Weekly Comic Reviews - 16 Dec 2015

Away for 2 weeks, now back. Ratings out of 5 stars. Most comics courtesy of Absolute Comics (Plaza Singapura).

Insexts #1

Story: Marguerite Bennett

Art: Ariela Kristantina

Aftershock Comics

Lots of buzz about Aftershock and really looking forward to this one. Insexts lives up to the hype and did not disappoint. Marguerite Bennett says she is not writing porn or at least not yet. Still this is one of the most sensual comics I have read in ages. Ariela’s art adds to the steaminess of forbidden fruits and all things taboo. Think Penny Dreadful but up a few notches of grey. NSFW and comic of the week. (although this came out last week)

(4.5 stars)

Web-Warriors #2

Story: Mike Costa

Art: David Baldeon

Marvel Comics

I’m enjoying this more than the regular Spider-Gwen comic. It continues the Spider-Verse story. All’s not well when Electros across the multiverse banded together to steal silver. Spider-Gwen is captured and it is up to the rest of the Spideys to rescue her. Always to good to see Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham and Mayday Parker back in action. A fun read. And I notice the credits now say ‘Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’.

(3.5 stars)

All-New Inhumans

Story: James Asmus and Charles Soule

Art: Stefano Caselli

Marvel Comics

Marvel is on the roll with the Inhumans taking over the X-Men as the premier weird team book in their stable. One did not expect when Black Bolt exploded the Terrigen Bomb and unleashed the latent Inhuman potential of anyone on Earth, the consequences would be so far-reaching. We already have the Inhuman Ms Marvel. Now there is a team of Inhumans travelling around the world helping new… Inhumans. That sounds like the premise of X-Factor in the 1980s.

Crystal is the boss of this new team and the destination in this story arc is the People’s Republic of Sin-Cong, a thinly veiled reference to North Korea. Things are bad there and the action moves along quickly in the hands of Amus, Soule and Caselli. The latter continues to be a fan favourite following his run on Avengers. This is a series to follow.

(4 stars)

Replica #1

Story: Paul Jenkins

Art: Andy Clarke

Aftershock Comics

Paul Jenkins is a solid writer who had it with the mainstream. He wrote off DC and Marvel and is now fronting the first Aftershock title. Replica came out 2 weeks ago and it is a good start. A science fiction-detective yarn that would fit right in with any of the current indie titles. The protagonist Trevor Churchill kind of reminds me of John Constantine.

(3.5 stars)

Superman: American Alien #2

Story: Max Landis

Art: Tommy Lee Edwards

DC Comics

Max Landis is the screenwriter for Chronicle. Now he writes a 7-parter Superman series, about the growing years. The perspective is that the Man of Steel actually started out as the boy of insecurities. Quiet, withdrawn, depressed but powerful as hell. Nothing new here as there are many other mini series that explore the untold stories of young Superman. Still, this makes interesting comparison with Mark Millar’s Huck. It’s a different art team for the 7 issues, each a snapshot of the different periods in Clark’s life.

(3.5 stars)

Prometheus Eternal

Story/Art: Various

Locust Moon Press

Done in conjunction with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this comic book contains short stories inspired by Rubens’ Prometheus Bound (1618). The creative involved: Grant Morrison, Dave McKean, David Mack, Paul Pope. Bill Sienkiewicz.. Pricey for a thin comic book, but it’s like buying a museum ticket. The Gift of Fire by Josh O’Neil and Lisk Feng shows both are talents to look out for.

(4 stars)