Archive: Author: Svetlana Fedotov

Koshchei the Deathless

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

I’ve read a lot of comics in my day, everything from light-hearted romance manga to the ultra-gore that is Garth Ennis’s Crossed, but there have been only handful of times when I closed the work and audibly said “now THAT was a good comic!” Most of them were handed out cautiously and most certainly after checking every nook and cranny for writing and artwork flaws, poor ebb and flow, and the dreaded ‘talking head’ syndrome, so it’s with no light-hearted rhetoric that I use that phrase. It’s with all confidence that I say that Koshchei the Deathless is a good comic. Written by Mike Mignola and heavily referenced from Slavic folklore, Koshschei the Deathless tells the story of one of Hellboy’s most formidable foes and how he became the slave to the infamous Baba Yaga.

The comic is centered in the middle of the Hellboy in Hell story arc, as Hellboy takes a break from fighting his destiny to meet with his old nemesis Koshchei in a bar somewhere on the shores of Hell’s ocean. What starts as a meeting between two dead foes, long tired from fighting each other, soon turns into Koshchei telling his companion his life story; and boy oh boy, is it a hell of a life. Born to common parents, Koshchei quickly climbs the ranks of army life before being left for dead by his own soldiers. Luckily, a dragon happened to be passing by and rescued him. For nine years, he toiled away as the dragon’s servant before being set free with a magical shirt that protected him from death. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with his return and after learning that his shirt kept him alive, he was stripped and killed, and once again back in the possession of the dragon, who this time grants him immortality as long as he hides his soul away. Too bad that Baba Yaga has some devious plans for him. And this is just the first few pages!

There’s so much that happens in this comic. We’re talking monsters, witches, romance, dragons, the Baba Yaga, and of course, Hellboy himself. This is a solid life to death account of Koshchei that follows our protagonist as his adventures intertwine with common themes of Slavic folklore. That’s to say, there’s a lot strange tasks and treasures hidden within other things and lessons that everyone was learning except him. That’s really the meat behind the comic; the humanity that ebbs and flows through Koshchei’s body as his predicaments shape the man he becomes. He goes from rich to poor, powerful to powerless, all the while making choices that had a lasting effect on everyone around him, and not all the choices are good. Even in Hell, Koshchei reflects on his past actions and still can’t decide if what he did when he was alive was the right thing to do (which is probably the real point of Hell). All in all, there’s a shadow of doubt throughout the whole work that begs the question: what would you do in his same situation? The comic is just as much as a testament to the choices we make as it is a monster-punching good time.

Now, in case you have never read my name, I am definitely Russian and a lot of the themes and ideas that Mignola presents in the comic are very accurate to Slavic folklore, yet, much like folklore from anywhere in the world, it’s very accessible. He addresses many themes, themes that are prevalent in all cultures (love, death, greed, ect), and filters them through something we all love, a Hellboy story. Hellboy is the great folklore equalizer: a sympathetic demon, also known as man. You almost can’t help but love this comic, you are Koshchei’s drinking guest after all. The accompanying art is also just as fantastic. Handled by Ben Stenbeck, the illustrations are just similar enough to Mignola’s original pen work but, but handling the inking and line thickness differently, stand out on their own. The angles, the colors, the detail work are all a great companion to Mignola’s writing and the two blend seamlessly together to make for a visual wonderland. With coloring by Mignola’s longtime partner David Stewart, the overall package is as appealing from the first page as it to the last.

If you’re a fan of literally anything, comics, folklore, Hellboy, monsters, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you pick up Koshchei the Deathless. It is a perfect, one story-arc work, that’ll leave you just as stunned as I was. The graphic novel is out now on shelves everywhere!

The Terminator: Sector War #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Terminator is one of those movies that if you tell someone you haven’t seen it, it’s like telling them they just got fired from their jobs. A series of complex emotions cross their face like a robot learning how to feel before an inevitable tidal wave of “what?” and “how?” begin pouring out their exasperated mouth. It’s a touchy subject for those who are forced to admit that they somehow skipped that particular cultural milestone (even if the second movie is better). With such strong affection and unbreakable ties to the cinematic cult, it’s no wonder that franchise didn’t just stop on the silver screen, but like many of its fellow must-see movies, continued to live through comic books. The Terminator: Sector War is the newest addition to the ever expanding T-800 saga, though this time, it steps away from the shadow of the Connor Savior chronicles and instead focuses on the side quest of a terminator who had been assigned to kill the mother of fellow resistance leader on the crime-ridden streets of 1984 Los Angeles. Fast kills and faster thrills, Sector Wars throws the reader square into the fray and doesn’t let go until the back cover, creating a work that would make James Cameron proud.

The comic starts off with our lead Lucy Castro, a down-on-her-luck cop whose life isn’t exactly amazing. Assigned to the worst area in LA and living with a narcissistic, abusive boyfriend to boot, Lucy can’t imagine her life could get any worse. But this is a Terminator comic, so it’s going to get a whole lot worse. Hot on her heels is a T-800, who, not known for its subtlety, begins hunting her down by tearing his way through her building and tossing her boyfriend down a stairwell. This starts a chase through the back alleys of LA as Lucy attempts to put some space between the T-800 and herself while trying to figure out what exactly is going on, which leads to some startling revelations of her own.

Sector War is a lot of fun. It really is a great addition to Terminator and heavily harkens back to street crime cinema of the mid-80’s, complete with the multi-ethnic, mohawked gangs and the heavily graffitied alleyways. It’s as if Robocop finally got to star in his own Terminator movie but instead of fighting criminals, he’s hunting down some cop and stealing people’s clothing. Much like the movies, Sector War is more action than anything else and the comic never slows down to catch its breath, making it a quicker read than most. You’ll find yourself finishing it within ten minutes of picking it up and most likely re-reading it thinking you must have missed something, which to be honest, isn’t really a complaint. It’s fun to read a no-brainer, action work that focuses more on the feel and atmosphere of the work than filling the page with text. It doesn’t feel hackneyed or poorly done, but a true nod to the original work.

One of the more interesting parts of the comic is the art which looks like a bizarre mix of anime aesthetics and Richard Corben’s early art. It’s certainly not a bad work and the dark palette along with the filled in backgrounds does help ground the illustration, it’s just, well, weird. The T-800 is a heavy jawed, muscle bound behemoth while Lisa has large, expressive eyes and a cute, upturned nose a la Americanized Sailor Moon. It’s subtle and might simply count as this reviewer being nit-picky, but it at least doesn’t take away from the work. If anything, it adds an odd visual appeal in what appears to be an attempt to bring vastly different readers to the comic and it looks like it just might work.

If you’re interested in checking out the art for yourself or you simply have a soft spot for all things Terminator, Terminator: Sector Wars is right up your alley!

Bone Parish #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Some say that you haven’t lived until you’ve dropped a hit of acid on some Pink Floyd. They say that everything tastes better, looks better, and man oh man, does that bass guitar swim like a golden dragon in the plump, pink clouds of the early morning sun. Sometimes though, sometimes it’s not enough and that’s where Mama and her Bone Parish steps in. BOOM Studio’s newest drug chronicle explores the depths some thrill seekers will go to find new and exciting highs and the empire behind its creation and distribution. While the story doesn’t exactly break the mold on a family run drug kingdom with underlying tension, the overall idea is pretty cool and really shines a light on the human need to experience everything.

Bone Parish, as stated, is about drugs. But not just any drugs, a drug that’ll get you ripped out of your freaking skull! No one quite knows what’s in it, but they do know that’s it’s expensive as hell and only a very few people supply it; those people being Mama Grace and her family. You see, the real secret is that the drugs are actually made out of the ashes of dead people and those dead people have made the family very rich, which also means plenty of conflicts on how the business should be run, both from within and outside the family. When a high roller from NYC comes to visit Mama’s home base in New Orleans to offer to buy her company, she firmly says no, knowing that she hasn’t seen the last of him. Suddenly, things around her begin to spin out of control as both the drug and the business begins to turn against her plans.

The writer, Cullen Bunn, is a long time staple of the horror genre and though the crime kingpin element has been done to death, it’s really the drug that’s the backbone of the story and will most likely end up careening the story. It’s a bit of bummer there’s not much originality in the former, especially with how many horror comics are mixing crime boss elements (Moonshine, American Vampire, The Black Monday Murders), but perhaps Bunn knew there wasn’t much he could say that wasn’t already written by Scott Snyder. That being said, the idea of a drug being made out of the bones of dead people does bring some interesting questions, such as: would you snort your dead father just to have a few more days with him? Perhaps the bones of your favorite dead musician, so you can exchange lyrical notes? How much would you pay for a once-in-a-lifetime experience? That’s the real meat of the comic right there; the human need to experience bigger, better, and more unique things than the next person, even if it’s at the cost of disturbing the dead. This comic addresses the arrogance of man’s need to ‘live’ and what happens when that ‘experience’ is tired of being abused.

The accompanying art by Jonas Scharf is sharp and clean with just the right amount of harsh edges and dark shadows to announce: “this is a horror thriller comic!” In other words, you know what you’re getting into once you flip it open. He’s got that mid-2000s Hellblazer style that’s been defining Vertigo from its DC counterpart for the past 13 years or so. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if DC snags him up to do some work for them in the near future. The only thing that’s a bit strange is Mama Grace’s design. It has been clearly stated that she has several adult children but she herself doesn’t look a day over 35, though it’s hard to tell if that was a design overlook or a deliberate choice that will be explored later on. That aside, Scharf is a solid paring to Bunn’s words and a combo for a pretty solid read.

Bone Parish #1 is out now!

X-Files Case Files: Hoot Goes There #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

You know what’s great about the X-Files? Everything! Everything is great about the X-Files! It’s a goddamn national treasure right up there with the White House and that soup painting by Andy Warhol. The political intrigue of a secret FBI unit, the moral intricacies of discovering a world beyond our understanding, ALIENS! It’s got everything a good show needs so it’s no wonder that years after its demise (and a couple mini-arcs) the X-Files fandom is still going strong; cumulating into a huge expanded universe via comics. X-Files Case Files is yet another welcome addition to the comic world, albeit a bit more low-key than usual, as it sends everyone’s favorite G-Men to Texas to hunt a giant owl. A wonderful little story that explores the backwoods of Americana, Hoot Goes There will remind you why Mulder and Scully are the perfect pair to tackle the weird and wild.

The duo are sent off to east Texas to chase rumors of a giant owl swiping citizens left and right, the latest case being of a woman stolen right off her property in full view of her neighbor. Mulder and Scully soon arrive to the police/donut shop and begin exchanging information with the locals. Apparently what they heard wasn’t the full story. According to rumor, the owl is, in fact, an owl witch and is believed to tie into all sorts of bizarre things that have happened in town. Mimicking the crying of a baby, it would lure unsuspecting victims and steal them away, at least according to Mulder. While Scully is naturally incredulous, they both follow up on the initial report with the neighbor, splitting up when Scully has finally had enough of the man’s drunk ramblings. But Scully may have left too soon as strange things begin to show up on Mulder’s hotel door step, things that even he’s never had experience with.

Though Hoot Goes There isn’t a very serious comic, it’s definitely a lot of fun. There are no worldwide conspiracies or religious questioning, just a story about two people chasing down a giant bird. It gets back to the original roots of X-Files; solving bizarre mysteries while exploring local folklore and monsters. It’s a good little horror story for when you need a break from Mulder rambling on about his sister. But the biggest appeal, which was also one of the biggest appeals of the show, is the banter between Mulder and Scully. They’ve always had a solid sense of camaraderie in the show and the comic recognizes that their relationship is just as important to the story. Their dynamic really helps push the comic along and makes the reader feel like they’re watching a long lost episode of the show.

While the art isn’t exactly stand out, it doesn’t take away from the work either. No wandering faces or mismatched facial expressions, just some good ol’ comic work. Mulder and Scully look just like they did in the show and the background and color work are appropriate to the scenery. I did enjoy the classic, eye-rolling faces that Scully kept making, so that was pretty cool. All in all, X-Files Case Files: Hoot Goes There #1 is a solid read for any X-Files fan, especially if you’re starving for a bit of lighthearted case work or just like cool monsters. Out now!

Flying Witch (2016)

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

When most people think of literary witches, they imagine either a crooked-nosed old hag or a cat-eyed seductress intent on taking your virgin blood. Either way, they are generally written as mischievous or evil women that get their powers from demons. But aside from a few exceptions, it wasn’t until Japan mashed witches with magical girls that the narrative for these sorceresses really changed. Having been unburdened by centuries of Western beliefs, they took what was supposed to be a bogeywoman and turned her into a powerful feminine creature that was gentle to the earth and a frequent purveyor of the healing arts. With help from Japan’s long history of natural religion and a fondness for shrine maidens, the lore of the fictional Japanese witch became ripe with positivity, and downright cute! The anime Flying Witch is no exception.

Debuting in Japan in 2016, Flying Witch is a limited 12-episode series that follows the day-to-day life of witch-in-training Makoto Kowata. Having just recently moved to the countryside to live with her cousins, Makoto takes advantage of the natural space and wild growth to hone her magical abilities, even if it frequently means getting lost in the many winding paths and streets of her new town. Joining her are an eccentric cast of rotating visitors, from the Harbinger of Spring to a dog-faced woman to her own witchy sister, all of whom teach her a little more about what it means to be a witch. Add in her non-magical cousins and a brand new school, Makoto learns just as much about real life as she does about the unseen world.

If you’re reading this review and wondering “sure, that sounds great, but where’s the horror, action, blood and guts?” Well, there isn’t any. Flying Witch is billed as a comedy/slice-of-life and is definitely more chill than thrill. In fact, if you’re a fan of mellow Miyazaki movies or just the magical parts of Harry Potter, than this is right up your alley. There’s no real conflict and certainly no bad guy, which makes the anime a perfect mellow watch for those days where you want to watch something interesting without getting too invested in it. But don’t let that trick you into thinking that the show lacks content. The Flying Witch universe is fully realized with its own original characters and adventures along with interesting magical spells and real-life tidbits about nature and gardening. Makoto is a perfect lead with her inquiring mind and fun personality which allows the watcher to put themselves in her shoes as she explores the world around her. She’s like a tour guide in a witch museum.

On top of the writing, the real selling point is the animation. It’s gorgeous! Unlike multiple season animes that don’t have a hard end time, works that are planned as limited episodes tend to make better use of their animation budgets and really put their all into their work. The animation is an almost straight adaption of its manga source which shies away from over-the-top character design. Granted, the eyes are still pretty big and the designs are slim and perfect, but it’s dialled back with natural hair and age-appropriate clothing. You can definitely show this to a younger audience without worrying about fan-service. The scenery is very natural and subdued and frequently chooses to focus on the balance between nature and man-made structures with a hint of magical playfulness. There’s a real feeling that behind every corner is a sleeping deity or a strange little creature playing in the grass.

If you want to check out the low-key phenomenon that is Flying Witch, the anime is currently streaming on Crunchy Roll (and is one of the few series that can be watched on the site without a subscription). There doesn’t seem to be a DVD option just yet but Sentai Filmworks has bought the rights and will be releasing a dubbed version. I also highly suggest the mangas which, just like the anime, are super fun and will allow you to keep following Makoto’s adventures past the anime. At the time of writing, there are currently seven translated volumes.

So if you’re looking for your next supernatural show or just simply want something to mellow down with, check out Flying Witch! Just don’t be surprised if you suddenly want to become a witch yourself.

Comics Retrospective: Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Do you remember that brief time in the nineties when Melissa Joan Hart was the Queen of teen? With her fashion forward outfits and sharp take on teen/tween issues, she became an unofficial icon of young girls in ugly overalls everywhere, taking her unique brand of YOU-nique across the after-school TV plateau spanning from Clarissa Explains it All to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Unfortunately, I’m not here to praise the wonders that is Her Royal Majesty Queen Hart, but instead to explore the in-and-outs of that magic, boy-obsessed wonder girl that is Sabrina. While Hart may have revived her for the nineties kids market, Sabrina has a long history in TV, print media, and, most importantly, comic books.

Sabrina was the brainchild of writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, first debuting in an October 1962 Archie off-shoot comic called Archie’s Madhouse #22. The Madhouse series primarily focused on nonsensical one-shots of the Riverdale gang, yet by issue #19 it had all but dropped them in favor of monster/space stories and one-off characters doomed to never come back again. Unless of course, that one-off character became popular. Sabrina, much like every other character, was intended to live and die in the pages of Madhouse, but something about her clumsy, witchy ways and endless wardrobe of clothes really spoke to the audience. As readers demanded more of her, she became a regular addition to the Madhouse crew before making her transition into one comiof Archie Comics’ biggest characters, allowing her to flesh out her background.

Sabrina’s premise is that she is a witch born to a wizard father and a mortal mother, making her half-witch, and she lives with her witchy aunts Hilda and Zelda Spellman (who, contrary to belief, were actually quite ugly) in the town of Greendale. The women also lived with a cat named Salem who was once a human but was transformed into a cat as punishment for world domination. While attempting to be a normal teenager, Sabrina also has to train in magical duties, which early on, were primarily to serve as a jinx to the town of Greendale. Unluckily, she seems to lack the skills required to be a real jinx and more often than not, ends up either zapping herself or *gasp* helping others! But, with undying support from her aunts and a determination to become a real witch, she tries and tries again, which would be way easier if it wasn’t for all the cute boys and dances to distract her!

Clearly, Sabrina was a relatively uncomplicated character, which worked in her favor as her popularity grew. After her run on Madhouse and a brief stint on Archie’s TV Laugh-Out, Sabrina got her own series in 1971 that ran for 77 issues and ended in 1983. A second comic series came out in 1995 following the success of the live action show, and incorporated a lot of elements from the TV series. That series ran for two years, topping off at 32 issues. A third comic series was later launched based on 2000’s Sabrina the Animated Series; this rebooted the series, making our our young witch an even younger 12 year old! By the 38th issue of said work, she was returned to her usual high school setting and in #57, ended up undergoing a manga makeover which lasted until the series end at issue #104.

Sabrina’s most recent (though currently on hiatus) incarnation is entitled the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a dark reimagining of Sabrina’s powers and the witches as a whole. A TV show based on this comic is currently in the works and is rumored to be released later this year via Netflix. Having read the comic myself, I can assure you that if the show is true to the source material, shit’s gonna get real dark, real fast.

So, after several decades of shows, cartoons, comics, and more merch than you can shake a wand at, are the Sabrina comics worth the read? Well, having read a couple of the series myself, I can say: yeah, kind of. In attempt to grab hold of the nostalgia market, Archie Comics had recently reprinted a collection of original Sabrina comics (which, being a fan of old horror, I HAD to pick up) and I can say, it’s okay. It’s definitely not scary, which of course I expected, and the jokes are cheesy as all hell, but there’s a certain charm to it that’s hard to miss. Sabrina is a unique character and embraces her love for mischief and all things creepy and crawly, something that wasn’t common in the female archetype of Archie Comics at the time. She frequently messes up and is a true wild child, making her perfect for those of us that are less than perfect ourselves, unlike those Bettys and Veronicas out there. The original comic was fun and I couldn’t help but root for Sabrina to succeed.

As stated, I’ve also picked up the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and I highly, HIGHLY, recommend it not only for Sabrina fans, but anyone who’s into occult horror. This comic is amazing! I don’t want to give anything away but let’s just say that Sabrina’s powers come from somewhere a lot darker than we thought. It’s a huge bummer that the series ended up on a hiatus at issue eight despite the positive reception, and this reviewer hopes that the Netflix show will help relaunch the series.

All in all, Sabrina may not have ever been as big as Archie or Jughead, but she has definitely left a much more permanent and irreplaceable impression than anyone else from the Archie Comics line. Her can-do attitude, solidified with Queen Hart’s special brand of girl power, has made her a female icon and carried her well past any expectations her original creators had. Hopefully this is still the beginning for the little witch that could. Here’s to another 50 years of the old gal, may she forever reign!

 

Bedtime Games #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

We all carry around our own personal tragedies. Things we did, things we saw, things we regretted. But, much like taxes and death, you just can’t avoid it and in the end, it all comes down to how you manage the damage. But hey, it’s not like there’s something out there feeding on your fear and anger like an IT-like clown from Hell, right? Well, for the three kids in Bedtime Games, it’s just never that easy. A story of tragedy and survival mixed with a hefty dose of Goosebumps, Bedtime Games explores the frailty of human life and how easy it is to get consumed by its (literal) monsters. While the comic is solid in its representation of the human end, the horror part comes off as a watered down version of several more popular franchises, giving the work an interesting but wholly unoriginal feeling.

The comic focuses on three high school kids who are about to enter their senior year. With their last summer of freedom setting behind them, they decide to end the season with an exploration of an underground tunnel that connects the school to the park. As they each decide if they want to go in, the comic cuts with flashbacks of the kid’s lives. Avery is haunted by the sudden murder of her mother, Owen by his brother’s disease, and Jaime by his ever-growing hatred for his father. These narratives soon intertwine into their lives, requiring the immediate release of spontaneity for them to forget, which naturally leads to the tunnel. But what exactly lies in the tunnel and why did the last kid who went in there die? The only way to find out is to solve the riddle of the Mr. Bedtime but he seems to have plans of his own.

Bedtime Games is like if Locke and Key, Evil Dead, and IT had a baby and the baby rolled a +1 on charisma. It’s got good ideas and the premise is great, but something about it just doesn’t click. It’s too much of the same thing. It feels like it’s really trying to appeal to the teen audience but doesn’t want to stray too far from the tried and true so it just comes off as a heavier Goosebumps story. Releasing ancient evil from a book while struggling with personal demons, you can pretty much guess where this story is going (or not, which would be the real surprise). That being said, I do like the characters, who act as one would expect after dealing with the trauma they have. Avery hides behind a mask of cynicism, Jaime suffers in grades but improves in comedy, and Owen is simply regressing to a younger age. It’s interesting to watch them deal, or not deal, with their problems while attempting to squeeze one more ounce of fun from their childhood. You really end up feeling for them and secretly hope them the best.

The art, much like the comic, is not the best but has a few appealing details. The character illustrations are pretty wonky and, when not disproportionate or awkwardly angled, are stiff and unnatural. The artist seemed to struggle with doing both facial expressions and gesture art and either chose one or the other, or simply smashed them together in hopes that they would work. I did dig the inking style that went for a more scratchy shadow work instead of block shadows and the colors were perfectly chosen to look like late summer. The backgrounds were well done as well and showed a solid level of commitment to the comics world, which, with a few well-done splash pages, at least attempts to pick up the slack of the transitionary panels. I’ve seen worse, that’s for sure.

If you’re in the market for a mid-level horror that won’t challenge you but, like being a tourist in Vietnam, might make you feel something, check out Bedtime Games. Out now!

By Night #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Best friends are like pickles. They live in a jar, you eat them when salty, and they complement the hell out of a sandwich. Alright, that was a terrible comparison, but you get the idea. Best friends are fun. So what happens when best friends drift apart? When there are words unspoken and the gap of time only makes things worse? Well, you get By Night. A story about two friends reluctantly reconnecting, this sci-fi tale of interdimensional proportions is as much as a story about exploring the unknown as it is about healing old wounds and chasing forgotten dreams. With a stellar introductory issue, By Night #1 spends the majority of its pages building up (or breaking down) the relationship between the two main characters before dropping the reader into the deep end. This is one urban explorer book that explores more than just vandalized subway tunnels.

The comic follows our main protagonist Jane who works full-time in a bio lab after giving up her dream of being a documentarian. Though not satisfied with her life, she has come to accept that she did the best she could and has become a proper adult. That is until her old friend Heather shows up on the doorstep of her work. Blue-haired and wild, Heather floats back into Jane’s life and immediately asks her out for a drink. Despite her acceptance, there’s a thick thread of tension between the two friends and it seems that neither are particularly eager to see each other. At the bar, Heather once again ropes Jane into an adventure, this one set against the backdrop of urban exploring and Jane’s old film-making passion. But things are never quite as they seem and as schemes and plans boil to the surface, other worlds begin to peak their ugly heads in.

By Night #1 is your standard first issue. It has character introduction and small bits of action topped off with a cliffhanger. There’s nothing particularly sci-fi until the end and would make a better first chapter to a graphic novel than a stand-alone first issue. That being said, as far as introductory first issues go, this one is pretty great. It’s not just about two friends who reconnect after several years, but two friends who have a long and sordid history that neither of them want to deal with. The writer John Allison does a great job of creating tension and antagonism without going the obvious route of having the characters immediately start yelling at each other or being dicks. It’s a lot closer to real life, where a person smiles and nods and swallows their hatred deep down into their gut. It’s interesting to watch them navigate the old friendship, including all the memories that come with it, and how, despite Jane’s reluctance, she still can’t say no to Heather, even against her better instincts. At this stage of the comic, the sci-fi is merely a background to the fragility of human relationships.

Though we don’t get to see the artist’s rendition of space or monsters yet, we do get to see her skill on the everyday nuances of slice-of-life comics. Christine Larsen, who has done work on the Adventure Time comic, takes her experience in young adult illustration and applies it to By Night. The main characters are visually unique from each other (though not so much for the extras) and the simple color work is easy on the eyes. It’s not particularly outstanding but it fits the bill. Together, Allison and Larsen make a fun, interesting read that keeps the reader intrigued until the last page and really, isn’t that all we want out of our comics anyway? It’s at least worth the look.

By Night #1 is out now!

Sword Daughter #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

You know what’s cool? Vikings. You know what else is cool? Samurai. You know what’s the coolest thing ever then? Yup, Vikings fighting Samurai. And no, I’m not talking about that Cowboy Ninja Viking comic from nine years ago about a dude with a split personality (which will be a movie in 2019), but a legit Vikings fighting Samurai comic. Helmed by Brian Wood, the powerhouse behind the Viking epic Northlanders, Sword Daughter follows the life of a father-daughter team as they hunt down those that are responsible for burning down their village. But this isn’t another Lone Wolf and Cub scenario; this dog and puppy don’t exactly see eye-to-eye and clash with each other as much as they clash with their enemies. A tale of family, blood, and spectacular revenge, Dark Horse Comics’ latest work writes a poignant tale of blood that’s not always thicker than water and the lengths one goes to set things right.

Sword Daughter opens up on fairly mute girl name Elsbeth, one of two survivors on a village attack in Viking conquered Europe. The other, her father Dag, goes into a coma for ten years, waking up just in time to find his daughter a wild creature surviving by trading with whoever she can and burning with revenge. When they finally re-unite, Elsbeth follows her father, who is also looking to avenge his fallen family, as he searches for answers about the group who attacked his village a decade prior. He learns that he’s looking for a tribe called the Forty Swords, a masked gang of marauders that rule the mainland of his land though violence and intimidation. With his daughter on his heels, they go together looking for answers only for him to learn that Elsbeth might have old scores to settle with him as well.

Brian Wood does a lot with this comic despite being allowed to never have to write Viking comic again after four years of Northlanders. What he did with the short-anthology format of Northlanders he does with Sword Daughter, that is, stuff it full of blood and feels. You get a real feel for both the father and daughter, who had spent ten years away from each other, and how that time had completely destroyed that relationship. Aside from revenge, neither of them have any connection left to each other and are only together due to blood and fate, something that isn’t lost on Dag. He knows he has lost his bond to Elsbeth and is, in a very macho and Viking way, attempting to reconnect by not throwing her off a cliff when she tries to steal his sword. It’s a lot sweeter than it sounds. Elsbeth, on the other hand, completely evokes the lone-wolf aura of her years of lone survival and even in the first issue, you really feel for her. In a time of male power, she survives on her own, a very powerful statement to the tenacity of her will. Their bond speaks to the dynamics of parent-child love and all the complications of having a strained relationship.

Of course, we can’t forget about the samurai and yes, they are very cool. We don’t get to see a lot of samurai action in the first comic, but the brief glimpse we do get shows them to be a group of Vikings dressed in masks and Japanese inspired armor covered in thick fur capes. Their story is just as shadowy as they are and they seem to revel in the chaos they leave in their wakes. It’s a plot picked right up from classic samurai stories! Sword Daughter is very much an East-meets-West type of work that fans from across the board should appreciate and the accompanying art is nothing to sneeze at either. Handled by Mack Chater, the illustration is solid and straightforward with a solid amount of scratchy art for when things get…scratchy. Elsbeth’s dialogue is cleverly replaced with symbols instead of words, giving her a more feral feeling than her father and fits perfectly with the aesthetic of the story. Overall, the writer and illustrator play well together and I hope to see more of their teamwork in the future.

Sword Daughter #1 is out in less than week! Treat yo’ self!

Flavor #1

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

Babam! Welcome to Flavor Town where the currency is flavor and everyone is rich! And no, I’m not talking about some crappy vape town where the air is thick with cotton candy flavored clouds and backwards hats, but a REAL flavor town, you know, like with food. Well, unfortunately, this isn’t a real place, but if you ever wanted it to be, then the comic Flavor is right up your alley. A mystical world of rare spices and one-of-a-kind restaurants, Flavor is the story of a girl with a dream of running her family’s restaurant in a village known for its good eats. But when she learns she only has three months to turn the business around, it’s time to kick things up a notch! All she needs is a dream and her dog, right? Well, not everything is at seems within the borders of her world. A fun encompassing read that’ll be appreciated by fans of big fantasy, this Miyazaki-inspired foodie work will leave you *hungry* for more.

Flavor opens with our heroine Xoo (pronounced Zoo? Hoo?) as she bikes at top speeds through the a yet-to-be-named, walled-off city famed for its food and chefs. Hoping to get her hands on a precious spice known as Garuda Truffles, she falls short of accomplishing her goal when her rival sabotages her chance. Luckily for her, he gets hauled away by the town police but unluckily, she has to walk away empty handed. As she heads back home, in another part of town, her uncle arrives and is immediately met with a Mrs. Tee, who proceeds to tell him about Xoo’s family and why he was called down, allowing the comic for some exposition. You see, Xoo has been skipping school for six months to help her ill parents run a restaurant, which is a big no-no, for in the eyes of the law, she’s an underage, unregistered chef. An odd crime, for sure, but a very serious one in the walled town, and now her uncle must help his family or they will be separated and the restaurant shut down. Xoo is by no means happy about it, but she reluctantly agrees if it keeps Mrs. Tee off her back. Especially in this town, where the cops have a very destructive way of dealing with law breakers, one that lies beyond the walls.

Issue one starts off with a ton of exposition and helps set up Xoo’s world, which there is a lot of. From the swarms of chefs, to the police, to the delicate situation of Xoo’s parents, there is a lot that needs to be explained before the comic can really dive into the story. That being said, the comic handles the exposition beautifully. The writer Joseph Keatinge smartly dodges the ‘talking head’ syndrome and instead handles most of the introductory story through action. Characters are constantly grabbing things or walking through the luscious scenery, giving a very natural feeling to everyone’s interactions. They move while they talk and react to the actions around them which is very hard to pull off in comic medium. Too many comics rely on the reader to fill in the blanks of subtle movement when characters talk, but this one actually does it. It’s kind of like watching a well-done cartoon or, as mentioned, a Miyazaki film. The work really seems alive, it’s wonderful.

Another notable achievement is, of course, the design and illustrations of Flavor’s world. The art is much more inspired by high-end cartoon illustration than true comic art which works well with the vibe of the work. There are some serious moments in it, but overall, it’s a light comic and requires and a fun hand to handle the visual, which is perhaps why Wook Jin Clark was picked up for it. Having previously worked on Adventure Time, he’s got a great eye for detail and reaction timing (which is especially important when working on cartoon-turned-comic work). Clark definitely spends his time on Flavor, especially with the varied individuals that make up the comic. Each one is drawn to look distinctive from one another and come with their own physical traits. I especially like the towering, masked police force that seem to be the complete opposite of the plainer citizens and the unique, tiny stature of Mrs. Tee. He even manages to make the roving woods outside of town seem interesting with the larger-than-life statues that are inexplicably placed throughout the forest, creating a strange habitat for the… well, you’ll have to read the comic. Let’s just say, this comic becomes much more than just a food fight.

Flavor #1 is a wonderful work handled by talented individuals who are dedicated to telling a story that’s both close to home and farther away than we can imagine. Trust me when I say this, it’s highly recommended. Out now!

The Ghost, The Owl

Posted on by Svetlana Fedotov

You ever catch your dog staring aggressively into a corner of your house or your cat batting around an invisible ball? Spoiler alert: you’ve got ghosts. Between you and your pet stands centuries of ghostly entities ready to rip you to shreds, if wasn’t for ol’ Rover keeping them in check. You may not believe it, but for millennia, animals have been thought to be more finely in tune than us with the supernatural world and some are even rumored to foreshadow death simply by hanging out outside your bedroom. In Action Comics’ The Ghost, The Owl, we get an in-depth view of one of these creatures with “the sight” as an owl helps a lost ghost remember who she was. Wonderfully illustrated, this dark fairy tale swirls in and out of the pages, but ends up promising more than it can deliver with its more style-than-substance approach. If you ever wanted some watered down Gaiman, this is the book for you.

The book centers on a ghost and an owl who happen to meet each other one night in the deep, dark woods. Eager to help the amnesiac spirit, the owl begins by asking the other forest creatures to search for anything out of the ordinary. With no luck, the two get a clue in the form of an angry man on the edge of the woods. For reasons unknown, the man is obsessed with a woman who lives in a cabin and will go to any means to get her property or her heart. As his anger turns volatile, the ghost and the owl are forced to intervene, incurring the wrath of beings much higher than themselves. As they journey together through the night, will the owl be able to help the ghost remember herself, or will she forever be lost in the haze of the unknown?

The major selling point for The Owl, The Ghost is definitely the art. It’s a beautiful, hand-illustrated work that ranges from acrylic paints to color pencils and it doesn’t skimp on the detail. Every page has something interesting tucked away in the lines, urging the reader to look deeper at the work. It’s a phantasmagoria of the night time forest! Unfortunately, what the artist brings in animal and plant illustrations, she leaves behind in character design. Contrasting with the realistic art of the animals, the Ghost character is wildly cartoonish, with large eyes and a doll like head, creating a garish contrast to the work. I mean, sure, it’s a ghost, we can let it slide for a bit of creative license, but further on, we get introduced to the man and woman characters, and their style matches neither the realness of the woods or the anime aesthetic of the ghost. Instead, they’re more of a cross between outsider art and bad RPG board game design. It’s a bit of a visual mess with the only tie-together being the color work, which is consistent throughout. That being said, I do adore the absence panels, so at least the transitioning is pretty smooth.

The story for The Owl, The Ghost has its up and downs, but ultimately ends up being used as catalyst for the art instead of existing on its own. I like what it was trying to do, that is, a ghost mystery with animals as the focus. It’s got all the right ingredients to hook the reader, from the spirit in the woods to animal gods, but it falls short of having any real oomph to it. Perhaps it’s the fifty two page limit, but the story comes off as rushed and feels like a lot of the plot got left on the cutting room floor (and, to be honest, you can do a lot with fifty two pages). I especially disliked the man and woman characters who seemed to be ham-fisted and there to simply move the plot onwards. They were boring and one dimensional and even the artist seemingly didn’t like drawing them. Also, this was as much of a mystery as Nancy Drew is a detective which, if you’ve never read Nancy Drew, it mostly consists of her hanging around somewhere until the culprit reveals himself. In the end, the comic’s protagonists didn’t really solve anything either; they just hung out until it solved itself.

All in all, The Owl, The Ghost is less comic and more of a portfolio for the artist and would probably appeal to young readers more than anyone else. But if you just have to check out the wonderful art for yourself, the book is on stands now.