Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling short reviews from the staff of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full review for. Given the lack of new comics, expect this weekly update to begin featuring comics that we think you’ll enjoy while you can’t get anything new to read – only new to you.
These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.
Logan
What’s the Furthest Place from Here #4 (Image)– Another issue of What’s the Furthest Place from Here, another wacky and wild setting from Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss. This time it’s the Carnival, and the rides, kissing booths, and of course, pig masks everywhere provide a day-glo background to the Academy meeting its doom because they’ve basically broken every (seemingly arbitrary) rule of this dystopian society. In this issue,Rosenberg and Boss wisely split up their huge cast and crafts little vignettes of them exploring, getting into scraps, and in one case, being taunted with the potential backstory of this world turned upside down. There’s also the background radiation of Sid going missing, and it’s nice to see the emotional heart of the series so far still beating even as WTFPFH gets stranger and stranger. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy
Venom #5 (Marvel)– Al Ewing writes Venom #5 solo, and you can also feel the disparate pieces of the first issues snap in Lego-brick like as he tells the story from Meridius’ POV, who’s seemingly a god, but he’s trapped like all the other symbiotes in the garden at the end of the timeline. On the art side, I still think that Bryan Hitch is a poor choice for a Venom book although his cinematic approach to storytelling works for the scenes where he and Ewing basically retell Venom #1 from Meridius’ perspective. The material with the different trapped Kings in Black like Wilde, Finnegan, Bedlam and Tyro is a lot of fun, and they have distinct personalities based on how long they’re trapped with Wilde being the king of the one-liner (Like his literary precursor) to the brawlers Bedlam and Finnegan and finally, Meridius, who is above it all. All in all, Venom #5 adds depth to Al Ewing, Ram V, and Hitch’s run so far and ramps up the level of danger for Dylan, who only appears in flashbacks. Overall: 7.8 Verdict: Buy
Knighted #4 (AWA)– Gregg Hurwitz and Mark Teixeira’s superhero deconstruction Knighted is coming to a pretty decent conclusion with its protagonist, Bob, actually doing heroic things even if he keeps getting dressed down and humiliated by his wife and his police department day job. The ending of this issue is a real step forward for him as a character as he doesn’t have the old Knight’s assistant handle the fighting for him and tries to stop a bad guy all by himself. There’s a real sweetness in Bob’s interactions with his nephew, and I like how Hurtwitz and Teixeira continue to show that if it wasn’t for the bleeding edge tech, he would be screwed as Knight. Knighted #4 continues the series’ NuMarvel vibe from the airbrush-style artwork from Mark Teixeira and Brian Reber to the painfully awkward dialogue. Overall: 7.3 Verdict: Read
Lion and the Eagle #1 (Aftershock)– When he’s not taking the piss out of superheroes or in full dark comedy mode, Garth Ennis is one hell of a historical war comic writer. And that talent comes out in his, PJ Holden, and Matt Milla’s Lion and the Eagle #1, which tells the story of the British Chindits unit that fought guerrilla maneuvers against imperial Japan in Myanmar during World War II. Ennis’ ear for natural dialogue comes in handy as he crafts the friendships between the different men in the units and lays out the historical context that basically the British got their asses kicked in Myanmar earlier in the war and are back to take it back with none of the glowing PR of say, the D-Day invasion. The main character becomes friends with a Chinese military officer, and it’s interesting to here things like decolonization and Mao and the rise of communism mentioned and discussed. Lion and the Eagle #1 also has some of Garth Ennis’ trademark gallows humor although it’s more organic than usual like the main character making a nervous observation about the breeding of mules during a turbulent plane ride from British India to Myanmar. On the visual side, Holden’s art is lush and understated with double page spreads to show the initial mass retreat from Myanmar to more intimate compositions for the Chindits’ mission. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy
Well, there you have it, folks. The reviews we didn’t quite get a chance to write. See you next week!
Please note that with some of the above comics, Graphic Policy was provided FREE copies for review. Where we purchased the comics, you’ll see an asterisk (*). If you don’t see that, you can infer the comic was a review copy. In cases where we were provided a review copy and we also purchased the comic you’ll see two asterisks (**).
Source: Graphic Policy
