I can't help but feel that as readers we've been done a disservice. This has all the makings for a violence fueled fantasy romp but within the first few pages we are told that there will be no credible threat to fell the Crimson Conqueror and the mighty Cimmerian. All the other ingredients seem to be present, a formidable foe would've made the story significantly better.

Look, it takes effort to make any comic, good or bad. This just isn't a good book. Some odd story telling conventions lead to some screwy continuity issues and the art seems to have backslid from the previous issue. Unfortunately, it's not worth your time.

Lantern City manages a remarkable amount of internal dialogue for Sander; when it's at it's heaviest is where I feel the art on the page lets the story down. These are things that should be easily communicated with a simple panel instead of having the main character journal his feelings to the reader. These might be the most frustrating parts of the story. That and introducing a giant beast for Sander to prove his mettle against, only to have him just walk away without even trying. Dammit! Some extra action would have been welcomed, hell even celebrated, in issue 9.

Though playing with some fun ideas, Issue #1 adds up to nothing more than a fair start. There is enough cleverness here to reasonably hope for better as we get deeper into the story.

The page layout remains stellar, in fact if anything it's improved. The whole issue just feels more refined and focused, which you love to see in a second issue. The main characters all receive a bit more sophistication, both in aesthetics as well as with background and motivations. AND, with the Mononoke-esque infectious animals from the first issue and the second E in SEEDS standing for Epidemic, I'm cautiously optimistic that we will be in for a visual treat with issue #3.

This issue feels like a regression in most every way, from the arrival and introduction of Riva to the continued odd usage of the fictional colloquial dialogue to the suddenly shallow plot (I had high hopes) to just the general lack of polish of all of these elements together. The outcome is a book that seems stale. It's disappointing, there's a chance for a large finish in the next book but I'm not holding my breath. It feels like Issue #3 is where the momentum of the story puttered out.

It's silly and nothing spectacular, but isn't that what a good Grindhouse story should be? Outside of the Deathproof of course, which was actually a great movie in disguise.

Kingdom Bum is a fun political spoof. Issue #2 brings us readers further into the fold and exposes a sophistication that in and of itself is ironic given the bum theme. I feel primed for the fallout and the furthering of the violent political strife in the next issue.

This is a significantly slower issue than the previous ones. It's much more political and attempts to stir the intrigue pot with plotting and organization but never quite fully realizes that potential. Despite that, the penultimate issue does setup a dramatic finish that should be a worthy romp to close out a fun story.

This is not a story that takes itself too seriously and I mean that in a positive way. Classic crime/revenge stories should be tongue in cheek, small details almost winking at the reader as if to remind you that you should be having fun while inside all these tense situations. If issue #1 is any indication, this may not be a wholly original story but it sure ought to be a fun one.

I'm certainly glad that the character pool is deepening. Revenge stories can become so telescopic, with our hero chopping or shooting his or her way through nameless (may as well be faceless) hoods/hit-men/ninjas/goons to get to the one top villain that we are supposed to hate. By introducing some vulnerability to the mobster's organization it inevitably humanizes them and puts something at risk for them. No longer nameless, no longer faceless, we get some actual motivation and depth.

Despite all the sillies there is a real story buried there; little seeds planted between the Ice King and other characters as well as a potentially exciting new piece of lore for the entire universe. I can't ignore that the story starts a little slow; but I also can't ignore the fact that is typical of a first issue.

What I enjoy about this series so far is how light and easy it is. It's silly and simple but don't let that disarm you! When I sat down to write this review all these ridiculous interactions between burger people and vamps and cool wizards accumulated to make a good character foundation. It's easy to almost forget that the Ice King's ultimate goal is to recover his kidnapped penguin Gunter because it's only lightly mentioned, but this remains a well plotted out book that will generate more than just a few chuckles.

Outside of the odd choice for the first story in the collection there is some serious booger, bomb and gross-out goodness and this remains a fun book with a diverse collection of artists and an unexpected message.

Whatever Shaft's reasoning, be it boredom or cabin fever, the Imitation of Life is setup for a fantastic story. While the artwork was a little stagnant at times the story carries the load through Issue #1. With all the cultural conflicts naturally setup and David Walker's talent for contextualizing internal dialogue I expect this will be a series worthy of our attention.

This is still a throwback story and can be a little heavy on the narrative in spots, but it does manage to stir some significant interest about the Swamp Thing himself. I'm going to treat Swamp Thing #1 like a successful re-introduction to that one cool and interesting girl you used to flirt with in High School but nothing ever happened; it's been years since you've seen each other and you both look different but there's something that tells you whatever you had isn't dead yet.

Even if you're not super hero exhausted this book should be on your reading list. There are too many creative moving parts operating well together to ignore. The Fezrons are our first intimate look at the fantasy creatures of this imagined American frontier and are Blacksad adjacent in terms of expression of polish (that's an enormous compliment, FYI). I'd recommend (again) that you should read this but I've already said it so many times.

You should probably read the book. It's that simple. It remains a very well told original story, beautifully drawn and colored. But maybe that's not your thing, don't know why it wouldn't be though.

Welcome to the Wild West. It's been so long since Lewis and Clark forayed into unknown territories and it's easy to forget how brutal men had to be to 'civilize' the west. The reality of that fact is here, in this issue. Hidden amidst the fantasy and the fictionalized beasts and cultures has always been the brutality of man, a picture of what man had to become to conquer the western territories. It's not so hidden now. Issue #18 reminds us all that no matter what we think or feel now, civilizing the west was a whitewash of everything else that existed before.