Comic Book Review: Week 01/14/15

So buying less comics per week is proving to be a really difficult resolution for the new year, I blame a lot of titles being cancelled and started up in January! Next week should calm down though wallet, I promise! Here’s the 8(!?) comics I bought this week.

Star Wars #1 by Jason Aaron (Writer), John Cassaday (Artist & Cover Artist)

Woah, what a nostalgia bomb! I couldn’t help but get this, even though it’s 4.99, even though I’m going way over my weekly budget…seeing the teaser for Episode VII recently made me remember how significant Star Wars was/is to me and this new series with Marvel just felt like a special moment I wanted a part of. That said, the issue was quite good, it felt very true to the movies as I remember them. I have good feelings about Jason Aaron based on what I’ve read of his Thor run. The art felt right. That all said, I don’t think I’ll continue reading single issues, it’s just not what I’m looking to be reading in comics right now, but I encourage you to check out Star Wars and make the decision for yourself.

Hexed #6 by Michael Alan Nelson (Writer), Dan Mora (Artist), Gabriel Cassata (Colorist), Ed Dukeshire (Letterer)

Every month. This book. Is so awesome. Hexed, how do you do it?

Art, writing character beats, this book has just been consistently great! Considering it’s coming from a non-big two (or Image) publisher, I feel that it deserves more attention. It’s about a magic-manipulating-thief lady who hunts down supernatural artifacts for the owner of an art gallery that is more than just an art gallery (at the moment the gallery is compromised, you’ll have to read the first arc to find out why). Oh, there’s also the intern who accidentally became a Necromancer.

If you’re not reading Hexed now, go read it! Go! Well, maybe finish reading this post, then go!

Batgirl #38 by Cameron Stewart (Writer), Brenden Fletcher (Writer), Babs Tarr (Artist), Maris Wicks (Colorist), Jared K. Fletcher (Letterer), Aaron Lopresit (Cover Artist)

Last issue had some controversy that put a dent in the image of a creative time that many felt couldn’t do wrong, but they apologized in a very mature way and I’m sticking with them for now.

This issue felt oddly meta, and explored social media stardom and its effect on people’s actions in the eyes of the public and the law. It brought up some hard questions about the need for vigilantes that  most other super hero comics either ignores or lampshades. Overall a solid issue, but the real draw for me was the cliffhanger. I really hope they finally explore this antagonist they’ve been teasing.

Shutter #8 by Joe Keatinge (Writer), Leila Del Duca (Artist), Owen Gieni (Colorist), Ross Campbell (Cover Artist)

This book is so crazy, and dark, but also whimsical, and I love it. If you want more of me raving about Shutter read my review of #7 which was the first entry in the current arc here.

A Voice in the Dark – Get Your Gun #2 of 5 by Larime Taylor (Writer & Artist), Jay Savage (Colorist)

I’m so glad to see this back on the stands, the creator has been going through a really tough time that’s lead to a long hiatus. I hope things will turn around for him this year and this awesome book about a college aged female serial killer will get the attention it deserves. If you liked the Dexter TV series or books you need to give this series a read.

A Voice in The Dark was a 7 issue run last year that covered Zoey’s first few murders, how she escaped scrutiny, and the beginning of her new life at college.

It’s been 72 days since Zoey killed someone. With her recent move to college, Zoey is eager to start a fresh chapter of her life – one where she can control her dark urges the way she has before. But when she becomes the host of a late-night campus radio show, Zoey must consider if she has given a voice to something far more troubled than her anonymous callers.

This current 5 issue arc picked up right where the first one left off with the discovery of the identity of another college student serial killer, one who may have a strong interest in Zoey.

This book is remarkable in many ways, not the least of which is its excellent pacing of suspense and character development, but also its inclusion of underrepresented body types, races, and sexualities.

The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #5 by Jen Van Meter (Writer), Roberto De La Torre (Artist), David Baron (Colorist), Dave Lanphear (Letterer), Kevin Wada (Cover Artist)

The last issue in this mini series pretty neatly wrapped the story up and sets up a statusquo for future adventures in The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Life.

I got into this series because the title and cover intrigued me, so only now that the mini is ending and there’s another coming did I actually do some investigation. It turns out this series, like I think all of Valiant’s stuff, is a reboot of a 90’s series The Second Life of Dr. Mirage. I didn’t realize until that I needed a mystery/crime solving Para-psychologist comic in my life but yet here it is! Check out Doctor Mirage’s reboot mini series, it will most likely come out in trade soon.

S.H.I.E.L.D #2 by Mark Waid (Writer), Humberto Ramos (Artist), Julian Totino Tedesco (Cover Artist)

I picked this up for three reasons: Waid, Ramos, and Kamala Khan! I got a few issues of the Amazing Spider-Man because of the Ms. Marvel guest appearance so here I am again drawn into another series by her and an excellent creative team. But with the immense popularity of the character I’m probably going to have to stop buying every issue she’s in or I’ll be even more broke than usual.

As a one-shot this was a pretty good issue, very in-character and cute moments with Kamala and you can see more scenes that demonstrate she’s at a stage where she shines well with mentoring. There’s hilarious moments of her Agent Coulson nerd debating. I don’t have any plans at the moment for reading more S.H.I.E.L.D.but I’m definitely happy to own this issue.

Operation S.I.N. by Kathryn Immonen (Writer), Rich Ellis (Artist), Jordan Boyd (Colorist), Michael Komarch (Cover Artist)

This was actually released last week and I flipped through it on a whim. My interest was peaked on page 3. I was absolutely sold on the character midway through and knew I’d be buying it. Peggy Carter is a character that has gotten more attention thanks to her appearances in the Captain America films and most recently her own television mini-series, Agent Carter. I haven’t watched the TV series yet but I’ll definitely try to now!

I’m not sure what connection this 5 issue limited series has with the Original Sin event, but it shares the same cover style. The story so far involves Carter and Howard Stark (Tony “Ironman” Stark’s father) meeting in Russia for explosive reasons that you’ll have to see for yourself.

Peggy Carter is just too freaking cool and I want to read more about her. And you should too. Go read it!