Sometimes, I just don’t have time to do a full review of recent comics on the site. But, with so many great new comics coming out every week I wanted to at least give out some kind of recommendation. Thus, the mini review was born. Sometimes appearing first on Facebook and Twitter, here’s a compilation of comics from the month of July which are new reader-friendly and worth reading. As an added bonus, I’ve included what I’ve tentatively labelled “Odd-ball Review”. As an further bonus I’ve included some comics from June that I missed out on previously.
This month we see a wide range of comics featured including odd crossovers, rebooted teenagers, Canada at war with the US, wild western heroes, 90s nostalgia, TV talk show antics and much more.
Let’s get onto the reviews!
We Stand On Guard #1
Written by Brian K Vaughan. Art by Steve Skroce. Published by Image Comics.
We Stand On Guard #1 is a strong debut with powerful first few pages. Essentially it’s a story about USA and Canada at war with each other 100+ years into the future. As always, Brian K Vaughan’s dialogue is great and Steve Skroce’s art is fantastic. I highly recommend you check it out.
Archie #1
Written by Mark Waid. Art by Fiona Staples. Published by Archie Comics.
Archie #1 is absolutely fantastic. Mark Waid has found the voice of these characters perfectly, bringing them into 2015. On top of that Fiona Staple’s art is beautiful! Even if you’ve never read Archie before I highly recommend this series.
Godzilla in Hell #1
Written and Art by James Stokoe. Published by IDW Publishing.
If you’re into giant monsters or simply amazing comic book art it’s hard to go past Godzilla in Hell #1. Highly recommended! ??
Cyborg #1
Written by David F Walker. Art by Ivan Reis. Published by DC Comics.
Finally Cyborg gets his own series! While it features an upgraded star and introduces the antagonist, the read meat of this story is looking at Cyborg’s relationship with his father and him dealing with being treated as a machine, instead of human. If you’ve never read the character before this is a good introduction.
Star Wars #7
Written by Jason Aaron. Art by Simone Bianchi. Published by Marvel Comics.
If you’ve ever wondered what Obi Wan Kenobi was doing all that time Tatooine, worry no more as this done-in-one story gives you some insight. With strong characterisation and development and great art this issue is great jumping-on-point if you haven’t been reading the current Star Wars comic with Star Wars #1-6 not required reading.
1872 #1
Written by Gerry Duggan. Art by Nik Virella. Published by Marvel Comics.
If you ever wanted to know what it would be like if Marvel characters were turned into a Western then this comic is for you. Nik Virella’s art looks great, being expressive and captures the vibe if a Western perfectly. Loads of Marvel Easter eggs too!
Archie Vs Snarknado
Written by Anthony C. Ferrante. Art by Dan Parent. Published by Archie Comics.
As you can probably assume, this one-shot is totally ridiculous. A string of Sharknados (tornado full of sharks) are heading for Riverdale and only Arch, Betty, Veronica and the rest of the gang can stop them. Expect plenty blood, guts, sharks and crazy situations in only the meeting of these two franchises can offer. If you’ve seen any of the Sharknado movies then you’ll have a general gist of what to expect. If you’re a fan of silly action/horror then this movie is for you.
Gotham by Midnight Annual #1
Written by Ray Fawkes. Art by Christian Duce. Published by DC Comics.
A solid one-shot story which acts a good introduction to those who have never read Gotham by Midnight before. It introduces those new to the series some of the characters and concept of the Midnight Shift (The paranormal instigative squad of the Gotham City Police) and other concepts the series and even gives an origin to the classic Hawkman villain, Gentleman Ghost.
And here’s a few comics from June that I missed out on…
Prez #1
Written by Mark Russell. Art by Ben Caldwell. Published by DC Comics.
Set about 20 years into the future Prez is a clever comic full of satire on politics, television, fast food, celebrity and other facets society. This satire leads to plenty of great jokes which will have you chuckling, but also have you thinking. Wrap that up in some fantastic art and Prez is a really fun comic that you should be reading.
X-Men ’92 #1
Written by Chris Sims. Art by Scott Koblish. Published by Marvel Comics.
If you loved the 90’s X-Men animated series then you’ll want to check this out. From costumes to dialogue you’ll have nostalgia wash over you. At the same time there’s enough new hear by tangentially tied to Secret Wars. (But don’t worry if you’re not reading it! You’ll be able to dive into this.)
Oddball Review
Avengers #239
Written by Roger Stern. Art by Al Milgrom. Published by Marvel Comics.
That’s right, the Avengers are on Late Night with David Letterman! The gist of the story is that Wonderman has been booked onto Letterman (to help his acting career) and has roped a group of reserve members of the team into joining him. But not everything goes to plan when an insecure millionaire crashes the show with a string of inventions in an attempt to beat the heroes to score some glory. This self-contained issue has some great gags from both Letterman and a few of the Avengers – especially Hawkeye.
Speaking of Hawkeye, this is also one of the first issues to deal with his loss of hearing as well as newly-wed status which will define the character for many years to come.
Avengers #239 can found for a few dollars on eBay, is collected in Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 1 and also digitally.
Have Your Say!
Do you agree with the reviews above? Can you suggest a better name than oddball review? Let me know in the comments below of via Facebook or Twitter.
Have your say!