Welcome back to Everything We Read This Week. This is the place that we make our weekly trip through this week’s pull-list. It features mostly spoiler-free brief analysis and commentary of each book.
This week we read a bunch of great comics. We whittled down to ten books for reviews this week. This is by no means the complete list of good comics that were produced this week. Go out and find the comics you like, and remember, Read More Comics!!
We reviewed books from DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Vault Comics, Boom! Studios, and Image Comics this week. As always, we hope you might find what we say interesting enough to try some of these comics. Don’t forget we welcome comments on these and any other comics that you read. Feel free to leave a comment and get the conversation moving.
Also, Don’t forget to check our hotlist of new books debuting this month over here. You will see books that we were looking forward to with the designation Hot #1 by them. There are a few of them out this week, and they are really good.
DISCLAIMER:
There is a 4 star rating system. It is simple and not to be taken too seriously as everyone gets their own impressions of art. These ratings are just to give our readers an idea of what we thought of the book, and they will be on the generous side normally. So don’t expect to see a lot of 1 Stars. After all, it’s not often that you have a bad book on your pull-list.
The rating system is as follows:
Great
Good
OK
Not Good
And here are the books we read in alphabetical order:
Batman #83
DC Comics
Written by Tom King
Art by Mikel Janin
Colors by Jordie Bellaire
Letters by Clayton Cowles
Cover Art by Janin & Bellaire
While a decent part of this issue takes time to deal with an event that happened in an earlier issue, it is very well handled and presented in a way to evoke serious emotional response. The overarching story of the rise, fall, and rise again of Batman in King’s run is reaching completion, and it is excellent. Janin and Bellaire are a wonderful team. The action and facial expressions hit all the right notes. The colors are just light enough to give the reader a clear view of what is going on, but still give the impression that it is happening in the dark. As this run nears its finale, we are anticipating the conclusion but dreading the end.
Deadpool #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Kelly Thompson
Pencils by Chris Bachalo
Inks by Wayne Faucher, Tim Townsend, Al Vey, Jaime Mendoza, Livesay, & Victor Olazaba
Colors by David Curiel
Letters by Joe Sabino
Cover Art by Bachalo & Townsend
Hot #1
Writing Deadpool is not easy. To do it well requires a different approach than standard superhero comic storylines. Deadpool books should be humor books. If it is not funny, you are doing it wrong. Kelly Thompson is doing it right. This book is funny and raucous, and even a little raunchy. It is wonderful. The Gwenpool appearance was probably my favorite part. Bachalo and his team of inkers did a great job of storytelling. Curiel’s colors are perfect in the way they highlight the focus of each panel. I am not a huge Deadpool fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I loved this book.
He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse #1
DC Comics
Written by Tim Seeley
Pencils by Dan Fraga
Inks by Richard Friend
Colors by Matt Yackey
Letters by Saida Temofonte
Cover Art by Inhyuk Lee
Hot #1
This is a fun and interesting book. The most impressive thing about this book is the creative page and panel layouts. There is a sense that the action is leaping off the page and that dovetails nicely with the multidimensional travel aspect of the story. The story sets up a very interesting challenge with a most unlikely hero. Both Seeley’s dialogue and Fraga’s character work are also highlights in this issue. We are definitely interested in where this series goes.
Heart Attack #1
Image Comics
Written by Shawn Kittelsen
Art by Eric Zawadzki
Colors by Michael Garland
Letters by Pat Brosseau
Cover Art by Zawadzki & Garland
Hot #1
What a great start to this series. The creative team is able to install a fully formed society with clear boundaries in a short amount of time. An interesting part of this book is the twist in where the plot is leading about half way through this issue. The panel and story construction are well done, and the color palette is so perfect for the tone of the story. There are some splash pages in here that really blow your mind with the color work, and they flow together well with the rhythm of the tale. Fantastic first issue.
Marauders #2
Marvel Comics
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Matteo Lolli
Colors by Federico Blee
Letters by Cory Petit
Cover Art by Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson
I am invested in this story. I am loving the plot lines that are around Kate Pryde. The art in this book is interesting, and the fight choreography is excellent. The color work around Emma is particularly beautiful. While I am enjoying this book and the Dawn of X in general, the forced completionist reading is a bit offensive. There is a major plot event that happens in another series, and its repercussions are felt in this book without sufficient explanation for those who aren’t reading all six series of X-books. That is an editorial failure in my opinion. However, this book, on its own is really good.
Money Shot #2
Vault Comics
Written by Tim Seeley & Sarah Beattie
Art by Rebekah Isaacs
Colors by Kurt Michael Russell
Letters by Crank!
Cover Art by Isaacs
This series has started off strong. In the first issue, the hilarious premise was presented, and some interesting social commentary was made. This issue continues those trends, and this time we also have a brief history of pornography mixed in with rising tension. This book is funny and flippant which makes it enjoyable. The art by both Isaacs and Russell is just captivatingly beautiful. However, as I often have found with Tim Seeley’s work, just when you think you are having a carefree fun ride he grabs you right in the feels and squeezes. Don’t dismiss this book. There is some strong storytelling going on here by Seeley, Beattie, Isaacs, Russell, and Crank!
The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1
DC Comics / Black Label
Written by Jeff Lemire
Pencils by Denys Cowan
Inks by Bill Sienkiewicz
Colors by Chris Sotomayor
Letters by Willie Schubert
Cover Art by Cowan, Sienkiewicz, & Sotomayor
Hot #1
Seriously, I would give this book four stars just for the art. It is a phenomenal display of comic storytelling by three masters of the medium. The camera angles and facial details combined with the lighting effects and consistent pallete make for one hell of visual narrative. The plot and dialogue present an intriguing tale for the curious protagonist. Lemire’s work is a noble successor to Denny O’Neil’s Question of the late Eighties. What an excellent book!
SFSX (Safe Sex) #3
Image Comics
Written by Tina Horn
Art by Alejandra Gutierrez
Colors by Gutierrez
Letters by Steve Wands
Cover Art by Gutierrez
I really love this series. This issue tells the story of what happened between the middle and end of issue #2 from a different perspective. The story is interesting and works well to get the reader where they need to be. The artist changes in this issue. It is jarring. The style is radically different, and it took me out of the book. I struggled to get accustomed to it. This does not mean that the art was bad. On the contrary, it is a great example of campy old style “Adult Comix” art. Perhaps because the content was more explicit, they went with a less realistic stye? I don’t know, but the fact that I am asking these questions diminishes the experience somehow. I am still very committed to this series, and the previous art style is scheduled to return in the next issue. We will be there for it.
Something Is Killing The Children #3
BOOM! Studios
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Werther Dell’Edera
Colors by Miguel Muerto
Letters by AndWorld Design
Cover Art by Dell’Edera & Giovanna Niro
The simmering intensity in this series continues here. Reading this book imbues a sense of heightened anxiety combined with profound sadness. This is truly a feat of excellent storytelling by all involved. I don’t typically like to compare stories to each other, but if you are a fan of Stranger Things, you will definitely like this book. It is really good.
Strikeforce #3
Marvel Comics
Written by Tini Howard
Art by German Peralta & Marco Rudy
Colors by Guru-eFX & Rudy
Letters by Joe Sabino
Cover Art by Andrea Sorrentino & Matthew Wilson
This is another series that we can’t get enough of. Tini Howard and German Peralta are working some magic with this misfit group of Marvel characters. The banter is excellent. The action sequences are enthralling. The overarching story arc is intriguing. This is a super good book that I fear is not getting enough attention. Never sleep on Tini Howard’s storytelling. She is fantastic, and so it this book.
