FLASH #768 DC COMICS
Call me a sucker but slapping a picture of Jay Garrick on a Flash cover is a sure way to get me to take a look. The Infinite Frontier has begun … don’t care. Extra pages for an extra price … don’t care. What I do care about is writer Jeremy Adams hitting the characterizations right on the money. From the second page, with Barry’s look of fatherly disapproval, Superman’s “you did what?!” look, and Batman’s look of deep thought, speaks volumes. And with the triple team of Brandon Peterson, Marco Santucci, and David Lafuente on art duty, these characters really emote. Overall story is nothing I haven’t seen before (I seem to remember a Batman storyline with Batman bouncing though time taking on aspects of the time frams he was trapped in) but it’s still enjoyable. The thing that steals the show is Adams’s take on Green Arrow who plays a big role in this. If you are a big fan of oldtime 1960’s-1970’s Green Arrow, you’ll be in your glory here. All we need is a big pot of Oliver’s best chili to complete the picture. I give it an 8 out of 10 Grahams.
SPACED OUT #1 SOURCE POINT PRESS
As advertised! Take one part Mad Magazine, spinkle in some humorous lampoons of popular culture (old time culture – my favorite!) and whip it around in a whirlwind that takes it cues from such classic humor comics as Spoof!, Crazy, What The?, and Not Brand Echh! and you end up with a wonderous flashback when comics made fun of themselves and it was all goofy! With the likes of Lou Moughin, Brian Dunphy, and James Couts at the helm, this is a great reminder of a style of comic missing from today’s racks. I give it a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
CULT OF DRACULA #1 SOURCE POINT PRESS
Back around August of 2020, I was given some preview access to this title and mentioned it on social media. And while it was fun to read it on the computer, I certainly prefer it in print format. Creator Rich Davis’s story is an interesting take on the characters of Dracula lore. Mina Murray, Jonathan Harker, and Abraham Van Helsing are all here but in different and interesting forms. This is one of the most successful updatings of a classic story I have seen in awhile. And the fact that the imagery here by Henry Martinez and Trevor Richardson looks straight out of the storyboards from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, just causes the creepy level to top off at about a twelve! I still enjoy this title after these long monthes and actually maybe a bit more as I hold the paper copy in my hands. I give it an 8 out of 10 Grahams.