Tag indie comics

A Starsigns #1 Micro-Review – No Complaints

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Starsigns 1, cover, May 2023, Megan Levens, Kelly FitzpatrickTITLE: Starsigns #1
AUTHOR: Saladin Ahmed
ARTISTS: Megan Levens, Kelly Fitzpatrick (Colors), Shawn Lee (Letterer)
RELEASED: May 3, 2023

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We spend most of this issue with our main character, a young woman of Lebanese descent who likes smoking joints when she’s not working as a caterer. No complaints.

I picked up this series because it sounded a little bit like Power Rangers. Everyday people getting superpowers from a cosmic event. But my initial impression is that it’ll be a little more like Heroes. Again, no complaints.

I can’t say Starsigns #1 makes a hell of a first impression. But my interest is piqued just enough to want to come back for more.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@Yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter and TikTok. 

Above Snakes #3 Micro-Review – “Ugly Sticks”

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Above Snakes 3, cover, 2022, Hayden ShermanTITLE: Above Snakes #3 (of 5)
AUTHOR: Sean Lewis
ARTISTS: Hayden Sherman, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer)

RELEASED: September 14, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Sean Lewis has a way with words that suits this book very well. For instance, we open this issue with our main character Dirt trying to “wash the ugly off me.” But it doesn’t work…

“Ugly sticks,” he says.

I like that. Poetic and true.

What is it about talking animal sidekicks? Dirt and his imaginary talking bird friend Speck have some funny interplay in this book. The bird is trying to get laid. Go figure.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Public Domain #3 Micro-Review – Expectations and Overachievement

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Public Domain 3, cover, 2022, Chip ZdarskyTITLE: Public Domain #3
AUTHOR/ARTIST: Chip Zdarsky
RELEASED: August 24, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

That cover doesn’t make much sense, until you get into the issue. Then you realize the whole “vampire pose” thing is spot on.

The M.O. with Public Domain seems to be understated drama. The fate of the world isn’t on the line. But there are dramatic stakes. And in this issue, we feel the weight of those stakes. I’m not sure I expected to feel that way at the outset of this book. In that sense, you might call Public Domain an overachiever.

In this issue a debt collector teams with a heavy named Biscuits. I love that.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Trve Kvlt #1 Micro-Review – Clerks II Meets…Something

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

True Kvlt #1, cover, 2022, Liana KangasTITLE: Trve Kvlt #1
AUTHOR: Scott Bryan Wilson
ARTISTS: Liana Kangas, Gab Contreras (Colorist), DC Hopkins (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 17, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

This feels like Clerks II meets…well, the closest ones I can come up with are Dexter and Breaking Bad. I mean that in the sense that there’s a fear of getting caught in a series of crimes. Not murder or meth dealing, mind you. But crimes nonetheless.

I’m not sure if it’s sad or not that, having worked in the food service industry for a number of years, I can relate to our main character wanting to change his life by doing something big. Maybe not a big money grab. But still, I get it…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Dark Spaces: Wildfire #2 Micro-Review – Belief and Grit

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Dark Spaces Wildfire 2, cover, 2022, Hayden ShermanTITLE: Dark Spaces: Wildfire #2
AUTHOR: Scott Snyder
ARTISTS: Hayden Sherman, Ronda Pattison (Colorist), Andworld Design (Letters)
RELEASED: August 17, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Thus far, Dark Spaces: Wildfire has done a good job of making me believe. I believe that these female inmate firefighters are a tight-knight surrogate family. I believe they know the ins and outs of a fire. And I believe in what’s at stake for them.

There’s a certain grit to the artwork here that I find endearing. It’s fitting too, as these characters all have a certain grit to them. I suppose that’s what a combination of prison and fire will do to you…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

An Above Snakes #2 Micro-Review – “… a Man You Own.”

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Above Snakes 2, cover, 2022, Hayden ShermanTITLE: Above Snakes #2 (of 5)
AUTHOR: Sean Lewis
ARTISTS: Hayden Sherman, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer)

RELEASED: August 17, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

“Control a man’s story and you have providence over that man. … And now he’s no longer a man you fear, but a man you own.”

A bit of old-west style life insight for your Thursday.

There’s a cathartic quality to these characters and this series. Bad things happen in this book, but then we see bad things happen to the people who did those bad things. It’s satisfying in that rugged and bloody sort of way.

Hayden Sherman’s colors combine with his deep black inks to create just the bloody western noir vibe this series strives for.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

There’s Something Wrong with Patrick Todd #2 Micro-Review – A Certain Intrigue

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

theres_something_wrong_with_patrick_todd_2_cover_2022_gavin_guidry_chris_ohalloranTITLE: There’s Something Wrong with Patrick Todd #2
AUTHOR: Ed Brisson
ARTISTS: Gavin Guidry, Chris O’Halloran (Colorist), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 10, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Last time, I talked about how Patrick Todd was missing a good hook to draw readers into the story. This time around we still don’t have one. But a certain intrigue is beginning to emerge.

It looks like what we have here is a story about a young man with a certain “gift,” who must now look to his past and his family to understand how best to use that gift. I can get behind that. I’m still looking for that hook, but Patrick Todd gives me enough that I’m still coming back for issue #3. So there’s that.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Closet #3 Micro-Review – “That’s it?”

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

The Closet 3, cover, 2022, Gavin FullartonTITLE: The Closet #3 (of 3)
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Gavin Fullarton, Chris O’Halloran (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer)
RELEASED: August 3, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

“That’s it?”

That’s literally what I said as I closed The Closet #3. As in, that’s it? That’s the end? That’s issue #3 of 3?

The Closet doesn’t have the hopeful or happy ending you hope it does. Which kind of sucks, given how much Tynion, Fullarton, and the this team get you to root for this father and his four-year-old son. I suppose you can chalk it up as a cautionary tale about parenting.

But man, talk about a downer.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

The Closet #2 Micro-Review – Daddy Guilt (with a Monster)

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

TITLE: The Closet #2
AUTHOR: James Tynion IV
ARTISTS: Gavin Fullarton, Chris O’Halloran (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer)

RELEASED: July 6, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Does James Tynion IV have kids? He must. Or he must at least have had little kids in his orbit at some point in his life. That’s the only explanation I can think of as to how he captures being the parent of a young child so well. You’ve got that childhood innocence, mixed with the guilt and pressure of doing right by your kid, and the absolute horror of something possibly happening…

There’s a monster too. Did I mention the monster?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1 Micro-Review – Chimpanzee Hands?

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Prodigy The Icarus Society 1, cover, 2022, Matteo BuffagniTITLE: Prodigy: The Icarus Society #1
AUTHOR: Mark Millar
ARTISTS: Matteo Buffagni, Laura Martin (Colorist), Clem Robins (Letterer). Cover by Buffagni & David Curiel.

RELEASED: July 6, 2022

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Whenever I read a new Mark Millar book, I’m always worried he’s going to offend me. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad quality…

Prodigy doesn’t offend me. It actually doesn’t do much of anything for me. Our hero Edison Crane is (literally) the world’s smartest man, and he’s seemingly perfect in every way. Not exactly a great recipe for intrigue, and it doesn’t make me root for him at all.

The most interesting thing about Prodigy is actually right there on the cover. Our supervillain has given himself chimpanzee hands. Why? Because he’s a supervillain. Duh.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.