Comic reviews: July 2019

While it is now mid/late August as of the date which I post this (although I wrote it at the beginning of the month), it certainly feels like a long time since I actually reviewed these comics.

However, while I still gave my word which I would reference the links for each of these reviews, I felt as though this was something I needed to do, simply because more people need to here about these books.

And the four I reviewed during July definitely deserve greater focuses as I thought they were all rather good.

First up amongst my reviews in July was Shaun Gardiner's The Boy with Nails for Eyes. Now, I have to confess that, after reading this comic, I had absolutely no idea what the plot was for this or where it would be going. However, that mattered little because I absolutely loved reading it. This comic looked moody, gothic, and somewhat dreamlike and the dialogue had me absolutely hooked from the beginning. I think it is fair to say that but I don't think I've seen a comic like this before and, if this guy could at least hint where his story is going, then, to me, this title could actually be pretty damn near perfect.

Deiciders #1. Image from
Comixology.

Next up was Deiciders #1 from Markosia Comics. Now this comic, which (rather aptly given it's title) is about three Vikings who travel to kill a God in order to save a girl, is one I absolutely loved reading and totally couldn't put it down. I absolutely adored the art (especially the first and last pages) and thought the action was so good. It did have it's bad points, such as the characters not feeling fleshed out (which actually isn't as bad as my constant mentioning makes it feel like) as well as the cliché of the 'Damsel in Distress'. However, both of these things did little to stop me really loving this and I've gotta be sure I pick up the other three issues if they are anything like this one.

Miskatonic High #1.
Image from Comixology.

For the third week of July was Miskatonic High #1 & 2, which (I thought) was a kind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Scooby Doo's Mystery Inc. as five schoolmates join a club and find themselves stumbling across one bizarre and unusual occurrence after another. Now, with this comic, I absolutely loved it as it read as so light and breezy, in no way taking itself too seriously, that it was actually a nice change of pace from all of these other comics where 'the world is in danger' kind of thing. I did think that it struggled in the very beginning but it picked itself up nicely with it's story and the artists style is so on point with the concept and story themselves that this title really is a perfect match of two great talents. I'm actually looking forward to reading some more.

Delver #1. Image from
Comixology.

And finally there was Delver #1 through to 3, which is a fantasy comic but I'm not sure I could explain further without delving (pun not intended) into stuff I'd gone through in the review. In short though I really enjoyed this, although I struggled for about half to 2/3 of the first issue. However, it really grew on me with the characters and world really feeling real in some fashion. The art is...well, art. It's nice, has this kind of classic fantasy look in some way and isn't tough to look at (apart from the early pages which I think are rougher than the rest). The colours help, keeping it toned down and making it look mostly realistic (as much as it can in a story about monsters and magic doors). In truth, I'm not sure why I liked it but I just did. Hopefully, I got across everything I could that spoke to me.

And there you have it, July's reviews referenced with the more personal ramblings of what I thought of these comics. For as far back as I can remember, I think this could have been the best month I've had since reviewing for Pipedream, as all four comics have now made their way to my wish list.

Hopefully, these additional thoughts and a (hopefully) genuine ramble of love for these comics will help convince others to give these a shot.