There’s not much of a story to The Smell of Starving Boys. It’s set in the 19th century on the American Frontier where a sleazy American, an Irish photographer with a shady past, and a teenage assistant are surveying Comanche territory. There seems to be a bounty hunter after the photographer. And… that’s it?
I think like most people I viewed the DC/Looney Tunes crossover comics skeptically, that they were simply novelty products that couldn’t possibly be any good. And while I can’t speak to the quality of the others as I haven’t read them, Batman/Elmer Fudd was bizarrely quite decent!
Giant Days crosses over with another part of John Allison’s Scary Go Round-verse as Esther, Susan and Daisy visit Shelley Winters in London for a festive tribute to Love Actually (minus Hugh Grant’s dancing = huge positive)!The Giant Days 2017 Holiday Special is a delightful bumper-edition of probably the greatest comic in the world, just like last year’s was. I love that this is an annual thing now too!
8 years after Watchmen…
Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias’ warped plan to stop the Cold War has been exposed making him the most wanted man in the world. His empire fallen, Veidt is now in hiding. Meanwhile Rorschach’s journals have been published – except he’s been spotted walking the streets dispensing his unique brand of brutal justice! But Rorschach’s dead – isn’t he? And as talks break down between the US and Russia, World War 3 seems imminent. The Doomsday Clock is ticking again. Where is Dr Manhattan? And what does Superman have to do with all of this?
Theo Decker’s life changes forever after becoming one of the few survivors of a terrorist bombing at an art gallery. Not only does he lose his beloved mother in the attack but he rashly decides to take advantage of the unfolding chaos to steal Dutch impressionist Carel Fabritius’ painting, The Goldfinch, for reasons even he’s not sure about. Will he get away with it? And where does he go from here?
In the second volume of Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball does what Dragon Ball does best: fighting tournaments! It’s Universe 6 vs Universe 7 for the prize of the Super Dragon Balls! Who’ll win? (Clue: Goku is on Universe 7’s side!)
Indicted for the murder of his girlfriend Vesper Fairchild, Bruce Wayne escapes Blackgate Prison and “goes on the lam” leaving it up to Batman to find her true killer. Except, heh heh, Bruce Wayne IS Batman so nothing really happened! Ehhhh… So who really dunit?? Spoiler: nobody bloody caaaaarress!
The Joker’s lost his sense of humour and he’d kill to get it back - specifically Batman but also anyone standing in his way. Like The Riddler, whose ego won’t allow anyone else to take down Batman but him. And so the two go head to head in all-out war on the Gotham streets, roping in every villain in town in Batman, Volume 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles.
A Roman Senator is shamed into defending the crumbling state of the famous Roman roads by proposing a chariot race across Italy. Thus the first Trans-Italic Race (an Ancient version of the Gumball Rally) is born with competitors including our Gaulish heroes, Asterix and Obelix!
A man buys a bowler hat that magically transports him into the surrealist world of painter Rene Magritte, surrounded by the artist’s images and themes. Why a bowler hat? Because of Magritte’s most famous painting, The Son of Man (the businessman in a bowler hat whose face is obscured by a green apple).
Say hasta la vista to any hopes of being entertained with this tedious crossover between iconic franchises, Superman vs The Terminator: Death to the Future!
Set in South Korea, a woman called Yeong-hye decides to stop eating meat – my, the scandal! Her family is outraged and things get progressively stranger and more disturbing for poor Yeong-hye from there.
If we look at the three parts that comprise Han Kang’s The Vegetarian as a three course meal (purely because food is how all of this begins), I’d say I loved the starter, didn’t mind the entrée and was left disappointed with the dessert; all in all, a middling meal!
Set in the wake of the dramatic events from Batman Incorporated, Volume 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted, Batman mourns his son’s death. And then goes mental trying to bring him back to life! Someone should’ve told Bruce to chill – superheroes never stay dead for long!
Haunted by waking nightmares and at his wits’ end, Asian Tom Hiddleston-lookalike Adrian goes to see a past life regression hypnotist in an effort to find peace of mind. Except the session only opens the door for something wicked to enter our world… !
Her bewbs may not be the focus (for some) anymore but Mariko Tamaki still fails to give Lara Croft much of an identity in Tomb Raider, Volume 1: Spore.
This book is basically a crappier version of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Lara and her ragtag bunch have to find some magic mushrooms (not the fun kind) that grant immortal life - but not if the ‘shrooms’ protectors stop her first!
Yikes, that was terrible! So Batman: Legacy, Volume 1 is Utterly Garbage Batman Book #874 or thereabouts (I’ve lost count at this point). It’s so, so bad!
The first third is about a shit Punisher ripoff called Lock-Up who kidnaps criminals from prison so he can Lock them Up (geddit - like his name?! Yup, that’s the level of inventiveness Chuck Dixon operates at!) in his own prison. What? Why?! It’s not just that it’s beyond boring to read but it’s got absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the book. It’s a complete waste of time.
Here comes DC with another load of old cobblers in Swamp Thing, Volume 7: Season’s End! It’s the Kingdom of the Green vs the Kingdom of the Machines in Charles Soule’s final dreary Swamp Thing book. Who’ll win? Who cares!?
Boyfriends and girlfriends behave badly threatening friendships left and right in Giant Days Volume 8! Daisy’s girlfriend Ingrid runs up a disastrous heating bill forcing poor Daisy to choose between her love and her best friends Esther and Susan. Meanwhile, just as Esther befriends Emilia, Emilia’s beau McGraw reveals his on/off relationship with Susan has been secretly on for months! Will he and Ed Gemmell (sporting an unwise Anakin Skywalker braid) survive Emilia’s brothers’ wrath? Also - find out McGraw’s first name!
After his wife passes away, Antoine discovers that she once had an affair with his sworn enemy, the factory owner he spent his whole life campaigning against for workers’ rights. Grabbing his gun, he sets off in his car on a final road trip to kill him and get a cuckold’s belated revenge – but not if his two besties and pregnant granddaughter can stop him first!
I read the first Back to Basics book a couple weeks ago and didn’t think much of it at the time. A young couple moves from the city to the countryside for the idyllic quiet life but find themselves unsuited to the harsher environment and surrounded by unnerving eccentrics. It’s made up of light, amusing episodes that quickly become formulaic, even a bit tiresome – ultimately it’s largely unimpressive. And yet… it unexpectedly stayed with me. So much so that I ended up getting the second and third books to see what happened next!
You know what’s interesting about Predator vs Judge Dredd vs Aliens? Nothing.
An emoji-themed cult leader being pursued by Dredd and an unoriginal Doctor Moreau-type experimenting with splicing Xenomorphs with humans and animals bring the three franchises together for a brief and forgettable argy-bargy.
I have no idea why this X-Men series is called “Blue” and no explanation is given either! One thing’s for sure: Cullen Bunn wrote down a list of things you’d associate with the X-Men and then proceeded to tick them off here. Seriously, this is the most generic, boilerplate X-Men book I’ve ever read.
Felipe Smith hasn’t been the Ghost Rider writer for long but he’s already run out of ideas! Ghost Rider, Volume 1: Four on the Floor instantly relegates Robbie Reyes and the Spirit of Vengeance to supporting characters IN THEIR OWN SERIES in favour of Korean Hulk and female Wolverine. The title should really be Ghost Rider Team-Up or better yet Arbitrary Diversity Superheroes!
