Tag: Justin Birch

Preview Reviews for the Week of 11/18/20: Sea of Sorrows #1

Preview Reviews for the Week of 11/18/20: Sea of Sorrows #1

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.

Here at Pop Culture Squad, 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 this book.

This week we have a new series from Rich Douek and Alex Cormack called Sea of Sorrows from IDW Publishing.

You can find this book at your LCS on November 18, 2020.

Sea of Sorrows #1
IDW Publishing
Written by Rich Douek
Art by Alex Cormack
Colors by Cormack
Letters by Justin Birch
Cover Art by Cormack

Original Solicitation:

Deep sea adventure with a horrific twist! From the creative team behind last year’s hit horror series, ROAD OF BONES, comes an all-new tale of bone-chilling terror!

In the aftermath of the Great War, the North Atlantic is ripe for plunder by independent salvage crews. When a former naval officer hires the SS Vagabond, he leads the ship to a sunken U-boat, and a fortune in gold. Tensions mount as the crew prepares to double cross each other, but the darkness of the ocean floor holds deeper terrors than any of them have bargained for!

Plunge headfirst into the icy waters of dread with another historic tale of terror from writer Rich Douek, and artist Alex Cormack.

PCS Review:

Rich Douek and Alex Cormack are back with the spiritual successor to last year’s horror hit Road of Bones. This book is a gripping first salvo into an abyss of terror. The initial issue sets up several interesting conflicts and an intriguing overall concept. The character development is well done through dialogue without hitting you over the head with it. The tone of this book is best described as eerie.

Cormack follows up with the heavy white thematic visuals of Road of Bones with very heavy black theme for this book. The imagery is subdued and calming while also heightening the feeling of foreboding that permeates the book. The visual storytelling is expertly crafted, and Justin Birch does an excellent job lettering this book.

This book is a must read. There is a growing feeling of anticipation that builds as the pages turn, and when you get to the end, you will immediately be counting the days until you can get your hands on Issue Two.

 


If you are interested in hearing from the creator, we did a SquadCast Interview with Rich Douek earlier this year:

Click Here

Preview Review for the Week of 8/26/20: Broken Gargoyles #1

Preview Review for the Week of 8/26/20: Broken Gargoyles #1

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.

Here at Pop Culture Squad, 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 feature Broken Gargoyles #1 from Source Point Press.

You can find it at your LCS on August 26, 2020 or on September 2, 2020. Comic shipping for Independent publishers in today’s world is still a little hit or miss.


Broken Gargoyles #1
Source Point Press
Written by Bob Salley
Art by Stan Yak
Colors by Marco Pagnotta & Robert Nugent
Letters by Justin Birch
Cover Art by Raymond Gay, Jeremy Clark, & Juan Fernandez

Original Solicitation:

In this Dieselpunk post-WWI mini-series, two men come home from the war scarred and forgotten. One man is looking for redemption as the other looks for revenge. Both are on a collision course toward each other and nothing can stop them.

PCS Review:

The world building in this book is well crafted. There are subtleties that are woven into the narrative that give the reader the right frame of reference to navigate how this interesting new world fits in our existing historical backdrop. The characters are intriguing, and Bob Salley does an excellent job of differentiating the voices of each character that is introduced. The story in this issue is built through various scenes of action and dialogue, and Salley and Stan Yak manage to produce a very good understanding of what this series is going to be about.

The art in this book by Yak with Marco Pagnotta and Robert Nugent is beautiful. The character designs have a strong influence on the tone of the book. The retro-futuristic setting is gorgeously rendered and adds an exciting aspect to the book.  The lettering by Justin Birch  is strongly executed and over all the production value of this book is very good.

This is a fun and intriguing story that we are looking forward to exploring.