Another 4 comics to read, not from DC or Marvel

By Arnoldo Acosta

The Walking Dead by Image

Written by Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead is one of the most popular comic series out at the moment. The property has even found success in other mediums like video games and television.

 I don’t watch the show regularly but the few episodes I have seen are much better than some story arcs in the comic, with that said this comic is still very good.

The comic’s plot is about: a zombie apocalypse and the struggle of a group of survivors to keep on living.

The book is about seeing the characters survive. Without giving any spoilers away we don’t get to investigate what created this apocalypse. We don’t even get to see the characters try to create a cure.

If there is a single rule in this book it would be anyone can die, and anyone can get hurt at any moment. 

There is no “main character immunity” in this book which keeps the suspenseful atmosphere in place. This is what drives the entire series but this can also be really annoying because you don’t know when one of your favorite characters will go crazy and die. I will confess that my three favorite characters were killed long ago but this is still a thrilling story and an excellent comic book.

Peter Panzerfaust by Image

Words by Kurtis Weibe Pictures by Tyler Jenkins

This comic lies in the categories of war, adventure and fantasy. The entire pitch of this comic is simply “What if Peter Pan was fighting in WWII” and that is what guides the entire comic book.

The story is told with flashbacks of a grown up lost boy who traveled with Peter. During the war, Peter goes to France to look for his girlfriend. He encounters a group of orphans and together they fight the Nazis.

Peter Panzerfaust is an slow-paced story, but full of fun moments with a very good concept behind it.

X-O Manowar by Valiant

Written by Robert Venditi Art by Lee Garbett

Aric of Dacia, Heir of the Visigoth, fights against the fearsome Roman Empire when suddenly he encounters and even greater enemy, the Alien race of the Vine. These aliens kidnap him and his people enslave them for centuries. They submit them to the worst tortures they can experience until the day Aric escapes from his cell, and finds a sacred orb of the Vine. This contains the most powerful weapon of the Universe, the Manowar Armor.

This book is a mixture between Spartacus and Green Lantern. The combination of the two makes this book amazing. The main draw from this book is the world itself as it is full with interesting characters and interesting ideas all which come together surprisingly well.

Aric is a compelling protagonist with a ton of possibilities he is shown as a man out of time, a space adventurer, and a man fighting for revenge.

Without a doubt, one of the best series at the moment.

Glory by Image

Written by Joe Kentinge Art by Ross Cambell

For those who don’t know who Glory is: in the 90’s Rob Liefeld got tired of working at DC and Marvel and went to create Image Comics. At Image he decided to create new original properties, but since he doesn’t have the talent to create original ideas he just decided to copy them, with that he created GLORY. That character was nothing but a clone of Wonder Woman. Glory was an anorexic supermodel with white hair who is half amazon and half demon.

After many years, Image decided to reboot Glory. Despite having no original premise at all the writer Joe Kentinge managed to create something unique.

The new Glory is completely astonishing from every angle of her design, her personality, and history. It is original which makes this series one of the best rebooted properties ever.

The story is brilliantly written from every point of view but the biggest impact from Glory is the art. Ross Cambell does an amazing job each of the characters have a real design. There are no two characters with a similar body shape or a similar face. Every character has an original look. The action sequences are livid and gruesome. It is just as gory as you can get in a comic book series.  

The worst part of this series: Its ending, this week’s issue #34 was the final issue of the series but it is still a comic worth reading.