Fables # 140

Written by Bill Willingham
Illustrated by Steve Leialoha
Colours by Lee Loughbridge
Letters by Todd Klein
Published by Vertigo

Back in time in medieval Scotland, Briar Rose, Puss in Boots, Pete, Joe, Danny and Seamus have to fight the evil witch queen Baobhan Sith and her enchanted hounds.

This is another great slice of fairy tale magic given some modern grit.  The second of a two part story, it's good to see a tight, compact adventure.  The characters are well drawn and there is some good banter between them.  As always the story blends action and comedy perfectly.  although there is kind of an elegiacal sense around this issue.  It has been announced that Fables will come to an end with issue 150 and there is a sense here that the process has already begun of wrapping the comic up.  It's definitely going to be sad to see it go.

The artwork as always is detailed and distinctive.

Cover art by Nimit Malavia

   

Batgirl # 31

Written by Gail Simone
Illustrated by Fernando Pasarin and Jonathan Glapion
Colours by Blond
Letters by Dezi Sienty
Published by DC Comics

A new storyline kicks off in this issue as Barbara Gordon's activist roommate Alysia joins a group apparently trying to set off a high-powered stink bomb in the offices of a hugely wealthy corporation responsible for a number of environmental and human rights crimes.  However the activists are attacked by a bizarre supervillain called Ragdoll.

As always of course, there is plenty more misery to heap on the unfortunate Barbara Gordon, as she discovers that her boyfriend is trying to sue her father, Commissioner Gordon, for shooting him.

It's a fun comic with plenty of action, and it's good to see Alysia featured more.  Ragdoll is a striking and grotesque villain.  As a writer Gail Simone has a gift for being able to put comedy, superhero action and genuine emotion in a single issue without it being jarring.  As always with the Batgirl comics the artwork is top-notch.  

Cover art by Alex Garner

Avengers Undercover # 4

Written by Dennis Hopeless
Illustrated by Kev Walker and Jason Gorder
Colours by Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Published by Marvel

This series follows up last years 18 issue Avengers Arena, in which a group of young superheroes were captured by supervillain Arcade and forced to fight to the death in his artificial "Murder World" a la Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, as Arcade broadcasts footage of their ordeal to the world.

In this series,  the survivors have difficulty adapting to their daily life, and set out for revenge against Arcade.  However they find themselves increasingly drawn to the dark side.

The series builds on the events of Avengers Arcade and shows how heroes could be drawn to villainy.  It's refreshing to see a comic where events actually have lasting consequences both physically and emotionally for the characters.

The story is well-written with a real feel for characters and doesn't let the action drown out the characters.  However the action keeps ticking along nicely.  The artwork is dynamic and works well for the action.

   Cover art by Francesco Mattina

Batman Eternal # 6

Written by Ray Fawkes, John Layman and Tim Seeley
Story by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
Art by Trevor McCarthy
Colours by Guy Major
Letters by Taylor Esposito
Published by DC Comics

This comic is being released weekly instead of the more usual monthly basis.  Basically, Commissioner Gordon is in jail after apparently shooting an unarmed man and precipitating a horrific underground train crash.  The Gotham City Police Department is under the control of the corrupt Commissioner Forbes, and an all-out gang war is about to erupt any minute.  To make matters worse now there is a possibly supernatural awakening in Arkham with the help of the Joker's Daughter.

At it's best this comic is a really solid slice of Batman action, but the problem is that they keep piling things up on top of each other, new enemies seem to pop up every week and it is hard to keep all the myriad plotlines and characters in play.  This is one of the weaker issues because it doesn't really seem to have much to do with the main storyline.  However it does have some effective scenes, especially a creepy scene in Arkahm towards the beginning of the comic.

The artwork is very impressive and the whole comic is laid out well.

    Cover art by Andy Kubert and Brad Anderson

Wraith # 6

Written by Joe Hill
Illustrated by Charles Paul Wilson III
Colours by Jay Fotos
Letters by Robbie Robbins
Published by IDW

This comic series serves as a prequel to Joe Hill's 2013 horror novel NOS4A2, which tells the story of the monstrous Charlie Manx who travels America in a haunted 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith and kidnaps children who he takes to a supernatural theme-park called Christmasland where it is Christmas all year round and the children can do whatever they want, at the cost of losing their souls and turning into homicidal vampire monsters.

In the comic Manx is enlisted to help a group of escaped criminals escape, and brings them to Christmasland, while sympathetic convict Chester Llewellyn tries to escape with captured prison guard Agnes Claibourne, the psychotic King Geek is determined to seize the powers of Manx's Wraith for himself.

The comic is a fun mix of shocks and suspense with some flashes of comedy.  The artwork is fantastically detailed and perfectly creates the horrific and bizarre world if Christmasland, in fact at it's best the comic is genuinely nightmarish, and inventive (the highlight is a fantastic centrepiece where Agnes and Chester try to escape a maze).

The comic can be enjoyed even if you haven't read the book, although obviously it is better if you have done (and the book is well worth reading anyway).

    Cover art by Gabriel Rodriguez

Shutter # 2

Written by Joe Keatinge
Illustrated by Leila Del Duca
Colors by Owen Gieni
Letters by Ed Brisson
Published by Image Comics

Kate Kristopher was raised by her late father to be the last in a family line of the world's greatest explorers, which she was for awhile until she stopped for reasons unknown ten years previously.  However she is rudely brought back from retirement when she is attacked by a giant robot and ninja ghosts who claim to be protecting Kate from previously unknown siblings.

This comic is one of the most startling on the shelves.  It's set in a bizarre alternate New York full of robots, strange creatures, talking gangster lions, and a talking cat who doubles as an alarm clock.  The artwork is incredible, full of details that only really become apparent on a second reading.  The story is intriguing mixing mystery, comedy and action.  There is also emotion here too with Kate's flashbacks to her childhood memories of her father.

This is one of those comics where there is the impression that anything can happen at any time, and it is a wild ride

The extra comic at the back, "Tiger Lawyer" by Ryan Ferrier and Rafer Roberts is very funny, and true to the feel of the main story.

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Captain Marvel # 3

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Illustrated by David Lopez
Colours by Lee Loughbridge
Letters by Vc's Joe Caramagna
Published by Marvel

Carol Danvers is a former United States Air Force pilot who was caught in the explosion of an alien device called the Psyche Magnitron, which gave her superpowers which she uses to fight for the forces of good as Captain Marvel.  Tic is a refugee from the poisoned planet Torfa, who was heading to Earth to recuit the help of the Avengers.  Captain Marvel is taking her home when they  encounters the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Tic immediately recognises one of them, Star-Lord, as the son of the king of the Spartax, the sworn enemies of her people who are part of the Alliance that are trying to evict Tic's people from Torfa.

This is a good issue of a comic that has developed a very strong fan-base.  The story is intriguing with an interesting moral dilemma, and the unfortunate Tic is a strong character.  Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel is a great hero, strong, intelligent, tough but also compassionate, there is a level of heart in this series which is missing from many other superhero comics.

The artwork is detailed and colourful with distinctive character designs and real dynamism in the action scenes.

      

Hellboy in Hell # 6

Written by Mike Mignola
Illustrated by Mike Mignola
Colours by Dave Stewart
Letters by Clem Robins
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Hellboy, the giant red demon turned hero with the huge stone hand, is trapped in Hell.  In this issues story he is challenged an old enemy, the Vampire of Prague, who was once a gambler who would play against the dead and was cursed to haunt Prague until one of his victims beat him at his own game.

The prevailing mood in this comic is a strange kind of melancholy.  Far from being a place of endless fires and unending torment, Hell is depicted here as basically just kind of bleak and grim and depressing.  The damned sit around playing cards and chatting occasionally, and are just kind of dull.  The colours that predominate are grays, browns and deep blue, with shadows and occasional flashes of red.

It makes for an intriguing gothic flavoured horror tale, which has a strangely disquieting atmosphere to it.

It's definitely recommended for horror fans who have a taste for the bizarre and atmospherics over blood and guts.

 

Lumberjanes # 2

Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis
Illustrated by Brooke Allen
Colors by Maarta Laiho
Letters by Aubrey Allen
Created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis and Noelle Stevenson
Published by Boom! Box

This comic deals with the adventures of a group of friends at the all-girl Lumberjanes summer camp, where their normal summer camp shenanigans are frequently interrupted by fights with bizarre monsters, despite the best efforts of the increasingly exasperated counsellor to keep the girls out of trouble.  In this issue a canoe trip is interrupted by severe rapids and a giant three eyed river monster.

I would admit that I am not in the target audience for this comic (which is aimed squarely at a female audience, and that of course is no bad thing), but it's fun for everyone, it's full of comedy and action and the story is constantly moving along.  The artwork is striking and colourful and the cast of characters are all distinctive.  The action scenes are detailed and kinetic without sacrificing clarity.   This is one of those comics where there is always stuff happening either action or comedy, but there is also a lot of heart to it.  In it's most basic sense it is a story about friendship.

It's hugely entertaining, and the good news is that, despite initially being intended as a limited series, it has now been announced that Lumberjanes will be an on-going series.

 

Bee and Puppycat # 1

Written by Natasha Allegri and Garrett Jackson
Illustrated by Natasha Allegri with additional colors by Patrick Seery
Letters by Britt Wilson
Backup story written and illustrated by Madeleine Flores
Published by Kaboom!

Bee is a recently unemployed young woman whose life changes when she meets a strange creature she calls Puppycat (because she can't quite decide if he's a dog or a cat).  Puppycat can take her into a  magical universe where she can earn some money as a "magical temp worker".

Bee and Puppycat started out as a short animated series created by Natasha Allegri on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel.  Following a phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign, the show was able to become a full series.  This is it's debut in comic book form.

The book is funny and charming, with the interaction between the perennially optimistic Bee and the grouchy Puppycat a particular joy.  The panels are large and clear and the candy colored artwork is a treat for the eye.  The one criticism I would say is that there is very little in the way of backstory to introduce the characters, and so if you've not seen YouTube cartoons you may feel kind of lost.

The backup story by Madeleine Flores is fun with eye-catching colorful artwork.  It's distinct enough from the main story to stand on it's own while still retaining the feel for the characters and their relationships.

This is fun for all ages.