Indie Comics I Like: 6/1/2011

So now that I'm done being lazy and back to somewhat regular posting, it's time to return to the indie spotlight. Then I decided that was a dumb name and that "Indie Comics I Like" is better. This week I've got a new title from Image comics, plus four that I haven't gotten around to talking about. Oh, I'm also trying out a new Format for these short reviews. Feedback would be very awesome.

Reed Gunther #1

Writer: Shane Houghton

Artist: Chris Houghton

Reed Gunther And the Steak Snacking Snake! is the story of a Cowboy who rides a bear. Oh, and he's fighting a giant snake, too. If you can't tell how awesome that is just by reading that sentence or looking at that cover to the left, then there is no helping you.

So what's going on in said awesome comic? Well, in our fun filled first issue, Reed and his bear buddy Sterling are helping a cow herder save her cows from a giant, cow eating snake. It's a fun introduction to a world where a cowboy can ride a bear and giant snakes harbor thousands of tinier snakes. There's also a great sense of humor here, which goes hand in hand with the ridiculousness of the book. I found myself laughing at least once every page.

The art also suits the book really well; it's fun and cartoon-y. I'm used to first issues looking a little awkward since the artist usually hasn't gotten too used to drawing the characters yet, but right here everything's great. It also speaks levels of the artist that he can do so much with such simplistic face designs; you can tell what the characters feel and think just by looking at them.

All in all, this was a great first issue. If I had one criticism, it's that this is technically a reprint the with the first three issues of the series available on the book's website (issue 4 is sold out, sadly). That being said, reprinting through Image is a fantastic way of getting the title out there for more readers to try. It's also a great title for both older and younger readers, which is always a great thing in an industry so caught up in stuff that caters to older audiences.

Verdict: READ IT!

The Intrepids #4

Writer: Curtis J Wiebe

Artist: Scott Kowalchuk

Colorist: Donna Gregory

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Another great new title from Image is The Intrepids, a tale of youngsters with unique talents guided by a scientist named Dante. Their mission? Stop mad scientists like the evil Doctor Koi. It's a bit like the James Bond meets the X-men and it's blast to read. Much like Reed Gunther, this is a fun read, though this title is a bit darker.

This issue our heroes find themselves unsure of their mentor and theirs a bit of tension in their ranks. Our fearless leader, Crystal, isn't sure that Dante is being completely honest. Genius inventor Chester, however, believes that they should all be grateful and trust Dante. It's a nice little scene that doesn't eat up too much time and it provides a bit more depth for Chester's character. Of course this issue isn't all bickering and character moments; we get a few pages of super espionage.

Mr. Kowalchuk's art is great, too. I think the thing I appreciate most is that his women look like women in this line of work should. He's also got a real distinct look to his work. It doesn't look much like anything else I've ever seen and that's a great thing. I'd also do a disservice to not mention these lovely covers. Mr. Kowalchuk does a fantastic job of making overs that feel like classic comic book covers. I absolutely love it.

Overall, this is some good comic book. If you haven't picked it up yet, give it a try.

Verdict: READ IT!

Super Dinosaur #2

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: Jason Howard

Letterer: Rus Wooton

If you read comics, you should know the name of Robert Kirkman. He's the guy who created The Walking Dead and Invincible, two of Image's best selling titles. Both are also pretty gruesome and definitely aren't for kids. Well now he's got a title that is for kids: Super Dinosaur! Super Dinosaur is the the story of Derek Dynamo and his best pal Super Dinosaur as they wage war on Max Maximus and his corrupted Dinos. This series is pure fun and you should give it a try. While it's a kid's title on the surface, there's enough meat in the story for older readers to get enjoyment out of it, too. Also, it has a Dinosaur with robot arms, which is automatically great. The only real issue here is that the dialog can be a bit off at times, and there was one moment that felt like it was a toy advertisement. Outside of that, though, everything here is a-okay.

Verdict: READ IT!

Gladstone's School for World Conquerors #1

Writer: Mark A. Smith

Artist: Armand Villavert

Colorist: Carlos Carrasco

Letterer: Fenografiks

Gladstone's School for World Conquerors #1 is a comic about the students of the world's greatest school for super villainry. The story follows Kid Nefarious and his friends Martian Jones, Mummy Girl, and Ghost Girl as they attend the school in hopes of one day becoming super villains. But not is all as it seems as it looks like Super Heroes and Super Villains, much like Pro Wrestling, predetermine their fights ahead of time. This is a really great concept for a comic that is pulled off really well. It's also pretty funny, with perhaps the funniest moment being the short introduction to the school's history in the beginning. Also. like Super Dinosaur and Reed Gunther, the title is a great book for kids.

Verdict: READ IT!

Nonplayer #1

Writer and Artist: Nate Simpson

Okay, so while all the Other titles today are really good stuff, Nonplayer is hands down the best of the bunch. It's also the only title that I wouldn't say is necessarily kid-friendly. I'm also a month late on this one, so I won't spend too much time telling you how good it is when just about everyone else out there has been freaking out over it. Heck, it sold out it's first week on shelves and I had to wait for the second printing. Anyways, this is a comic about an MMO and it's pretty awesome. But as awesome as the story is, the art is what steals the show on this one. Perhaps the best part about the art is that I can't tell if it's CG or not and that it actually works so well; I usually hate static CG images, but here it's breathtakingly beautiful. Mr. Simpson has really created something awesome here and I feel so bad only giving it a short review, but I'm pretty sure you've all read this or read about it by now. There's nothing to really tell you other than asking "Isn't this awesome?"

Verdit: READ IT TWICE!

That's it for this week's indie books. I also think you should give Flashpoint #2 and Flashpoint: Batman: Kinght of Vengeance #1 a shot. I'm really digging Flashpoint so far and it looks like it's going to lead to a DC reboot, which I might just post about later tonight!

TWR: Indie Spotlight (3/02-08/2011)

Well boys and girls, it's time for the weekly round-up. This week we've got two comics from Dark Horse, one of my personal favorite publishers, so let's get right to it!

We start things off with a book that I've been very excited for ever since it was announced at last year's SDCC, Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth. This is the first issue of a three issue mini-series that has Axe Cop and his team of heroes facing off against the entire world in what is sure to be one amazing adventure. Heads will get chopped, dinosaurs will be armed to the teeth, and babies and chickens will be dumb.

For those of you uninitiated with Axe Cop (which can be found at Axecop.com), it's a series about a cop who finds the perfect fireman's axe and does the only logical thing; he fights crime with the help of his partner Flute Cop (or Dinosaur soldier, Avocado Cop, or any number of his different forms that he takes at any given time.) The series is a web comic created by brothers Ethan (age 30, the artist) and Malachai (age 6, the visionary) and their playtime adventures. The comics has been online for a over year now and in that time the characters have teamed up with Moon Warriors to battle, fought the Ultimate Battle, and even saved Christmas. So needless to say, this series rocks more than a Viking riding in the sky on top of a fire breathing robot dinosaur while playing a wicked guitar solo.

This first issue of Bad Guy Earth is no different and is packed full of amazing moments, such as Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier blowing up a bad guy planet. One moment that I loved in particular is in the middle of the issue, when Axe Cop has a dream about a crying dinosaur and immediately knows that he must go back in time and save the dinosaurs. Yes, when your comic has the line "I have no time for that, I have to go back in time and save the dinosaurs" there's no way your book isn't awesome. Another spectacularly hilarious moment is when Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier are facing off against the normal cops (actually, just the panel of Axe Cop scoffing at the normal cops alone is hilarious) who want to arrest them for breaking all the cop rules and our heroes have to use weapons like "knock out gas" and "knock out bullets" because the normal cops are good guys. It's exactly something that I could see myself coming up with as a kid and it's wonderful for it.

Of course Malachai's story (which is the main draw) is only half of the awesome here, because Ethan's art is what brings Malachai's vision to life and translates it perfectly. You can tell that he really has a love and understanding of his little brother's creation and wants to show the world the kids vision as best as he can. His art is a crystal clear window into the mind of pure fun and adventure that exists within young Malachai. Everything in this book, be it Axe Cop himself or any of the other colorful characters like the pet T-Rex Wexter are all rendered so well because this is clearly a labor of love for the older brother. And it's that love that really makes this comic into something special.

You can buy Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 at your nearest comic shop and you can also pick up the first volume of the web series while you're at it. If you want to read more from Ethan Nicolle, he'll soon have "Bearmageddon" up on the web or you can pick up copies of his old comic "Chumble Spuzz".

The other book I'm highlighting this week is Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai. Usagi is a character that just about everyone from my age group should recognize, as he appeared in a few episodes of the old and new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even had a figure or two in the TMNT toy line. He's also starred in his own series for over two decades now. In fact, when I think of creator owned comic books characters, Usagi is definitely the first character that comes to mind for me.

This issue we find Usagi coming across the path of the Lord of the Owls, a mysterious figure who may or may not be the grim reaper. Every line of his is about how his opponent shall live or die and when he's just a down right creepy character. When Usagi mistakenly thinks he's murder some priests, he attacks and there's actually a moment where you think Usagi is about to meet his end. Sakai really does a great job with the suspense here and I really felt myself feeling anxious when it looked like this was the end for our long eared samurai hero.

While Sakai's writing is great, it is immensely over shadowed by his art. The man is a master cartoonist and every page is full of eye candy. His facial expression tell you exactly what his characters are feeling at that moment. One of my favorite things that Sakai does is how he expresses death in this book, which is to show a rough looking though bubble with a skull in it. It's a rather creative way to show that someone has died and it's one of the various ways that help Sakai stand out in a medium where so many artist just blend into the crowd.

You can pick up Usagi Yojimbo at your local comic shop and there's plenty of material to dig into.

And there you have it, two more really good creator owned comics that everyone should be reading. Come back next week for some more indie comics that you should be reading.

TWR Returns!: Indie-Spotlight (2/23-3/02/2011)

I'M BACK BABY! After taking a bit of a hiatus, The Weekly Round-Up has returned. And we're immediately coming back with something special: for the next year (and maybe onward), TWR will feature nothing but independent comics. That's right, in common Pig's Pen fashion (read: several week's late) I'm getting behind the Indie creators movement and showing you my favorite indie comics. And we start off with two books from Red5 comics! Atomic Robo and Bonnie Lass!

The penultimate issue of the latest volume of Atomic Robo, "Atomic Robo and the Deadly Art of Science" saw it's release this week. This time around, we're meeting a younger, much less experienced Robo, as he teams up with the masked vigilante Jack Tarot to take down a group of gangsters that have been stealing various pieces of technology. This issue our heroes find themselves inching closer to finally cracking their case and finding out who's behind all the robberies and stopping them before their fiendish plans can be fulfilled.

What's really sets this volume apart from the others is that the sci-fi side of things really takes a bit of a back seat to a detective story. There's less talking dinosaurs and more gangsters than usual, though there is a Giant robot henchman, created by none other than Robo's greatest foe, Thomas Edison. But other than that, this is your standard pulp story.

Of course the story isn't all gun fights and criminals, there's also Clevinger's spectacular brand of comedy. Robo and Jack play off of each other well, with Robo playing the part of the naive sidekick to Jack, the grumpy vigilante. Scenes like a flashback of the two taking on Edison's robot are just oozing with hilarity, especially seeing Robo with a gun or entering Jack's hideout through the secret entrance in a very conspicuous way.

We also get to see Robo's humanity in this volume. There's a lot of great material between Tesla and Robo, showing they're less than perfect father/son relationship. There's also his relationship with Jack's daughter Helen, where we see that, yes, a Robot can love.

With only one issue left, this is looking to be one of the best volumes of Atomic Robo ever. So give this title a look, because it's hands down my favorite comic book ever.

Now, however, it looks like Atomic Robo has got some competition for his throne of Red5's best comic. This week I downloaded the first two issues of Bonnie Lass: The Legend on my iPhone. This is a title that caught my eye through the ads printed on the back of the last few issues of Atomic Robo. From the minds of Michael Mayne and Tyler Fluharty, this is (obviously) the tale of Bonnie Lass, a young pirate and her two side kicks, Trick Fischer and (her brother) Ben Lass.

The three have come across a quite a mystery as a little trinket a client wanted them to retrieve looks to be more that originally thought. Now, on top of having a bounty on their heads, the gang have some very bad people on their butts. In the first issue we get to watch Bonnie and crew as they manage to pull off a very daring escape and Mayne and Fluharty show us that they're a hell of a team, crafty a great first issue. Comedy and Action are a plenty here.

Issue two gives us a bit of Bonnie and Ben's backstory. The two were the children of the legendary pirate Cuttlass, a legacy that Bonnie wishes to not only live up to, but crush. This issue really does a great job of fleshing out out heroes, all the while moving the plot along. We end up with quite a cliff hanger two, as our heroes find themselves in a mighty sticky situation. Needless to say, I'm loving this series and I'm eager to get my hands on he next issue.

Of course the writing is only half the story here; this book has some fantastic art that perfectly compliments it's story. Mr. Mayne's fluid, cartoony art is a joy to the eyes. His action scenes are lively and exciting. There's some major anime influence in his art too, which he really does well. There's not a moment in this book that doesn't look spectacular. My only regret is that I don't own a copy of this in print. Hopefully the trade paperback comes out soon, because I'm eager to have a copy to keep with my collection. I really can't praise this art enough.

Atomic Robo can be found at your local comic shop for $3.50 a pop, or you can find both Atomic Robo and Bonnie Lass through Comixology's digital distribution on the iPhone, iPad, PSP, or comics.comixology.com. You can also go to Red5comics.com for both and bonnielasscomic.blogspot.com.

And there you have it: two of Red5's finest, books that no one should be missing out on. Hopefully you enjoy these fantastic little funny books as much as I do. As for me, I'm off to go read these books again.