Above-the-Board Recommendation: We Have Demons #1 (of 3) I don’t think that Dark Horse’s recent acquisition by the Embracer Group is going to change anything for the company in the short term.  As for the long term, things will only change if Embracer decides that they don’t want to be in the business of producing […]

Above-the-Board Recommendation: Defenders:  There Are No Rules Al Ewing was doing great work at Marvel long before he blew up with “The Immortal Hulk.”  I’ll refer you to his “New Avengers” and “Loki” series if you need convincing.  Both series had great writing and clever plotting in addition to a willingness to take odd, random […]

I was genuinely surprised by the first volume of this series.  Most of James Tynion IV’s superhero work had come off as by-the-numbers to me and his (and Werther Dell’edera’s) monster hit series “Something is Killing the Children” didn’t feel like it offered me anything new.  “The Department of Truth,” however, took a nightmarish look […]

Contrary to what its title implies, the third “Reckless” graphic novel does not involve a giant-size Ethan Reckless taking on Gozilla, Mothra, King Ghidora, and other monsters in a giant kaiju free-for-all.  (I would still pay to read that, Ed and Sean, if you’re reading this.)  “Destroy All Monsters” is a bit of a departure […]

This is the latest title to reach print from Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s Panel Syndicate operation, which has creators offering their comics to readers on a pay-what-you-want basis.  The creators in this case are Martin himself and writer Ed Brubaker, which does set my expectations for this story quite high.  It does have […]

After years of making other people’s comics — specifically “Rumble,” and multiple arcs of “B.P.R.D.” — look good, James Harren decided it was time to create his own.  “Ultramega” is the result and the initial impression it gives off is that it’s “Pacific Rim” meets “Ultraman.”  You’ve got your kaiju on one side and your […]

One thing I didn’t mention during the “American Vampire” podcast was that it bridged the gap between Scott Snyder’s superhero work at DC and his sabbatical from it.  After spending a few years charting the course of the DCU with “Metal,” “Justice League,” and “Death Metal,” the writer has stated that he’s going to take […]

Above-the-Board Recommendation: Manifest Destiny vol. 8:  Sacrificium & Reditus Lewis and Clark’s expedition westward has not been an easy one.  Yet the end is in sight with this final volume.  There just remains the issue of dealing with a very duplicitous ghost of a Spanish conquistador and the demon that he’s working on behalf of.  […]

Above-the-Board Recommendation: Suicide Squad:  Blaze #1 (of 3) It’s not the second year of “Hellblazer” that the team were planning on doing, but writer Simon Spurrier and artist Aaron Campbell are teaming up again for this Black Label miniseries.  The solicitation makes it seem like the concept for this series is pretty straightforward:  Harley Quinn, […]