Jeff Lemire

Descender #11 is a dramatic conclusion to yet another satisfying arc. It’s got gorgeous, complex characters, and plenty of ways to pull out your heartstrings. Recommend for fans of science fiction with heart.

Marvel’s merry band of mutants have been noticeably less merry since the All-New, All-Different Marvel Now launched in October. Extraordinary X-Men was criticized for being reductive in its storytelling, pitting the mutants against the threat of extinction yet again, and if that idea put you off of the book then issue 7 definitely won’t bring you back.

Old Man Logan #1 is the extremely dark mirror to the “Days of Future Past” storyline as Wolverine doesn’t sheathe his claws and abandon violence to bring hope to mutants and the world, but decides to take revenge on the people responsible for destroying his family

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.

Extraordinary X-Men #1 will probably be seen as energetically drawn and colored sacrilege by both long time X-Men fans and ones, who jumped on with Bendis’ work. And for new fans, it’s darkness for darkness’ sake as the X-Men’s outsider metaphor is drowned out by the Inhumans and turned into yet another post-apocalyptic story. Lemire also makes a few stumbles in his plotting, like having characters tell about an upcoming mystery involving Cyclops and a cure for mutant disease instead of seeding compelling visual clues or starting to build arcs for characters. And his final page cliffhanger, which was probably meant to be the triumphant return of a “dead” X-Men, falls flat because it already happened in a Secret Wars tie-in. This is one is probably on editorial though. Even though Humberto Ramos’ manga influenced, yet wide-screen art adds some pep to the X-Men’s powers and fight scenes to go along with Edgar Delgado’s bold color palette, Extraordinary X-Men #1 is a misstep for the franchise in plotting, themes, and characterization.

The companion robot Tim-21, his creator Dr. Quon, and the rest of the supporting cast for writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen’s Descender will return on Nov. 11 with issue #7.

Plutona #2 is a personal story, and Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox give readers a raw perspective into the lead characters’ thought processes and reactions. They sound and react like scared kids with Ray being more rebellious while Diana is just freaked out and wants to tell her family, and Mie is the inquisitive one. Teddy seems like a passionate fanboy, but the final pages add intrigue to his character and set up issue 3 for some possible twists and turns. Plutona #2 is a comic about death, and it faces it head-on with Lemire, Lenox, and Bellaire showing the ups and downs of adolescence amplified in the face of tragedy with honest writing, intimate art, and timely colors.

Through vivid, approachable art from Emi Lenox, naturalistic and cutting dialogue from Jeff Lemire, idyllic colors from Jordie Bellaire, and letters from Steve Wands, whose level of boldness matches the characters’ volume level, Plutona #1 welcomes readers into its suburbia with a pinch of superheroics world. And they’ll want to stay because there is probably a little bit of Diana, Teddy, Ray, and/or Mie in each of them.

Set to release on Sept. 2 from Image Comics is Jeff Lemire and Emi Lenox’s Plutona, a miniseries about a rag-tag group of five kids who bump into the dead body of a famous superhero.
“The book isn’t so much about the superhero as it is the kids who find her. It’s about how this discovery, and the decision they make, starts to affect their lives and their friendship,” said writer Lemire via email interview. “It’s a very grounded story told from these kids’ point of view.”

2015 has been quite the eclectic year for comics, and this fact is reflected in our top ten list. Image Comics continues to be the true house of ideas with books ranging from a feminist twist on exploitation films to a murder mystery set in 1940s Hollywood and even a LGBTQ-friendly parody of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Even though they are in the middle of big events (Convergence and Secret Wars), DC and Marvel respectively still have room for offbeat takes on their iconic or not so iconic characters and are represented on this list along with Valiant, which has attracted a veritable Murderer’s Row of creator to shape and develop their shared universe.

It is quite clear from the early pages of Bloodshot: Reborn that Bloodshot is one damaged individual. He has gone through quite the ordeal over the past year or so in the Valiant Universe from finding out the true intentions of Project Rising Spirit – the company that experimented and engineered nanites through Bloodshot’s bloodstream to enable a Wolverine-like healing factor, tampering with his memories and turning him into a government controlled assassin – to the traumatizing events that came out of The Valiant mini-series.

The first issue of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender left a lot to be desired. Most jarringly was the similarity it bore to Lemire’s previous Sweet Tooth series, both books feature central characters that are a jaded man fallen from grace and a young naive boy whose very existence is a social taboo in the midst of a quasi-apocalyptic setting. That’s more than enough reason to raise a little concern, but fortunately this latest issue dismisses with them, telling a moving in-the-moment story despite some hang-ups from some of Lemire’s writing tropes.

The Valiant #4 Written by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt Artwork by Paolo Rivera with Joe Rivera Lettering by Dave Lanphear Published by Valiant Entertainment The Valiant has been such a fantastic read. It is a great way to introduce readers into the Valiant Universe by featuring some of their deeply nuanced characters like The Eternal …

Jeff Lemire has already proven his worth in the sci-fi comic book genre with last year’s excellent Trillium. Descender appears to be something quite different from the last mini series he produced and is now collaborating with Dustin Nguyen, whose beautiful artwork is already strongly evident in this first issue. With Lemire and Nguyen onboard this very intriguing book, it looks like this will be a great addition to the already stellar lineup of Image released series.

All-New Hawkeye #1 Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Ramon Perez Colors by Ian Herring Published by Marvel Comics There are two Hawkeyes in the Marvel Universe. Clint Barton, the original article, who has been carrying the bow, arrows, and occasionally a purple mask since he was a member of “Cap’s Kooky Quartet” back in the 1960s. However, he also passed down …

Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man stands out as one of the strongest books from the early days of the New 52. The story follows the titular Animal Man, a.k.a. Buddy Baker, a former stuntman, turned father, turned superhero, turned animal rights activist. His powers were granted when aliens experimented on him and gave Buddy Baker access to a morphogenetic field entwined with all animal life on Earth from which he can draw many abilities: the reflexes of a fly, the strength of a rhinoceros, and many more.

Justice League United  #0 Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Mike McKone Colored by Marcelo Maiolo Published by DC Comics First of all, I feel a bit odd as an American is reviewing a book that was originally called Justice  League Canada for a Canadian website. Nonetheless, Justice League United #0 is a weird, little book filled with …

Trillium #1-8 Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Jeff Lemire Colors by José Villarrubia Published by Vertigo The preeminent accolade bestowing body in comics, the Eisner Awards, has just released its list of nominees, a long, disparate collection as diverse as the medium itself. More so, considering it doesn’t have to look at comic books …

Animal Man #28 Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Rafael Albuquerque Colors by Dave McCaig Published by DC Comics Poor Buddy Baker. Jeff Lemire has really put his family through the ringer. You can’t help but feel sorry for the guy. His son Cliff died in Rot Wars, his daughter has been drawn into the …

Green Arrow #27 Writer: Jeff Lemire Art: Andrea Sorrentino Colours: Marcelo Maiolo Letters: Rob Leigh Publisher: DC Comics Purchase: http://www.dccomics.com/comics/green-arrow-2011/green-arrow-27 Let’s pretend for a second that Jeff Lemire’s run on Green Arrow is the comic book equivalent of a ‘bullseye’. Every issue thus far has hit its mark and then some. So here we are now, …

Trillium Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Jeff Lemire Colors by José Villarrubia Published by Vertigo Trillium embraces the medium of comics, physically engaging the reader like no other book. Anyone who’s read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest will know the feeling: turning a book over in their hands to get to the endnotes until …

American Vampire Anthology #1 Writer(s): Scott Snyder, Jason Aaron, Rafael Albuquerque, Jeff Lemire, Becky Cloonan, Francesco Francavilla, Gail Simone, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Greg Rucka Art: Rafael Albuquerque, Declan Shalvey, Ivo Milazzo, Ray Fawkes, Becky Cloonan, Franceso Francavilla, Tula Lotay, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, JP Leon, Colours: Dave McCaig, Jordie Bellaire, Letters: Steve Wands, Jared …

Writer: Jeff Lemire Artist: Mikel Janin Colorist: Jeromy Cox Publisher: DC Comics There are some interesting developments in Justice League Dark #23, but the comics is primarily an extended fight scene with some bickering and the  plot twists for good measure. Even though it has the most action of any of the “Trinity War” books, Justice League Dark #23 …