Aliens: Dust to Dust #1 (of 4) Gabriel Hardman (W/A/Cover) and Carlos D’Anda (Variant cover) On sale Apr 25 FC, 32 pages • $3.99 • Miniseries The Trono colony on LV-871 is under attack. Emergency evacuations are ordered. Evac shuttles are taking off. All twelve-year-old Maxon and his mom have to do is make it to the spaceport. Except between them and it are . . . Aliens! A terrifying coming-of-age story by master storyteller Gabriel Hardman. Gabriel Hardman storyboarded the films Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, Logan, Dawn of Planet of the Apes, and many others! A reexamination of why we fear the Aliens! On sale in time for Alien Day (4/26)!
I know I'm not the only Evan Dorkin fan here. He’s writing a new horror/comedy miniseries for Dark Horse starting in May with Veronica and Andy Fish on art duties. Looks promising.
I know I'm not the only Evan Dorkin fan here. He’s writing a new horror/comedy miniseries for Dark Horse starting in May with Veronica and Andy Fish on art duties. Looks promising.
I'm all in on anything Evan Dorkin does. This really has me excited.
There is a new interview with Frank Miller at CBR, discussing his return to the world of 300 with Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander which starts in April. This is the first work that Miller is both writing and drawing since Holy Terror.
I've read a few #1’s this week, so I thought it was appropriate to revive this thread.
Samurai Grandpa #1 This one surprised me. I picked it up off the rack, skimmed through it, and decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. The artwork’s is very nice, and the story, while serious/tragic in nature, has an element of fantasy to it that provides a bit of lightness. I give it a B+.
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olson #1 I had very high expectations going into this, and while it didn’t quite meet the bar I’d set, it was still pretty entertaining. B+
Giant-Size X-Statix #1 They say you can never go back, and there are plenty of examples of failed attempts in comics to do just that. I wouldn’t call this a failure, but I wouldn’t call it an overwhelming success either. It’s just a one-shot, but — SPOILER ALERT — evidently this story will be continued next year in a new series, and it feels like it. It didn’t really feel like a complete story, so while the artwork was everything you’d expect from the Allreds, the end result felt kind of empty. Several new characters are introduced, and other than the one of these characters (who is the focal point of the story), we only get a two-dimensional outline of their personalities. The old characters, particularly Dead Girl, are basically there to provide a summary of everything that happened in the old series. It’s not to the point of being straight exposition, but it does feel a little stilted. At least all that is out of the way now, so the new series should be able to just move forward. B-
Sea of Stars #1 It’s been a while since Image had a really big hit, but Sea of Stars should be the next. I loved this first issue. The writing was top-notch, the characterizations were great, and the artwork is stunning. Run, don’t walk, to your LCS and pick one up now! You can thank me later. A+
I read three #1 issues this weekend, so here we are reviving this thread again. Let's go.
The Trials of Ultraman #1 — The Art Adams cover (which is the one I got) is as great as you'd expect. The funny thing about it is that Art had already started drawing this huge Ultraman piece for fun (and to auction off, I'm sure) before he was contacted by Marvel. It's being divided up for this project now, so all his alternate covers will connect to form one large image.
Unfortunately, that's the best thing I can come up with when talking about this issue. I mean, it's not terrible. I've read worse Godzilla comics even. But it's a little bit of a mess. I can't even tell if this is supposed to be set inside the official canon, or if it's meant to be its own thing. The storytelling is, as you might guess, a little confusing in places, both in terms of the writing and the artwork. The drawing itself is fine, but there are a couple of spots where I wasn't sure what was happening story-wise. I give it a C+ (the + being for the Art Adams cover alone).
Ultramega #1 — This book is Ultraman-esque in its setup. Three dudes become gigantic and gain superweapons in order to fight kaiju from another dimension. Plot twist: it doesn't go well for them. Think Ultraman, but with the tone and graphic violence of Attack on Titan.
I mainly picked it up because I’ve liked James Harren’s artwork for a while now (since his days drawing Rumble), and it's kaiju. Harren is also writing the series, his first time doing so professionally. And it shows a bit. As with Ultraman, there are some spots where the storytelling is a little confusing, though here it is more of a layout issue than a writing issue, per se. There are a few times where he jams unnecessary panels into a page, and while there are a few splash pages, the overall feel of the book is cramped and claustrophobic — not exactly what I want from a kaiju comic. Even so, the artwork is dynamic and an absolute pleasure to look at. And I like that Harren shows not just the citizens reacting to the destruction during the battles, but dealing with the aftermath. Overall, I give it a solid B, and I'll keep going with it for now.
And now for the one I was most anticipating:
Orphan and the Five Beasts #1 — Easily the best of the three books, as I expected from a James Stokoe production. In many ways, this story feels like a typical Shaw Brothers martial arts film (particularly Five Deadly Venoms), just with a bigger budget. And that's A-okay with me. What I find most interesting, though, is that Stokoe’s artwork seems to be a bit tighter and with a finer line weight than his past work. His figures and faces are, for the most part, more subdued, less exaggerated, and his backgrounds more naturalistic. Even his coloring is in softer tones than usual. But don't worry, it's still immediately recognizable as Stokoe’s work, and it’s still fantastic stuff. I don't think I really need to say any more. I give it an A. Maybe not my favorite thing Stokoe has done, but if you like any of his previous work, or if you just like Hong Kong kung-fu flicks, then you'll enjoy this book.
Comments
Oh, this looks good.
Samurai Grandpa #1
This one surprised me. I picked it up off the rack, skimmed through it, and decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. The artwork’s is very nice, and the story, while serious/tragic in nature, has an element of fantasy to it that provides a bit of lightness. I give it a B+.
Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olson #1
I had very high expectations going into this, and while it didn’t quite meet the bar I’d set, it was still pretty entertaining. B+
Giant-Size X-Statix #1
They say you can never go back, and there are plenty of examples of failed attempts in comics to do just that. I wouldn’t call this a failure, but I wouldn’t call it an overwhelming success either. It’s just a one-shot, but — SPOILER ALERT — evidently this story will be continued next year in a new series, and it feels like it. It didn’t really feel like a complete story, so while the artwork was everything you’d expect from the Allreds, the end result felt kind of empty. Several new characters are introduced, and other than the one of these characters (who is the focal point of the story), we only get a two-dimensional outline of their personalities. The old characters, particularly Dead Girl, are basically there to provide a summary of everything that happened in the old series. It’s not to the point of being straight exposition, but it does feel a little stilted. At least all that is out of the way now, so the new series should be able to just move forward. B-
Sea of Stars #1
It’s been a while since Image had a really big hit, but Sea of Stars should be the next. I loved this first issue. The writing was top-notch, the characterizations were great, and the artwork is stunning. Run, don’t walk, to your LCS and pick one up now! You can thank me later. A+
I need to read some new books.
It's just been old stuff and manga for what feels like a year
Comixology to the rescue
I read three #1 issues this weekend, so here we are reviving this thread again. Let's go.
The Trials of Ultraman #1 — The Art Adams cover (which is the one I got) is as great as you'd expect. The funny thing about it is that Art had already started drawing this huge Ultraman piece for fun (and to auction off, I'm sure) before he was contacted by Marvel. It's being divided up for this project now, so all his alternate covers will connect to form one large image.
Unfortunately, that's the best thing I can come up with when talking about this issue. I mean, it's not terrible. I've read worse Godzilla comics even. But it's a little bit of a mess. I can't even tell if this is supposed to be set inside the official canon, or if it's meant to be its own thing. The storytelling is, as you might guess, a little confusing in places, both in terms of the writing and the artwork. The drawing itself is fine, but there are a couple of spots where I wasn't sure what was happening story-wise. I give it a C+ (the + being for the Art Adams cover alone).
Ultramega #1 — This book is Ultraman-esque in its setup. Three dudes become gigantic and gain superweapons in order to fight kaiju from another dimension. Plot twist: it doesn't go well for them. Think Ultraman, but with the tone and graphic violence of Attack on Titan.
I mainly picked it up because I’ve liked James Harren’s artwork for a while now (since his days drawing Rumble), and it's kaiju. Harren is also writing the series, his first time doing so professionally. And it shows a bit. As with Ultraman, there are some spots where the storytelling is a little confusing, though here it is more of a layout issue than a writing issue, per se. There are a few times where he jams unnecessary panels into a page, and while there are a few splash pages, the overall feel of the book is cramped and claustrophobic — not exactly what I want from a kaiju comic. Even so, the artwork is dynamic and an absolute pleasure to look at. And I like that Harren shows not just the citizens reacting to the destruction during the battles, but dealing with the aftermath. Overall, I give it a solid B, and I'll keep going with it for now.
And now for the one I was most anticipating:
Orphan and the Five Beasts #1 — Easily the best of the three books, as I expected from a James Stokoe production. In many ways, this story feels like a typical Shaw Brothers martial arts film (particularly Five Deadly Venoms), just with a bigger budget. And that's A-okay with me. What I find most interesting, though, is that Stokoe’s artwork seems to be a bit tighter and with a finer line weight than his past work. His figures and faces are, for the most part, more subdued, less exaggerated, and his backgrounds more naturalistic. Even his coloring is in softer tones than usual. But don't worry, it's still immediately recognizable as Stokoe’s work, and it’s still fantastic stuff. I don't think I really need to say any more. I give it an A. Maybe not my favorite thing Stokoe has done, but if you like any of his previous work, or if you just like Hong Kong kung-fu flicks, then you'll enjoy this book.