Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 5, 2017

DARK HORSE COMICS

NOV160104    ASTRO BOY OMNIBUS TP VOL 07    $19.99
FEB170043    BALTIMORE THE RED KINGDOM #3    $3.99
DEC160125    BLADE OF IMMORTAL OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 (MR)    $19.99
OCT160075    HATSUNE MIKU RIN-CHAN NOW TP VOL 01    $10.99
DEC160122    I AM A HERO OMNIBUS TP VOL 03    $19.99
DEC160115    SECRET SNEYD UNPUBLISHED CARTOONS OF DOUG SNEYD HC    $14.99
DEC160086    SLAYER REPENTLESS #2 (OF 3)    $4.99
NOV160113    WITCHER PINT GLASS SET GERALT & CIRI    $19.99
NOV160114    WITCHER PINT GLASS SET GERALT & TRISS YENNEFER    $19.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 5, 2017

IMAGE COMICS

FEB170540    BLACK CLOUD #1 (MR)    $3.99
JAN170816    CHEW OMNIVORE ED HC VOL 06 (MR)    $39.99
NOV160620    ELEPHANTMEN #76 (MR)    $3.99
JAN178583    EXTREMITY #1 2ND PTG    $3.99
FEB170645    EXTREMITY #2    $3.99
FEB170577    MIGHTY MAN (ONE SHOT) (MR)    $3.99
FEB170668    PAPER GIRLS #13    $2.99
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FEB170575    ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN #1 (MR)    $3.99
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FEB170627    SONS OF THE DEVIL #11 (MR)    $3.99
JAN178694    SONS OF THE DEVIL #11 CVR B APRIL FOOLS VAR (MR)    $3.99
JAN170767    SUN BAKERY #2 (MR)    $4.99
JAN170768    THEYRE NOT LIKE US #15 (MR)    $2.99
FEB170686    WALKING DEAD #166 (MR)    $2.99
FEB170725    WE STAND ON GUARD TP (MR)    $14.99

Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for April 5, 2017

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

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Review: POKEMON THE MOVIE: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel

POKÉMON THE MOVIE: VOLCANION AND THE MECHANICAL MARVEL
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY/ART: Kemon Kawamoto
SCRIPT: Atsuhiro Tomioka
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION/EDITOR: Annette Roman
LETTERING: Susan Daigle-Leach
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9419-4; paperback; Rated “A” for “All Ages”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel is a 2016 Japanese anime film.  It is the third and final film in the Pokémon: XY film series and the 19th Pokémon movie overall.  The film, which is known as Pokémon the Movie XY&Z: Volcanion and the Exquisite Magearna in Japan, received a limited theatrical release in the United States in December 2016.  It was released to home media in the U.S. on March 21, 2017.

This film also has a single-volume manga adaption from mangaka Kemon Kawamoto.  As usual, this Pokémon story stars Ash Ketchum, the young boy on a quest to become a Pokémon master, and his partner, Pikachu, a Pokémon (the highly-sought after creatures of this series).

Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel opens with Ash and Pikachu defeating their most recent opponents.  Then, the duo travels to the “Great Mechanical City,” Azoth Kingdom.  Outside the city limits, they are surprised when the Mythical Pokémon, Volcanion, crashes down from the sky.  The crash creates a cloud of dust, and a mysterious force binds Ash and Volcanion together.

Volcanion despises humans, but cannot escape Ash no matter how hard he tries to get away, and is forced to drag Ash along as he continues his rescue mission  Volcanion wants to save his friend, the artificial Pokémon, Magearna.  She is the target of Alva, the Minister of Azoth Kingdom, who wants control of something powerful inside Magearna.  Can Ash find a way to work with Volcanion, who despises all humans?

For adults, Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel will be a quick read.  This kodomo manga (comics for children) has it moments, and I must admit that I am surprised that the story is long as it is.  I guess that makes it a true children's graphic novel.

Kemon Kawamoto really creates a sense of impending sense of doom in this story.  The reader will believe that the heroes are actually in peril.  When Ash and Pikachu leave their new friends at the end of this story to head to their next adventure, the parting is genuinely bittersweet.  I don't see myself as a regular reader of Pokémon manga, but I won't avoid them.

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.

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

Review: THE SHADOW: The Death of Margo Lane #1

THE SHADOW: THE DEATH OF MARGO LANE, VOL. 1, No. 1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER/ARTIST: Matt Wagner
COLORS: Brennan Wagner
LETTERS: A Larger World Studios
COVER:  Matt Wagner with Brennan Wagner
COVER B: Matt Wagner (B&W Incentive Cover)
COVER C: Matt Wagner with Brennan Wagner (Rare “Virgin Art” Cover)
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (2016)

Rated “Teen+”

The Shadow is a fictional character that began life as a mysterious radio narrator, debuting on July 31, 1930 as the host of the radio program, “Detective Story Hour.”  Street and Smith Publications, publishers of Detective Story Magazine, hired writer Walter B. Gibson to create a character concept that fit The Shadow's name and voice and to also write a story featuring him.  The first issue of The Shadow Magazine went on sale on April 1, 1931.

The Shadow's alter-ego, Lamont Cranston, had a female companion, Margo Lane, who was also a spy for The Shadow.  Lane first debuted on radio in 1937 and first appeared in print in The Shadow Magazine in 1941.

Margo Lane is the focus of a new five issue comic book miniseries, The Shadow: The Death of Margo Lane.  The series is written and drawn by Matt Wagner, who is no stranger to chronicling The Shadow's adventures in comic books.  This miniseries is colored by Brennan Wagner and lettered by A Larger World Studios.

The Shadow: The Death of Margo Lane, Volume 1, #1 opens in the 1930s or 1940s, as Margo Lane jots down recent events in her diary.  It seems there has been a resurgence in the violent, criminal activities of the Tongs of Chinatown.  The Shadow believes that the mastermind behind this nefarious surge is a mysterious figure, the Red Empress, who so far really on exists in rumor.  When a shipping heiress, Gloria Sullivan, disappears, The Shadow believes that the abduction is a trap meant to ensnare him.  He is happy to oblige, but may be underestimating his adversaries.

Over the last three years, I have read somewhere between 200 to 300 pages of Shadow comic books written by Matt Wagner, and I have enjoyed most of it.  Honestly, I cannot tell you exactly why, but it may be because I am a longtime fan of Matt Wagner's work.  It seems to be that all it takes is Wagner's name on a character I love (and I do love me some Shadow), and I am pleased.

Now, I have heard a few episodes of the original Shadow radio show and I have read a few of Walter Gibson's stories published as novels.  Wagner's story and art and graphical storytelling recapture the mood and sense of mystery I remember feeling when I first heard the Shadow coming through the speaker of a tape player and when I read my first Shadow novel.

Right now, Matt Wagner is the top guy when it comes to creating Shadow comic books.  Wagner knows the potential that lurks in the heart of The Shadow.  I can't wait for the next issue of The Shadow: The Death of Margo Lane.

A-

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SUPERMAN: Rebirth #1

SUPERMAN: REBIRTH No. 1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
PENCILS: Doug Mahnke
INKS: Jaime Mendoza
COLORS: Wil Quintana
LETTERS: Rob Leigh
COVER: Doug Mahnke and Jaime Mendoza with Wil Quintana
VARIANT COVER: Andy Park
44pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (August 2016)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

The last time I reviewed an issue of Superman it was to express my opinion on Superman #41.  Entitled “Before Truth” (Part 1), this was the first issue of the new-look slash new-direction, “DCYou” Superman comic book, written by the acclaimed graphic novelist, Gene Luen Yang, his DC Comics debut and his first issue as series writer of Superman.  The art team on Superman remained the same as it has been for the year prior:  John Romita, Jr. (pencils) and Klaus Janson (inks), with colorist Dean White and letterer Rob Leigh.

However, Romita soon moved on to work on a project related the Batman prestige project, DK III: The Master Race.  While Yang's run started with such promise, it pretty much petered out after about have a year, probably worn down by the inevitable changes to come.  Those changes turned out to be another “all-new direction” for DC Comics, something called Rebirth.

If I understand correctly, Rebirth marks the end of The New 52, DC Comics' reboot of its universe-mythology-continuity-superhero publishing line that began with such fanfare in 2011.  Y'all, it didn't even last 5 years.  Rebirth is all about returning some old continuity, especially the continuity established back in 1986, coming out of the universe-destroying, Earth-shattering comic book “maxi-series,” Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Some call this “GenX” DC Comics.

So before DC's regular series go into Rebirth and some new series debut, some of DC's flagship titles have Rebirth one-shots.  Thus, Superman: Rebirth #1.  It is written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, the creative team behind the new Superman series.  The artists for this one-shot are Doug Mahnke on pencils; Jamie Mendoza on inks; Wil Quintana on colors; and Rob Leigh on letters.

So, if I followed this correctly:  New 52 Clark Kent/Superman is dead and buried.  Lana Lang is trying to retrieve his body from his memorial/monument/crypt.  She is interrupted by post-Crisis slash GenX Superman – the one married to Lois Lane.  He wears a black body suit with a silver Superman emblem “S” on a gray background on his chest.  This Superman and Lang travel to dead Superman's Fortress of Solitude in hopes that the “Regeneration Matrix” will revive him.

I have to admit that I was kinda exited about Rebirth, especially after reading the DC Universe Rebirth one-shot.  But now, that excitement is gone.  Superman: Rebirth #1 isn't bad.  I'm simply not interested in modern Superman comic books, for the most part, and this one-shot reminded me of my disinterest.  When I really want to read a Superman comic book, I buy some back issues from the 1970s or 1980s or read one of those expensive hardcover collections that DC Comics publishes which reprint Superman comic books from those decades and earlier.

Yeah, I'm going to read some more Rebirth one-shots, but I will only review the ones that I really enjoy or that really move me to care about Rebirth.

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE EMPTY #1

THE EMPTY No. 1
IMAGE COMICS/Shadowline – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Jimmie Robinson
COLORS: Jimmie Robinson
LETTERS: Jimmie Robinson
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (February 2015)

Rated “T/Teen”

The Empty is a miniseries created, written, and drawn by Jimmie Robinson.  Published by Image Comics' imprint, Shadowline, The Empty is a tale about characters from different backgrounds who must work together if they are to save a dying planet.

The Empty #1 introduces the Empty.  This is a vast desert wasteland where hardly anything grows, apparently because of giant poisonous roots that leak gas into the air and the land.  A young woman named Tanoor is a fighter who hunts this dead land to find food for her village of Vaankam.  During a hunt, Tanoor discovers a young woman named Lila, who is apparently from another land, maybe even another world.  Lila's strange talents may save the Empty, but in the meantime, her powers endanger both herself and Tanoor.

I think that I had heard of The Empty long before I found some issues at my local comic shop.  I quickly snatched up The Empty #1 because of my recent interest in Jimmie Robinson, creator of The Empty and of the new series, Power Lines.

As someone who writes the story; composes the pencil, ink, and color art; and provides lettering for his comics, Robinson has control over the entire graphical package of his comic books.  Thus, there is little interference between Robinson's message/story and his audience.  There is a kind of narrative purity in that which I find hard to ignore – with good reason.

The bleak landscape of The Empty is actually beautiful, simply because Robinson's graphics and visuals are so pretty.  However, the rawness of the characters' emotions and the sense of desperation in the villagers is palatable.  Even the naked jealousy and dishonesty of the Elder Blan is powerful enough to drive the narrative.

I plan to read more of The Empty.  Even this single issue reveals the force and skill of Jimmie Robinson's immense talents as both a comics storyteller and as an illustrator and artist.

A

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


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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