Doug Garbark Comic Reviews

I love that Layman and Guillory brought some heavy drama to the series and I'm still blown away with how well the world of Chew manages to blend genres and does so with its patent Chew charm. Layman and Guillory are among the best duos in comics and their styles just flow together perfectly. Enough cannot be said about this series to get people on board. While #31 offers a great jump on point you are doing yourself a great disservice if you skip over the first 30 issues.

By Brian Wood, Becky Cloonan, James Harren, and Dave Stewart

Suffice to say, everybody should pick up East of West #1. It is a fantastic series that is smart, creative, and beautiful but might be a bit heavy for some readers tastes. The only way to know if this series is for you is to buy the issue and make the determination. No matter what you think of the world East of West takes place in, there is no denying the comic boasts some of intense moments and powerful dialog. Snatch this up as soon as you can and maybe even grab two because this series is here to stay and will surely boast a large fan base.

Despite its odd variant covers, East of West has it all when it comes to storytelling and visuals. Expect East of West to keep getting better with each issue as more characters are developed and more mysteries uncovered. Any fan of comics, no matter the genre, should get on this bandwagon immediately, if you havent already! This is storytelling at its best.

Fatale #9 delivers in every sense of the word. It supplies us with answers that leave us asking more questions. Thats what is so brilliant about Fatale. Every time we get an answer we are left asking two more questions. With the stage is set for a show down between Hansel and Jo we are left pondering who has the upper hand? It looks like we will have to grab issue #10 to find out.

By no means is this Brubaker and Phillips at their best, but that doesn't mean that this issue isnt worth reading. The buildup was excellent, but more could have been done to make for a more exciting conclusion to the Miles story arc. That being said issue #11 will make or break this series, as we will be able to tell if Fatale is going to be taken to the next level or if we are going to be stuck on repeat like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Moving forward, let's hope that the series is cemented in the present and uses flashbacks as a tool to give insight and develop Jo, but with so many questions still unanswered there is no point in rehashing all of her past lovers. If the cycle repeats it may be clear that this creative time has worked themselves into a corner and do not have the answers to the big questions theyve raised.

Despite griping about things Fatale, at its core, is still a very well written and well drawn comic. The dialog always on point and the facial expressions always seem to drive the emotions of the character. All in all Fatale is still a great series, but it seems to be losing steam as of late. Hopefully something big happens soon that freshens up the landscape and either supplies us with some answers or introduces another big mystery.

Brubaker and Phillips are both at their best in Fatale #12. This genre bending series is now a time bending series which has unlimited potential that if fully taken advantage of can make this series far more revolutionary than ever thought possible. It is on Brubaker and Phillips to pull it all together but luckily there arent maybe combos in this industry that would be better suited for such a task.

The issue concludes with a huge moment that could drasticallychange the Flash universe. It should be exciting to see everything pan out in issue #15 and if you are looking for a fun, quick read this week, definitely keep this issue in mind!

That said the art in the last 8 pages alone is worth the price of the comic. The issue also sets up many potential paths for Manapul and Buccellato to go down when finishing the feud between Grodd and Flash. As of the issues end The Flash seems to feel the best path is surrendering himself to Grodd and preventing all of Central City from becoming collateral damage. Surely next issue will deliver something more promising than The Flash waving a white flag.

Flash posters aside, fans of the series will definitely want to grab this issue. It is fully drawn by Manapul and makes a lot of headway progressing the Grodd arc while leading us into what should be the best battle of the series. Lets just hope that Grodd manages to remain in the series in some capacity following this epic encounter, because the series is at its best when Grodd is involved.

With Grodd out of the picture for the time being Manapul and Buccellato waste no time in introducing our next villain, a choice that should make many-o-geek squeal with excitement! If you have been following this series, want to see the new villain, or admire the incredible beat known as the wooly mammoth, do yourselves a favor and grab The Flash #17 next time you are in your comic shop.

Overall, there really isnt much to gripe about with Harvest its just an incredible mini-series that deserves all of the hype it has gotten. Does my own greed wish the series was prolonged? Of course! I want to see the inter-working of Cravens organization; I wanted to see Dr. Dane knee deep in the game before having to battle with the judgment call to turn on the organization, there could have been a blossoming relationship between Dr. Dane and Mariko, or even a deeper developed FBI angle However, we dont NEED any of that! What we have is incredible and maybe it is for the best that Lieberman and Lorimer kept it short and sweet and delivered an all killer no filler piece of work.

It will be interesting to see how things play out and if Elle can potentially help people from inside the Garden. It would create the dilemma of Elle being to save everyone but herself And even if she could save herself could she turn her back on all of those in need in the Garden? Needless to say I will be back for issue #7 to see what transpires.

Mind The Gap is still early in its run and worth jumping on to. It is something different and it is always enjoyable. You won't find much action but you will find original ideas and strong dramatic chops.

Snapshot is a brilliant psychological thriller that gets your adrenaline pumping until the final frame. If you are looking for a smart comic with great art and no men in tights flying around shooting laser beams out of their crack, then this is the perfect book for you.

Negan continues to be an unpredictable lunatic who manages to charm us at times, but his lust for blood always seems to end up rearing its head reminding us not to fall for his smoke and mirrors. So far, Negan has Rick and company in a position they have never been in before and if the Governor was able to wreak as much havoc as he did in the earlier issues of the series, then we can only imagine the path of destruction Negan will leave in his wake before Rick manages to get his hands on him. If you are a fan of the series then this issue is a must read. If you are a fan of the show and want to jump on board with The Walking Dead, but dont want to read through all 104 issues, I would suggest jumping on with issue #91 and following from there.

If you have already read The Walking Dead #1-104 then I dont think you need my blessing to commit to purchasing this issue. Do yourself a favor - get off your keister and buy it!

Besides nailing all of the countless "HOLY SH*T!" moments, Adlard also does fantastic job capturing emotions and facial expressions. It's a huge asset to the series seeing as it has be caulked full of "before the outbreak" or "at the beginning" rants that have built so many great characters. Congratulations on to Adlard for the impressive achievement and a thank you is in order for his hard work and dedication that he sees him rarely, if ever, miss an issue. Here is to 100 more!

The issue leaves off with Rick and Jesus devising a plan to dethrone Negan. With their new found information on The Saviors Sanctuary and their number of willing soldiers potentially far lower than Rick and Jesus had assumed, it appears that it could be time to assemble an army which seems to hinder on the support of a debuting character. The cover of The Walking Dead #108 has me ripe with anticipation!

Aside from the amazing conversations, characters, and plots that The Walking Dead continues to turn out, one thing that needs mentioned is the art. Adlard has always been solid in his art delivering exactly what the reader needed visually to drive Kirkmans brilliant writing home. One change that has been subtle but also a leaps and bounds improvement is that of Cliff Rathburns gray tones. Oddly Rathburn has been doing gray tones for a long time with the series, but recently it feels like his tones have gotten considerably better. Post compendium #2 the issues seem to have better shading and added depth to characters faces. Night scenes are conveyed much more efficiently as of late too. Perhaps Rathburn has been allowed more liberties with his tones but whatever the reason for the improvement, it is a welcomed addition.

All in all, I would recommend pick up Marvel NOW! #1. It doesnt have any huge ground breaking plot points or a big cliff hanger at the end, but it appears it will be a slow burning mystery rather than an action romp that has Thor bashing things in with his trusty hammer. If that seems like something you are interested in, grab this issue for sure, if not Im sure there will be plenty of Whack-A-Mole moments in the near future.

I am still holding out hope that future Thor will steal the show but young Thor is going to be a tough act to follow. It appears next issue will focus on present-day Thor which will probably make for a good cool down before hitting us with a future Thor focused issue in #4. If you like the Thor character even remotely you need to go out and buy these first 2 issues. This series is shaping up to be every bit as good as I had hoped and Thor is my favorite Marvel character by a landslide so my expectations were sky high.

As a whole the writing manages to skip periods of time and continue to develop the central characters through strong narratives that give insight and also foreshadow. The art is again fantastic for the most part with a lot of larger images throughout the book. The actually drawings look to be creative and solid; however the coloring in this series is just phenomenal. The color palette is varied and always sets the proper tone for the scene, rarely taking short cuts when it comes to detailing. Overall, Thor is a well written beautiful series that fans of the movies can embrace and comic enthusiasts will love.

And thus concludes Thor God Of Thunder #4 in yet another fantastic issue in perhaps the best Marvel NOW series going. More of the great storytelling and artwork that we have grown accustomed to with a great ending that will keep us salivating until next issue.

If you are a fan of the Wonder Woman series thus far then I wouldnt hesitate to pick this issue up as big things are on the horizon and #14 sets the stage for all of the upcoming events. While there are probably some issues of this series that you could skip and not miss a beat the next month, this is not one of them.