase these aspects of their lives. Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love is a wonderful first issue and I look forward to seeing how the creative team wraps up the story in the conclusion.

If you like epic battles, sieges, and sword fights Green Valley should be right up your alley. Landis promises to take us places we don't expect: “Nothing you've seen so far has betrayed how complicated our story really is”. I'll believe him. I enjoyed this issue and the cliffhanger he leaves us with is a jumping off point to a couple of obvious continuation points, I'm very interested to see how Landis makes good on his promise to give us a ‘what happened next' that is totally unexpected.

Titan Comics' Hard Case Crime has a number of prose novels available in the genre and I'm happy to see the comic book part of the imprint off to a great start with Peepland #1 this week and Triggerman #1 last week. I'm looking forward to more of both series, as well as seeing what is coming next in comics format. On the prose side, I've ordered one of Christa Faust's novels in paperback (Money Shot, nominated for several genre awards, and winner of the Crimespree award). Hard Case Crime is making the case for getting me more heavily into the crime genre!

It's great to see a crime story like this in comics format. There are too few with the hard edge shown here. This is definitely a 'mature readers' story: It contains language, violence, and nudity" though all fit with the story, given the genre, and didn't feel particularly gratuitous. Titan pairing up with Hard Case Crime is a welcome addition to the comics landscape.

I had a lot of fun reading Betty Boop #1. it wasn't a comic I was anticipating in advance of its release, but when I flipped through the comic at the shop I immediately fell in love with the visual style Gisele Lagace brought to the book. Another minute or so of reading one of the song lyrics as I was giving the book a once over, I was sold and added the comic to my stack to purchase. Betty Boop brought a smile to my face and that isn't something that happens a lot with the comics I read. I'm happy to be adding this to my pull list and I look forward to seeing where Langridge and Lagace will bring me next.

International Iron Man #7 was a great issue and a wonderful conclusion to the story behind Tony Stark's birth and adoption by Howard and Maria Stark. This issue concludes the run of "International Iron Man", the story of Tony and his birth mother in the present day will be continued in the new Invincible Iron Man #1 coming soon. This series may have been overlooked in the crush of titles on the stands, perhaps dismissed as yet another Iron Man book. And it is. But it's an Iron Man book that is rich with character building and backstory, perfect for readers who like this sort of thing as a palate cleanser in between superhero books with lots of mindless fighting.

Ultimately, this had too many problems with story and art for me to want to come back for a second issue. This may read better as a collected edition where the whole thing is there to explore at a single time. I'm going to pass on this as a serialized story, there was really nothing I could latch on to and that means I'll have a hard time picking up and following the story thread after a month long absence.

It's rare that I give a comic a second read through, except when it lacks clarity and I'm trying to figure out what's going on. No lack of clarity here, I read it the second time for the sheer enjoyment of it. Frank Cho is, in my opinion, a masterful storyteller, and this super-powered fantasy thriller is a great example that he can tell a gripping story without scantily clad women in it. Grace Skybourne kicks ass, and does it fully clothed. And NOBODY should want to get on her bad side. Life expectancy on her bad side is very short indeed. Cho has an engaging cliffhanger, but there is a built-in out for it, so I expect the action to continue on next issue as Cho kicks it up a notch. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of this story play out over the next few months, this is a 5 issue series, and it's great to see Cho back doing sequential storytelling after just seeing him on covers and sketches for so long.

Resident Alien is a creator-driven gem. A new reader can jump aboard in this 4th story arc and follow along just fine. But the previous three arcs are readily accessible in collected editions and are there for people who want to get in on this quirky character-driven sci-fi mystery from the beginning.

I've loved this series from the beginning. It launched the Archie Horror line and kicked off the revitalization of Archie as a publisher, its success paving the way for the relaunch of the main titles as well as bolstering the fledgling Horror line. Every issue has been a gem to be cherished when it comes out, and this issue is my favorite so far.

Blue Beetle is back! Since both Ted and Jaime are here, Giffen and Kolins are covering their bases by serving up the Beetle that people who have a pre-existing love of the character want to see. I really enjoyed the writing and art. Giffen and Kolins have created a story that introduces the characters for people who have never seen them before, while keeping it interesting for those of us who are already familiar with them. There are some twists and turns along the way to keep us guessing and they have me looking forward to following this series as it rolls along.

This 44 page first issue gets things off the ground, introducing all the characters, the situation they're in, and the conflict they will be facing. Fairbairn's pacing is nicely handled and I got a good mix of action, character building, and background on the world of 1220 AD. I appreciated how the history of the time was blended seamlessly into the storytelling. I got a lot of context out of the story as I was reading it, never feeling like I was being lectured, but getting a lot of valuable info as I was carried along by the narrative. I'm looking forward to the continuation of this tale. Were the big bugs they met this issue the only survivors of the alien ship, or will we be meeting even more challenging foes? I don't know but I'm anxious to find out!

As a trained comics fan I responded in a very Pavlovian way to this issue. Cover with Justin Trudeau in a maple leaf tank top & boxing gloves? I'll buy it to see what's going on with that! What I really liked was that it was not (a) just a cover that had no interior support and (b) not a nominal walk-on for a couple of panels. Zdarsky has his story feature Trudeau in a key role who gets more story focus than the nominal featured heroes of the tale, Alpha Flight. The other 2 stories were mostly forgettable for me, but such is the nature of anthology books. Nothing I got here made me want to get more issues of this series, but the Trudeau story by itself made me feel like I got my money's worth out of the purchase, delivering what was advertised on the cover when it could very easily taken the easy road and not lived up to the promise of the cover.

I'm a big fan of Hickman's creations. He puts a lot of effort into fleshing out his worlds and giving his audience their money's worth. This is not a light read. I put in a medium amount of effort and came away with a lot of questions about what is hinted at and a desire to learn more about the Board of Caina as the series progresses. Those who want to spend the time will find a lot to be run down based on the wealth of information laid out in this issue on the text pages interspersed throughout the story as well as in the story itself. This is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it's the exact kind of thing that makes a Hickman series interesting to me. I really want to see where he's going to go with this, his commentary on the global markets of 2016 as parallels to 1929 and 1987 will be fascinating reading.

This has been at the top of the stack for me since issue #1 and I think it will stay there for the remainder of the run with James Robinson. It's one of my favorite Marvel books right now, and I'm so glad Marvel is putting out 'change of pace' books like this.

Priest's Deathstroke is definitely not a good guy, but he has a sense of honor and does what needs to be done. There is a conflict because his sense of honor drives him to do what he feels needs to be done, though through the lens of what is nominally considered ‘civilized society' his actions are often what would be considered to be bad. This makes the character interesting to me. There are layers of complexity that Priest has built into the character and the story that make it more than a simple “Deathstroke is a bad-ass mercenary who is out doing what he does best” tale. If this kind of layered storytelling continues, I'll be sticking around for the long haul.

It will be easy for some people to dismiss this book as “just something written by that basketball guy” or thinking this is merely meant to capitalize on Abdul-Jabbar's name and fame. These are both wrong assumptions, because Abdul-Jabbar and Obstfeld have some definite writing chops on display here. Coupled with some great art by Joshua Cassara and a story that balances character-building, conflict setup, action, and humor and you have a comic that should not be missed. I'm certainly glad I gave it a try and it has earned a place on my pull list. I'm looking forward to the rest of the story!

Marguerite Bennett has come up with a cool concept. The proof, for me will be in the development of this concept, which I'm unable to judge based on the small amount of story revealed in this issue. The story could go in lots of directions from this setup, both innovative and rehashed. Issue #1 grabbed me enough to get me to come back for a second helping. Issues #2 & 3 will need to give me a reason to stick around for the long haul.

If you're as much a fan of a good fantasy tale, expressive art, and extremely likeable heroes setting out on a quest to free a kidnapped family member as I am, then you should love Mae. Ask your shop for a copy, it's only on issue #3 so you should be able to track down issues #1 and 2, or wait until the collection comes out, but I like to support these in single issues so that I can ensure the sales will warrant them continuing on past the 1st story arc. This has a slot on my pull list and is creeping up closer towards the top with each issue that come out.

I've seen the “aliens come to judge Earth” story numerous times, but never quite like this version delivered by Fialkov & Fleecs. They want the person on Earth who is exerting the most willpower to represent the human race in their tests. Suffice to say, they don't end up with a Green Lantern candidate. The act of will that qualifies Steinberg is not Hal Jordan-esque. It's not something we'd see Guy Garnder doing. Maybe G'nort, but I don't think G'nort would need to exert the willpower Steinberg does to accomplish the task. It's low humor, to be sure, but I found it to be damn funny nonetheless. The F-Force ofFialkov & Fleecs are just getting started in this double sized opening issue. I'm looking forward to where the story takes us next, I'm betting it's going to be fabulously facetious fun!

If you're looking for an action packed space opera, this isn't the place to look. At least not yet, the story could go there in time I suppose. The action here is more low-key. It is the action involved in following along with an agent on a mission in enemy territory. Exactly what is the mission? I'm not sure yet. But Thomas & Gedeon accomplished the most important task for me with a debut issue. They gave me someone I could root for (who in this case is an alien on a mission against Earth, go figure".) and they made the character of Zhia jump off the page and into my mind. I care about her and I want to know what happens next. Mission accomplished for the creators. I'll be back for more!

Throwaways felt like a story that will read better in a collected edition than in serialized issues. There were a lot of unresolved and disjointed scenes in this first issue and the “4 hours later” flash-forward that opened things up was not resolved in this issue. The story and characters just didn't click with me. I never developed a bond with either of the 2 main protagonists, and exited the issue not really caring what happens to either of them. Perhaps had I been able to keep going (in the TPB collection) this bond would have developed and I'd have gotten a better idea what was going on. As it was, this #1 issue failed to make me want to come back for more.

Do you like stories featuring non-anthropomorphized animals? Are you a dog lover? One or both and this is well worth checking out. Will it change your life? Probably not, but I quite enjoyed it and it has a spot on my pull list. I look forward to joining Legend and his pack on their quest, hopefully the series will develop a strong enough following that it will continue long enough for the story to be told.

I don't know how many comic shops are carrying Z2 comics The Sweetness #1, but I'm sure it's a number less than 100% and that is a shame. Even those that carry it may have only gotten a few copies so many new readers won't stumble across this hidden gem. Trust me, ask your local shop to place a reorder for this book if they don't have a copy available. Give it a try. Or bypass your shop if they don't have it and grab a digital copy, those are never sold out and there is no comic shop owner's lack of ordering standing in between you and your comic reading. This is the best new series I've read in months. The Sweetness is on my pull list and I look forward to the remainder of the series, beyond that I now have two new creators to keep an eye out for.

I really enjoyed Indoctrination and will be following the series to see where it goes. You can read more about this comics ans see pages of sample art on the Indoctrination comic website. Z2 Comics has a really diverse line of comics coming out. I bought 3 off the rack this week, in addition to Indoctrination I got the Sci-Fi comic ‘The Sweetness #1' and the post-apocalytic comic about sentient dogs ‘Legend #2'. I'll be looking at these in my next couple of reviews. Z2 Comics is a publisher to watch. If you have not checked out any of their titles, ask your comic shop about them. If you want a read that's a bit out of the ordinary, they're definitely worth checking out.

I enjoyed what I read of the story but I won't be back for any more issues of this limited series. Instead I'll be looking for The Joyners in 3D OGN and read it how it was originally intended to be experienced.

How do you decide to read How to Talk to Girls at Parties? You just read it!I'm looking forward to adaptations of more Neil Gaiman short stories from Dark Horse, up next is another of my favorites, Troll Bridge. I can't wait!

The problem I have with Tom King's story is the situation he puts Batman into. It's one that I would argue Batman has no business being in. Someone else could equally argue “Nonsense, that's exactly what makes Batman a hero, overcoming all the odds and making the impossible possible.” I can't argue with that feeling, but it is just that. A feeling. The story had a degree of excitement to it, but every step of the way I was shaking my head in dismay at the sheer ridiculousness of what Batman was doing. My preference in Batman stories are ones that play up his detective abilities, his resourcefulness (within the limits of reason) and his tough-as-nails street-level skills. King is a gifted writer, I enjoy his take on The Vision over at Marvel, but if he thinks it's OK to write Batman doing what he did in this issue I'll be taking a pass on his run and stick to Detective Comics for my Batman fix.

While this is a fabulous series, it's also not one that I'd recommend jumping in on mid-stream. I'm glad I went back and read the early issues, there is a thread of story that is building and you'll be missing out on some good stuff trying to start with this issue. That said, I would encourage anyone to pick up #13 at their local shop and check out Tyler Crook's art. If you fall in love with it like I did, then you should seek out the first few collected editions to catch yourself up"then continue reading either in collections or jump to the issues so you can get that more immediate monthly fix of Harrow County.

Control #1 is a perfect setup for the series. We get the inciting action to put things in motion, great introductions of key characters, a nice set of breadcrumbs setting up the trail to follow, and an ending with some punch that's definitely got me hooked to come back for more next issue. I only pre-ordered issue #1, but this series now has a home on my pull list, I'm in for the 6 issue series. On the strength of this debut alone, I'm in for an ongoing set of stories with Kate Burnham, if the creative team brings her back for more.

If you're a fan of The Shadow, you probably already know about Wagner's work on the character. If you liked his previous work with the character as much as I did, I'm sure you'll enjoy this series as well. If you've never read the Shadow before, this is as good a place to start as any, due to the craft Wagner puts into the story and art. There are certainly a few things you'd want to catch up on, like the Shadow's operatives and his ability to “cloud men's minds”, but that is easily remedied by taking a few minutes and reading the Wikipedia page on The Shadow. Thank you, internet! Now you have everything you need to know to jump in and enjoy this comic. Go on, give it a try! I'll be here for the rest of the series… I need to see how The Shadow gets out of the jam he's left in on the last page!

If you're a fan of time-travel and alternate histories, be sure to check out Archangel. This was an excellent 1st issue that established the world, several key characters who all felt adequately fleshed out, as well as the basic premise of the story.

If you're looking for a straight action take on a classic universe of heroes you may or may not be familiar with, Future Quest #1 is the perfect comic to jump in with. New fans and old will hopefully be in for a treat as this series unfolds. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go with this. Based on the strength of this issue, I'd personally be on board for straight-up Jonny Quest comic by Parker/Shaner. I'm hoping that I'll be loving the rest of the heroes as much when they get their turns in the spotlight in upcoming issues.

DC Universe Rebirth was, for me, the perfect DC comic. Geoff Johns pulled out all the stops with a beautifully told story that weaves legacy DC into the fabric of the newer universe with just the right combination of explanation and a mystery that needs to be solved.

ther & Empire is another title that will help measure your local shop's "Indie Friendly Factor". I'm going toss out a guess that less than half the comic shops in the US ordered this series for the rack, but it should be available for reorder if you ask your shop to place an order for you. Like high-adventure and sci-fi mixed up with fantasy? This is definitely worth checking out. Grab the preview PDF and decide for yourself. I'm going to be back for issue #2 and I've started pre-ordering now that I'm aware of it. This is exactly the kind of comic I love to support and I'd love to see it reach a wider audience!

Space Battle Lunchtime is something you should check out if you like comics like Bee & Puppycat, Jonesy, or Bravest Warriors, it seems to be in the general ballpark of these other series. I'm glad I checked it out and will be following along as Peony throws down against the other 5 chefs, and find out exactly what that weird mystery ingredient really is. I also hope at some point Peony makes Scampi, just to unnerve her competitor who appears to be a shrimp in a suit of armor….

Dept. H is a must read series for fans of Matt Kindt's writing AND art. If you loved Mind MGMT, you should be on board for this. If you're unsure, pick up a copy of the issue at your comic shop and flip through it. Does the art appeal to you? If so, buy it and read it, I think you'll enjoy it. This is definitely a series that needs fan support. Kindt makes an appeal to fans in the back saying that the success of any series depends on people buying the book monthly. “Waiting for the Trade” is all well and good, but if enough people do that instead of buying the series as it comes out, there won't be any trades to wait for, the series will end due to low sales. Kindt intends to reward monthly readers by including material every month that will not be reproduced in the collected editions; sketches, pin-ups, articles, process pieces. If you like it, buy it monthly! I am.

I hold out hope that Jeff Lemire will give me “my Moon Knight” back. If he doesn't, that's OK too. I can walk away again and leave the character to those who like the struggling against mental illness version of the character. While it lasts, I'm holding out hope that the story will go in a direction I want it to, but I cannot deny the craft in the writing and art even if I end up not liking the story at the end of this arc. This is a well-done comic and well worth a look. I didn't pre-order this book, I flipped through it at the comic shop and bought it because of Greg Smallwood's art. I'm adding it to my monthly reading list for the remainder of the first story arc because of Lemire's story. The conclusion of this arc will determine if I stick around or not.

At 64 pages of story for $5.99, I certainly felt I got my money's worth. Fans of Sam Wilson may come away feeling short changed, but I think we can be a bit forgiving since it is Steve Rogers' 75th anniversary. Nick Spencer presented a story that was a fitting tribute to Steve's career and sets him up for a return to his former glory. The entire package was nicely done and it has gotten me interested in picking up the upcoming Nick Spencer penned series starring Steve coming in May.

Shadow Glass #1 is one of those books that could easily fly under your radar. It's from a mid-tier publisher (sorry Dark Horse) and a new creator, Aly Fell. Add to that the fact that it's historical fiction with nary a super-hero, gun, or explosion in sight. This is typically not the formula that gets a lot of buzz from the comics, which is too bad. I thoroughly enjoyed this comic and Aly Fell is a creator that I think people should be keeping an eye on. People will suddenly discover he one day if he gets snatched up by one of the big companies to work on one of their super-hero books, but this is where you can find him now. Telling his story and telling it his way. I'm on board, keep it coming, Aly!

Bendis and Maleev are kicking off what could be a very key run documenting Tony Stark's status quo after the fairly recent storyline where it was revealed that Howard and Maria Stark are not his birth parents. If you like the development of character and backstory more than wall-to-wall battles, this could be the book for you. At a minimum, if you have been a fan of any of Bendis & Maleev's other collaborations, I'm guessing you'll be on board for this one too. I am.

After pulled into issue #6 of Angela by Thor on the cover, I ended up enjoying it for the one-two punch of Marguerite Bennett's writing and Kim Jacinto's art. Next issue will be the last issue of this series, so I'll be picking up the entire run and giving it a read. For those not into the whole “single issue” thing, a trade paperback collection should be along soon.

Ultimately The 13th Artifact was a nice diversion for 15 minutes or so. I'm glad I read it and it served as a good showcase for the creators. If you're a fan of sci-fi/horror mash-ups with a Twilight-Zone-y feel to them, it's definitely worth checking out. I'll be keeping my eye out for artist Eli Powell's work in future; I'm including an alternate cover he did for IDW's Infinite Loop #6 to give you a visual of his style, that was very appealing to me:

Paknadel & Trakhanov's Turncoat#1 is a great comic for anyone who likes gritty sci-fi mashed up with crime/mystery. Paknadel & Trakhanov have created an incredibly rich world here, it seems like there is far more than can be fully explored in a single story arc. I look forward to learning more about the characters, the world, and the departed aliens as the rest of this 4 issue series plays out. Hopefully this will interest enough fans that we'll be getting some follow on stories set in this world down the road.

If you liked Harris & Morazzo's ‘Great Pacific', you give this a try. The debut issue was not, in my opinion, as strong as the debut of Great Pacific, but the story still shows promise. Morazzo's art is a strong selling point for me, I really enjoy his visual storytelling. I'll be giving this series a few more issues to see if it can catch its stride.

Second Sight is a horror story in the vein of Silence of the Lambs. The monsters are human, not supernatural (the psychic ability of our lead character notwithstanding). The nature of the story means it won't be for everyone, but for fans of this kind of story, it could easily stand alongside classics of the genre. Hine is weaving a complex tapestry with the present interweaving with the past, and Pilgrim's personal life intersecting the various facets of his professional life. If you're lucky enough to have a local comic shop that carries AfterShock comics, pick one up and give it a try. Each one (s0 far) is completely different from the rest so they're all worth a look. If you shop doesn't carry them, ask about them, I think you'll be glad you did.

King's Road #1 is a fabulous package, at 48 pages it gave me a lot of story. Even if I had read the 1st 24 pages in Dark Horse Presents, I'd sill be getting a full comic worth of new material. We get a switch of art style half way through when it moves from Phil Winslade who drew the DHP chapters to Staz Johnson doing the material new for this issue, but their styles are similar enough that it wasn't a jarring transition for me. I liked the characters and, in a hallmark of writing styles that I enjoy, I felt myself immediately taking a liking to the characters and caring about what happens to them. The evil sorceress even has a great “evil” name, Malicia; maybe something that will cause other people to roll their eyes, but I love it! This is a 3-issue series so the story will wrap pretty quickly, I'm looking forward to reading the next two installments!

I have really been enjoying this series so far. There has been a good amount of depth and definition to the characters and a fairly believable motivation in the point of conflict, taking into account standard "doing some stupid stuff to help get things rolling" that happens in most of these kinds of stories (that "stupid stuff" happened mostly in issue 2).

I think it will read better in a single chunk, at least for me. Given that it's a weekly series, it would be relatively easy to collect up the issues and read them in a single sitting, or just wait for the collected edition which should be along in a few months. While it's on the racks it's worth flip[ping through if your shop has any copies if only to see how the art and design elements strike you. I think this is a series that people will either take to immediately from a visual standpoint, or else be put off by it. That's not good or bad, it's just the subjective nature of art appreciation.

McKeever's art is exaggerated and humorous, as a result Pencil Head won't be for everyone. For people like myself who are fans of his unique form of comics expression, this series is a treat. Coarse language and locations like a strip club make this a mature readers title, so keep that in mind if you're easily offended. That said, it's right up my alley so I loved it. There was a decidedly dark twist near the end and I'm looking forward to seeing how McKeever weaves it into the story next issue. I'm on board for this 5 issue exploration of McKeever's bizarre reflection of the world behind the scenes of the comics.

If you're a fan of Rick Remender in particular or post-apocalyptic tales with a slightly off-beat twist and a soupcon of humor in general, Devolution is a book to check out. You may need to ask your shop to get you a copy if they don't normally stock Dynamite, but you could be glad you did. Check out Jonathan Wayshak's art for the series on Nerdist.com and see if you like it as much as I do. This was a book where I wanted to check out the 1st issue before committing to the series, it has earned a spot on my pull list, I'm looking forward to seeing where Remender and Wayshak take me form here.

This comic won't be for everyone as it focuses on telling a story and is not simply diving into super-hero action. It's this focus on telling the backstory of the character that makes this so compelling to me. I'm looking forward to seeing the Princess Diana we are introduced to here grow up and become the hero we know as Wonder Woman. I'm doubly interested in seeing the DeLiz interpretation of Wonder Woman as a character. Extrapolating what I have seen in this debut issue, I'm predicting I will love it. This comic was available digitally already and is being presented here in print form. No spoilers, please, from people who have read it already, I want to enjoy the story as it unfolds for me in print of the next several months! This is a comic that will jump to the top of my “to read” pile when the next issue shows up in a shipment of my new comics.

I thoroughly enjoyed being introduced to the world of Gutter magic in this debut issue. Rich Douek has created a world that I'm going to love seeing explored in upcoming issues augmented by the great art of Brett Barkley. This landed a spot on my pull list and I look forward to meeting “The Morgue” in issue #2!

The Last Contract was a fairly typical entry in the “contract killer is forced out of retirement” but Ed Brisson put enough unique elements into the story to keep me interested and guessing, including setting the tale in Canada. These stories are often set in New York. This was a solid debut issue and got me hooked, so I'm going to go along on the ride to see how the story plays out in this 4 issue mini series.

While it served to get the story off to a slow start, the context that was set in this debut issue felt important to the telling of the tale. The history mixed in with the fictionalized framework and characters made those characters feel very real. Ultimately this is a series that will appeal to fans of war comics as well as fans of dramatic tales featuring the heroic efforts of African Americans who laid down essential foundations for ending segregation and showing that there was nothing they could not do, providing concrete proof against a general unfounded prejudice of the time that African Americans were somehow physically or mentally inferior. This was a well crafted beginning to the tale and I'm looking forward to seeing it play out in actual training and combat in upcoming issues.

Kirkman is following his standard style of storytelling in which he advances the story issue after issue, revealing nuggets of information fleshing out the world and the characters that live in it, and wrapping it up with a strong story beat that makes me anticipate the release of the next issue. Paul Azaceta's art is a character in itself. It sets the mood and tone of the series and allows it to evoke a sense of dread in me as a reader. This is a solid series and I look forward to each new installment. If it sounds interesting, it may be worth jumping on board before the possible influx of readers from the upcoming TV show. Fly your "I was reading it before it was a show" flag!

If you're a fan of Conner and Palmiotti's work at DC, or their other creator-owned projects, and have not already secured a copy of this book, ask your shop for a copy. They can order one for you from Diamond if they don't have one on hand. Similarly, ask for this if you'd like to read about a girl who dreams of being a super-hero while living in a world where she thinks she is a super-zero. I'm on board for this series, I'm looking forward to seeing where it will go in #2.

Wanda Maximoff is back in action and seems to have been added to Marvel's street-level group of heroes, with an arcane slant. Interfacing with the NYPD and working on a crime with a mystical element I'm seeing a side of her that I've not seen explored much in the past. Typically she has been seen with the Avengers or X-Men facing much larger scale menaces, I'm really enjoying this take on her character where she gets the spotlight to herself and is facing threats that are much more in her wheelhouse as one of the preeminent magic users of the Marvel Universe. Art, writing, and color came together in this debut issue to make it comic book perfection to my eyes. I'm looking forward to more from this team, Scarlet Witch is a winner for me.

If you enjoy realistic street-level crime stories, The Violent should be right up your alley. It chronicles the cycle of poor decisions that keep an ex-con in a life on the wrong side of the law and how those affect the people around him. This was an extremely well done comic and is worth a look.

While I'm not that interested in the flashy public face of wrestling, it turns out I'm fascinated by the human drama that Keatinge unfolds behind the scenes of that world in this comic. This was an immediate add to my pull list. I can appreciate Keatinge's love for the sport, I think the passion he feels for it comes across in the way he made the characters jump off the page at me. This story grabbed my mind in a full Nelson hold and won't let go, I'll be back for more next month!

I'm a fan of Lunella, my favorite new character at Marvel since Kamala Khan. The thing that slowed this issue down for me was the setup necessary to get Devil Dinosaur from pre-history into present day New York, but it's something that needed to be done. I'm going to be really interested to see how Lunella and Devil end up bonding in the next issue, I'm counting the days until #2.

I've been reading Spider-Man since 1970 and I'm all for this update of Peter's early days. It's a fun retelling of the basic story that thankfully doesn't re-hash the origin story yet again (we've seen that quite enough, thanks to Robbie Thompson for skipping over it and joining our hero's story a bit later). Seeing classic bad guys like Doc Ock was fun (and thanks Nick Bradshaw for drawing him with a very classic look, updated a bit but not radically). Seeing some minor baddies slipped a bit earlier into Peter's career (like White Rabbit) was fine with me, she has a cool visual. AND foreshadowing of Peter's first meeting with his BIG BAD, Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin, has me on the edge of my seat. I was originally going to give this series a pass, but it grabbed me. It has earned its way onto my pull list!

If your a fan of tough leading men who don't take guff from anyone, you should be checking out Carver. An added bonus is a 3-page backup story by Paul Pope featuring Josephine Baker that was off the hook cool. Pope fans may be compelled to buy this comic just for the backup, and will get the main story as the added bonus! For my part, I thought this was a nicely handled debut for the title character and I'll definitely be back for more.

I loved the "done in one" nature of the story and look forward to this format continuing. People who have never read The Massive can jump right in with this issue and pick it up as it goes along. If you read the Massive, this is like old home week. In particular, since Wood pretty much tapped out his exploration of the post apocalyptic setting from the previous series, it's quite fun to see the slightly younger versions of the characters interacting with people and situations we can see reflected in the world we're living in. I'm looking forward to joining Wood for as long as he continues to put out these stories.

Paul Tobin sets up the premise in this debut issue. He teases us with the adventure to come. He introduces a mysterious agent of conflict that will pay off in upcoming issues. Trine was immediately likable and I want to see where the story is going to go from here. I'm on board, and you can be to when this comic hits the stands on Dec 2nd. If this sounds interesting, ask your local comic shop to save a copy for you!

Charming is the word that came most readily to mind to describe this story. Huck was an immediately likable character that I want to see more of in upcoming issues. Mark Millar sets up a point of conflict that could take a slightly uncomfortable turn for our hero, but hopefully nothing quite as dark as other Millarworld tales. I'd buy this solely for the art by Rafael Albuquerque and the wonderfully nuanced story by Millar was icing on the cake. I'm on board for the duration. Whether you pick this up in single issues or in trade form (which should be available in 6 months to a year) Huck is well worth checking out.

This debut issue is loaded with story potential, but I didn't feel like there was a solid payoff for any of it here. Reading this all at once in a collected edition would probably correct that for me. It's hard for me to put a specific finger on it but I read a lot of comics and will often read a #1 that is loaded with setup, establishing characters, motives, and situations that don't leave me feeling unfulfilled, but that is exactly how I felt reading this issue. Tomboy feels like a “wait for the trade” series for me.

Writer Tom Taylor (writer of the wonderful Injustice: Gods Among Us stuff over at DC) does a great job weaving action and dialogue together, I never felt the “walked into the middle of a movie” syndrome that I frequently feel when picking up an X-book. This was a first issue that read like a first issue, everything I needed to enjoy the story was in the story. I have just a bit of basic extra knowledge about who these characters are and I'm sure people really steeped in X-Lore may have picked up on stuff that I totally missed, but I was happy with what I got. As long as this doesn't get wrapped into any involved crossovers that will require me to pick up a bunch of other X-books to understand, Marvel has a new reader.

Unfollow #1 is setting the stage for a series that looks like it will be a sweeping character-oriented mystery. Larry Ferrell, a billionaire with 800k+ twitter followers, is dying and he's planning to give his $17B away to 140 people. I'm sure there is a connection between the number of people and the number of characters in a tweet, but how exactly were they selected? And why? We don't yet have any idea, but I'm very keen to keep following Unfollow so I can find out.

I'm usually drawn to stories where there is either a character I can relate to or where I like the lead character(s) and care what happens to them. Citizen Jack goes another way and while it's really well-crafted I have absolutely no desire to read more about Jack Northworthy. That said, Citizen Jack is entertaining as political satire with a twist and is well worth trying out, you might fall in love with the characters and/or situation and see this as the greatest thing since lobbyists tried to influence the price of sliced bread.

Old things are waking and they're not exactly interested in peaceful coexistence with humankind. Hercules is going to be squarely at the intersection between these “old things” and the human world in this series and if this debut issue is any indication, I'm going to love seeing Abnett and Ross tell the tale. This series jumped straight onto my pull list and is one of my favorite books in the new wave of Marvel titles so far. I look forward to more.

I really loved the fact that ComixTribe has a recap page at the beginning of issues #2 and 3 to bring readers back up to speed on ‘what has gone before'. As I was reading this issue it was moving along just fine but it really felt like a dip in the action compared to the 1st two issues of the series, which is not unheard of for the penultimate issue of a four issue series. Then, about 2/3rds of the way into the issue it starts to build and the action continued to escalate throughout the remainder of the issue with some really startling twists ending with one of the most chilling scenes I've ever read in a comic. These guys really hit me in the gut here and I'm hooked. I'm buying physical copies of the series and am looking forward to seeing how they're going to wrap this one up!

Tom King turned up the volume on the action in the last 4 pages, and it worked beautifully for me. The slower pace of the bulk of the story was a nice change from the standard super-hero book, but I'm not sure how well it will go over with the majority of Marvel's audience. It's the fact that this looks and feels so different from “standard super-hero” that is appealing to me, I hope it is able to sell well enough and build an audience so we'll be able to continue examining The Vision's view of the world. The conclusion of this issue was a real “What the heck?!?!” moment for me and certainly caught me by surprise. All the new Marvel #1s end with an add for the #2 issue that says “You Want to Know What Happens Next?” In the case of The Vision #1, my answer is a resounding “YES!”

Warren Ellis' dialogue was solid throughout, but too little story advancement in this issue for me. I'm enough of a Bond addict that I'm on board for this regardless of my issues with the art and pacing, but it is a definite “wait for the trade”… or in my case, just collecting the issues up that I'll read in a chunk when the arc completes. I think I'll enjoy the story much more without the cycle of small chunk of development, wait a month, repeat.

Garth Ennis does an excellent job providing the back-story I needed to know to fully enjoy the comic. By the time he segues to WWII Stalingrad I was totally brought up to speed on the role of the Hawker Hurricane in WWII and how a British flyer could end up in Russia. This was an immediate add to my pull list and is highly recommended for any fan of war comics. Ask your comic shop to get you a copy of this debut and add it to your pull so you don't miss future issues.

The story up to and especially including the last-page reveal really seem like they're leading the narrative down a fairly predictable path. It may be too early to judge and perhaps in issue #2 writer Frank Tieri will switch things up and do something unexpected. I'll certainly read #2 and give Tieri a chance to surprise me. As it stands, this looks like a great comic for people who like straightforward “criminals must pay the price for their crimes” story with a supernatural enforcer angle and some outstanding art. I want to see where the story takes me in issue #2 before I decide whether to add this to my pull list or not.

Henchgirl is not about delivering slam-bang super-hero action, but it is a perfect comic for people who are familiar with standard super-hero tropes and like seeing those turned around and examined from some new angles for comedic effect. Fans of books like Scott Pilgrim should give this a try, I get a similar vibe. It's not derivative, just in that ballpark. I loved what Kristen Gudsnuk is doing here and this quirky gem has earned a place on my pull list.

Sunflower is a story that plays with extremely common elements of the genre. The parent searching for a child. The mysterious gang/cult leader. The uncooperative police. The predominantly scared and resistant townspeople, but of course, there is one who gives information setting our hero on the right path. But to Mallouk's credit he manages to assemble these common elements into an intriguing story and I came to the end of this first issue wanting more. I'm on board for this story, I want to see where Mallouk takes me, it should be an interesting ride.

Simone weaves a compelling tale in this debut issue loaded with setup and questions that have no answers. In the hands of a lesser storyteller this would leave me feeling frustrated at the lack of information. In the hands of Simone it leave me intrigued and wanting to read more! This has the feel of being a new Vertigo classic. Fans of Vertigo series like Y: The Last Man or Preacher should check this one out and get in on the ground floor. This is not a direct comparison with either of those series, other than the fact that I had the same feeling of reading something special in this first issue that I had when I read the debuts of those other Vertigo classics.

The jumps between the multiple time-frames caused a less than optimal reading experience for me. This issue is best enjoyed as an action/revenge story without paying too close of attention to the facts of the framework the story is hung upon. If you can let the art and basic plot carry you along and forgive the plot/consistency holes this will be a much smoother ride. Nahuelpan has been working on this for 7 years and has 6 issues completed, so this first issue we're looking at really came out of a time capsule. I really admire the art here and am very interested to see how Nahuelpan's art is going to evolve over the 7 years of elapsed time between this issue and issue #6. Hopefully his plotting/storytelling will similarly grow and get tighter. I'm going to give this a try because I liked what I saw enough and the idea of seeing a fast-forward of creative development of the next several issues intrigues me.

The 42-page Switch #1 has everything I look for in a debut issue. I was easily able to follow the story, it gave a great introduction to everything that was going on and helped me understand the world it was set in. That's particularly notable since it deals with subjects that have a long publishing history and it's so easy for comics to just assume that readers know everything and jump right into the middle of something. I love the young female protagonist and new bearer of the Witchblade, Mary. Sejic did a great job imbuing her with a personality and making her pretty much instantly likable. He's a master of facial expressions and body language. His pictures of people talking tell as much if not more story in what is not said as what I get from the dialogue. This plus-sized debut really helped jump start the story for me and I'm looking forward to see where Sejic takes us next!

This was one of my favorite comics of 2015. It carries a $9.99 price tag for its 52 pages, but it took me a really long time to read, in a good way. There was so much story packed into the are and writing I spent as much time basking in this one issue as I spend on 6-8 standard superhero comics. Given the amount of actual entertainment value I got out of this issue, it was worth every penny it cost me. I cannot recommend this highly enough, it's well worth a look. Open it up, flip through it. I think you'll agree this has the “different from every other book on the racks” factor in spades. If you like what you see, BUY IT! Then get the hardcover. Then settle down and get ready for a long wait for Chapter 5, but I think however long the wait is… it will be well worth it!

All the classic elements of an Iron Man comic are here. Tony being smart, Tony interacting with his digital assistant (Jarvis having been replaced with a holographic girl Friday), Tony on a date, Tony in the armor. Bendis puts them all together and tells an entertaining story that melds the world of the movies together with the classic world of the comics and adds a bit more of a global spin to the book to make it more appealing to an international audience. In the end, I like this a LOT more than the previous volume, “The Superior Iron Man”, and it seems to be off on the right track to be telling some new tales of Tony/Iron Man with a decidedly classic feel to them, but updated just enough to hopefully appeal to a new audience.

Sandman: Overture excelled in each and every installment, as a whole, and the ending was brilliant. I'm not sure who I'm really preaching to here, because anyone who is a Sandman fan has got to be on board with this, although some may be waiting for the collected edition. It has definitely been worth the wait and will, I have confidence, please Sandman fans who have been patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for it. This gets my highest possible recommendation.

If you are a fan of Macbeth, getting this comic is a no-brainer, but don't let an unfamiliarity with Shakespeare scare you away. If you really feel like you need the context, click the Wikipedia Macbeth link and give it a quick read. There. You have the basic context. More importantly, this is a fantastic story with something deeper going on in the interaction between the sisters that has me intrigued. There are previous events and power plays hinted at and beginning to be revealed that add layers of context to the story, making the sisters every bit as interesting to me as Macbeth. I love it when a writer takes background characters and puts them in the spotlight, Mairghread Scott does an absolutely magnificent job of that with this series. I'm looking forward to the next 2 issue of the mini. If you check with your store you may still be able to get #1, if not, the collected edition should be along in a few months.

Saints is a book where you need to dig a bit to figure out what's going on, issue #1 scatters a bunch of breadcrumbs but I have no idea where they're going to lead me. Are Blaise, Sebastian, and Lucy reincarnated saints? Are they something else? I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out in time. This is a book that might read really nicely in collected edition format when a bigger chunk of the story is laid out and at least some of the mysteries stand revealed. I'll be back for #2 and #3 and we'll see where the story takes me.

In this issue of Invisible Republic we also get the introduction of a letters page, another smartly written article by Corrina Bechko explaining the potential and realistic use of space elevators, and a much too short single-page describing the behind the scenes process that went into the creation of this issue, which is my only complaint..we need more! This series continues to be one of my favorite books of 2015 and when my only complaint is that I wish there was more, well, it must be pretty darn good!

Tet isn't just another war comic. It's a war story, a love story, and a mystery all told across time from 1968 to 1984. The pieces are still being put on the board and given the change-ups that have happened already I can't pretend to know where Allor is going with this story, but I'm excited to be taken along for the ride. This is yet another comic that could easily fly under your radar, but don't let it.

Overall, the experiment of having Wayne Manor act as the home for the criminally insane didn't last long and had little impact outside of the limited Arkham Manor series. Other books in the Bat-Family of titles never took advantage of the situation for new and different stories which is a shame. To see an annual dedicated to wrapping this story-line up also feels like a bit of an overkill, but it did need wrapping up. This may not be worth your $4.99, but its a solid read if you can find it for cheap at a later date.

This is a comic series that could easily fly under the radar of readers who enjoyed Sturges' work on Jack of Fables and Shadowpact at DC. If you liked either of those books you should definitely seek this out. Public Relations #1 may be challenging to find at your local shop unless you special order it,as Devil's Due/1First Comics are just getting off the ground and are likely not stocked in depth on the racks of most comic shops. If you're a fan of this brand of humor, it's well worth the effort to get a copy of this debut issue and follow along as the story unfolds.

Chip Zdarsky was born to write Jughead, I have my fingers crossed that he will stay on this series for a long run. The formula of weaving a dream-state story into the normal Riverdale hi-jinks worked really well for me and I hope Zdarsky continues with the formula. I'd love to see super-heroes, super-spies, and lots of other classic Archie tropes shining in Zdarsky's comedic spotlight. I'd call this series a “must buy”. If you haven't picked up an Archie comic in ages (or ever) what are you waiting for? The 2015 re-laucnhes seem like the beginning of a new Archie golden age, get in on the ground floor!

If you're a fan of sci-fi with a slightly humorous twist, don't miss Power Cubed. Hopefully it will be available at your shop when you go looking for it. I'm happy to be supporting Lopresti's solo effort here, he's doing a wonderful job so far and I look forward to seeing more of the Federal Bureau of Paranormal Investigation and Galactic Mischief! Kenny's got his hands full with all the different factions interested in his cube.

Ultimately, there's an interesting idea built into the tag-line “Earth…The Final Buffet”, but readers will need to wait until future issues to see it realized. A lot of this issue was set-up to allow us to get to the arrival of the more “in your face” arrival of the alien race that is an analog to the Kanamits from the classic “To Serve Man” episode of Twilight Zone. They're not trying to deceive anyone for more than a few minutes, but at least we get some great dialog filled with food-related terms when the lead alien initiates first contact with the humans. For me, this is a story that will likely read better in collected edition format so the meat of the story (pun not intended, though it's an appropriate one) doesn't seem so out of balance with the set up.

The Infinite Adventures of Jonas Quantum is the kind of book that will fly under the radar of a lot of readers despite the ridiculously long title. It boast the talents of well know mainstream creators Marc Guggenheim and Freddie Williams II, but coming out from Legendary, this one may not be sitting on the rack waiting for you to browse through it in many comic shops. It it's not waiting on the rack it's definitely worth tracking down. Ask your shop to order a copy for you. If you like it as much as I did it's going to be on your pull list moving forward for sure!

The characters introduced here didn't really grab me, but they have potential. The story itself has loads of potential that I'm betting will pay off down the line. Reading the back cover of this issue did more for adding it to my pull list than the story inside, there's maybe something a bit off about that. Ultimately, I want to know what happens next. I want to see the story promised by the back cover come to fruition. I didn't see that come to life in this debut issue, but I'm sure it will pay off in the first volume, thus my thought that this may read better in collected format. For my own part, I'll continue with buying singles (because that's how I roll), but I'll be stockpiling the issues of this series and read them in a row when the 1st story arc concludes.

This issue sets the stage and moves us just a little bit into the story. The Vampires want to ensure they have a steady food supply, and that means farming humans. Humans who don't take kindly to being farmed, so we have the “plucky band of rebels fighting the overlords” trope. Werewolves are in the mix too, but we've not yet seen the full extent of the role they'll play in our drama. This is a great comic for people who “like this sort of thing”, and I count myself among that number. I'm looking forward to seeing the story play out and I hope people will give American Gothic Press a try, it certainly seems to be the kind of comic that you're going to need to ask most comic shops to carry, and is worth asking for if you're a fan of the genre.

This is a great first issue. Hesse introduces a bunch of characters, establishing backstory for several, while simultaneously building up the world they're operating in all within the context of the story. He takes from scene to scene while moving events forward and loading us up with information all woven into the fabric of the story. As with most series that resonate with me, I quickly fell in love with the characters, particularly our plucky heroine Dee Diesel, and I eagerly look forward to seeing more of the story next issue. This comic is all ages in the best sense; completely engaging and appropriate for younger readers and equally compelling for adult readers. This one gets my highest recommendation!

If you;re a casual fan like me, I think this is well worth your while. If nothing else, it puts a very interesting twist on Moriarty, and since it's all new to me, I'm going to need to wait a few issues to see how it all plays out.

I really enjoyed the previous 2 volumes of Phonogram, but it's been over 5 years since I read the last issue of “The Singles Club” in early 2010, so there are finer details of the series that I just don't recall that puts me almost, but not quite, in the same boat as people coming in fresh. I missed some of the nuances involved in back-references to previous issues. This is a case where it would be nice to have the TPBs that could be easily pulled off the shelf and re-read as opposed to 13 separate single issues that would need to be pulled out of (in my case) 13 different long boxes. BUT, the beauty of this issue was that I thoroughly enjoyed it even without that full command of all the references and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Give this a try if you're a fan of the creators, of music, or both.

Boy 1 deals with the conflicting forces of profit and working for the benefit of mankind. Make people better, cure disease, and all the great things that go along with it, but ultimately the companies funding the research care about the bottom line. The almighty dollar rules. Nothing new there, an age old conflict, but always an interesting launchpad for a story. Of course we get to the sinister underbelly of it pretty quickly, with Jadas stumbling upon a sinister mystery unveiled and feeling compelled to investigate. Will he find the answers easily? Of course not, otherwise we wouldn't have a story. A decent setup here and unique enough to get me to come back for #2 to see what happens next.

Any one of the 3 parts of this mega-issue could have stood on it's own as a$3.99 comic and I'd have gladly read them on 3 consecutive months as issues 1, 2, and 3. That Pizzolo put them all together into a big issue to get us up to speed in one massive dose makes this all the better. Is it perfect? Alas, no. Even at 80 pages there are things that slip through the cracks that I'd have loved to see expanded on. But that's a good thing, it leaves some room for flashbacks and additional storytelling in future issues. This was easily in the top 10% of comics I've read so it gets a 5/5 rating with no reservations. Young Terrorists #1 is something special. Equal parts social commentary and entertainment, this has cemented a slot on my “must read” list. I can't wait for issue #2.

There's a lot under the surface as Kolins is building his story along with the world. I just wish he'd have given a few more crumbs of connective information in this first issue to help me get my head around what's going on. In the end, the art and the format are cool enough that I'll be back for the 2nd issue. Hopefully things will begin to gel, it's a mini-series so I'm expecting to get some clarity sooner rather than later.

As in any good story setup, we get a point of mystery that it would seem must be solved before things get really BAD. How to solve it? Of course it is tied to things the String Divers observed on their sub-atomic mission. Resolving this will drive the story and no doubt save the world as a result. I'm hooked, mostly because I'm a sucker for “different” and this fills that bill quite nicely. I can safely say I'm not reading any other comic like String Divers and I really enjoyed the science angle, though as a lay-person, I'm sure that all kinds of scientific inaccuracies can be put over on me that might be called out by an actual particle physicist. I was entertained and that's what is important. I'll also be back for issue #2, which is the real goal of a #1 issue, so it succeeded with me on that front.

A very solid debut issue that provided a lot of information, set up some great breadcrumbs to follow (essential for any mystery story) and introduced a number of intriguing characters that made me think “I want to know more about them”. Perfect! That's exactly how you hook readers into coming back for more. Kot was completely successful with this massive 1st issue; I'll be back for #2, #3 and beyond, following immortal investigator Antoine Wolf as he gets to the bottom of the mystery set up within the 58 pages is this 1st issue.

Issue #7 a perfect jumping on point for people who haven't checked out the series yet. The zombie genre is still pretty popular and I liked the fact that this is a twist on the genre that I've not seen before. The robot/human factor brings a unique feel to the series, as does the variety of art. I'm going to be staying to get more of Ryall's story and I'll be looking for back issues too!

Enormous #7 has a lot of action in the form of a human-on-human fight scene, beautifully choreographed and painted by Cheggour. What we don't get in this issue is a lot of monster action. This made this issue feel a bit more like an interlude to me since previous issues had a lot more giant monster action. Not necessarily a bad thing, I still loved the issue, but it didn't feel as representative of the series to date as a “new #1″ probably should have. That said, this is a must-read for fans of monster movies and absolutely worth checking out for fans of painted art. Highly recommended.

Deathstroke #8 was effective as a crossover in that it brought me up to speed as a new reader and I applaud the fact that I did not feel ‘walked into the middle of a movie' syndrome, even though I had clearly joined a story in progress. On the other hand, the art was very distracting to me and pulled me out of the story on several occasions. I can chalk some of this up to personal preference, but I think some of it was due to actual technical issues with the art. The bottom line was that I won't be back for the continuation of the story in the $4.99 Deathstroke Annual #1, but if I see that issue in a $1 bin one day, I'll be curious enough to pick it up.

This issue had an interesting high-concept. It failed to deliver for me on art and I'd have liked to see at least an initial confrontation between the aliens and zombies instead of having that put off until #2. Do you like Zombies but tired of the same post-apocalyptic survivor stories? This may be just the ticket for you. I'm interested enough in the story to pick up #2, so on that front this was an effective #1 issue since it has me wanting to come back to see what happens next.

Past issues of War Stories have featured arcs with a German family fleeing the Soviet advance on the Eastern Front who are saved by a small German unit; an Israeli tank crew in the Golan Heights; and WWII Allied Bomber crews flying missions over Germany. The hallmark of the series so far has been on unconventional stories that focus more on realistic portrayals of people involved in war as opposed to grizzled combat vets with a 50 caliber machine gun in one hand and a grenade in the other storming an enemy bunker single-handed. I've never read war stories quite like these and I'm glad Avatar is publishing them. If you think you might enjoy an examination of war from a slightly different angle than you may have seen before, War Stories is definitely worth checking out.

The fully painted art by J.G. Jones was exquisite and added a sense of realism to the story that would be missing if rendered in a different art style. Take out the strange visitor from another planet and we could be reading straight historic fiction, or perhaps a retelling of events that actually happened. Waid and Jones really combined to make this story click for me. I don't want to wait a month for #2! If you read it in collected edition format you won't have to endure a frustrating wait between each issue of this 4 issue series, on the other hand, you'll be depriving yourself of seeing this masterful bit of comics storytelling for 3-6 months waiting for the trade.

Vaughan and Skroce have put together a beautifully drawn series that riffs on one possible outcome of US foreign policy if something isn't done to ramp it back over the course of the next 100 years. It's very well done, but I'm just not able to relate to the characters or situations. Which means I'll likely drop this series, even though it's very well crafted. That said, it's well worth giving a try, everyone will have their own reactions to the art, tone of the story, etc. I can easily see this becoming the favorite series of some readers.

The Humans is not for everyone. That said, if you like aw and uncensored stories about the outlaw fringes of society this could be the book for you. There is something freeing about casting apes as the protagonists. Keller and Neely immediately remove standard societal racial bias and can focus directly on the underlying themes of outlaws vs. other outlaws vs. the law vs. “normals”. I'm highly entertained by this book, and if my attempts to discuss it without any overt spoilers sounds interesting to you, do yourself a favor and pick up an issue. #6 could serve as a decent jumping on point for you. Humans For Life. Humans Til Deth.

This comics is completely self-contained and that's great. You don't need to have any history with the Spirit to enjoy it, but there are lots of nice touches thrown in that make it all the more fun for people familiar with the character. I really enjoyed this comic and look forward to more of this story arc. I hope Matt Wagener sticks with this book for a good long time and we get to see this classic character re-established with some great stories for a new generation of fans.

Cullen Bunn and Jesus Saiz have earned this book a slot on my pull list, which for people who have been following my reading habits should be seen as quite an accomplishment for a DC super-hero book lately. This had everything I was looking for in a GL book, except maybe Hal Jordan, but frankly with the other Lanterns featured here I didn't really miss him at all. That is a testament to Bunn's writing. This is my GL book for now, I look forward to seeing how the story plays out over the coming months!

Prez #1 is a breath of fresh air for me in the DC line-up. This is a blessing and it could turn out to be a curse since DC's past forays into non-super-hero books have generally not sold very well. Here's hoping the fans lured in by the #DCYou campaign will be more amenable to something that's not the standard super-hero fare. Since it is a 12 issue limited seres (even though there's no indication of that on the cover) it should be able to tell its complete story arc, which is a good thing. I hope it sells well enough that it will cause DC to do more “non mainstream” projects like this in future.

Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps has the single most interesting story thread (for my money) of the Secret Wars tie-ins I've read. How high is the sky? Read the issue and you'll know what I mean by that, but I won't elaborate here in the interest of not spoiling the story. I' really looking forward to seeing how this wonderfully crafted series plays out.

This 44 page 1st issue was well worth the $4.99 price tag. The amount of story packed into this issue brought me far enough along into the story that I really got a sense of the personalities of Carter Blue and Lee Smith and exactly what is attracting them to one another. This is planned as a 4 issue series so it will run its course soon enough. I'm pulling for these two, I hope the relationship is successful and doesn't crash and burn as long distance relationships often do. That's the thing, though. Zahler made me CARE about these characters over the course of this issue, which to me is a sign of his success as a storyteller with this issue. I look forward to watching the relationship play out. Carter and Lee…I have my fingers crossed for you! Good Luck!

The challenge I had was that there was a lot going on at the same time that too little information was making it's way to me so I could firmly make sense of the story. Interestingly, the issue is titled “Revelations”, but I felt little was revealed to help me make sense of the action. I have confidence in Buccellato and am going to give him some time to build the story, but this seems like it will work better for me if read in complete story arcs. I'll be saving up the issues and reading a bunch of them together. You may want to wait for the trade, or maybe you'll make some cognitive connection that I was not able to and the whole first issue will make perfect sense to you as a standalone unit. I'm on board for the first arc, there was enough of a setup here that I really want to know what happens next, but for me I'm going to wait and read issues #2 through 5 or 6 together.

Barbiere presents an interesting take on the run-up to the end of the world. A little more orderly than I think it would actually go down, but he stages it nicely. The real trick is going to be the “And Then?” factor. Where he takes the story in the aftermath of the cliffhanger on the last page will make or break the series for me. This might be a good “wait for the trade” series.

This is NOT a book for kids or easily offended adults. This book is about as far away from kid-friendly as you can get. It's full of language, drug use, nudity; none of it gratuitous. It serves the story Robinson is telling, and defines a mature book. Adult situations that a mature reader can see the ironic humor in and chuckle at occur regularly. This is definitely not a standard Airboy story and my hope is that the rest of the series lives up to this issue. I loved this as a standalone issue. I have absolutely no idea where Robinson is going to go with this after the final page, but I'll be there for the ride. Regardless of whether you read any other issues in this series, I'd urge you to at least flip though this first issue and see if it looks like the sort of thing you'd enjoy. It's definitely not for everyone, but for the people it hits the right way, it's a brilliant example of comics at their best.

Gunn really grabbed me with this over-sized 36 page debut issue. He pumps out a LOT of information but does so while keeping the story moving via some effective flashbacks that fill in critical details. And just when I thought I had a handle on they style of the story he hit me with an extremely unexpected final panel that grabbed me and has me anticipating where the story will take me in issue 2. I'll definitely be back for more.

Casey and Maybury lent the issue a definite feeling that it had been plucked out of an earlier time in comics with just enough of a modernization in dialogue and trappings from the residents of New York to give it a bit more appeal to current readers. That said, I didn't feel like I got a sufficient chunk of story in this debut issue to make me really want more. Not a lot of forward story momentum, what we got was mostly atmosphere. Fans of stories with a retro Lee/Kirby feel may enjoy this for those attributes alone and this may read better as a collected edition. As a standalone #1 issue, this was OK, but not something I put down and thought “Wow! I really need to get my hand on issue #2.”

I really liked this debut issue and am looking forward to seeing where Brisson takes us in future issues. On the face of it we're not treading completely new ground here. There are added elements that you won't find in a standard superhero book (language and drug use) but the story could have survived pretty much the same without them. There were a could of surprising moments that will get me back for issue #2, I'm keen to see how Brisson kicks this up a notch and makes it stand out even more from the standard superhero book as he carries the story forward.

This grabbed me right away. A little bit of The Matrix, but not really. On the very surface we get a Matrix similarity, but these people KNOW they're in a simulation and the rules of reality in Arcadia are mutable. It was fascinating to see how Paknadel and Pfeiffer played with this over the course of the story. And then there was the parallel story going on in “The Meat” (what they call the world with the surviving humans). Where will the story go? I have no idea! That is so refreshing in a world of comics where I can predict roughly how many comics are going to end once I see the initial story setup. Part of the curse of reading so many comics, I suppose. The cure is to seek out unique creative visions and I seem to have hit pay dirt here. Seeing the two worlds interact was what I enjoyed most in this issue and I look forward to being surprised as the story plays out.

The best part about Scarlett Couture was the look. It's unlike any other comic on the stands, and Des Taylor's distinctive art style was very appealing to me. There was a good blend of action along with the necessary introductions of the characters, settings, and establishing the point of conflict. A nice hook on the last page got me wanting to come back to see what happens next, an essential part of a serialized monthly comic. I'm excited to see where Taylor is going with the story and hope it's only the first of many story arc with these characters. I'd love to see Taylor's work gracing the stands on a very regular basis.

This is the kind of comic we need more of; intelligent accessible and creative that is perfect for getting young adults into reading comics. If you know someone who is into reading the various YA novel series that are out there and want to get them into comics, get a copy of Nutmeg for them. Get a copy for yourself! I'm absolutely not the target demographic for this, but I loved it. Perfect for the young at heart and spirit as much as it's suited for the young in years. I look forward to seeing how the “nutmeg initiative” plays out as the story unfolds.

Fantasy fans like me who enjoy these kinds of “fish out of water” stories where a character is pulled out of one world and thrust into another should check this series out. Birthright layers this theme in a number of ways so far and it appears we'll be getting even more layers in upcoming issues. Creators Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan have created a cast of characters I really like, put them into a situation that I'm really curious how they're going to work their way out of, and made me care about that happening. Essential ingredients for me loving a series. I'm guessing that some of the plot points revealed so far are misdirection while others are seeding some serious conflict points to come. I'm looking forward to seeing where Williamson takes us in the upcoming story arcs.

As with most stories that I immediately fall in love with, Writer Mattew Rosenberg created characters that I liked, felt a connection to, and want to know more about. This debut issue is subtle, there are a few dust-ups but no major action set pieces. This is more about getting to know Maddie, Duncan, and the world they live in. We get the inciting action for the title of the series “We Can Never Go Home” and we're off! Most importantly, I want to know what happens next and I'll be back for the second issue (which I already have pre-ordered). This gets a high recommendation from me; check it out if you like stories that are character-driven as much as I do.

I think this series is going to be talked about and be winning awards in the years to come, you should get on board at the ground floor. It's a really entertaining read, beautiful to look at, and you might just learn some history along the way, what a deal! Entertaining. Enlightening. Enrapturing. Buy this book!

If you're a fan of sci-fi with a more human element, I'd recommend you give Descender a try. If you're a fan of art that strays outside of “super-hero normal” then you're in for even more of a treat. For my comics dollar, this book was firing on all cylinders and I'm eagerly awaiting more of this story. It looks and feels different from every other book I'm reading, which currently stands somewhere around 130 titles per month, and that's a good thing. The one thing I love when it comes to my comics is ‘different'. If you like ‘different' then you may love this series debut as much as I did. Now it's time to wait

This is not going to be for everyone, but for people who like this kind of thing, it doesn't get any better than this. The art and story meld perfectly to tell the tale of Big Man and he is set on a path that is leading him back to his hometown in Tennessee. I know one thing, I would not want to be one of the people who did whatever set him off. As Big Man says: “Rock bottom is a good place to build from. Rock bottom is also a great place to tear the f^#king foundations down from.” I'm looking forward to the story Powell and Wiesch build from the foundation set in this issue and anticipating the violent glory that will result from Big Man tearing down the foundations.

While this book isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, it was a solid “win” for me in my search each month for comics that feel and read different from every other comic I'm reading. This didn't feel similar to any of the other 140 or so current series I'm reading and as such will be really easy for me to keep straight in my mind without blurring into any others (a concern I have that is probably fairly unique to me). But for any other reader, I'd recommend it as a solid read with a lot of well-written and very unique characters.And if you don't speak French, I'd recommend using Google translate on The Chef's dialogue. A little thing, but I thought it was a hoot. I'll be back to follow along with the investigation as well as getting to know more about the inhabitants of Eden. Postal #1 delivered exactly the what I was looking for in a #1; just the right amount of setup, an array of characters I want to get to know better, and a killer hook on the final page.

This issue is all about the setup. Seeley and Zarcone are building a new world, populating it with characters, and setting up an intriguing story that will carry us along for many issues to come. The great success of this issue lies in making me care about the characters. Making me feel a reality in the world. Setting up a really interesting situation with some great hooks that are making me eager to come back for more next issue. This is the way to do a #1 issue and I will applaud the creators the best way I can, by giving them my loyalty as a reader and coming back again for issue 2. Another comic with a great female character in the lead role has been added to my “must read” list.

King: Phantom #1 was a decent 1st issue that struggled with telling a story in the face of what is clearly a large amount of "what has gone before". It's not a Phantom that will be familiar to long-time fans, but is a decent jump on point for readers who want something new. This is a new take on the character that is suitable for readers who don't want decades of continuity but are also willing to just go with the flow and jump into the story premise Dynamite set up in King's Watch that they may or may not be familiar with. I liked Clevinger's work here and it's only a 4 issue series, so I'm going to stick around and see how it plays out.

Uber is not a series for the squeamish or people easily offended by graphic depictions of what people actually do to and with one another. But I don't feel like any of the adult themes are gratuitously inserted into the story. These elements flesh out the story, move it along, and give a sense of reality to a series that is at its heart a fantastical alternate history of WWII. If you have not tried ber it could very well be the best war story you've never read. If you don't mind a story that gets gritty, bloody, and dirty, give it a try.

Ivar, Timewalker is the second title in Valiant's “Valiant Next” rebranding. Not any kind of a reboot, just moving their storytelling to the next level with new series, new concepts, and new characters. If what I'm seeing here is any indication we're in for a hell of a ride. Maybe they should just call it “Valiant Best”. I have been a fan of Timewalker since the first go-round of Valiant back in the 1990s, and think this was the best Timewalker story I've ever read. But there is zero need to have any history with the character beyond what is presented right here in this issue. Read the preview, if you like it pick up #1 in stores now, and you're ready to roll! I'm looking forward to more of Ivar and Neela's adventures in issue 2!

Issue #8 was a solid conclusion to an outstanding series, perfectly balancing humor, action, drama, and emotion. It gets the strongest recommendation from me. It may be hard to find all the individual issues at this point if you've not been following this along the way, but they're all “in stock” as digital issues on Comixology for those who like reading comics that way. For those of us who prefer reading the dead trees version of stories, a trade paperback collection of the series will be along soon. Keep an eye out for it. At the end it's mentioned this is not the end for Thomas Alsop. Whether it will continue in comic book form is up in the air, but I hope there is more, I'll be back to read it if these creators produce it.

Gail Simone and Jim Zub have got the personality of both Sonja and Conan down pat and Dan Panosian helps to bring both of them to life visually. If you're a fan of either character or sword and sorcery tales in general you should check this comic out. I'm glad Dark Horse and Dynamite are playing together to let this combination of these two iconic characters happen. Simone/Zub/Panosian are weaving a sharp story that gets off to a great start in this issue and I'm looking forward to seeing it play out.

This issue suffered from a case of “I had high expectations” that were possibly unrealistic and weren't met by what I actually got, especially with a $4.99 price tag. One 6-page filler from 1984 stretched to 11 pages and a cute 10-page homage to the Golden Age Marvelman family just didn't make me feel like this was $4.99 well-spent. Marvel is fond of tossing “behind the scenes” material into a book and jacking up the price. That's great for process junkies, but is not something that everyone wants to pay the extra buck for. The bottom line for this issue is a real case of YMMV. If either of these stories strike you as excellent or you really dig seeing the script pages and tiny original art reproductions, you may find this issue to be a great deal. For me, I was left wishing I'd have waiting to rescue this from a $1 bin in a few months time. Nothing here needed to be read this week.

I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who is keen to read it (though I'm certainly not going to recommend the series) but the ending simultaneously felt like it left too much unresolved, clipping off in the middle of a thought, while at the same time coming totally out of left field. Not necessarily bad, if you like that sort of thing, but it seems to be something I personally don't like, so I'm going to be personally a bit more wary of Tynion's storytelling in future.

We're in the middle of this limited series so I wouldn't recommend diving into the action with this issue, but we're close enough to the beginning that you may be able to grab up #1 to #3 at your local shop. Barring that, keep your eyes open for the collected edition. This story is great for people who liked 100 Bullets or who like stories involving evil rich bastards acting like evil rich bastards. The 1% pulling the strings of the world with no regard to the “common folk” (which likely includes everyone reading this review) is a fun genre to explore and Milligan put enough of a new twist on this story to make it truly entertaining for me. I'm looking forward to seeing Katya work her way up the chain towards the reasons behind her husband's death and what I'm assuming will be her eventual revenge on those who orchestrated it.

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with this issue, written by Greg Pak, it just didn't grab me. I'd like to read a story with the Superman depicted on the Darwyn Cooke cover, not about the guy who actually stars in this issue, but that's personal taste.

This issue definitely made me want to come back for the next part of the story, and was a very successful comic because of that.

This issue is probably not the best one to bring new readers on board.

This is Godhead Act III, Part 1 and it would have benefited GREATLY from having a "what has gone before" summary page or something to bring new readers up to speed on what was going on. While the specifics of why what was happening was happening was unclear, a number of the personal interactions were well-handled, particularly between John Stewart/Sinestro and Hal Jordan/Black Hand.

I'm extremely intrigued by the bits of information Cooke drops in this issue and really want to see how this tale unfolds over the next few issues. This issue was so heavily weighted to setup that it could go in any number of directions in issue #2. My enjoyment of the series is going to heavily depend on how much I like the puzzle pieces as they fall into place, but in this kind of series that's most of the fun. I think of it as ‘rolling the dice' but it's a gamble I'm happy to make when I finish up a first issue with that “I can't wait to see what happens next” feeling that I certainly got here. Come on guys, get #2 on the stands!

Shaft #1 delivers a solid story to existing Shaft fans, but may end up feeling like too much setup and too little payoff for people unfamiliar with the character. A nice bonus included in the print comic is a QR code that can be used to get the first eight chapters of Ernest Tidyman's new Shaft prose novel Shaft's Revenge (these 8 chapters are also included with the digital edition). Issue #2 will feature chapters nine through fifteen when it hits stores next month, and the full length novel is expected to be released next spring. Not a bad deal and it will give readers a comic to get a taste of the prose hero that spawned a movie franchise. I'm a fan, I enjoyed the issue and am looking forward to the action picking up as the series progresses.

I was intrigued by the premise put forth in this issue by Justin Jordan. The challenge will be making this stand out as a unique and compelling narrative as he develops the themes and situations he has set up here as they play out in the long term. Keeping a mixture of current day action along with the narrative of “how things got to be how they are” along with revealing insights into the structure of this Jordan-verse driven by the whims of the Dark Gods can make this series a must read. Will this keep its unique feel or will it fall back on familiar tropes? Time will tell. I really enjoyed what Jordan did with Luther Strode so I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and will be back for more so I can see how he runs with this.

Issue #1 of The Kitchen introduces the scene, Hell's Kitchen in the 1970s; the players, Kathy, Raven and Angie; and the situation, their gangster husbands are in jail and they're going to step up to the plate and run the family crime racket in their absence. If these women don't want to be messed with they're going to need to lay down their own law, seeing how this plays out in the context of 1970s gender politics will be fascinating to watch. I'm hooked. Bring on #2!

Tynion weaves a tight tale here setting all the dominoes in place, knocking over the 1st one at the end of the issue. I'm all in for the 3 issues because I really need to see what pattern the falling dominoes are going to make. Story set up is complete, we see where we're going to end up in the short term, now the story needs to be fleshed out to make it more than just a cool idea. I loved this issue and if the pay-off lives up to the setup I can see giving the entire series a 5/5. As it sits right now, I'm hedging my bet and giving this a 4/5 as a really solid setup and I'm looking forward to seeing how the entire tale stands up.

A Town Called Dragon focuses on the inhabitants of the small town of Dragon, Colorado learning something that was all too apparent to the vikings in 1002AD. Dragons are pretty bad-ass and should be avoided (or killed) whenever possible! Well, our current day protagonists may not be able to side-step the dragon, but if they did we wouldn't have much of a story. Winick and Shaw put together a stunning 55 page package here, one I heartily recommend you to look for at your local shop. I'm in for this series and am looking forward to #2.

Annihilator jumps back and forth between Hollywood and deep space. Along the way we get drug abuse, sentient teddy bears, killings, hookers, and a decadent orgy; all beautifully rendered by Irving. A lot of things happened, but most made little connective sense to me. In the end I share the assessment of the agent who reads Ray Spass's screenplay “This is a rough draft of some of Act One”. I can see the pieces all laid out on the playing board, but I'm not seeing how they're all going to fit together yet. My main fear is that by the time I get issue #2 how much of the intricacies of issue #1 am I going to remember while trying to fit this narrative together? This might very well be a good “wait for the trade” story.

Cloaks is a story that combines magic of the “stage magician” variety (as opposed to Dr. Strange/Zatanna “supernatural magic”) with action and intrigue. While I've long been a fan of magic, I never studied magic, so it was here that I learned the six basic magic effects: Vanish, Production, Simulation, Escape, Penetration, and Prediction. These limited effects can be combined to create any magic trick or act. The trick in this issue was making me care about the characters, and want to come back for more. To do this Monroe combined the 3 storytelling effects of: solid setup/establishing the characters, story hook, and cliffhanger. Viola! Trick accomplished! I'm looking forward to reading the second issue!

Jaybird is something very different. I've read it twice now and it made me think of the surface story and also try to pick up the implied story under the surface. It was psychologically unsettling, and that was a good thing. You don't think of a story featuring a plump little bird as the protagonist as having the ability to evoke that kind of emotional reaction, but it does. I don't get an opportunity to read many European comics, but when the “good stuff” is translated and presented for an American audience, I'm very happy to have read them. I applaud Dark Horse for making this available to the American comics audience. It's a dark, sombre work that really made me think, and that's something that doesn't always happen when I'm carried along by an action-packed slug-fest. This is definitely worth a try for anyone seeking to expand their reading horizons beyond standard comics fare, it won an award for a reason.

This was really in my sweet spot, humor-wise. I got at least a laugh-a-page from this issue and that's exceptionally rare for a comic (I'm talking about comics trying to be comedic, not the plethora of unintentionally bad ones out there…) Ryan Browne has created something special in God Hates Astronauts. From top to bottom; the art, dialogue, and sound effects blend together into an uproarious sack of side-splitting snickers. I'm all-in on this series, bring it on, Browne!

I was pulled into this story from the first page, Van Meter and de la Torre held my rapt attention throughout. I loved the minor touches such as Shan's subtle verbal interactions with her house and the small visual details as she touches or otherwise examines objects throughout the issue. An interesting twist a bit more than halfway in changed the playing field and set us up for the conclusion that defies readers to not pick up issue #2. I'm hooked, I need to see what happens next.

Tim Seeley and Jim Terry are accomplished storytellers and have created a different take on super-heroes here. It's not cut-and-dried at this point, the wrap-up to this debut issue certainly sets a stage where something is going on. There is room for the story to go in several directions next issue, and that makes me want to read issue #2 all the more. I like being left with a sense of “I wonder where they're going to go with this?” when I read something new. If you enjoy comics that take you someplace different tucked around the edges of the super-hero genre, you should check out Sundowners #1.

This debut issue was a visual treat. Gabriel Rodriguez pulled out all the stops in creating some stunning dreamscapes and wonderful page layouts. I particularly enjoyed the “bed roller coaster” on page 9. Shanower does a great job on the connective story giving a motivation to get Nemo (“Stop calling me Nemo!”) into Slumberland. The individual dream vignettes are just plain fun; beautifully illustrated and flowing quickly from beginning to end, making be feel the issue was over much too soon. I was having too much fun reading it, I cannot wait until the next issue in 2 months. 2 months!! I guess quality takes time…

If you like a little more science in your science fiction, give Deep Gravity a try. The characters and situations help to ground the story and make it feel like “Yes, this could happen somewhere out in the future”. The story, script, and art all worked together to make this a first issue I thoroughly enjoyed and I can't wait to see where the story gores after the event on the last page of #1.

As I was pulled into the Nightworld and carried along through the issue I felt the enthusiasm Leandri put into his art on every page. The marriage of Leandri's art with McGovern's words created a world that came alive for me. It's stylized instead of hyper-realistic, but that made the depictions of the weird dreamscapes work all the better. Nightworld is a horror comic mixed with a tale of tragic romance and a touch of humor blended in to lighten the mood and crank of the ‘fun factor' of reading this comic. I'm looking forward to #2!

This #1 issue is well worth a try, I counted the actual story pages since the issue seemed so substantial and it clocks in at 46 pages for $3.99. Taking that many pages allows writer/artist Stjepan Sejic to introduce the main members of the Death Vigil and the dark fantasy world they operate in amidst action and humor with some great character development. Death Vigil is off to a great start and I'm looking forward to more, this issue is highly recommended.

And Then Emily Was Gone #1 is a celebration of the bizarre and unsettling. Lees has several narrative threads running that kept the issue interesting for me. Who is the man with the hammer? What about Bonnie Shaw, myth or real threat? What is in that box?? And what mysteries await on the Isle of Merksay? I can't wait to find out, Lees and Laurie have a new fan and I'm hooked on this series. I'm glad I have an LCS that carries stuff like this, I know I'll be able to pick up #2 when it comes out!

As a monthly series I think this will work a lot better for people who have read the original prose story and can now see it coming to life via Rodriguez' art. For people who have not read the original I think this is a story that may well fare much better when ultimately collected into a single TPB than it does as monthly serialized fiction. My rating is as someone in the latter category reading this as a standalone 1st issue of a comic series. It's a well done adaptation and I'll be checking the complete story out when the series is complete.

Smith is weaving a fascinating story here, which is clearly heavily researched and feels quite authentic. There are story notes included at the end of the issue that give some commentary on various pages/events in the issue. The web version has those notes directly adjacent to the page they apply to (printed right below the art) and it's another thing that I found to work far better for me in the web version than the printed version I was reading here. The end of the first issue teases another new character and fortunately I can start reading “Season Two” right now online!” Want to check this out? Click this link right now and start reading from the start. Highly recommended!

Low is very different from other stories Remender has told (as he describes in his “must read” text page at the end of the issue). The combination of Remender's world-building and story are combined with Tocchini's art and made this issue thoroughly entertaining to me with the story standing out from every other comic that I'm reading. That's a really good thing, especially when you read as many comics as I do. It's visually and thematically unique and well worth checking out. Getting to experience a series like this is why I read comics.

I struggled with the rating for this issue. I loved it, writing and art, but at it's core it has laid only the very first few breadcrumbs out for us of what will ultimately be a trail to the conclusion of this story. Supreme: Blue Rose is highly recommended, well worth trying, and I'm going to be along for the ride as Diana Dane pursues her blue rose case to it's ultimate conclusion.

This issue focuses on introducing the Academy, it's students, some staff, the various courses of study and ancillary activities. Not heavy on high adventure but I was wrapped up in the world from the first page to the last. There was not a single thing I didn't like so how can I give it anything less than a “5″? Naifeh's storytelling grabbed me by the brain and didn't let go until I hit the “next issue” page and I wanted more story NOW! We had just hit a teaser for court intrigue to come! Come On Ted, I WANT MORE! Well, I guess I'll wait another month, you have me hooked, sir!

This first issue was a nice setup primarily showcasing Sergio's art with a nice integration of Thomas Yeates more realistic style on 7 pages of the issue. Groo and Conan don't actually meet in this issue, but the epic meeting of the sword-wielding barbarians is coming. This is highly recommended, if you've never read a Groo comic or Sergio's other work give this a try. If you like the humor and the art then you have a LOT of back issue bin diving ahead of you, there are over 150 issues of Groo out there and most are relatively inexpensive. I was grinning ear to ear the whole time I was reading this issue.

Weird Love is a time capsule of a different era. On the positive side it's re-presenting stories from romance comics of the past that are very hard to find and would cost a small fortune to acquire. It's a view into some very different times and while the stories cannot be held up against most comics we read today on a sheer quality level, they are quite fascinating to read as a window into the kind of material that was being shoveled into the heads of young girls in the past. I like today better where females are standing right next to me browsing through Saga, American Vampire, Lazarus, Rat Queens, Stumptown, The Woods, and many other great comics that just tell great stories to us all. But Weird Love is definitely worth picking up. It's bad, but in the grand tradition of bad movies that we watch to groan at, it's so bad it's kind of good.

The star of this issue is Fialkov's characters, story, and nascent world-building. There's a lot packed into this issue and I'm intrigued to learn more. We scratch the surface of Father Malcolm and he's fascinating, but the rest of the team are pretty much names and a few tidbits of background info at this point. We'll learn more about them as the story progresses, I'm sure. This was a solid first issue and while it raised a lot of questions that are unanswered (so far), it has laid a foundation that's solid and something that I want to follow along with as the layers are built up. This is part of Dynamite's new “Creators Unleashed” imprint, and I think it's off to a great start. Count me in!

I didn't really get a feel for the main character in this issue. Various people are put into peril in this issue and for that to be effective, I really need to care about them. I've read plenty of comics that can introduce a world and cast of characters in a 1st issue and make me care about them. That did NOT happen in this particular 1st issue. It wasn't bad, it was just average. I don't care if Tech Jacket gets out of the jam he put himself into. I won't be keeping on with this series since there are too many other books out there that did make me care about the characters by the end of #1. Your Mileage May Vary.

Ponchione has created a beautiful homage to three of the greats. Each of the three spotlight pieces is evocative of the style of the master he's focusing on without directly copying their style. This is just as suitable for those of us who have been aware of these comics gods for most of our lives as it is for people who are only somewhat familiar with them, or who (gasp) don't yet know who they are or why they're important to comics. I will say it again because it bears repeating: This comic is a must read for all fans of comics.

The key elements of this issue set up a good old-fashioned Wizard's Quest for Newt that will fill out the upcoming issues. I won't spoil it here by going into the details except to say I thoroughly enjoyed Hague's sense of whimsey blended with the fantastical, mysterious, and arcane elements of the narrative to make a hearty stew, and I want another helping. I'll be back for the rest of this 4 issue series and I'll be keeping my eye out for more stories by Hague in the future.

This is a world of celebrity, music, and fashion. With the setup and cliffhanger we got here, we could go in any number of different directions. Sometimes when I read a comic I feel the story can go in a bunch of directions and think to myself that I'll be happy if it goes certain ways and really disappointed if it goes some other ways in the second issue. The difference with The Wicked + The Divine is that I think I'll be happy to be along for the ride regardless of the next turn the story takes. I just want to see more of this world and these characters. This was 31 pages of fabulous comic-bookery that stood out to me as unique from top to bottom.

Our heroine Elizabeth is established as a healer and she knows about blood magic, but blood magic seems to be generally regarded as dubious pursuit that has been banned. Elizabeth herself is kind of ambiguous, we don't know from this issue whether she is going to end up being fully good, very evil, or somewhere in between. There are definitely some ulterior motives going on that we see the seeds of but are not fully played out in this issue. Overall this was a good first issue, it introduced a number of characters, the world our story is set in, as well as various points of conflict and story possibilities. This can go in any number of directions as the story develops and I'd be OK with any of them. I have some suspicions, but I'll keep them to myself for now in the interests of remaining “spoiler free”. Ultimately this achieved the goal of a #1 issue, it got me to want to come back for #2.

Thanks to a bunch of health-food conscious people at my day job, I've heard the tales of woe and misery that will befall all who eat GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). I don't necessarily believe all the horror stories of how bad these are for us, but I can appreciate using this as a jumping off point for a tale of exactly how bad scientists can screw things up when they start messing with the natural order of things. Let's file the sequence of events kicked off in this issue under “they should have known better” and I'm excited to be along for the ride as Hawkins and Sejic play out the story for us. The pace will certainly accelerate as nature opens up a can of whoop-ass on the human race that dared mess with mother nature…

I was pulled into the world of Brass Sun and carried along by the art and story until I hit the final page, left craving more and astonished that so much had happened. I'll definitely be back for more and I understand the heaps of praise that are regularly piled onto 2000 AD (which is where this was originally presented). If you didn't experience this when it was originally presented in 2000 AD, take the opportunity provided by this comic to immerse yourself in the world of Brass Sun. If you're like me you'll be glad you did.

More importantly, I discovered that this comic is a mere sampling of a much richer set of Bold Riley stories available in a 232 page trade paperback illustrated by a host of wonderful artists. You can even download a free 67 page sample and give this book a “try before you buy”, and I'd heartily recommend giving it that free try. The thrill of finding new stories like this one is why I love reading comics. The joy of sharing the comics I find with others is why I run the ComicSpectrum web-site!

If you're not a fan of the movie, it seems as though this entire issue would fall flat for you given the heavy continuity from the film blended throughout the story. As a fan of the film, I think full enjoyment of this comic is going to hinge on how much Brian Churilla's artistic interpretation of Jack Burton clicks with you personally. The story didn't disappoint; dialogue was great, we got a spot-on in-continuity continuation of the film and a nice setup for what promises to be a crazy ride aboard the Pork Chop Express in upcoming issues. If you love the film, check it out!

The players and points of conflict are introduced slowly in this issue as we see the beginnings of what will ultimately be the threat that causes to the Shadow to come back from retirement. Did we think for a second he'd stay retired? Fairly common plot device, but I'll gladly work with it as illustrated by Chaykin. There are some gorgeous pages in this issue and it's a must-read for Chaykin fans. Even people standing around at a cocktail party, as drawn by Chaykin is a symphony for my eyes. As a stand-alone Shadow story, the 1st issue drags a bit, but I'm sure this will read perfectly fine when collected into a trade paperback after the mini-series conclusion. Highly recommended!

I suppose Kirkman could pull this off in an incredibly long game but I'm guessing that we are seeing the seeds for a future storyline here that is far too transparent a set-up and something I'd rather not have seen transpire. So, here I am, conflicted on how to rate this issue. I wanted to give this a lower rating based on what I think Kirkman is doing here, but I could be completely wrong and he's pulling a really slick trick on his readers and will NOT have what seems like an extremely ill-advised decision come back to bite Rick in the ass. So, we end up with 3.5, which we have defined as:Well done comic. Not the greatest book the reviewer has read but certainly worth reading. Some issues with the art and/or writing.

I was very happy with this debut issue. If the main protagonist Sarah McAllister wasn't likable I'd have enjoyed this a lot less, fortunately Chitwood has crafted a great character that I got quickly invested in. We spend most of the first issue inside Sarah's head and we get to know her and this post-apocalyptic world pretty good from her narration. We get a larger cast as the story moves along and characters start to band together so I'm interested to see how the story will develop as we move on beyond #1. Red 5 puts out some great comics and the gems they publish often get overlooked in the mass of product put out by the larger publishers. As for Haunted, I'm on board for this 4 issue series and looking forward to issue #2.

For me this was a perfect #1 issue. Everything I needed to enjoy the issue is IN the issue and it left me craving issue #2. If you want to try something new give Rai #1 a shot. If every issue is as good as this one, Rai is going to be a permanent resident at the top of my "to read" pile every time a new issue hits the stands.

Is this the first time we've seen a mash-up of these genres? No, but it's an entertaining story with an interesting lead character and solid potential for action once the real conflict gets underway in upcoming issues. The first issue spent a little too long in getting Cray to the point where the real conflict in the story is going to happen, but that's fairly common for a writer that is new to the episodic comics scene. This will not be as apparent when this is read as the beginning of the collected edition and the reader can move directly on to the upcoming action without waiting a month. Other than the pacing problems, it's a solid story and I'm looking forward to #2.

The story stood out for me because Blackman didn't fall back on a standard plot like a ninja attack followed by a simplistic mission of revenge or assassination. Instead he concentrates on a mission I could get behind that included introducing a new ally for Elektra, the Matchmaker; as well as a fascinating new bad guy, Cape Crow. It's not stated in words, but look at the art and look at who Cape Crow is mopping the floor with in the flashback sequence that introduces the character. Will he be a challenge for Elektra? You bet! Add in the location Elektra's mission leads her to as stop number one on the agenda and I'm counting the days until issue number 2 hits the stands. Complete success as a #1, and another book added to my pull list.

Another Dynamite series added to my pull list! You should check this series out if you've loved Flash Gordon in the past or even if you have never read a story with the character before. If you like Sci-Fi action/adventure I don't think this will disappoint. I'm looking forward to #2 and that makes this a completely successful #1 issue.

There's a LOT of information coming at us in this issue. We get an action scene with Solar stopping a bank robbery, the introduction of quite a few of the major players (and a lot of names I recognize, but this is not an essential factor for enjoying the story), and an extremely interesting setup for future issues that could be a major divergence from the character we got from Gold Key, in a good way. Throughout, Bennett keeps us on track with a very clean and dynamic art style that moves the story along at a good clip in both actions scenes and character development. If Dynamite can keep creators and stories of this caliber on all their Gold Key books they'll have me as a customer for the duration. This relaunch is well worth checking out.

Andrews has a slightly skewed take on Danny Rand's younger self's road to K'un Lun too. His Dad comes off more bat-shit crazy than I remember, and his Mother a bit less valiant. Again, a different take but not necessarily bad. If you are reading Iron Fist for the first time, this will serve as a great “my version” of the character and his origin. In the end, this was a very well put together comic that I just didn't care for. It's well worth reading, I'll be curious to hear from people about their feelings on Andrews take on Iron Fist. I suspect there will be a lot of people raving that this is perfect and others decrying it as terrible.

Overall, this is a great series for people who don't mind a comic that doesn't take itself too seriously and can go with the flow on certain elements that, while they work in the context of the story, are clearly injected for humorous purposes. I would recommend grabbing the collected edition of the 1st volume of this series and giving it a try. You'll love it (unless you don't)!

Overall, I really enjoyed the issue. The 1st 2 stories were self contained and I think they could be enjoyed by anyone picking up this issue off the stands. The 3rd story had great art but was hard for me to follow and may have relied on some knowledge of recent issues that I didn't possess, not a great idea for an issue that could be a totally solid jumping on point to next month's “Dejah of Mars” series also written by Mark Rahner. I'm interested in the premise set up by this story, even though I'm in the dark on the motivations behind what happened. I like these characters and I'm very happy to see how Dynamite has been handling them for the past 3 1/2 years.

Adding value to this comic is the back-matter. A fun 4-page comic about giant monster ‘MUNGORE' by Ryan Alexander-Tanner, a cool pin-up by Anthony Gregori (I'd love to see the story behind this pin-up, which brings me to the notion that seeing adventures from Kate's past would be very cool to see as backups) and capping it all off with a single page intro to ‘Tiger Lawyer' by Ryan Ferrier and Felipe Torrent that I'm now going to need to check out because this page was super fun. What I'm getting at is that this comic is packed with content and is well worth checking out. Shutter is in prime position to jump to the top of my “favorite comics” list if Keatinge and Del Duca keep it up at this pace for the next few issues. By the way, issue #2? It can't come soon enough!

The Returning is another great mini-series from Boom! The story drew me right in starting with #1 and continues to do so in this strong second issue. Starr's engaging characters and deftly executed pacing keeps me turning pages until I hit the story beat at the end that has me hooked into the next issue. A perfect example of how to write a monthly comic that will ultimately also work as a collection. Well worth the effort to track down at a local comic shop and read, either in the issues as they are coming out, or to pick up the trade when the story is complete in a couple of months. For my own part, I'm eagerly waiting for #3 so I can find out what happens to Beth and what the ultimate mystery is behind the Changers.

The main attraction of this comic is Siya Oum's art. I'm happy to read a story that, while not treading uncharted waters, is beautiful to look at. Even with the somewhat “been there done that” story we get in this issue, I care about Lola. This is mainly because of the setup, I want to know how her story is going to play out. We get a decent amount accomplished in the first issue and leave off on an appropriately ominous note that has me wanting to come back for the next installment.

This is what I like to call a "true all ages book". That means it's not written down to kids. It's appropriate for all ages and is thoroughly enjoyable by kids and adults alike. If you have a young girl in your life (daughter, niece, friends kid, neighbor) buy this comic for her. But make sure you read it yourself, you don't want to miss out on a quality story. This was a great first issue that accomplished a lot. The personalities of all the characters are asserting themselves, some standing out more than others in the pages we had available in this issue but I'm sure that this will even out as the series progresses. What really matters is that I got a solid chunk of story complete in this issue and I was hooked on the series so I'll be back for more! Mission accomplished for a #1 issue.

Don't make the mistake of dismissing this based on the high-concept blurb. Christopher Sebela has packed a lot of story packed into this issue and we're just getting started. The reveal on the last page means that #2 is going to be very interesting. Sebela can go in a bunch of different directions based on this setup, I'm going to really enjoy seeing where the story takes us.

The characters, situation, and dialogue mesh perfectly with Simon Roy's art to tell a fascinating tale that asks LOTS of questions and provides NO answers. But that's OK. For this story the confusion is purposeful and completely appropriate. What this issue did was leave me aching to read issue #2, which makes it fully successful as a #1. I need to know what the deal is with the ending of the scene in the diner. Brisson can string me along for a long time chasing after answers to the questions posed here and I suspect I'll be happy about it. That's the real trick…if you are going to leave out information, don't just make it seem like you forgot to put it in.

Two issues in, I'm still really enjoying this series, it's different from all 140 of the other comics I'm reading each month and that is a REALLY good thing. It stands out. I means I remember the story from month to month even though I go to work every day, read lots of other stuff for relaxation, watch TV and movies, etc. I think I like things that stand out for just this reason, I can read lots of different books and keep them all straight in my head because they're not all blending together like they all had more in common. This is a solid sci-fi story of the ‘hard science' sub-genre. If you like sci-fi, cops, or mysteries, give this one a try!

The setup we've seen in pages 1-19 tease some concepts that I'm very interested in seeing play out, particularly the image at the top of this review from pages 14-15 with "The Dreaded Lord Baalikar" perched atop what looks like a building from New York City. This is definitely one of the top webcomics I've checked out in quite a while. I'm glad I've finally discovered this story and plan to follow along with it as it unfolds in the webcomic.

I've always been a sucker for the Mandarin, he's one of my favorite Iron Man villains, but it's really those rings of his more so than the guy wielding them. Taking the rings and making their acquisition the focus of the story arc has me on board for the duration, this book is now on my pull list. And, as an added bonus, this issue comes with a code for not only a digital copy of this issue but also for the collection of issues 1-5 of this run of Iron Man. That's a pretty good deal for $3.99. If you've been thinking about trying Iron Man, this is a great issue to jump aboard with.

This is "Volume 3 of the Robyn Hood Trilogy" and Pat Shand's story made me feel exactly like I was walking into a story 2/3rds of the way through as opposed to reading a #1 issue. I'm fairly familiar with the Robin Hood mythology, so I recognized a lot of the names being tossed around. They've gender-swapped Robyn, but we have Will Scarlet, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Guy of Gisbourne, Marian, and others. They've got magical & current day twists applied to them and there is a LOT of backstory from (I assume) the 1st two series mentioned and alluded to. The story wasn't bad, but it left so much 'between the lines' that I really didn't find myself being drawn into it either. Will I be back for #2? No. That said, I liked what I read enough that I'll keep my eyes out for the 1st series from 2012 (if I can find it at a decent price) and try to pick up on the story from the beginning.

In this issue we follow the story of Eli, a kid who has a habit of hiding in his Dad's trunk when he visits a local strip club and then sneaks in to catch a bit of the show himself. Eli manages to get mixed up with Scottie, an unsavory character that hangs around said strip club, and what follows is a story that shows normal people and their normal world caught up around the edges of the criminal world. Not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination, but it feels right. Lapham's story-telling has that ring of authenticity that make the story all the more enthralling. I'm happy that Stray Bullets is back and I hope Lapham keeps issues coming at a regular clip.

Magneto #1 isn't perfect – far from it. It suffers problems in both the character and story department, but they aren't unbearable and can be fixed. The story showed some real potential for the future and I'll have to wait for the next issue to determine whether or not I'll be continuing on with this series, if #2 is like #1 I will not be.

Bemis set up the end game for this series right out of the gate, and to some extent in the title. We're heading for an ‘Evil Empire', a totalitarian regime, but it's coming 25 years down the line. Instead of dropping us into this future, starting with a world very much like the one outside our window Bemis will be showing us the steps along the way that will lead us to that end result. Will you agree with every single parallel Bemis draws or conclusion he comes to along the way? Certainly not. But you don't need to, it's fictional after all, but I found the beginning of the path in this issue to be fascinating. I'll be sticking around as Bemis & Getty expand the story and lead us down a path to a very grim possible future.

Millar has set up another intriguing story for us here, reliant on the protagonist Duke McQueen, if you like the heart and soul displayed by this man in this issue as much as I did then you'll want to see what happens to him as he embarks on the story that will really launch in issue #2. I'm coming back for more.

Loki sets off on a discovery of Rock & Roll culture, and determines it's right in his wheelhouse, ending up in a band called (quite appropriately) Trickster. The pacing of the issue could have been a bit tighter, I'd have liked to see less of Loki/Thor before the banishment and more of Loki's journey of discovery of the Rock & Roll culture, there was some nice humor in both the dialog and visuals of what we did get, so I felt more would have been better. At the end, it was still a really good read and I'm going to be on board for the entire 4-issue series, I'm very curious as to how the last page hook is going to play out in #2. Hopefully it will ROCK HARD!

At the end of #3 Alex found a forum where he could talk about android sentience. The visualization of this forum in this issue was wonderful. The people Alex interacts with and the decisions he makes are key elements to the character development story arc Luna and Vaughn are creating here. I like Alex as a person, I care about him and I love the fact that Luna and Vaughn have made me care. There's not a lot more I can say without spoiling the issue, but the series has been building to this since the beginning and the last page is the moment we've been waiting for, a perfect cliffhanger to keep me on the edge of my seat until next month. Alex + Ada just moved up into my "Top 12" current series" I need to go update the web-site.

This first issue is pretty much a character study. What better way to get to know people than to put them in a time-sensitive ‘life or death' situation and watch while they puzzle out a way to save themselves? Not a spoiler, this isn't a one-shot so it was a pretty fair bet that they weren't just going to fall out of orbit and burn up on re-entry. What's more important is that while learning about the characters we get a taste of the larger world and why the vitros could possibly have been put into this situation in the first place. This is the story that I'll be back to follow as the series progresses. Tense, suspenseful action (as opposed to shoot-em-up/car chase action) + sharp characters + an interesting world I want to learn more about = a series that has landed itself on my pull list.

Overall this was a solid first issue. Garcia set up the world and the characters and made me care about them and want to know what's going to happen next. The art didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story but didn't enhance it either. It did it's job as a first issue in making me want to come back for #2 and I'm hoping for some cool twists and turns as we go.

In this issue we get Sonja at her ass-kicking best, while Simone throws in some new protgs to train and an interesting new opportunity that puts her at the head of an army to spice things up. All in all a nice re-introduction to the character and now I've got another series to be keeping an eye out for on a monthly basis.

Is this a good jumping on point? Absolutely not. We're in the middle of things here and they're awesome, but may be a bit too much backstory needed to fully appreciate what goes on here. I can wholeheartedly recommend this series for fans of superheros who would like to get a bit of a palate cleanse from the standard Marvel/DC fare. Go and get the Vol. 1 trade paperback and pick up the story from the beginning. If you like it, there's a LOT of great storytelling to experience and you can catch up to the present in considerably less time than the 10 years (Wow! it's been that long!) that I've been reading this series.

The story itself is a good one as von Hohenheim is laid out as such a complete bastard that Moriarty is a fairly decent guy in comparison and I had no problem in rooting for his success. Moriarty taking Udo under his wing and setting his plans in motion against Von Hohenheim were played out in a nicely logical flow, as is appropriate given our protagonist. All in all, a very good issue, I'll be looking out for #3 to see what happens next.

I don't want to give away any details of the story beyond what I mention above since there are some very cool reveals in this first issue, but suffice to say that I'm on board for this series. Bunker #1 does the job of a #1 issue perfectly; it sets up the world, introduces the main players, and leave me wanting to read more. I re-read this again since it's been 4 months since my first read through and I enjoyed it just as much the second time. I'm looking forward to finally seeing where Josh & Joe take us in #2.

As period pieces go, this story gets the job done. It evokes a feeling of the time it's set in while not feeling dated. I'm very happy I picked this up and flipped through it in the comic shop, glad I bought it and read it, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Winter Soldier: The Bitter March is highly recommended!

Archer & Armstrong #0 is a great example of what a zero issue should be: self-contained but tying into the main series, the information here expands on and enriches the core mythos of the Valiant Universe. The shared universe is a key aspect of the Valiant books and this book exemplifies the strength of the shared universe concept as bits of story from many places that can stand perfectly well on their own add together to make a sum that is greater than those pieces taken individually.

Pak's story and Sears' art blended perfectly to draw me into Turok's world. The last two pages of the issue were the icing on the cake adding in an additional story element that I'm going to love seeing played out over the course of the series. We have something here that is respectful of it's roots but completely fresh. I'm on board for this series and am looking forward to seeing the other titles in Dynamite's Gold Key relaunch; Pak and Sears have set the bar pretty high for the other titles debuting soon.

If the book sounds interesting based on what you've read here, please go to your shop before they complete their February order and let them know you'd like a copy of the book, Alison Sampson created an order slip you can print out and hand in at your shop. "Wait for the Trade" readers should keep in mind that this is a one-shot and won't be collected later on.

Do yourself a favor and check this book out. The story is something that could happen, and I can't help but think maybe we'd be better off if it DID happen. As the first offering from Archaia's 'Black Label' imprint published by Boom! this is a home run. I am going to be keeping my eye out for more from these creators and the Black Label imprint if this is the quality of the comics they're going to be putting out. The bar has been set. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series, this is on my "must buy" list.

Take some time (with a magnifying glass if necessary) to read the stuff on Hank Pym's blackboard on page #1 of this issue. I found it cool and I got only about half of it, I can only imagine that hard-core fans must have been eating that panel up! Let's add to that the fact that this is a MARVEL.NOW issue. In addition to the normal digital copy of the book, your redemption code will also score you a digital download of the entire first trade paperback! A great deal for the $3.99 cover price. Summing up: Fairly accessible storyline, great blend of dialogue/action, beginning of a galaxy-spanning crossover, superb deal on digital downloads. That makes this a MUST BUY issue in my opinion.

A nice feature for readers new to the character is the “Gravel Combat Log” in the back of the book that summarizes every single issue to date, covering all of Gravel's allies, villains, and battles. There's a bit of a production gaffe and the pages are presented out of order, though, so skip forward to the 10th page and start with “Strange Kiss”. From there read to the end (Gravel #3) then flip back to the first page featuring Gravel #4. This error aside, this issue is a superb intro to the character and provides a LOT of reading for the $4.99 cover price. Not for the squeamish, but most people figured that out from the Avatar logo on the cover. Nevertheless, if you like hard R-rated action mixed with some fantasy elements (magic), this is a great series that you should give a try.

Rossmo's cover with Laney in the foreground amongst a blood spatter pattern making up a monstrous face is inspired. The werewolf (werewolves?) in the story follow a fairly classic pattern so far, but the motivation of the characters breaks from the standard mold. This first issue effectively mixes setup and action and concluded with a scene that definitely had me wanting more. I'll definitely be back for the rest of this 4 issue series.

Ultimately this is a hard issue to review because going into too much detail on what I liked about it would also spoil the issue for anyone who has not read it yet. Suffice to say Lincoln hooks up with Patrice Andauer and Janez Nikovic (Nicky) over the course of this issue and they end up mixed up in a plot involving the international thief known only as Ulysses. Cryptic, I know, but believe me, if you like intrigue and suspense mixed in with some action wrapped up in a knife-sharp plot this is a comic you should be checking out.

This was a great 1st issue. I've seen many authors come from a different medium (novels) and struggle with the format of telling a story in 22 page installments that really seem to stand alone and tell a satisfying chunk of story. Maberry does this quite ably. Maberry and Crook have created a world that was in turns moving and terrifying, I'll be back for more!

Lapham has created a fabulous cast of characters and placed them into a very demanding and unique situation. Another nice twist is that they're not the plucky kids fighting the evil threat while the clueless adults don't know what's going on. They're an elite squad that has been recruited and trained by adults who themselves were once Juice Squeezers. They're ass-kicking action heroes fighting giant bugs in their underground tunnels because they're still small enough to fit down there. Juice Squeezers is a blast! Check it out in your local shop on Dec 31st!

The rating of 3.5 starts is because this issue is almost entirely set-up for what will come next: What happens when the illegitimate kids need to take over for dear old Dad? That's the main thrust for the series and we really didn't get any of that in issue #1. There are lots of ways that this story could go, the idea is sound, now it's in the hands of Killan/Andreyko to execute on the idea as they carry on is issues 2 and beyond.

In this issue Doc and his Fabulous Five solve the immediate mystery, but Roberson is also setting up a larger story to be explored over future issues. So we get a done-in-one story that is also linking to a larger narrative. I love it! I'm really looking forward to seeing Roberson weave back in forth in time and visit Doc and his crew in different eras. Issue 2 is set in 1949, will explore the Crime College in more detail, AND introduces his cousin Pat Savage. I can hardly wait! You've got me on board Mr. Roberson, the train is just pulling out of the station I hope we're in for a long ride.

Bottom line is that this is a great book but single issues come out very slowly. If that bother you, then you should probably wait for the trade. If you don't mind the wait, then pick the book up monthly whenever it comes out and get treated to a great read (but please, Boom!, start putting some summary text inside the front cover for the single issue readers). And read the text page in the back of #2 to find out about a little bonus they'll throw your way for supporting the comic in single issue format.

What we have here is a fairly basic plot where a cop gets killed during the execution of a crime and her boyfriend does not take kindly to the news. What follows, and will continue into subsequent issues, is him hunting down the criminals responsible at the same time as they hunker down on their own side trying to kill off any loose ends that can lead anyone to them. It this a highly original plot? Certainly not, there are only so many variations on stories in the genre. That said, it's not the basic plot that will make the series great, it's the execution. With Jordan & Scalera I'm looking forward to a hell of a ride.

Joines has created a really wonderfully fun world here. Another truly "all ages" comic that can be enjoyed by young and old equally without talking down to younger readers like so many kids comics tend to. This would be a great book to read to your kids, with your kids, or (if you don't have kids) just read it to reignite the kid in all of us.

This is a violent comic, absolutely not for kids or the squeamish, but absolutely worth checking out for readers who don't mind a bit of ultra-violence when it contributes to the telling of a story. Fans of the Punisher, Jennifer Blood and Kick Ass should absolutely be checking this title out.

I must say that I personally prefer the "straight" western tales that don't cross into the overt supernatural. In that respect, the 3rd issue was a bit of a step down from the previous two for me (though the supernatural aspect may make this more appealing to someone else). On the other hand, the art has been improving with each issue, #3 sporting the best mix of art overall of the 3 issues published so far. If you're a fan of westerns give Tall Tales from the Badlands a try.

I like different. Different is good. When a book stands out from the other 140 or so comics I read every month and tells a story that grabs me, that is what elevates it into one of my "top of the stack" books. Shadowman #13 did that. Now I need to see it holding to this standard for a while.

Get it for the main story, get it for the back up, get Elephantmen, one of the best comics on the rack that far too few people are reading.

We're getting some good insights into the past of the bat family in these zero year books, learning more about the characters behind the masks and what has shaped them into the masked vigilantes they ultimately become.

There are no costumes in this issue, but there's heroism aplenty. Marguerite Bennett writes a really nice story that's essentially a fill-in to the ongoing "Batgirl: Wanted" storyline, but it's a great stand-alone issue so I didn't mind the interruption too much. I'll be keeping an eye out for Bennett's work. I'm glad I picked this issue up.

The art by Sergi San Julian has a nice look. It definitely feels different than a comic produced in the US which is part of what I liked about it. This first issue was heavy on setup and a bit light on action and even intermediate resolution points so I graded it a bit lower, but I am looking forward to upcoming issues as the story kicks into gear.

Nothing here was different or compelling enough to get me to continue with the series past this first issue.

Bad language, cheesecake, nudity, violence. Clowning around was acceptable to me in this context. In this issue the girls get mistaken for a group of "circus hitmen" that are available for hire and are commissioned by a local boss to audition for a job. Merriment ensues. I should not need to say any more. At this point this should either sound like it's something you'd be interested in reading or not. I was entertained, I'll be back for the remainder of the mini series.

If Dingess & Matthews can keep up the story momentum by putting their issues out on time and of this quality, I can see this series cracking my Top 10 by the end of the 1st story arc.

The ending was also perfect. A "I really want to see what happens next" moment that we'll probably never see played out, but I can imagine how it will go and that's good enough for me. This is a highly recommended issue, I'm going to have to hunt down the 1st 12 issues of this series (also available digitally on-line), and I'm adding Year Two to my pull list.

This opening issue concentrates on backstory and the journey to Christmasland, an amusement parks in the Rocky Mountains. As the series progresses we'll be entering the park which promises to be an even creepier version of Halloweentown's vision of Christmas as seen in "Nightmare Before Christmas". This is not kid-friendly, but it's very good.

I've come to be captivated by the story, characters, and world, but this issue could have done a better job of inviting me in. Despite this flaw, I'd still strongly advise giving the Wiki a read and then diving into this $1 debut to see if you like it.

I'll definitely be picking up #2 to see what happens next, the story of this paranormal detective who hangs around with werewolves, bog men, and small floating ghosts has intrigued me.

I'm looking forward to issue #2 where we'll likely get some key characterization moments, this is a series that looks like it will build over time, I'm confident in the creators and I'll be there for the duration. Very solid first issue, strong on story and character, but look elsewhere if you're in search of" action-movie" sci-fi.

The thing about the storyline here is I'm fascinated about how they're going to resolve this situation that's been created for Aric and what the repercussions of this will be in the X-O Manowar comic. If you read only 1 Valiant comic, this would be a great one to jump on board with.

Highly recommended for Sandman fans. If you've never read Sandman before, go get the trade paperbacks of the original series first. At least the first 2 or 3 volumes (or the 1st Absolute). Overture will still be here waiting for you when you've finished those.

There's a really good recap of the story to date on the inside front cover of this book and you can jump right into the action on this issue. That may be better than starting with #1 if you've not tried it out before as you won't get used to Templesmith and then have the change-up with this issue. Start here and let the story speak for itself.

Since they're short stories we're in and out pretty quickly, but Wheeler does a really good job of fleshing out his characters quickly and working in a quirky twist or two along the way. This is a specific genre of humor that parodies super-heroes in a very sideways fashion, not much emphasis on the super-hero battle though we get a few punches and kicks, it's wry humor focusing on the verbal and situational. Your enjoyment of this comic, as with any comedy, is going to have a lot with how well it fits into your own sense of humor. This plays quite nicely to my personal sense of humor, I liked it a lot.

I'd have much preferred a book with hard-edged atheists bringing sown some really traditional firepower against seemingly supernatural threats that ended up not being able to stand up to 50 caliber ammunition after all. But that is the mismatch between what I wanted and what I got that caused me to rate this book as I did. I won't be back for the rest of the mini.

I'm guessing Titan Comics may be tough to get off the rack in some comics shops that tend to stick to the super-heroes, but it's worth asking your story to order it special for you. I think I know how it's going to end and I'm enjoying the journey that we're on as we learn more about the lead characters.

Expanding the 1st issue to 27 pages was also a nice touch. The extra scene in the last 5-6 pages that would have otherwise been omitted was key to me awarding this book a perfect 5/5. Hopefully your store will have copies of this one on hand, I'm thinking this will be the latest "Image #1 sell-out" resulting from stores ordering at regular "indie book" levels and getting huge demand from word of mouth by people who have read it. Buy this book!

AND this issue is another #1 issue for $1 (thanks, Oni!) Do you get the impression that I love publishers who give us that initial taste for $1? I appreciate it when they acknowledge comics are expensive and they make an effort to meet us more than half-way by giving us a low cost entry point so we can try something that's new and different from spandex & capes. I truly hop you have a local comic shop that ordered heavily on this issue and I hope you can try it out. If you love this brand of sci-fi that's only 1 step from the world outside your door you really owe it to yourself to give this a read.

This book is on my pull list and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, I'd highly recommend trying out this issue if your shop is carrying it.

It's really hard for me to even put my finger on specifics, if I had to try I'd say the art going from a softer edge with more curved lines on the lead characters to a harder-edged more angular style is just rubbing me the wrong way. But that's totally subjective. Comics are art+writing, if the art is making it hard for a reader then they need to move on. I'm taking my own advice"

We're one issue away from the conclusion of this mini-series and Gage leaves us on quite a suspenseful note at the end of the issue. I usually wait until the concluding issue of a story arc to do a review, but this is one of the stronger "#4 of a 5 issue series" issues I've ever read. A lot happens here and while it certainly leaves me immensely curious about what happens next, it was a very satisfying read all by itself. This is a highly recommended series.

We don't have every element spelled out for us yet, but it's looking good so far, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this 4 issue series, the best Cap story I've read in years.

I'm on board for this series that blends of sci-fi and fantasy to bring us a tale unlike any other on the comic racks today.

This story is titled 99 Problems and Peter is going to have to face & overcome all 99 or perish in the attempt. Are they real? In his mind? In a simulated environment? We can't be sure at this point, but buckle in and enjoy the ride as we are brought on a psychedelic tour of bad guys and amazing page designs with very interesting wordplay built into the designs/layout.This is certainly not your typical Spider-Man story, it seems built from the ground up to stand out from the rest of the Marvel comics on the racks. If this is to be the hallmark of the Marvel Knights relaunch, I'm looking forward to what we're going to see next.

I'm looking forward to seeing this story develop, there is a LOT here to love even though I had some issues with the specific pacing of this first issue. I think this may be a great series to "wait for the trade" and get a complete execution of the first story arc in one read.

Where this series will succeed or fail is in how the relationship between the title characters proceeds. Will they be allowed to find some semblance of happiness, at least for a while, or will this fall into the 'publicity stunt' category. I'd like to see this become part of the New52 status quo, at least for a few years before the powers that be at DC mess with it.

Very enlightening comic, who says you can't get some historical learning mixed in with your entertainment? This series is highly recommended.

Terry Moore has been doing a good job at tackling the horror genre in this series. He manages to make this really creepy/terrifying without going to gore and monsters as a shorthand for "horror". Instead we having some really disturbing concepts like the murderous little girl who has some evil presence in her and the general forces of evil reasserting themselves in a fairly normal world. This normal world is made all the more real by Moore's realistic art style. He draws people that look like real people, particularly the women. This makes the sense of dread conveyed by the story feel all the more real. This series is highly recommended.

After this issue and all the character setups I'm hoping the introductions are over and I'm holding out hope that future issues will pick up the pace and we'll get into the action.

This is comics done right. I feel like I'm given the information I need to know in each issue as I move along, although I don't think this is a storyline where someone should jump into a middle chapter. Either start with Chapter 1 and catch up or else wait for the trade. I'm eagerly awaiting Chapter 6 in All New X-Men #17 next Wednesday. I can't remember the last time I was actively looking forward to an X-Men comic and that is the highest praise I can give this series.

Writers Christos Gage and Joshua Dysart impart a LOT of information, but you'll come away with a good understanding of who the characters are (basic personalities, motivations, and power sets), it's no easy feat to provide all this in a single issue without it seeming clumsy, but it all flows with the story here. Valiant is creating something special here, check out their books and see what's up.

The thing I found most notable in this issue was the introduction of Gilad's daughter Xaran. I love this character. In my opinion she stole the show from her father. I'm not sure if it's that good a thing for her to be overshadowing the title character like that, but I am definitely excited to see what's going to happen next. You can't ask much more from a #1 issue than having me love the issue itself and also pre-selling me on #2.

I don't normally like to do a review that is basically a reiteration of the table of contents, but in this case, naming the creators really should be enough to get your interest if you're a fan of quality comics. Most of the stories in this 70 page anthology are 8 pages long, too much discussion of the specifics are just going to spoil them. Suffice to say that we have top notch creators being allowed to play in Snyder/Albuquerque's sandbox and they turn in some really good stories. I'd love to see Vertigo put one of these anthologies out on an annual basis.

Nothing in #1 delivered on the "high concept" of the series. Nothing particularly grabbed me and made me want to buy #2. I'm assuming that the action will pick up in #2 but the pacing here was terrible. There should have been elements (bolded in the solicit text above) woven into this issue. Acting as an amateur editor, there are at least 8-10 pages that could have been cut from this issue and replaced with something to build suspense and make me want to come back for #2. Issue #1 was $1, at that price point I'd hope a lot of people would say "It's only a buck, I'll give it a try!" The missed opportunity is that there was not anything in #1 to get me psyched enough about the issue to come back and pay $3.99 for #2.

In this issue Nick Spencer focuses on Mockingbird on an infiltration mission to A.I.M. island. We get to see a lot of the inner workings of A.I.M. that are generally not shown, but they're generally not shown because they're kind of boring. I'd call what we get in this issue interesting but not exciting. It's certainly not a bad issue and there are some truly revelatory moments as we meet some of the "higher ups" in the A.I.M. power structure. The tower occupied by Jude the Entropic Man was really a WTF!?! moment for me and made the issue worth reading all by itself.

You can pick up #2 and #3 as a standalone story without any need for having read other issues of the series. The heroes follow familiar archetypes and knowing their specific histories, powers, or back-story is not necessary to enjoy this story. If you love a great story that focuses on the human element while still having some good action sequences, check your local shop for Astro City. I think you'll be glad you did. Drop me a note to let me know what you think!

I could go on, but if those 2 small excerpts made you think about the work conditions in the comics industry, whilst simultaneously bringing a sardonic smile to your face because of the beautifully crafted phraseology, then you should get Occupy Comics and read the entire essay. Alan Moore makes this a "must buy". The other stories are an entertaining bonus.

I cannot recommend Optic Nerve highly enough. At $5.95 for 33 pages, this is the exact kind of thing I'd be complaining about if it was a mainstream super-hero book published at this price point for this amount of content. As it is, I am quite happy to pay the price for the master-crafted work that Tomine puts on the page. The difference is that this is something you will find nowhere else. It is unique. A combination of character-driven storytelling with a crisp art style makes this a “must read” for me whenever a new issue appears.

Where Chaykin redeemed himself was in telling the specifics of the origin in some flashback pages, not eating up the entire first issue (or entire 1st story arc if he was some comics writers) rehashing the origin. We get quickly to some fresh story elements, lots of action, and a compelling hint at what's to come in the last panel that makes me want to read #2. Which makes it a very successful 1st issue in my book.

A very nice package that will be missed by many due to unavailability in many comic shops, this is definitely a series you need to ask your comic shop to carry. You can always follow the on-line solicits on the

I'm not sure how the unique reading experience delivered by this monthly issue of Trillium is going to be delivered in digital or in collected form. I think it will lose something in being translated to either of these formats. I would urge all fan's of Lemire's work to pick this book up monthly.

The longer plot has to do with an arcane ritual that requires someone from uber-vampire Quadilla's bloodline (guess what? Our boys Nick & Tree just happen to be from that line), but the fun in the comic comes from the interactions between the boys and their contemporaries. This series took me by surprise, if you like the combination of humor/action/crime/supernatural (in that order) check out Blood Brothers.

I can't really compare the adaption to the original, I just know that as a monthly comic the pacing leaves something to be desired. That could be in the source material, but I don't think the source material was meant to be read in chunks over a 6+ month period, so when doing an adaption to a monthly comics format certain changes should be made to make the source material work better in the new format. I would not recommend the monthly series at this point, but the eventual collected edition could very well be a good read -or- buy the monthly issues and save them up to read all in a row when the story is complete.

Paul Jenkins sets up a very different kind of story but this issue is heavy on setup and light on payoff. The last panel “hook” has me definitely wanting to see where Jenkins is going to go with the story in #2, but I felt a lack of self-contained payoff in this issue. Solid story that I hope will get better as the series goes on and some of the holes get filled in.

At the end of the issue I felt I had received a solid chunk of story, I was introduced to the key players, and I had all the information I needed to know to enjoy the story withing the pages of this comic. This is something I often do not receive in a $3.99 1st issue from other publishers, I'm VERY please that Aspen gave me a story like this for a $1 entry fee. They were successful, I will be back for #2, and that is (or should be) the mission of every #1 issue of a comic series.

I think this #1 issue stands on it's own as a #1 that can be picked up & enjoyed by people who have a history with one or both of the characters or someone new to them. Waid works everything you need to know to enjoy the story into the story and adds in lots of extra little bits that are superfluous to the basic understanding of the story but add extra extra flavor for people familiar with the protagonists. An excellent issue, definitely worth checking out.

The storytelling is simple but elegant, we get the culmination of the past 4 issues as the loyal retainer finally assault Kira's home and seek out the man who wronged their master. Without spoiling the story for those who are not familiar with it, the aftermath of the revenge is the heart and soul of the story. The final fate of the loyal 47 and how they accept that fate is a key illustration of the core difference between the western and Japanese senses of honor. Highly recommended!

The art by Rolando di Sessa and Glauber Matos is good, but it's not good enough to get me past a story that seems long on random story beats and setup and short on characterization and explanation of what is actually going on. There were far too many pages in this issue that I didn't think really advanced the story or conveyed any essential information. They were just "there". The pacing in this issue was off, there were 24 pages of story that felt like 16 or less. We could have gotten well into Oz and introducing some of the other main characters & points of conflict all within this #1 issue. As it stands, I was not left with a compelling desire to read #2.

This review has been far more of a commercial than most of the reviews I write, but I love Sergio's work that much. I just can't help myself. If you were not aware of this comic, seek it out. Ask your local comic shop to carry it. When an issue comes out, buy it! If you're unfamiliar with Sergio's work, please try it!

Tom Fowler's art is a perfect match for the story by Asmus, he has a great sense of humor in his art but more tongue in cheek than broadly comedic. The panel-to-panel story flow worked wonderfully, the best part was the lack of gratuitous splash pages and double page spreads that are overused in so many comics. We get one full page splash to end the issue and it's appropriate from an artistic & storytelling perspective. We get a lot of necessary setup in this issue, but a decent amount of story flow too. That said, the story looks like it will really kick into gear with #2. I was given everything I needed to understand and enjoy this issue between the covers of #1 and I'm looking forward to next issue, which is the exact mission of a #1 comic.

What I'm looking for in any comic is a good story, which includes how the art+writing mesh, and a unique look and feel. I don't like reading a lot of books that all feel like they're the same homogenized mass of stories that all blur together in my mind. When a writer can tell a story that stands out from the crowd of comics on the stands that's what I'm looking for and that is what Si Spurrier and PJ Holden (with Jordie Bellaire on colors) did with Numbercruncher #1. You have my attention, I'll be back fro the rest of this 4 issue series!

Andy Diggle normally tells a story that draws me right in (like the recent "Snapshot" series from Image or Vertigo's "The Losers") but really didn't grab me with this issue. I'd have loved to see the beginning of the action in the story described by the solicit. What I feel like I got is the pre-credit sequence of a Bond movie with WAY less panache. I think I'd have liked this a lot more if it was the first 20 pages of a trade that segued directly into the meat of the story as opposed to a $3.99 comic that I have to wait a month for the next installment of. If the premise here sounds cool, wait for the trade & read the story in one go.

Stuart does a fabulous job here on both writing and art, I loved the dialog when the soldiers are moving towards their objective through the jungle. Is it WW II era accurate? I'm not sure, but I loved it anyway. The art is gorgeous, the dinosaurs and landscapes are beautifully rendered, the colors are lush & really "pop". The shocks and surprises at almost every page turn as the body count builds up until the conclusion where we're left with a great "What's going to happen next?!?" in the final panel with a cliched but very cool guest star who I hope will be playing a part in upcoming issues. More, please!

A unique sci-fi world with action and a touch of wry humor compliments of both Si Spurrier's story and the perfectly matched art by Jeff Stokely. We meet the Gorilla near the end in spectacular fashion and are set up for what promises to be a roller-coaster ride of action, humor, and sci-fi/western mash-up goodness in issues #2-6. It's only the relative lack of the Gorilla's presence in more of the story that kept this from a higher grade, we'll be seeing more of him as the series progresses. I'm in for the duration!

Where this story went off the rails for me is in the "ending which is not an ending". I'm so tired of multiple issue stories that don't leave the reader with any sense of closure. The ending of this story is a setup for what's coming NEXT from Marvel. The big reveal of the character Neil Gaiman created over in Spawn years ago being introduced into the Marvel Universe fell flat for me as the last double-page splash. So what? I'd rather have seen the character introduced before the last page & actually do something to contribute to the story. I don't like a finale to just be a cliffhanger. Write a continuing series if you want to go from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. Your mileage may vary.

Casey blends the 3 stories together very effectively showing us 3 very different aspects of the same day in the life of Golden City. We get world building, character introductions, and some very big promises on what's going to be coming in future issues. I don't think this will be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it. The art is not "super-hero standard" and may be off-putting to some, but it's a mixture of styles that I found very appealing. I'm on board for the entire run of this series, I can't wait to see what happens next.

I've seen zombie stories with vampires protecting their human food supply before but this one feels different. This issue is mostly setup with some pretty cool insights into the vampires and their outlook on "life". What's really going to make or break this series is what happens next. I've got the setup, where is Brooks going to take us with it. I'll be back for #2, I'm very interested in seeing where this goes.

This issue was more about setting up the story, but it was a good ride. Some very hard-edged scenes, not for the squeamish, as ably illustrated by Eduardo Risso. Azzarello's ability to embody the darker side of the world we live in is as sharp as ever. This is a must read for anyone who loved 100 Bullets, but stands on it's own for those who missed it. If you like hard-boiled crime stories, check this out.

The future is dystopian but distinct from the dozens (hundreds?) of other dystopian futures Ive seen in other stories. The characters and setting are compelling. I thoroughly enjoyed this issue and look forward to my next visit to the world Rucka and Lark have crafted for our entertainment. This is highly recommended, get a copy before it sells out!

Brian Wood has woven a story where hes tearing Maras emotional world down while at the same time her physical boundaries are expanding, perhaps without limit. The point she gets to in this issue is something that would never happen in a Superman comic, but it can be explored here. Is Wood teasing us with what seems to be happening? Perhaps. I know that hes got me hooked into wanting to know what happens next and isnt that the goal of every storyteller who writes serialized fiction? Wood does it here quite ably. Mara is a must read.

For an anthology with 3 stories I was doing pretty good with this issue, two stories I really liked and one that I think can grow on me over time. The art was matched with the tone/content of the stories in all 3 cases, and the stories were all very different from one another and all had some really unique story hooks that were new to me. This adds up to a book where I'm definitely looking forward to issue #2.

I'll stop my summary here. I'm 11 pages into a 21 page comic (that costs $3.99). There has been zero action, I've recognized about half the characters. Someone familiar with X-Men from the movies has recognized even fewer. Since I've been reading X-Men for a long time (but not a lot in the past 10 years) I was able to get the general gist of what was going on. There were some very interesting plot elements set up, particularly with the baby. However, I thought the pacing/clarity were not good for a #1 issue that had any intention of drawing in new readers. I'd consider it an average comic that will likely pick up as the story arc progresses.

Deathmatch is a “Top 10″ series for me (out of >110 titles read this month), so absolutely worth checking out. The final panel in this issue was another “WOW!” moment that both evokes an image of Big 2 events and makes me want to come back for issue #7 so I can see the spin Paul Jenkins is going to put on it. This series is highly recommended, though not something to jump on board with mid-story. Check it out in collected editions if you missed it in monthly issues.

If you want something totally different from ALL the super-hero books on the stands that also stands apart from the wide array of independent comics, ask your local comic shop to order Death Sentence as part of their June order so you can check it out in October!

I'll definitely be back, hopefully the action will pick up & we'll get spies, ninja, more dinosaurs, nazis, and all kinds of crazy action.

A good effort from Black Mask out of the gate, though. I look forward to seeing the company grow and hope it finds an audience beyond the typical comic shop customers.

The first issue sets up the adventure and was available for free as part of May 4th's Free Comic Book Day, but will be available for sale as well if you missed the free debut. I'm looking forward to #2 and am prepared for a wild ride.

That said, it's definitely worth a try for $1, not every reader is going to have the same reaction to the storytelling that I did and it wasn't a bad comic, just not an exceptional one.

As an extra added treat, the protagonist works in a comic store, I loved the scene set in the shop with the hard-core customer coming in for his comics. Good stuff, well worth the $2.99 cover price.

For $1 I'd recommend that people who like mystery, magic, and fantasy elements encroaching into the modern day world of suits & science give this a try.

One of the best series I've read in a long time, very characteristic of Vertigo's creator-driven offerings. This had a wonderfully developed 40 issue arc with a very clear story progression from beginning to mid-series to ending, with this final issue service as a wonderful epilogue to the series. This is how a last issue should be done. Touching and satisfying, it answered my questions and left me with a sense of closure for the series that I often am left without as other series end.I can't recommend this highly enough, check out the TPBs of this series from the beginning if you've never read this before, you're in for a superb story.

I enjoyed it and will be back for the rest of the 4-issue mini series.

I read the 1st issue and loved it. We get the story of Todd who is apparently so ugly he goes around with a paper bag on his head so as to not burden others with looking at his face, and this says a lot about Todd. He's a kind soul and the world he populates is full of thoroughly unpleasant characters that he interacts with in a very upbeat way. It's the other characters who are the truly "ugly" people.

If you like stories with heroic struggles of good vs. evil (even if which is which is still a bit unclear) give this series, and the rest of the Valiant line, a try. You won't be sorry you did.