A boring story complemented with artwork that leaves a lot to be desired, Shadowman: End Times is badly executed in pretty much every department. Swerve this one unless youre a voodoo priest.

As if all this wasnt bad enough, the story is bizarrely mundane. When there are Lowens and Wesens doing whatever the hell it is they do it seems anti-climactic to base the first issue around a basketball match. The story is pretty uninspired and the final panel reveal is frankly laughable. Unfortunately for the reader, the art is possibly worse than the story. Stilted and stiff looking, characters look like theyve been posed, with no sense of dynamism or movement, and facial expressions on characters all look pretty much the same. Characters seem to have either big cheesy grins, startled wide eyes, or worst of all a weird and unsettling combination of the two. If Grimm – The Warlock was my first comic book, it may well also have been my last. Its all a bit, well, grim to be honest.

Its a shame that theyve deviated from the characters pulpy roots because there could be some fantastic lost stories that creators could tell, giving a modern spin on an old character. Mike Mignolas work on titles like Lobster Johnson and Sledgehammer (as well as more obviously Savage inspired characters like Alan Moores Tom Strong and Warren Ellis Axel Brass) offer something more in tune with characters like this. Its less the Man of Bronze and more Man of Copper Im afraid.

An amalgam of different comics, TV shows and movies of the past few years the story beats are largely familiar. The small community trapped within a mysterious and dangerous new existence can be seen on Lost and Under the Dome (and the Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica and so on) while the cop killed on the job and transported to some form of afterlife is very reminiscent of R.I.P.D. Its not necessarily bad ideas that are being lifted, but theyre not handled particularly well which makes their appearance so glaring. If its true that talent borrows but genius steals, lets just say this work appears to have been leased.

Theres the seed of a funny and scathing story about super-fans and obsessives in here, but its largely wasted on an easy target.

To be honest, I don't know who this is for. Die hard Trek fans will buy it because it says Star Trek on the cover and lovers of kitsch might like to titter at the sheer weirdness of the project, but it's a missed opportunity and a waste of a strong story idea. I'd really hoped for dilithium crystals, but instead was given Tribble dung.

Despite a solid core idea, Wildfire #1 could do with a bit of pruning to make it a bit more economical in its execution; the movie rule of show dont tell works just as well in comics too. Hopefully with the central premise now established issue two can grow into something more dynamic before this story dies on the vine.

With its depiction of demons and vampires and boobs (oh my!) Vampirella offers some solid artwork. While there are some flamboyant looking characters and some nifty use of panels (Vampirella's gauntlet through a labyrinth is particularly good) it's a shame so much of it seems obsessed with its title character's dcolletage and gusset. The dialogue is a little on the nose and perfunctory but within all the S&M-vampire-demon-T&A silliness is the core of a good story. When Lilith is forced to make an impossible choice between wounding her daughter mentally or injuring her physically, it seems similar to classical Greek tragedy. Albeit a classical Greek tragedy centred on a vampire in a leather bikini.

Thats not to say that this issue is a total failure. There's promise in this writer and artist pairing and several positives to be found in these pages. All that's needed is a bit more polish.

As one-shots go this feels a little incomplete, Thompson's art is delightful and Dorkin's script is solid enough but there's not enough substance to the story to make this indispensable.

As an introduction to the world of these characters, Bloodshot and the H.A.R.D. Corps #0 is solid if unspectacular. The decade spanning nature of the story means that not many characters are in this the whole way through and the current team are name checked but not developed. If the ongoing series manages to maintain the same bleak tone and develop characters a bit more, this could be well worth a read.

A confident take on everyones favourite Crom worshipper, Conan the Avenger #1 sets things up nicely for its next issue. Now that all the heavy lifting has been done in terms of exposition, heres hoping that next time Conan will show a bit more steel.

As well as the showpiece rumble between Godzilla and Biolante there a couple of side stories with, yknow, dialogue and stuff. Theres a flying robot, weird fish people from the depths of the ocean and an invading force of shape shifting aliens. With so many things happening at once in this book it borders on hyperactivity and at times it feels like the story is being told by a breathless nine year old acting it out with toys. Yet, the enthusiasm and joy that Chris Mowry and Matt Frank bring to the story, along with their obvious love for the characters, just about bring it home.

All the violence would start to seem over the top if it was glorifying it in the way that a lot of vigilante comics and movies do, but the character of Jen is so clearly completely unhinged that it manages to work. As the scale of violence committed by Jennifer grows, it takes on a more profound level, alienating her from her own family and bringing her into some seriously bleak territory. Its a strange read, the central character has become the villain of her own story.

A weird stitching together of revenge, romance, monster movies and My Fair Lady this is a strange beast. The parts are all there, it just needs a little bit more spark to really bring it to life.

Still, the fantasy world on display here is well rounded and with enough depth to allow a lot of interesting stories.

While this issue is clearly intended as breathing space after some tumultuous events, things are finely poised to expand into a big and wide-reaching story in the course of this arc. The appearance of an injured foot clan member at the teams hideout and hints of a link between Aprils family and the origins of the turtles, suggests that danger is nearby and change is afoot. The turtles may be hiding out from Shredder in the forest, but theyre certainly not out of the woods yet.

While the dialogue is zippy and humourous, the story itself isnt. There is a lot of incident in this issue but despite that theres not much forward progression. It feels like this series is on the cusp of going into strange new areas, but this issue feels like a lot of set-up for things to come.

Like the films Hobo with a Shotgun or Machete, this comic has a goofy, tongue in cheek story (an android made from van parts and military technology is hunted by a corrupt corporation) and is quite funny at times. However it also suffers from the same problems as those films; all its ironic posturing leads to a slightly hollow and distancing look at a type of film rather than a smart reinvention of it.

The script by Mike Mignola and Scott Allie constantly cross cuts between the multiple plots, showing links and connections between these seemingly unrelated events in the town. While this flitting across plotlines certainly amps up the tension, it does detract from the fluency of the story somewhat. The writers simply have too many plates spinning at once, with the cuts to other storylines often proving disorienting and shifts between plots frequently hard to spot. As a first issue in a new three part story arc this book establishes a murky mood and atmosphere at the cost of narrative clarity. At the very least Im intrigued to find out what happens next. Even if Im not entirely sure whats happening now.

With a fine mix of art and solid, tightly written stories I heartily enjoyed Eerie. A throwback black and white horror comic is perhaps a tough sell (what a terribly sad world) but for an old monster movie fan like me it was a lot of fun.

The majority of time is spent establishing the scenario; it fails to actually start anything of real note. We dont actually meet most of the titular illegitimates and dont really find out how they feel about their absent father, or their being recruited as spies. Despite a lot of nice story touches and some smashing art – splash pages of each illegitimates life over the years with their mother overlaid on top is a great example of telling a story with one panel – The Illegitimates #1 doesnt really go anywhere. Still, its all very enjoyable and with all the heavy expositional lifting dealt with, this series can hopefully pick up the pace, and deliver the action comedy romp it shows signs of throughout.

As a continuation of a beloved television show this comic ticks a lot of boxes. Devotees of the show get to see key moments in the early lives of popular characters such as Deep Throat and Mister X, while newcomers get to see Mulder and Scully find their feet within the FBI. Not quite Xcellent (sorry) but still very good.

Equally at home depicting action as it is with secretive conversations in darkened offices, the artwork by John Stanisci is versatile, although at times Scully looks a little strange and mannequinesque. Still, characters from the TV show are never unrecognisable and scenes of mutilated or infected corpses are suitably grotesque and harrowing. As central ideas go, this miniseries has a doozy; as a primer for upcoming events this issue is a winner.

Theres not really much of a conspiracy to be found here, in fact theres not much in the way of a plot either. What there is though, is a meeting of two different worlds and getting to see how the paranoid Gunmen deal with the nerdy Ghostbusters. Much like a giant marshmallow man in a sailor suit, its cute and sweet but lacking in any real substance or nutritional value.

Funny, violent and a little bit mad, this has a lot of the characteristics that people love about the Evil Dead franchise and the character of Ash in particular. Its not as gory or scary as you might expect but otherwise captures the look and feel of the films fantastically. Hail to the King baby!

While this does set things up nicely for upcoming issues, Clone #17 seems a bit lightweight in comparison with the last few. Still, a weaker issue of Clone is still unlike anything else out there.

Its a fish out of water story featuring one of the most humourless, stoney faced protagonists in comics. Where better to put him than the sunshine state where everyone walks around with an insincere grin?

Similarly, writer Douglas Wolk shows a clear understanding of the character and he brings the subversive and satirical qualities of the series to the fore. Its reassuring to know that whether in the strange streets of Mega City 2 or the less familiar pages of an American published series that Dredd still manages to remain Dredd.

Writer and artist Matt Kindt has said that he only plans to create thirty six issues of this series in total and this one and done issue is as good a place as any for new readers to jump on. Go on, give it a try. Open your mind.

Light on action but filled with insight into the character of Peter to make up for it, Peter Panzerfaust #18 builds some strong thematic work into its pages. This fresh take on the myth of Peter Pan will never get old.

A visually bold and authentically written comic, this looks like it might be one hell of a series. Lets hope that the old adage is true and that Sex really does sell

It's frankly stunning work, equally at home detailing suburban mundanity as it is with the more fantastical, horror beats. The artwork is reason enough to buy this book but when combined with Maberry's excellent script this book is unmissable.

Likewise, Maberry shows a deft touch with the story often taking shocking, unexpected turns. Like much great works of genre fiction – and make no mistake this a great work – Bad Blood uses the trappings of the genre to explore universal thoughts and feelings. This melancholy story of loss and revenge is only two issues in and it already has me by the jugular.

The art is beautiful and the writing is top notch. Do yourself a favour, if youre not already reading this series, START READING THIS SERIES.

While this has been the weakest issue in the series so far, Bad Blood #4 is still strong work. The mythos of the vampires is fleshed out and deepened and the artwork is great. Even though it feels like a matter of simply putting things into place for the next issue the last page is a doozy, leaving everything set for a gripping final issue. It may have been slight, but this issue has still left me hungry for more.

A fine, blood soaked ending to an exquisite miniseries, Bad Blood #5 caps off things nicely. Hopefully Maberry and Crook can find some time to pair up again and further explore the unique and intriguing world theyve so elegantly created.

As always, with these types of deal its a bit of a mixed bag. Some stories dont appeal as strongly as others and some are hard to understand, but theres generally something cool in all of them, even the weaker ones. The next issue of Dark Horse Presents is the last in this 80 page format, when it returns it will be half the page count for around half the price. Its a bummer. The world needs more of this kind of thing, not half the amount.

Funny, weird, beautiful and horrifying, each new story brings something unexpected and new to the table. I dont care how much it costs, Dark Horse Presents is the best value for money comic available.

Stuffed to the brim with jokey details in the background (the DVD of porn parody League of Extra-Horny Genital Men deserves some form of award for punnery) and well-observed little touches such as the treatment of female fans; Dorkin shows that the truest form of satire requires detailed knowledge of its subject. As repellent as they all are, its a shame that this group of misfits wont be with us much longer.