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. Here’s a compilation of comics from the month of August which are new reader-friendly and worth reading.
August is a lighter month than previous but was still full of great reads featuring hip hoppers, private detectives, henchmen misadventures, beautiful people, charming love stories and the Big G.
Doctor Who: Four Doctors #1
Written by Paul Cornell. Art by Neil Edwards. Published by Titan Comics.
This is the first instalment of a 5-part weekly Doctor Who comic miniseries which features four doctors for the price of one. Featuring Doctors 10-12 as well as the Wartime Doctor, this issue creates all the set up for the next four issues as the three Doctors meet all in the same place causing big trouble in the time paradox. Doctor Who fans will be satisfied with the writing which captures the voice of the characters you know and love perfectly and the art is very expressive. Don’t worry if you’ve haven’t been reading the Doctor Who comics, this is a great jumping on point.
Hip Hop Family Tree #1
Written and art by Ed Piskor. Published Fantagraphics Books.
Hip Hop Family Tree is a documentation of the history of the hip hop music genre and culture in comic book form. In this first issue we get 25 pages which cover the mid-late 70s when hip hop was still in its infancy. It’s oozing with passion and you can tell that not only has cartoonist Ed Piskor done extensive research that he is also a massive hip hop fan. His art is full of personality and it’s presentation is fantastic, looking like an aged Marvel comic from that period that has only just been unearthed. For those who’ve already read this in graphic novel format it’s worth taking a look at the single issue editions as there’s a batch of exclusive extras including art and lengthy commentary.
Howard the Human
Written by Skottie Young. Art by Jim Mahfood. Published by Marvel Comics.
Howard the Human is a quirky private detective story around the sole human in a city of animals. Jim Mahfood’s art is the highlight of this standalone story and is bombastic, wonky and colourful while still washed with an underworld brush. This could have maybe benefited from a few extra pages in order to flesh out the ending, but overall and enjoyable read.
Godzilla in Hell #2
Written and painted by Bob Eggleton. Published by IDW Publishing.
Godzilla in Hell #2 is an accessible read which features the beautiful fully painted work of Bob Eggleton. Bob narrates Godzilla’s journey through Hell, meeting foes of many kinds. With a classic style if painting, Eggleton has taken inspiration from works such as Gustave Dore’s Dante’s Inferno and others. Don’t stress that it’s issue #2 in the series as each creator gives their own take on the theme which makes it self-contained while still being part of a larger story.
Hank Johnson, Agent of Hydra
Written by David Mandel. Art by Michael Walsh. Published by Marvel Comics.
This is a mash-up of Marvel Comics, Venture Bros and Curb Your Enthusiasm to create a humourous one-shot about the social awkwardness of a henchman of Hydra. David Mandel (writer on Sienfeld and executive producer on Curb Your Enthusiasm) successful gels all these elements together for what is a amusing read. In the art department, Michael Walsh captures the comedy perfectly while at the same time giving tribute to Jim Steranko’s classic S.H.I.E.L.D. comic.
The Beauty #1
Written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. Art by Jeremy Haun. Published by Image Comics.
The Beauty #1 is a strong début introducing readers to the characters, concepts and kickstarting an interesting story with a twist at the end that has want me wanting to know what happens next. I’m not a huge fan if procedural crime drama but this worked well when mixed with the mild science fiction to turn the genre on its head. Jeremy Haun’s art is strong with expressive characters and panel layouts which pace the narrative well.
If you’d like to know more about The Beauty read my chat I had with Jeremy Haun about the series.
Secret Wars: Secret Love
Written by Michael Fiffe, Felipe Smith, Jeremy Whitley, Marguerite Bennett and Katie Cook. Art by Michael Fiffe, Felipe Smith, Gurihiru, Kris Anka and Katie Cook. Published by Marvel Comics.
This is a one-shot anthology centred around the the theme of romance through Marvel characters. Of the 5 stories each is quite different to the last with plenty of variety from the series to the silly and the downright cute. With most anthologies not everything will be to your liking but there’s plenty of meat in these stories that you’ll find something that you will enjoy. It’s great to see Marvel take a gamble on romance stories as it’s something that I believe is missing in comics at the moment.
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