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Pilot Season: Beauty: I think the concept is a good one. The relationship between the two cops seemed natural despite the weird situation. There is a reveal at the end of the book that does not really pay off because the art did not really do a good job showing off differences between the two character designs.

BobBretall wrote:I was not really sure what was going on in this issue and I'm not interested in finding out. Silvestri's art was OK, but it seems like I'm not a huge enough fan to buy this for the art alone. He's bailing on the book after #3 anyway. As Mike says, at $3.99, I can easily skip this one.

I also wasn't sure why Hulk was underground or whatever. The writer couldn've mentioned the reason why somehow since this is a #1. Although I do love The Island of Dr. Moreau type stories and it could work as a mashup with the Hulk. I'd like to see another issue before I decide if I'm board or not. The art was pretty good but there are better artists doing Silvestri type art then Silvestri himself. The students have surpassed the teacher in many ways.

BobBretall wrote:Star Wars: Crimson Empire III #1 (Dark Horse) - Paul Gulacy art + Star Wars stuff that has Luke & Leia in it. I'm in.

I'm a fan of Gulacy's art also. I wouldn't necessarily think his art style would work for Star Wars but it does for me. The story is interesting too. If you know the movies then you know enough to understand this story.

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 (of 4) (Boom) - I like this one better than the regular Planet of the Apes series from Boom. And the other title is quite good. I think this is better mainly because of Gabriel Hardman's artwork which is really nice to look at. Also it's only a 4 issue mini, so it's not much of a commitment.

IanG wrote:Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 (of 4) (Boom) - I like this one better than the regular Planet of the Apes series from Boom. And the other title is quite good. I think this is better mainly because of Gabriel Hardman's artwork which is really nice to look at. Also it's only a 4 issue mini, so it's not much of a commitment.

I've got the exact same feelings as you, Ian. I checked out #1 on the rack at the LCS & will get the 4 issue series on the strength of Hardman's art.

Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #1 (Big Dog) - The idea was much cooler than the execution. Story moved way too slow with far too little actual stuff happening. There were little details in the art like Dorothy wearing Ruby spurs, I think it would have been a good idea to be a bit more explicit about at least a few of these details in the 1st issue.

The Occultist #1 (Dark Horse) - This is a follow-on to the one-shot from last December, if you liked that, you'll like this too. I think there's enough context here that you can jump in without having read that one-shot, though. Supernatural action-adventure is what's on the agenda here, a young guy (who's in college) becomes the guardian of a mystical power & has to go up against a mystical underworld.

House of Night #1 (Dark Horse) - This is set between the scenes of the 2nd novel in the House of Night series. I think it would be a great book for people reading/familiar with those novels, I couldn't get into this at all, having zero context on the books myself.

Battle Scars #1 (Marvel) - This was an OK issue I just didn't get pulled into it enough to want to buy 5 more issues to round out the mini.

Avenging Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) - I liked the story/art, but it seemed really light for a $3.99 book. I think there were too many double-page spreads & splashes for a 22-page book, this just read too fast. When I hit the "to be continued" I felt like there definitely should have been more story in this issue. I also read this on digital and must say that the splashes & double-page spreads don't work really well on the computer screen. Given that this comes with a free code for the digital issue & is really pushing readers towards digital comics, you'd think it would be created to have less big splash pages that are hard to read on the screen.

Cold War #1 (IDW) - I really like this one a lot being both a John Byrne fan and a Jame Bond fan. It's not James Bond officially but it's darn close. This may not be Byrne's best work but it's still better than a lot of other spy or espionage type comic books I've read. The Cold War angle is a bit late. I kind of wish it was more up to date, but I like historical fiction also.

Star Trek/Legion of Superheroes #1 (of 6) (IDW) - This is a total nerdfest sci-fi mashup. I'm not that familiar with Legion but I still enjoy this comic book a lot. They give you a head shot of each character and explain things pretty well inside the comic. I hope to learn more about Legion in this series. The artwork was a lot better than I thought it would be.

Mudman #1 (Image) - This is a very well made comic. I love how well the art interacts with the story and serves to tell the story better. The writer/penciler/inker/letterer Paul Grist does everything in this comic but the coloring. The art style is close to a Darwyn Cooke type of cartoony art which I really enjoy. This comic is more about the art than the story thus far. Although the story is good enough that I'm dying to know what happens in the next issue.

IanG wrote:Mudman #1 (Image) - This is a very well made comic. I love how well the art interacts with the story and serves to tell the story better. The writer/penciler/inker/letterer Paul Grist does everything in this comic but the coloring. The art style is close to a Darwyn Cooke type of cartoony art which I really enjoy. This comic is more about the art than the story thus far. Although the story is good enough that I'm dying to know what happens in the next issue.

I was on the fence on this one, but liked Paul Grist's Jack Staff in the past.

Based on your review, I'll grab a copy of this when I hit the LCS tomorrow.

Pilot Season: Misdirection Image: The concept is not that complex. A Nascar driver makes the wrong decision one night and looses all his fame and fortune. In a bid to start over again he gets involved in something he was not expecting.

The story did not really break new ground, but it was enjoyable. The art was serviceable and told the story well.

BobBretall wrote:Battle Scars #1 (Marvel) - This was an OK issue I just didn't get pulled into it enough to want to buy 5 more issues to round out the mini.

I got Battle Scars #1 from my LCS for 99¢. It was worth the 99¢ but not worth paying for the rest of the mini series. There was something that didn't sit well with me about the handling of the central character who is an US Army Afghan war veteran. I felt like the writers knocking a veteran down like that was heavy handed. They are doing this presumably to bring him back up as a possible new superhero or villain. I'm not against war comics. I just don't like them done in this way to service the next Marvel event or whatever it is. I did like the Scot Eaton's artwork which made it worth the 99¢.

IanG wrote:Mudman #1 (Image) - This is a very well made comic. I love how well the art interacts with the story and serves to tell the story better. The writer/penciler/inker/letterer Paul Grist does everything in this comic but the coloring. The art style is close to a Darwyn Cooke type of cartoony art which I really enjoy. This comic is more about the art than the story thus far. Although the story is good enough that I'm dying to know what happens in the next issue.

Read Mudman #1 & I concur, it's a great comic. I'll be adding it to my pull list.

Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist (Dynamite): This was an OK comic, and I appreciate the fact that the #1 was only $1, but I really don't see myself continuing on with this for the $3.99 issues of the series. The artist is a little rough, to my eye, and I'm getting my Flash Gordon fix (in a VERY different comic) from the Ardden series. At the end of the day, it's another take on Flash Gordon & I'm not a big enough FG fan to want to read 2 concurrent series featuring him.


Valen The Outcast (Boom!): Another very welcome $1 try-out issue. This one is different from other books I've read in the sword & sorcery genre. A king is killed by a necromancer & turned into an undead under his control. He manages to break free from mental servitude & has sworn to hunt that necromancer down. A nice twist on stories I've read in this genre before, I'll be adding this to my pull list.

BobBretall wrote:Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist (Dynamite): This was an OK comic, and I appreciate the fact that the #1 was only $1, but I really don't see myself continuing on with this for the $3.99 issues of the series. The artist is a little rough, to my eye, and I'm getting my Flash Gordon fix (in a VERY different comic) from the Ardden series. At the end of the day, it's another take on Flash Gordon & I'm not a big enough FG fan to want to read 2 concurrent series featuring him.

I like Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist #1, but I'm not sure I like it enough to continue with the series. The pencils are interesting but I wish there was an inker and I think the coloring was heavy handed. I'd have to see at least another issue before I decide to continue on or not. Right now the villain Ming is a lot more interesting than the hero Flash. On a side, isn't the use of Hitler to shock us a bit cliche in comics (see Captain America Comics #1 from 1941). That may be the point but I think it would be more interesting to use a different historical villain.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 (DC) - The whole it's him, it's really him reveal was lost on me because I haven't read much THUNDER Agents. The concept is still interesting enough that I'll give it another issue or two to see where it goes. The art was a lot different than the previous artist and not necessarily in a good way. I don't see this #1 as much as reboot as a new story arc with a new artist.