Mini Reviews 19/05/2013

We may not have time to review every book on our pull-lists but we do aim to provide a snapshot of what's been released over the past week, encompassing the good, the bad, and those that lie somewhere in between.

Also this week, Matt C's New Mutants Project continues.

DREAM MERCHANT #1

Writer: Nathan Edmondson

Art: Konstantin Novosadov

Image $3.50

Stewart R: Nathan Edmondson is proving to be quite the versatile writer over at Image. His espionage/action series The Activity was nicely balanced against noirish thriller Dancer, and I only ever hear great things about his Jake Ellis comics. Now he’s trying his hand at psychological fantasy with Dream Merchant. It’s a flowing debut that provides some insight into the strange and troubled life that protagonist Winslow has led until now and doesn’t feel it’s in too much of a hurry while doing so. I mean that in a complementary way as this is a hefty read containing no less than 44 pages of full colour story from the promising hand of Novosadov and when the pace picks up halfway through the chase is kinetic and tense, only adding to the mystery as Winslow is pursued by unknown forces in his sleep and the real world. Perhaps there’s just a bit too much in the mystery department and not quite enough in the way of explanation over the whole course and something about Anne’s involvement doesn’t seem quite right to me, but these are early days indeed and Edmondson is definitely a writer who makes you want to find those answers and see where a story takes you. 7/10

Ten Forward: July 2013

Every month we spend an evening scouring the pages of the latest issue of Previews and pick the ten titles we are looking forward to the most. This month it's the May issue which includes comics scheduled to ship in July 2013.

SATELLITE SAM #1

Writer: Matt Fraction

Art: Howard Chaykin

Image $3.50

James R: This is one of those titles where every element combines to promise something spectacular: Matt Fraction, (currently writing the best superhero book on the stands with Hawkeye), legendary artist Howard Chaykin, and a detective story set in the ‘50s? Ker-ching! The story sees the son of the titular TV star trying to solve his father's mysterious murder in New York. What's not to like here?! Once again, it looks like Image is the place to go for innovative new titles.

On The Pull 15/05/2015

New comics are due to hit the shelves on Wednesday so here’s a look ahead at some of the books we’ll be picking up this week. To see what’s available at Paradox this week, click here.

Stewart R: Well, after the weekend away and a pretty successful jaunt amongst the longboxes, I'm glad to see that my pull-list for this upcoming week is possibly the smallest it has been in 2013 so far! Just seven comics to pick up this Wednesday, though it would've been more if I hadn't made the decision to drop Iron Man and Wolverine & The X-Men. The only Marvel title making the cut this week is the high-octane antics of Dennis Hopeless' Cable And X-Force #8. There's a real sense that this series is building to something big and Hopeless is proving with both of his comics with the publisher (the terrific Avengers Arena being the other) that he has a keen grasp of characterisation and dialogue. Once again, it's Image's job to form the bulk of my illustrated picks with one new title, one ongoing and a series that I thought had dropped off the face of the planet! I previewed Dream Merchant #1 a couple of months back so I'm eager to grab hold of that while Think Tank #7 is a must-have as Matt Hawkins and Rahsan Ekedal are crafting a comic book read unlike anything else currently on the shelves. Vescell #8 is the surprise addition to my list in some respects as I was under the impression that we'd seen the last of Agent Barrino's adventures, but here we are, a year on from #7, and we're on the verge of receiving the season finale! Rounding out my skinny Wednesday collection are the latest IDW releases that fulfil my nostalgia trip each month in the shape of GI Joe: A Real American Hero (which I desperately need to catch up on back issues with) and Transformers: Regeneration One, which I'm all too aware will be wrapped up and finished within a year, while X-O Manowar continues to tick along with its interesting 'Planet Death' storyline. Happy reading!

Bristol Comic Expo 2013: The Voyage Home

As the PCG focussed their collective weekend trip allowance for 2013 on the London Super Comic Convention earlier this year it was left to Stewart R to fly the Group flag in a rather last minute trip to the Bristol Comic Expo. Now he’s had a chance to settle back into reality, here are some thoughts on the past weekend's events:

'Artist Alley' Sunday

Stewart R: I made the decision to make my way up to Bristol very late in the day; while it was the weekend of the Expo there were some contributing social factors that made the choice to head to the West Country a definite thing and so I only arranged my travels last Wednesday. That I needed other reasons to cement the deal perhaps speaks a little of how one of the UK’s formally premier comic events has fallen a little from grace in recent times. I myself have only been attending the event for five years (including this year’s trip) while several of the group have been going for a good few years more than that. During my forays up I’ve seen the floor space grow year on year while the number of big name guests, publishers and retailers attending has dropped in equal measure.

Mini Reviews 12/05/2013

We may not have time to review every book on our pull-lists but we do aim to provide a snapshot of what's been released over the past week, encompassing the good, the bad, and those that lie somewhere in between.

Also this week, Matt C's New Mutants Project continues.

CHIN MUSIC #1

Writer: Steve Niles

Art: Tony Harris

Image $2.99

James R: The underworld and the occult seems to be a growing niche in comics. Following on from Brubaker's Fatale and Straczynski's Ten Grand (last week, no less!) we now have Chin Music, which places its underworld focus on the Golden Age of the Mafia: the era of prohibition and Al Capone. I flagged this one up for Ten Forward as I loves me some Boardwalk Empire, and find the ‘20s a fascinating period. Steve Niles and Tony Harris are no strangers to quality comics, so I opened this one up with a great deal of interest. It's certainly an unusual book, starting dialogue-free and relying on Harris' art for the first few pages to give us an atmospheric opening as we're introduced to the book's mysterious protagonist, Shaw. After that the narrative jumps to Egypt, and then mysteriously back to Chicago. I appreciate there's a degree of the supernatural at work but the lurch back to Chicago did make me flick back and forth to see if I'd missed something! It climaxes with a scene that forks us away from history, but sets up a great incentive to read the next issue. I enjoyed this more than I did Ten Grand, but it hasn't entirely knocked me out either. I'll be back for more next month, but it will have to deliver a little extra to earn a place on my pull list. 7/10

Caught In The Web: Roundup 10/05/2013

In Caught In The Web, we set aside the printed funny books temporarily to delve into the world of digital and web comics. Here we 'roundup' a selection of releases that have been launched into cyberspace over the past few weeks.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: INFINITE COMIC #4

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Art: Michael Del Mundo

Marvel $0.00

Matt C: I’m starting to lose patience with the regular Guardians comic and to be honest I haven’t been especially impressed by the free Infinite offshoots so far. They’ve seemed more notable for giving slightly more leftfield artists the opportunity to work on mainstream characters, but they’ve by and large been throwaway, lacking any real insights into the various individuals who make up the team. The same could be said for this issue, which is the easily the best of the bunch so far, but then it’s incredibly difficult to provide an insight into a character whose vocabulary is limited to the words “I am Groot!”. It’s a simple but effective tale of defending the downtrodden, wonderfully illustrated and with panel transitions that actually enhance the way the story is told rather than simply being decorative. It doesn’t convince me that Bendis is the right man for the job of scribing the Guardians' adventures, but for a freebie this was a more than fine read. 8/10

On The Pull 08/05/2013

New comics are due to hit the shelves on Wednesday so here’s a look ahead at some of the books we’ll be picking up this week. To see what’s available at Paradox this week, click here.

Stewart R: Oooh, this proved to be the crunch week then. That's it. Batman has left my pull-list for now. Well I say that, but it only actually refers to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's book at this time as I'm still heavily invested with Peter Tomasi's work on Batman And (insert sidekicks' names here) which sees its twentieth chapter out tomorrow. The emotional journey that Bruce Wayne is taking following the loss of Damian has been electrifying stuff and there's no sign of that book dropping off my radar any time soon. The same may not be said for Tomasi's other title of note, Green Lantern Corps, as this week's effort marks his and Fernando Pasarin's last contribution to what has been a terrific read to date. I'll take a look at the Green Lantern books after the shakeup, but there are no guarantees that I'll invest too heavily at this time. Once again Marvel's side of the comic book table is all about the various Avenging/Avengers/Uncanny titles this Wednesday with five books linked by those titular additions. I will state that of those Uncanny X-Force has the most work ahead of it as the story seems to be pedalling along, yet could maybe do with a kick in the backside, especially with Brian Wood's female-centric X-Men title lingering on the horizon. Avengers Arena #9 is probably my most anticipated book of the week as the tension over which character could meet their end next is simply delectable and doesn't look like it'll be going away any time soon!

Mini Reviews 05/05/2013

We may not have time to review every book on our pull-lists but we do aim to provide a snapshot of what's been released over the past week, encompassing the good, the bad, and those that lie somewhere in between.

Also this week, Matt C's New Mutants Project continues.

SUICIDE RISK #1

Writer: Mike Carey

Art: Elena Casagrande & Andrew Elder

BOOM! Studios $3.99

Stewart R: It’s quite evident that BOOM! seem to be attracting some top comic book talent their way currently with superb results - see Mark Waid’s Irredeemable, Abnett and Lanning’s Hypernaturals and Paul Jenkin’s Deathmatch. Mike Carey now turns up at the publisher with a ‘superhero’ book that looks at what happens when the large majority of powered individuals turn out to be destructive, villainous types and it’s the police who are the ones left trying to contain forces beyond their reach. Carey instantly shows us what a desperate situation the men and women of law enforcement find themselves in as they’re picked off in all manner of gruesome and brutal ways during attempts to prevent a bank robbery. This sets the stakes high from the outset, while also introducing the mystery behind how these nefarious individuals are gaining their powers in the first place and why some initially benevolent types have since turned to crime. Casagrade drops some explosive action in the initial exchanges and then allows her deft touch with quieter, calmer character moments to shine through later in the book. In Leo we get our inquisitive and intuitive cop who has a lot on his mind, quite possibly in a literal sense, and it’s his digging that leads to the one questionable plot point that this series will hang upon. The premise is so far solid, the art very strong and this could turn out to be yet another healthy Boom! offering. 8/10

Mini Reviews: Free Comic Book Day 2013

This Saturday, May 4th, sees the 12th annual Free Comic Book Day. Those unfamiliar with the event should head to the official site – here we take a look at an advance selection of freebies that should be available at your local comic shop on the day. Of course, those of you in the same catchment area as us should head over to Paradox where Andy H will have available not only the comics reviewed below, but many more besides!

INFINITY: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013 #1

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Art: Jim Cheung, Mark Morales & Justin Ponsor

Marvel $0.00

Matt C: Marvel are doing the right thing using FCBD to lead into their next event book, Infinity, particularly as it focuses on a character who's due to get an increased airing in Phase Two of the Marvel Movie Universe after a brief but important cameo in Avengers. Coming from the pen of Jonathan Hickman, things bode well for the event miniseries (he was after all responsible for the definite highlights of Avengers Vs. X-Men and his Avengers and New Avengers are currently on fire) but he can be a little abstruse, keeping things vague with the implied understanding that if you stick around all will be revealed. I've no problem with that, but the layman wandering in off the street to get a free Marvel comic may question what the heck is going on. Cheung's polished imagery helps compensate for the nebulous plot, and if you're already a convert you'll probably be prepared to sign up for the mini. And it's a damn sight better than DC's decision to hand us a several-years-old reprint. As a bonus, we get a Bronze Age story originally seen as a back-up in the '70s Logan's Run title involving Drax the Destroyer attempting to stop Thanos from treading on a flower. They don't make 'em like that anymore, do they? 7/10

On The Pull 01/05/2013

New comics are due to hit the shelves on Wednesday so here’s a look ahead at some of the books we’ll be picking up this week. To see what’s available at Paradox this week, click here.

Matt C: J Michael Straczynski’s output can be hit and miss but I do believe when he's on form he can tap into the human condition in a way that really strikes a chord with the reader, and that's a skill that can't be overstated. He gets a lot of flak for his 'lesser' works, sometimes deservedly so, but that shouldn't overshadow the fact that when he gets it right, he really gets it right. Before he got drawn into the slipstream of the Big Two it was his creator-owned stuff that really made an impact, primarily Rising Stars and Midnight Nation. I've not revisited them since they were released, so I've no idea how well they hold up, but I do recall being really impressed at the time, enough so that I'm excited to see him tackle original stories again via his Joe’s Comics imprint, the first on the slate being Ten Grand. It features the proverbial one last job where things go awry when demons entering the fray, which is the perfect stomping ground for artist Ben Templesmith. Fingers crossed for this one. The other new book that I've got high hopes for this Wednesday is Suicide Risk from Mike Carey and BOOM! Studios. Carey's one of the smartest writers in the business and this new ongoing, featuring a world where emerging superpowered beings are generally turning to evil sounds great, and it's one of those ideas where you wonder how come no one's ever done it before. Oh, and while we might not mention it often, this week's 2000 AD features the debut of a three-part tale from friends of the PGC Tom Eglington and Boo Cook entitled 'Gunheadz'. It goes without saying that this should included on your pull-list this week!