Advance Reviews by JoeLovesComics | 7th July
- Joe Kelsey
- Jul 6, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 21, 2021
Curious to know what some of the new Image/Boom! issues releasing tommorow are like? Look no further than the first installment of this new segment!
The issues covered this week are:
All reviews will be spoiler free.
Basilisk #2
First of all, the sheer awesomeness of this cover has to be appreciated. The composition of it, with all the different characters, then Regan at the top. Love the watercolour blue against the white background it looks so good, especially then contrasted with all the black trade dress.
But with the issue itself, it was another amazing issue. In the first one I loved those first few flashback pages at the beginning, and that continues here. I adore the art style of those pages, the colours perfectly give off eerie vibes and wastes no time making you uncomfortable to set you up for the rest of the issue.
Like all great stories, it's an inherently simple concept but used to brilliantly horrifying effect here. Loving the way the story is going, such a neat idea and the art is so great, especially in the flashback sequences. If you're not already reading this and can get a copy of #1, definitely recommend checking this out.
Commanders in Crisis #10
This cover is epic. The action shot of Frontier vs Executrix in the foreground with both their teams behind them in the background, all done with vibrant colouring that I love so much about this series.
For most of the run this series has just been a bright bold and really refreshing superhero story. It tends to be what I bring up every time I go to talk about a new issue of this series, but it's issues like this that really show it.
In the second arc there was lots of build up, but we're well into the third arc now, heading towards the finale and everything really is coming to a head. So much action in this issue, some awesome moments for the characters and it makes me equally excited and sad for how this is all going to be wrapped up in a couple issues time.
There's not really much more I can say without going into spoilers. A blockbuster issue with everything you have come to love about this extremely fun series that nicely continues to head towards it's conclusion.
Mamo #1
I've got to be honest, I hadn't heard of this until I saw the review pdf was available to read, so I didn't know what to expect.
But I really liked this!
It's got the same wholesome fantasy vibe that I loved about Wynd. The artwork feels so soft and soothing, which made it so easy to just get lost in the issue and the story. This was really helped by the extra sized issue (also like Wynd), it just allowed room to breathe and build up that dynamic between Jo and Orla, the two main characters shown on the cover.
What I particularly noticed in the art was the textures. It reminded me of the recently concluded I Walk With Monsters from Vault, I loved how the textures and the colours were excellently used to give some depth to the art and just get easily immersed in the story. In general this was a refreshing change of pace to the other books I had read so far, just simply a really nice, wholesome fantasy story. Looking forward to the next issue, give it a try if you can.
Nocterra #5
A while ago talked on here about how much I loved this series and broke down exactly why you should be reading it, and this issue is no exception.
After the ending of the last issue, this one is lighter on the action, but really had a "calm before the storm" atmosphere to it. With that though allows us to spend more time with Val, her narration and the flashbacks opening each issue have really made her a compelling character and I love how that gets developed here. The relationship with her brother, the original circumstances with her parents, it all comes through here.
I've got to be honest, with another series this could easily have just been called a filler issue. But the team have made you so invested in these characters that they can take a break from the action, and really set the final pieces in play for the end of the arc. I would argue that in traditional disaster movie style, the calmness is almost more unsettling than whatever summer blockbuster movie horrors await outside.
*Looks again at that incredibly awesome cover and thinks again of that final page*
Maybe not. But in any case, super excited for what is sure to be an epic conclusion to the first story arc!
Ordinary Gods #1
Before Radiant Black, I didn't have any experience with Kyle Higgins' writing, but after loving that series and hearing about this I was really intrigued what he would do with it.
As we get the neccesary backstory in this extra sized first issue, there's lots of bold grand ideas on display here which I loved. There were some splash pages in here that I'm so excited to hopefully see properly in person, dynamic fight scenes with amazing bold colouring that just screams fantasy epic.
This issue does a great job of switching between focusing on Christopher and his relatively uneventful life, compared to setting up the past of this world and the concept. It just neatly allows the reader to get invested in the main character whislt making sure they are being given enough lore of the world to understand the underlying idea of the book.
I mentioned Radiant Black at the beginning, and that is the more flashy superhero fun, whereas this is more grand, I definitely got the epic feel when reading this. Especially even just the page saying "Chapter 1" there was something about it so eloquently designed that reinforced everything that the book's tone wants to achieve. Honestly in general, this is a really neat idea, executed brilliantly with an awesome first issue and intriguing ending that made me really excited for more!
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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