Comic Reviews - Not Mine Edition
minus. TPB - The fabulous webcomic is finally in print! Minus is a magical girl who uses her powers usually for her own betterment. Being a child, most of her magic ends up literal (making chalk drawings come to life, etc). She's often playing tricks on other people or fighting off people who bother her. Since magic is involved, anything goes for the story, from tiny fantasy warriors fighting on ants to dishes coming to life and learning kung-fu to alien invaders to wandering the afterlife. Rereading the series, I'm struck with how much the storytelling resembles that of Little Nemo, but with beautiful painted artwork. Highly recommended.
Squidgirls HC vol. 01 - Ben Templesmith's artbook featuring nude girls and squids. That's about all there is to it. I like his work, but I wish he changed it up a bit, especially in his similar coloring.
Wolverine and Jubilee 3 - Wolverine (and we) finally get some answers to what the vampires want with Jubilee (bait to get Wolverine into Chernobyl). The story is finally starting to make sense while still keeping some mysteries. Good art, too.
Daken 6 - Daken finally starting to use his powers of manipulation to start taking power in Madripoor. Decent action and nice twists from the main character. Finally feels like the title is getting back to the core of Daken.
Joe the Barbarian 8 - Joe has his final battle with Death. Good stuff, but the denouement is a little rushed, I felt. Still, I look forward to buying the collection and reading all this in one go.
King Conan: Scarlet Citadel 1 - Conan the king is retelling a story where he was captured and fought a giant snake. I like going back to the more traditional Conan adventure. Looking forward to reading more.
New Warriors TPB - A funny comic about a team of misfits with Skottie Young artwork. The whole this is amusing (despite knowing the horrible things that eventually happen to them), but the book/series ends before any character arcs can be really resolved or even explored.
Red Mass For Mars TPB - A nice Jonathan Hickman book about superheroes in the future facing down an unstoppable alien force. The "Mars" in the title is an indifferent Superman stand in who was raised in the Dark Ages and currently lives in isolation on Mars. I love all the characters and world, especially how much you learn about them in four short issues. Still, the story is very similar to what The Authority has dealt with a decade ago.
The Sixth Gun TPB - The closest thing I can compare this story to is Hellboy in the wild west. The main character is going around dealing with supernatural items for money. When looking for treasure, a hanging tree sends him on a wild goose hunt that gets him involved in the six guns that a Confederate general found and used for power. The guns each give powers like shooting fire, granting immortality, or showing the future. Man, trying to summarize the plot is getting convoluted. Suffice to say, lots of sweet gun battles, magical beasts, and the angriest general hell couldn't keep down. Awesome world and awesome characters.