Epoch #1 Review

Rating: 4/5
Publisher Name: Top Cow
Publisher Website: http://www.topcow.com/

Writer: Kevin McCarthy
Pencils: Paolo Pantalena
Colors: Jorge Fares
Number of Pages: 32
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
As the story of EPOCH begins, NYPD Detective Jonah Wright’s world is about to change forever. A mysterious murder case that he has been investigating threatens to rip apart his reality, plunging him into the shadowy world of the supernatural. It appears that Bishop is fated to unlock a conspiracy that could tear apart the very fabric of society!

Reviewer’s Comments:
I enjoyed this particular book quite a bit. I’m not familiar with the creative team, but they seemed to work well together, and the story flowed well in both art and writing. One thing I have to say, is that Top Cow never fails to deliver in the art department. As with most of their titles, this had some very beautiful artwork.

One of the things I love about many of Top Cow’s titles is the somewhat supernatural aspect to their heroes. Speaking of supernatural, some points in this story had me thinking of the television show Supernatural. SPOILERS:

The story starts off with what would seem a cop drama, which Top Cow is also good at portraying. But, as you get a couple of pages into it, it is apparent that there is much more to it than that. We have angels and demons apparently breaking a treaty by fighting each other, and angels named Michael and Gabriel, and a Council of Angels and Demons that have tried to keep the peace. The main character, Jonah is a cop who is pulled into the middle of everything, as he discovers similarities between something that happened to his partner and his own father.

If you enjoy cop dramas, and love stories with a supernatural twist to them, then you should definitely pick this book up. While not necessarily the most original idea, I can see this possibly becoming as big of a book for Top Cow as Witchblade and the Darkness.

Graveyard of Empires #1 Review

Rating: 4/5
Publisher Name: Image Comics
Publisher Website: www.imagecomics.com

Writer: Mark Sable
Pencils: Paul Azaceta
Number of Pages: 32
Price: .99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
Afghanistan. Marines face a never-ending onslaught of Taliban. But even hell can get worse. The dead are coming back to life in The Graveyard of Empires, and only together can both sides of the today’s conflict survive tomorrow’s undead assault. Writer MARK SABLE (Unthinkable, Two-Face Year One) reunites with his GROUNDED co-creator, PAUL AZACETA (Amazing Spider-Man) to tell this controversial tale of terror.

Reviewer’s Comments:
Once again, I chose a genre that I have not read much of. The extent of war comics I have read have been books from the 60’s and 70’s, generally things like Srgt. Rock, the original G.I. Joe Showcase, and Srgt. Fury and his Howling Commando’s. Of course I grew up with the Hasbro/Marvel G.I. Joe comics, which were not quite as serious and gritty as some of the others mentioned.

At first glance, just flipping through the pages, I was not very impressed with the artwork. It was a bit gritty and not as well defined as I generally prefer to have in the comics I read. However, as I actually started to read through the book, the art somewhat grew on me, and I began to see how well the style of art fit the story that was being told.

The story was very well written, and helps bring you in to some of the intensity and drama that soldiers today in Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing today. With the suicide bomber worries, and all the ins and outs of working with the local military and law enforcement factions, we can see a bit what these men and women are experiencing overseas in our “war on terror”. We see the trust issues between these groups, and between the soldiers themselves, as there are some differences of opinion as to what the best way to deal with the locals and the terrorists is.

The story leads up to a situation very similar to how the book starts with a slight twist that leads into the rest of the series. I don’t want to give away too much, but the one SPOILER I will give is that if you enjoy The Walking Dead, it is likely that you will enjoy this series.

Deadlands: The Devil’s Six-gun One-shot Review

Rating: 3/5
Publisher Name: Image
Publisher Website: www.imagecomics.com

Writer: David Gallaher
Pencils: Steve Ellis
Number of Pages: 32
Price: .99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
BASED ON THE GAME DEADLANDS FROM PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT!
Image Comics, Visionary Comics and Pinnacle Entertainment present the first of four one-shot by industry superstars, bringing the weird Western world of DEADLANDS to comics! In this issue: The Harvey Award-winning HIGH MOON team of DAVID GALLAHER & STEVE ELLIS tell the story of inventor Copernicus Blackburne, who risks even his immortal soul in his Faustian quest to build “The Devil’s Six-Gun!”

Reviewer’s Comments:
I have never really been into the Western era, whether it be comics, books, or even movies. That’s not to say that there are not some Western’s that I enjoy; I love the Young Guns movies, The Quick and The Dead, The Unforgiven, and several John Wayne movies. But I tend to sway more towards the medieval fantasy era or Superhero fare. So, I decided to read the Deadlands One-Shot because it was something new and different for me.

I’m assuming, as a One-Shot, that the idea of this book is to bring people’s attention to the genre, and possibly to an ongoing series. Putting out a stand-alone story or a prologue type story into a One-shot is a great idea to gauge if readers would be interested in more. And, after reading this particular book, I have mixed feelings about whether I want more or not.

First off, the art is okay; it’s not anything out of the ordinary exceptional, but it’s not the worst art I have seen either. The art is a bit dark, and yet in some places a bit cartoony as well. But again, it wasn’t anything ultra-fantastic or terribly horrible either.

The story itself was a pretty good concept. We have a genius inventor who is asked by another inventor to come work for him. Copernicus, the main character, is given a challenge by the older and richer inventor…and therein lays the gist of the entire story. We see Copernicus from a young man who becomes a gunsmith, and then he is hired by Samuel Tygian. Through the story we see Copernicus become obsessed with his challenge, and also experience some tragedies along the way. While the concept of the story was great, the beginning, I feel, tries to put too much explanation into what is going on. The author could have cut back on about half the explanations and still been able to let the reader know enough about what was going on to enjoy the story. As it is, in the first half of the book, it feels like the author is explaining everything that is going on in each panel….while the art will tell us much of what is going on without such heavy explanations.

It was hard to know exactly where the story was going for a good part of the book. In some ways, this story seems like it would be a better short prologue story, or a backup story to something else. As the main story, it is a bit drawn out, and could have been told in just a few pages. The end makes it seem like it is definitely a prologue to something more, which is not really hinted at throughout the rest of the story. The end does seem to promise something more could be coming in the upcoming one-shots. The back-up story was actually a pretty fun little story, and has a nice little twist ending. If this had been the main story, I would be much more excited about any future stories.

All in all, it was a fairly good story, if a little wordy. If you are a fan of the Western Genre, or a fan of the Roleplaying game that this is apparently somewhat based on, then I am sure you would enjoy this book. If not, then this book probably isn’t a good book to pick up to start reading the genre. While I would recommend it for the back-up story alone, it would not be worth the price just for that. So, if you are a fan of the genre or the RPG, this book is for you. Otherwise, I would suggest passing on this particular book.

Lorna: Relic Wrangler Review

Rating: 3/5
Publisher Name: Image Comics
Publisher Website: http://www.imagecomics.com

Writer: Micah S. Harris
Pencils: Loston Wallace, Michael Youngblood, Olli Hihnala
Colors: U/K
Number of Pages: 32
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
FUN FACT: WASHINGTON D.C.’S OCCULT ARCHITECTURE WAS CONFIGURED TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET FOR AN EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL DARK LORD!
But hidden in plain sight in the heart of our nation’s capitol is the one artifact that can turn back this nefarious entity. Now, it’s up to Lorna, Relic Wrangler, to pilfer a certain Memorial and curry the sacred object to its destiny — all the while unaware that she is delivering herself as a sacrificial party favor!
PLUS: Thrill to the Girl Fight on the Threshold of Doom when Lorna confronts her teenage adversary turned cat-suited villainess! It’s high school all over again when two worlds collide on the National Mall!

Reviewer’s Comments:
I was really looking forward to this particular book. Based on the cover and the title, I was expecting something along the lines of Tomb Raider.

Unfortunately, that is not what I found. The book consisted of two stories. The first story is a fun little introduction to Lorna’s backstory and that of her arch nemesis, Posh Meow, as well.

In this first story, it seems that Lorna is more of a secret agent than a relic hunter type. While the plot wasn’t too bad, I think those who would be most interested in this story would be adolescent males. There were quite a few innuendos and situations and looks from some of the characters that push the adolescent humor.

The second half is made up of two stories. The first is a fun little story about Lorna helping a young Stigmatic girl, ending in a not very funny joke of miscommunication. The last story is probably the best of the three, with a fun little supernatural twist ending.

While the book was somewhat fun, I would say it was definitely aimed more at the teen crowd. I enjoyed the art in the first story; it was fun and somewhat reminiscent of Archie comics. I will say that I enjoyed the last story enough to recommend the book for that story.

The Twilight Guardian #3 Review

Rating: 5/5
Publisher Name: Top Cow
Publisher Website: http://www.topcow.com

Writer: Troy Hickman
Pencils: Sid Kotian
Colors: Bill Farmer
Number of Pages: 32
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
The Pilot Season Winner Returns in “Heroes and Villains” Part 3!

It’s a case of multiple personalities as Twilight Guardian is pitched several possible interpretations of her tireless war on crime in her very own comic book! Which identity will Twilight Guardian choose? And has her arch villain Dusk Devil finally come to confront her on her home turf?

Eisner-nominated creator and writer Troy Hickman (Common Grounds) and talented up-and-coming artist Siddharth Kotian (Eat The Dead) continue the highly anticipated four-issue mini-series. Issue #3 features a portrait of Twilight Guardians by Jeffrey Spokes (Witchblade, Irredeemable).

Reviewer’s Comments:
This was an interesting concept, and I really enjoyed this book. I loved the idea of this world’s superheroes attending the comic book conventions. And the main character being a comic geek as well (30,000 comics!) was a fun touch as well. While I am not sure exactly what, if any, powers the Twilight Guardian has, but the story was great. We never see the Twilight Guardian actually fight any enemies, but it really doesn’t matter in this case. The book adds the action through the snippets of the comics a company is sending her about her adventures.

I thought the art in this book was fantastic. I am a huge fan of fairly standard comic art, and this book has a fantastic artist who can portray the standard comic form, with some clean, crisp art. The coloring is just perfect as well. I would highly recommend this book, and look forward to finding out more about The Twilight Guardian!

Frenemy of the State 4 Review

Rating: 4/5
Publisher Name: Oni Press
Publisher Website: http://www.onipress.com/

Writer: Christina Weir, Nunzio DeFilippis, Rashida Jones
Pencils: Jeff Wamester
Colors: Rob Ruffolo & Rico Renzi
Number of Pages: 32
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

Publisher’s Blurb:
Ariana Von Holmberg is an heiress with a secret. But what she’s hiding isn’t a sex tape or a drug addiction or an affair with a professional golfer; it’s a new career as a CIA operative! What better cover for an agent than a globe-trotting, care-free femme with a penchant for flights of fancy? But can Ari balance her high society obligations with her new role as a spy or will the weight of two worlds bring her dual lives to a violent end?

This issue: Ariana’s two worlds have now officially collided! Her life in shambles because of her cover story, Ari gets a surprise from her mother that may prevent her from taking part in her mission. Oh, and did we mention the nuclear bomb?

Reviewer’s Comments:
Ariana Von Holmberg is an heiress with a secret. But what she’s hiding isn’t a sex tape or a drug addiction or an affair with a professional golfer; it’s a new career as a CIA operative! What better cover for an agent than a globe-trotting, care-free femme with a penchant for flights of fancy? But can Ari balance her high society obligations with her new role as a spy or will the weight of two worlds bring her dual lives to a violent end?

This issue: Ariana’s two worlds have now officially collided! Her life in shambles because of her cover story, Ari gets a surprise from her mother that may prevent her from taking part in her mission. Oh, and did we mention the nuclear bomb?

[b]Reviewer Comments:[/b]
Imagine a more intelligent celebrity socialite Paris Hilton as a super spy, and you get Ariana Von Holmberg. This book is a little bit Dynasty meets James Bond or Nikita. Heiress Ariana Von Holmberg has had her social problems; problems in her love life, and family issues. Now she is working as an undercover CIA operative, using her position and social connections to help the CIA. Unfortunately, this issue opens with her mother, step-father, ex-boyfriend, and a television psychologist (think Dr. Phil) performing an intervention when she is supposed to be on her way to an important mission.

In some places the art was slightly reminiscent of the Aeon Flux cartoon, while in other places the art felt a bit amateurish. However, the artistic storytelling flows well. The writer does a good job of letting you know who most of the characters are as they show up throughout the story, and you can easily follow along with everything that is happening.

Why should you buy this book? Well, it’s a fun little series, with a fairly good mix of drama, comedy, and intrigue. Not a lot of action, at least in this issue, but I it’s not something that you will miss either. If you enjoy a good espionage story, and like some soap opera drama, then you should definitely pick this book up. There is also a slight little twist at the end that gives a great cliffhanger to pull you into the next issue.