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An old, shady NSA agent creeps in on a young, adventurous and curious woman one night, asking her if she wants to help keep the biggest conspiracies in the world a secret. Elsewhere, a man who hasn’t slept in a decade recruits an ex-cop to solve a psychedelic murder mystery.

Justin Jordan. Taken from his Twitter.
Justin Jordan. Taken from his Twitter.

These universes can be found in Deep State and John Flood, two BOOM! Studios-published comics from Pennsylvania-based writer Justin Jordan, with respective art from Ariela Kristantina and Jorge Coelho.

Die Hard: Year One is an eight issue miniseries published by BOOM! Studios in 2009-2010. Made up of two volumes of four issues each, the series begins with John McClane as a rookie beat cop learning the ropes and following orders from his superiors.

HaloGen #1 Written by Josh Tierney Art by Afu Chan Colors by Shelly Chen Published by BOOM! Studios/Archaia Well, A god is dead, anyways. That’s what HaloGen #1 establishes in its opening page: a withered, sprawling space god, Det’Houva, floating in the nothingness of space, scavengers (of a sort) hauling it away. Immediately, we’re introduced to a cult, learn of …

Burning Fields #1 Written by Michael Moreci and Tim Daniel Art by Colin Lorimer; Colors by Joana Lafuente BOOM! Studios When ISIS (or ISIL, or DAESH if you prefer) declared a caliphate last year, there was an inescapable sense of doom: here was more of that blowback the critics had spoken of, and on a massive …

Escape from New York #2 Writer: Christopher Sebela Art: Diego Barreto Colours: Marissa Louise Letters: Ed Dukeshire Editor: Ian Brill Publisher: BOOM! Studios Purchase: http://www.boom-studios.com/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?name=&series=1399&writer=&artist=&category= With the success of Big Trouble in Little China and Robocop, the future 80’s revival at BOOM! continues with Escape from New York. Debuting last month, Snake is back with a …

Bravest Warriors #25 Written by Kate Leth Art by Ian McGinty Colors by Lisa Moore Published by BOOM! In Bravest Warriors #25, Kate Leth and Ian McGinty take a break from their ongoing storyline to add depth to Catbug’s mythos and introduce a new character, Bugcat. Bugcat is a palette swapped version of Catbug, who has his mischievousness, but lacks his cute charm and …

Hellraiser: Bestiary #2 Written by Various Art by Various Published by BOOM! The anthology series Hellraiser: Bestiary continues with the second issue, which features the best and the worst stories of the two issues yet. It also continues a tale from issue one, which remains a very interesting tale unlike anything seen in Clive Barker’s hellish universe. The …

Sirens #1 Written and drawn by George Perez Colors by Leonardo Paciarotti Published by BOOM! Studios One of my favorite things about George Perez as an artist other than the consistent quality of his lines is his ability to draw group shots where all the characters have a unique face, body shape, and usually costume. This is why he was the king …

The universe of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is a rich and dark one and it is ripe to have writers come in and explore in a multitude of gruesome ways. That is the goal of BOOM!’s new Hellraiser: Bestiary mini-series. This first issue of the six-part anthology is a bit of a mixed bag, as is …

Hexed #1 Story by Michael Alan Nelson Art by Dan Mora Color by Gabriel Cassata Letters by Ed Dukeshire Cover by Emma Rios, Dan Mora Publisher: Boom! Studios It’s hard to put on finger on what works and doesn’t work in Michael Alan Nelson and Dan Mora’s first issue of their new series Hexed. It is a follow up to Nelson …

As everyone knows, Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop is a science fiction classic, but after two terrible sequels and a middle-of-the-road reboot, the character hasn’t had much success outside the initial film. Thankfully things may be changing with BOOM! Studios’ new ongoing Robocop series by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Carlos Magno. Taking place directly after the …

Back in the 60s, the world of film and television wasn’t as dominated by big franchises as it is now simply because there obviously weren’t as many. In the realm of science fiction, there were really only a few big names and two of them were Star Trek and The Planet of the Apes. Now …

More and more, Translucid is reminding me of Adventure Time. If that doesn’t get you to start reading this comic, I don’t know what will. The comic can abruptly shift between the familiar “real” world and the more fantastical world of the hero, and the writers appear very comfortable in moving from the more innocent moments of childhood to darkness. This issue twists our understanding of the story, leaving very little room to trust what the writers of this comic are showing us. Still, what we can see is some of the backstory for the young boy as well as Horse and Navigator.

Translucid #1 is like one of those captivating dreams whose import is obvious to you but you struggle to explain to other people. It’s beautiful in parts, strange in others, and disturbing in brief stretches. Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert At its core, the book is about a basic idea: the relationship between a superhero and a supervillain. Yet it’s also about codependency, our childhood dreams, and what gives a hero motivation to do what he does.

Lumberjanes #2 Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis Art by Brooke Allen Colored by Maarta Laiho Published by BOOM! “What the junk?!” Like the first issue, Lumberjanes #2 is a delight to read. Co-writers Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson continue to explore April, Jo, Mal, Molly, and Ripley’s personalities, while putting them in hilarious and generally …

BOOM! Entertaiment’s Lumberjanes is currently one of the most fun and creative comics out now. Boasting an all-female creative team and cast, it follows a group of five best friends, who get into all kinds of trouble at a summer camp that is more than meets the eye. Writers Noelle Stevenson (Nimona) and Grace Ellis, artist Brooke …

Regular Show  #1-2, #4-5 Written by KC Green (Backups by Brian Butler, Shaun Steven Struble, Rachel Connor, Brandon T Snyder) Art by Allison Strejlau (Backups by Brian Butler, Sina Grace, Josceline Fenton, Wook Jin Clark) Colored by Lisa Moore (Backups by Maarta Laiho, Shaun Steven Struble, Whitney Cogar) Published by BOOM! The Regular Show Volume One trade paperback …

Lumberjanes #1 Writers: Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis Illustrator: Brooke Allen Colours: Maarta Laiho Letters: Aubrey Aiese Publisher: Boom! Box Purchase: http://www.boom-studios.com/lumberjanes-full-series-eight-issue-subscription-4028.html With the plethora of comic books released week after to week, it takes a lot to stand out. The average comic reader tends to have their grabs and faves, but how many of you …

Adventure Time: The Flip Side #1 of 6 Written by Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin Art and Cover by Wook Jin Clark Published by Boom! Studios At its best, Adventure Time is art in the truest sense, transporting older viewers back into their childhoods and tapping into the imaginations of younger viewers. It weaves together …