Advance Review: `Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel to be Kin’ #6 Starts with a Bang
If the goal of an opening splash page is to set the tone for the rest of an issues, then
Read more
advance review
Advance Review: Ugly Religious Stereotypes Doom `Seven Sons’ #5
From its start, Seven Sons has had an intriguing premise, an interesting storyline and some amazing art. But the book
Read more
Advance Review: `Star Trek: Picard – Stargazer’ #2 Bides Time Before Season 3
When you have a character as celebrated as Jean-Luc Picard, there is an understandable tendency to want bigger stories each
Read more
Advance Review: The Killer Stalks His Prey In `That Texas Blood’ #18
From its introduction, That Texas Blood has been appointment reading. Each arc deals with a new mystery in Ambrose County
Read more
Advance Review: We’ve Been Here Before In `Time Before Time’ #17
Bounty hunters often get a bad rap. From the Boba Fett in The Empire Strike Back to Jaws in the
Read more
Advance Review: Choose Your Own Adventure In `Rogue Sun’ #7
For those of us of a certain age, Choose Your Own Adventure books were a staple of a pre-teen library.
Read more
Advance Review: `Dead Kingdom’ #2 Takes Too Many Cues From `The Walking Dead’
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Robert Kirkman and the creative team from The Walking Dead must
Read more
Advance Review: Fleshing Out the Villains In `Minor Threats’ #2
Minor villains have been the staple of comic books for decades. They serve often as comic relief or as a
Read more
Advance Review: Embracing Every Liberal Cause In `Survival Street’ #3
Comic books are no stranger to tackling important social issues. Throughout their history they have, either directly or through metaphors,
Read more
Advance Review: Revealing Origins In `Sins Of The Black Flamingo’ #4
In any story, exposition is more of an art than a science. There’s no predetermined, optimal path for a writer
Read more
Advance Review: Entering the Disney World from Hell In `Dark Ride’ #1
With rides named Devil’s Due, Murder Mountain, Cannibal Café and Tunnel of Lovecraft, it’s pretty clear that that the amusement
Read more
Advance Review: The 12-Step Program From Hell In `Ice Cream Man’ #32
For many addicts, the road to recovery begins with a 12-step program. You know the drill: Admit that you are
Read more
Advance Review: Devouring A Visual Smorgasbord In `Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel To Be Kin’ #5
Everything you need to understand Geof Darrow’s work can be found on the first panel of the first page of
Read more
Advance Review: Set Phasers To Fun In `Star Trek: Lower Decks’ #1
The success of the streaming series Star Trek: Lower Decks caught many by surprise. After all, the Star Trek franchise
Read more
Advance Review: The Predictable Truth Slowly Emerges In `Seven Sons’ #4
After three issues of introducing readers up a country as obsessed with the second coming of Christ as it is
Read more
Advance Review: Zeus Is Loose In `There’s Something Wrong With Patrick Todd’ #3
If ordinary people are judged based on the company they keep, then comic book heroes are only as good as
Read more
Advance Review: Revisiting A Really Bad Year In `The Silver Coin’ #14
For many people, 2020 was the year from hell. The pandemic, the toilet paper shortage, the civil unrest following the
Read more
Advance Review: Sending Demons Back To Hell With A Song In `The Roadie’ #1
Roadies have a lot of responsibilities – from helping to set up concert venues to prepping the musicians’ instruments. Fighting
Read more
Advance Review: Celebrating The Final Frontier In `Star Trek’ #400
From a new starship captain’s first moments in the center chair, to Miles O’Brien’s early conflict with the Cardassians, to
Read more
Advance Review: Deanna Schemes And Plots In `Star Trek– The Mirror War – Troi’
The real fun in Star Trek’s mirror universe is getting to see normally well-behaved and predictable characters act like they
Read more
Advance Review: Targeting Our Gun-Obsessed Culture In `Survival Street’ #2
Popular media’s use of thinly veiled references to satirize or comment on the real world is a tried-and-true storytelling technique.
Read more
Advance Review: `That Texas Blood’ #17 Delivers A Terrific Tale Of Humanity And Suspense
No capes. No superpowers. No problem. Midway through its third story arc, That Texas Blood continues to deliver a nuanced,
Read more
Advance Review: Returning To Simpler Storytelling In `Time Before Time’ #16
Confusing a reader is a common storytelling technique. Multiple plot lines and characters with mysterious pasts that are slowly revealed
Read more
Advance Review: Art Imitates Life In `The Ward’ #4
A highly infectious disease ravages the population. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Healthcare workers are at their breaking point. Meanwhile xenophobia runs
Read more
Advance Review: Revisiting Jean-Luc’s First Command In `Star Trek: Picard – Stargazer’ #1
For Jean-Luc Picard, before there was the USS Enterprise, there was the USS Stargazer. Picard’s first command, years before he
Read more
Advance Review: ‘The Walking Dead’ Meets ‘Dungeons And Dragons’ In `Dead Kingdom’ #1
The zombie apocalypse has invaded nearly every aspect of our culture, from video games to movies to television’s The Walking
Read more
Advance Review: ‘Ghost Planet’ One-Shots It
The main cover is by artist/letterer Sean Von Gorman and colorist Omar Estevez. It features an ominous atmosphere thanks to
Read more
Advance Review: ‘Mega Centurions: Mega No More’ #2 Dips Quality
Artist Dexter Wee does a mostly great job with the interiors. However, Wee uses an unnecessary and jarring dutch angle
Read more
Advance Review: It All Starts And Stops With Benjamin Morse In `August: Purgatory Underground’ #2
There’s having creative control over a project, and then there’s Benjamin Morse. Morse is not only writing and drawing the
Read more
Advance Review: Masterful Storytelling In `Shaolin Cowboy: Cruel To Be Kin’ #4
Changing direction in the middle of any narrative is a difficult task. In comic books, it typically results in an
Read more
Advance Review: The Sins Of The Father Dominate `Public Domain’ #3
When adult children make serious mistakes with their lives, who is to blame? Is it the parents who may have
Read more