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 Jay giving reviews for books from Action Lab, Archie Comics, BOOM! Studios, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, and Marvel 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!
COLD BLOOD SAMURAI #3
Written By: Massimo Rosi
Pencils By: Ludovica Ceregatti
Colors By: Renalto Stevanato
Letters By: Mattia Gentili
Cover By: Ludovica Ceregatti
Price: $3.99
The Gaijin goes to a Shogun to perform Harakiri and die with honor but first, he must fight to protect the Frogs from an army of lizards. This issue takes us deeper into the world of the Samurai and Shogun, and the political climate of it all. I loved the cunning of both the lizards and the frogs and the exploration of the cultures through them. The art here oddly really fits with this world and lets me see it as an old Samurai movie. My one complaint would be the lettering, it is kind of bland and the word balloons need to be redone because there are a lot of times where words are hyphened because the can't fit on a line. On example was Em-per-or which could have fit on one line by using a different shape word balloon. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
BLOSSOMS 666 #4
Written By: Cullen Bunn
Art By: Laura Braga
Letters By: Jack Morelli
Colors By: Matt Herms
Main Cover By: Laura Braga
Variant Covers By: Elsa Charretier and Erica Henderson
Price: $3.99
Cheryl and Jason decide to call a truce until they take care of their brother Julian who is working his own angle using Betty. Cullen Bunn proves he is one of the best horror/thriller writers in comics today! The way this issue flows from one scene to the next, especially the flashbacks of the Blossom triplets growing up builds the suspense with each page turn. He leaves me wondering who can I trust? The art is great, especially the coloring, using the reads, my only issue with it is the three red-headed boys (Archie, Jason, and Julian) are all a bit too similar. Overall, though this is an amazing mini-series that really builds off the themes of both the current Archie book and the Riverdale show. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
ANGEL #1
Written By: Bryan Edward Hill
Art By: Gleb Melnikov
Colors By: Gleb Melnikov (1-9) and Gabriel Cassata (10-20)
Letters By: Ed Dukeshire
Cover By: Dan Panosian
Variant Covers By: Various Artists
Price: $3.99
Angel sets up in Sunnydale and visits an old friend who he is unable to save. Hill does a great job setting up Angel in Sunnydale and giving him a purpose beyond the Slayer. Angel's new purpose opens Angel to a new wide range of possibilities and his back story adds more layers to an already well-developed character. The art here can be pretty dark at times which goes with the tone of the book and the linework and layouts are spot on. Overall this is a nice introduction to the series and gives us an Angel who is independent of Buffy while introducing some supporting cast. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS #39
Written By: Marguerite Bennett
Art By: Simone di Meo
Colors By: Whitney Cogar
Letters By: Ed Dukeshire
Main Cover By: Jamal Campbell
Variant Covers By: Various Artists
Price: $3.99
Beyond the grid ends as the Solar Rangers face off against the Preator. Marguerite Bennett ends Beyond The Grid on a high note that sends the Rangers back to their own time while also setting up the new-new Solar Ranger team? While this issue did end things well, the main issue is how quick it seemed, it felt like everything happened all at once and Bennett didn't have enough time to truly wrap up her stories and themes. This ending left us with some characters feeling pointless. The art here continued to get better, except for the Megazord. I love the individual Zords, but combined they all seemed to fade away and it felt like a single Mecha, not a Combining Mecha. Overall this was a solid issue with a few hiccups. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #10 (OF 12)
"Action"
Written By: Geoff Johns
Art By: Gary Frank
Colors By: Brad Anderson
Letters By: Rob Leigh
Cover & Variant Cover By: Gary Frank & Brad Anderson
Price: $4.99
Doctor Manhattan ponders his role in the multiverse as he tampers with the DCU by altering events in Superman's life. Johns does a great job deconstructing the DC and Watchmen universes through the lenses of Superman and Doctor Manhattan and using the actor as a guidepost of the real world. Frank does his usual top-notch art here hitting just the right emotional beats. I also can't help but wonder if placing Wally West in this issue is indicative of something bigger being planned for him giving his role in Heroes In Crisis? ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
HEROES IN CRISIS #9 (OF 9)
Written By: Tom King
Art By: Mitch Gerads (pp 1, 6-20) & Travis Moore (pp. 2-5)
Colors By: Mitch Gerads
Letters By: Clayton Cowles
Cover By: Mitch Gerads
Variant Cover By: Ryan Sook
Price: $3.99
The truth is revealed and Wally must pay for what he has done. This event has been controversial and divisive amongst fans because of Wally's part in it from his "death" to his guilt fans have been up in arms. I personally loved this event, I thought for once we got a true deep psychological look at heroes, and we got things people always complain about with events. King did a great job delivering a hard outcome, one that doesn't get fixed by the end and will have a lasting effect on characters in the months to come. The true grit of PTSD and therapy along with the mystery and high stakes makes this a memorable event. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
STAR TREK YEAR FIVE #2
Written By: Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly
Art By: Stephen Thompson
Colors By: Charlie Kirchoff
Letters By: Neil Uyetake
Cover By: Stephen Thompson & Charlie Kirchoff
Variant Cover By: J.J. Lendl
Price: $3.99
The Enterprise comes under attack by the Tholians for Kirk granting the young Tholian they found asylum. I really thought this was a true Trek scenario. The moral dilemma is something that Star Trek is well known for, especially for TOS. It was also a nice moment to learn more about Kirk's past and damn was I not happy to hear the Star Trek Enterprise shout out with Mayweather! The art here is just fantastic, giving us just the right likeness of the characters. This is shaping up to be my favorite season of TOS already. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #22
Written By: Nick Spencer
Pencils By: Humberto Ramos
Inks By: Victor Olazaba & Humberto Ramos
Colors By: Edgar Delgado & Erick Arciniega
Letters By: VC's Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado
Variant Covers By: Various Artists
Price: $3.99
The final battle between Kraven and Spider-Man. This story hit a lot of the beats you would expect from a Spider-Man Kraven story. While that is positive, it is also negative because I just feel like I read this before, it seems like a cut and pastes from various Kraven stories of the past to make a new one today. No that doesn't take from the way Spidery and Kraven are so well written. The art here I felt was off, especially with the end with Kraven in the Spider Suit, his son can't tell that Spider-Man is at least twice the size as he was a few moments ago? No, because apparently Kraven's Spider suit is like super spanks and makes him twice as small. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
FANTASTIC FOUR #10
"Outside The Box"
Written By: Dan Slott
Art By: Paco Medina with Kevin Lebranda
Colors By: Jesus Aburtov
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: Esad Ribic
Variant Cover By: Bill Sienkiewicz
Price: $3.99
The War of The Realms comes to Yancy Street, so Yancy Street comes at The War of The Realms! This was a really strong issue, it picked up some of the family drama from the previous arc, which I loved, and it set up somethings for future issues. What I loved the most was how Slott used Franklin here, showing why he has been such a little snot, because he is afraid he will lose his family. What didn't work for me was forcing in the event tie-in. The art was pretty solid here, giving it that family vibe and truly capturing a block party feel. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
Find out where these books and more fall in the Frontline Six's Top 5 on this week's Frontline LIVE Tuesday, at 10:00 PM ET!
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