Welcome to the latest installment of Preview Reviews. This is where we give advanced glimpses at some of the comics that will be coming out this Wednesday.
A reminder for you. Here at PopCultureSquad, we are decidedly Anti-Spoiler. We feel that ruining someone’s experience with something for the sake of getting a scoop or clicks is the wrong thing to do. Therefore, we have decided to publish this column, as necessary, with mostly spoiler-free reviews of upcoming issues. Hopefully, the information that we share with you will increase your excitement for these books.
This week we have TWO preview comics. The first is the debut of Dead End Kids by Frank Gogol and Nenad Cvitcanin, published by Source Point Press. The second book is the premiere issue of Coffin Bound by Dan Watters and Dani from Image Comics. Both of these books have been eagerly anticipated and are featured in our New Number Ones column for August.
You can find Dead End Kids and Coffin Bound at your LCS on August 7, 2019.
Dead End Kids #1
Source Point Press
Written by Frank Gogol
Art by Nenad Cvitcanin
Letters by Sean Rinehart
Cover art by Chris Madd
Original Solicitation:
It’s 1999. Ben, Murphy, Tank, and Amanda are four screwed-up kids from broken homes… but they have had each other. When Ben is murdered, Murphy and his friends set out to find who killed him and find themselves in the cross-hairs! Dead End Kids is a dark coming-of-age murder mystery set in the ’90s, from the creative team behind 2018’s critically acclaimed Grief.
PCS Review:
This book is an intense read. There is an overarching sadness that permeates the book and perhaps the winter season that the book is set in has something to do with that. Frank Gogol has evolved from his previous work on Grief, and turned in a gripping story of loss, and all the emotions that go along with that. Besides the emotional component, it’s a pretty damn good mystery. This is only the first issue, and we are psyched to see what comes in the later issues.
Also returning from a lot of the work on Grief is Nenad Cvitcanin. His development is spectacular, and giving him the space to stretch out through the whole issue is a blessing. The facial reactions of the characters are a major highlight to the art as is the use of color and tone to convey the emotional setting of the scene. Sean Rinehart‘s lettering work can not be overlooked either. It is smartly designed and executed without being distracting. That is everything you want from a letterer.
This book has sold out from the distributor even before being released. So make sure you hit your LCS early if you are looking to get a copy off the shelf.
Coffin Bound #1
Image Comics
Written by Dan Watters
Art by Dani
Colors by Brad Simpson
Letters by Aditya Bidikar
Cover art by Dani
Original Solicitation:
SERIES PREMIERE! Cars! Guns! Entropy! Chased by an unstoppable killer, Izzy Tyburn has decided that if the world won’t have her in it, it can have nothing of her at all. She’s re-treading her life, leaving nothing but burned rubber, ash, and the sun-scorched bones of those who get in her way. Join writer DAN WATTERS, artist DANI, and colorist BRAD SIMPSON on a road trip through a blood-splattered life.
PCS Review:
Dan Watters has created something special here. It is a accomplishment to get through the reading of this book. That doesn’t mean that it is difficult. Once you start this book, it is like your are on treadmill. You can’t get off, and then when you have finished, you need to get your bearings and reset to your own reality. The book is engrossing and captivating. The character of Izzy is immediately likeable, even though I am pretty sure she would not reciprocate. The mind bending reality that the narrative creates is complemented by excellent and challenging dialogue. What a tremendous achievement this book is!
Dani‘s style is the only way that I can imagine this book being realized. She just brings such an edge to this comic. Her character designs are exceptional and terrifying. This book has been give a lot of praise prior to its release by everyone who has read it and it is well deserved. Hold on to your hat because reading this book will take you on a ride to parts unknown.
