Review of Black Eyed Kids by Aftershock Comics

Review of Divinity 2 by Valiant Comics

The New DC Previews Magazine!!!

Those Comic Shop Guys review Secret Wars and Swords of Sorrow

Those Comic Shop Guys have fun reviewing Convergence #1 and Savior #1

Those Comic Shop Guys review Convergence and Uncanny Inhumans!

That Comic Shop Guy reviews Never Boy, Ninjak, Mouse Guard, and Howard the Duck

3 Non DC/Marvel Books to check out!

Three books came out this week that caught my attention and I think one, if not all three, should be given a chance if you haven't already, or were hesitant to.

The first book I read this week as soon as I could was Robert A. Heinlein: Citizen Of the Galaxy. As soon I saw this in Previews for IDW comics a couple months back I knew it was an autosub, reason being is Heinlein is one of my favorite authors - who has always done great science fiction stories - and this is one of those stories. 'Citizen of the Galaxy' is a story about a young boy named Thorby who recently was taken into slavery and transported to a new planet to be sold at an auction. This is where we, the reader, are brought in. Without giving away the story there will be interstellar travels, espionage, and of course action and adventure. I really appreciated this adaptation since they are trying to keep the same level of literary quality that Heinlein was known to bring to the Sci-Fi genre.The art for this book by Steve Erwin doesn’t amaze me but it doesn’t detract from the core of the book and gives all the characters some pretty good life. Overall, if you are going to check out any book, make it thin one. Especially if you are a sci-fi lover.

Speaking of great writers, the next writer, of whom I'm a big fan of almost all of his current works, is Warren Ellis. His book out this week from Dynamite is Blackcross. Ellis, along with artist Colton Worley, do a great job of creating an eerie atmosphere that carries on throughout the story. Not a lot of story is actually explored in this first issue, we are just introduced to our cast of characters: a fake Medium, a man in the Witness Protection program, feds investigating a ritual we see in the beginning of the book, and the mysterious individual, 'American Spirit'. With how it was all told and how the story progressed I am hooked on this first issue, and very excited to continue to see where the rest of this story will go. If there was one thing wrong with this book, it's that I felt the first issue was a little too short and wanted just a bit more, but I guess I can wait until next month.

This last book, 'Never Boy' from Dark Horse comics, had such a cool idea of a story I knew I was going to have to check it out. Going into this book all I knew was that the main character is Imaginary, and to stay in our physical world, and be a part of it he has to take drugs, unlike everyone else who takes drugs to escape. The art and colors by Tyler Jenkins and Kelly Fitzpatrick, respectively, is colorful and imaginative and the story for this first issue sets up the reader nicely to keep them hooked, and leaves them with questions; like can Neverboy escape the men trying to bring him out of reality? How long can he last without drugs? And can he find a way to stay permanently? Wherever the story goes it seems like it will be a fun ride and a cool new twist on trying to be a normal person with a normal life.

So with the three books I read this week we have a sci-fi adventure, a haunting american tale, and a fantastic character trying to be normal. If you can, check out all three of these great titles and add them to your pulls, because they should be great reads.

- Matt Dempsey

@MeetMy_Phantoms

That Comic Shop Guy reviews 3 more comics this week

This week we review Spider-Gwen from Marvel Comics, Secret Identities from Image Comics and Black Hood from Black Circle Comics.

Ivar, Timewalker Review

All Dr. Neela Sethi wants to do is to make a scientific breakthrough, but I guess when that breakthrough is the inadvertent invention of Time Travel you can probably expect the future to interfere in some way. Enter Ivar Anni-Padda, Timewalker, who comes in to stop Dr. Sethi as she is about to start the unintended creation of time travel. As anyone would be, she is skeptical until the security guards have their skin melt in front of her! That was the breaking point for Neela that sent her on a journey through time with Ivar.

With the introduction of the two main characters, Ivar and Neela, there is some mistrust between the two, and makes for a great edge between them. Neela is unsure whether or not to trust this man, who did just apparently help save her from some odd looking beings; but how little she knows of him has her worried. Ivar, on the other hand, is just trying to make his charm work on Neela, but her mistrust makes it hard for him to breakthrough. Neela is a take no prisoners kind of girl as she showed us early on if you get in the way of her and science she will knock you out! So how these two end up working together is going to be an interesting ride in itself let alone the time travel.

With this new entry into the Valiant universe, writer Fred Van Lente has a book that is able to appear throughout all the different books in the Valiant universe (Rai makes a small appearance in a panel), as well the freedom to write many stories- and because of the nature of time travel, many stories can be told! Now I don’t know too much about the Valiant universe (I am working on that) but Ivar doing crossovers with Rai, Bloodshot, or even Quantum and Woody would be great to see in future.

It is nice to have a time travel story with some cool intresting twists and turns you won’t see coming I can't wait to read the rest of the upcoming series has to offer, especially after the way this first issue ended!

Reviewed by: Matt Dempsey
Game On! Comics Manager

That Comic Shop Guy (Louis) reviews 3 more comics this week

That Comic Shop Guy reviews Darth Vader, Rat God, and Conan and Red Sonja!

"That Comic Shop guy" reviews Casanova #1 and The Dying and the Dead #1

Check out the review for 2 Image #1's coming out this week!

Comic Reviews for this week!

Meet Louis "that comic shop guy" and enjoy 2 new comic reviews.  Star Wars from Marvel Comics and Reyn from Image Comics.

Rocket Salvage #1 Review

Rocket Salvage is a six issue miniseries done by Archaia/Boom who have been putting out a lot of great quality comics like Lumberjanes, Adventure Time, and The Midas Flesh. At first glance with its bright and fun colors Rocket Salvage may seem like it is a book for all ages, it isn’t. Rocket Salvage is closer to Rocket Raccoon by Skottie Young, very bright and vivid colors and yet still gritty. Nothing too bad for young readers mind you just some adult themes (talks of a stripper and some violence isn’t too bad right?) but it is probably suited more toward the same crowd of say Bravest Warriors.

Primo Rocket, Fastest Man Alive, is our star and center of the first issue. It starts with him about to make racing history but as soon as you turn the page you are 15 years into the future and everything that was shiny and exciting is now run down vandalized. It is a great couple of page of art and story of the stark contrast of the two different time periods.

Without going into further details about all that is happening characters in the first couple pages show up throughout the book, Primo has had two kids(Beta Rocket and Rocco Rocket), got fatter, and fixes vehicles but doesn’t race them and doesn’t want his kids too either. There is a political strife essentially between robots and monsters (Republic of Galaxies and Galactic Republic respectively) and it seems Primo and his kids are going to be caught up in the middle of it all! Not sure which characters to trust as of yet looks like most are just after protecting themselves in the lawless town of Rio Rojo. As of now Rio Rojo is the only world we have seen a cool lawless world that is a little reminiscent of Tatooine from Episode 1. Cannot wait to get out and explore their universe some more.

Who will come out victorious in this story: Robots, Monsters, or the lowly humans who know how to race and repair? This is a book I will highly recommend to fans of Star Wars and Speed Racer. Rocket Salvage feels like a great combination of those two franchises and has their own story to tell.

Written and Reviewed by:  

Matt Dempsey

Game On Comics

http://www.gameoncomics.com

 

Wayward #5 Review

Wayward #5

IMAGE COMICS SUPERNATURAL SENSATION! The first story arc ends. Revelation and sacrifice.

Rori has barely adjusted to a new culture, a new school, and the discovery of the supernatural in Tokyo, when she and her newly found friends are faced with powerful revelations…and loss.  

Jim Zub demonstrates his mastery in storytelling, moving beyond his humor in Skullkickers and Legends of Baldur’s Gate, to expertly blend Western and Eastern story elements in the most ambitiously paced chapter of this story so far.   Tamra Bonvillian’s use of blue and contrasting red emphasizes nonstop action, mystical elements, and the emotional impact of the story.   The reader is still learning with Rori the nature and extent of her powers and the role of supernatural elements in her and her friend’s lives.

One of the prominent features of Wayward is that Toyko is more than just the setting; it is as integral and part of the story as Hogwarts was to Harry Potter.  Zack Davisson’s essays into Japanese folklore at the end of the issue continue to be fan-favorites, and will be missed in the first paperback collection due in February; hopefully this omission will be corrected in future editions.

The level of violence and content elevates this series to the more mature YA readers and above. I would feel comfortable sharing this with my almost-15 year old daughter, but would want parental approval before recommending this issue to anyone younger.   Case in point, Rori’s cuts on her arm appear again since their first controversial appearance.  Originally, this aspect about Rori was off-putting to many readers.  Zub contrasts the issue of self-mutilation with Rori reaching an epiphany in that she is not alone; the message I would imagine relevant to such a complex issue.  Although the timing of this self-realization may stretch the credibility of the reader, considering Rori’s loss suffered in this issue, the message is presented beautifully in a well-crafted sequence.

For music to listen to increase enjoyment of this issue, Japanese Popstars Radio on Pandora can emphasize the manga influences well, but it is challenging to find just the right fit for such a wonderful blend of different cultural elements within the story.  Feel free to add any musical suggestions in the comments!

All in all, this wonderful issue reinforces that Wayward is an epic in the making, and an excellent example of the variety of well-written, drawn, and colored series in the comic book market today. Having to wait until February to learn the fallout of these events is the most challenging part of this series.

Rating:

I give Wayward #5  4.5 out of 5 kappa and kitsunes.

Written and Reviewed by: 

 Joe Iconic

Game On! Comics

Game On Comics picks our Comics of the Week for 12-17-14

To see the New Releases for this week click Here: New Releases

2 New Small Press Titles to get into!

"And the meek shall inherit the Earth." The tagline for a 4 issue mini-series called "Squarriors". As the pun filled title would suggest this is a comic based off of the ideas of Squirrel Warriors. This comic is a bit gory but it is used well. It was a great first issue bringing us in during a major plight for this tribe of squirrels but also setting up mysteries for us to discover over this 4 issue run.

            The first mystery we are presented is brought to us by humans! Yes they seem to exist in this world but some kind of apocalyptic tragedy has struck, what it is we don't know yet but it is probably tied to the enhanced human like quality the animals have now. The other mystery I'm sure we will know more about by issue #2 is about all the strife between the squirrel tribes and the other human like animals.

            Overall it was an enjoyable first issue that could be easily overlooked just because of the pun title or the realistic and gory art but it seems to have a cool story to tell and tells it through other means besides the humans. Hopefully by the end of the 4 issue run we will get some good answers but maybe we can get more SQUARRIORS!

Gender bent sci-fi Odyssey in space is the best description for Matt Fraction’s newest book ODY-C. This comic immediately pulls you in the first page with a huge 8 page layout! The art is fantastic and well done never a quiet moment on the page.  

Image always does a great job of letting creators explore new ways to tell great stories and this seems like a great take on a classic story. This comic came out just a couple weeks ago and is sure to be a book with a great run and tons of different stories and new ways to tell them.

The mortal and world and the women invading and battling ships was a fun time and how the Gods are changed is fun and new I especially like the take on Athena and his pet owl. Odyessia is a very strong and powerful leader they all seem to have the same great distinctions just different genders. This is one of the few books that I would highly recommend checking out, a timeless story told in a great new way.

----Matt Dempsey

Game On! Comics

Our Website

New Comics out Dec 10th, 2014

Game On Comics in Vienna Va reviews comics each week.  This is our review for 12-10-14.

Comics included:

Squarriors by Devils Due
Bitch Planet by Image
Spider-Man and X-Men by Marvel
The Valiant by Valiant

New Comics for December 3rd, 2014

New Comic Video Newsletter

New Comics out for May 21st, 2014

7th Sword #2

A Voice In The Dark #7

All New Doop #2

All New X-Factor #8

Amazing Spider-Man #2

Amazing X-Men #7

American Vampire: Second Cycle #3

Artifacts #37

Avengers World #6

Axe Cop: American Choppers #1

Batman 66 #11

Batman And Frankenstein #31

Batman Beyond Universe #10

Batman Eternal #7

Batman Superman #11

Battlestar Galactica #11

Batwoman #31

Birds Of Prey #31

Brain Boy: Men From Gestalt #1

Buffy TVS Season 10 #3

Bunker #4

Danger Girl: Mayday #2

Daredevil #3

Dark Horse Presents #36

Deadpool Annual #2

East Of West #12

Elektra #2

Flash Gordon #2

Forever Evil #7 (L)

GFT Ascension #4

GFT Helsing #2

GFT Warlord Of Oz #1

Ghosted #10

Green Hornet by Mark Waid #12

Green Lantern: New Guardians #31

Harley Quinn #6

Hulk #3

Indestructible #6

Invincible #111

Itty Bitty Bunnies/Rainbow Pixie Candy Land #1

Justice League #30

Justice League Of America #14

Knights Of The Dinner Table #208

Last Broadcast #1

Legend Of Bold Riley #1

Lola XOXO #2

Magneto #4

Magnus: Robot Fighter #3

Megami Mar 2014

Mercenary Sea #4

Mind The Gap #17

Miracleman #6

Monster & Madman #3 (L)

MPH #1

New 52 Futures End #3

Nova #17

Original Sin #2

Pathfinder: City Secrets #1

Penny For Your Soul: Death #7 (L)

Powers Bureau #10

Red Hood And The Outlaws #31

Rocket Girl #5

Rogue Trooper #4

Saga #19

Savage Wolverine #19

Shadow Midnight Moscow #1

Shadow: Year One #9

Sinestro #2

Six Million Dollar Man: Season 6 #3

Solar: Man Of The Atom #2

Star Mage #2

Star Slammers (Remastered) #3

Star Wars: Darth Maul, Son Of Dathomir #1

Supergirl #31

Thor God Of Thunder #22

Thunder Agents #8

TMNT: 30th Anniversary Special

Transformers: Windblade #2

Translucid #2

Trinity Of Sin: Pandora #11

Ultimate FF #2

Uncanny X-Men #21

Undertow #4

Unity #7

Unwritten Vol 2 Apocalypse #5

Ursa Minor Ongoing #4

Velvet #5

V-Wars #2

Witcher #3

Wolverine And X-Men #4

Wonder Woman #31

X-Men #14

X-O Manowar #25

Zero #8

ALL AGES COMICS AND COLLECTIONS

Adventure Time #28

Archie Meets Kiss TP

Dexters Laboratory #2

Herobear And Kid TP Vol 1: Inheritance

Littlest Pet Shop #1

My Little Pony: Friends Forever #5

Popeye Classics Ongoing #22

Scribblenauts Unmasked: Crisis/Imagination #5

Simpsons Summer Shindig #8

Sonic The Hedgehog #260

COLLECTIONS/GRAPHIC NOVELS

A Plus X TP Vol 3: Equals Outstanding

All New X-Men TP Vol 3: Out Of Their Depth

Batgirl TP Vol 3: Death Of The Family

Black Canary & Zatanna: Bloodspell HC

Deadpool TP Vol 4: Deadpool Vs Shield

Nova TP Vol 3: Nova Corpse

Star Wars Legacy II TP Vol 2: Outcasts Broken Ring