Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling short reviews from the staff of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full review for. Given the lack of new comics, expect this weekly update to begin featuring comics that we think you’ll enjoy while you can’t get anything new to read – only new to you.
These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.
Logan
Joker #11 (DC)– James Tynion, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith, and Arif Prianto check back in on Joker’s underrated secondary protagonists, the Sampsons aka the family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre if they struck it rich. They have Joker heading their way and seriously up the stakes while adding a little horror to this crime story. However, Joker #11 isn’t all cannibals and head rolling as Tynion and Camuncoli zero in on the relationship between Jim Gordon and Barbara Gordon, who decides to intervene in the case because her dad is almost dead. The issue shows their different approaches to problem solving even if they have the same goal. Also, new artists Giuseppe Camuncoli and Smith take an almost spectral approach to Joker and make him a force in Gordon’s psyche versus anything corporeal. The Punchline backup story from James Tynion, Sam Johns, and Belan Ortega mostly focuses on the inner workings of the Royal Flush Gang where everything is explained in card suits. It’s pretty mid, but does get some real emotion out of Harper Row and Leslie Thompkins as they try to bring Punchline to justice. Overall: 8.4 Verdict: Buy
What’s the Furthest Place from Here #3 (Image)– Matthew Rosenberg and Tyler Boss lean into the innate creepiness of old people, houses, and technology in the third installment of What’s the Furthest Place from Here. The house the protagonists take shelter in is definitely not empty, and weird shit ensues when they run into some kids dressed up like senior citizens along with a VHS tape glimpse of the missing Sid. Prufrock’s loyalty and foolhardiness takes center stage as he and the group figure out their next move to find some semblance of hope in a hopeless situation. This might make What’s the Furthest Place from Here #3 seem dark and edgy, but Rosenberg and Boss mine a rich vein of humor from the dialogue and body movement of the kids pretending to be old people. Tyler Boss also uses the rhythm of the nine panel grid to lull readers/the cast of characters into an uneasy, yet false sense of security, and boom, he subverts in a cool way towards the end. Finally, what I like most about What’s the Furthest Place from Here is Matthew Rosenberg and Boss’ rich, eccentric approach to setting while not getting slogged down in exposition or revealing too many mysteries. Overall: 8.1 Verdict: Buy
Amazing Spider-Man #85 (Marvel)– This pivotal chapter of the “Beyond” arc is hampered by generic art from Paco Medina and six inkers. Cody Ziglar’s dialogue carries the big fight scene between Ben Reilly and Dr. Octopus, but even the pacing is off on that with poor staging and random gadgets to get to the “big reveal”. However, I do love how well-fleshed out Dr. Octopus has been in the Beyond arc, and while Ben Reilly and the Beyond suits/employees might think he’s just fighting for revenge, his real motivation is showing how Reilly has been manipulated by the Beyond corporation. Ziglar and Medina introduce a new element of rage to Reilly’s character and show that maybe he’s not cut out for this whole Spider-Man thing. He is still sympathetic with his struggles to please Maxine Danger and Beyond being relatable for anyone who’s had to subsume their personality and values for a bottom line. Overall: 7.3 Verdict: Read
Rain #1 (Image)– Joe Hill, David Booher, Zoe Thorogood, and Chris O’Halloran nail the feeling of having everything you want in the world and having it prematurely snatched away from you in Rain #1. Until the titular downpour hits and changes the course of the world, Rain is a queer slice of life book centered around Yolanda and Honeysuckle. Booher’s narration fills in the gaps in their backstory and their parents’ reactions to coming out while Thorogood’s character acting shows their feelings for each other. She also populates with Rain #1 with a colorful cast of characters that are snatched away Hill and David Booher introduce the post-apocalyptic genre elements to the story. Rain #1 shows Honeysuckle’s life in the before times, and it looks like the rest of the series is going to be her coping with the wide scale death and destruction that came from water falling from the sky. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy
Death of Dr. Strange: Bloodstone #1 (Marvel)– Sure, there’s plenty of explosions, quippy one-liners, and yes, monsters, but Tini Howard and Ig Guara use Death of Dr. Strange: Bloodstone #1 to shift the whole Bloodstone family dynamic. Howard begins with an old soap opera trope of introducing a missing sibling, Lyra Bloodstone, who was banished a while back by Elsa and Cullen’s father Ulysses and released after Dr. Strange’s death. Howard and Guara give her a spunky personality and a ravenous appetite, and she helps Elsa and Cullen reshape how they see the world showing that the wizards that control the monsters are worse than the monsters themselves. It’s like one big fantasy/horror metaphor that our energies and critiques should be directed towards people in power not our fellow comrades. And Bloodstone #1 is no slouch in the visual department with Ig Guara channeling anime in the fight scenes, and Dijjo Lima using different colors of energy to show the differences in personality between Elsa, Cullen, and Lyra. Overall: 8.3 Verdict: Buy
Well, there you have it, folks. The reviews we didn’t quite get a chance to write. See you next week!
Please note that with some of the above comics, Graphic Policy was provided FREE copies for review. Where we purchased the comics, you’ll see an asterisk (*). If you don’t see that, you can infer the comic was a review copy. In cases where we were provided a review copy and we also purchased the comic you’ll see two asterisks (**).
Source: Graphic Policy
