It Came From the Reading Pile - Reviews #4

This is a regular post where I grab a bunch of comics from my reading stack and rave and rant about them. This is also a labor of love for my daughter and I - to not only share a common interest but to also encourage her to read and write.

Using a carrot scale of 1-5 to measure the overall book.


1. Batman Last Knight On Earth #1&2
Publisher: DC
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo

What's It About: 
The world has ended, everything has been destroyed, and more importantly the heroes have lost.

After some asylum banter the story really starts with Batman waking up in a desert realizing that things are not quite right.

He is joined by non other than Joker - more precisely Joker's head in a lantern. The unlikely pair start to cross the desert in search of answers and Gotham City - along the way they cross paths with old allies and enemies such as Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Bane, Alfred, Court Of Owls, and a mysterious entity called Omega.

What's Awesome: 

• DC Black Label books are a great value and this packs a lot of comic for the price. I love the square binding. 
• The art and story telling is fantastic - great artistic team 
• Cool appearances from various DC favorites 

What's Not Awesome: 

• Very similar to stories such as Old Man Logan, Old Lady Harley - and countless others released in the last couple of years
• Issue 3 does not come out for several months - delaying the reading experience

Overall: 

Worth reading if you enjoy this subject matter and like to see your heroes in different settings. Good overall value. 

🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5

2. The Love She Offered #1
Publisher: Source Point Press
Story: Glenn Moane
Art: Tirso Llaneta

What's It About: (Spoilers) 
A young girl has been murdered and her boyfriend is kidnapped by her father and uncle as they think he is responsible.

Just like the last book, this seems to cover very familiar territory- as I read this I kept thinking of the Hugh Jackman Prisoners movie.

This is a #1 issue so it sets up the plot of the series and ends with a decent cliff hanger. You don't really know who is telling the truth, who is the 'good guy' and where the story is headed - all of this is great and suspenseful.

 What's Awesome: 

• Great overall package - I believe the Comics Experience books are work shopped in classes with other professionals and then published through Source Point Press  
• Awesome glossy white cover really pops
• A lot of intrigue and a mature story 

What's Not Awesome: 

• Similar material makes you really hope that something different will happen 

Overall: 

Good package and I like to support independent publishers. Worth checking out but may need to wait for issue #1 to cool down as it is selling for several times over cover price.  

🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5

3. Little Bird #5
Publisher: Image
Story: Darcy Van Poelgeest
Art: Ian Bertram

What's It About: 
The conclusion to this epic story about a young resistance fighter learning about her past and battling against an oppressive government.

In the finale we see Little Bird taking care of business and liberating others like herself from the Bishop. I think other's have written about this book, but this was by far one of my favorite reads of the year and I can't believe I let this sit around before getting to it.

What's Awesome: 

• Everything! The story telling was superb and contained a satisfying finish. The art works so well in this particular world - so detailed and full of emotion. 
• This is not the end and a continuation or another project seems to be coming from this creative team. 
• At a cover price of $3.99 you get so much value from this comic.

What's Not Awesome: 

• Hard to find anything aside from the fact that this was the end of the first story. 

Overall: 

Read this book it is awesome, makes you think, and the art is fantastic. One of the best of the year. 

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5

4. Canto #1&2
Publisher: IDW
Story: David Booher
Art: Drew Zucker

What's It About: 
A very cool fairy tale story of a race of little robots/cuties that have been slaved and their hearts have been stolen and replaced by clocks. They are not allowed to love, not allowed to have names, and when their clock stops they die.

One day, the love interest of Canto (Oooooh, not supposed to have a name) is harmed by the slavers and her clock is badly damaged. Canto can't stand by and watch her die so he escapes in order to find a hermit that may assist him in locating their hearts and potentially liberating his people. Along the way he starts to encounter different challenges and joins forces with an unlikely ally.

What's Awesome: 

• Cute fairy tale type story appropriate for all ages 
• Different from the more mature titles out there which was a nice change of pace

What's Not Awesome: 

• These little robots all look the same - it was hard telling them apart in issue #1 
• It seems like this book heated up in the secondary market so you may need to pay a premium if you want first printings 

Overall: 

Great little title that you can share with a wide range of audience.  

🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5

5. Absolute Carnage #1 
Publisher: Marvel
Story: Donny Cates
Art: Ryan Stegman

What's It About: 
Carnage is back and is hunting down anyone that has ever bonded with a symbiote - enter Eddie Brock.

Eddie and Dylan Brock are on the run and are ambushed by Carnage in the subway - an awesome battle ensues and they are barely able to escape. They turn to Spider-Man for help and the pair seek a way to extract the Symbiote codex without killing the subject.

This leads the pair to join forces with the Reed Richards from another dimension to build the extracting machine. This partnership leads the group to Norman Osborn and finally a huge showdown with Carnage. It is chaotic, fantastic, and all out insane.

What's Awesome: 

• Donny has been building up to this story and it delivers in all fronts. The art is fantastic and epic in scale. 
• The story is chaotic as it should be with Carnage leading the charge. 
• It is fun to see the interaction between Eddie, Dylan, and Spidey. A classic in the making. 

What's Not Awesome: 

• High cover price of $8.00. The issue is packed with a huge amount of content so I understand the price point. However, when compared with the DC Black Label books I would like to see Marvel step up the format or binding of these high price books.

Overall: 

Venom has been on an epic ride for the last couple of years. This cross-over does not disappoint and is a wild and fun summer ride. 

🥕🥕🥕🥕🥕out of 5

6. Manor Black #1 
Publisher: Dark Horse
Story: Cullen Bunn
Art: Tyler Crook

What's It About: 
The head of a family of sorcerers is looking to make a change in leadership and his children are angling to take over.

The book starts with a gruesome car accident caused by a strange figure in the middle of the road - the accident leaves a lot of creepy clues for the local police. We then cut to Manor Black where we start to learn about the family and internal power struggle.

We have spontaneous combustion, sorcerers playing with blood, ghosts, and a young lady being hunted down by a group of ghoulish figures. It has it all!

What's Awesome: 

• Black Horse has been doing a nice job with Horror Comics lately and this appears to be another great addition
• Great pedigree with Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurt as the creative team 

What's Not Awesome: 

• Similar problems to many #1 issues - A lot of world building and not clear what is going on. 

Overall: 

If you like horror books check this one out as there is some good mystery. It did not grab my attention so I will probably not be around for additional issues.  

🥕🥕🥕out of 5

Syd's Pick
Stay tuned for Invincible Compendium 1, 2, 3 review 

Caveat: Sydney is now finishing up a marathon of Invincible. She started high-school but is working to finish Compendium 3.