Kat Leyh

Lumberjanes #24 ends the selkie arc as it hits its next stride. Taking examples from the girls themselves, the creative team works together to bring the arc home in a satisfying way. While Watters, Leyh, Pietsch, Laaiho and Aiese may not be going for the same badge April was in this arc, but they certainly deserve one after delivering a finale where everyone gets to shine while still wrapping up the story in a way that never feels too rushed or leaves anything hanging. This is the kind of story you want going into the third year of a comic, and it doesn’t disappoint.

With the new creative team getting a little further in, Lumberjanes #19 is a fun issue that gets more action into the arc. The focus on April gives a little more substance to the good and bad sides of her character, but there are also great little moments in the art and with the other Lumberjanes as well. It’ll be fun to see how this arc concludes next month.

While it does feel like a transition issue, Lumberjanes #18 was a fun start to a new arc with a new writer. With April taking lead and Nowak’s expressive artwork, it should be fun to see where this mermai- er, merwomyn arc ends up.

The power of friendship and redemption is victorious in Bravest Warriors #36, which is the final issue of Kate Leth and Ian McGinty’s excellent run on the series. In their sixteen issues on the title, they went beyond the cartoon’s mythos showing Catbug’s evil brother and father, giving Plum a lovely girlfriend named Peach, and homaging everything from Pacific Rim and Agatha Christie to The Great Gatsby and Lord of the Rings in a clever, silly manner. This final issue is a little low on suspense, but Leth and McGinty more than makes up for it by giving each Bravest Warrior a crowning moment of brilliance or funny, which play out in a character and plot twist.

In Bravest Warriors #35, writer Kate Leth and artist Ian McGinty gear up for the finale of their run by going to Catbug’s home planet? Yes, Catbug’s homeworld just happens to be in the belly of the same space shark as the Bravesst Warriors and their spaceship. Leth and McGinty use this plot development to show a different side of Catbug’s psyche beneath his smiles, adorableness, and sassy side eye. Like a lot of people, he has issues with members of his family that get explored in a humorous, sometimes emotional way. Leth and McGinty use this spotlight on Catbug and his relationship with his relatives/fellow planet dwellers to add a new twist to what could be only the beginning of new information and characterization of this adorable insect/feline hybrid.

Filled with techno-babble, expert or not so expert spaceship maneuvers from artist Ian McGinty, and Catbug non sequitur one-liner gold from writer Kate Leth, Bravest Warriors #34 is sadly the beginning of the final ride for this comic and creative team. Luckily, Leth, McGinty, and colorist Lisa Moore are going out space opera style as the Bravest Warriors travel to Plum and the merwif’s home planet of Mirvahda to save it from the Colossal Matter Shark or the not so sexy love child of Galactus and the space whales from Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Leth’s script is full of moral dilemmas and tension as the Warriors must make some tough choices in their battle against the Shark. But she offsets the space jargon and rising emotions with her usual rapid fire puns, Catbug comic relief, and some incredibly clever pop culture references.

One of the mainstays of the Bravest Warriors comics and cartoons is the Holo-John. It’s a private room in the Bravest Warriors’ hideout where you can enjoy a fun simulation of your choosing while going to the bathroom. It’s like the Holodeck in Star Trek: TNG’s immature, yet creative cousin. Bravest Warriors: Tales from the Holo John is a special one-shot set entirely in this wonderful little room and shows its storytelling potential. The stories have their funny moments, bizarre bits (I will never unsee Mad Rupert’s drawing of Wallow in his undies.), and the best ones explore the relationship between the Bravest Warriors and various characters, including Beth’s dad, Pickle Chips, and the Holo John himself in a more metaphysical tale from Ryan Ferrier (D4VE) and Jorge Corona (Goners).

Bravest Warriors: Paralyzed Horse Giant “Jellyfish Beach”: Written by James Tynion IV and Illustrated by Erica Henderson “Flies”: Written and Illustrated by Kat Leyh “Got Your Back”: Written and Illustrated by Tessa Stone “Paralyzed With Hunger”: Written and Illustrated by Pranas T. Naujokaitis “Outside the Realm of Time”: Written by Mairghread Scott and Illustrated by …