Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade: Death Is What Happens While You’re Making Other Plans: The Exiles Pt. 3

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      June 12, 2015
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Revisiting the Witchblade/Fathom/Tomb Raider Crossover

      Daniel Gehen
      February 8, 2021
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • What Looks Good For 2/3/16: DC and Marvel

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      February 1, 2016
      Big Two, What Looks Good
    Recent
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Review: BAD KARMA #1 Makes You Think Before You Thank

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      May 7, 2020
      Indie, Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.0

      Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

      Stephen Cook
      March 3, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.0

      Review: Taarna #3 Continues Its (Flawed) Post-Apocalyptic Fun

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      October 8, 2018
      Heavy Metal, Reviews
    Recent
    • Singles Going Steady – Vowels, Who Needs Them?

      Daniel Gehen
      March 8, 2021
    • 3.0

      Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia

      Daniel Gehen
      February 22, 2021
    • 4.5

      Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: Irene Koh Subverts Typical Princess Tropes in 'Afrina and the Glass Coffin'

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      May 5, 2016
      Indie, Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      January 2, 2019
      Classic Comics, Classic Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Kickstarter Spotlight: Terra Kaiju

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      January 6, 2015
      Kickstarter Spotlight
    Recent
    • TIME BEFORE TIME—A HIGH STAKES TIME TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION SERIES SET TO LAUNCH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 19, 2021
    • Image Comics and TMP Announces SPAWN’S UNIVERSE

      Daniel Gehen
      February 18, 2021
    • SAVAGE DRAGON IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THIS MAY

      Daniel Gehen
      February 17, 2021
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: "Intro to Alien Invasion"

      Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
      September 16, 2015
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Singles Going Steady - Vowels, Who Needs Them?
  • Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past
  • Collecting Profile: Blue Beetle
  • Review: X-MEN LEGENDS #1 Delivers A Dose of Nostalgia
  • Collecting Profile: Kraven the Hunter
  • Review: THE LAST RONIN #2 Hurts So Good
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Indie
IDW

SIngles Going Steady 10/19/2016: Three’s Company

Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
October 23, 2016
IDW, Image, Marvel Comics, Reviews, Singles Going Steady, Valiant

SinglesGoingSteady

Singles Going Steady is Comics Bulletin’s weekly review roundup.


ninjak20

Ninjak #20 (Valiant Entertainment)

star3

(W) Matt Kindt, (A) Khari Evans with Eric Nguyen and Andres Guinaldo, (C) Ulises Arreola and Chris Sotomayor

Whether it’s in Japan or the Deadside, Matt Kindt’s Ninjak continues to be an entertaining ride. The dialogue it top notch, specifically the banter between Ninjak and Gilad, the Eternal Warrior. Or between Ninjak and Punk Mambo. Or between Ninjak and Doctor Silk. Essentially, if dialogue is coming from Ninjak, it’s because he’s bickering with someone else. Outside of the dialogue, however, Kindt’s script is nowhere near as tightly paced as the series’ previous 19 issues. On several occasions, Kindt’s script makes one twist too many that it loses the reader.

The backup story, which to this point has tied nicely into the main narrative, is a copy/paste job from an earlier sequence in the book. The only difference is that the backup art by Andres Guinaldo outclasses Khari Evans’ efforts on the main narrative. Guinaldo’s backup art presents its characters in a much cleaner and consistent basis than Evans, who on several occasions renders characters in a manner that is simply… odd. Conversely, both artists demonstrate the ability to depict the issue’s various settings in a manner that is effective from a tonal and narrative perspective.

Ninjak continues to entertain, but the creative team seems to be have bitten off more than they can chew, at least for this issue. The structure of the issue makes for a confusing and at times repetitive experience, while the art lacks the crispness of this arc’s previous chapters. Hopefully this dip in quality from “great” to merely “okay” is an aberration and the series rebounds in the concluding chapter to “The Fist and The Steel.”

— Daniel Gehen


electricsublime1The Electric Sublime #1 (IDW Publishing)

(W) W. Maxwell Prince, (A) Martin Morazzo, (C) Mat Lopes

star3-5

The world of art is fertile ground for storytelling. Being a subjective medium, it presents creators with limitless narrative possibilities, and can ultimately give something readers a rarity in today’s comic industry: something truly unique. To that end, W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, and Mat Lopes succeed, as The Electric Sublime #1 is an inventive but flawed comic.

For most of this premiere issue, Prince dedicates most of his time building and establishing this world, which in turn allows Morazzo and Lopes to shine. As established, art is subjective, and so I recognize that Morazzo’s rendering of characters may turn some people off, but as a whole this issue is beautiful to look at. Much of the credit is due to Lopes’ color work. Much of the issue’s settings are rather mundane, and Lopes provides the appropriate, corresponding palette while injecting splashes of eye-catching vibrancy. And the moments when he can go crazy with the colors is visually stunning.

Unfortunately, with the creators so focused on world-building, there is little to be found in terms of establishing the characters. Considering this is only the first issue, this is not a major concern. However, the lack of any major character for readers to latch onto prevents this from becoming a fully immersive experience. Instead, readers are left with an intriguing and attractive-looking premise.

— Daniel Gehen


drstrange13

Doctor Strange #13 (Marvel Comics)

(W) Jason Aaron, (A) Chris Bachalo,  (C) Antonio Fabela

star3-5

Have you ever tossed and turned in the middle of the night dreaming of the worst terrible things; strangely personal dreams that can linger long after? For Stephen Strange, Nightmare is a palpable force he must confront and overcome, a very real metaphysical being who feeds off the nightmares of humanity. After many trials and tribulations our hero, Doctor Strange, must confront his worst fears to survive.

Doctor Strange has always been a solitary, insular hero in the vast Marvel pantheon. Hiding his faults and origins from those around him. Which is why seeing those laid out in this issue is delicious. Jason Aaron starts us off with a Grey’s Anatomy style narration about the nature of surgery, which places us firmly in Strange’s past for his nightmarish dreamscape. He used to be an expert at the top of the world, presumably the best surgeon in the world, and though he has tried to reject this arrogance in his present life, Nightmare wants Doctor Strange back in the life he had left behind. It’s a painful examination into what makes the doctor tick.

He is placed back into his old life and immediately wants a way out, even going so far as to destroy the hands that Nightmare has made whole again. Aaron is cutting deep here into the character of Stephen Strange and how much the ruin of his hands has changed him on a fundamental level. For Strange to accept this reality would be to reject all of the changes he has made for decades. This, like no other moment in Jason Aaron’s run on Doctor Strange, convinces me the story is in good hands.

— Lukas Schmitt


demonic3

Demonic #3 (Image Comics)

star3

(W) Christopher Sebela (A) Niko Walter (C) Dan Brown (L) Sal Cipriano

Heckling demon, Aeshma, continues to use a masked Scott Graves in a seemingly endless hunt for souls. If he refuses, she destroys his family. As he continues, the police draw nearer to cracking down his identity, but Graves also gets closer to uncovering the secret to take down the secret society, Novo, that linked him and many others to boundless demons.

Stories of conspiracy and anti-heroes are often redundant. Christopher Sebela gives this story a sense of uniqueness as Grave’s extortion is overseen by a demon allegedly tied to him forever. Mask on, he is reminiscent of a reluctant Spawn who was tied to a hellish being and decided to execute dangerous criminals. Mask off, there’s a hint of Rob Thomas’ iZombie character Major: A guy being blackmailed to kill, but unrealistically wants to live a normal life.

demonic3a

Dialogue and panel pacing in each issue are still at times spotty, but the story progression has moved along in issue #3. Most of the grisly details of the Novo cult are finally revealed, and one character has proven to be more of a threat than anticipated. Between Graves finally finding time to spend with his family and the inner monologue of Novo’s history, there is a generous amount of dialogue to be read. While serving a purpose, it does get tedious.

Even with lots of speech and thought bubbles, this issue does not let up on the gore. Graves tortures his victims for information on Novo, and he does not take useless victims lightly. It came as a surprise at first, even considering the moral ambivalence of many anti-heroes. He needs souls to collect for Aeshma, so bad luck for the dude that claimed didn’t know anything. He puts the victims into Freddy-style, no mercy nightmares where the hope of coming out unscathed from his razor-sharp finger knives is pointless.

Walter’s loose drawing style with Brown’s use of blues and browns are adequate for the rugged, big city crime/horror genre. Their cover work on the series thus far will absolutely catch your eye. The beautifully seductive, yet eerie body morphing Aeshma is definitely a visual highlight.  Along with each anticlimactic ending, pacing seems to be a recurring concern. Everything storytelling-wise is there, but the execution alternates with interesting and flat delivery.

— Kristopher Grey

DemonicDoctor StrangeIDW PublishingImage ComicsMarvel ComicsNinjakThe Electric SublimeValiant Comics

Share On:
Tweet
Steve Dillon: An Open Letter From a Fan
Angel Catbird: Does Atwood Even Comic?

About The Author

Daniel Gehen, Kristopher Grey, Lukas Schmitt
Editor-in-Chief

Dan was introduced to the 1960s Batman show at a young age, which developed into a lifelong passion for comics. When he's not grinding out his day job, he can be found reading about Scarlet Speedsters, Web-Heads, or Sagas just about anywhere. If it's good he'll read it. If it's bad... there's a chance he still might read it.

Related Posts

  • 4.0

    Review: Beast Wars #2 another chance to change the past

    Stephen Cook
    March 3, 2021
  • NEW SCI-FI MINISERIES MADE IN KOREA TO EXPLORE A.I. FUTURE WHEN IT HITS SHELVES IN MAY

    Daniel Gehen
    February 5, 2021

Support Us!

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Friends of the Site

  • SOLRAD
  • Your Chicken Enemy
  • Psycho Drive-In
  • Women Write About Comics
  • The Beat
  • Loser City
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders