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Dark Matter #2 of 4: Rebirth
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
Art by Garry Brown
Imagine if you will (cue the Twilight Zone music), you wake up on board a spaceship with no idea who you are, how you got there or who the other people are around you (talk about needing that first cup of coffee). Then you find out that you’re under attack. After fending off the attack by getting the ship started, you and the rest of the ‘crew’ go to the planet where you were heading, only to realize that they’re in the fight for of their lives. What do you do? How would you react? Well, welcome to the situation in Dark Matter.
This is something that brings a fresh spin to an old story. The writing drew me in; the way it was done, I wanted to know more of what was happening before and what will happen to this crew. Each frame was drawn out where you knew things were not right in some way, but it had what I think, is the detail needed for a story like this. Even the paneling was done in a way that moved the story along. All in all, the story flowed and let you know just enough from the book before and didn’t let you know what would happen in the next.
I really liked this book. As I read, I started getting to know the characters and caring for them. Even though there is no past that we, as a reader, or they know as characters. At the end of this book the writer leaves you with an expected twist but because of how well it’s written, it does not come across as cliché. This is a story that you’ll want to follow and find out what happens to these people. In my humble opinion, get the first one, get this one and keep going. I give this 4.5 caps out of 5.
The Strain: #3
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan
Art by Mike Huddleston
We have a new twist on the vampire in modern times story with this comic. Here the vampires are in Manhattan (I have to wonder, what’s wrong with the other boroughs) and they’re starting to spread. Here, they are not a class of people or they’re not trying to hide. They’re these zombie type creatures trying to feed and spread their sickness. One doctor starts to realize what’s going on when an older gentleman stops him and a colleague in the parking lot and there’s an incident in the middle of the street. If this is going on now in New York, I’ll happily stay down here and watch.
The premise for me seemed to blend the zombie and vampire myths together and I’m not a real fan of that. To me, Vampires have a mind and not so much of a sickness. Other than that, I enjoyed the story. I did catch one major editing error on the first page but none others. Not only was the art gritty and dark, which added to the story and gave it, not just an urban feel but added to the story. Even the paneling, basic thick lines, helped push the story to move onto the next page.
First of all, I want to say do not let children read this book. It is in no way for them. Now, having said that, the story was a basic starter book. They were still laying down the foundation for more books and stories to come. No real answers came in this book and from what I was reading; I don’t expect them to come in the next few issues. This is something that you want to make sure to follow every issue. I have a feeling if you miss one, you’ll be lost. I would like more information though when I pick up a book. This is something I think you would like, in my humble opinion. I give this 4 caps out of 5.
Elric #8: The Balance Lost
Boom studios
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Francesco Biagini
So, let’s get caught up with our friend Elric: at the moment, he’s battling the forces of both Chaos and Law outside the city of Tanelorn with Dorian Hawkmoon. They found two new allies, Corum Jhaelen and Eric Beck. After fighting to the gate of the city, all four get in, have a little break and then find out that there are bigger plans for all of them. Just before their big news, they find that Chaos and Law stopped fighting each other and turned their attention on the city with a simple thought process, control the city, control the multiverse. My thought would be, check please, I’m done.
Thankfully, there’s a quick update on what’s been going on in the beginning, so I wasn’t totally lost, that comes later. Reading the story, I was able to follow but there is so much that the writer wants to include that there are times I got lost. The art didn’t seem to fit the story. Now, I haven’t read any of the stories before this one but the art; could have been a little more detailed but this could be the style that the artist wanted. Now we get to the paneling, in this book there was no one style. They had basic lines, then shapes separating everything then something else. It didn’t add, blend or complement what was going on.
Overall, I kind of understand what the writer was trying to say. This issue is supposed to be the end of a story arc and the start of a new one but I didn’t see that like I do with other books. The paneling at times, distracted me, art or the story didn’t flow the way I see with most other stories that I read. Now, I know this was given to me with none of the others, so I’m at a little disadvantage but if I were a casual reader and picked this issue up cold, odds on I wouldn’t get it to start something new. In my humble opinion, if you’re a fan, get it, if not don’t. I give this 2 caps out of 5.
The Vault: #1 of 3
Image Comics
Written by Sam Sarkar
Art by Garrie Gastonny
Growing up and living in South Florida, you get used to hearing about treasure hunters looking at old shipwrecks, coral caves and other stuff in the ocean. This book looks at that but takes it with a twist. There’s a group of fortune hunters looking at an area that is known for shipwrecks but there is a legend of a large treasure that hasn’t been discovered. After bringing in a late edition to help dig, they found some treasure but not enough to call it a success. After some further digging they find something else. I’ll stop there because you all know how I feel about spoilers.
I really liked the art and cover of this book. It was very detailed and gave the reader a feeling of being off these islands. Each character had a different look. The writing was solid, and that’s the best that I can say. The characters really didn’t have any discernable accents and I’m finding that I like it when they break up the story and let you know if there is a time change, which they did not do. But I will say they gave background of the story before you start. Yet the story wasn’t more than just telling about the dig and the paneling was good.
Overall, I know what they are doing is laying the foundation for the rest of the story but I think that they went too much into the back of the story and not getting into the things that will keep the reader interested. Now there is a trend of setting up for the trade and I think that’s what they are doing, here I don’t think it worked. The story does seem interesting and I might be more accepting when the second book comes out but not so much with this one. In my humble opinion, you might want to skip this until all three are together and you can get the lot of them, depending on what happens in the next issues. I give this 2.5 caps out of 5.
Seven Warriors #3
Boom Studios
Written by Michaël Le Galli
Art by Francis Manapul
Well, this is the third and final installment of this story. I missed the second story but from what I can gather they’re trudging across the desert, a few more of the warriors are dead, the prince is more confident of himself on this mission to meet his bequeathed bride (his cousin, eww) and the warriors who are still alive are given a bonus. That’s about as much as I can say without blowing the whole ending. I will say they do get to where they need and come across something that they weren’t expecting.
Ok, for those of you who read my review of the first book will not be shocked when I point out the same things, I figured they would have picked up on this stuff. The positive, the art from Francis Manapul did fit what they were trying to do, take us away from the here and now to somewhere else. Each panel flowed into the next, which helps the story along. Now, for me to repeat myself (I hate it when I have to do this) they didn’t tell you of the passage of time from one frame to the next. The story had holes in it and I don’t think it was because I missed the second issue.
Overall, this is one of those stories that I compare to those direct-to-DVD movies that you can rent, it was ok to watch once and give it back, or use it to run commentary on like a famous show with two robots and their mechanic. There are some good points to this series but unfortunately the negatives outweigh them. I don’t foresee this going any further than what has been done. I’d say read it in the store and leave it there, in my humble opinion. I give this 2.5 caps out of 5.
