Review: REGRESSION #1

REGRESSION No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Cullen Bunn
ARTIST: Danny Luckert
COLORS: Marie Enger
LETTERS: Marie Enger
COVER: Danny Luckert
VARIANT COVERS: Danny Luckert (Spawn Month variant covers)
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (May 2017)

Rated M / Mature

Regression is a new comic book from writer Cullen Bunn, artist Danny Luckert, and colorist-letterer Marie Enger.  The series focuses on a young man whose nightmarish hallucinations are complicated by the very thing that was supposed to help him.

Regression #1 introduces Adrian, a young man who is having a bad time at a happening backyard party.  Even this good time cannot stop Adrian from receiving a visit from the ghastly waking nightmares that plague his daily life.  His (girl)friend Molly suggests once again that her friend, Sid Ferrel, a hypnotist and comedian, can help him.  Sid, in turn, suggests past life regression hypnotherapy, to which Adrian reluctantly agrees, which may only make things worse.

I am familiar with Cullen Bunn's comic book work through the superhero and Star Wars comic books he writes for Marvel Comics.  I have not read Haunted, which Danny Luckert draws, nor have I read Marie Enger's titles, Pistolwhip or 2 Sisters.  After reading Regression #1, I may consider adding some of those titles to my already-too-packed reading list.

But Regression is worth a spot on the horror comic book fan's reading list.  It is like nothing else that I have read.  My only past experience with “past life regression” (a form of hypnosis which can supposedly recover memories of a person's past or of a past life or incarnation) is the 1999 David Koepp film, Stir of Echoes (based upon Richard Matheson's novel, A Stir of Echoes), which was really not about past life regression, although I associate the film with that.

Stir of Echoes had a deep sense of the mysterious, and I think that is what attracts me to Regression #1.  It is intriguing, creepy, and gruesome, but the first issue makes me ask questions (Who is that guy?  What is that? What's going on?, etc) to which I want answers... at least for the time being.  Regression is a mystery, and I want to play detective-reader enough to want to read at least a few more issues.  The first issue is also interesting enough for me to recommend it to readers.

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SUPER SONS #3

SUPER SONS No. 3
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Peter J. Tomasi
ARTIST: Jorge Jimenez
COLORS: Alejandro Sanchez
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
COVER: Jorge Jimenez with Alejandro Sanchez
VARIANT COVER: Dustin Nguyen
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (June 2017)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger; Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Superboy created by Jerry Siegel

“When I Grow Up...” Part Three: “Sibling Rivalry”

They are the sons of Superman and Batman.  Damian Wayne (or Damian al Ghul) is the son of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul (the daughter of Batman nemesis, Ra's al Ghul).  There was an unnamed infant in the 1987 graphic novel, Batman: Son of the Demon.  In Batman #655 (cover dated: September 2006), writer Grant Morrison reinterpreted the infant as Damian Wayne, and he eventually became the fifth character to assume the role of Robin, Batman's crime fighting partner and sidekick.

Jonathan “Jon” Samuel Kent is the son of Superman/Clark Kent and Lois Lane.  He first appeared in the comic book Convergence: Superman #2 (cover dated: July 2015) and was created by Dan Jurgens.  Jon is now the latest version of Superboy and first appeared as Superboy in Superman #2 (cover dated: September 2016).

Jon and Damian are the newest teen superhero team-up and are the stars of their own comic book, a kind of modern World's Finest entitled, Super Sons.  It is written by Peter J. Tomasi; drawn by Jorge Jimenez; colored by Alejandro Sanchez; and lettered by Rob Leigh.

Super Sons #3 (“Sibling Rivalry”) finds Superboy fighting Batman, and Robin fighting Superman.  WTF?!  And Robin is fighting Superboy, and Superboy is fighting Robin! Of course!  An explanation, at least for the first fight, comes from Sara Duffy of the “Super Duffys!”  Her tale, however, comes with a powerful and dangerous young villain, Kid Amazo.

Super Sons is part of a vanguard that signals a gilded age of teen superhero comic books from the “Big Two,” Marvel and DC Comics.  From Miles Morales Spider-Man and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel to the recent Future Quest and The Unstoppable Wasp, there are a wealth of cool titles from DC Comics and Marvel Comics featuring young heroes, adventurers, and superheroes.  Super Sons is among the best of these super teens.  Super Sons continues to entertain me and... dare I say... dazzle me.

Writer Peter J. Tomasi finds comedy gold in Jon Kent and Damian Wayne's bickering.  Tomasi also creates a tense rivalry between the two that would make it seem that they hate each other or are certainly annoyed by each others presence.  That gives this comic book a dramatic punch, making it as edgy as comic books featuring adult superheroes, but without the adult drama and violence

Artist Jorge Jimenez elastic, anime drawing style and Alejandro Sanchez's vibrant colors give this full-color adventure a sense that something is always happening – jumping and jiving.  Jimenez's strong storytelling and compositions make this a superhero comic book about children that is as intense as superhero comic books featuring grownups.

I have high hopes for issue #4...

A

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: FARLAINE THE GOBLIN Book 6 The Winglands

FARLAINE THE GOBLIN No. 6
STUDIO FARLAINE – @TreeGoblin

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Pug Grumble
MISC. ART: Larry MacDougall; Jeremy Treece
COVER: Pug Grumble with Jean-Francois Beaulieu
VARIANT COVER: Larry MacDougall
ISBN:  978-0-9890058-6-9; paperback (May 2018)
48pp, B&W; $5.00 U.S.

All-Ages

Book 6” “The Winglands”

Farlaine the Goblin is a series of fantasy graphic novels published by Studio Farlaine and written and drawn by the cartoonist who goes by the nom de plume, “Pug Grumble” (but was previously credited as “Anonymous”).  Mr. Grumble recently provided me with a PDF review copy of the the latest Farlaine edition.

Each Farlaine comic book/graphic novel is published as a paperback (landscape dimensions 11.8” x 7.75”).  The story focuses on Farlaine the Goblin, a tree goblin and a shaman from the forest of Fin-Din.  He has spent years wandering the many Oddlands of Wug in search of a forest that he can call his own.  Farlaine has two companions.  The first is Ehrenwort, a tree he carries in a sack on his back; Farlaine also talks to Ehrenwort, whom he describes as his “Verdan.”  The second companion is a “Tink” from an earlier adventure in the “Tinklands.”  A rotund, mechanical fellow (think Star Wars' BB-8 with two wheels), he has been named Drowsy by Farlaine.

Farlaine the Goblin: Book 6, The Winglands begins as Farlaine, Ehrenwort, and Drowsy leave the Vaultlands behind... in a hurry.  Now, they are in the Winglands where everything has wings... or can have wings... and can lose them.  To return to the land below, Farlaine and company need parachutes, but in order to get chutes, they need “barter.”  They can earn barter by getting jobs, so as they settle in, they are shocked by how well they fit it.  Then, a recent enemy proves difficult to avoid.

As I have previously written, I read Farlaine the Goblin, Trade Paperback, Volume 1, which collects the first three graphic novels in the series, and was surprised that a comic book of such high quality could not find a publisher, forcing Pug Grumble to self-publish it.  After reading the sixth edition, I feel the same as I did after reading the fifth.  I am surprised that Farlaine the Goblin is not a huge hit and a multiple Eisner Award and Harvey Award nominee.

I wish I could say what the best thing about Farlaine the Goblin: Book 6, The Winglands is, but I cannot.  I can say what the worst thing is about it and previous volumes:  damn, there is never enough.  The rapturous joy of reading ends to soon, but then, I can read it again to recover that feeling.

Seriously, the truth is that there are so many “best things” about this delightful edition of a fantastic series, which is also what I said in my review of Book 5, The Vaultlands.  Farlaine is a fantasy adventure in the spirit of Looney Tunes and Lewis Carroll, and Book 6 also has a classic comics feel, as if the hand of Carl Barks subtly provides signs and hints for Pug Grumble, who shares a spirit of imagination and adventure with Barks.

The Winglands is, as the other volumes are, funny, delightful, and inventive.  To paraphrase what the movie Joker asked about the movie Batman, I will ask, where does Pub Grumble get all those wonderful ideas?  Where is the well of whimsy in which he dips his pin?  No more questions; let us simply enjoy.  I highly recommend Farlaine the Goblin: Book 6, The Winglands.

10 out of 10

facebook.com/FarlianeTheGoblin
twitter.com/treegoblin

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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