My first time reading the Dark Tower comics. I'm obsessed. This is the first arc and it would seem they run sequentially. It would be ill advised to pick up a different run but still manageable. The lore of the world that King has built is rich and extremely meticulous. A magical alternate reality where King Arthur's descendants are gunslinger knights? Prophecies, witches, demons, magic, romance, brutality, and so much more. This is some of the most fun I have had with visual story telling. The art style is cinematic; crisp and very well thought out. There is so much to explore in this world. At the end of each issue are stories and myths that seem to be optional. I really love that they did that. You learn things about the world and about the characters that you don't need to know, but they add a lot to the story. 5/5. Very highly recommended.

I feel like there could be something really great here if there was more time. Fun concept; it just took too much time to get there. Once we arrived, the comic was finished.

Ahmed comes in for a couple of issues so he can validate his character, Miles Morales.

I never have read any prior Death Dealer titles before this. I absolutely love the tone and feel so far. I felt thrust into the dark world that has been created. Reminiscent of a Dark Souls game. Right off the bat in the opening sequence, a macabre horror comes striding out of the woods; melting away any humans it comes into contact with. I have great hopes for the future of this. It may have a fairly standard story ultimately, but the story telling is rich and the art is superb. I want to learn more about the cursed helmet that has forged the Death Dealer. I want to learn more about the undead villains that seek him out. This feels like comics getting back to basics, and yet somehow bringing some new modern tricks.

Christoper Cant(write)well is essentially a hired assassin for Marvel. A hired character assassin. This is a comic that provides a platform to belittle its namesake and to platform the next era of heroes. It’s subversive and mean spirited.

Wow, I will be the voice of reason here. This was awful for so many reasons. Shockingly bad. Where to start? Have any of you that are giving this 10/10 ever read any stories with John Constantine? Because there are key points in this story that he is not John Constantine, but just a projection of Si Spurrier. If John Constantine was kidnapped by a bunch of deadbeats, and one of them accused him of being "ableist" for making a benign insult to his mute friend, Constantine would not apologize. It's absurd. Then, Constantine starts sympathizing with his kidnappers. And then Si Spurrier starts writing the kidnappers as sympathetic characters. This man's moral compass is absolutely broken. Making a very slight insult to a mute person is something to apologize for but being a bunch of kidnapping criminal gangbangers is something to make excuses for? Nope. No thanks. I couldn't even finish the first issue. The real John Constantine wouldn't apologize for the insult to his kidnappers, he would tell them to "go cry about it" or something along those lines. Si Spurrier, you neutered a tough and rough character who has been to hell and back multiple times. Great job.

Not only was this rather boring, but it became readily apparent that the title should have been anything other than "Spider-Man". I'm not sure if one single instance occurred where Peter Parker himself was the victor. He was upstaged by everyone around him, essentially becoming the butt of everyone's joke. Yes, there was teamwork. However, if Peter wasn't in the comic, I am not sure if the outcome would have been any different. Captain Marvel saved the day, three times. I guess I missed the memo about Carol Danvers being replaced? Not that I care. I find Captain Marvel, in any iteration, to be rather intolerable. This was neither terrible or great....it was simply something to read. Ultimately a waste of time. I hear great things about Peter David but I guess I am going to have to buy something else.

If Spider-Man wasn't in this comic, it wouldn't have made a difference. It should have been called "Captain Marvel" because she was the actual hero. Admittedly, with not much dialogue. But still. I don't like the current trope of heroes being upstaged by glorified cameos. And, let's be honest....it always has to be a female.

Mike Carey, who I thought was better than to stoop to petty politics, couldn't help himself. The story is pretty fun, nothing too stellar. But this just hits so many left wing tropes that are BEYOND played out. I mean, you want to talk about tropes? Let's talk about a white male radical right winger terrorist. What isn't a trope and what goes into the world of the absurd, is the suicide bomber vest he straps on. Have you ever seen that in your life outside of some left wing fever dream? Is there a single piece of modern fiction from the last 10 years that features the actual people who commit by far and away the most amount of terrorism on planet Earth? You know, the Muslims? Nope, we can't talk about them, because they will literally kill anyone that does. The white male fathers are trash whereas the perfect angel black father swoops in like a miracle to take care of the daughter he never knew he had. Never mind the fact that reality is exactly opposite. This is what is so demented about the culture that I have to live in; people are informed not by facts, but by cultural entertainment like this. Where evil white racists lurk around every corner....oooo, so scary. We will getcha! Snap back to reality. What group commits the most hate crimes per capita? Hint: It isn't white people. What group leaves and abuses their children the most? Hint: It isn't white men. And yet, the drones that surround me have no idea because writers like Mike Carey, either have no idea, or he wants to will a different reality into existence. However, that isn't possible Mike, all you are doing is demonizing one group. And funnily enough, it happens to be your own. I guess the crocodile will save you....for last. Rant over. The comic was fine as far as story craft goes. I would give it a 6/10 but you pissed me off so here is a 1/10.

One of the first comics I ever read. Been a fan of Neil Gaiman ever since.

Great first issue that really sets a fantastic tone. I love how the President is lurking in the shadows, still unseen. One might wonder what kind of animal he will be....except they made the mistake of putting him on the cover! Oh well, this was great. Beautiful artwork that is reminiscent of a 1970's Disney film but a cleaner style. The ending is enjoyably jarring because it goes from a beautiful comic that has a lighthearted art style; only to descend into ultraviolence and madness. By the end, I hated the villains and felt a lot of sympathy for the plight of the other animals, who are being horribly oppressed by a communist kind of dictator. A fantastic spin off of Orwell's famous "Animal Farm". I am so excited to keep reading. 10/10

So much to love in here. The characters are full of life. Ceasar, the rabbit who just so happens to be a male prostitute, Miss B; the struggling widow who is a mother of two, the wise old rat Azelar who brings myths of revolution from distant lands, the rooster who propagandizes the animals, the evil President Silvio, and many more.

Book #3 is the weakest issue of the 5 thus far. It is a kind of calm before the storm; no pun intended (there is a snow storm in issue 4). This issue really raises the stakes. A battle of willpower is being waged and if the animals lose, they could lose everything.

Where are the critics? Do they not have time for independent comic book companies or are they just not getting bribed enough with special gifts and vacations? This comic deserves attention because it really is top tier. Great story telling, superb art, and it has so much heart.

Fun, engaging, and tightly written. I had read some complaints about readers not liking the magical aspect in a Batman comic; bah. This was fun, if a bit formulaic and uninspired. I don't need every piece of entertainment to somehow reinvent the wheel though. This was enjoyable, it's that simple. I also happen to really love wolves and the character Bigby. I wanted him to be victorious or unite with Batman. There were stakes for me, personally. If I have one complaint, it would be about the concept of a team of "Robins". I just don't like it. I don't know why either. I can't put my finger on it but it just seems like a watering down of our titular characters. A vigilante police force? I think one or two vigilantes is just fine but an entire force of them seems over the top. They also all look the same.

I am rating this issue as an extension for the rest of Jamie Delano's and Garth Ennis' run. I really do not understand the appeal in the way these men write. Mike Carey really nailed what I think great Hellblazer adventures should look like. As far as Ennis and Delano, the amount of text on a single page and even worse, an entire issue, is daunting. Ennis and Delano don't seem to understand that less can be more sometimes. The real kicker is that with so much text, you would expect something of value; to feel like you have gleaned major or minor plot points after committing time and energy in each page. However, pages of text can fly by with barely anything happening. Exposition, not for the sake of story, but exposition for the sake of exposition. I think they fashion themselves as poets. Much akin to a New York Times article that spans a dozen paragraphs when two paragraphs would have sufficed. It is self indulgent writing. Some would call them writers who like the smell of their own farts. Different strokes for different folks. I am just glad that more fun writers got a chance.

The first 5 issues of Sandman are some of the best comic book reading a person can do. The quality ebbs and flows after #5 though. The horror in the restaurant is something I will legitimately never forget. A film should be made of just that one issue. Unbelievable stuff. As I continued reading in the latter issues of "Sandman", I found that his unlimited powers had so much potential but Neil seemed reluctant to use them that often. I suppose it made those moments that he did actually use them all the more special though.