Tag: Jason Starr

With Further Ado #234: The Next Time I Die – Review

With Further Ado #234: The Next Time I Die – Review

Before we “cut the cord” for TV, we really enjoyed spending a chunk of New Year’s Day watching The Twilight Zone Marathon on the SyFy channel. They show episode after episode. There’s something special about being immersed in Rod Serling’s alternate realities for more than just the usual ½ hour episode. There’s a creepiness, and a paranoia and sense of reflection that ensnarls your brain. You begin to look at the world a little differently.

If you are like me, you almost expect Rod Serling to be standing off to one side, in your living room or kitchen, smoking a cigarette, and intoning some clever little summary that usually ends with the phrase “The Twilight Zone”.

Reading Jason Starr’s thriller, The Next Time I Die, is like spending a few hours in the Twilight Zone. It’s compelling, thought-provoking, more-than-a-little creepy and wickedly delicious.

As this thriller is published by one of my favorite imprints, Hard Case Crime, it’s more mystery/noir than science fiction. And that works fine. Like the best Film Noir thrillers, there is a sense that you, as the reader, are plunged into a nearly out-of-control situation and you’re hurtling along at 100 mph. Continue reading “With Further Ado #234: The Next Time I Die – Review”

Preview Reviews of the New AWA Upshot Comics: Resistance, Archangel 8, Hotell, and Red Border

Preview Reviews of the New AWA Upshot Comics: Resistance, Archangel 8, Hotell, and Red Border

Artists Writers & Artisans (AWA) is a new comic publishing company that we told you about a few weeks ago. This week they are launching their Upshot line of comics.

We have read the first four books, and I have to say they are really good. Below you will find the the solicitations and reviews for Archangel 8 #1, Hotell #1, Red Border #1, and Resistance #1.

All of these books will be available at you LCS on Wednesday March 18, 2020,

 

Archangel 8 #1
AWA Upshot
Written by: Michael Moreci
Art by: C.P. Smith
Colors by: Snakebite Cortez
Letters by: Sal Cipriano
Cover Art by: Jeff Dekal

Original Solicitation:

In a world beyond the sight of mortals, Heaven and Hell wage war for the souls of man­kind. Principal among God’s legion are seven archangels written about in religious texts for millennia. But there is an eighth archangel, known only from passing allusions in Apocrypha, who operates under a different code. Fighting without God’s sanction, he faces the enemy on his own terms, and shows just how bad good can be.

PCS Review:

This book has a heavy tone with a lot of shadow work. It is full of violence and mystery. The initial issue presents an interesting premise and is certainly dramatic. Michael Moreci has created a ominous story that appears to be brining biblical conflict to a modern special ops military conflict. The plot is intriguing, and C.P. Smith‘s art is powerful. The color palette used by Snakebite Cortez is excellently designed. The limited colors enhance the foreboding feeling throughout the book. Great start Continue reading “Preview Reviews of the New AWA Upshot Comics: Resistance, Archangel 8, Hotell, and Red Border”