A week of exclusively comic reviewing.

It has been a few weeks since I last wrote anything here (Princess Leia doesn't count because, well, i wrote it weeks ago and held it for Star Wars day. Sorry). This wasn't an intentional choice but simply a case that work and family took priority and, therefore, I didn't get a chance to read anything.

Well, 'anything" is maybe the wrong word. While I've been unable to read anything from my personal stash of comics (bar one and I'll get to that), I have been able to get some reviews done this week.

Therefore, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about those.

My first review for the week was the Modern Frankenstein #1. Now, while this comic was treated to a review on Pipedream, this was also the only comic which came from my personal collection because I had great expectations given the creative team of Paul Cornell and Emma Vieceli. And, in a way, it was everything I hoped for although it also wasn't at the same time. Now maybe it was a case that I had expected too much from this issue, but I found the first read through of it to be quite a struggle.

Fortunately, going through it the second time it was a little easier and, at that point, I did find the issue quite enjoyable. It did feel a little compressed (which probably wasn't helped by 2 variant covers and a preview for chasing the dragon at the back) but I was very intrigued by the set up and am now curious where it will go. I also thought that, given how this issue played out, Cornell was taking the theme of this story from a similar place as I was with monsters, though in a more preventative rather than retributive direction (although he's since told me that wasn't the case, at least consciously). The art was gorgeous and I really loved it (although I expected no less) and Pippa Bowland's colours gave a real life that felt fitting for the world it was building.

So, by the end, I think it was fair to say that I would be happy to come back and see the next issue. I think this issue has put it in a good place to make a great story and so I'm intrigued to see how it ends.

Afterwards I reviewed The Saturn Effect: Alpha #1. Unfortunately, I really struggled with this comic as I thought it was a case of having too many ideas being crammed into too small a space. Now, credit to it, the world that Chris Moses has made here is a pretty compelling one and has left me very much intrigued about the various aspects that make this universe. However, I really got lost as I read it, with the main plot not seeming clear as I went through the issue with many of the deeper issues being (seemingly) crow barred in without any context.

Now, I loved the art which was solid work and really made me think of Descender. However, like with the story, I really felt that it wasn't given the space to show off. So, overall, I think that if the contents in these two issues had been spread over 6 issues I would have been much more hooked than I was. It is a concept which has potential in my eyes and maybe I'd probably come back when the whole thing is out as it may read better. For now though, it just isn't my thing.

Finally, there was the review for Firebreak #1 which, long story short, was a read I really enjoyed. I thought that Firebreak was a simple, fun, absurd take on the superhero genre. Something that seemed like a comedy played straight as the bad guy blindingly fumbled his way through the story trying to get his questions answered. Unfortunately, it's only problem is that there I didn't really have much to say on it. The art is solid work but not noteworthy and the story is the same, although it left me wondering why it isn't name after the villain instead of the hero (I also wondered if Firebreak's identity is public or if he's like Spider-Man and let's everyone find out).

Nonetheless, despite it's regular-ness (not that that's a bad thing), I enjoyed this and would want to see more (although maybe as a trade/bulk issue pick up).

And that's been my last week in a nutshell. I certainly wish I'd made more time to read more but hopefully next week will not be a repeat as I have a backlog of five Fantastic Four issues I want to get read as well as the first three instalments of Thor & Loki: Double Trouble which I got to read with my son.

I also want to make time to get back to work on one of my other projects as well as various other reviews. However, I know that free time is not always that easy to come by, so I just have to hope that it's easier to find next week than it was this week.