Apocalypse Al hit the right notes with me, for the most part anyway. There are some rough patches to sort out here, there is an easy chance that Apocalypse Al will become a favorite of mine, as well as many other fans out there. Considering that none of the rough patches are even that bad, I could easily see next issue being an excellent one. Looking forward to the rest of The Adventures of Apocalypse Al in the months to come. Read Full Review

Apocalypse Al has continued on form the first issue by crafting a fairly swift and action filled narrative. This is complimented by the visuals and together the creators are bringing a great mixture of ideas to the table. We are now halfway through this series and all I can think is I hope this becomes a recurring thing I am totally hooked by Alison and her battles against the forces of Evil. Read Full Review

If you're looking for a title that will make you laugh, The Adventures of Apocalypse Al #1 is definitely worth your attention. The fantasy/supernatural elements, coupled with the madcap humor, makes this a very entertaining read. This is yet another solid addition to J. Michael Straczynski's Joe Comics line. Read Full Review

If you're looking for a good time, Apocalypse Al's mix of supernatural noir and comedy might fit the bill. Read Full Review

Apocalypse Al is the kind of book that wouldn't be out of place on any primetime network if it was a TV show. The question is, is it better than the offerings that are already on the shelf in this crowded genre? JMS' vague "Book of Keys" that serves as the center of conflict might not be enough for seasoned veterans even though the writer does bring in a supernatural heavy hitter in the finals pages. The miniseries is only four issues so it might be worth taking a chance on. IT's solid and unassuming. It achieves exactly the goals that it sets out to. But don't be surprised if you get burned by another fire and brimstone narrative in a world chock full of them. Read Full Review

The art in Apocalypse Al is commendable; Kotian has a great eye for detail and Bill Farmer does some wonderful work with the colors. Unfortunately, the text is sometimes more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to the book's visuals.Straczynski's penchant for lengthy internal monologues does a bit too much telling, when the narrative could have benefitted from some more showing, and some parts of Al's narration read more like straight prose than they should considering the medium. The wonderful thing about comics is that it gives creators the opportunity to blissfully wed text and visuals, but here, there seems to be a disconnect between the two. Read Full Review

The Adventures of Apocalypse Al is a noir comedy with a female lead. The comedic part in the beginning is predictable but funny Read Full Review

Overall, this issue is a bit of a mixed bag " but it improves as it goes on, and may settle into a groove by the time the second issue rolls around. For the time being, “Apocalypse Al” is worth a look for the mash-up of genres and for the strong, detailed artwork. If neither of those things is your cup of tea, well " $2.99 isn't the end of the world. Read Full Review

All pieces in play, Apocalypse Al is a rare work, in that it shows exactly the full range of its writer. Between the horror neonoir of Ten Grand and the retro superhero deconstruction of Sidekick of last year, Apocalypse Al reads like something light and fresh. But also something well-crafted and resilient. Read Full Review

The writing is fantastic, but the artwork doesnt work for me. Sid Kotans pencils arent on the same level as Straczynskis veteran writing. The camera angles and layouts are dynamic and Kotan is taking advantage of the medium, however, his anatomical proportions are skewed. The postures and rendering are off and the subconscious flags it as a wobbly reality that resembles a funhouse mirror. The inking is incredibly dark, making the pages muddy and blackened, and the digital coloring is a bit too aggressive with the 3D-styled shading. The ideas are solid, but the execution is lacking. Im a patient enough reader to suffer through the art, hoping that either the artists matures a bit faster, or the art team is changed out. Hopefully prospective audiences will be patient enough too. Read Full Review

The art from Kotian is fun and serviceable, with a few flashes of real brilliance, like the Sandman-esque decant into dreaming. Altogether, though, I'd have to say that its visual direction, like its narrative one, was entertaining in the same way every C.S.I. spinoff is "entertaining," but otherwise pretty unremarkable. Read Full Review

We've seen the supernatural detective story a million times before, but Straczynski's able to create a pretty unique and fun premise with this one. The jokes may not be consistently strong and the story isn't all that compelling at the moment, but he's able to create an alluring world and ends it on a note that's likely to make you want to see what'll happen next. It's certainly an interesting start for this limited series and, for $2.99, I'll return to see where he takes us next. Read Full Review

Overall however, this was a great introduction to some brilliant new comic characters; I will be following this title with intrigue. There was even a hint towards a love interest that has yet to be introduced Read Full Review

I hazard to call Apocalypse Al bad, or even that mediocre, because the world being created is decently original, if, again, very vaguely defined for a fantasy story (seriously nothing is explained or elaborated on here), and the concepts are all really good. I just don't think we're seeing this in the right light. If this was the world and story of a video game, I'd probably hail it as being really good and a competent voice actress could probably inject Al with the necessary charisma and personality to make her weird dissociative quipping feel more organic and less like a symptom of head trauma, but as a comic book, Apocalypse Al keeps falling frustratingly short of being good. Read Full Review

There are definitely people who love any story in the vein of Apocalypse Al, but this particular installment felt lacking in depth and substance. The artwork was pretty good, but not enough to make the book more exciting. This first issue wasnt awful in every respect, but there was definitely a strong sense of mediocrity and even boredom. Read Full Review

In his notes at the end of the book, Straczynski says the reason he wrote this series was that he really wanted to write a noir comedy. While he captures the feel of the noir detective novel fairly well, the comedic elements of the story fall flat. The kindest thing that can be said about Apocalypse Al is that it isn't a bad supernatural detective story – it's just a wholly unoriginal one that isn't that funny. Read Full Review

Between the lackluster art and the trope-heavy, overly dramatic story, the story is left feeling hackneyed and clich. Straczynski relies too much on tropes to describe these characters and situations for him, reducing characters like Al and the "Ultimate Darkness" " who should be interesting, three-dimensional characters " to mere plot devices to push the story forward. For some reason, however, even after all those flaws, the issue remains moderately enjoyable and earns a look at the second issue. Read Full Review