Work, child-rearing, real life in general. It's all caused a little bit of burn out, especially when you add nine reviews for Pipedream comics to the mix.
Now, not all of those reviews are up but I thought, given how little my pull list is these days, I would just give a small paragraph about each of these reviews with the links (like last month) just because....
(some spoilers this month. Read at own risk.)
The first review of this month (although, I did write and read it in April) was the The Signal #1 & #2. Now, this title was another mixed bag for me as, while I enjoyed the story and found both intriguing and a little compelling, I did have a few quibbles which put me off. The first of these was the change in art style between those first two issues, which is expected given that they were each created by different artists with unique styles. However, while I liked both, I did find the change a little jarring. The other thing was how Annie was portrayed as it felt like her personality was a little all over the place, going from crazed to calm and back again. That said, I loved the conspiracy thriller tone of the book and would be intrigued about how the rest of the series (or at least the next issue).
Next up (which was also read and written in April) was the first issue of She Said Destroy which, I have to confess, I struggled to really get on board with. I really loved the idea behind the story and I thought the art by Llana Kangas was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, I just struggled to enjoy the story itself as I wasn't able to find enough to connect to either the (supposed) heroes of the story or the villains. However, the idea I had that the two sides were analogies of science and religion were (if accurate) very intriguing to me, as was the thought I had that the final use of the word 'destroy' was not from Morrigan but as a result of some manipulation which occurred in the pages prior.
Third in the month was the obligatory Garveyverse review with Untitled Generic Space Comedy #1. Of course, while I say obligatory it wasn't really that as I thought that this was a really fun read with a very 80's British comedy mentality like Only Fools or Father Ted but, of course, most like the great Red Dwarf. Having followed Matt's career since the beginning, as I read this I could only think to myself how much his writing has improved since the start. Also, John McFarlane's art was really nice, kind sir f making me think of old fashioned British comic strips but with a modern twist. Once again, Matt made a comic that I'd be interested to read further.
Next was Grimwood Crossing Volumes 1 and 2 and this, for me, was one of those regretful reads because I wished I'd read it sooner. I really enjoyed this series. It wasn't perfect, it had some problems but they were vastly outweighed by how exciting and fast moving I found it to read. Coupling this with some hauntingly gorgeous black and white art and, I've got to admit that if there's a volume three I will be more than interested in checking it out.
Review number five was for a comic called Future #1 by Tom Woodman and Rupert Smissen and I'm still undecided about where I fall on this. This issue looked great and I loved its colour scheme and the premise was intriguing but this first issue just didn't get me as invested as I would have like. That said, as I put in my review proper, the cliffhanger at the end opened up possibilities which really changed my tune and, as such, have me more than happy to come back for more to see what happens (or at least for the next issue).
After that came Dexter's Half Dozen which I did think was a really fun title. However, with this comic, I just struggled to find anything I, personally, found captivating about it which could convince me to come back for more. As my review stated, it was a fun read and felt very much like the Dirty Dozen meets Hellboy in some respects, but it just wasn't my bag (although I am glad I got the hand to read it).
Next up I read Prey for Us #1 (the joy of being one of Messr Garvey's proof readers). This was another enjoyable read from my pal Matt, although I'm not sure if it stood up to some of his greats like Ether or White Noir. That said, maybe I'm just biased that way as those were more my thing. Regardless, I liked how it really push the isolated hunted vibe well will the art (by a new collaborator, J Francis Totti) suited the vibe well. Even though it's not in my genre wheelhouse, these guys have done enough that I'd like to check the next issue.
Then I read Griff Gristle: The Endless Voyage, which was the third issue of one of my more favourite series that often graces my desk. This issue did suffer a little bit from a lack of a recap page (a problem I have more and more with comics) as well as quite a bit of exposition compared to the past issues. That said, this issue continued to be more of the same greatness as the prior issues, with some gorgeous art continuing it's Hellboy-like look and story and characters that are just charming, fun and quite relatable. While I thought this issue was a set down slightly, it wasn't enough to make me not want to read more.
Finally, I read Digitopia #1 by Farhan Qureshi and Sebastian Piriz (among others). Now, this I was middle of the road about as I found Digitopia quite complex and interesting on the political front as we saw multiple characters deals with the end of a war and a new regime being in charge. Now, what may come from these ideas does intrigue me greatly but, for this first issue, the pacing felt slow and the story didn't really grab me. That said, some of these ideas certainly hooked me enough in that I may to check it out for another issue.
And that's it! Looking back, I've just realised how many of these issues I actually enjoyed. Hopefully, by doing this I can remind myself at a later date or, more importantly, I can convince someone else (who might have stumbled across this post) to check them out.
Either of these could be wishful thinking but I can dream!
Then I read Griff Gristle: The Endless Voyage, which was the third issue of one of my more favourite series that often graces my desk. This issue did suffer a little bit from a lack of a recap page (a problem I have more and more with comics) as well as quite a bit of exposition compared to the past issues. That said, this issue continued to be more of the same greatness as the prior issues, with some gorgeous art continuing it's Hellboy-like look and story and characters that are just charming, fun and quite relatable. While I thought this issue was a set down slightly, it wasn't enough to make me not want to read more.
Finally, I read Digitopia #1 by Farhan Qureshi and Sebastian Piriz (among others). Now, this I was middle of the road about as I found Digitopia quite complex and interesting on the political front as we saw multiple characters deals with the end of a war and a new regime being in charge. Now, what may come from these ideas does intrigue me greatly but, for this first issue, the pacing felt slow and the story didn't really grab me. That said, some of these ideas certainly hooked me enough in that I may to check it out for another issue.
And that's it! Looking back, I've just realised how many of these issues I actually enjoyed. Hopefully, by doing this I can remind myself at a later date or, more importantly, I can convince someone else (who might have stumbled across this post) to check them out.
Either of these could be wishful thinking but I can dream!
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