Join us on the Frontlines with our weekly review roundup. This is where we have assembled to give our thoughts on various issues that are released each week. This week we have Brant, Jay, Justin, & Kat giving reviews for books from Action Lab Danger Zone, Ahoy Comics, Aftershock, BOOM! Studios, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and Titan Comics! Check out the reviews below and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter. Welcome to the FRONTLINE REVIEWS, hope you enjoy the experience!
GUNCATS #2
Written By: Samantha Wallschlaeger
Art By: Joge Rosa Rantila
Cover By: Joge Rosa Rantila
Price: $3.99
THE WRONG EARTH #1
Written By: Tom Peyer
Pencils By: Jamal Igle
Inks By: Juan Castro
Colors By: Andy Troy
Letters By: Rob Steen
Cover By: Jamal Igle
Price: $3.99
Wrong Earth #1 is the first comic book released by new publisher Ahoy Comics and if this is any indication of what they will be producing then I will add their entire lineup to my pull list and you should too. This story introduces us to DragonFly Man and Stinger on Earth Alpha and The DragonFly from Earth Omega. As you can imagine they are on opposite ends of the crime fighting spectrum and from worlds that sees them on opposite sides as well. So, what happens when they switch places, and will either survive going through the looking glass. Tom Peyer does a great job setting this story up in this first issue and the dialogue is beyond great as it really sets a tone for the two Earths. Jamal Igle’s art is exactly what a comic book super hero comic should feel like, simply awesome. Definitely a book to watch and by far the best new super hero comic to hit the press in a long while. Make sure you pre-order issue 2! ~ Justin @ExileState
MECH CADET YU #12
Written By: Greg Pak
Art By: Takeshi Miyazawa
Colors By: Raúl Angulo
Letters By: Simon Bowland
Cover By: Takeshi Miyazawa & Raúl Angulo
Price: $3.99
Man I am not ready for this! This series was a perfect gem and now it is gone. The cadets unite in powering up Suprarobo and save the Earth against the Sharg Invasion but not without lost. WOW this is Greg Pak's best work to date, every ounce of himself you can feel in every issue. The cadets coming to assit in powering up the Suprarobo was predictable, but that was it, this book kept me on the edge of my seat demanding and fearing more because each turn of the page meant I was closer to saying goodbye to the cadets and the Robos I have come to adore each month.
BOOM! has left a huge hole in my comic heart, but what a way to go out! Great final battle but such a quiet, yet intense finale scene. Everything about this book and series is just perfection from script to art to colors to letters to editing everyone involved deserves much praise. Now all I can do is have the hope and optimism of Sanford Yu and pray we get to follow the cadets in some way through their Second Year at the Sky Corps Academy. Thank you Greg Pak, Takeshi Miyazawa, Triona Farrall, Jessica Kholinne, Raúl Angulo, Simmon Bowland, Michelle Ankley, Cameron Chittock, and Eric Harbun for such an amazing series!!!! ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
WWE NXT TAKEOVER: PROVING GROUND #1
Written By: Dennis Hopeless
Art By: Kendall Goode
Letters By: Jim Campbell
Cover By: Aaron Dana
Subscription Variant Connecting Cover By: Marco D’Alfonso
Price: $3.99
This issue of NXT Takeover made the last one even stronger. Whereas the last one focused on Dusty Rhodes’ contributions to NXT, this one paid homage to the American Dream. The story is told through inner dialogue of Samoa Joe, a veteran from various promotions (TNA/Impact, ROH, etc.) before making it to the WWE. Unlike his contemporary, AJ Styles, who went straight to the main roster around the same time, Joe had to start in NXT. The two were well known outside of WWE, but maybe AJ was more marketable on the main roster, I don’t know. Either way, Joe wound up in NXT and he ran rampant through it. This book chronicles that time as he strived for gold, but instead was forced into a tag team with Finn Balor to compete in the inaugural Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The pair would go on to win the tournament and the trophy, but Joe wanted singles gold and quickly turned on his partner, who also happened to be the NXT champion. This story did this entire storyline justice as Hopeless continues to project these wrestlers’ characters and voices to a tee. Goode’s art was solid here as well, especially the depiction of these two main characters, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. NXT is a “proving ground” of sorts for the WWE, and Samoa Joe proved himself when he didn’t really need to. I love the way this issue broke down what thoughts may have been going through Joe’s head “in storyline” throughout his tenure in NXT. This was a perfect book for me as a wrestling fan and as a fan of what Hopeless has done with this series. ~ Brant @BrantFowler
HAWKMAN #4
Written By: Robert Venditti
Art By: Bryan Hitch
Inks By: Andrew Currie, Andy Owens and Daniel Henriques
Colors By: Jeremiah Shipper
Letters By: Starkings and ComicCraft
Cover By: Bryan Hitch and Alex Sinclair
Variant Covers By: Dale Keown
Price: 3.99
Hawkman #4 reveals the threat Carter Hall has been chasing and they are called the Deathbringers! They are giant immensely powerful beings that have apparently been imprisoned for an undisclosed amount of time and they are back to make sure the universe remembers them forever. This issue take us from Thanagar where Hawkman encounters his past self and is able to find a clue he left for himself before being thrown through time and space back to Earth. Then once he activates the clue from Thanagar is thrown to the microverse and is met by The Atom! Next issue promises to more answer and more questions as the Awakening story arc comes to a conclusion. This was a solid issue but seemed a bit short to me. Story and art both continue to be top tier. ~ Justin @ExileState
RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #26
"Outlaw Part 1"
Written By: Scott Lobdell
Art By: Pete Woods
Letters By: ALW's Troy Peteri
Cover By: Pete Woods
Variant Cover By: Yasmine Putri
Price: $3.99
Written By: Scott Lobdell
Art By: Pete Woods
Letters By: ALW's Troy Peteri
Cover By: Pete Woods
Variant Cover By: Yasmine Putri
Price: $3.99
The series is taking a new direction, a "new title" and Jason Todd is getting a new look. This issue was pretty much a scene setter. This sets up what the tone and feel of this new direction is going to be, gone are the days of the Red Hood that could stand alongside Batman, now stands the by any means necessary Red Hood we were introduce in Under The Red Hood, a Jason who doesn't care about breaking bones or killing criminals to mete out justice. The art here is better than I was expecting with not really feeling the redesign upon seeing it, but it does look better than it did in the design s we saw. I also think the tone of the art fits the darker tones of this new Jason. Could the return of Artemis and Bizarro bring some light back into Jason's world? I am going to keep reading to find out. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
SUPERMAN #3
"The Unity Saga Part 3"
Written By: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils By: Ivan Reis
Inks By: Joe' Prado & Oclair Albert (PP 12-13, 16-18)
Colors By: Alex Sinclair
Letters By: Josh Reed
Cover By: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, & Alex Sinclair
Variant Covers By: Adam Hughes & David Mack
Price: $3.99
The best issue so far! The world is being torn apart. The atmosphere is changing and poisoning everyone. Superman discovers it was an accident at S.T.A.R. Labs that stranded them there, but can even the greatest minds in the world set things right before Rogol Zaar, Jax-Ur and an army of Phantom Zone Prisoners take the projector and leave Earth to their death stuck in the Phantom Zone? This was a fast paced issue and while high in action Bendis balanced in some character moments for Superman via his inner monologue. The art is great and makes you feel like you are in the chaos that is the Phantom Zone. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
Verdict: 4 ½ Stars
HOUSE OF WHISPERS #1
"Broken Telephone"
Written By: Nalo Hopkinson
Art By: Dominike "Domo" Stanton
Colors By: John Rauch
Letters By: Deron Bennett
Cover By: Sean Andrew Murray
Variant Cover By: Bill Sienkiewicz
Price: $3.99
This is another hot from DC Vertigo's Sandman Universe. The book follows Mistress Erulie Freda Dahomey, her followers and the sisters from the Sandman Universe #1 primer. But it does more as it immerses you into not just a story or a world as other books but I felt immersed in the people, the mythology the culture and more. The art here helps with that feeling of inclusion into this world, you don't feel like a reader but someone embarking on this journey. The art really helps to drive home this feeling inclusion and immersion by creating this fantastical world. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - TERRA INCOGNITA #3
Written By: Scott Tipton & David Tipton
Art By: Angel Hernandez
Colors By: Mark Roberts
Letters By: Neil Uyetake
Cover By: Tony Shashteen
Variant Covers By: Various
Price: $3.99
I feel like I am on repeat every month when I review this, but DAMN the Tiptons are knocking this out of the park! The truly get what we love about Star Trek and more specifically Star Trek:The Next Generation. With the Vulcan Ambassador near death he passes on his Katra to a young Vulcan Doctor on board Dr. Selar who already knows the burden she carries as she held her Father's Katra at a young age as well. The Vulcan ceremony and telling it through Selar was very moving, which is a lot considering it is a Vulcan, and we now know this takes place during Season 4 as Picard mention his Mind Meld with Sarek as "last year" and that was in Season 3. HIRE THESE TWO FOR A STAR TREK SHOW NOW! The art here is different than the last issue but still as great and still captures the likeness of the characters. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
BIRTHRIGHT #31
Created/Written By: Joshua Williamson
Created/Art By: Andrei Bressan
Colors By: Adriano Lucas
Letters By: Pat Brosseau
Cover By: Andrei Bressan & Adriana Lucas
Price: $3.99
I have to say right out of the gate that I’m just thrilled Birthright is back! I have sung the praises of this book since the first issue, and I will continue to sing the praises of it until it ends. With that out of the way, I thought this was a great installment into the series, but not perfect, hence the lack of five stars. For the good, the story filled us in on some missing history about Mastema, the daughter of the God King Lore. This history is relayed to us via Kallista, of whom we also learned a lot about. She was, in fact, saved by Mastema in a way, but not before losing her entire race. She tells us all this history while Brennan, Mikey’s older/younger brother is tied up with his mouth bound on a beach. The scene reveals Kallista to be very troubled with vengeance on her mind. Learning of her connection to both Mastema and Lore throughout the story was enlightening, and learning just how dangerous Mastema is was terrifying. The art was masterful as always. The fear exuding from Brennan’s eyes was a beautiful contrast to the bikini-clad Kallista who struck a calm, nonchalant demeanor throughout the one-sided conversation. The bursts of action in the flashbacks as Mastema unleashed her fury was brilliant as were the small emotional moments between the various characters. My only nitpick is since it has been so long between issues, I had to refresh my memory of what happened. With no recap page or blurb, or some indication of what had happened prior, I found myself struggling for a minute thinking I had missed something, but it had just been time interfering with my memory of the events. It was also a bit of a filler issue, even though it was a very good story. All in all, I still loved it, and I can’t wait for the next issue! ~ Brant @BrantFowler
Verdict: 4 ½ Stars
CROWDED #2
Written By: Christopher Sebela
Art By: Ro Stein
Colors By: Triona Farrell
Letters By: Cardinal Rae
Cover By: Skylar Patridge
Price: $3.99
Crowded #2 is a great follow-up to one of my favorite issue 1’s of the year. My favorite aspect of the first issue was that you felt like Vita and Charlie had a life before this story started, that’s some talented writing. This continues with issue 2. We learn more about both Vita and Charlie’s pasts as we also get more information about the bounty on Charlie’s head. Ro Stein’s pencils showcases Charlie and Vita’s contrasting personalities very well, which really allows this book to sing. Crowded #2 is a really fun issue, where even the exposition has personality. ~ Kat @ComicUno
Verdict: 4 ½ Stars
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #5
Written By: Nick Spencer
Art By: Ryan Ottley
Colors By: Laura Martin
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Ryan Ottley & Laura Martin
Price: $3.99
The Amazing Spider-Man #5 is full of fun as Peter goes up against, well, himself. Nick Spencer tackles the basic fundamentals of Spider-Man’s character in a new way to reiterate the importance of responsibility. The issue is also sprinkled with a touching MJ/Peter moment and a good buildup towards Captain Boomerangs’ villain story. Ryan Ottley does a great job with the comedy and action - he creates iconic Spider-Man movements and repurpose them in a new way. Spencer & Ottley’s run is quickly becoming one of my favorites! ~ Kat @ComicUno
DAREDEVIL #608
Written By: Charles Soule
Art By: Phil Noto
Letters By: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover By: Phil Noto
Price: 3.99
Daredevil #608 continues the story of the brothers Murdock and gives us the hard question of can you unmake a fictional person once they are real or is it already too late. We see Matt choose family, leaving Mike Murdock “alive” as it were. Foggy is taken hostage by Mike, Foggy calls Daredevil but Mike takes off with Foggy. His condition of release is that Matt meet with Mike to talk it out. This takes place and Matt lets Mike go, even as Reader is ready to unmake him. Will this prove to be a massive mistake, probably, it is Daredevil after all. The issue ends with Matt now in the employment of Kingpin and off to do a job with the Hood. Twist and turns on every page as Charles Soule continues to tell this tale. Solid Art from Phil Noto as we have now come to expect from him. I’m not sure where this arc is going to take us but I’m buckled in for the ride. ~ Justin @ExileState
FANTASTIC FOUR #2
Written By: Dan Slott
Pencils By: Sara Pichelli
Inks By: Sara Pichelli with Elisabetta D’Amico
Colors By: Marte Gracia
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Esad Ribic
Variant Covers By: Arthur Adams & Peter Steigerwald; Tom Raney & Morry Hollowell; Skottie Young
Price: $3.99
Finally! We finally have a good story featuring the first family of Marvel Comics! In this issue, we move away from Ben and Johnny to catch up with Reed, Sue and the Future Foundation. They have been traveling through the multiverse as Franklin and Molecule Man have been creating new universes and worlds from thin air, then visiting and exploring them. As the story begins, a much more mature Valeria is flirting with a native of their latest planet, much to Reed’s chagrin. As the story progresses, a threat reveals itself called Entropy who begins dismantling all the new universes they had created. This leads to a showdown and a death of one of their own. But Reed, ever the thinker, along with Valeria comes up with a plan that just might work. By issue’s end, we have a family reunion, but it’s not exactly what we or Entropy thought! I love how the family and the Future Foundation pulled together against all odds once again to face a threat bigger than the cosmos itself. It’s what the FF does best, and that shone brightly here. Slott really has a feel for these characters that has quite frankly been missing for years. His interpretation of these characters shows that he has a love for them as well going back a long time. Pichelli’s art is as gorgeous as always, and Gracia’s coloring makes it sing even louder with the vibrant use of primary colors. Caramagna’s lettering even jumps out here as it cleverly becomes part of the story without detracting from it. Overall, this was a pretty great issue and something Marvel has been missing for far too long! ~ Brant @BrantFowler
INFINITY WARS #3 (of 6)
Written By: Gerry Duggan
Art By: Mike Deodato Jr.
Colors By: Frank Martin
Letters By: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover By: Mike Deodato Jr. & Rain Beredo
Variant Covers By: Various Artist
Price: $4.99
This issue was better than I thought it was going to be. The Infinity Warps came but in a surprising way. I was expecting more of an accident or Loki screwing around but instead we had a twist on the Thanos' snap here. Gamora wanted to less the Universe by half like Thanos, but instead merged them together. But we didn't get to explore or flesh it out really, so now we have one shots to do it in. The art remains solid except the cross patch paneling is still distracting to the flow. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
MS. MARVEL #34
Written By: G Willow Wilson
Art By: Nico Leon
Colors By: Ian Herring
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Valerio Schifi & Rachelle Rosenberg
Price: $3.99
Bruno discovers the origins of Kamala’s powers in what still feels like a long-winded filler story. I’ve enjoyed seeing Bruno and Kamala’s old dynamic back, but I do miss seeing Kamala’s other supporting cast members as well. The Shocker silliness is a good fit for this power-experiment storyline, but hasn’t added much to the overall plot for the amount of panel time he gets. This is an arc focusing mostly on comedy and Nico Leon aces the comedic moments here, and I hope he continues being a mainstay for the series. Ms. Marvel #34 adds a bit more uniqueness with Bruno discovering more about Kamala’s other timelines, but I wish this was something injected towards the beginning of the arc to allow this story to be shorter. ~ Kat @ComicUno
RUNAWAYS #13
Written By: Rainbow Rowell
Art By: David Lafuente
Colors By: Jim Campbell
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Kris Anka, Ryan Sands
Price: $3.99
Alex is back and taking charge, and Nico isn’t having it. I really liked the team dynamic for this issue. The Runaways do not trust Alex, but quickly fall into old habits following his lead as they fight a three-headed dragon. The art change from Kris Anka to David Lafuente was very jarring in this issue. Lafuente’s artwork reminds me of the more abstract style that we saw in the later volumes of Runaways. Runaways #13 is a solid issue that shows an interesting glimpse at the scarred dynamic between Alex and the rest of the team, while opening the door to a new twist on a classic Pride story. ~ Kat @ComicUno
X-23 #4
"Two Birthdays And Three Funerals Part 4"
Written By: Mariko Tamaki
Written By: Mariko Tamaki
Art By: Juan Cabal
Colors By: Nolan Woodard
Letters By: VC's Cory Petit
Cover By: Mike Choi & Jesus Aburtov
Price: $3.99
I am loving this series! Mariko Tamaki is doing the impossible she is giving Tom Taylor a run for his money on on writing Laura and Gabby, then she goes the extra mile and throws in the Stepford Cuckoos! Gabby is now "possessed" by Esme, and Sophie is inside of Laura's head meanwhile the Cuckoos want to take out Mindee who Laura wants to use to get Gabby back, talk about family feuds! This is just awesome! I feel like geeking out every time I think about this issue right from the beginning with the Stepford Cuckoos, Brady Bunch theme song parody, then tying it back around with Sophie holding the Blu-Ray saying it is the Ultimate Family Drama. Nice touches. The aret is just fantastic There is this slight ambiance seeping through it that adds that extra layer of creep to the Cuckoos and a dash of comedy to Gabby. One of my favorite Marvel series! ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
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