Kylee read the first issue of Hadrian’s Wall from Image Comics and Jackson tackled Doom Patrol #1 from DC Comics, both of which they enjoyed a lot.
Weavers, from BOOM! Studios continues to be just interesting enough to keep Kylee reading, while Harrow County is easily one of her favorite on-going series’ at the moment. Jackson also continues to enjoy Old Man Logan.
Check out the full reviews below and tell us what you’re reading in the comments!
Kylee’s Reads
Hadrian’s Wall #1
Author: Kyle Higgins & Alex Seigel
Artist: Rod Reis
Publisher: Image Comics
Source: Image DRC
★★★★★
n space, no one can hear you scream… But on Hadrian’s Wall, enough people will notice your death that an investigation will be called.
That’s the premise behind Image’s latest offering, Hadrian’s Wall, anyway. Framed around a death investigation is an alternate look at history that brought forth the sci-fi murder mystery.
Weavers #5
Author: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Dylan Burnett
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Source: BOOM! Studios DRC
★★★☆☆
I was most impressed by the art this issue. There’s a full page spread of Sid seemingly confronting some of his past as the memories come flooding back that Dylan Burnett portrays wonderfully. He also manages to showcase Sid’s somewhat abrupt re-telling of a very important person in his past and those past glimpses into his life are noteworthy for their depiction, as well as their drab coloring supplied by Triona Farrell. It raises many questions about whether Sid, for all of his suffering, is better off with a spider than without.
Visually, the series continues to be striking and there’s a montage of Weaver powers on display as Sid hacks and threatens his way to the information he’s seeking. It’s an issue full of his past, after having been shrouded in mystery for four issues, and feels almost rushed and out of place narratively. When Sid is finally able to confront the answers to the mystery he’s pieced together, lingering doubts taint what might have been a victory and a plot twist at the end (which isn’t all that surprising, looking at the story) leaves much more for Sid to unpack in the next issue.
Slightly uneven, but face-paced enough and finally offering up answers, this issue of Weavers marks a turning point in the series where Sid and the audiences are left adrift.
Harrow County #16
Author: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Tyler Crook
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Source: Dark Horse DRC
★★★★★
After fifteen issues, the question of whether or not Emmy is going to leave Harrow County is answered… for now at least. Odessa explained to her that the town was keeping her there and, in order to have her join the family and roam the world as they do, it would have to be destroyed. What follows is a tense and brutal issue that opens on a group of what calls themselves her family berates and demeans her home, ultimately setting out to destroy it and all of Emmy’s ties while she’s left in the meeting lodge, trapped by an otherworldly storm.
Red is a prevailing color throughout this issue, as the family travels through town doing harm to the supernatural and normal alike and Emmy’s anger and frustration grows with her inability to control her own destiny. The creature in the woods makes an appearance and successfully scares off one of Emmy’s relatives, revealing that it is older than the law governing them and rattling him in the process.
The action moves quickly through the issue, with Tyler Crook stretching his muscles for emotive characters, particularly fearful and angry across multiple people. Between a glimpse at the creature in the woods once more and a brief mention of Kammi, this issue is a callback to many of Harrow County’s fluttering threads in the best way. The ending of the issue is worth it in itself and I am eager to see the outcome next time (where’s Bernice?).
Kylee Sills is an associate editor at Nerdophiles. Space station murder mysteries can’t be all that hard to solve, but then again she saw Sunshine. Follow her on Twitter @kyleewho.
Jackson’s Reads
Doom Patrol #1
Author: Gerard Way
Artist: Nick Derington
Publisher: DC Comics
★★★★★
To understand Doom Patrol #1, you have to understand the gyro analogy and that’s both true and as apt an analogy for the whole book as any you’re going to get. The first issue of DC’s new imprint, Young Animal, isn’t an easy read and it’s far from an approachable debut but it’s one that rewards the deep dive.
Old Man Logan #11
Author: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
Publisher: Marvel Comics
★★★★☆
I may spend an inordinate amount of time breaking down comics built like mazes or singing the praises of obscure issues lost to the long boxes of time, but deep down, something like 90 percent of my favorite comics involve one person fighting just a bunch of ninjas. I honestly don’t know what the genesis of this particular taste was or how it’s managed to stay as lodged in my brain now as it was when I was a watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a kid but it has and I’m perpetually thankful Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino seem willing to indulge me between 2014’s “The Outsiders War” storyline in Green Arrow and their ongoing run on Old Man Logan.
Old Man Logan #11, part three of the ongoing “The Last Ronin” storyline, sees Wolverine finally facing off with Sohei and the Silent Order, a Kabuki-masked order of ninja who’ve kidnapped Lady Deathstrike to bait a trap for the ol’ Canucklehead. To describe the issue as anything less than a fight comic would be misleading. This is a book almost solely about the simple pleasure of seeing Wolverine stab a bunch of guys to death.
Few people can render that with as much finesse as Sorrentino, who’s brought a stunning, painterly, yet cinematic flair for action sequences to comics for the last few years. Sorrentino draws heavily from martial arts films, samurai manga and anime, with the recurring image of cherry blossoms, blood and the face off between blade wielders dominating the page.
Sorrentino’s biggest accomplishment here is a two-page spread showcasing Logan’s battles with the Silent Ones both in the present as well as a face-off in the past back in his original dimension. It’s the sort of flashy, precise and intricate layout Sorrentino has been doing for years but it’s undoubtably impressive, weaving two horrifying encounters together to showcase what Logan has lost and fought for over decades and dozens of bodies.
Lemire’s script is nothing to sneeze at but the real attraction here is Sorrentino’s art, which again showcases why he’s one of comics’ most explosive new talents. Lemire’s best action here is getting out of the way, with just enough dialogue and text to set an attitude and mood, one of vengeance, rage and sickening doubt. More than anything Old Man Logan #11 is a showcase of Sorrentino’s talent and a testament to one of Marvel’s best creative partnerships. Luckily, it also happens to have a lot of ninjas.
Jackson Adams is a staff writer at Nerdophiles. He has a lot of complicated feelings when it comes to ninjas and Batman. Follow him on Twitter @JacksonInACup.
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