Steven W. Alloway (292)
In September of last year, I reviewed a book called Kickstarter for the Independent Creator by Madeleine Holly-Rosing about her experiences crowdfunding her paranormal Steampunk comic, Boston Metaphysical Society. When the comic itself came up for review as well, I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.
When last we left our star-crossed lovers, Issy Holt had been forced to marry Trista’s aunt Marcella to broker peace between their two criminal empires. As we join them in this issue, we find that these inconvenient circumstances have not stopped Issy and Trista from carrying on their torrid affair, right under everyone’s noses. While they seem to be safe for now, it will no doubt be extremely dangerous for both of them if anyone else finds out. Meanwhile, Trista agrees to take a secret meeting with the Norwegian, the hired gun whom Trista believes killed her friend and mentor, Governal.
Andrez Bergen is a prolific author, comic creator, and generally creative person. I’ve reviewed a good many of his novels, comics, and other works over the years. They cover a variety of different settings, characters, and themes . . . but, somehow, they nearly always come back to Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat.
Since the previous issue of Danger Girl: Renegade came out, there’s been a bit of a hiatus, so the memory of what went before might be a little fuzzy. Fortunately, it’s really easy to catch up. Abbey Chase, former Danger Girl, has been captured by the CIA and forced to retrieve a briefcase from someone bad. Who are the bad people? What’s in the briefcase? It doesn’t really matter. It’s Danger Girl.
If you’ve read my reviews of the previous Dirk Gently story arc, you may be wondering why I chose to review this one as well. After all, a large part of my reviews consisted of complaining that this wasn’t true to Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently. Even when I finally admitted that it was a fun and worthwhile comic regardless, there was still a lot of general complaining done about them. So, why am I still reviewing these comics that I keep complaining about? Believe me, no one is more surprised than I. I guess curiosity got the better of me.
This simple, children’s picture book wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Taking place in San Dimas, CA, in the 1920s, we follow the adventures of Betty and the various animals in her life.
This issue begins a new arc in the ongoing saga of eternal war and reincarnation. When we last left our hero, Mali, she had first accepted her destiny as a soldier or “sequel” in this war, then wholly rejected her mission to kill her counterpart on the opposing team. Now, it seems that both of them have disappeared, and each side is in an uproar.
In the first issue, we were introduced to a world where magic is treated like currency. Those with the ability to practice it are the “haves” who run the United States. Those without that ability are the “have nots,” forever relegated to the lower class, the unimportant, the forgotten. We also met Cinder, one of the “have nots” who believes there’s a spell that can give him the magic he doesn’t come by naturally.
The synopsis for this first issue Jonesy said that anyone who likes the comic Lumberjanes would enjoy this comic, as well. I myself am a big fan of Lumberjanes, so, needless to say, I was eager to see what Jonesy had to offer. In reading it, however, the comparison doesn’t really seem accurate.
What is it that makes Velvet such an incredible spy and keeps her a step ahead of everyone else? Is it that she’s brilliant and talented? Partly, but the agency she’s going up against is full of brilliant and talented people, too. Is it that she’s well-equipped? Not even close. She does have a stealth suit that’s bulletproof and a built-in hang glider. That helps. Aside from that, though, she’s scrounging resources wherever she can get them, while facing off against an organization with tons of people and practically unlimited funding.
