Daddy Issues and Tampering with Time

Action Comics #962, 984, 989, 991-997 (October 2016 to April 2018)

#962: "Path of Doom: Conclusion" Writer: Dan Jurgens, Penciller: Stephen Segovia, Inker: Art Thibert, Letterer: Rob Leigh, Colorist: Ulises Arreola.

Lois and her son Jon are safely sequestered on the Watchtower with Wonder Woman while Superman struggles to contain Doomsday. During the battle, Superman lures Doomsday to a fortress similar to the Kryptonian one, but is hard pressed to defeat his foe until Wonder Woman intervenes. Together, they succeed in sending Doomsday to the Phantom Zone.

Part of Rebirth, this comic includes multiple supermen: Clark Kent out of costume, the Superman with Lois and their son Jon, and a super Lex Luthor. There's also a cloaked scythe-wielding stranger who somehow "intercepted the projection" and captured Doomsday en route to the Phantom Zone.

The issue includes ads for Snickers (Woman Woman is as cranky as Doomsday when she gets hungry!), Midtown Comics, DCBS, action figures, and NC Comicon. There are also several house ads: Doom Patrol, Shade the Changing Girl, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye, Mother Panic, Blue Beetle, Teen Titans, and Cyborg, as well as a checklist of comics on sale Sept. 7-28, 2016.

Trek-Citement

Star Trek: Discovery—The Light of Kahless #2 (IDW, November 2017, $3.99)
Having recently caught up on Star Trek: Discovery episodes I have been in a state of Trek-citement. Reading the media tie-in novel Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours has helped satisfy that yen, as did the second issue of this tie-in comic.

Written by Kirsten Beyer and Mike Johnson, and drawn by Tony Shasteen, it's an excellent read—and one that will help fill in some back story for those watching the show. At the same time, it's a good standalone story, featuring interesting characterization and wonderful science-fiction artwork.



This issue tells the story of the Klingon T'Kuvma's spiritual awakening and allegiance to Kahless, as told to Voq. Studying in the harsh environs of the Cauldron of Tak'la Pokh in the Caves of Nomat on Boreth, T'Kuvma sees a vision. The vision returns during "the worst storm in years," the Rage of Pakath.

T'Kuvma returns home to House Girjah against his wishes, to assist his sister J'Ula, expected to wed into House Mokai. There, she shows him the flagship the "common people" have restored, as well as its invisibility shield. Then, T'Kuvma meets J'Ula's betrothed, D'Lor of House Mokai.



If you enjoy Star Trek or the Klingons generally—and if you enjoy the new show specifically—check out this comic. The writing is true to the mythos, and Shasteen's artwork is wonderful. I was particularly impressed by the spread on pp. 2-3 of the Cauldron and the flagship interiors on pp. 14-15.

Availability: A collection of the series will be published in July. We also recommend the tie-in novel Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours.

Cataloging Comics Ephemera

Minis, Digests, Etc. #1-8 (Tanreth Press, April 2016 to December 2017, $4)
This infrequently but consistently published "iterative reference guide" edited and published by Scott Davis picks up where The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide and Fogel's Underground Price & Grading Guide leave off, bringing those two resources closer to review zines such as D. Blake Werts's Copy This! to catalog and document mini-comics and other comics ephemera. Each 32-page edition, limited to a first print run of 25, indexes mini-comics, digest-sized comics, and comics of other shapes and sizes—including material from the United Fanzine Organization and Small Press Syndicate. The first eight issues go up through D, to Brad Foster's The Dirty Old Lady Digest, which ran five issues between 1986 and 1993.



This zine might not be of interest to everybody—but it is an amazing and impressive project. If you've read mini-comics over the years, it'll be a fun read. And it's a crucial tool for zine and comics librarians, archivists, collectors, and scholars. Davis indexes titles, issue numbers, dates, contributors, price, and additional information for each item. The neatest part of the index zine, however, might be the reduced cover art at the foot of many pages. Just flipping through a few issues, some of the cover art highlights include Adventures of A-Girl, Amazing Cynicalman, Andy Nukes's BLDGS., Jeff Zenick's Destined, Max Traffic's Diary of Neo-Psychedelic Man, and others.



This zine is a labor of love that is much appreciated. I look forward to future issues!

Availability: Write Scott Davis at 114 Lesnyk Road, Goffstown, NH 03045, or email him. You can also order it from the Poopsheet Foundation.

Gone Undercover

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie #4 and 6 (Dynamite, 2017, $3.99)

Even if you don't know or like Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, this is a wonderful, straight-ahead mystery comic. It reminds me of Ms. Tree, Criminal, and 100 Bullets. It also reminds me a little of the Riverdale TV show and perhaps even Veronica Mars.



From these two issues, written by Anthony Del Col and drawn by Werther Dell'Edera, I gather that Fenton Hardy supposedly committed suicide (!!!). Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys have gone undercover with a local gang, immersing themselves in Bayport's criminal underground to find the true killer.

Dell'Edera's art is semi-realistic and captures the noir of mystery well, but is cartoony enough to not become overly threatening. Of the youth detective characters, Drew is more of a strong presence than either Hardy, which struck me as odd but good. #4 includes some pretty neat elements, including the statue of General Jack Smith being a literal entry point to the criminal underground.

The return to the caves and "our old adventures" in #6 is a pleasant almost-callback to the original books—and the shadowy art on pp. 12-14 is pretty darn cool. P. 14 is almost all shape and silhouette—a technique that intrigues me.

A sleeper hit! The comic doesn't need the licensed characters. Perhaps the licensed characters need the comic.

Availability: These issues are available in Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie.

A Tough Pill

The Divided States of Hysteria #6 (Image, November 2017, $3.99)
Written and drawn by Howard Chaykin, this series follows up his relatively straight-forward noir comic Midnight of the Soul. While the first few issues of this new work felt slightly dense, busy, and difficult to parse, by this point in the series, the multi-layered story—though complex—is easier to read. Perhaps the reader becomes more literate in the comic's form and function with each successive issue.



It is a difficult comic structurally. Chaykin incorporates narrative elements not common to most comics today: little tweet icons and other social media discourse buttons and bugs, photorealistic panel design and elements, and a preponderance of sound effects. The end result is dense, cluttered, but meaningful pages and panels—and a comment of sorts on the age's overwhelming media soup surrounding us. How does one get signal through all the noise?

It is also a difficult comic thematically. It is not a nice, kind, or friendly comic. That doesn't mean it's a hateful comic, but it's not a considerate or patient comic. By this issue, if you made it this far, that might seem OK. But Chaykin pulls no punches on shedding light on some of the more problematic aspects of race, gender, sex, and  class relations and divisions in America today. "The freedoms this nation once promised to any and all... the rights once offered to a free people in a free country... have been supplanted and perverted by a national narcissism... redefining our rights as whatever we may feel like doing at any given moment."

Regardless of your politics, it's a tough pill to stomach, but medicine (more inoculation than curative) worth seeking. An impressive, challenging, important comic that's also fun to read. This issue also includes editorial comments by Chaykin in a column titled "Undivided Attention."

Availability: Divided States of Hysteria will be collected mid-month. You can also buy individual issues online.

A Promotional Comic

Raw Data: Ride the Wave (Survios, 2017, free)
The third in a series of seven promotional comic books, this issue focuses on the hero character Boss from the VR first-person shooter video game Raw Data, the first consumer VR game to sell $1 million in a month. It's a 10-page read written by Jonathan Callan and drawn by Darick Robertson.

Boss, a cybernetic mercenary, wakes in a hotel to discover that a reckless kid stole his stuff, including his coat. He gives chase, eventually catching up with the thief. "The fall is inevitable. There's no avoiding that. All you can do is manage the landing."



As a scene setter for a video game, the comic works. This is an effective way to communicate back story and develop characters beyond what might be possible in a VR game, and the comic is classic cyberpunk stuff: William Gibson by way of Shadowrun. There are some friendly in jokes, such as a billboard saying "Drink Emig," name dropping the comic's editor.

The true test of a promotional comic might be this: Does it make you want to try the product or service it promotes? Truth be told, it didn't make me want to play the game. But it did make me want to read the comic. I read this issue twice and will probably read it again. And—if the characters were more fully fleshed out—I could easily see this as an ongoing licensed comic published by Dynamite (publisher of Agent 47), Titan (which puts out Assassin's Creed Origins and Quake Champions), or even Dark Horse (which does Dragon Age comics).

The back matter includes several advertisements for Eden Corp. products.

Availability: The previous issues are available online. We recommend William Gibson's Neuromancer.

Roleplaying Game Comic Books

Dungeons & Dragons: Frost Giant's Fury #3-5 (IDW, February-April 2017, $3.99)
Dragon Age: Knight Errant #2, 4-5 (Dark Horse, June and August-September 2017, $3.99)
Pathfinder: Runescars #2, 4 (Dynamite, 2017, $4.99)

I haven't read roleplaying game comic books other than Knights of the Dinner Table for some time, and this batch of comics has been in my reading box for longer than I like admitting. All three series might be of interest to people who are already well versed—or active in—playing roleplaying games given their settings, characters, and concepts. Of the three, Dragon Age: Knight Errant might be best suited for someone interested in fantasy broadly, but not RPGs specifically. (That said, people interested in that series of video games might also be interested.) Even if these miniseries are no longer publishing, chances are good that each franchise has a new series going, so check the stands at your local shop.

Dungeons & Dragons: Frost Giant's Fury was intended to dovetail with release of the Storm Kings Thunder adventure module for the tabletop RPG and the related season of organized play in game stores around the world. If I remember correctly, the timing was off, and it was pretty far into the season before the comic shipped. Regardless, it's a fun read. Minsc the ranger and his space hamster Boo from the Baldur's Gate series of video games join several other adventurers—sorceress Delina, rogues Krydle and Shandie, and cleric Nerys—to investigate and thwart the intrigue among and between dragons and giants fighting to control Faerun.



Jim Zub's writing is good, but it's a little too transparent in the game lineage and mechanics. (This is an issue IDW's D&D comics have had from the beginning.) Delina might say something other than "Magic missile!" when casting that spell in #4, eh? Given that much of the comic is character driven, Netho Diaz's art concentrates on the humanoids, but in #3's pages with the white dragon in its cave during the snowstorm, readers get a little bit of the sense of wonder inherent in D&D. "Okay, lockpicker... talk." #5 goes a bit broader in its scale, offering several nice moments featuring the giants, including a two-page spread on pp. 4-5, and a face off between giant and dragon on pp. 12 and 15.

D&D players will be interested in the character sheets offered in each issue for the characters Krydle, Nerys, and Shandie, who are all sixth level, incidentally.

Attacking the World's Psychics

Astonishing X-Men #2-7 (Marvel, October 2017 to March 2018, $3.99)
One of several X-Men team books coming out of Inhumans vs. X-Men, this comic—the fourth series with this title—is written by Charles Soule. It features a team led by Psylocke including Logan, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, Fantomex, Bishop, and Angel. That grouping's not too dissimilar from the 1994-1995 pre-Age of Apocalypse Uncanny X-Men team.

This run of issues, which includes the bulk of the Life of X storyline and kicks off the storyline A Man Called X, is not just a fun read, but an important event in the history of the X-Men. Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King, has been attacking the world's psychics to find one strong enough to help him bring his darkness completely to the world.



Professor X, believed dead since Cyclops killed him in Avengers Vs. X-Men, is in fact still active on the astral plane (!!!), and challenges Farouk to distract him. Meanwhile, Psylocke, protected by Angel and Bishop, sends the X-Men to find Farouk, as well.

Soule's writing is solid—he's one of my favorite superhero writers—and there's a different artist every issue. #2 is drawn by Mike Deodato, Jr., perhaps the best of the bunch. The other issues are drawn by Ed McGuinness, Carlos Pacheco, Ramon Rosanas (perhaps the next best in this run of issues), Mike del Mundo, and Phil Noto.

Without offering a play-by-play description of the issues, here are some highlights:

#2: The splash panel with Farouk and Professor X, seeing various team members cycle through the same dramatic roles in an imagined play, and Wolverine sniffing Beast
#3: Wolverine's goals ("Logan has built himself a reality. A very simple one, with only two elements. The lair of his enemy, and a path leading to it."), and Angel's forgiveness
#4: Carlos Pacheco's cover, Bishop's fall, and the temptations of the imagined realities
#5: The possessed Gambit and pp. 12-13
#6: The issue's dreamlike quality and the return of X
#7: Phantomex's choice, the return of Proteus, and a Marvel Value Stamp

This is an X series worth reading. Soule's up to some fun stuff, and even with the shift in story lines, there are still enough open threads that it's not entirely clear where things will go.

Availability: #1-6 will be collected in Astonishing X-Men by Charles Soule Vol. 1: Life of X in March this year. You can also buy these issues online.

Barbarella Is Captured

Barbarella #1 (Dynamite, 2017, $3.99)
While I've not yet seen the 1968 movie Barbarella starring Jane Fonda, its place in pop culture is secure, and the film itself was based on a 1964 French comic by Jean-Claude Forest. Now, Dynamite is bringing a licensed comic adaptation to a new (perhaps) generation of science fiction fan and comics reader.

Written by Mike Carey and drawn by Kenan Yarar, this issue is mostly a straight-forward science-fiction adventure, with some mature elements. Barbarella is captured by the uber-religious (think Warhammer 40,000 reglious) Parosians after she drops into normal space because of a ship malfunction.



Because she is a healthy-bodied female—something the Parosians find sacrilegious—she is taken to the body looms and sent to a prison labor camp. There, she meets Quire, who is actually a spy.

Yarar's art is excellent for a science fiction story and reminiscent of a bande dessinee. There are some erotic moments bordering on the flip or gratuitous ("I have a fully functional vagina. That's not a crime."), and the sensual art (pp. 14-16)—though involving women—seems oriented toward a male audience. While not as subtle as the erotic undertones of Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella, those aspects don't distract from the comic overall, and it can be read largely as a space adventure.

Recommended not just to fans of Barbarella, but to science fiction fans generally!

Availability: This issue is available online. We also recommend Barbarella : Barbarella and The Wrath of the Minute-Eater.

Team Up to Hunt

Hack/Slash Vs. Vampirella #1-3 (Dynamite, 2017, $3.99)
This is one of those crossover comics I was talking about. I've never read Hack/Slash; though I've been vaguely aware of it, I don't know anything about it at all. But I do enjoy Vampirella, so I sometimes pick up Vampirella material even if it's outside an ongoing series. It seems reasonable that someone who likes Hack/Slash might like Vampirella, and vice versa, but I'm not sure how big an audience such a crossover book will bring—or which reader is being brought to which property.



Regardless, the pairing works. Shawn Aldridge's writing is interesting and action-oriented enough that the comic reads well plot wise, and Rapha Lobosco's artwork is serious enough that it works for a horror comic—and light enough that it allows for the series' humor to come through. "Same s!@# used to happen whenever I'd see T-Boz in a TLC video."



The gist of the matter is this: Cassandra Hack is a monster hunter, kind of a cross between a movie-style Harley Quinn and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her partner in crime Vlad—the Slash of the pairing—might not be human and reminds me a little of Frankenstein by way of RanXerox. Vampirella, then, is Vampirella, alien vampire.



The three meet while in Las Vegas, as Vampirella hunts the Blood Red Queen of Hearts. They team up to hunt the villainess together, but things don't go entirely as planned. #1 is mostly setup, #2 features a funny meet cute between Slash and Vampirella—and identifies Hack as an unexpected threat—and #3 is mostly fight scene: fisticuffs and inner turmoil.

I'm not sure I'd read Hack/Slash on its own, but as a Vampirella comic, this is a fun series—worth picking up. As a crossover, while I think Vampirella is the stronger of the pairing, Hack/Slash holds up enough on its own that I can understand its existing as its own comic. This is no giant shouldering a lesser title, even if it's not an equal pairing.

Availability: You can buy the issues online. We also recommend Hack/Slash Omnibus, Vol. 1, Vampirella: The Dynamite Years Omnibus Vol. 1, and Vampirella: The Best of the Warren Years.

Escape the Inescapable

Mister Miracle #1-5 (DC, November 2017 to February 2018, $3.99)
Now, this is a comic book. Written by Tom King and drawn by Mitch Gerads, this comic is more than just a new series featuring Jack Kirby's 1970s Fourth World character. In fact, it was somewhat difficult at first to read Kirby's naming while reading someone else's work. That soon changed as the series became its own thing, and a thing worth reading.



I'm not going to recount the plot or events of these five issues. Just know that the New Gods are here. Darkseid has returned, and Orion, erstwhile highfather, is leading the forces against him. He enlists—commands—the aid of Mister Miracle and his wife Barda, who soon fall short of his expectations.

But things aren't as they seem. Mister Miracle tries to escape the inescapable at the outset, and much of the series reads as though a fever dream. Is this real? What is the meaning of life? Is Funky Flashman John Byrne? (He contributed to New Gods in the mid-'90s.) For the most part, the comic book is a meditation on meaning, on love, on family. #4's trial and #5's couple's day out are particularly wonderful examples of modern superhero storytelling. More than a superhero comic, this is a very human comic—mundane and fantastic in equal measure.

Availability: You can buy individual issues online. The original 18 issues have also been collected.

Secret Ninja Soldiers

Ninja-K #1-2 (Valiant, November-December 2017, $3.99)
This is a new series featuring a character that first appeared in the 1993 Valiant Ninjak series, which ran 28 issues before being canceled mid-storyline. Already, this series featuring writing by Christos Gage and art by Tomas Giorello (along with several introductory pages by Roberto de la Torre in #2 that show promise), makes me wonder why the previous series didn't last longer. (The '90s Bloodshot, also recently relaunched, for example, ran 50-plus issues.) The character has legs!

Since the early 1900s, MI6 has used a line of secret ninja soldiers (starting with Ninja-A) to do things the usual British army couldn't—or wouldn't. Each trained its successor until the arrival of the Jonin, a dedicated teacher. This issue establishes that lineage, focusing mostly on Ninja-A, -B, and -D—undoubtedly the best"—before introducing the current iteration, Ninja-K.



After rescuing an ambassador's son. Ninja-K returns to the arms of his lover in London, a woman he served with in Unity (whatever that is). She gives him an ultimatum just before Neville arrives to inform him about a series of murders targeting other operatives in the ninja program. Ninja-K goes to meet with Ninja-D's backup D-3 in the Cotswolds, where he learns about Madame Charade, a mistress of disguise and Ninja-D's obsessive paramour before it all goes to heck.

Giorello's artwork is stellar. (Has he drawn Batman yet? He could.) Combined with Diego Rodriguez's colors, the visuals are detailed, dark, and well suited for a spy and ninja comic. Highlights of #1 include p. 2, 4, 6, the spread on pp. 8-9, and 32 (worthy of a Howard Chaykin pinup, that one!). Very solid and moody without getting muddy or overly violent or bloody—despite the violent nature of the comic.

#2 opens with five pages drawn by Roberto de la Torre to offer an interlude from 1952, perhaps setting up #1's less-mentioned Ninja-C as an antihero, enemy, or foil for the ninja program. Ninja-K survives the end of #1 and heads to Luxembourg to confront Madame Charade. Pp. 11-15 are among the best pages I've read in comics for some time—the very concept of the Madame Charade character over time is fascinating.

Ninja-K continues to the Birmingham facility where Ninja-D worked at the end of his career, where he makes a startling discovery and meets a new, perhaps old, enemy. This issue also includes an eight-page backup story (huzzah!) drawn by Ariel Olivetti showcasing an early mission from 1918.

This comic is more Master of Kung Fu than Usagi Yojimbo, and strikes me more strongly than I remember Steven Grant's Whisper.

Availability: A previous Ninjak series has been collected starting with Ninjak Volume 1: Weaponeer. 

Converts to the Kong Religion

Skull Island: The Birth of Kong #3-4 (Legendary, 2017, $3.99)
Kong: Gods of Skull Island #1 (Boom, October 2017, $7.99)
Kong on the Planet of the Apes #1-2 (Boom, November-December 2017, $3.99)

The release of the Kong: Skull Island movie last year brought a welcome rash of Kong-related comic books, of which these are three examples. Each comic or series does its own thing slightly differently, and all do it well.

Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comes closest to what an ongoing Kong series might feel like, similar perhaps to Godzilla in Hell or Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters. (Even with the recent issues of Hammer comics such as Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter, the Godzilla comics are as close as we get to ongoing monster comics.) The series is a sequel/prequel of sorts to the Skull Island movie. Arvid Nelson's writing and Zid's art and colors combine well to capture the lush expanse of the island's foliage and geology, as well as its inhabitants, living and dead.



A party of armed explorers led by Aaron Brooks, following in the footsteps of his father, meets with the resident natives, and one, Riccio, converts to the Kong religion. Their journey takes readers to many of the major sites of the film, including the valley of the fallen gods, where the current Kong's origin is told, and includes the major creatures, as well, including the skull crawlers. Riccio decides the best way to test whether Kong is a protector is to destroy the wall protecting the village, opening it to threat.

The artwork is particularly impressive. Almost full-page panels delight, and the images of Kong in action are powerful, especially #4's pp. 9-10, 14, and 17. It is the combination of place—the land—and races—its inhabitants—that makes this comic most impressive. Skull Island is an awe-inspiring location.

Each issue includes several pages of "Monarch Declassified Field Notes," which offers background information on some of the new fauna of the island, including the magma turtle, swamp locust, spore mantis, and mother longlegs. The Godzilla comics makers could learn from that: Don't just roll call through the existing creatures, introduce others worth of inclusion in the mythos!

A Joyful Return

Mage: The Hero Denied #4 (Image, November 2017, $3.99)
Like Rock Candy Mountain, Mage: The Hero Denied is one of my favorite comic books of 2017. Written and drawn by Matt Wagner, this series is such a joyful return. I've been a fan of the creator since his work on Grendel, as well as on the two previous Mage series, The Hero Discovered and The Hero Defined. Such wonderful comics.

We're far enough into this new series now that we can step back from reintroducing the world, its characters, and the themes of the book. This issue—similar to Rock Candy Mountain's chase scene in #6—is almost all fight scene. And what a fight!



The Pendragon has lured Ereshkigal, mistress of the underworld and keeper of one of Death's houses, the ancient hell of Irkalla. He fights an assortment of zombies (pp. 7-8's splash panel is quite impressive)—"The dead are everywhere!" Their battle is interrupted by the arrival of another house claiming the Pendragon's soul.

The art is characteristically excellent, the coloring solid, and the scripting well paced and interesting. Welcome back, Mage. And welcome back, Mr. Wagner.

Availability: You can get this issue online, even direct from Image. I recommend going back to the beginning, as well. Mage Book One: The Hero Discovered Volume 1 collects the first six issues of that 1980s Comico series.

Lively and Large Bodied

Rock Candy Mountain #5-6 (Image, November-December 2017, $3.99)
Like Spy Seal, Rock Candy Mountain is one of my favorite comic books of 2017. Luckily, that list so far isn't all Image Comics, but that publisher is over-indexing on the quality comics front this year. And this title has been a real pleasure.



Kyle Starks's simply and languidly drawn comic about hobos, selling your soul to the devil, World War II and the Spear of Destiny, and one man's struggles to return to his wife and daughter—perhaps at the titular mountain—is a lively, large-bodied story. Chris Schweizer's color work is excellent (case in point, #5's us of green on p. 3, the pinks on p. 11, and the muted evening shades on p. 14), and there's even a surprising use of panel-less space on p. 16 to bolster a transition. Starks and his colleagues have given thought to presentation and pacing, throwing in some belly laughs ("I think your face must be allergic to knuckles.") and teenage colloquialisms along the way ("Wreckt!").

Benito Cereno contributes a two-page text piece "The Destiny of the Spear" to offer background and context for the presence of the spear in the comic—as well as Hitler's possession of it.



While #5 was a little more flashback oriented and expository in nature, #6 is all action. The devil returns to Pomona Slim, and our hero is getting chased on a train. That chase lasts most of the issue, and it is very funny ("Guys! Please be better at your jobs!") and visually beautiful. As above, the art and coloring are particularly effective in this book, as is the timing of panel sequences—p. 3's initial leap between train cars is awesome. But it is the third panel on p. 15, and the single-panel p. 20 that impress the most artistically. That page—oh, that p. 20—is beautifully composed.

At the end of #6, Ryan O'Sullivan and Plaid Klaus serve up a five-page backup story promoting their new book Void Trip.

Availability: Rock Candy Mountain #1-4 have been collected. A second volume combining #5-8 is expected in March 2018. You can also buy the two issues online.

Cliffhangers and Humor

Spy Seal #3 (Image, October 2017, $3.99)
Like Royal City, Spy Seal is one of my favorite comic books of 2017. Written and drawn by Rich Tommaso, creator of the astounding She Wolf and retro-noir Dark Corridor, the series is an ornately detailed funny-animal take on The Adventures of Tin Tin. Think Richard Scarry meets Richard Sala. The book is pristine and crisp, and some of the cliffhangers and humor are quite impressive.



Kes and Malcolm think they've encountered Miles McKeller, Communist sympathizer and terrorist, on the train. Fisticuffs ensue, and Kes gets stabbed, falling from the train. Malcolm also falls, both landing in the snow. They make their way to a "disgruntled ex-spy convention," where they infiltrate a gallery showing. After finding a hidden message—and after a bombing—Kes and Malcolm make chase of McKeller again, trailing to him his secret hideout.

Cinematic in its pacing and page design, Spy Seal is a wild ride of a read. The detailed artwork—such a fine line!—is a delight. Look for some of the highlights such as p. 1, searching the train on p. 4, the last three panels on p. 6, p. 8 in its entirety, the third panel of p. 14, and the concluding panel of the issue. So many little details. It's like Geoff Darrow drawing Where's Waldo?

Availability: The series will be collected as Spy Seal Volume 1: The Corten-Steel Phoenix in January 2018. You can also buy the issue online.

Life, Love, and Longing

Royal City #7-8 (Image, November-December 2017, $3.99)
Like Eleanor & the Egret, this is one of my favorite comic books of 2017. Jeff Lemire is one of the better writers active in comics today, and I have been thoroughly enjoying this non-superhero title, which Lemire also draws.



While the book's sense of time is rather fluid, the book seems to be about a teenage boy named Tommy who develops a brain condition of some sort. It's about all the worry that that entails, as well as how it affects his family and their relationships. The book also touches on the people we think are, the people we think our parents are, and the uncertainty that everyone feels inside every single day, alone but together. The artwork and wash-like watercolor tones are very subtle and quiet, perfect for the emotive storyline.

That subject matter makes Royal City a standout on the comics racks. It could be a novel or series of short stories. In the end, the series is about life,  love, and longing.

#7 focuses on Tommy going in for a CAT Scan or similar test, which leads to a referral to a specialist, and his father's introduction to antique radios. #8 addresses Tommy's envy of his older brother Richie and jealousy of his relationship with Clara. After some kind of panic attack driving around with his brother and his friends, Tommy walks home, where he spends some time with Tara. She just learned she's pregnant.

I cannot wait until the next issue of this comic book comes out. Always enjoyable and building toward something important.

Availability: Royal City #1-5 have been collected in Royal City Volume 1: Next of Kin. You can also buy these two issues online.

A Very Big Bird

Eleanor & the Egret #5 (AfterShock, November 2017, $3.99)
Like Motor Girl, this is one of my favorite comic books of 2017. It was written by John Layman and drawn by Sam Kieth, who brought us The Maxx, one of the earlier Image series, Four Women, and Zero Girl—all of which are worth reading.



Oddly enough, I cried. I don't often cry while reading comic books, but I did reading Motor Girl and I did during Eleanor & the Egret. What started out as a comedic art heist comic featuring a very big bird ended up being a commentary on artistic license and creative freedom.

Kieth breaks many comic design standards, which is wonderful. The realistic/surrealistic character designs of pp. 2-3; the spread of pp. 4-5 (whoever buys that original art is a very smart person); the David Mack-like panel 3 of p. 6; the lettering on pp. 5, 7, and 14; and the watercolor/ink impressionism of p. 7 and 17-19 all surprise, delight, and break the mold of the rest of the comic—or comics.

In the end, the series is about creative freedom and freeing one's voice. Read it all at once, in one sitting. My one concern about the series was about its episodic nature, though the pacing is excellent.

Availability: The series will be collected in March 2018. Before then, buy back issues from Lone Star or Mile High.

Amateur Nature

Yeet Presents #16 (Cost of Paper, September 2017, free)
Published by comic book fans for fans, Yeet Presents has showcased aspiring comics writers and artists since 1994. Previously published as a half-legal comics digest, the anthology comic—similar to a smaller press Charlton Arrow—is now a full-format 36-page comic.

The comic opens with an eight-page Guardians of the Blue story by Mac of Bionight. It's part three of chapter one, and this issue's segment seems to start with page 20, so a lot has already happened—and it's not entirely clear what is happening now. You might want to get the previous issues. There's a team of superheroes, one of them doesn't want Lightning to damage the plants in the forest, and they're looking for someone named Daimon—but they find something else entirely. The computer-aided backgrounds give the pages a busy quality, but the art's not bad for an amateur comic.



Greta Fantini offers four pages of Malerba art and story. The too-brief encounter with the diminutive character reminded me of Warriors of the Shadow Realm, Tinkerbell, and Neil the Horse of all things—and more of Famtimi's work would be welcome.

It's an abrupt shift to Theodore Raymond Riddle's Compu-M.E.C.H., a mechanically enhanced and computerized hero controlled by Tommy Chase under the tutelage of Dr. Green. In this installment, a seven-page issue #0, the Mech unit extinguishes flames engulfing a Los Angeles that looks more like San Francisco. While editor Mike Jones compared Riddle's work to Ditko and Kirby, it reminded me a little of Grass Green for some reason.

The issue closes with three pages of Eli Jansen's Eternal Life International, which is over-dark and cluttered, and an art gallery featuring Wonderman and the Black Fury, both of which show promise.

Given its amateur nature, Yeet is a mixed bag, but there's enough good among the less good to make it worth reading. Kudos to all involved!

Availability: Write Cost of Paper Comics care of Mike Jones, 3257 Kneeland Circle, Howell, MI 48843. TwoMorrows published Grass Green's Xal-Kor the Human Cat.

All This Time

Motor Girl #10 (Abstract, 2017, $3.99)
The final issue of this black-and-white comic, this is the book that you should have been reading all this time. Written and drawn by the creator of Strangers in Paradise, Echo, and Runaways, this series might be his most important work yet.

I cried.



It's got two-panel pages. Seriously.

Availability: The beginning of the series was collected in Motor Girl 01 Real Life.

This is one of my favorite comic books of 2017, and I debated writing a longer, more detailed review. If you read one comic I've reviewed this year, please read this one. It's beautiful.