The Comics Panelist's Profile

My review for the complete MiniSeries https://youtu.be/95hGWS-X7X0

My Review for the complete MiniSeries https://youtu.be/95hGWS-X7X0

This will be a great animation show for NetFlix. it has all Keanu ingredients and it is very him. Check out my Video review for the complete series on Youtube https://youtu.be/nuzT9EVr7FU

This comic is more than a true-crime adaptation, it's a historical fantasy that takes real horror and amplifies it with folklore, psychological terror, and artistic interpretation. And that's where it succeeds: not just shocking you, but making you feel the dread of being trapped in a world where adults hide far worse secrets than monsters under the bed. Checkout my Review on my new Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTLCTBsPNK4&t

Picked this up mostly out of curiosity after learning it’s written by Michael Chaves (The Nun II director)… and it ended up surprising me. Set in a dark, war-torn medieval world, the story follows a young girl whose father returns from the dead, but this isn’t just a horror setup. What really stands out is the emotional core. The father/daughter dynamic carries the issue, and there are moments that genuinely land. You feel the sadness, the tension, even the anger. The art is a big highlight too. gritty, atmospheric, and sometimes uncomfortable in a way that fits the tone perfectly. It really pulls you into the world. The pacing feels very cinematic, taking its time to let moments breathe, which worked well for me. Overall, a strong first issue that leans more into emotion and tone than action . And I’m definitely in for the full 6-issue run.

I Enjoyed this issue. The story gave me a vibe of Kill Bill mixed with BloodSports. i felt it was action packed which made a lot easier to read. Easier as in faster. It has a good start and definitely finishes with me wanting to read the next one

Not a bad start. i liked the action and seeing that it includes some of the famous villains. Check out my Video Review here: https://youtu.be/PdlLee0PWHw

Went in expecting the "Reservoir Dogs meets Evil Dead" pitch to front-load the carnage. Instead Remender and Epting spend the whole issue on patience, and it pays off. We open on Mike Denton, a small-time hitman, addict, absentee father, taking a job to kill an abusive husband. Ugly, quick, unglamorous. And then the gut-punch: we find out afterward he did the whole thing for $60!!! That number is doing more character work than any monologue could. This isn't a guy who thinks of himself as dangerous or important, he's just cheap, efficient, and numb to it. It resets your read on him before anything else happens. From there it escalates into a bank job, and the pacing never feels rushed getting there, more like a rope slowly tightening. Then the issue pulls the floor out: the couple who recruited him for the heist were never after the money at all. That's the twist that re-contextualizes the whole first two-thirds. Mike isn't just a cheap gun in an ordinary crime story anymore, he's a piece being moved by people running a very different agenda, and he has no idea how deep it goes yet. The quietest gut-punch in the issue has nothing to do with the heist, though: Mike doesn't call his daughter back. The one person in his life who still believes he can be something other than what he is. No violence, no reveal, just a small, human failure. It says more about him than the murder-for-hire does. Knowing the solicits tease him having to awaken a supernatural weapon powered by love to protect her, that unanswered call stops looking like a side detail. His arc from deadbeat to someone worth believing in and the horror plot look like the same arc. That's the needle Remender has to thread going forward: can he make Mike's caring feel earned instead of a switch flipped when the plot needs it? Given how hard-R and over-the-top this book has been pitched, I'm betting on a rough backslide before that ever clicks. Epting's linework carries the mundane stretches just as well as it'll presumably carry the horror once it fully arrives, and Hollingsworth's colors keep the whole thing grounded without tipping into style-over-substance. Some early reviews are already landing on a Criminal meets Hellboy comparison, and it tracks. Bottom line a first issue that trusts you to sit with a bad man before it asks you to care about him and ends on a reveal good enough that I'm genuinely not sure where issue #2 goes next. Anyone else pick this up? Curious if others read that phone call the same way, or if the heist twist landed differently for you.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but Only Savages Are Left #1 didn't quite work for me. The premise is interesting, and I can see why many readers are excited about where Zack Kaplan is taking the story. However, I struggled with several aspects of the execution. My biggest issue was the emotional connection between Ryder and Oaklynn. The comic clearly wants the reader to invest in their relationship, but I never felt I was given enough information to understand why Ryder was so attached to her. As a result, many of the emotional beats didn't land for me. I also felt that several major plot developments relied heavily on coincidence. Ryder leaves the settlement and quickly his journey leads him directly to Oaklynn's father. These moments felt convenient rather than organic. There was also a sequence involving Ryder and Oaklynn at what appeared to be a carnival or fair that completely confused me. I couldn't tell whether I was looking at a flashback, a dream, a memory, or something happening in the present. Instead of creating intrigue, it left me feeling disconnected from the story. That said, I'm clearly in the minority based on the positive reactions I've seen. Maybe this is a series that needs more than one issue to fully reveal its strengths. I've recorded a full AFTER PANELS discussion on my YouTube channel, The Comics Panelist, where I dive deeper into these thoughts and ask whether I'm missing something that other readers are seeing. I'd genuinely love to hear what other readers thought about this issue.

Red Roots surprised me in the best way. I went in expecting a solid horror setup, but Lorenzo De Felici delivers something much sharper in terms of pacing and page construction. The moment that really sold me is the scene with Kate opening her closet and finding the first head. What makes it work isn’t just the shock, it’s the structure behind it. De Felici has us following two threads, Kate’s grounded, everyday storyline and Agent Sand’s killing spree. And when those threads intersect, your brain automatically connects the head in the closet to the photo Sand was holding earlier. It’s a clever bit of misdirection that feels completely earned. The pacing throughout the issue is excellent. every page breathes, every beat lands, and the suspense builds without ever becoming noisy or confusing. De Felici clearly knows how to guide the eye and control tension panel by panel. If this is the tone and craft level the series keeps, I’m absolutely on board for the next issue.

What a great Start, The writer does an excellent job laying out the story and setting things up for the upcoming issues. Check out my Video Review: https://youtu.be/eQt8Cy1rjkg

What a great reveal! Red Sonja Issue 4 Review: I review the fourth issue of Red Sonja, a comic about a warrior woman in a brutal world. I discuss the epic battle, the plot twists, the stunning art, and the character development of Red Sonja and her enemies. Don't miss this thrilling issue. Spoilers alert! Check out the video: https://youtu.be/K8GKj0YKvZ8?si=3KTuU-6DHR2eHVoD

I read Red Sonja for a long time and I was very curious about this one but Red Sonja: Noir misses the mark completely.The book attempts to mash up sword-and-sorcery with a classic hard-boiled detective formula, but it ends up feeling like a standard fantasy story just wearing a trench coat (which she doesn't even wear). ​ It’s crammed into a single issue so nothing has room to breathe. There’s no atmosphere, no tension, and the "investigation" is completely uninteresting.​What really kills the issue, though, is the dialogue. It is incredibly clunky and unnatural, trying way too hard to sound gritty but landing on "terrible" instead.Calling it "Noir" just because Sonja is looking into a "mystery" feels incredibly lazy when the execution is this shallow.​If you're looking for a moody, deeply atmospheric, or well-written Red Sonja story, skip this one. It's a silly, rushed one-shot that doesn't live up to its title

📚 Get ready for a bone-chilling read with "Tenement: A Bone Orchard Mythos"! This indie horror comic, published by Image Comics, is creating waves with its captivating storytelling and incredible creative team of Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Dave Stewart. 🌟 In this shared universe of self-contained horror stories, we explore the lives of seven individuals living in a tenement building. Each character has their own struggles, and as their paths intertwine, mysterious and terrifying events begin to unfold. 😱 From unexplained deaths to eerie sightings, the comic keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The story raises questions about a mysterious key, a haunting sculpture, and a fly trapped in a bulb-how are these elements connected, and what secrets do they hold? Checkout my video review for this comic https://youtu.be/E8JCnYbLoCk

The One Hand and The Six Fingers are innovative and experimental comics that challenge the conventions and expectations of the medium. The series are designed to be read separately or together, as each one contains clues and Easter eggs for the other, creating a rich and immersive narrative experience. The writers craft a complex and compelling mystery that explores themes of identity, memory, and fate. The artists create a stunning and atmospheric visual style that captures the mood and tone of the story. They are a must-read for fans of noir, sci-fi, and crime fiction. Check out my Video review on the show that i call AFTER PANELS: https://youtu.be/l1jTYnHt3LA

The One Hand and The Six Fingers are innovative and experimental comics that challenge the conventions and expectations of the medium. The series are designed to be read separately or together, as each one contains clues and Easter eggs for the other, creating a rich and immersive narrative experience. The writers craft a complex and compelling mystery that explores themes of identity, memory, and fate. The artists create a stunning and atmospheric visual style that captures the mood and tone of the story. They are a must-read for fans of noir, sci-fi, and crime fiction. Check out my Video review on the show that i call AFTER PANELS: https://youtu.be/l1jTYnHt3LA

Reading The Smart Division #1 gave me a legitimate moment of existential clarity: we are actually living in the future. ​When foundational sci-fi like Blade Runner first explored autonomous tech, AI ethics, and automated crime, it always felt like a distant, far-off timeline. Reading Zack Kaplan and John J. Pearson’s take, however, doesn't feel like looking into a far-off century, it feels like looking at right now. ​Kaplan delivers a tight, grounded narrative that taps right into the friction between human oversight and artificial systems. The sci-fi concepts here don't feel like speculative fiction; they feel like today's news cycle given a sharp, noir spin. ​What truly elevates the book, though, is John J. Pearson’s art. Pearson’s work is amazingly unsettling. His textured, heavily layered panel work constantly blurred the images on the page with Harrison Ford’s rain-slicked visual world in my head. It creates a claustrophobic, atmospheric environment that keeps every page turn tense. ​Issue #1 gives you more than enough juice to lock you in. It takes classic cyber-noir tropes, grounds them in present-day reality, and leaves you eager to see where this world goes next. Solid premiere issue and definitely worth a spot on your pull list.

I Felt a bit disapointed with this issue. The first one showed so much potencial. The spirit is kinda there but i guess this dosent work well as a Comic You can watch my complete review here on my Youtube channel here: https://youtube.com/shorts/-Wz-l7R3F1s?si=vFrlR8EDB9-5sERT

After a few issues that left me somewhat disappointed, Twilight Zone #7 reminded me why I picked up this series in the first place. The story is engaging from the start, but what really impressed me was how it played with my expectations. As the tension built, I became convinced that Henry was going to kill Lucy. When he says, "This is it, this is my perfect moment," it felt like everything was leading toward that outcome. Instead, the ending took a different path and genuinely surprised me. That's exactly the kind of twist I want from a Twilight Zone story. The artwork by Andy Price complements the story perfectly. The characters are expressive, the pacing is strong, and the visuals help sell both the suspense and the emotional beats throughout the issue. Credit also goes to Tony Fleecs for crafting an intriguing script that delivers a satisfying payoff. The combination of a strong concept, solid execution, and an unexpected ending makes this one of the better issues in the series so far. If you've been on the fence about the book after some of the previous installments, Twilight Zone #7 is a welcome return to form and gives me hope for what's to come.

"The fact that the doctor expresses the desire to cure Renfield by performing a blood transfer is also a great way to trigger Dracula to have a reason to visit the doctor house." Check out the complete video review that i did on my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/a43i9H3l__8