Sam Rhodes (101)
Favorite Game: The newest version of Halo
Favorite Beverage: Ballast Point's Big Eye IPA
So . . . er, okay, full disclosure: I’ve never read the comic Chew before, yet I find myself reviewing Issue #29, the fourth of a five-issue arc called "Space Cakes." It is obviously not an ideal point to be jumping into a story, but I’ve heard so many amazing things about this comic that I decided I should just throw myself in. Sink or swim. And, after reading the penultimate issue of this arc . . . I’d say I’m dog paddling.
Rorschach barrels right on through the gutters of New York City in Issue #2, past the pimps and pushers and filth, with a singular, deadly focus. Beaten to a pulp by a local drug gang and left for dead in the previous installment, he has vengeance on his mind, and this issue is just the beginning. And, boy, it’s a savage, gut-punch of an issue, too.
I just finished the first volume of Holli Hoxxx, and it was a wild, sci-fi rocket ride filled with intrigue, power struggles, and beautiful women. Austin and Adam Tinuis created the story of a post apocalyptic New York where, for some reason, gravity has decided to call it quits and everyone resorts to anti-gravity shoes called “Tychos” to keep them grounded.
3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . lift off! Womanthology: Space #1 is almost here, and it’s out of this world! For those that don’t know, Womanthology started with a tweet from Renae De Liz and ended up as a 300-page hardcover comic anthology (Heroic) and now an ongoing IDW series, created entirely by women. Womanthology: Space is the first, five-issue arc of the series, and it includes work from talented women ranging from pros in the industry to an inspired ten-year-old artist, and contains stories that are exciting, hilarious, and moving.
So, that’s all folks. The last issue of the first arc of Smoke and Mirrors from Mike Costa (Writer), Ryan Browne (Artist), and Jon Armstrong (Illusionist) has been released . . . FOR NOW! And, yes, you read that right, this book has a professional magician working on it.
The comic book event of the summer is nigh! Before Watchmen, the much-anticipated prequel series to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, will consist of seven limited series and an epilogue one-shot. Stay tuned, as the Fanboy Comics crew will be reviewing each title as it is released. Hurm.
The Rorschach arc of DC’s Before Watchmen opens with all of the grit you’d expect, but it’s the backdrop of the glitzy, 1980s New York that really makes this book pop. Everything shines, from the latex gloves of the unidentified serial killer on Rorshach’s radar to the breathtaking helicopter view of the New York skyline. The colorist, Barbara Ciardo, elevates Lee Bermejo’s pencils with a quiet sheen that subtly suggests a flashback to times gone by - and something else. Something so rare, yet so potent, in a city spilling over with pimps and drugs and decay, a city so often cursed by our main character: hope.
From Titan Books comes a beautiful, oversized volume of the 1970s war-comic legend, Major Eazy. What’s that you say? You don’t know who Major Eazy is? Well, friend, you might like him, you might hate him, but either way, you can’t ignore Major Eazy.
At a little before noon on Sunday, the last day of SDCC 2012, Jane Espenson (BSG, Buffy), Brad “Cheeks” Bell (Pop-Up Video), Jenna Busch (Moviefone Minute), Sean Hemeon (True Blood), and Jeff Greenstein (Will and Grace) file onto the stage of Room 7AB and begin setting up for the panel "Espenson: An Anagram For Openness" (and I just realized that’s not metaphorical). The room is packed and the audience settling in eagerly awaits the discussion to follow which will focus on Jane and Brad’s new online series, Husbands, called the “future of TV” by Ira Glass.
And, WE Comics has done it again! Another new comic and writer Mairghread Scott and artist Candace Ellis have hit it out of the park. Triage is geared more towards adults than the other WE Comics fare; it’s snappy and slightly disturbing, and the first issue is a strong opener for what promises to be a really great comic.
SPOILERS BELOW
Right off the bat, I can tell you that if you like Battlestar Galactica, you’ll probably dig Valkyrie Squadron by artist/writer Jules Rivera.
In this sci-fi soap opera, a space-hopping human race is in the midst of an all-out war with a swarming army of aggressive robots called Autodrones. While it’s not immediately clear where these “Drones” came from, what they want, or whether it’s Earth or some other Earth-like planet that the humans are defending, none of that really matters as you become instantly engrossed in the characters.