Rundown back from the dead!

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these.  There really hasn’t been a need for one, what with my “To Review” pile coming very close to being exhausted at a few points in the last year.  However, as the postal network sorts itself out post-pandemic, I cash in a gift certificate, and make a spur-of-the-moment online order, the pile now looks almost… daunting.  So, very quickly now, here are my thoughts on “Folklords,” “Alienated,” “Terminator:  Sector War,” “The Butcher of Paris,” and “Star Wars:  Jedi Fallen Order — Dark Temple.”

You know the one about the kid with an overactive imagination who dreams of a fantasy world that turns out to be real?  Writer Matt Kindt has decided to flip that concept on its head with Folklords.  It’s about a kid named Ansel who lives in a bog-standard fantasy world who dreams of ours.  In order to make that dream a reality, he’s going to quest after the forbidden Folklords.  This may sound like a fun fantasy romp, except it turns into an exercise in dissecting the tropes of a genre, much in the same way that Kindt did in “Ether,” only not quite as fun.  Artist Matt Smith is no David Rubin, but it was nice to see that he’s stopped trying to slavishly imitate Mike Mignola after all these years.

Here’s another pitch:  Three high school kids find an alien in the forest and wackiness ensues while they share the same brainspace!  Sounds like a great family-friendly adventure, right?  Well, Alienated comes to us from Simon Spurrier, so the “family-friendly” part might be  a bit debatable.  Families might want to check this out, regardless, as the writer speaks to the struggles of today’s youth in a way that doesn’t feel overly preachy and with some surprising twists.  That is… at least I thought so, as I realize the possibilities of other adults my age finding the kids insufferable, or kids their age finding them to be caricatures.  There shouldn’t be any complaints from anyone about the lively and inventive art from Chris Wildgoose, however.

A story about a serial killer!  Set in occupied France during WWII!  With nearly 200 victims!  Who was wanted by both the Nazis and the Allies!  With those ingredients, The Butcher of Paris sounds like it has all the elements for an exciting true-crime story.  The actual result ultimately feels less than the sum of its parts.  Writer Stephanie Phillips gets things off on the right foot with a rousing introduction that ties the events of the story to the present day, then goes on to deliver a story that feels like it focuses too much on the most sensational parts of the case, as opposed to the investigative work that ultimately brought this killer down.  Artist Dean Kotz acquits himself better, with his sharp and jagged linework conveying menace and intensity on each page.

The art is also the best reason to pick up Terminator:  Sector War.  Jeff Stokely renders New York City, circa 1984, in all its gritty urban decay with characters that look uniquely expressive against it.  He’s also really good with the action sequences as they’ve got some real intensity to them.  Unfortunately he’s let down by writer Brian Wood, who delivers a bog-standard story within this franchise as we learn about the other Terminator that came back to 1984 to take out another mother to a resistance leader.  It’s wholly unoriginal, but what really sinks the story are the parts where the T-800 explains its message to its victim rather than kill her like his programming dictates.  Wood was one of the first people to be run out of the industry once people started calling for greater accountability regarding those who have sexually harassed women in the past.  He may be doing his best to make amends for that, but this story isn’t a good argument for letting him back in the industry anytime soon.

Much like everyone else, I was pleasantly surprised when “Star Wars:  Jedi — Fallen Order” turned out to be quite good.  I’ll be onboard for the sequel when it comes out, but until then we have tie-in stories like this one to keep us occupied… Or you could just go read other, better “Star Wars” comics than this one.  It’s not that Dark Temple is outright bad.  It’s just writer Matthew Rosenberg has come up with a story about Cere Junda, back when she was a padawan, accompanying her master Eno Cordova to a planet on the outer rim with a mysterious Jedi ruin.  A ruin which happens to be caught up in a conflict between two planetary factions.  While the storytelling is decent, don’t expect to gain any particular insights into cultural conflict or Junda or Cordova’s personalities.  At least artist Paolo Villanelli delivers some energetic art to keep the story from coming off as completely forgettable.