Curious to know what some of the new Image/Boom! issues releasing this week are like? Look no further than the latest edition of this segment.
The issues covered this week are:
All reviews will be spoiler free.
A Righteous Thirst for Vengeance #2
I didn't really know what to think of the first issue, the almost silent nature of it took me by surprise, but in a good way that is. This issue continues that, but knowing what I was getting into I was really able to appreciate the visual storytelling, I just loved it. Especially with the art style, it feels quite rough, quite textured in that way that I'm immediately on edge, and then the suspense of the absence of almost any dialogue made me really captivated in the story.
In the first issue I wasn't entirely clear where the story was going, but in this one for me there was a clearer sense of that and I was into it. Like I've seen mentioned on reviews of the first issue, I feel attacted to the main character despite him barely saying a word, it's a very intriguing series so far for sure and I'm excited to see where it's going to go. If you're a fan of silent issues and some great effective visual storytelling look no further than this series.
Mamo #5
I have seen absolutely no-one else talk about this seres and that is such a shame, because this has honestly one of my favourite series of the year, and one that I think unfortunately flew under the radar for a lot of people.
It's been such a charming fantasy tinged story, with art that is so incredibly soothing (at least to me anyway) with the way it was beautifully textured and such nice almost pastel like colours. I loved the way it wrapped up here, I've talked about this many times but I adore a good character focused story and this series has contained some of my favourite character work I've seen in a while. Just following these two protagonists month to month for the past five months, watching their dynamic grow and evolve as the story progressed and the way it culminated in this issue I thought was perfect.
It is under the Boom! Box imprint of Boom! Studios, for more younger readers, and while yes I would absolutely recommend this for younger readers, I would recommend this for anyone, anyone that wants a relaxing read that has a great story, great characters and great artwork.
Phenom X #1
Always exciting to get a new Image superhero, love the design of the suit on the cover and just the cover in general caught my eye, so I was intrigued to check this out. As far as first issues go, it was a solid read. I think it definitely suffered from being an oversized issue though, I found it an interesting read and liked the ideas and the mythology they were building, but I think it would have been more concise with a lower page count and better for that. Maybe it could have left some stuff for future issues and just teased it, I don't know.
Future issues look to be normal size so I'm definitely interested to see where this is going to be going. Some nice ideas, solid artwork, all round a solid first issue.
Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #6
Another utterly underrated book! And another one where honestly, I don't have much to say that hasn't already been said, but just including it in the hope that more people discover it and go back and read the whole thing from the start. As far as 6 issue minis go, this has been one of the best I've read. So much packed into every issue, from action to character to general world building around Trigger Keaton himself. This has been such a fun series and a delight to read every month for the length of time that it's been coming out.
I wasn't originally the biggest fan of the art style, but it's really grown on me and works so well for the story. It's dynamic and kinetic making the action scenes so enjoyable to read, and it's got a pulpy feel to it that is absolutely perfect considering the concept and whole idea of this story and the surrounding world built up over these issues. Some 6 issue minis can feel light on story issue to issue, and read better in trade, but this has read and will read fantastically in both formats. To reiterate so much packed into each issue, none of the characters or ideas feel underbaked, it all feels so fleshed out and has made for an incredibly fufilling reading experience that everyone should check out!
What's The Furthest Place From Here? #1
When I was first able to read the pdf of this a couple weeks ago, I wasn't sure what to think of it. I normally only check out the pdfs for the upcoming week, but I'd heard Rosenburg announce this and promote it on his newsletter so I had to check it out. Then in preparing to write a review of it for this segment I read it again.
And WOW. I don't know what happened the first time. Maybe I was half asleep, maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind, but wow I loved it. And by "WOW" I don't mean that this is a book that's going to blow you away with how action packed it is. It feels a lot more... introspective, especially when you read at the back how much Boss and Rosenberg love their music, how much it means to them and how that inspired the creation of this comic.
The more I thought about it the more I liked it and appreciated it. It's that kind of book. Saying that, I loved those opening pages. The panelling in this book is very cinematic at times, and especially in those opening pages. Between that feel, the art style in general and the use of the credits (you'll see what I mean) it just felt like the introduction to a slick indie movie, I could almost imagine the music playing in the background as the scene progressed and the comic opened.
I love the discussion in the back matter where Rosenberg talks about the similarities between comics and music, about those special connections you have with certain songs that are the earliest ways you can define yourself. Makes me think about how I might like a lot of songs, consider them good, but there are only a fair few that I can feel in my soul and end up that full of emotions after listening to them. Sure I've read and liked a lot of comics over the past few years of collecting, but there are a certain few that are unquestionably my favourites, that I unquestionably love and make me go "this. this is why I love comics"
My point being, that's the idea at the heart of this comic and I think it really gives it a strong character right from the start. There's plenty of bland and depressing post apocalyptic stories, but focusing on the music immediately gives this one personality, immediately shows the hope of finding the art and the community that appreciates that art just like you in a suddenly bleak world. That's further ecentuated by the use of colour tones in the art when showing the inside of the record store compared to the outside. Inside there's a red lighting over the art which gives it a warm feeling and to me gives off that cinematic indie film feeling that I mentioned earlier.
Whereas on the outside there's a very stark almost jarring contrast between the white sky and the brown buildings and the general greyness of those scenes that shows you the more typical post apocalyptic world you would expect from this sort of story, completely juxtaposed with the way the inside is shown in terms of colour pallete.
Finally, I want to applaud the creators on the pacing of this book. "Triple-Sized First Issue!" might worry some, given how oversized issues can sometimes feel bloated and unnecessary, but this was an excellent example of an oversized issue done right. There's some chapter breaks between certain scenes that for one again adds to the cinematic feel of it, but also helps with the pacing, breaking the issue up nicely and leaving me intrigued right up to the final page.
There's one slightly surreal element halfway through, but it just made me all the more captivated. Overall an incredibly well done and fresh feeling first issue, I'm very excited to see where this series goes and the journey Boss and Rosenburg take us on, you do not want to miss out on this.
This article was written by JoeLovesComics, who you can follow over on Twitter for (albeit shorter) thoughts on comics he loves.
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