Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for September 4, 2019

IMAGE COMICS

JUL190079    BATTLEPUG #1 CVR A NORTON & PASSALAQUA    $3.99
JUL190080    BATTLEPUG #1 CVR B SAMNEE & WILSON    $3.99
JUL190116    BIRTHRIGHT #39    $3.99
JUL190119    CROWDED #9 CVR A STEIN BRANDT & FARRELL    $3.99
JUL190120    CROWDED #9 CVR B LEONG    $3.99
JUN190056    CURSE WORDS #24 CVR A BROWNE (MR)    $3.99
JUN190057    CURSE WORDS #24 CVR B BROWNE INTERCONNECTED (MR)    $3.99
JUL190123    DIE #7 CVR A HANS (MR)    $3.99
JUL190124    DIE #7 CVR B LAUFFRAY (MR)    $3.99
JUL190103    INFINITE DARK TP VOL 02    $16.99
MAY190050    OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA TP VOL 07 (MR)    $16.99
JUL190083    PRETTY DEADLY RAT #1 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
JUN190085    REDNECK #23 (MR)    $3.99
JUL190156    SEA OF STARS #3    $3.99
JUL190157    SECTION ZERO #6 (OF 6) CVR A GRUMMETT & KESEL    $3.99
JUL190158    SECTION ZERO #6 (OF 6) CVR B HUGHES    $3.99
JUL190159    SECTION ZERO #6 (OF 6) CVR C IMMONEN    $3.99
JUL190164    SPACE BANDITS #3 (OF 5) CVR A SCALERA (MR)    $3.99
JUL190165    SPACE BANDITS #3 (OF 5) CVR B SCALERA (MR)    $3.99
JUL190166    SPACE BANDITS #3 (OF 5) CVR C LEGENDS VAR SIMONSON  (MR    $0.75
JUN190014    SPAWN #300 CVR A MCFARLANE    $7.99
JUN190015    SPAWN #300 CVR B B&W MCFARLANE    $7.99
JUN190016    SPAWN #300 CVR C CAPULLO    $7.99
JUN190017    SPAWN #300 CVR D CAPULLO VIRGIN    $7.99
JUN190018    SPAWN #300 CVR E CAPULLO & MCFARLANE    $7.99
JUN190019    SPAWN #300 CVR F B&W CAPULLO & MCFARLANE    $7.99
JUN190020    SPAWN #300 CVR G CAMPBELL    $7.99
JUN190021    SPAWN #300 CVR H OPENA    $7.99
JUN190022    SPAWN #300 CVR I ALEXANDER    $7.99
JUN190023    SPAWN #300 CVR J PARODY VAR MCFARLANE    $7.99
JUN199041    SPAWN #300 CVR M CAMPBELL VIRGIN    $7.99
JUN199042    SPAWN #300 CVR N CAMPBELL B&W    $7.99
JUN199043    SPAWN #300 CVR O OPENA VIRGIN    $7.99
JUN199044    SPAWN #300 CVR P OPENA B&W    $7.99
JUN199116    SPAWN #300 CVR Q BLANK SKETCH CVR    $7.99
MAR190069    SPAWN VAULT ED HC VOL 02    $175.00
JUL190110    WALKING DEAD HC VOL 16 (MR)    $34.99
APR190032    WICKED & DIVINE #45 CVR A MCKELVIE & WILSON (MR)    $3.99
APR190033    WICKED & DIVINE #45 CVR B JAIMES (MR)    $3.99

Review: MYSTIK U #1

MYSTIK U No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Alisa Kwitney
ART: Mike Norton
COLORS: Jordie Bellaire
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
COVER: Julian Totino Tedesco
48pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (January 2018)

Rated “T+” for “Teen Plus”

Zatanna created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson

Zatanna Zatara is a DC Comics magic-based superhero.  The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in Hawkman #4 (cover dated:  November 1964).  Zatanna is the daughter of Giovanni “John” Zatara, and like him, Zatanna is both a stage magician and an actual magician, and she is one of the most powerful magicians on Earth.  Zatanna controls her magic by speaking the words of her incantations spelled backwards, incantations that can alter reality.

Zatanna is the star of the new four-issue miniseries, Mystik U, which DC Comics is publishing on a bimonthly schedule.  The series is written by Alisa Kwitney; drawn by Mike Norton; colored by Jordie Bellaire; and lettered by Deron Bennett.  Mystik U follows a college age Zatanna who is enrolled in a college of magic and trying to learn which of her classmates is evil.

Mystik U #1 opens in a dark future, one which is ruled by an entity called the “Malevolence.”  A powerful magician believes that Zatanna can change this dark time, by being cast back in time.  Seven years earlier, a young Zatanna is a sheltered showbiz kid who suddenly experiences a shocking awakening of her powers.

That is why a friend, Dr. Rose Psychic, enrolls Zatana in Mystik University, a mysterious university that teaches its students how to master their unique brands of magic.  Zatanna finds herself drawn to four other students  There is Sebastian Faust, son of Felix Faust and a bitter rebel.  June Moone is a split personality also known as Enchantress.  Zatanna becomes close to the competitive premed student, Pia Morales (a new character).  Finally, there is the awkward prodigy, Sargon the Sorceror, who possesses a powerful gem and is much confused.  One of them is fated to betray the others and become a powerful force of evil, Malevolence.

I was cynical about Mystik U.  What little I read about it suggested that it was another lame attempt by DC Comics to get in on the Hogwarts-school-of-magic-band wagon that should have been theirs (Timothy Hunter, cough).  However, I was drawn to the striking cover art by Julian Totino Tedesco, so I picked up the first issue.

Boy, am I glad.  This is the kind of entertaining comic book that keeps me around DC Comics and Marvel even when I am ready to give up.  It is simply a joy to read, something fresh and not the usual superhero fight comic.  Writer Alisa Kwitney has fashioned a mysterious and intriguing school in Mystik University that has a dark-ish atmosphere, one that reminds me of Archie Comics' brilliant Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in part because of Jordie Bellaire's sterling colors.  The characters are coming along, although they seem a bit unformed in this first issue.

Mike Norton offers art that is calm and a little stylish, but Norton emphasizes storytelling.  The setting, the characters, and the mood and atmosphere are all strong, and Norton creates for Mystik University, wonderfully varied interiors and exteriors.  He makes the school someplace the readers would like to visit (but maybe not to live), and Deron Bennett's lettering pops up like welcome signs to the story.  Norton makes the school feel like a real place of magic, and yes, crazy stuff happens there.

I heartily recommend Mystik U to readers of DC Comics' magic-based world and titles.  I eagerly await the next issue and incantation.

9 out of 10

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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Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 14, 2015

DARK HORSE COMICS

AUG150008     ABE SAPIEN #27     $3.50
JUN150060     ANGEL & FAITH SEASON 10 TP VOL 03 UNITED     $18.99
JUN150036     BIG GUY & RUSTY BOY ROBOT HC SECOND ED     $19.99
JUN150093     CRIME DOES NOT PAY ARCHIVES HC VOL 10     $49.99
AUG150069     EVE VALKYRIE #1     $3.99
AUG150021     GOON IN THEATRE BIZARRE #1     $3.99
JUN150050     GRIMMISS ISLAND TP     $12.99
AUG150029     HARROW COUNTY #6     $3.99
AUG150041     KING TIGER #3     $3.99
JUN150101     LONE WOLF & CUB OMNIBUS TP VOL 10     $19.99
JUN150046     MIKE NORTONS BATTLEPUG HC VOL 04 DEVILS BISCUIT     $14.99
AUG150065     MIRRORS EDGE EXORDIUM #2     $3.99
JUN150087     RAT GOD HC     $19.99
AUG150046     REBELS #7     $3.99
JUN150027     TWO BROTHERS HC     $24.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 29, 2014

DARK HORSE COMICS

AUG140016     ALIENS FIRE AND STONE #2     $3.50
AUG140092     BALTIMORE WOLF AND THE APOSTLE #1     $3.50
JUN140029     BLACKOUT TP VOL 01 INTO DARK     $12.99
JUN140080     BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL TP VOL 30 VIGILANCE (MR)     $19.99
AUG140052     CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT #16     $2.99
JUN140074     CHRONICLES OF KING CONAN TP VOL 09 BLOOD OF SERPENT     $19.99
AUG140030     CONAN THE AVENGER #7     $3.50
AUG140025     DEEP GRAVITY #4     $3.99
JUN140078     EC ARCHIVES TALES FROM THE CRYPT HC VOL 05     $49.99
JUN140085     GAME OF THRONES DAENERYS TARGARYEN LUNCHBOX     $14.99
JUL140128     GOON OCCASION OF REVENGE #3     $3.50
JUL130098     GRIMM LUNCHBOX     $14.99
AUG140085     GROO VS CONAN #4     $3.50
MAR140102     LEGEND OF KORRA LUNCHBOX     $14.99
AUG140072     MASSIVE #28     $3.50
JUN140048     MIKE NORTONS BATTLEPUG HC VOL 03 SIT STAY DIE     $14.99
AUG140074     MIND MGMT #27     $3.99
JUN140027     PROJECT BLACK SKY SECRET FILES TP     $14.99
AUG140077     SUNDOWNERS #3     $3.50
JUN140038     VACHSS UNDERGROUND HC     $29.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 23 2013

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUN130043 ANSWER TP $12.99
FEB130072 CLASSIC MARVEL CHARACTERS X-MEN #1 CYCLOPS $49.95
AUG130074 CONAN PEOPLE O/T BLACK CIRCLE #1 $3.50
AUG130060 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #29 (MR) $7.99
JUN130066 GAME OF THRONES IRON THRONE LUNCHBOX $14.99
MAY130085 GAME OF THRONES LUNCHBOX $14.99
JUN130031 HELLBOY MIDNIGHT CIRCUS HC $14.99
AUG130096 KISS ME SATAN #2 MAIN CVR $3.99
AUG130078 MASS EFFECT FOUNDATION #4 $3.99
AUG130068 MASSIVE #16 $3.50
AUG130067 MIND MGMT #16 $3.99
AUG130081 STAR WARS LEGACY II #8 $2.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 2 2013

DARK HORSE COMICS

AUG130086 1 FOR 1 STAR WARS $1.00
AUG130057 CATALYST COMIX #4 (MR) $2.99
MAY130079 GOOD LUCK TROLLS MYSTERY BOX SERIES 3 PI
AUG130097 GRINDHOUSE DOORS OPEN AT MIDNIGHT #1 $3.99
NOV120086 MASS EFFECT 18 INCH SOVEREIGN REAPER SHIP REPLICA $349.99
JAN130137 MASS EFFECT ALLIANCE NORMANDY SR1 SHIP REPLICA $34.99
AUG130051 OCCULTIST #1 $3.50
AUG130082 STAR WARS #2 LUCAS DRAFT $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 14 2013

DARK HORSE COMICS

APR130044 BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 06 RETURN O/T MASTER $19.99
JUN130037 BREATH OF BONES A TALE O/T GOLEM #3 $3.99
JUN130022 BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #24 NOTO CVR $2.99
APR130050 EX SANGUINE TP $17.99
JUN130008 HALO INITIATION #1 MAIN CVR $3.99
APR130034 MIKE NORTONS BATTLEPUG HC VOL 02 $14.99
JUN130055 RESIDENT ALIEN SUICIDE BLONDE #0 $3.99
JUN130014 STAR WARS #8 2013 ONGOING $2.99
JUN130052 TRUE LIVES O/T FABULOUS KILLJOYS #3 $3.99
JUN130041 X #4 (MR) $2.99

Review: THE ANSWER! #4

THE ANSWER! #4
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Dennis Hopeless and Mike Norton
SCRIPT: Dennis Hopeless
ART/COVER: Mike Norton
COLORS: Mark Englert
LETTERS: Crank!
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2013)

Part 4 of 4

The final issue of The Answer! does provide some answers. It also made me ask a lot more questions.

The Answer!, a four-issue comic book miniseries created by writer Dennis Hopeless (Avengers Arena) and artist Mike Norton (Battlepug), comes to end. The series focuses on Devin McKenzie, a research librarian, and The Answer!, an odd, masked crime fighter with a giant exclamation point on his face mask. Both characters are embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding a mysterious motivational speaker and a secret organization.

As The Answer! #4 opens, the director of the Brain Trust shows his crazy side. That is, however, not the biggest crazy. Chip Carney, the motivational speaker, reveals how he is tied to the Brain Trust. He even reveals his connection to Devin’s past. Now, Carney confronts Devin with the Anaximander Codex. Will The Answer! save the day? Can the mystery man save himself? Or will Devin have to save herself before Chemical X turns her brain to mush?

This comic book review of The Answer! #4 first has to say that the series offers an enjoyable ending and an explosive conclusion. In fact, there are actual explosions. Also, the strangeness, that the first issue of the series offered, returns, both in the execution of the story by the artists and in the story itself.

I noticed, particularly in this final issue, that Mike Norton’s art has a quality similar to John Byrne and Jerry Ordway’s Fantastic Four art back in the 1980s. That is fitting, as there is a vibe to The Answer! that suggests past comics. In the end, the best thing that I can say about The Answer! is that I certainly want another miniseries.

Readers wondering if they can find a superhero comic book that is both offbeat and fun to read have The Answer!

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: THE ANSWER! #3

THE ANSWER! #3
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Dennis Hopeless and Mike Norton
SCRIPT: Dennis Hopeless
ART/COVER: Mike Norton
COLORS: Mark Englert
LETTERS: Crank!
PIN-UP: Francesco Francavilla with Dominic Marco
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2013)

Part 3 of 4

We get closer to the Answer in the latest issue of The Answer!

Created by writer Dennis Hopeless (Avengers Arena) and artist Mike Norton (Battlepug), The Answer! is a four-issue comic book miniseries. The series follows Devin McKenzie, a research librarian, and The Answer!, an odd, masked crime fighter with a giant exclamation point on his face mask, both of whom are embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding a mysterious motivational speaker.

As The Answer! #3 opens, Devin McKenzie is living out her dream at the Brain Trust. She’s eating her favorite foods, and all she has to do all day is think big thoughts. High on “brain boost,” she doesn’t have a care in the world, but fellow thinker, Kara, is about to rock Devin’s comfortable world. And what is the Anaximander Codex?

Meanwhile, the Answer is stuck in a nuthouse nightmare. Strapped do a gurney and in a hospital gown, the strange superhero finds himself in a predicament. When he tries to escape, the hero ends up with his ass hanging out and a chemical in his brain that disconnects his central nervous system. Devin and the Answer will have to wake up and work together if they are going to unravel the mysteries of the Brain Trust.

After the novelty of the first issue of The Answer! wore off for me with the second issue, The Answer! #3 makes me say that the thrill is not gone. Mystery, eccentric characters, by-the-skin-of-their-teeth escapes, and fisticuffs – all with a humorous bent – are what this series does well. There are more revelations, and less of the coy act the second issue put on. The killer ending here prepares the way for what will likely be a good end. Read this series.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Albert Avilla Reviews: Young Avengers #1

Young Avengers #1
Marvel Comics

Reviewed by Albert Avilla

Writer: Kieron Gillen
Art: Jamie McKelvie with Mike Norton

(Spoilers)
“Style>Substance”

The story opens up with Kate Bishop waking up the morning after a hook-up with Noh-Varr. Then, the Skrulls attack. Hulkling is running around New York, posing as Spider-Man to fight crime. Another hook-up, this time it’s Hulking and Wiccan. After a heartfelt conversation about being superheroes, Wiccan does a little magic to help Hulkling.

At the local diner, Loki gets a warning from his food. He tries to stop Wiccan, but is interrupted by Miss America. Loki escapes when Hulkling bursts on to the scene. Miss America exits without as much as a word with Hulkling. Wiccan’s surprise for Hulkling is an alternate reality mother. Just what we need, another Skrull. Didn’t we just rid our planet of those filthy aliens? Hulkling’s mother doesn’t agree with Jeff and Rebecca’s parenting; she thinks that she knows better. She calmly disagrees with them, and then, she liquefies their bodies.

This comic book definitely has style, not so much substance. For a first issue, it didn’t get me interested in finding out how the story was going to end. Is this the first time that a member of a superhero team becomes a member through a one-night stand? There are a lot of things going on. Gillen throws us right into the thick of things. I enjoyed the frenetic pace of the action scenes.

Noh-Varr is an interesting character. Hawkeye apparently is a swashbuckler. Let’s hope that there is some semblance of responsibility in her approach to life. We know what we get with Hulkling and Wiccan. Why is Loki on an Avengers team? He is the evil that the original Avengers banded together to defeat. Miss America is the mystery character. Is she just a powerhouse? Does she have a connection with the original Miss America? Why boots with shorts and a jacket? Does she have a connection to the original Miss America?

The art is good comic book art, nothing to complain about, nothing to go on about. I did like how the artists handled the action scenes.

I rated Young Avengers #1 “Read a Friend’s Copy.” #3 (of 5) on the Al-O-Meter

Review: THE ANSWER! #1

THE ANSWER! #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Dennis Hopeless and Mike Norton
SCRIPT: Dennis Hopeless
ART/COVER: Mike Norton
COLORS: Mark Englert
LETTERS: Crank!
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Part 1 of 4

Mike Norton is the creator of the Eisner Award-winning web comic, Battlepug. Dennis Hopeless is a writer for Marvel Comics (Avengers Arena). The Answer! is a new, four-issue comic book miniseries created by Hopeless and Norton. The series focuses on a librarian and an odd, masked crime fighter.

In The Answer! #1, we meet Devin McKenzie, an insomniac librarian who works at a research library. Devin has a knack for solving puzzles, which results in an out-of-the-ordinary 30th birthday gift from her mother. The gift leads to the “apeiron” website and Chip Carney, an ominous-seeming motivational speaker. When things go crazy, things get really crazy when Devin meets The Answer!, a masked crime fighter with a giant exclamation point on his face mask.

The cover for The Answer! #1, by co-creator and series artist, Mike Norton, does not convey how different this series is. I don’t know if The Answer! is a superhero; he seems like a costumed hero/masked man type – more like The Spirit than Batman. So The Answer! comes across less like a superhero fantasy and more like a mystery series featuring a resourceful heroine. This is a girl-on-the-run tale, and of course, there is a man of mystery who happens to understand the conspiracy set against our girl-hero.

And I love it. I like Norton’s clean, traditional art, which owes more to Alan Davis than to Bryan Hitch. Dennis Hopeless’ script is smart, funny, and (dare I say) sassy, like its heroine. Although I think that this first issue offers too much teasing, for my taste, I am delightfully surprised, and I want to read #2, now! Readers wondering if they can find something both offbeat and good will find The Answer!

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: THE ANSWER! #2

THE ANSWER! #2
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

STORY: Dennis Hopeless and Mike Norton
SCRIPT: Dennis Hopeless
ART/COVER: Mike Norton
COLORS: Mark Englert
LETTERS: Crank!
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

Part 2 of 4

We’re still waiting for The Answer! The Answer! is a four-issue comic book miniseries created by writer Dennis Hopeless and artist Mike Norton. Norton is the creator of the Eisner Award-winning web comic, Battlepug, and Hopeless is a writer for Marvel Comics (Avengers Arena). The series focuses on Devin McKenzie, a research librarian, and The Answer!, an odd, masked crime fighter with a giant exclamation point on his face mask.

As The Answer! #2 opens, Devin McKenzie has been on the run with The Answer! ever since he broke into Newberry Library, the research library where she worked. Now, the mismatched pair faces off against a small army of brawny men dressed in medical scrubs. While the hero fights off the muscular brutes, a mysterious trio absconds with Devin. The three strangers claim to be from an organization and quasi-secret society called the Brain Trust, and they say they want Devin’s smarts.

The novelty of The Answer! being different from other superhero comics has slightly worn off for me. The series is, at this point, still hiding too many things. This goes beyond “the mystery deepens” and has just become withholding-info-just-to-be-cute. Still, The Answer! makes me think of the 1980s ABC romantic-comedy and crime series, Moonlighting, so I’m ready to read #3.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: THE BLACK BEETLE #1

THE BLACK BEETLE #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

CARTOONIST/COVER: Francesco Francavilla
LETTERS: Nate Piekos (of Blambot)
PIN-UP: Mike Norton
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S.

“No Way Out” (Part 1 of 4)

Francesco Francavilla is an Italian comic book artist. Francavilla won the 2012 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards trophy for “Best Cover Artist” for providing cover art on such titles as Black Panther (Marvel Comics); Lone Ranger (Dynamite Entertainment), and Archie Meets Kiss (Archie Comics), among others.

The Black Beetle is a comic book character created by Francavilla. The character has been appearing on Francavilla’s blog and in the anthology series, Dark Horse Presents. The Black Beetle has more than a passing resemblance to DC Comics’ Batman because they share conceptual DNA.

The Black Beetle blends the aesthetics of pulp fiction, mystery, noir, and the superhero. The character is not only part superhero, but he is also a costumed vigilante and weird detective in the vein of such classic pulp heroes as The Shadow and The Spider, with some of Zorro and Sherlock Holmes thrown into the mix. Black Beetle is a super-heroic sleuth, and his base of operation is Colt City, a classic pulp and noir-type urban landscape. Black Beetle debuts in his own comic book series, entitled The Black Beetle.

As The Black Beetle #1 begins, the Black Beetle is about to make himself an uninvited guest in a meeting of two crime families, the Galazzos and the Fierros. In this summit, which will determine the future of Colt City’s criminal empire, Black Beetle sees an opportunity to take out two major crime bosses, Don Pasquale Galazzo and Joe Fierro. When the hero makes his move at Spencer’s, the neutral sight where this crime conference is being held, he discovers that he is not the only hunter.

The Black Beetle: No Way Out #1 is clean comic book storytelling. This is classic, two-fisted, masked-man comic book action. It’s gritty and pure, lacking in pretension or the goal to be the soap opera version of character drama that most superhero comic books offer. This is the kind of pulpy mayhem that first made me fall in love with comic books.

I don’t think that I can adequately describe just how gorgeous Francesco Francavilla’s art is. Some of the pages use a standard comic book page layout, but most of them are more imaginative and inventive. Some pages resemble movie posters and movie theatre lobby cards; others are similar to narrative paintings. Some pages are designed as splash pages, but with details and assorted art embedded on them.

The Black Beetle is pure pop comics. Between the new Stars Wars series and The Black Beetle, Dark Horse Comics is doing their own version of Marvel NOW and The New 52. Dark Horse is just doing a better job of making classic seem so fresh.

A+

http://pulpsunday.blogspot.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux