Whispers in the Walls from Humanoids Comics

Posted by on May 17th, 2012 | No Comments

Whispers in the Walls from Humanoids ComicsWritten by David Muñoz

Art by Tirso

Colors by Javi Montes

Printed by Humanoids

If you want a nice gothic feeling vampire monster comic book then this is the one you want to spend some time with. While the original series never came out in terms of being a completed series, the trade paperback is the graphic novel you want to pick up. While there are some continuity issues with the comic book set in 1949 referring to Nazis, overall this is a nice gothic vampire evil doctor style graphic novel that is well worth looking at if you are a fan of horror comics. You might want to get the digital edition of this one first and see what you think of the whole thing, and if you love it, go pick up the printed edition to add to your horror comic book collection. The story takes place in Czechoslovakia, where a young girl Sarah finds herself an orphan after watching her parents get brutally killed by monsters. The problem is, that this is no ordinary orphanage, and those are not ordinary doctors poking at her, really they want to see if she is going to turn into a monster herself.

As the tale spins along its path, we find that the orphanage is really the site of monsters versus humans in an epic battle to control the world. The kids are necessary pawns in the game as they are indoctrinated into supporting humans, or supporting monsters. This conditioning is not going to take for everyone, Sarah and some of her compatriots included. This leads to the divergence point in the tale, humans versus monsters, and the children that are caught in the middle of very adult games of control, power, and in some cases raw survival.

The comic book has an awesome gothic feel to it, dark, brooding, foreboding, and has the feel of great things are going to happen if you dare turn the page. While there are some standard horror comic book moments in this story line, some of the pages and the context really stand out as a good example of what a horror comic book can be, and should be if you are going to purchase it. I will rate this one four of five stars, again there are some cliché moments to this, but overall the story line is engrossing, and I enjoyed it because of the dark gothic feel to the whole thing. Emo kids will dig on this comic book like you would not believe, so it is well worth the purchase either digitally or in physical form if you want to add this to your comic book collection. Humanoids has done a very good job of bringing a European comic book to the USA market, and while there are a couple of translation errors that will make you crazy, it is worth the read.

 

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Healed #1

Posted by on May 17th, 2012 | No Comments

When it comes to completely original concepts, Healed stands out among the rest, and delivers an authentically new experience for readers to enjoy. Monday, August 22nd, 2011, 12:06 AM, the very moment, that the entire world was erased of all diseases and viruses. Now humankind must figure out, what it means to be nearly immortal as a species, and adapt to a new era, where all of the rules have suddenly changed. This debut issue takes place one week after the above-mentioned date, just enough time for the reality of the situation to set it.

Healed raises endless interesting questions, and forces readers to really sit down and contemplate, what it would be like to live in a world free of illness. For starters this would make death a much more horrific event, the only way a person would pass on is if they met a sudden, violent, means to an end. No longer would the luxury of a peaceful natural passing in ones sleep exist. In addition, the need for medicine would drastically drop. Putting countless numbers of people out of work, in a world where overpopulation would quickly become an issue, adding to a never-ending raise in unemployment and poverty. Not to mention, what about those who were unlucky enough to pass just minutes before the sudden cleansing?  How will this affect their love ones, unable to share in the initial rush of happiness?

After finishing, this first issues, readers are sure to find themselves unable to forget about its content. How much of a blessing would a cure all really be? If one sits down and really think about it, illness is a needed aspect of life, required to keep many facets of humanity balanced. Overpopulation, poverty, famine, rises in violent crime, only a few factors to consider. Easily, Healed is one of the most intelligent books to come out in some time. This is a highly recommended read for comic book fans looking for something honestly different and endlessly captivating. Some of the most original and high quality writing to ever bless the page, George O’Connor, raises the bar. Artwork from Tracy O’Connor perfectly completes the package, flawlessly complimenting the already bleak subject matter with equally emotion packed imagery. Black, whites, and greys are used to keep the sober tone, while stellar uses of facial expressions emphasize the dire nature of the situation.

Currently this first issue can be read 100% free via our friends over at Graphic.ly, it is highly suggested that you take advantage of this, and prepare to become completely addicted to this series. Be sure to pick up further issues, and show your support to this wonderfully crafted independent release.

 

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Chicks Dig Comics: A Celebration of Comic Books by the Women Who Love Them

Posted by on May 16th, 2012 | No Comments

Chicks Dig Comics: A Celebration of Comic Books by the Women Who Love ThemEdited by Lynne M. Thomas and Sigrid Ellis

Printed by Mad Norwegian Press

I got my review copy of Chicks Dig Comics yesterday afternoon, and have spent the last few hours consuming this book. Brought to you by the same folks who brought you Chicks Dig Time Lords, this is another impressive look at women, comic books, and the struggles they had in the comic book industry. The book is narrative, without a single page of comic book art, yet it is so worth the read that you will end up consuming the book, rather than simply reading the first few chapters and calling it a day. Mad Norwegian Press usually comes up with interesting stuff, and this one fits completely in their world view. The number of stories in this book is impressive, and from the Mad Norwegian web site, the number of short easy to read and dig essays is:

  • Introduction by Mark Waid
  • Editors’ Foreword, by Lynne M. Thomas and Sigrid Ellis
  • Mary Batson and the Chimera Society, by Gail Simone
  • Summers and Winters, Frost and Fire, by Seanan McGuire
  • Cosplay, Creation, and Community, by Erica McGillivray
  • An Interview with Amanda Conner
  • A Matter of When, by Carla Speed McNeil
  • The Other Side of the Desk, by Rachel Edidin
  • An Interview with Terry Moore
  • Nineteen Panels about Me and Comics, by Sara Ryan
  • I’m Batman, by Tammy Garrison
  • An Interview with Alisa Bendis
  • My Secret Identity, by Caroline Pruett
  • The Green Lantern Mythos: A Metaphor for My (Comic Book) Life, by Jill Pantozzi
  • Vampirella, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Page Turn, by Jen Van Meter
  • Confessions of a (Former) Unicorn, by Tara O’Shea
  • The Evolution of a Tart, by Sheena McNeil
  • Kitty Queer, by Sigrid Ellis
  • The Captain in the Capitol: Invoking the Superhero in Daily Life by, Jennifer Margret Smith
  • Burn, Baby Burn, by Lloyd Rose
  • Tune in Tomorrow, by Sue D
  • An Interview with Greg Rucka
  • Comic Book Junkie, by Jill Thompson
  • From Pogo to Girl Genius, by Delia Sherman
  • I am Sisyphus, and I am Happy, by Kelly Thompson
  • Captain America’s Next Top Model, by Anika Dane Milik
  • An Interview with Louise Simonson
  • Me Vs. Me, by Sarah Kuhn
  • A Road That has No Ending: Revenge in Sandman, by Sarah Monette
  • Mutants, by Marjorie Liu
  • You’re on the Global Frequency, by Elizabeth Bear
  • Crush on a Superhero, by Colleen Doran

This collection of short essays on the strengths, weaknesses, hopes, dreams, aspirations, highs and lows, as well as some awesome fashion advice covers the entire gambit of what it is like to be a girl/woman and love comic books. We move past the “comic book guy” sweating in an ill lit comic book shop that feels more like a man cave, and into what it was like to work for, consume, read, empathize, and love comic books from a woman’s viewpoint. That alone makes this narrative work well worth the time to read and get into the stories. There are a lot of very good stories that sometimes clash with each other as we change the narrative tone, but hearing from people in their own words is priceless. This one is worth taking the time out to read, enjoy, share with your daughter, and share with your family.

I am going to rate this one five of five stars, I learned so many new things with this book that I will have to go back and read it a couple more times to see if I can tease out anything that I might have missed on the first read. We all have the things we love, and this deeply personal, somewhat intimate book reflects on the female voices in comic books in ways that nothing else I have read in my life has managed to do. This is definitely one of the most impressive narrative works that I have read on the triumphs tribulations, and issues with chicks who dig comic books. This is a must read, must purchase, go paper on this one, because it will be something you want to own, not just lease on your favorite digital reader.

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The Ninjettes from Dynamite Entertainment

Posted by on May 15th, 2012 | No Comments

The Ninjettes from Dynamite EntertainmentStory by Al Ewing

Art by Eman Casalos

Cover by Johnny Desjardins and Admira Wijaya

Published by Dynamite Entertainment

This one is pretty sick and twisted, people lose their hands, their heads, get shot in the face, and get cut in half with a samurai sword. Very little of this is going to be explainable as death by natural causes. But when you are dressed in leather, carry around a ton of Ninja gear, and can pretty much so kill anyone or anything at any time, who is going to argue with you? Or try to skip out of paying the fees that go along with death by unnatural causes. Blood and gore to the max, but with a sense of humor that bleeds through the pages when you are reading it making it somewhat sick, twisted, and enjoyable. There is a certain level of insanity on this one, that makes it totally awesome to read and well in some cases, work out ways of dealing with an unnatural death as you are cleaved in half in a Mexican hotel room with a kid who gets shot in the face, and two dead Mexican Federalies, right before the fire burns the hotel to the ground to cover up the mess. Admitted, a fire is probably one way of cleaning up the mess that does not take as much time as trying to scrub the walls, floors, ceilings, and wash the laundry.

Starting off there, we learn more of the walking icon of death Varla, and some connections in the past with people that probably should have remained buried in the past. We also get some good back story with how the Ninjettes started off, what to expect, and what other things are going to go along with this series is what is going to make this totally awesome. This is one of those comic books you read to enjoy, especially if you like a lot of ultra-violence, and girls in fetish wear.

I am going to rate this one five of five stars because of its violence, brutality, senseless use of arson, branding, chicks that are not what you would want to meet or engage with, anatomically exaggerated drawings, and the rest of the gamut with this one. Dead kids, dead people, dead cops, in all you really should remember to pay your bills, and always pay the fees of the Ninjettes if you happen to hire them. This is a comic book worth finding, reading and keeping.

 

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No More Heroes #1

Posted by on May 15th, 2012 | No Comments

No More Heroes is an exceptionally original and humorous four-part mini-series, revolving around the death of a superhero named, Dark Justice.  Everyday guy, Sid Millar, is spending a typical evening chilling with his best buds, when he suddenly receives a strange text message, from an unknown caller, asking only, should I kill myself? After being bombarded with screams of “Do it”, Sid succumbs to peer pressure and glides his fingers across the appropriate keys, not knowing that his life is about to forever change.

This debut issue, is packed full of laughs, and truly shines with its unique and never dull brand of storytelling. The super hero genre, is often one of the most difficult to do something different with, however, No More Heroes, manages to craft a very clever and fresh take on caped crusaders making it a must read title. Fans of well-done comedy hybrid titles will have an absolute blast with this comic, the perfect blend of slacker humor and superhero action. The dialog feels natural, and the jokes more often than not, hit their mark with precision. True to life character personalities, add a level of familiarity that is sure to suck readers even further down its rabbit hole. With the insane level of success of superhero movies lately, this story would make an excellent film, much in the vein of 2008’s Hancock.

Fueled by a well done, basic, black & white, line art direction, it also visually gives off that classic 90s slacker/indie vibe, and acts as a prime example of how to use shading and small details, to keep panels from coming off as uninspired ink blobs. Far to often, artists fail to find that magical middle ground of black and white, causing panels to become highly confusing, not to mention simply boring to look at. The artist does a splendid job at effectively using subtle yet realistic facial expressions and overall succeeds in adding to the overall high quality presentation the title demonstrates.

No More Heroes comes with a high recommendation for readers looking for something familiar yet different enough to be captivating. Great for some laughs, this debut issue flawlessly establishes itself as a must read mini-series, that deserves recognition and a cult following. It is titles like this that make the indie side of the industry so alluring to fans, who like to step outside of the box and discover experiences that they would be unlikely to find with most mainstream publishers. Overall, this title is endlessly enjoyable and currently its first issue can be read completely free via our friends over at Graphic.ly.

 

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