@RobBex2
Strange Adventures #1 is so good it almost hurts. I am a big fan of the creators on this series, and while writer Tom King’s Batman run has been polarizing, it was still a great run. With Strange Adventures, we see Adam Strange return home from his time on Rann; we see him write a tell-all book, and then we see his fall from grace all within the first issue.
While on his book tour, Adam gets confronted by a dissident who claims that Strange is really a war criminal and should be punished instead of lauded. Everything is fine and dandy until that same dissident is found with his head blown off by way of a laser blast. Strange knows he’s innocent so he runs to the best detective he knows… Batman. Bruce turns him down because they are old friends and he might be biased, but he knows the second best person and with that he sets the stage for the next issue.
The writing is crisp, sharp and never stagnant. The art is drawn by Batman collaborator Mitch Gerads (I love, love, LOVE his artwork) who brings a sense of realism to his work. The past on Rann is drawn by Evan ‘Doc’ Shaner. Their art, together, is a great counter balance. They are close enough that the issue isn’t jarring, but just different enough so that the past and present don’t blend.
Overall, this is an absolutely amazing first issue and one where you can re-read it over and over again. I guess the 5-Bible Assassin has struck again. 5/5 Pew Pew Bibles.
-Robert Bexar
@HalliB
King of Nowhere gripped me out of the gate first off with the amazing psychedelic art from Eisner nominee Tyler Jenkins and colorist Hilary Jenkins. The artwork in this book really adds to the outlandishness of the story because it is out there. The comic will more than likely have you asking plenty of questions, but it’s a strong start to the five issues series from Boom studios.
The script by another Eisner nominee W. Maxwell Prince elevates every panel up to a mysterious conclusion of a surprise villain that will almost certainly have you coming back for issue #2. I only wish there was a little more direction as to where the story might be going because it is only a five book run. In an ongoing I wouldn’t be as stressed about finding more structure in an opening issue because I know there will be plenty of books to smooth one our. With King of Nowhere only having four more books to come, I’m assuming they will be quite meaty. 4/5 Bibles.
-Halli Borgfjord
@deep2hb
I miss Crimson. Do you remember Humberto Ramos’s Wildstorm (RIP) pencils with those thick dark lines? Strange Academy isn’t that. Amazing Spider-Man wasn’t that, but I still enjoyed it. I mean let’s face it, Strange Academy is an ART BOOK. Even the writer is a penciller with that graffiti and street-art influenced style. After years of Morrison, Moore, Ellis (from Hellblazer to Iron Man), Gaiman’s Books of Magic, Alejandro Jodorowsky (Humanoids Publishing & Movies), and the very accessible and practical Mark Waid, to Peter Milligan, I may have been transformed into a froggy magic snob. I thought, “how will Skottie “Skateboard Art “ Young scribe a magic book?”
Young sticks to Waid’s magic principles of transference and sacrifice, which I dug. I didn’t feel like this was a New Mutants book, which is good. With the exception of Emily Bright, there’s clarity in how these students are not just magic mutants but magical. It’s a fun social gathering on teens that need to pair up and overcome biases. The teen sarcasm rides a little thick, but it isn’t annoying. The introductions remind me of first season of GLOW on Netflix. Guslaug, the Frost Giant reminds me of Machu Picchu from Netflix’s GLOW.
The book isn’t that deep, but it is fun. It is an art book. This means buy it in print and not digitally. The pencils and colors are beautiful if you enjoy that early millennial comic book street art style that we inherited from Madureira. I hope the next generation enjoys this book. It doesn’t seem particularly geared to bring in young readers as DC 5G is trying to do. It’s casually doing so. I’m an old magic snob fart frog and I feel this book made feel a little more human. Plus the main character, Emily Bright feels like an Alison Brie (GLOW reference again). 3.5/5 Bibles.
-Rob Maldonado
Just who is Juan Ferreyra!? His artwork is absolutely stunning the way his panel jump off the page. He nails the look and feel of Spider-Man Noir perfectly and transports this into the dark, dank and gritty alternate reality world of that just came off the page.
In Noir, Peter Parker is a private eye fighting crime in 1939 New York City by day and hunting down criminals as your not so friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. If you remember his appearance in Into the Spiderverse you know this Spider-Man does really have that tried-and-true Spidey charm and sense of humor we’ve all come to know and love. Pete finds himself investigating the murder of a female nightclub employee that will take him on a globetrotting adventure!
With this efforr, you can Spidey-sense our beloved Web-Crawler will cross paths with a few Noirverse versions of classic spidey-villains, and whoop a little arse along the way. Yes please! So far the story itself is pretty by the book, but the real star of the show is the absolutely stunning artwork. Spider-Man Noir #1 is a beautiful, yet flawed, masterpiece that deserves your attention. 3.5/5 God Books.
-Gary Brooks