Review Category: Comic Books

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE:  OUT NOW

Comic books have been taking historical figures and putting them in unlikely scenarios for a while now. After all, famous figures from the past are unlikely to complain about being misrepresented, especially if they’ve been dead for a very long time. That said, The Duke of Wellington is an unusual choice for a monster-hunting action hero, as he is presented in IDW’s latest graphic novel, Wellington.

The plot sees the Duke invited to a Yorkshire village by an old friend to investigate three things;  a missing child, a mysterious corpse and a strange black dog haunting the moors. The reason why a military man and member of parliament is selected to figure these things out isn’t very well explained. Despite the name, Wellington less about the Duke himself and more the horrors he encounters.

As such the story never quite lives up to its promise. The idea of a historic war hero fighting the supernatural is a fun one, but this tale his much more a slow-burn; less Hellboy and more Hellblazer, but without the swearing and intrigue.  The ‘regency era horror’ element works very well however and mostly makes up for the main character being more than a little bit dull.

Piotr Kowalski’s art is appropriately atmospheric. He captures the regency era perfectly, blending the stark look of the time with some fine gothic touches.  The monsters look monstrous, the horrors horrible and the Duke himself is prim, proper and an absolute thug. He pretty much nails it on every page and colourist Brad Simpson combines the bleak look of the moors with the  finery of the time.

The result is a book that looks cinematic throughout, and captures to tone and mood of the story perfectly.  Wellington  has a lot of promise, but this book feels more like a pitch for a Netflix show than an actual story.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK (REVIEWED), DIGITAL | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Comedy, crime and comic books make for an interesting blend. The graphic novel format does both action drama and slapstick humour very well, so of course, leave it to Joe Hill to write a book that brings it all together.  Dying Is Easy is the story of Syd “Shit Talk” Homes,  an ex-cop who now makes a living telling jokes on stage. His act is pretty dark, based off his own life experiences. Syd has issues and like all hard-boiled detective clichés, an aeroplane’s worth of baggage.

Predictably, Syd gets framed for a crime he didn’t commit and has to use his wit and skill to avoid arrest whilst trying to figure out who did the deed. It’s a well-trodden path and if you’ve read any crime drama you can tell where this is going pretty early on. This isn’t exactly a classic of the crime drama canon.

Dying Is Easy is a great idea for a book, but its main issue is that the mix isn’t quite right. Martin Simmonds artwork is sumptuous, dark and evocative of a noir-style crime thriller. It would be absolutely perfect in a Batman book or something much darker. The issue here is that this is more an action comedy-drama. The story feels more like an episode of Castle or Bones than a hard-boiled detective drama. The result is that the art distracts from the dialogue and there’s simply too much going on.

As for the dialogue, Hill aims for a mix between hard-boiled and humorous and lands far off the mark every time. There’s a line between gritty and cliché, between funny and cruel and unfortunately, this book doesn’t seem to know where it is. Though you can see what it’s trying to do, the gags don’t land well and the action is stale and straight forward.  The phrase ‘Dying is easy, comedy is hard’ has never been so apt;  there’s very little life here and the humour is sorely lacking.

Still, the art is very good and the characters are interesting, just poorly implemented. All the elements of something great are here and if this gets a sequel (or adapted into a TV show), then we would certainly give this another go.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: JANUARY, 2021

In a similar vein to the hugely enjoyable Tales From Vader’s Castle series from IDW, writer Michael Moreci brings us a selection of stories from the early days of the Clone Wars as we follow the brave troopers of the Republic into action on battlefronts across the galaxy. Pinned down by the Separatists, and keen to keep their spirits up, the troopers share tales of warfare while their Jedi Generals wage the war against Separatist commanders Asajj Ventress, General Grievous and Count Dooku.

It’s easy to forget, with the five issues here so beautifully drawn by Derek Charm, Megan Levens, Arianna Florean, Valentina Pinto, Davide Tinto and Philip Murphy, that while this is a comic aimed at younger readers there’s still a galactic war going on, and without using the grit and grime of a series like Bounty Hunters, the artwork and script by Moreci manage to convey the situation perfectly. It’s often the case that comics that on the face of it appear to be pitched at kids without any of the peril of books written for older readers can just as deftly get across the scenario every bit as well, something IDW manage to do time and time again.

Moreci and team should be congratulated for crafting another crisp and colourful entry into the annals of the Clone Wars, an era that may feel like it’s been explored to exhaustion, but which clearly holds plenty more treats for readers of all ages to digest.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 26TH

With the recent arrival of the Bounty Hunters ongoing series from Marvel, you could be excused for believing that the focus of the series would be Lucasfilm’s most famous tracker Boba Fett, especially given how far out such projects are planned and in light of his recent return in Season 2 of The Mandalorian. Interesting then that Lucasfilm opted to delve right back into the mists of their pre-EU past and pull out a character from the beginning of the expanded story in Beilert Valance, the cyborg bounty hunter who has enjoyed a strong revival in the pages of the Han Solo spin-off Han Solo – Imperial Cadet, the mini-series Target Vader, and the long-overdue 108th issue of the original Marvel Star Wars run.

Interesting and well-chosen, as Valance has proven to be the perfect character to follow through the first sequence of stories in Bounty Hunters as he cements his reputation in the bounty hunting community and protects a young girl from the warring sights of rival underworld clans. Smartly, the series has ‘guest-starred’ a number of familiar faces and helmets including Bossk and Boba Fett who entered the story explosively.

It’s a hard-edged series for sure, and the action within doesn’t hold back its punches, but there’s a tonal quality to the issues that very much hits the nail on the head, with a ’90s style thump that’s very welcome as we journey into the underworld. Great art by Paolo Villanelli and spot-on scripting by Ethan Sacks makes this a must-have trade.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 16TH

As the war between the First Order and the Resistance rages across the galaxy, the eleventh volume of the first series of IDW’s Star Wars Adventures takes us back to a familiar location. On the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, we find Chewbacca, Nien Nunb, Beaumont and Chewie’s ever-loyal Porg Terbus back on the planet (and not because it’s Life day) to help protect his people as he enters the Black Forest to try and remove the scourge of the First Order from his homeworld.

In true Star Wars Adventures style we also join R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 on a recruiting mission, and the entire trade continues in that vein, taking us from one adventure to the next with one-off stories and ongoing tales that spin a selection of stories from across the timeline. Loyalty Test features Hux and Kylo Ren. Lost Stories focuses on the Graf family from Cavan Scott’s Adventures in Wild Space book series from a few years back, Squad Goals is a Rey and Poe story, and Finn-focused The Battle for Horizon Base wraps up the 32-issue run of the title.

Star Wars Adventures has always been a chance to tell both ongoing and quirky one-off adventures, very much in the vein of the Star Wars Tales series from Dark Horse Comics over twenty years ago. With quality stories, some pitch-perfect artwork and characterisation, it’s a shame these issues are hard to find for UK readers. Thankfully, trade paperback releases like Star Wars Adventures: Vol 11 – Rise of the Wookiees make collecting somewhat easier. Well worth a read.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 15TH

In what seems like an impossibility, Dr. Strange has gotten the use of his hands back, and is widely regarded as the best neurosurgeon on the planet. He works hard to fulfill his Hippocratic oath and restore health to those in dire need.

However, Dr. Strange remains on-call as sorcerer supreme, and has to juggle his duties as a world-renowned surgeon with saving the multi-verse from magical threats. Old foes come out of nowhere, wielding strangely familiar weapons, and it seems that the world of sorcery has a black market on its hands.

Who is behind this mystical criminal enterprise? Why does their magic seem so familiar? Why is Dr. Druid seemingly back from the dead? And, most importantly, can Dr. Strange keep his commitments to his patients and his employers at the hospital?

Under the Knife contains gorgeous artwork by Kev Walker depicting a multitude of mystical universes, some familiar, and some brand-new. His approach to depicting them is new and refreshing. It is distinct from that of earlier artists such as Steve Ditko but holds fantastical merit of its own.

The writing by Mark Waid successfully juggles the balance between reality and the mystical, realistically depicting the world of New York City and the medical profession while drawing us into a mystical whodunit in the magic worlds with an answer and a resolution that will truly shock you.

FORMAT: TRADE PAPERBACK | RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 27TH

If the ‘80s was your favourite decade for sci-fi, then the idea of combining Transformers and The Terminator into one story sounds like – whatever the outcome – something you’d be curious to see. Today, that vision lives in the form of IDW’s ambitious crossover. In this alternative reality a T-800 is sent back in time to 1984 to stop Transformers from destroying life on Earth as we know it. Once back, it bumps into the warrior Sarah Connor, and surprisingly uncovers that there’s a hero side to the transformers, the Autobots!

With that kick-ass confidence Sarah Connor is known for shouting out of the pages, fused with those unearthly, god-like speeches from Optimus Prime, Transformers VS. The Terminator smashes it when it comes to embracing the spirit of its characters. On top of this we see further Cybertronian main players like Bumblebee, Wheeljack, and Ratchet to name a few, and there are a ton of cool Easter eggs thrown in.

The story mutates at a fast pace, and before you know it you’ve got a full-on war as The Terminator – through the leadership persuasion of Sarah Connor – joins forces with the Autobots to stop the Decepticons from finding a way to produce Energon in Cyberdyne Systems. An outrageous idea like this could be over the top, but it’s thankfully been handled with care, all building towards a worthwhile finale.

Ever since Alan Moore’s Batman: The Killing Joke, DC have been desperate to produce something that has a similar gritty and hard-hitting impact as that book. This has meant that since 1988 we’ve had countless hot-takes on Batman’s relationship with his arch-nemesis, The Joker. Geoff John’s latest attempt to enter the top ten of Batman stories is The Three Jokers.

The premise is that The Joker is not one Batman villain, but a team of three, each representing a facet of the villain’s persona. You would think that this would allow for some classic exploration of the character; after all trinity’s are pretty common in mythology for precisely that reason. Instead, this is more the Three Jokers versus the Bat-Family, namely Red Hood and Bat Girl. The author can’t resist exploring previous Batman classics such as A Death In The Family and The Killing Joke and we get bogged down in lore and drama, rather than a story.

Artistic team Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson do very well turning the saggy script into something that is visually rewarding. They are plenty of artistic shout-outs to other work throughout and the art is moody and dark.. The various Jokers that appear in the story are particularly well done and it’s all very serious and gothic.
The fundamental problem with all of these ‘big’ stories is that less in more. The Killing Joke works because it does a single, big and terrible thing. The Three Jokers fails because it’s constantly trying to shock the reader with the next amazing lore-based reveal, which makes the reader care less about the story as it continues.

As an addition to the Batman canon, The Three Jokers will no doubt inspire many stories in other media. It’s just that this particular tale looks and feels like a shadow of other works; a doppelganger, but one without the grace of the things it copies. That said, a pale imitation of Batman is still good, just not great.