It’s a lighter week for comics and only Sam really seems to be enjoying herself with Coady and the Creepies from BOOM! Studios. Kylee is still trying to love the American Gods adaptation from Dark Horse Comics and Jackson isn’t really seeing a point in the latest The Flash series from DC Comics.

Want to hear more about what we thought about these issues? Read on – and let us know what you thought in the comments below.

Sam’s Reads

Coady and the Creepies #3 (of 4)

Author: Liz Prince
Artist: Amanda Kirk
Publisher: BOOM! Box
Source: BOOM! Studios DRC
★★★★☆

So this issue gets some serious props from me for taking the time to address accessibility issues. After the accident in the first issue, Coady’s sister Criss has been wheelchair bound. It’s made pretty clear that Criss is just as capable as anyone else in the band — but the wheelchair is her reality. Throughout the rest of the book so far that hasn’t been a huge obstacle to her and her sisters’ plans. And, to be fair, it’s not in this issue either. Though the venue they’re supposed to play for their final Pinmageddon show has no ramps or room, they are easily able to relocate outdoors, meaning Criss can play and everything is okay.

But I still appreciated the conversation, however brief.

The third issue had some pretty great moments. Coady gets to play with a bunch of ghost cuties at a pet cemetery, she and Shil almost have their deep dark secret revealed, and Devin Danger gets what’s coming to him. Plus someone makes a Josie and the Pussycats joke about Jose and the Creepies.The girls get to play their final gig and… then hell kinda opens up? Yeah, I’m a little confused at exactly what happened at the end but Pinmageddon may not be the only -mageddon they need to worry about.

Some of the ongoing storylines and conflicts – namely what the dude stalking the Creepies was up to and whether or not Devin figured out that Coady is a ghost – really worked towards their inevitable reveals this month. And the intriguing twist at the end of the issue leaves us wondering what is going to happen in the miniseries’ finale. Plus the artwork grows on me with each issue. Ultimately, the story is wrapping up quite nicely and this issue did a great job of leading us toward the series’ conclusion. 

Sam Wildman is a co-founder and co-editor at Nerdophiles. The only band she was ever in was her school band. She played the trumped. Follow her on Twitter @samaside.

Kylee’s Reads

American Gods #3

Author: Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell
Artist: Scott Hampton
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Source: Dark Horse DRC
★★★☆☆

Unfortunately, I think this book is just doomed to be wordy based on the nature of adaptation. P. Craig Russell does a passable job at condensing the novel into bite sized chunks for each issue, but it should be Rick Parker, the letterer, that gets real praise. Huge chunks of text are carefully arranged through panels, word bubbles, and even in blank spaces and all manage to fit well with the art and layout. I don’t envy Parker’s job in the least as he sneaks sentences into the margins and panel breaks to keep the flow.

Likewise, Scott Hampton pulls off some impressive visuals with the art and I finally find myself enjoying some of the chaotic, jam-packed pages as time-lapse gags. There is a perfect sequence between Mr. Wednesday and Zorya Vechernyaya that is the first time I’ve felt some real personality on the pages. He also returns to the fantastical in Shadow’s dreams as he encounters a nightmare of gods.

The “Coming to America” sequence from Walter Simonson and Laura Martin that splits the issue does a fair job of depicting the vikings bringing their gods over, but at this point it may be dulled slightly by just how many comparisons can be made between the book and the television show.

This was a fast-paced issue that really seemed to hustle the story along for the sake of getting there, with chapters three and four split by a ‘Coming to America’ sequence. Now with two other mediums to compare it to, it’s hard not to feel like the comic is lacking something unfortunately.

Kylee Sills is an associate editor at Nerdophiles. There was just no following the gloriously gory opener for the American Gods television show. Blame Bryan Fuller. Follow her on Twitter @kyleewho. 

Jackson’s Reads

The Flash #22

Author: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Howard Porter
Publisher: DC Comics
★★☆☆☆

DC has held its cards very close to its chest in regards to the Watchmen cliffhanger that last year’s DC Universe Rebirth relaunch revolved around. Almost one year after the relaunch, a crossover between Batman and The Flash called The Button wraps this week, offering few answers or even new questions about what’s coming.

The crossover ends with The Flash #22, which sees Batman and Barry Allen chasing after the Reverse-Flash as he races with the Comedian’s bloodstained button to his pre-ordained cosmic doom. While this crossover started with an extended riff on the tone and structure of Watchmen, it’s spent the subsequent three issues have referenced everything from Crisis on Infinite Earths, Flashpoint and Mark Waid’s near decade-spanning run on The Flash.

It’s not so much that “The Button” ends poorly or even that the story is bad so much as basically nothing happens. Readers see Eobard Thawne die in the first issue and by The Flash #22, sure enough, he’s dead. The only major addition to the mystery that wasn’t already established is the reveal that Jay Garrick is trapped in Hypertime, something that was implied months ago in The Flash and something that could have been assumed when Wally West revealed he was similarly trapped a year ago.

Since the relaunch, DC’s clearly been building to something big, with a host of mysterious figures pulling strings across a number of the company’s biggest series. However, “The Button” doesn’t feel as significant as the rest of the mysteries the company is seeding. It’s disappointing to see DC put so much weight on a storyline that offers so little new information and a lack of authorial voice but at least it doesn’t harm the larger story being told.

Jackson Adams is a staff writer at Nerdophiles. He just wants to see Bart Allen again. Follow him on Twitter @JacksonInACup.