#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #36

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #36
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
MISC. ART/BACK COVER: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
COVER: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – October 24, 2018)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Higher Learning, Part 4 of 4”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, adventure, and magic, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy goddess-type Brittany Ann Miller.

The current story line, “Higher Learning,” comes to an end.  It is written by Thompson; drawn by Ricardo Mendez; colored by Alivon Ortiz; and lettered by Krugos.  In this story arc, Paige is reunited with her father, who also happens to be the villain, Tech Locke, and her “sister,” Tess Raven.  Now, Paige's friends must free her from his father's influence … if they can.

As Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #36 opens, the heroes, led by Paige's mother, Morgan, have invaded Tech Locke's stronghold.  Jamie takes charge in a bid to free Paige as well as the recently captured Brittany, but Paige is seemingly all-in on her father's plans.,

The bad guys prepare to assist Locke's ally, Doctor Lucian Campbell, who wants to ascend as “Skull Drudgery's” vessel.  Luckily, the heroes have some new allies from the other side, and by the end, many of these opponents, on both sides, are going to have to pay the ultimate price for their actions.

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end, writer B. Alex Thompson, offered a few issues of standalone stories.  Then, he turned his attention to what may be his most ambitious story arc to day, “Higher Learning.”  Chaos Campus #36 brings it all to an end, and it may be the series' first double-sized issue used to conclude an arc.

As usual, artist Ricardo Mendez uses his art and graphical storytelling to deftly mix the magic and the reunions.  However, with “Higher Learning,” especially with this issue, Mendez shows that he can pull off big, event-sized storytelling.  This is his version of a DC Comics “Crisis” series or his Marvel Comics Civil War.  His dynamic compositions and kinetic page designs explode off the page with action and confrontation.  Colorist Alivon Ortiz makes the art crackle in living color, and Krugos' lettering continues the steady beat of this series, pounding out fonts like surround sound.

So where does Thompson go from here?  He plans on ending Chaos Campus some time within the next 15 issues, so enjoy the new stories while you can.  I heartily recommend Chaos Campus #36, so go back and get issues #33 to #35, dear readers, so you can get your “Higher Learning.”

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: ThoughtScape Comics #1 - Print Edition

THOUGHTSCAPE COMICS #1 (Print Edition)
MATT MAIR LOWERY

[UPDATE: ThoughtScape Comics 2024 Kickstarter campaign is now live.]

STORY: Matt Mair Lowery
ART: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
COLORS: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
LETTERS: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
DESIGN: John Larson
COVER: Jenna Cha
48pp, Color, $8.00 U.S. digital, $12.00 U.S. print (July 2021)

ThoughtScape Comics is new science fiction anthology comic book series from writer Matt Mair Lowery.  Lowery is the writer and co-creator with artist Cassie Anderson of Lifeformed, a YA science fiction graphic novel series published first, by Dark Horse Comics and now, by Scout Comics.

Lowery released a PDF edition of the first issue of ThoughtScape Comics in order to promote the “Kickstarter” crowdfunding campaign for the comic, which was fully funded.  Lowery recently shipped physical copies of ThoughtScape Comics #1 to supporters, of which I am one.

Lowery has stated that each issue of ThoughtScape Comics will contain 44+ pages of content, featuring stories written by Lowery and drawn by up-and-coming comic book artists.  Some of the stories will be self-contained and others will be part of a serial.  Multimedia artist, John Larsen, will provide the graphic design and packaging for each issue.

ThoughtScape Comics #1 contains four stories.  Lowery is joined by artists Dave Law, Tyrell Cannon, Lisa Naffziger, and Karl Slominski.  Two stories are apparently serials, and the other two are standalone stories.

ThoughtScape Comics is set in a world in which humanity's first multi-planet conglomerate, LifeTech, discovered the “ThoughtScape” in the late 21st century.  The ThoughtScape is a fifth dimension where every thought that has ever been thought exists.  Using technology of its own innovation, LifeTech began isolating and monitoring these thoughts (via "ThoughtScape Listening Posts").

Later, LifeTech began capturing and recording these thoughts through Thought & Information Service Collection Officers (TISCOs).  Eventually technological advancements allowed that the entire “ThoughtLives” of both living individuals and of the long-dead could be virtually reconstructed and played back through a variety of media formats.  The stories of ThoughtScape Comics will focus on the designs and intentions of LifeTech; the nature of ThoughtScape; and how people and beings connect, react, and exist with both.

THE LOWDOWN:  For the review of ThoughtScape Comics #1, I will offer comments on each of the four stories individually.

The first story is “Thoughtscape 2319: Parish, The Thought . Part 1,” the first part of a serial.  It is written by Lowery and drawn by Dave Law.  The story takes place at the edges of the galactic frontier in the year 2319.  Week 32.4, Thought & Information Service Collection Officer (TISCO) Odessa Query patrols her beat, currently the Hen 3-593 Di Chamaelontis System – 700 light years from Earth.

Her TISCO ship collects thoughts from ThoughtScape Listening Post Di.Cha.036, while she entertains her ship's neurocorder, Feyla.  Query prepares to move on to her next assigned Listening Post when she is diverted to an ongoing disaster.

Because of its cliffhanger ending, I am excited to read more of this story, especially because Lowery teases something awesome and awful coming to scare us, dear readers.  Dave Law's drawing style is perfect for science fiction comic books, and the design of the characters and the technology are convincing.  I also like Law's impressive title page drawing (for which I wouldn't mind having the original art).

The second story is “A Spy Without A face,” illustrated by Tyrell Cannon.  The story pits a mysterious “spy without a face” against a pack of assassins who have broken into a mysterious LifeTech facility.  Both sides get more than they bargained for in this black and white tale.

Cannon's graphical storytelling is high-speed and hyper-kinetic with the graphic design sensibilities of science fiction anime and manga.  Lowery's story allows Cannon to draw an explosive tale that is visceral and thrilling.  I'd like to see another Lowery-Cannon creation, and this story also made me seek out more information about Tyrell Cannon.

The third story is “Adorable Orphans,” written by Lowery and drawn and colored by Lisa Naffziger.  Sally, an elementary school-age girl, loves her “Grammie,” her grandmother.  Her parents seem to despise the old woman, and they are particular about the things to which Grammie exposes Sally.

One day, Sally gets a package from Grammie.  Inside is the season’s hottest toy trend, one of LifeTech’s “Adorable Orphan android dolls” (also called a “DollDroid”).  The girl DollDroid's name is Betty, and she is a great friend for Sally, but everyone else better watch out.

“Adorable Orphans” is by far the best story in ThoughtScape Comics #1.  It is straight-forward, but Lowery is sly and sneaky in the way he surprises the readers in unexpected ways.  For instance, Sally's parents are both snobby and vulgar.  What's going on with Grammie?  And there is certainly more to Sally than what appears on the surface.

Lisa Naffziger's compositions and coloring are more alt-comics than children's comics, although I can understand why some people would see her work as the latter.  Lowery and Naffziger have created in “Adorable Orphans” a concept that could live on its own outside the world of ThoughtScape Comics.  If I were in Hollywood film and television production, I'd swoop in and buy the media rights for “Adorable Orphans” away from the rest of this package.

The fourth and final story is “Ex Post Facto: A Dash Varrick Misadventure . Part 1.”  A press release from Lowery describes the story in the following way:

XXXX#$%@&*!(AGAIN)))...Murder and music at the fringes of the revolution! he’s just a drop in the Co- maXYxXc o p y X > P A S T E Y # % Z o n e , - - h e ’ s - - y o u & M E m e M E . h e ’ s d - d - d a s h D A S H .tooLATEagaFILEretrieveERRORERR.accessing…

The art by Karl Slominski has elements that remind me of David Mack, especially, and of Bill Sienkiewiz, a little.  Otherwise, I have no idea what's going on with this story.

Overall, I like ThoughtScape Comics #1.  It presents such an expansive science fiction concept with a universe of possibilities as big as anything offered by the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.  The print edition makes it much easier to engage the story and to enjoy the in-narrative adds.  It will also be easier for readers to appreciate what an impressive graphics package this comic book is and to also recognize the work of designer John Larson.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of science fiction anthology comic books (such as 2000 AD) will want to try ThoughtScape Comics.

A
8 of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

 

You can order ThoughtScape Comics #1 - print or digital - here.

https://twitter.com/mattmlpdx
https://www.mmlcomics.com/thoughtscape-comics
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattmlpdx/thoughtscape-comics-1
https://twitter.com/TCannonComics
https://twitter.com/lisanaffziger
https://twitter.com/KarlSlominski
https://www.instagram.com/itsdavelaw/
https://twitter.com/kale_satan
https://johnlarsen.net/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #6

SURFACING #6
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivón Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
EDITOR: Denise Thompson
MISC. ART: Cesar Grego with Alivon Ortiz
COVER: Gleidson Ribeiro and Victor Maya with Alivon Ortiz
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (2020)

Rated: “M” for Mature

“The Stone and the Shell” Part 2 of 2

Surfacing is a comic book franchise created by B. Alex Thompson and published by Approbation Comics.  The four-issue miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, focuses on a series of encounters, sometimes violent, between humans and mermaid-like creatures.  The eponymous Surfacing is an anthology series in which each issue offers a story in which a mermaid finds herself trapped in the world of humans.  Besides Thompson, artist Ricardo Mendez; colorist Alivon Ortiz; and letterer Krugos currently comprise Surfacing's creative team.

The latest chapter in the saga of Surfacing is “The Stone and the Shell.”  It is set two million years ago, on a Savannah, likely somewhere in eastern Africa.  This is  the home of a tribe of Homo erectus/ergaster (called the “tree folk” in this story).  Kon is a member of the tribe.  He is exceptionally good at making tools and at fishing, but in a tribe of fierce hunters, Kon's talents are seen as weaknesses.  It does not help that Kon has webbed feet, which also makes the other tree folk suspicious of him.  However, Kon encounters a beautiful young woman, “Int” of the “water folk.”  Meeting Int will change Kon's life, but what will it do to his relationship his own people?

Surfacing #6 opens as Int introduces Kon to her people, the “water folk.”  Obviously, they are suspicious of Kon and his intentions, as well as being wary of Kon's people, the “tree folk.”  Still, they welcome him into the tribe, but everything is not on the “up and up.”  And some transgressions can never be forgiven.

THE LOWDOWN:  As much as I enjoyed the miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, I find myself really enjoying Surfacing, which showcases some of writer B. Alex Thompson's most imaginative writing.  The fifth and sixth issues of Surfacing present a big shift from the usual Surfacing tales.

Thompson's imagination gives us a story set in eastern Africa (likely modern day Kenya) during the Early Pleistocene.  That story offers a different kind of character, a complicated man who has troubles in his native world and who ends up caught between two worlds.  The Stone and the Shell” also emphasizes the familiarity of family conflict and romantic discovery, which allows the readers to recognize Kon and, perhaps, to place themselves in his life.  Thompson makes every page of this story intriguing, and like Part 1, Part 2 always has at least one thing on each page that makes me curious and want to know more about this story and its setting.

Artist Ricardo Mendez has proved to be a perfect collaborator for Thompson in this writer-artist team.  In “The Stone and the Shell,” Mendez creates a beautiful prehistoric pastoral world that is as interesting as the main story.  As he did in the first part, Mendez deftly tells this second chapter of “The Stone and the Shell” via his figure drawings of the characters, which give the story a sense of naturalism.  Alivon Ortiz's muted colors allow the emotions of the characters to stand out in the story.  Krugos' lettering and sound effects are also muted, but are “pitch-perfect” for this chapter's emphasis on betrayal.

I highly recommend Surfacing #6, just as I did for issue #5.  Surfacing is like nothing else you will find in mainstream, alternative, or indie comics, so please, dive into this.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of fantasy comic books published by DC Comics' late imprint, Vertigo, will want to read Surfacing.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: NOW: The New Comics Anthology #10

NOW: THE NEW COMICS ANTHOLOGY #10
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONISTS: Julia Gfrörer,; Tim Lane; Jacob Weinstein; Steven Weissman, M.S. Harkness; Walt Holcombe; Theo Ellsworth; Joakim Drescher; Silvia Rocchi; Alex Nall & Hartley Lin; Chris Wright; Noah Van Sciver; Celia Vårhed; Richard Sala; Karl Stevens
DESIGN: Jacob Covey
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
COVER: Rebecca Morgan
BACKCOVER: Nick Thorburn
ISBN: 978-1-68396-399-8; paperback (July 2021)
108pp, Color, $12.99 U.S.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology is an alternative-comics anthology series launched in 2017 and edited by Eric Reynolds.  NOW is published by alt-comix and art comics publisher, Fantagraphics Books.  Over its four-plus decades of existence, Fantagraphics has published what is probably the most diverse collection of comic book anthologies in the history of North American comic books.  That line-up includes such titles as Anything Goes, Critters, Mome, Pictopia, and Zero Zero, to name a few.

NOW: The New Comics Anthology #10 offers a selection of sixteen cartoonists and comics creators, as well as a back cover “comics strip” from Nick Thorburn.  NOW #10 holds to editor Eric Reynolds' creed (from NOW #1) that NOW showcases “...as broad a range of quality comic art as possible...”  This latest edition also includes nine pages of never-before published comics from the late Richard Sala (1955-2020).

The contributors list also includes a Leroy favorite, Noah Van Sciver.  But let's take a look at each of NOW #10's cartoonists' contributions:

THE LOWDOWN:  The illustration that acts as NOW #10's cover art is entitled “Feminist Mountain Man,” and is produced by Rebecca Morgan.  The illustration is what it says it is, with some modern additions, such as a button bearing the logo of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers – a sight I always welcome.

“The Counterweight” by Julia Gfrörer:
This beautiful one-page comic is composed of 24 panels that depict the evolution of love and war and the impermanence of a union.  Gfrörer's lovely art also celebrates drawing the human figure in motion.

“The Mobbing Birds: by Tim Lane:
Tim Lane's story, “The Mobbing Birds,” has two things going for it.  The first is its textured, almost photo-realistic art.  The second is having the legendary Hollywood star and cultural icon, Steve McQueen (1930-1980).  The combination of the two create the sense of this story being select scenes from an actual Steve McQueen movie.  “The Mobbing Birds” is like a slice of Americana, probably the dominant theme of Lane's comics, and I find myself fascinated by it.  I wouldn't mind seeing it as a full-length graphic novel, but then, there's the McQueen estate...

“T.D. Ramanujan” by Jacob Weinstein:
This story focuses on T.D. Ramanujan, the administrator of a table tennis federation in the nation of India.  The art reminds me of mid-90s Chris Ware, and the lead character and the setting are quite interesting.  The story's most powerful moments are set during World War II, and the way Weinstein draws the characters makes each one look like a unique figure.  I would certainly like to see more comics set in this milieu.

“No More Or Less Alive” by Steven Weissman:
I have read so many alt-comics anthologies that I am sure I have previously come across Steven Weissman's amazing comics many times.  “No More Or Less Alive” is NOW #10's most explosive, in-your-face story.  A nature story and quasi-animal fable, it is set in “Black Feather Valley” and focuses on a mother gopher fighting a wheat snake for the lives of her seven nursing pups.  If I ever had the words to convey to you, dear readers, the power of this story, I can't find them as I write this.  There must be some literary comics award that will recognize this story as one of the year's best comics.

“Go Big, Then Stay Home” by M.S. Harkness:
Cartoonist M.S. Harkness is also a competitive weightlifter, and this autobiographical comics short story recounts a trip she took with her friend, Elis Bradshaw, a competitive female power lifter.  Early in 2020, Harkness and Bradshaw travel to Columbus, Ohio for a power-lifting event, the “Arnold Fitness Expo,” where Bradshaw will compete, with Harkness there to help.  “Go Big, Then Stay Home” provides an interesting look at the world of power-lifting, but what really amps up the drama is that COVID-19 looms over this story.  Interestingly, the story is set in the last days before the pandemic shutdown so much of public life.

“I'm Trying to Sleep!” by Walt Holcombe:
“I'm Trying to Sleep!” is comic relief, the short story equivalent of a gag strip.  I think I have read Walt Holcombe before, and I'd like more.

“You Wouldn't Think So but It Happens All the Time” by Theo Ellsworth:
This colorful story is about the interaction of humans and animal-hybrids, but such interaction requires traveling to the animal-hybrids' world.  But it ain't easy to go to the animal-hybrid world.  I wish there were more of this story, because it seems like there should be.

“Miserable Mildrid” by Joakim Drescher:
One might mistake this for a series of “funny animal” one-page comics, except “Miserable Mildrid” is not that, even if it has a passing resemblance to such.  However, the porcine-ish Mildrid offers humor as creator Joakim Drescher digs into such ailments of modern culture and popular culture as conspiracy theories, incels, fan culture, COVID-19, and the subsequent shutdown.  “Miserable Mildrid” is solidly alt-comics, and it is one of my favorite entries in NOW #10.

“I Hate Parties” by Silvia Rocchi:
“I Hate Parties” is an observation more than it is a story, and it is indicative of something that I have noticed in the four volumes of NOW that I have read.  Many of these stories could be longer … in my humble opinion.  It's as if these cartoonists don't realize either their own potential or the potential of what they create.  “I Hate Parties” is an example of this...

“Real Witches” by Alex Nall & Hartley Lin:
...On the other hand, “Real Witches” is a two-pager that feels complete.  Its 21 panels recall classic 1950s and 1960s newspaper comics concerning the lives and adventures of children, except that “Real Witches” has a strong angle of modern edginess.  If Charles Schulz's Peanuts debuted today, it might look and read like “Real Witches,” another of my favorites from this volume.

“Taffy” by Chris Wright:
“Taffy” is like a demented children's picture book that is entirely inappropriate for anyone to read.  I find it fascinating.  Strangely, “Taffy” reminds me of the work of another cartoonist featured in NOW #10, the late Richard Sala.

“Mellow Mutt” by Noah Van Sciver:
A boy and his toy triceratops and using the imagination to play action heroes:  that's “Mellow Mutt.”  It's silly, funny, crude, and ultimately sad.  What would NOW be like without an offering from the great Noah Van Sciver.

“Free Cone Day” by Celia Varhed:
“Free Cone Day” would be funny even if it weren't painfully true.  When you want something, like a job or a particular career, you can fool yourself to the point of foolish oblivion.  “Free Cone Day” is the kind of superb work of alternative comics that only NOW is original enough to publish.

“Five Shorts”
Richard Sala (1955-2020) was one of the great cartoonists and most unique comics creators of the last four decades.  I have reviewed many of his works and have compared his comics to Charles Addams, Gahan Wilson, and Edward Gorey.  Sala's “pop macabre” sensibilities placed him in the company of contemporaries and of such fellow purveyors of Gothic pop art and entertainment as Charles Burns, Tim Burton, Lemony Snicket, and Guillermo Del Toro, to name a few.

“Five Shorts” is a nine-page suite of never-before published comics from early in Sala's career.  He apparently never even showed them to his friends, according to NOW editor Eric Reynolds.  I thought the world of Sala as an artist and cartoonist, and I exchanged some emails with him back in the Aughts.  I am happy to get this early work in NOW #10.  In them, one can see the beginnings of the graphic style and sensibilities that made Sala an artist whose influence is probably wider than many suspect.

“In This Short Life” by Karl Stevens:
This one-page comic features beautiful, photo-realistic art, and some contemplation.

“Then... But... NOW” by Nick Thorburn:
This is another befuddling back cover strip from Nick Thorburn.  I like it.

So, in conclusion, NOW #10 is the best volume of the series that I have read since I read NOW #1.  It is full of excellent stories, inventive pieces, and beautiful art, but I must choose “No More Or Less Alive” by Steven Weissman as the best of NOW #10.  Like B. Krigstein, Weissman is innovative in the use of the space of a comic book page for “No More Or Less Alive.”

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of classic alternative-comics anthologies will want to discover NOW: The New Comics Anthology.

A

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.fantagraphics.com/
https://twitter.com/fantagraphics
https://www.instagram.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.facebook.com/fantagraphics/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtLxEaspctVar287DtdsMww


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #35

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #35
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
MISC. ART: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
COVER: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
24pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – October 24, 2018)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Higher Learning, Part 3 of 4”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, adventure, and magic, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy goddess-type Brittany Ann Miller.

The current story line is “Higher Learning.”  It is written by Thompson; drawn by Ricardo Mendez; colored by Alivon Ortiz; and lettered by Krugos.  In this story arc, Paige is reunited with her father, who also happens to be the villain, Tech Locke, and her “sister,” Tess Raven.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #35 opens in the “Campus Survivors Compound.”  Paige's mother, Morgan, wants the group to have a really good plan of action before they launch an attack on Tech Locke's compound to retrieve her daughter.  Jamie and Brittany, newly recovered from her injuries, are raring to go.  What they don't know is that Paige is willing to help her father and is all-in on his diabolical plans, which she doesn't see as diabolical.

Locke will assist his ally, Doctor Lucian Campbell, who wants to ascend as “Skull Drudgery's” vessel.  In order to do that, he needs the “Ever-Ice,” and that can only be found on an alternate Earth – an “Ice Earth” that Tess visited a few years ago.  But Tess will need Paige's magical powers, which are only getting stronger, to open a portal to that world.

Meanwhile, the other two EAZY sisters are in a pitched battle against Neo-Zombies outside Locke's compound.  Now, they must follow Paige and Locke to the Ice Earth, but if they do, tragedy will also follow them.

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end and delivering a series of standalone stories, writer B. Alex Thompson turns the focus of Chaos Campus' narrative eye to Paige Helena Patton.  The fun thing of that, especially for regular readers of Chaos Campus, is that this story arc, “Higher Learning,” means a return of favorite characters that have been absent for several issues or even longer.  Thompson brings family drama, tragedy, and real pain to Chaos Campus #35, and he also delivers some epic action.

Ricardo Mendez's art and graphical storytelling deftly mixes the magic and the reunions.  As he did in the second issue, Mendez also conveys how important this story arc is both in terms of Paige's development and in her personal story and in terms of how the story affects the future of the series.  In this thirty-fifth issue, Mendez also offers readers six cool double-page spreads that greatly heighten the sense of drama and action; they are like a kick of adrenaline to your imagination, dear readers.

Alivon Ortiz's dazzling colors and impressive color effects make “Higher Learning's” magic look … well, magical.  Krugos' lettering continues the steady beat of this series, as he carries readers into an alternative world of high-powered action.  I heartily recommend Chaos Campus #35, so go back and get issues #33 and #34, if you have to, as you prepare for the conclusion of “Higher Learning.”

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus at comiXology or at https://www.comixology.com/Chaos-Campus-Sorority-Girls-vs-Zombies/comics-series/63703?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZGVy

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: WILLIAM THE LAST: Flight & Fight #1

WILLIAM THE LAST: FLIGHT & FIGHT No. 1
GUARDIAN KNIGHT STUDIOS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Brian Shearer – @brian_shearer
24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (January 2019)

William the Last in a new comic book series created by cartoonist Brian Shearer.  Shearer has worked as a pencil artist, inker, or colorist on several of IDW Publishing's licensed publications, including Ghostbusters, Star Trek, and Transformers.

William the Last chronicles the adventures of an orphan who discovers that his name, “William,” is a forbidden word in a strange kingdom.  William meets Ella, a girl about his age, and she gives him the name “Jacob,” and she introduces him to her parents – her father, Magnus, and her mother, Kathran.  Ella and her people live underground, beneath a decaying kingdom that becomes aware of William's presence and wants him destroyed.

After the opening four-issue series, William the Last, Shearer debuted a second four-issue series, William the Last: Flight & Fight.  The second series finds William attempting to rescue Ella.

As William the Last: Flight & Fight #1 begins, Magnus and Elias (his partner in crime) hide the armor belonging to the Hawk-Rider they... captured.  Magnus has a plan to use it to rescue his daughter, Ella, who has been captured and is imprisoned in the city.  However, young William decides that he should do the rescuing.  Meanwhile, imprisoned Ella shockingly discovers that she and the weird guy in the cell next to hers have a mutual acquaintance.

I thoroughly enjoyed William the Last #1, and I thought that it suggested that the series as a whole could be quite good.  It reminded me of the early issues of Bone, Mouse Guard, and Farlaine the Goblin, three independently published, fantasy comic book series that have the look and feel of classic children's fantasy fiction.  Of course, I was right.  The second, third, and fourth issues of William the Last were and are fantastic reads.

William the Last: Flight & Fight #1 seems to be too good to be true. There is not a wasted page, and every panel of this comic book makes you race to the next one, making you flip through the pages of this comic book like a desperate person.  I don't know why William the Last isn't a big freaking hit with more comic book readers.  It's not perfect, but it's perfect for most readers of comic books that make an attempt at epic fantasy.

Brian Shearer is a fantastic artist and colorist.  It is not so much that he is stylish (which he is); it is that his illustrations are evocative, and so, the emotions in his story come across strongly.  Mood and atmosphere are also evident; William the Last is dark and moody, but the sense of adventure is imbued in every panel.

William the Last feels like a timeless tale.  It could have fit on the shelves or in spinner racks right alongside American comic books of published in any of the last eight decades.  William the Last: Flight & Fight feels like it is ready to grapple with the big adventure and movements of epic fantasy; think The Lord of the Rings or works inspired by it.  The next time you go to the comic book shop, dear reader, say his name.  Shout out for William the Last.

9 out of 10

http://www.williamthelast.com/
http://brian-shearer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BrianShearerArt/
https://www.instagram.com/brian_shearer/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

--------------------------

#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #34

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #34
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
MISC. ART: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
COVERS: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
24pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – December 27, 2017)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Higher Learning, Part 2 of 4”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, adventure, and magic, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy goddess-type Brittany Ann Miller.

The current story line is “Higher Learning.”  It is written by Thompson; drawn by Ricardo Mendez; colored by Alivon Ortiz; and lettered by Krugos.  In this story arc, Paige is reunited with her father, who also happens to be the villain, Tech Locke.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #34 opens in the “Campus Survivors Compound.”  Paige's mother, Morgan, wants the group to have a really good plan of action before they launch an attack on Tech Locke's compound to retrieve her daughter.

Elsewhere, in the stronghold, Paige battles her sister for Tech's amusement, and this leads to a reunion with an old (and thought to be dead) rival, Mitzi Peterson.  Later, Jamie engages in some gladiatorial combat and has some reunions of her own.

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end and delivering a series of standalone stories, writer B. Alex Thompson turns the focus of Chaos Campus' narrative eye to Paige Helena Patton.  The fun thing of that, especially for regular readers of Chaos Campus is that this story arc means a return of favorite characters that have been absent for several issues or even longer.

Ricardo Mendez's art and graphical storytelling deftly mixes the magic and the reunions.  Mendez also conveys how important this story arc is both in terms of Paige's development and in her personal story and in terms of how the story affects the future of the series.

Alivon Ortiz's good coloring continues to bless Chaos Campus, and his dazzling color effects for the last few issues just pop off the page. Letterer Krugos continues the steady beat of this series, as he carries readers through the narrative.  I heartily recommend Chaos Campus #34, so go back and get #33, if you have to, as you prepare for the rest “Higher Learning.”

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

----------------

#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #5

SURFACING #5
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivón Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
EDITOR: Denise Thompson
MISC. ART: Gleidson Ribeiro
COVER: Gleidson Ribeiro, Maxx Marshall, and Victor Maya
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (2019)

Rated: “M” for Mature

“The Stone and the Shell” Part 1 of 2

Surfacing is a comic book franchise created by B. Alex Thompson and published by Approbation Comics.  The four-issue miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, focuses on a series of encounters, sometimes violent, between humans and mermaid-like creatures.  The eponymous Surfacing is an anthology series in which each issue offers a story in which a mermaid finds herself trapped in the world of humans.  Besides Thompson, artist Ricardo Mendez; colorist Alivon Ortiz; and letterer Krugos, currently comprise Surfacing's creative team.

Surfacing #5 opens two million years ago, on a Savannah, likely somewhere in eastern Africa.  There, a tribe of Homo erectus/ergaster resides.  Kon is a member of the tribe.  He is exceptionally good at making tools and at fishing, but in a tribe of fierce hunters, Kon's talents are seen as weaknesses.  Kon's brother, Nog, is a great hunter.

After Nog coerces him into going on a hunt, Kon is injured.  Kon goes to a nearby beach, where he submerges the bottom half of his body in the cool waters.  This leads to an encounter with a beautiful young woman.  She calls herself “Int,” and she is of the “water folk.”  Meeting Int will change Kon's life, but what will it do to his relationship his own people?

THE LOWDOWN:  As much as I enjoyed the miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, I find myself really enjoying Surfacing, which showcases some of writer B. Alex Thompson's most imaginative writing.  Surfacing #5 offers a big shift from the usual Surfacing tales.

Thompson fanciful imagining of the eastern Africa (likely modern day Kenya) during the Early Pleistocene offers a different kind of character, while emphasizing familiar family conflict and romantic discovery.  Thompson makes every page of this story intriguing; it is as if there is always at least one thing on each page that makes me curious and want to know more.

Artist Ricardo Mendez has proved to be a perfect collaborator for Thompson in this writer-artist team.  Mendez creates a beautiful prehistoric pastoral world that is as interesting as the main story.  Speaking of which, Mendez deftly tells this first chapter of “The Stone and the Shell” via his figure drawings of the characters, which give the story a sense of naturalism.  Alivon Ortiz's muted colors allow the emotions of the characters to stand out in the story.  Krugos' lettering and sound effects are also muted, but is “pitch-perfect” for this chapter's emphasis on a budding romance.

I highly recommend Surfacing #5 and the series as a whole.  Surfacing is like nothing else you will find in mainstream, alternative, or indie comics.  It is something new and different like Neil Gaiman's The Sandman was when it debuted.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of fantasy comic books published by DC Comics' late imprint, Vertigo, will want to read Surfacing.

A+

10 out of 10

[This issue includes a three-page bonus section that reprints pages of Gleidson Ribeiro's pencil art for an earlier version of this series and this story.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------------

#IReadsYou Review: GREY. CHAPTER 5

GREY. CHAPTER 5
THE GREY ROOM

STORY: Kris Hornett
ART: Ardee Arollado
SPECIAL PROJECTS ART: Kenet Guevarra
EDITOR: Lisa Taylor
COVER: Nicholas Sen
36pp, B&W, $10.00 U.S. (print), $5.99 U.S. (March 2021)

Age Rating: 15+ Only

Chapter 5: Living Portraits

Grey is an independent comic book series from writer Kris Hornett and artist Ardee Arollado.  Published by The Grey Room, Grey is a hybrid, a combination of an American comic book format and Japanese manga.  Grey is similar to what was once called “OEL manga” or “original English language” manga.  These were American graphic novels in which the storytelling borrowed or mimicked the aesthetics and sensibilities of Japanese manga (comics).

Grey is set in the realm of Ketiyama (apparently an archipelago) and takes place some time after an event known as “the Sonoma Incident.”  This outbreak of the lethal “Moon Virus” on Nacirema, one of Ketiyama's islands, led to chaos, destruction, and division.  As a sign of good faith and as a last attempt to restore order, the ruling Board of Officials allowed the people to elect a team of highly trained tactical agents, known as “the Bureau,” to serve and protect them.  Within the Bureau is an elite unit known as “Nimbus.”  The members of this team of five agents are sworn to maintain moral balance and to enforce the law.  These agents are also able to manipulate their “prana” (“life energy”).

The agents of Nimbus are Samara Asuhara, Kouken Masimuto, Shuyin Hagamuri, Manu Yagyu, and Kale Schaefer.  Belisia Asuhara, Samara's sister, is their handler and the creator of Nimbus.

Grey Chapter 5 opens in the home of Asuna and Yuta Yagyu – recently murdered.  It is, however, an unusual death, as they have been posed in a process involving prana.  Now, they are “living portraits,” and it is up to Saya Yagyu – the Shriker of Malta – to discover who killed members of her family.  Meanwhile, the killer has absconded with her niece, Asuka, Asuna and Yuta's daughter.

The agents of Nimbus have joined her in the investigation, and Samara has seen “living portraits” in her past.  In fact, Samara knows who the killer is, and she and Shuyin prepare to lead the mission to bring in the killer.  Not everyone is happy with that plan, though.

THE LOWDOWN:  The Grey Room is about to release the first trade paperback collection of Grey, entitled Grey: Volume 1.  This TPB will reprint Grey Chapters 1 to 5, as well as, Chapter 3.5: Astrid and Chapter 4.5: The Right Thing, both “special release chapters.”  I think this collection will be the best way to read the series, as it will reinforce to readers how conceptually well-developed Grey is.

As I have previously written, when readers start from the beginning, they discover that the world in which Grey is set has a complex history.  Readers get to watch the authors build a world in front of them and also to experience some other elements of the series, such as its engaging mysteries and sense of discovery.

The one thing I do want to emphasize, which Grey Chapter 5 also emphasizes, is the strength of the characters in this series.  First, each character is independent in the sense that he or she has his or her own motivations, desires, and goals.  Hornett presents characters that are not beholding to other characters for their worth.  Certainly, one character can affect another via the action, but it is good that supporting characters and cameo players don't feel like mere window dressing in the dramas of Grey's most important characters.

The best example of that takes place in the second half of Chapter 5, which I want to be careful not to spoil.  Hornett has the Nimbus characters and investigators confront one another about various issues regarding the murder investigations.  Hornett does not depict any characters as “backing down,” which makes them all appear important.  Readers are welcomed to pick a favorite character or even assume a character is the lead, but like Japanese manga, this American manga respects the idea of an ensemble cast with many quality characters.

Ardee Arollado's art, which gets more powerful with each chapter, conveys this in the way he composes the characters.  Sometimes, his art and storytelling seem like impartial observers, presenting the drama in large-size panels, capturing a stage in which each character has the power to affect the drama.

So after praising the characters, I have to heartily recommend Grey to you, dear readers.  And with this new trade paperback, you can still get in on Grey's intriguing ground floor.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of manga-inspired comic books and of good science fiction comic books will want to read Grey.

[This comic book includes three pages of additional informative text pieces.]

A

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Grey #5 and all issues of the series can be read at comiXology.  Readers can also purchase all issues of the series and the new first trade collection, Grey: Volume 1 here or at https://thegreyroom.org/.

https://thegreyroom.org/
https://www.instagram.com/thegreyroom_/
Kris Hornett: https://twitter.com/Hornett_
Lisa Taylor: https://twitter.com/Persuasion513
https://www.instagram.com/kero.beroz/?hl=en


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

----------------

#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #33

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #33
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
MISC. ART: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
COVERS: Ricardo Mendez with Alivon Ortiz
24pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – December 20, 2017)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Higher Learning, Part l of 4”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, adventure, and magic, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy goddess-type Brittany Ann Miller.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #33 opens in the aftermath of “Lineage” (from issue #32).  Paige is having bad dreams, and the uncertainty and the frustrations with the responsibilities and hopes placed on her begin to push her to a breaking point.  Her friends and her mother, Morgan, and brother, Tyler, try to comfort Paige.  Even Oliver offers help, but Paige is not sure about his motives.

However, the fam and the friends are not the only ones who have been noticing Paige's emotional and mentally vulnerable state.  Tech Locke, always one dream or portal away, makes his move in trying to recruit Paige to his side.   What could Tech possibly have that would make Paige turn her back on her family, friends, and mission?  It's a secret.

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end, writer B. Alex Thompson continued to bring levity to Chaos Campus via a series of standalone stories.  However, in the most recent standalone story, “Lineage,” writer B. Alex Thompson revealed that Brittany shares her body with an ancient Greek goddess known as “the Twelfth.”

Now, Thompson turns Chaos Campus' narrative eye to Paige Helena Patton with the beginning of a new story arc, “Higher Learning.”  At first Tech Locke, the mystery man who is obsessed with Paige, seems like nothing more than a pest.  Thompson throws in a twist when he uses not Locke's own secrets, but the secrets others keep as the hook to pull readers into this new arc.

As usual, Ricardo Mendez's art and graphical storytelling are strong, and in many ways, he has become the second signature “voice” of Chaos Campus.  This series' narrative engine runs smoothly under the guiding hands of Mendez's compositions.  It seems that, at least for now, no one can transform Thompson's Chaos Campus scripts into comic book art and storytelling better than Mendez.

Good coloring has blessed Chaos Campus, and the colors and dazzling color effects by Alivon Ortiz make even the quite pages in issue #33 pop. Letterer Krugos continues the steady beat of this series, and that beat may very well carry more of you, dear readers, to Chaos Campus #33.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus #33 at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SURFACING #4

SURFACING #4
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Kevin Richardson
COLORS: Santtos
LETTERS: Krugos
EDITOR: Denise Thompson
MISC. ART: Kevin Richardson
COVER/BACK COVER: Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (2019)

Rated: “M” for Mature

“The Milkmaids and the Mermaid”

Surfacing is a comic book franchise created by B. Alex Thompson and published by Approbation Comics.  The four-issue miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, focuses on a series encounters, sometimes violent, between humans and mermaid-like creatures.  The eponymous Surfacing is an anthology series in which each issue offers a story in which a mermaid finds herself trapped in the world of humans.  Besides Thompson, artist Kevin Richardson; colorist Santtos; letterer Krugos, and cover artists Cesar Grego and Alivon Ortiz currently comprise Surfacing's creative team.

Surfacing #4 (“The Milkmaids and the Mermaid”) opens in the 1400s in Holland (then, a western province of The Netherlands).  In the town of Edam, in West Friesland (a region in North Holland) resides the Ruis family:  Papa, Mama, and sisters, Berna and Gisla.  A recent heavy storm raised the waters of the North Sea and destroyed the dykes, flooding the nearby lands.

Berna and Gisla (the “milkmaids” of the story's title) are in a small canoe rescuing the family's dairy cows when they spot a human hand sticking out of the water.  Upon investigation, the girls find and rescue a mermaid, and bring her back to their farm.

Papa Ruis, despite objections from Mama Ruis, tends to the mermaid's injuries.  Eventually, they take the mermaid into the family – like an indentured servant and prisoner – and name her “Elin.”  After several years, Elin becomes a local curiosity, “Elin the Zeewijf.”  But what is “Elin's” real story?  Where does she come from, and how does she view her stay in the human world?  Is this a heaven or a hell, and what does her future hold?

THE LOWDOWN:  As much as I enjoyed the miniseries, Surfacing: Depth Perceptions, I did not know what to expect of the Surfacing anthology, which was apparently intended to be a three-issue miniseries.  However, I can always rely on writer B. Alex Thompson's imagination.

Initially, Thompson presented Surfacing in a way that reminded me of dark fantasy, anthology television series like the classic  “The Twilight Zone” (1959 to 1964) and the 1980s “Tales from the Darkside.”  The third issue of the series even offered a tale set in the “old West, “A Promise of Home,” that reminded me of American “Western” films.

“The Milkmaids and the Mermaid” reveals a different side of Thompson.  His best known work includes horror, comedy, relationship drama, horror-comedy, and contemporary drama.  However, Thompson sometimes reveals a side of his writing the skews toward fantasy and fairy tales.  That is what “The Milkmaids and the Mermaid” is, a fairy tail, albeit a melancholy one.  This story is not so much about plot, character, or setting as it is simply a story.  It is the kind of tale of the supernatural that pops up from time to time in one book of fairy tails or another.  Once it comes into existence, it never dies.  It just waits to be rediscovered or told again.  [There is a Dutch folktale, “Meermin van Edam,” of which there are a number of variations, that may have inspired “The Milkmaids and the Mermaid.”]

Artist Kevin Richardson presents an imaginative take on the deep waters world of the mermaids.  However, Richardson also conveys the banal evil of slavery and the dishonesty of those who insist that they can do anything in the name of bringing god to the savages and heathens.  The coloring by Santtos eschews pretty hues less this fairy tale becomes a lie, and Krugos makes the art feel like a narrative told on tapestry.

I am glad that there is a Surfacing #4, and “The Milkmaids and the Mermaid” is the kind of surprising and wonderful story that justifies more Surfacing.  So I hope more issues of this series … surface.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of fantasy comic books published by DC Comics' late imprint, Vertigo, will want to read Surfacing.

A+
10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: ThoughtScape Comics #1 - Digital Edition

THOUGHTSCAPE COMICS #1
MATT MAIR LOWERY

[UPDATE: ThoughtScape Comics 2024 Kickstarter campaign is now live.]

STORY: Matt Mair Lowery
ART: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
COLORS: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
LETTERS: Dave Law; Tyrell Cannon; Lisa Naffziger; Karl Slominski
DESIGN: John Larson
COVER: Jenna Cha
44pp, Color, $8.00 U.S. (digital), $15.00 U.S. (print)

ThoughtScape Comics is new science fiction anthology comic book series from writer Matt Mair Lowery.  Lowery is the writer and co-creator with artist Cassie Anderson of Lifeformed, a YA science fiction graphic novel series published by Dark Horse Comics.

Lowery has stated that each issue of ThoughtScape Comics will contain 44+ pages of content, featuring stories written by Lowery and drawn by up-and-coming comic book artists.  Some of the stories will be self-contained and others will be part of a serial.  Multimedia artist, John Larsen, will provide the graphic design and packaging for each issue.

ThoughtScape Comics #1 contains four stories.  Lowery is joined by artists Dave Law, Tyrell Cannon, Lisa Naffziger, and Karl Slominski.  Two stories are apparently serials, and the other two are standalone stories.

ThoughtScape Comics is set in a world in which humanity's first multi-planet conglomerate, LifeTech, discovered the “ThoughtScape” in the late 21st century.  The ThoughtScape is a fifth dimension where every thought that has ever been thought exists.  Using technology of its own innovation, LifeTech began isolating and monitoring these thoughts (via “ThoughtScape Listening Posts").

Later, LifeTech began capturing and recording these thoughts through Thought & Information Service Collection Officers (TISCOs).  Eventually technological advancements allowed that the entire “ThoughtLives” of both living individuals and of the long-dead could be virtually reconstructed and played back through a variety of media formats.  The stories of ThoughtScape Comics will focus on the designs and intentions of LifeTech; the nature of ThoughtScape; and how people and beings connect, react, and exist with both.

THE LOWDOWN:  For the review of ThoughtScape Comics #1, I will offer comments on each of the four stories individually.

The first story is “Thoughtscape 2319: Parish, The Thought . Part 1,” the first part of a serial.  It is written by Lowery and drawn by Dave Law.  The story takes place at the edges of the galactic frontier in the year 2319.  Week 32.4, Thought & Information Service Collection Officer (TISCO) Odessa Query patrols her beat, currently the Hen 3-593 Di Chamaelontis System – 700 light years from Earth.

Her TISCO ship collects thoughts from ThoughtScape Listening Post Di.Cha.036, while she entertains her ship's neurocorder, Feyla.  Query prepares to move on to her next assigned Listening Post when she is diverted to an ongoing disaster.

Because of its cliffhanger ending, I am excited to read more of this story, especially because Lowery teases something awesome and awful coming to scare us, dear readers.  Dave Law's drawing style is perfect for science fiction comic books, and the design of the characters and the technology are convincing.  I also like Law's impressive title page drawing (for which I wouldn't mind having the original art).

The second story is “A Spy Without A face,” illustrated by Tyrell Cannon.  The story pits a mysterious “spy without a face” against a pack of assassins who have broken into a mysterious LifeTech facility.  Both sides get more than they bargained for in this black and white tale.

Cannon's graphical storytelling is high-speed and hyper-kinetic with the graphic design sensibilities of science fiction anime and manga.  Lowery's story allows Cannon to draw an explosive tale that is visceral and thrilling.  I'd like to see another Lowery-Cannon creation, and this story also made me seek out more information about Tyrell Cannon.

[Art by Tyrell Cannon for the story, "A Spy Without A face."]

The third story is “Adorable Orphans,” written by Lowery and drawn and colored by Lisa Naffziger.  Sally, an elementary school-age girl, loves her “Grammie,” her grandmother.  Her parents seem to despise the old woman, and they are particular about the things to which Grammie exposes Sally.

One day, Sally gets a package from Grammie.  Inside is the season’s hottest toy trend, one of LifeTech’s “Adorable Orphan android dolls” (also called a “DollDroid”).  The girl DollDroid's name is Betty, and she is a great friend for Sally, but everyone else better watch out.

“Adorable Orphans” is by far the best story in ThoughtScape Comics #1.  It is straight-forward, but Lowery is sly and sneaky in the way he surprises the readers in unexpected ways.  For instance, Sally's parents are both snobby and vulgar.  What's going on with Grammie?  And there is certainly more to Sally than what appears on the surface.

Lisa Naffziger's compositions and coloring are more alt-comics than children's comics, although I can understand why some people would see her work as the latter.  Lowery and Naffziger have created in “Adorable Orphans” a concept that could live on its own outside the world of ThoughtScape Comics.  If I were in Hollywood film and television production, I'd swoop in and buy the media rights for “Adorable Orphans” away from the rest of this package.

The fourth and final story is “Ex Post Facto: A Dash Varrick Misadventure . Part 1.”  A press release from Lowery describes the story in the following way:

XXXX#$%@&*!(AGAIN)))...Murder and music at the fringes of the revolution! he’s just a drop in the Co- maXYxXc o p y X > P A S T E Y # % Z o n e , - - h e ’ s - - y o u & M E m e M E . h e ’ s d - d - d a s h D A S H .tooLATEagaFILEretrieveERRORERR.accessing…

The art by Karl Slominski has elements that remind me of David Mack, especially, and of Bill Sienkiewiz, a little.  Otherwise, I have no idea what's going on with this story.

Overall, I like ThoughtScape Comics #1.  It presents such an expansive science fiction concept with a universe of possibilities as big as anything offered by the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises.  I hope a lot of comic book readers get behind the project and financially support it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of science fiction anthology comic books (such as 2000 AD) will want to try ThoughtScape Comics.

A-

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/mattmlpdx
https://www.mmlcomics.com/thoughtscape-comics
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mattmlpdx/thoughtscape-comics-1
https://twitter.com/TCannonComics
https://twitter.com/lisanaffziger
https://twitter.com/KarlSlominski
https://www.instagram.com/itsdavelaw/
https://twitter.com/kale_satan
https://johnlarsen.net/


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).  But that ad is for a graphic novel you might want to give a try.

#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #32

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES No. 32
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Miguel Marques
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
MISC. ART: Ricardo Mendez
COVER: Ricardo Mendez
28pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – July 19, 2017)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Lineage”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, and adventure, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy Brittany Ann Miller.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #32 (“Lineage”) opens in the aftermath of “Juggernauts” (from issue #31).  Brittany is totally whacked out, wandering around, half-dressed in a hospital gown, and muttering strange numbers.  Luckily, Jamie is around with her giant adjustable wrench and Paige with her magical energy sword to fight off the zombies that wanna snack on a zombie-actin' Britts.

Also, luckily, Paige has figured out what those numbers are, and now, it is time to meet the parents – Brittany's parents?!  Who is “the Twelfth?”  Who are the “Thirteen Survivors?”  What is the true history of the “Greek gods” and Mount Olympus?  Who is “the First” and can she be stopped?  And who can stop her?

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end, writer B. Alex Thompson continues to bring levity to Chaos Campus via a series of standalone stories.  I thought “Juggernauts” was the best of the lot, but “Lineage” speaks well for itself.

Ricardo Mendez's art and graphical storytelling remains strong.  His art in “Juggernauts” reminds me of the storytelling that readers would find in Marvel Comics' The Punisher titles.  Mendez's storytelling retains its nice pacing, but he shines in the offbeat “Lineage,” which changes pace several times.  It also offers just enough brutality and gruesomeness to capture the Chaos Campus style.  Colorist Miguel Marques replaces Russell Vincent Yu for this issue, and his colors are glorious.  The colors on the first six pages, especially on Page Six's magic portal, capture the nighttime setting with a touch of sorcery.

What else can I say about B. Alex Thompson.  He is one of my favorite comic book writers, and for the better part of two decades, I have have been enthralled by the breath and scope of his storytelling.  “Lineage” is a pleasant surprise as another chapter in the ongoing origin stories of the girls from EAZY.  And it presents the unexpected in terms of an origin story.  Letterer Krugos ably shifts the changes in tone and pacing, managing, as always, to complete the storytelling.

Chaos Campus #32 is the last standalone before the next story arc, and it is an enjoyable one that will entertain old and new readers.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus #32 at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #31

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES No. 31
APPROBATION COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Ricardo Mendez
COLORS: Russell Vincent Yu
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
COVER: Ricardo Mendez
28pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – July 12, 2017)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Juggernauts”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, and adventure, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy Brittany Ann Miller.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #31 (“Juggernauts”) opens in the aftermath of “Super Chaos Babies.”  A small military unit arrives at the remains of Salvation East, destroyed by the betrayal and conflict within Jamie Lynn Schaeffer's family (specifically her twin sister, Aimee).  Instead of sanctuary, the soldiers find Neo-Zombies and the massive slasher, Kurtis Kasey the Body Snatcher (created by Phantom Avri)!

Caught between a flesh-rending rock and flesh-eating hard place, the soldiers call upon “Project Seventy-Two” to save them from Kasey.  However, their Seventy-Two turns out to be another slasher familiar to readers of Chaos Campus, Mikhail Grishuk the Meat Man.  Now, its Kurtis vs. Mikhail, and no one should get caught in the middle of this slasher-on-slasher kill-fest.

Meanwhile, the EAZY girls are about to find themselves getting involved when they should be resting from their recent adventures.  What happens when one of the slashers runs off with one of the girls?

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end, writer B. Alex Thompson continues to bring levity to Chaos Campus via a series of standalone stories.  “Juggernauts” is the best of the lot – so far.

Ricardo Mendez's art reminds me of the storytelling that readers would find in Marvel Comics' The Punisher.  Mendez's storytelling has nice pacing and offers just enough brutality and gruesomeness to capture the Chaos Campus style.  Colorist Russell Vincent Yu dresses the story in gritty hues, dominated by the uniform gray of military order and violence.

B. Alex Thompson does his readers a nice turn by returning some of their favorite “slashers.”  I had not forgotten the inimitable Kurtis Kasey since the very first time I saw him (perhaps, Chaos Campus #9-10), and had often hoped he would return.  In Chaos Campus #31 Thompson uses returning characters and settings to move the story to its next destination.  It is up to letterer Krugos to heighten the story's violent and comically violent melodrama, which he does

Chaos Campus #31, like many issues of the series, is a good starting point for new readers.  Although this issue is rooted in the series' distant and recent past, “Juggernauts” is easy to follow.  Plus, the ending will make readers, both new and old, want to come back.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Buy Chaos Campus at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: GREY Chapter 4

GREY. CHAPTER 4
THE GREY ROOM

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kris Hornett
ART: Ardee Arollado
SPECIAL PROJECTS ART: Kenet Guevarra
EDITOR: Lisa Taylor
COVER: Nicholas Sen
28pp, B&W, $10.00 (November 2020)

Act 2. Chapter 4

Grey is an independent comic book series from writer Kris Hornett and artist Ardee Arollado.  Published by The Grey Room, Grey is a hybrid, a combination of an American comic book format and Japanese manga.  Grey is similar to what was once called “OEL manga” or “original English language” manga.  These were American graphic novels in which the storytelling borrowed or mimicked the aesthetics and sensibilities of Japanese manga (comics).

Grey is set in the realm of Ketiyama (apparently an archipelago) and takes place some time after an event known as “the Sonoma Incident.”  This outbreak of the lethal “Moon Virus” on Nacirema, one of Ketiyama's islands, led to chaos, destruction, and division.  As a sign of good faith and as a last attempt to restore order, the ruling Board of Officials allowed the people to elect a team of highly trained tactical agents, known as “the Bureau,” to serve and protect them.  Within the Bureau is an elite unit known as “Nimbus.”  This team of five agents are sworn to maintain moral balance and to enforce the law.  The agents of Nimbus are also able to manipulate their “prana” (“life energy”).

The agents of Nimbus are Samara Asuhara, Kouken Masimuto, Shuyin Hagamuri, Manu Yagyu, and Kale Schaefer.  Belisia Asuhara is their handler and the creator of Nimbus.

Grey. Chapter 4. opens in a hospital as 13-year-old Asuka Yagyu faces questions, but she only wants to speak to one particular person.  Meanwhile, Shuyin and August try to find normalcy in their lives, but Shuyin's mind and memories keep playing tricks on him.  Elsewhere, Belisia, Kale, and Kouken, continue their deep dive into the past of Willow Marius in order to uncover her accomplices and to unravel the larger mystery that surrounds her.

THE LOWDOWN:  Grey continues to prove how conceptually well-developed it is.  From the beginning, readers discover that the world in which Grey is set has a complex history.  As readers, we get to watch the authors build a world in front of us.  The other exciting element is that Grey is full of mystery, so the readers can always enjoy the sense of discovery.

Grey Chapter 4 sees the characters trying to unravel the mystery that is Willow Marius, and I see her as something of a gift.  Each time I read Grey, I want to know more about her, which I can also say about many of the characters in this series.  Still, she is the beautiful enigma that is driving the unknown in this series – at least, so far.

Each issue, Kris Hornett takes time to give us a view of multiple characters.  I think that makes readers curious about the other characters, and I know that it makes me want to read the next issue as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, Ardee Arollado's art gets stronger; he brings more subtlety and delicacy to the characters' personalities.  Now, Arollado's graphical storytelling engages the reader to give more consideration to the characters' motivations and goals; ignore nothing in this storytelling.

I heartily recommend Grey, and there is still time for you, dear readers, to get in on Grey's intriguing ground floor.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of manga-inspired comic books and of good science fiction comic books will want to read Grey.

[This comic book includes two pages of additional informative text pieces.]

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


Get Grey at comiXology or here: https://www.comixology.com/Grey/comics-publisher/20880-0

https://thegreyroom.org/
https://www.instagram.com/thegreyroom_/
https://twitter.com/Hornett_
https://www.instagram.com/kero.beroz/?hl=en


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#28DaysofBlack Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #30

[For the last two decades, B. Alex Thompson has been one of the most prolific independent comic book publishers, via his Approbation Comics.  He has published a number of ongoing series, miniseries, graphic novels, webcomics, one-shots, and trade paperbacks in several formats and genres, including science fiction, social dramas, horror, and anthologies.  Thompson's signature series is the delightful "Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies."]

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS. ZOMBIES No. 30
APPROBATION COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ART: Vincenzo Sansone
COLORS: Alivon Ortiz
LETTERS: Krugos
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
EDITORS: B. Alex Thompson and John P. Ward
COVER: Vincenzo Sansone with Alivon Ortiz
28pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. print/$1.99 U.S. digital (2017; digital release date – July 5, 2017)

Rated: Teen 13+ / 15+ Only – comiXology rating

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies created by B. Alex Thompson

“Super Chaos Babies”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is the long-running zombie apocalypse comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Mixing in elements of comedy, horror, and adventure, it is the creation of B. Alex Thompson.  The series is set during a zombie invasion and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jamie Lynn Schaeffer, brainy and magic-wielding Paige Helena Patton, and sexy Brittany Ann Miller.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #30 (“Super Chaos Babies”) opens in the aftermath of “One Night at Pheromones.”  The girls have joined their friend, Oliver, in a bid to stop “Brass Monkey,” a diabolical cybernetic chimpanzee, from destroying a colony of surviving humans.  However, the EAZY girls are exposed to a strange form of radiation during the battle and revert to childhood – with a twist.  Jamie, Paige, and Brittany now have super-powers.  But can they save this survivor town from the ape's evil plan when their new powers may have a lethal side effect?

THE LOWDOWN:  After bringing “The Road to Salvation” story line to an end, writer B. Alex Thompson brings some levity to Chaos Campus via a series of standalone stories.  The previous issue's one-off tale was “One Night at Pheromones.”  Now, we get “Super Chaos Babies.”

Thing about these standalone stories is that they allow the artists to shine, as artist-colorist did in “One Night at Pheromones.”  This time artist Vincenzo Sansone and colorist Alivon Ortiz take the show.  They deliver art that reminds me of some of the weird science fiction horror comics created by the recently deceased comic book legend, Richard Corben.  Sansone's storytelling has horror elements, such as the zombies, which are fast paced.  The cybernetic design of Brass Monkey and the laboratory settings add a counter-balance that blends the horror with the sci-fi.

Alivon Ortiz's colors have a painterly quality that has the look of a prestige painted comic, the kind that appeared in Heavy Metal and Marvel's late, great Epic Magazine.  As usual, the lettering by Krugos sets the tempo and mood, and fits into all the right places on the page.

Chaos Campus #30 is a surprisingly good one-off issue, but what else would I expect from B. Alex Thompson.  He writes strong science fiction/horror comics that do not take themselves too seriously while being true to both genres.  Chaos Campus #30 is also a good place for new readers to start.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Fans of zombies and of horror-comedies will want to try Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies.

A
9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Buy Chaos Campus #30 at comiXology.

www.ApprobationComics.com
https://twitter.com/ApproBAT
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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