Above-the-Board Recommendation: X-Men #18 The solicitation text reads:  “It’s been a long time since the team went into the vault.  A long time.”  This is a reference to the three-mutant team of Laura “Wolverine” Kinney, Synch and Darwin who were tasked with infiltrating the home of the Children of the Vault back in issue #5.  […]

In case anyone was wondering, I didn’t get around to checking out any of the “Critical Role” podcasts before picking up this second volume.  So I’m continuing to experience Vox Machina’s world solely through the medium of its spinoff comic.  Which continues to be pretty good even as the second volume delivers a more episodic […]

I liked the first volume of this series well enough.  Even though writer Rick Remender’s glorization of a life lived off the grid felt more sanctimonious than enticing, he and artist Bengal served up some impressive action with likeable characters.  Going into vol. 2, I was expecting more of the same as the creators wrapped […]

After the bloody events of vol. 1, Essen Breaker has reached the “I’M A MAN OF PEACE!  I’M DONE KILLIN’!” phase of his mercenary career.  So he decides to look up his old comrade-in-arms Bren, who is currently running a tavern in the free port of Haas Haaden.  The thing is that Haas Haaden is […]

Chris Roberson is one of Mike Mignola’s better writing partners, but he still has his issues.  Chief among them being a willingness to take a more fanboyish approach to the Mignolaverse without fully considering whether the story he’s telling adds anything meaningful to it.  Like, say, what if Sir Edward “Witchfinder” Grey found himself in […]

Garth Ennis hasn’t really been having a banner by my book.  This will be the fifth volume of comics I’ve read from him this year and none of the ones I’ve previously read have been on the level I know he can deliver.  They haven’t been terrible comics.  They’ve just been a mix of the […]

Writer John Layman’s plan to jump-start interest in his current series, “Outer Darkness,” by having it crossover with his old series, “Chew,” didn’t pan out.  Which frankly sucks because the two volumes of “Outer Darkness” that we did get were pretty great.  They also left the main story pretty unresolved, so I was hoping that […]

A new comic written by Joe Hill?  Even though it’s debuting in hardcover, I was sold on picking up “Basketful of Heads” when it was collected after the writer’s comics work on the “Locke & Key” series and “Wraith.”  That the writer was also setting this title up as the flagship for his Hill House […]

…are going alright, I suppose.  The previous volume in this series, “Mr. Higgins Comes Home,” found writer Mike Mignola in a comedic mood as he teamed with artist Warwick Johnson-Caldwell for a vampire story with more jocularity than jugulars.  For this follow-up story, Caldwell flies solo as Very British vampire hunters J.T. Meinhardt and Mr. […]

You know, I liked all three movies of the last “Star Wars” trilogy.  Individually.  Taken together, they’re a really great argument for having one solid vision behind any planned three-film cycle.  If this recent trilogy had that kind of planning behind it, a miniseries like “The Rise of Kylo Ren” might have been completely superfluous.  […]