One of those wonderful twists of fate lead me into the position of getting to walk the halls of our Downers Grove store and get to pick my own stack. Used this once in a lifetime opportunity to think outside the box! So here we go …
Astonishing X-Men #1 MARVEL COMICS
If you were a big fan of the X-men during the 1990’s into the early 2000’s, this will be the book for you. This hodge podge band of former X-men have been brought together by a summons from Psylocke to fight a long thought dead villain. And to give them a (not currently being used) battlefield, they must venture into the psychic plane. And while Soule’s writing is well done and Cheung’s pencils are lovely, I again find myself asking the question that keeps popping up year after year. That question is why? Why do we need another new X-men title? Why are Old Man Logan and Gambit back? The roster is definitely based on fan-favorite X-men. You want to really get me jazzed over a X-men book? Let’s clean a little house. Lose a couple of titles, and then at the end of a current storyline filter in a few of these pages to get the ball rolling. Surprises like that get me to buy a book. Don’t just start up a new title because you’ve got a storyline with potential. All that means to me, is that after the first story arc is over and collected, sales are going to drop off and I’m going to lose interest.
5 out of 10 Grahams.
Bettie Page #1 DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Holy Cow! Dynamite has pulled off a major winner here. David Avallone’s story not only proves very interesting but adds depth and character to everyone’s favorite pin-up queen that turns her into a real person. Colton Worley’s art is actually quite lovely and again makes Bettie seem more human. The sexiness is still there but in a more realistic way. Mix in a secret government plot, a mysterious lab, and a group of worshipers of some sort and you’ve got me waiting for issue #2.
10 out of 10 Grahams!
Trump VS Time Lincoln #1 ANTARCTIC PRESS
Fans of Time Lincoln rejoice! We have finally arrived at the moment in our time streams when we get closure on our favorite former president. This final entry (can any time travel story truly have a final entry?) gives us the lowdown on whatever happened to Tesla and Edison, what will happen to the Void Crystal, the identity of Time Lincoln’s young associate and much more. Of course, there is some Trump related humor (one of his female slaves is named Covfefe!) but not as much as you’d think. A must read for fans of the Time Lincoln saga! An interesting read for the rest of us from the mind of Alfred Perez.
9 out of 10!
Normandy Gold #2 TITAN COMICS
Picking up where such classic 70’s films as Ginger, Stacy, Scorchy, and Street Girls leave off, Normandy Gold is an amazing story straight out of the noir paperbacks of the time period. Megan Abbott and Alison Gaylin literally strike gold as Sheriff Gold begins finding the clues she needs to solve her sister’s disappearance. And Steve Scott’s pencil work is amazingly 3-dimensional and detailed and Rodney Ramos’s inks and Lovern Kindzierski’s colors bring the eyes focus to the centerpiece of every panel. This is one of those rare books that manages to hit a high note with everyone involved in it. Not for everyone with some nudity and some unpleasantness but all done in context to the storyline, this is worth the price of admission.
10 out of 10!
Time & Vine #1 IDW PUBLISHING
Thom Zahler (of Love & Capes and My Little Pony) is back with a wonderfully charming tale of a young history teacher with developing problems and a vineyard owner with an unusual secret. An interesting idea with lots of heartbreak and humor thrown in. And while Zahler’s art is specialized, it does seem to help bring out the characterizations here.
8 out of 10!
