Quick Reviews #35

Boom! We're On A Deadline!

Meaning we’re starting off with this:

Boom! Studios

• The Last Witch: Fear & Fire - A colorful, fascinating, epic coming-of-age tale decked in Irish folklore. The characters developing, the suspense that comes with the magic and its effects, and the actions have real weight to them. Definitely got me prepared for what’s next. 8.5/10

• The Last Witch: Blood & Betrayal - And what a payoff it was. There’s magic in every piece of the plot. From the character dynamics, reflections on past and present events, to big reveals. It feels like being engrossed in a magic trick. 9/10

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  Something is Killing the Children Vol. 9 - A lot of dreaded hype in this. This might can even be someone’s first time looking at…everything. The atmosphere gets really intense with how even the side characters have layers to them. Not just the dialogue that’s not reflexive or quirky for it’s own sake. But all of the consequences that weigh heavy on everybody. And the anticipation of some tragedy happening in the next album hits twice as hard. 9.5/10

• The Creeping Below - Can really feel the Black Metal influences. Not just the wild imagery, but the energy you get from the lettering, dialogue, and characterizations. Can get a little too dark…to see. 7.8/10

• The Last Boy - You really can’t look away from something so timeless can you? Especially when they ask: Does that mean nothing changes? And when things change, does that mean you have to cave into the expectations that come with getting older? The parallel arcs between Peter Pan and Wendy Darling tell this perfectly. 9/10

Mad Cave

• Ariel’s Adventure Journal: Yeah not going to bother with the full titles. Plus, I couldn’t help but think of…other stuff while reading this in regards to Greenland. Bad timing is all. But as a followup to a movie, this does give a little more weight to Ariel’s character of wanting to know a bigger, wider world. Especially when there are plenty of reflective challenges to that. 8.5/10

• Anna’s Adventure Journal: Never saw Frozen 2 but got the idea from the reveals of it. And gotta say, I like that they’re continuing a theme from there. No traditional antagonists, just baggage from unintended consequences. From long, long, long ago. Artwork was what really sold me here with settings, looking like a sublime painting. It makes this whole place feel like even more of a character. All the while focusing on Anna’s character development as a queen. 8.5/10

• Tiana’s Adventure Journal: One thing I liked about this was how the journals between Tiana and her mother interacted. It gives a feeling of bringing your family over. Better yet, the story goes the extra mile to show not just to follow footsteps like instructions. The music you can feel in the air really speaks to finding inspiration where it matters. 8.5/10

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  Honor and Curse: Eternal #1 - And so continues the saga of Underworld. Makes me wonder if (self-slap!) -’nother post. But I will say this: this remake(?)/reimagining(?) whatever avoids most of the pitfalls from the original. Basically throwing the Idiot Ball around for the sake of the plot. Instead we have what the source tried to do the first time(?). Namely the effects of paranoia and isolation from a place of shadowy power. To make a contrived comparison short, there is a focus through reflection between the title character Genshi and his antagonists. Between a guy who made himself his own prison and a terrorist cult dedicated to destroying what possesses him, there’s a lot of intrigue to get into. 8.5/10

• Cyberarchy #3: The pace of the visuals really emphasize the larger-than-life scenarios happening. Not to mention the dialogue work that give more layers of personality and drive to the main character. Plus the meta-commentary and subversion taking place make it twice as engrossing. 8.5/10

  • What kind? Aside from the dependence on technology people take for granted and the precision at which Rust can deal with everything, they’re genuinely tired. They know that everything they’ve worked for is going down a waterfall, but they want to be on the furthest end of the log after burning out of many life cycles.

• War Wolf #4: Speaking of meta-commentary and subversion, mixing that with strong implication makes it all something to invest in. All too human characters, truths and fictions mixing, and an immersive look at how a series can switch genres. 8.5/10

• Eat Your Young #6: An action-packed finale where family dynamics are at their highest. Tension and stakes get higher when the danger gets more imminent and personal. 9/10

• Flash Gordon #15: And so it ends like many other long-runners, a return to the status quo. But it was a good run, especially with the pace this went at. Flash Gordon is meant to be an iconic space swashbuckler with minimal internal arcs. I liked it well enough anyway. 8.5/10

• Three Thieves Vol. 4: On a related note, what sounds more interesting? Protagonists licking their wounds while avoiding their pursuers? Or the arc of a pursuer in reflection of the things driving the bigger plot forward? With actions and pace that keep your eyes glued to the pages? Definitely that last bit with me. The first one is only fun as a game. 9/10