I had to fight back tears reading this. I read that Lemire wanted a bit of humor in this series, but Black Hammer #7 hit on some emotional heartstrings for me that seem to be getting plucked more often nowadays with some recent movies as well as just the personal struggles of getting old, feeling stuck, and looking back on more days than you can count and rethinking your decisions. Having said that, I think it's amazing what Lemire has done. He took a concept of superheroes that time somehow forgot, and gave them a crisis of character, which is: what do they do in a world that doesn't need them? That coupled with the art style of Ormston and coloring of Stewart were enough to take me on an emotional roller coaster ride that, as painful as it may be to get on, may be more therapeutic to experience than to not having ridden at all. Needless to say, I will be purchasing the previous issues and look forward to more!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #28 was everything I expected it to be. There is no sense of dwelling or pause in the momentum, as what would happen to any normal people because of the immense problems the characters are facing. Christos Gage writes the characters as if they are moving the story forward, putting off any long emotional pauses to face the problems at hand. It makes the story believable. The art style by Rebekah Isaacs, though cartoonish in style, is consistent throughout the episodes, and the character designs look almost exactly like their television show counterparts. Although it may be argued that the characters lack the depth in shadowing that gives any true 3-dimensional look to them.

I like surprises in art style and in writing, and when these two come together, the work that is produced tends to leave a lasting impression on the industry. Regression #2 does that in a way that I hate, where now I have to applaud a genre that I am most uncomfortable with: horror. Cullen Bunn is already known for brilliant writing, and this title is no exception to his skill of storytelling. Yet after seeing a few pages from Danny Luckert, I am mesmerized at how he can draw a character so simply yet detail them in such a way to make them utterly disgusting, in tandem with the writing of Bunn no less. And after reading up a bit on Luckert, it seems he is fairly new to the comic book industry with only a few titles under his belt. With what we've seen from these pages, I believe he will have a long career as a notable artist for many titles to come.

When reading the last issue, I was getting caught up on the lore that the previous titles were building upon, and appreciated some of the choices that the author and artist had made to continue the series with the same themes while attempting to make the Buffy world their own. Even with the little concerns that I have regarding art style and some of the dialogue choices, I still believe Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10 #29 to be a solid title that can stand alongside the strength of the series, if not standing alone on its own merit. Christos Gage is writing the story of young adults becoming adults, and making decisions to deal with their past, whatever the consequence. Rebekah Isaacs is consistent with her art style, putting detail into the characters whether they are the focus of the frame or in the background fiddling with equipment, preparing for the upcoming battle. A battle that will be concluded in the next issue!

There's a lot of good things going on in Rose #3 that catch my attention and genuinely piqued my interest for wanting more. The only complaints I have against the comic are small and ruin my suspension of disbelief. With just small tweaks in the writing choices, I believe it could be a perfectly enjoyable title to read. The art style is beautiful, but does need that bit of distortion to amplify the action or tension of a scene. While coloring does help to bring these characters out from their environments, the character design can be addressed to give viewers a bit more variety in the looks of their protagonists.

Being one that is not a fan of horror or suspense, I found myself strangely drawn to House of Penance #3, and the art form only enhanced the strangeness and appeal of it. The same way shows like Dexter or Breaking Bad might have appealed to people because it was about characters embracing a darker side of nature, House of Penance takes a cue from a genre that is starting to captivate audiences, and is running with it. This is ultimately the tale of the villain, and their path to dealing with their sins.

Poppy! and the Lost Lagoon is an interesting read. The story does seem to drag a bit as there were many pages that seemed to focus more on the scene rather than the dialogue. However, these moments give you a breather and allow you to reflect on the characterization. Kindt's ability to give a character more emotional depth than any usual kid's title makes it a fun read as well as a deeper read than most. That combined with the Hurtt's simple art style makes it a good standalone title for all ages, and has something to offer for any audience. For the younger reader, they get a fun interplay between generations as seen in Poppy's and Colt's bantering, while at the same time the older reader can appreciate that within this interplay, there is a sort of warmth and depth of genuine care they have for one another.

Lemire continues to bring a story of consequence in Sherlock Frankenstein and The Legion of Evil #1 to the readers. Here, I think David Rubin's art tends to shine. The monsters and robotic villains are intimidating. Rubin's style of warped and distorted actually work well in drawing monsters, making them almost otherworldly. The story of Lucy's search builds a certain amount of tension and intensity as she gets closer to the truth of Sherlock Frankenstein's whereabouts. The art style, though seemingly off-putting, builds upon that tension and intensity to make the reader feel as uncomfortable as the environment conveys.

Although the art is a little too simplistic for my taste, I believe a lot of audiences that were fans of the original Mignola comic will appreciate this callback style while taking another look at the history from different eyes.

There are elements of the story and visuals of Black Cloud #3 that even after reading through it more than once, I still find confusing. When trying to separate the dream world from the real world, I am unsure of how much of it is exaggerated because of the dream-state. Plus when Zelda "wakes up" from her journey through her past in the dream world, It seems that the world she "wakes up" to is more fantastic than the one she just left. It becomes even more confusing when trying to analyze Zelda's dialogue, as the reader might not be able to grasp how things have progressed to such a state, even after having read some of the previous issues in the series. Perhaps Latour and Brandon wanted to insert elements of mystery in these aspects of her reality, but at some point there are too many layers of plot where it becomes a labor for readers to follow. Simplifying the mystery of the real world or simplifying some of the mystery in her dream-world past might make following Zelda's story less

Black Hammer #12 delves more into the world of Black Hammer by exploring the ramifications of the hero life. This story is less about the heroes and more about the world they lived in. The art seems to have fallen in quality. Also the scale of the world seems smaller with new artist David Rubin. Although the art style lacks compared to Dean Ormston's art, Jeff Lemire's script continues to draw readers to its pages.

Harrow County #21 is seemingly horror but ultimately fairy tale, likened to a show like Grimm. Emmy serves as the liaison between humans and haints, serving both communities while unwilling to stand idly by as atrocities are committed by one against the other. It sets the perfect mood for tension and fear while at the same time offering up a solid story of a protector of a disenfranchised community labeled as "the other." The art and story blend perfectly, and Crook and Bunn do a lot of work to keep you glued to the page with the suspense of every panel. An interesting read from cover to cover, and the twists in plot and in expectations keep audiences attention throughout. While there may be some who have issue with the usage of watercolors and the inconsistency it produces on some of the artwork, the strength of the story carries us through.

Sheena: Queen of the Jungle: #0 is a short story that could very well be a memorable series going forward. There is a lot of stuff teasing us in this issue that promises a fish-out-of-water story much like Tarzan was. This with the twist of being in the modern era with advents of technology and today's culture. The artwork by Moritat is beautiful and perfectly captures moments of serenity while emphasizing action and movement. Bennet and Trujillo strive to bring strength and complexity to a character with such a long history. The authors also pay homage to Sheena's rich media history in both comics and film.

Dan Abnett does much to give service to an already established universe in Aliens and Predator, however he does little to develop the characters to make this comic stand on its own. If no one was familiar with the movie titles, Prometheus: Life and Death #1 would be a confusing read, and the reader wouldn't be compelled to pick up another issue. Andrea Mutti does more to pay homage to the movie titles in his art style and does much to redeem the work compared to previous titles in the Life and Death series. The biggest problem is while the characters are well drawn, there is hardly any characterization. And without characterization the characters serve as little more than just random piles of meat for the antagonist to slice up. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I want more than just the story about how some steaks stumbled upon a meat slicer.