Review: Starve # 1

Starve #1 - Image Comics

Image Comics release of Starve #1 had me in quandary, the title sounded interesting enough and I could not imagine where this story would go, would it be twisted tale of horror or a story of people who were starved for god knows what reason?  What I found was not what I was thinking, it was a lot better! Starve is a well-written, intriguing story that is going to get really messy.

Starve starts off somewhere in South Asia and our main man here, Gavin Cruikshank, is celebrating winning a kickboxing event, when he is approached for an autograph and a whole lot more.

It seems Gavin is the star of a reality cooking show called Starve, the number one show world-wide, watched by everyone from the poor to the very wealthy. After leaving his show for a walkabout, the popular Starve fell into the hands of a rival chef; and his money and possessions in the hands of a bitter wife.

A representative from the network shows up in Asia and demands that Cruikshank return to the States to fulfill his television contract. As soon as the chef returns and realizes what he's left behind is worth fighting for, he must crawl his way back through the mess he'd made to take back what is his.

Can a reality television show chef that has to prove he’s alive and complete an entire season of his own show make it? Find out in Starve #1

Brain Wood is the writer and Danijel ZeZelj along with David Stewart are the artists. Woods writing is right on target and the artwork supports Wood’s story. Starve is a great story and left me wanting to go out and grab issue two, well as soon as it’s released.

As always you can find the latest issue of Starve at White Dragon Comics.

 - Barbie66

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com

Series Review: Suciders

Suiciders - Vertigo Comics

The all-new Suiciders comic book from writer/artist Lee Bermejo and published by DC Comics, under the Vertigo imprint is one of the best comics written today. Suiciders is a story of survival, in the not too distant future, after the big one hits California, devastating Los Angeles. Normalcy is gone.  After the government turns their back on this once beloved destination, things go from bad to worse.  A city known for its entertainment, turn the tables doing what it does best, turning survival into entertainment.

Thirty years later New Angeles, is thriving and a highly sought after destination once again. Blood sport has rejuvenated New Angeles via a television show, Suiciders, that combines hand-to-hand combat with high-tech obstacles that test each competitor’s ability to survive. Plastic Surgery, technology and drugs gives New Angeles’ Suiciders freakish strength, powers and moves.

Plastic Surgery seems to be the in thing in New Angeles, residents talk freely, seemingly bragging about having multiple plastic surgeries. But, there is another city on the outer area of New Angeles, a city of suffering, a city that is on its own. Denied access to the same health care (plastic surgery), outsiders will do anything to get in.

Well-written and drawn, Suiciders is a good comic book. Matt Hollingsworth’s coloring sets the tone, driving the scenes home, enhancing Lee Bermejo’s story of a dark, post-apocalyptic epic of this strange, brutal world.

You can find the latest hit Vertigo comic book, Suiciders, at White Dragon Comics, the best comic book shop on the internet.

 - Barbie66

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com

Review: Big Man Plans # 1 and 2

Big Man Plans - an Image Central Real World Mini-Series 

Image Comics releases an all-new chilling story of revenge and recourse. Written and drawn by Eric Powell with a story assist from Tim Wiesch, Big Man Plans is the story of young boy born with a handicap, and this handicap will shape his future, lead him down a road of terror and horrors no-one person should ever have to endure. This handicap makes him the man he is, a Dwarf with a chip on his shoulder, and a man, a man who has been stripped of everything, family, pride, self-esteem and his home, a dwarf no-one will ever forget.

Big Man, as his father called him, and his sister lived on a farm with their daddy, Big Man’s mother left when he was child. Loathing the fact that she gave birth to a dwarf, she went, devastating Big Man’s father and landing the first blow. Soon after his father was killed in a freak accident. Second blow. Big Man and his sister were sent to an orphanage where his sister was adopted, but not the dwarf. Third blow. Beaten on daily basis Big Man waited for the day he could get out. When his day arrives he heads to the army recruiting station, only to be turned down. Fourth blow. After being denied from the army a devastated Big Man meets the man that changes his life, the man that would make him a cold-blooded, hard-ass, one man assassination team!

Big Man Plans is a dark heart wrenching story of struggle that grabbed me from page one and didn’t let go until the end. I would like to point out that this story in not for children, full of violence, nudity and profanity. The violence is graphic, not for the weak of heart. Big Man Plans moves along a good pace, developing the story quite quickly.

Overall a great read and I highly recommend this for our older readers. You can find the latest issues of this four-part min series at White Dragon Comics.

 - Barbie66

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com

Review: The Ride: Southern Gothic #1

The Ride: Southern Gothic #1 - 12-Gauge Comics

The Ride: Southern Gothic has been sitting around for a while, when I first picked it up I thought it sounded cool and could not wait to read it, but for some reason I forgot about? When I went into the comic book shop, on one of my scouring the shelves for something new to read, I spotted The Ride: Southern Gothic again and light bulb, I remembered I had new stuff, sort of to read and I rushed off in excitement.

The Ride: Southern Gothic, released by 12-Gauge Press is probably one of the best anthologies I have read in quite some time. Ride contains three completely different stories, but each story centers around one hell of a cool car! Murder, mayhem and sex, yep it’s all in there folks! The Ride, drawn in black and white, sets the tone of each story and enhances the mood.

The first story, Perfect Circle, was somewhat violent; it starts at a swinger’s party, they pull a keychain and follow the owner of said keychain a, well you know what for, and soon are psycho killer, who murders the innocent woman gets his karmic payback and it involves that beloved Camaro!

The second short story, Money Shot, contains wanton sex, a man who robbed a crime boss and the woman who picked him up alongside the road. This one has a great ending!

Lastly the third story, Paid in Full part one. When a Dixie Mafia boss decides that, a man’s girlfriend will be sufficient payment for his debt things heat up! Paid in Full was my favorite out of the three!

I highly recommend The Ride: Southern Gothic to our older readers, definitely not for kids and maybe not woman, although I loved it. The Ride is reminiscent of Grindhouse Comics, but with hillbillies, guns, mullets and ho’s. If your looking for some guilty pleasure, pick up a copy of The Ride its a great read and a lot of fun!

 - Barbie66

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com

Series Review: Wayward

Wayward - Image Comics Central Fantasy Series

Image Comics semi-new ongoing comic book series, Wayward, written by Jim Zub has been catching my attention lately, the story piqued my interest, and the cover art is quite compelling, with a distinctive Manga look and feel.

Rori, our soon to be hero is very unique, half-Japanese and half-Irish with a head full of red hair. In issue one Rori, who comes from a broken family (divorce) is on her way to live in Japan with her mother, who apparently is a very busy woman, always rushing off to work. Rori has a few days before school starts and instead of resting after her long plane ride as her mother suggests, Rori heads out to explore her new surroundings. While exploring, Rori takes a turn down a strange street following a cat, which soon turns into many, many cats and some bad guys who for some reason do not see the cats, and then the really strange happens; the bad guys are really humanoid turtles and their not friendly! In addition, Rori herself seems to have special abilities that are slowly revealed over the course of the issue, but, in true coming-of-age fashion, she does not know what the heck is going on.

Jim Zub brings readers a truly unique story of this young woman coming of age struggling with her family dynamics, a new city, a new school and no friends. I really enjoyed the first issue and look forward to the next one. Join me in this unique read, I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised.

Wayward, issues # 1 through  # 6, are available now at White Dragon Comics, the best comic book store in the Poconos and on the Web.

 - Barbie66

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com

Series Review: Zombie Tramp

Zombie Tramp - Action Lab Entertainment

I have been passing  by Zombie Tramp for a couple of months now, which is highly unusual for me, being a huge Zombie fan, but I finally broke down and picked up issue one and two, soon after reading the first two issues, I was hooked and rushed out to get the rest of the run.

Zombie Tramp is an impressive young lady who kicks the crap out of bad guys! Our undead heroine, Janey Belle, is a former Hollywood call girl, turned zombie. Janey is not your run of the mill zombie though; she can be killed, but she cannot completely die. 

Unlike the zombies in many stories today, when Janey is shot or takes one to the head, her body dies but her soul does not. Janey’s soul has the ability to jump to another body of her choice - preferably female bodies, since male bodies makes her sick. When Zombie Tramp makes the jump she retains the host body’s appearance at first, but that is short-lived as Janey’s original, and well-endowed, nature takes control. In issue three, there a few panels devoted to Janey’s transformation, particularly her chest. Artists Jason Martin and T.M. Chu made me chuckle with the sound effects that accompanied the “breast enlargement”. Hilarious!

Then there is Elvis. That’s right; a fat undead Elvis impersonator who is gaga for Zombie Tramp and will stop at nothing to get her. But the question is, does he really love her or does he just want to steal her ability to jump bodies? In addition to the body-snatching, Zombie Tramp can also absorb skills from people whose brains she consumes, which makes for many more fun scenarios.

Zombie Tramp is not at all what I thought it was going to be; I guess the title is what threw me off. But I have to say, I really enjoyed Zombie Tramp. It’s a great read and a lot of fun. The artwork is well suited to the story, consistent and understandable. Although it is a horror comic, Zombie Tramp does not contain over the top gore, except maybe the thing involving Elvis’s intestines and a helicopter rotor, but it’s cartoon gore and not that bad!

Check out Zombie Tramp today! Available now at White Dragon Comics.

 - Barbie66

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com

Review: No Mercy # 1

No Mercy # 1 - Image Comics

No Mercy is a current Image Central comic book series, written by Alex de Campi, with art by Carla Speed McNeil and Jenn Manley Lee.

In the text page at the end of the first issue of No Mercy, Alex de Campi say’s she feels like a fraud to be hanging out at Image Comics with top comic book writers the likes of Brian K. Vaughn and Rick Remender. I can assure you she is anything but a fraud. Alex de Campi delivers!

No Mercy opens right in the thick of things, joining our intrepid crew of college freshman, along with their adult advisors, Alice and Murray, and their local guide, Sister Ines. There are a lot of characters to meet in the first few pages, but Alex manages to give each one their own unique voice and personality, Although, we learn the most about the more talkative and extroverted members of the cast we still get at least a glimpse into the nature of each individual. I’m sure that readers will recognize many of the character “types” depicted here: The insincere rich boy, the womanizing frat boy, the wide-eyed Midwesterner, the tech-addicted naïf, and the “quiet kid”, all remind me of people I have known in the past.

Alice and Murray have arrived at the tiny Mataguey airport, with their crew of twenty plus eighteen and nineteen-year-olds to build schools in a local village. They quickly embark on a ten-hour ride aboard a bus of questionable road-worthiness, joined by Sister Ines and, a last minute, reluctant addition, the Sister’s Uncle (by marriage). Not long into their journey disaster strikes, and this is where our story truly begins. How will a group of naïve and privileged teenagers survive in a harsh landscape surrounded by unknown dangers of every kind, with no supplies, no weapons and no clue?

Alex de Campi’s story readily illustrates how quickly situations can go from bad to worse to just plain awful in only a matter of minutes. I for one cannot wait to see what she throws at these kids next, but I do know that she has promised that their troubles have only begun, and will eventually reach biblical proportions.

The art by Carla Speed McNeil and Jenn Manley Lee is perfectly suited to the tone and tenor of this tale. The cast members are easy to identify, the action is clear and understandable. The artwork enhances and moves the story forward, even on pages with little or no dialogue.

As the tagline says, if you like seeing teenagers die, the pick up a copy of No Mercy today, at White Dragon Comics.

 - W. Dragon

http://www.superherocomicbooks.com