Steven W. Alloway (292)
Peter Bean is a master of exploring how modern technology impacts our lives. His short film, ReCalculating, was a lighthearted exploration of a world wherein we rely on our smartphones for everything—but are too busy looking at those phones to notice the world around them. Now, Peter is working on Relationship Status, a feature-length film that explores our relationship with the Internet and social media—and our relationships ON the Internet and social media.
The previous issue of Future Proof was a bit more straightforward than the comic generally is, with a single task that our heroes show up for, accomplish, and leave. In Issue #9, though, the mind-bending, complicated time travel elements are back in full force.
A lot of Trista & Holt issues seem to open with funerals—generally for whoever was killed at the end of the previous issue. This time, it’s Governal, Trista’s longtime friend and mentor. Too bad, too, because he was one of my favorite characters.
Our epic saga of eternal war and reincarnation continues. This issue has our hero, Mali, finally resigning herself to the inevitability of the war she’s been forced to fight and her fate in it. She resolves to meet Tessa, her sworn enemy, for their final showdown—in this life, anyway.
There are two types of stories that I absolutely love: superhero stories and fairy tales. Tales of Superhuman Powers combines them both by putting folktales from all around the world in the context of today’s comic book heroes, from the Justice League to the Avengers.
The first issue of The Rook featured, according to its cover, “A Time-Traveling, Gunslinging Monster Fighter,” along with a beautifully complex time loop and a rogues gallery of nefarious creatures from all across time and space. That sort of opening is very, very difficult to live up to.
This is the final installment of the joint adventure of Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Sigmund Freud, and it’s not lacking for excitement. It includes a train chase, a swordfight, and a race against the clock to save an innocent woman’s life and prevent a global war. What it doesn’t have is much actual mystery. Everything was solved in the previous issue, so this one is all about the consequences of that solution.
I love the characters of Roy Scherer and Suzie Miller. I said so when I first read their adventures in Andrez Bergen’s anthology, The Condimental Op. I’m quoted as saying so on the cover of Tales to Admonish #2, which features comic adaptations of the two characters. I probably say it, or some variation thereof, every time there’s a new Roy and Suzie mystery to be read. Well, now my affinity has been rewarded. Small Change is a complete Roy and Suzie novel.
The first issue of Welcome to Showside makes little to no sense. It throws us headfirst into the story without any kind of explanation of . . . anything, really. This can be a good thing and a way to prevent a story from getting bogged down in exposition, but when a character suddenly has a talking book or points her hands at something and yells, “Magic!” (with corresponding magic then flowing from said hands), it’s kind of nice to have at least some idea of what’s going on.
After two days (or several issues) in the hospital, Trista has finally woken up to find Issy Holt standing vigilantly by her bedside. After 9 issues of buildup, now, finally, their epic love can bloom. Maybe.
