Category: Comics

Another comic book review?” you may be asking.  Yeah well since this is my blog I get to review whatever I have been up too, and lately that has been a lot of comic books! Think Tank is a comic book released by Top Cow Comics (one of the founding members of Image Comics), and it is written Matt Hawkins and illustrated by Rahsan Ekedal.

Think Tank is about Dr. David Loren a genius DARPA worker who decides that he doesn’t want to make stuff that kills people anymore, but unfortunately the government will not let him go.  He is too smart, and he knows too much, so all that is left is to plot his daring escape.

This is a fun book because it is so different.  It is about an almost average guy who’s big brain makes him a quasi-superhero due to all the cool stuff he can build, and you feel bad for him once he realizes the damage that his inventions cause.  Matt Hawkins must have done is research because the tech that David builds is probably close to becoming real.  Plus David is that perfect heroic jerk slacker that is almost impossible not to love.

The book is in black and white, but Rahsan Ekedal still does a good job with the artwork.  His shading is so good that I swear I can almost see the colors anyway, and the way he conveys action is almost perfect.  He really brings this super smart idiot to life.

This book is different then the stuff I usually read, and it is nice to see something other then The Darkness, Witchblade, or something else over top 90s edgy come out of Top Cow.  If they spent more time making comics like this, they would be one of my favorite comic book companies.  Think Tank is a winner, and I think you should read it!

Locke & Key is a graphic novel written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez.  I usually don’t read a lot of horror comics, but the idea of a family living in a Lovecraft inspired mystery house sounded like fun, and it was free.  I as a rule never turn down free comics, but Locke & Key is worth paying for.

The story starts off with a grieving family moving to the father’s childhood house after the father was brutally murdered by a kid he counseled in school.  The house doesn’t have an address, but instead is named “Keyhouse”, and is located in Lovecraft, Massachusetts (subtle I know).  It turns out that the house has magical doors that can be opened with special keys, and for some reason only kids can learn about them.  Oh yeah!  The girl from The Ring lives there, and she is supper creepy!

Hill does a good job of being spooky while still telling an interesting story.  You feel sad for the pain that the Locke family is going through, but at the same time you want to learn more cool stuff about this crazy house, and its neat doors and keys.  You can tell that he loves the universe that he is playing in and adding too.

The artwork is great in this book.  Despite the name of the town, Rodriguez really brings Lovecraft to life, and the house is full of all sorts of awesome detail.  If I didn’t have to live in fear of The Ring girl, I would totally love to live in an old house like this.  Anybody have any old named houses for sale?

This is a fun book, and while I didn’t pay for it, you should have no qualms about laying down a few bucks for it.  It is creepy and engaging, and a heck of a lot of fun.  Hill and Rodriguez have done a great job with this book, and I am very happy it is in my collection.

I have been reading quite a few comic books lately, and I am really disappointed in myself for being away from them for so long!  I thought today I would bring you not one, but two mini reviews of new Issue #1 comics I started this week. Up first:

Captain Marvel #1:

I know you are thinking, “Hey didn’t they just do a Captain Marvel #1 with Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, and didn’t you review it?”  Yep, but they decided that it worked so well that they are going to do it again! Sort of.

This Captain Marvel starts a few months after the events in the last Captain Marvel series, but now Carol is off to space to keep an eye on things, and help out a mysterious friendly Alien.

Captain Marvel in space?  Yes please, and if they can keep up the good art style and witty dialog it should be a great series.  The only downer I can see is that for future collectors the numbering of the issues is going to get real confusing.  People asking themselves, “Which Captain Marvel #1 with Carol Danvers on the cover is this?”  Won’t someone please think of all the confused nerds!

I appreciate them letting people know when they are starting a new story, but maybe they should try out a new numbering scheme similar to TV shows like: 1-1 for series one, 2-1 for series two, and so on.  That way when we are in the store we know what we are buying without having to read half of the book.  Still it is a fun issue, and you should read it.  If you get the wrong Captain Marvel #1, your in luck because that is a good book too.

Forever Evil #1

It is the New 52’s first major crossover event!  The super bad guys from Earth 3 have come to Earth prime to rule it after all the Earth 3 people got all uppity forcing Ultraman and crew to destroy it.  They say they have “killed” all the heroes, and they are looking for some new villains to help keep the “peace”.  Someone forgot to tell them that Lex Luthor doesn’t like to share the world with anyone.  Especially a Kryptonite snorting Superman lookalike. (Yes you read the right)

The content of this book seems a little forced, but the artwork is amazing!  The double centerfold (sorry not the girly kind) with all of the villains on it is worth the price of admission by itself.  I think this is a smart book for DC.  If they have one thing over Marvel, it is that they have the coolest villains, so why not let them shine for a few issues?

There are a lot of Forever Evil crossover books to read, but I think I will just stick to this main ark.  This series has a lot of potential, and the 7th and final issue comes out next month! Yeah for short a short series!  I can’t wait to see Lex unleash everything he has got.