Saga #33 is a solid read for fans. The pace might seem slow, but it definitely pays off. Readers who are LGBTQ+ or allies will definitely get a kick out of the increasing importance of queer characters.
Monstress #3 isn’t a terrible read and definitely has potential because of its conflicted protagonist and dark, scary visuals.
In this Cell by Cell, I look deeply into the cover and first two pages of ‘Bitch Planet’ #6, appreciating and analyzing the story and artistic composition.
The fact Phonogram is ending is sad, but The Immaterial Girl was the story it needed to go out on. The final issue isn’t full of bombast or drama, but of goodbyes, uncertainty of the future, and new beginnings.
Wytches is ominous, atmospheric and outright disturbing. Scott Snyder is no stranger to tackling the downright, in your face, realm of horror. His work on multiple titles that fully embrace the horror genre or just feature elements from it are stellar.
2016 will be a year for Aftershock, Garth Ennis, and some great comics journalism.
Paper Girls #4 continues to be mysterious, genre-mixed, and sometimes surprisingly dramatic in its weirdness; beautifully and evocatively illustrated and colored; and marvelously fun to try to decode the references to figure out. I remain completely enamored with it.
It’s been four months wait since we last got a Bitch Planet fix. Despite that length of time, issue #6 does not disappoint. In fact, it amplifies the sound and fury of issue #5, offering ironic contrast to the characters of the present narrative by flashing back to the time of their innocence before the Protectorate squashed their dreams of building a better world. Guest artist Taki Soma brings a delicacy of line to the story, emphasizing that hope is a thing with feathers, but also hollow, fragile bones.
Narratively trying to follow Black Magick from point A to point B to point C and beyond may give off the impression that Rucka and Scott are moving slowly with the plot, only inching it along. That type of reading basically ignores the forming of the characters that is happening on each and every page. Rucka, always an economical writer, let’s Scott’s artwork tell so much of the story here as she visually fills in all of the elements of a life that reveals character. Whether it’s a flannel t-shirt tied around her waist when she has to cast some protection wards around her house or the fire extinguisher that seems to be placed to satisfy some municipal ordinance in some secret, shadowy lair, Rucka and Scott are shaping real lives for these characters that exist beyond the boundaries of the comic page.
As the narrative of the final violent event plays out, the panels become more regular and more cinematic, mimicking the ratio of a theatrical widescreen. The chaotic action of the previous pages gets stripped down to reveal the horrifying realization of Meiko’s death. Once the guard does his evil deed, the story becomes entirely about the women’s responses.
This bravura issue is everything one has come to want and expect from the penultimate entry in a Rat Queens’ arc. All the pieces are now in place to have a truly climactic finale: backstories and secrets are revealed while new discoveries create ever rising action. The cliff-hanger and cover preview for January’s issue left me tied in knots.
With fantastic art and storytelling, this action-packed issue of Saga is sure to satisfy fans and have them eagerly waiting for next month. Simply put, it’s amazing!
As the violence ramps up to the issue’s conclusion, the action on the field and the layout of that action becomes more fragmented and chaotic. Faces are hyper-expressive, causing frustration, panic, and, in the case of Operative Whitney, smug enjoyment to leap off the page. A new layout presents a structural diagonal, as before intensifying the sense of tension and chaos. It also creates a disorienting zoom in, pull back effect, like a dolly zoom (or Vertigo effect) for the page.
5. Paper Girls (Image) Paper Girls #1-3 Written by Brian K. Vaughan Art by Cliff Chiang Colors by Matthew Wilson Letters by Jared K. Fletcher Only three issues in, Brian K. Vaughn and Cliff Chiang’s Paper Girls has already piqued intense fandom. Grounded in the recognizably familiar–1988 Midwestern suburbia–with its head in the clouds–aliens on dinosaurs, time travelers, …
Autumnlands #8 Written by Kurt Busiek Art by Benjamin Dewey Colors by Jordie Bellaire Letters by Comicraft Published by Image Comics Last time, Learoyd and Dunstan were separated from the survivors of Keniel and fled into the mountains, away from the hostile Bison tribe. Now, they must find a way to reach the Floating Cities …
If it wasn’t obvious before, the “Commercial Suicide” arc of WicDiv is about the personal tragedies of the Pantheon members. If the first half was about misogyny, it seems like the second half is about the personal choices of women. This becomes fairly obvious in the final issue of the arc, which is about Sakhmet.
Even if the narrative gets darker around the edges with the introduction of Mrs. Jones’ connection to a probably evil Siberian scientist and the general media storm, Huck #2 continues to be a study in optimism for Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque. Huck continues to help ordinary people in extraordinary ways even if he is surrounded by news choppers and random people. At this point, Orlov doesn’t quite fit into the story and is a throwback to Russian villain trope, but Huck #2 more than makes up for this slight hiccup with evocative storytelling, a hopeful tone, and the introduction of tension in the plot for this exemplary hero.
The battle between the yokai and the new supernatural group of Emi, Nikaido, Shirai, Ayane and Rori is just heating up. The young group is still reeling from the battle that took place in the last volume of Wayward and starts to go in a very big direction by the end of this issue.
With David taking his bow and using the last of his power from Britannia, Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #5 feels like more of an ending than anything else we’ve seen from the Phonogram series. As Emily and David’s story shifts more into the “present” of 2009-2010, we see the closest they might actually get to growing up. For David, it’s learning how to be a decent human being. For Emily, it’s accepting her death. Morbid as it can be, Team Phonogram creates a story in this issue that gives the characters room to do that without sacrificing who they are at their cores. With the groundwork laid and with Emily running out of time, the finale looks to be a heart-racer and a heart-wrencher.
The scene is packed with emotion: Yumi’s anger at what she feels is Makoto’s betrayal of their success and Makoto’s feelings of regret and entrapment. Use of color and lighting and the juxtaposition of the two different but related moments amplify the emotional impact to lead into the issue’s climactic moments.
Despite its flaws, Southern Cross #6 is a great read. Trippy horror art and a creepy plot worthy of Lovecraft makes it one of the most unique comics in both sci-fi and horror. With what looks like more to come in the second arc, Southern Cross is a cult classic in the making for Image’s extraordinary catalog.
Issue #3 is the half-way point in the mini-series of five total issues, and it ends up feeling more like filler than advancement. Little rising action or background on the kids or Plutona is given, and the relationship developments don’t feel true to established character.
In a world where a valid Republican contender (polls wise) for the president of the United States wants to prevent Muslims from entering the country based on their faith alone, Monstress #2 is an important read as Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda show the harrowing results of racism and bigotry on a once flourishing city through the lens of an urban fantasy horror story. It is also a powerful character study as Maika fights to control the wolf within while also trying to get her adorable companion Kippa (who is sadly afraid of her) to safety, and Liu and Takeda continue to expand and explore their world with the introduction of the inquisitrixes and Edenites.