Tag: Dark Ages

Everything We Read This Week: Week of November 17, 2021

Everything We Read This Week: Week of November 17, 2021

On our weekly trip through this week’s pull-list, we found a bunch of great books that we have been wanting to talk about for some time.  This column features mostly spoiler-free brief analysis and commentary of each book.

There were not a whole lot of new series that came out this week but the issues #2’s and #3’s for some newer series were excellent.  We encourage you to go out and find the comics you like, and remember, Read More Comics!!

We reviewed books from DC Comics, AfterShock Comics, Boom! Studios, Mad Cave Studios, Titan Comics, Vault Comics, Marvel Comics, and Image Comics this week. There were plenty more good books out there this week but this list is all we have gotten through so far.

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.

Some of the books on this list are also on our New Number Ones for the month of November. You can see them noted with the New Number One tag and can check out the solicitation for the series on our previous article.

And here are the books we read in alphabetical order:


Aquaman: The Becoming #3
DC Comics
Written by Brandon Thomas
Pencils by Scott Koblish
Inks by Wade Von Grawbadger
Colors by Adriano Lucas & Alex Guimarães
Letters by AndWorld Design
Cover Art by David Talaski

This book is now officially promoted as the Prequel to Aquamen, and while that is interesting, it is a disservice to think of this book only as service to something else. Brandon Thomas is building characters and telling an intriguing story. The execution of the fast-paced chase elements to this book are a credit to the storytelling skills of Scott Koblish. The rest of the art team and letter compliment the theme and tone of the issue. As a midpoint book in this limited series this issue definitely raises the stakes.


Bountiful Garden #3
Mad Cave Studio
Written by Ivy Noelle Weir
Art by Kelly Williams
Colors by Giorgio Spalleta
Letters by Justin Birch
Cover Art by Williams

You should be reading this book. It has been excellent through this third issue. The story exploration and development are well paced. The art by Kelly Williams is as terrifyingly foreboding as it is gorgeous, and it is really gorgeous. The color work by Giorgio Spalleta accentuates the shadowy nature of the story. Justin Birch does excellent work lettering this book and meshes the tone well. The complete book has a feel that there is a monster in the shadows, and there are shadows everywhere.


Chicken Devil #2
AfterShock Comics
Written by Brian Buccellato
Art by Hayden Sherman
Colors by Sherman
Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover Art by Sherman

What a treat this book is!! I am tempted to go full chicken metaphor in this review, but I will corral that urge.  This book is visually exciting. The bright color work combined with interesting panel layout and camera angles command the full attention of the reader. Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou proves again why he is one of the best letterers in the business. The story that Brian Buccellato is telling is captivating, and I cannot wait for the next installment of this book about a Chicken entrepreneur who’s life has become more chaotic than he ever dreamed possible.


Eat the Rich #4
Boom! Studios
Written by Sarah Gailey
Art by Pius Bak
Colors by Roman Titov
Letters by Cardinal Rae
Cover Art by Kevin Tong

For the very little amount of in-panel violence depicted in this series so far, it is consistently terrifying. This issue’s plot and accelerating action make for a captivating read. The mental gymnastics that writer Sarah Gailey has Joey, the protagonist, employ to maintain some semblance of sanity begin to take their toll in this issue. The delicate balance of willful ignorance and outrage that she has been maintaining falls to pieces and Pius Bak’s panels bring it all down in a pulse pounding last few pages of this book. A special shout out to the use of word art in this book. It is excellent in its design and placement. Do yourself a favor and read this series. Continue reading “Everything We Read This Week: Week of November 17, 2021”

New Number Ones: Comics Coming in September 2021

New Number Ones: Comics Coming in September 2021

This month we give our readers a list of the exciting new comic book series debuting in September. We have compiled an alphabetical list with cover art and the official solicitation text from the publishers. Check below for our PCS NOTES to find out what we just have to tell you about the new comics in question.

This month we spotlight books from the usual suspects: AfterShock Comics, Boom! Studios, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Vault Comics, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, AWA/Upshot Studios, Titan Books, and Bad Idea Comics, but we threw in a couple from smaller publishers that we don’t normally have on the list like Ablaze Comics and Comics Experience Publishing.

There are several crossover type things in the works from DC and Marvel and we spotlighted two “Alpha” books that will lead you all over their comic line to follow the story from beginning to end. This is not something that we are super fond of, but if you are reading books that are in the crossover’s path, getting the Alpha issue might help when you get to the event issue in your favorite series.

Also, Pay Attention!! Five Wednesdays of comics this month!!!!

We will bring you reviews of these debut issues as they come out, and don’t forget to use the comments section to let us know what you think of this list.

You will find the books listed below in the order of when they are released.

Week of 9/1/21
Week of 9/8/21
Week of 9/15/21
Week of 9/22/21
Week of 9/29/21


Week of September 1


Almost American #1
AfterShock Comics
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Marco Castiello

Spies…like us? In 2008, husband-and-wife Russian intelligence operatives walked into the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic in order to defect, making a deal to trade secrets for new lives. But instead of the American Dream, Janosh and Victorya Neumann found themselves caught up in red tape, bureaucracy and turf wars between the FBI and CIA – all while their past tries to kill them.

Based on the real-life story of real-life spies, ALMOST AMERICAN is written by comics master Ron Marz in close consultation with the Neumanns, with art by rising star Marco Castiello.

Release Date: September 1, 2021

PCS NOTES: I feel like Ron Marz is the perfect person to be telling this story.


Batman: Fear State Alpha #1
DC Comics
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Riccardo Federici
Cover Art by Ben Oliver

The event over a year in the making begins. . . Fear State settles upon Gotham City, and no one is safe! Overwhelmed by the dual threat of the Scarecrow and Peacekeeper-01, Batman and his allies have been one step behind since the events of Infinite Frontier #0. . . and with the arrival of a mysterious anti-Oracle and the return of Poison Ivy. . . Batman might have more than he can handle!?

Release Date: August 31, 2021

PCS NOTES: This is the first of those line-wide (or at least Gotham-wide) crossovers. You can follow the checklist here.


Dark Ages #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Iban Coello & Brian Reber
Cover Art by Coello

This is what the Watcher has been watching for! A danger older than the Earth threatens everything. For once, the heroes who have saved the planet so many times are almost powerless in the face of it. X-Men and Avengers assemble. Spider-People and Fantastic Four come together. Heroes for Hire fight alongside Champions. None of it will be enough. The lights are about to go out. The world outside our window…is about to end. An all-new saga of the Marvel Universe as you’ve never seen it before from Tom Taylor and Iban Coello!

Release Date: September 1, 2021

PCS NOTES: I am really excited about this story.


Monster Kill Squad #1
Bad Idea Comics
Written by Christos Gage
Art by Tomas Giorello & Diego Rodriguez
Cover Art by Giorello

Once upon a time, monster attacks were rare. A forest witch might murder a few hikers, a killer clown might eat a few children, or a malevolent ghost might drive a young couple insane just for the hell of it. But these events were scarce, easily covered up, and soon faded into campfire stories good for a laugh. But no one’s laughing now. Over the past 90 days, cryptozoological attacks have increased a hundredfold, and the arcane has become everyday. Monsters of every shape and size strike at will, and the good, taxpaying folks of the US of A have had enough of this nonsense. Enter: THE MONSTER KILL SQUAD. A Government Unit of the most dangerous motherfuckers on the planet, the deadliest folks alive are here to put a bullet in the brain of everything that walks, crawls, flies, or hides in shadows. And if it doesn’t have a brain, all the better — we’ve got a gun for that, too. Witches and wraiths. Demons and deadites. Goblins and ghosts. There have always been monsters. Now there are monster killers, and the MKS will kill it, and kill it good.

Release Date: September 1, 2021

PCS NOTES: Bad Idea Comics has no shortage of interesting comic story ideas. If you want this book, you have to get it from a limited list of retailers. Find one here.


Pyrate Queen #1
Bad Idea Comics
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Adam Pollina & Tamra Bonvillain
Cover Art by Pollina & Bonvillain

This September, embark on a tale of love, loss, life, death and bloody revenge! Meet Monday Ryan, a pyrate with a bad reputation and a price on her head. To be a pyrate is to live a short and merry life and to live it free. It ends for most with a length of rope and a four foot drop. After a series of successful attacks, Monday Ryan, her husband, and her crew of bandits are targeted and pursued relentlessly by the British Royal Navy. When a violent trap leads to their capture, Monday and crew are fitted for the gallows — until the Royal Navy learns that Monday’s pregnant. Civility prevents the hanging of a pregnant woman, and Monday is spared the noose, but her crew and husband are not. Set adrift on a small raft and left to her fate on the open sea, Monday vows that the life growing inside her will be born into a world where its father’s death has been avenged. She will find and kill every last soul responsible for her husband’s death, and her baby will enter into this world free of vengeance, free of bloodshed, and free of a future drenched in violence.

Release Date: September 1, 2021

PCS NOTES: See above!!


Red Sonja #1
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by Mirka Andolfo
Art by Giuseppe Cafaro
Cover Art by Andolfo

MOTHER, PART ONE.

Industry icon MIRKA ANDOLFO presents an all-new vision for the She-Devil With A Sword, in a thrilling new ongoing series! Our story begins in a village on fire, set by members of the dreaded Three-Eyed Shezem. When Red Sonja arrives, the only survivor of the flame is a lively child with curious white tattoos. The child will become Sonja’s travel companion, on a journey from hardened ice to imposing forests, where dangerous secrets wait to be revealed…

Begin a trailblazing adventure with MIRKA ANDOLFO and incredible artist GIUSEPPE CAFARO!

Release Date: September 1, 2021

PCS NOTES: Pretty excited to see what Mirka Andolfo has in store for Sonja. Continue reading “New Number Ones: Comics Coming in September 2021”