Harley Quinn #20 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I've found that the current Harley Quinn series has managed to improve a lot over time. Whilst I didn't hate the way it began, the story didn't feel particularly engaging. Since then Harley has had to go up against a killer who hates her, been to prison, and made important relationship decisions. She's absolutely grown and evolved as a person during the last twenty issues.

Which is why it's fun to take a break from all of that for a few issues and just have some ridiculous fun in space. After so many street level issues it makes for a wonderful change of pace to head off to the moon to fight an other-worldly menace for a few issues.

I also like the group of characters that Stephanie Phillips has chosen to include in this story too. Most of them are the kinds of characters you kind of forget exist until they come up in a story. I'd forgotten that Batwing was a thing, and I couldn't have named Lashina if I'd have been asked. But they do all work well here, and the book is emulating the formula of the Suicide Squad well in the sense that it's bringing in some minor characters and throwing them into a wildly dangerous situation.

Perhaps this story is highlighting how Harley is a character that works better in a group than on her own, and that recapturing the feel of a Suicide Squad story it's reminding readers of how well she did in those books. I'm not saying that I want every issue of Harley Quinn to be this, but perhaps a revolving door of guest characters for her to work alongside, such as her recent adventure with Batwoman, would be a decent way to go with the series.

I also really like the art on this book. and for this particular story-line in general, and have found it to have been an improvement overall. I'd nothing against Riley Rossmo's art on the previous issues, but it's certainly a distinct style that I don't think is always going to be everyone's tastes.

With the series having gone to a weekly release schedule for August to try and finish this story in time for its Annual we've definitely being getting a lot more Harley than normal lately; but at least it's an enjoyable and silly story whilst its happening.

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Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino - Book Review

 

'Lou never believed in superstitions or magic--until her teenage aunt Neela is kidnapped to the goblin market. The market is a place Lou has only read about--twisted streets, offerings of sweet fruits and incredible jewels. Everything--from the food and wares, to the goblins themselves--is a haunting temptation for any human who manages to find their way in.

'Determined to save Neela, Lou learns songs and spells and tricks that will help her navigate this dangerous world and slip past a goblin's defences--but she only has three days to find Neela before the market disappears and her aunt becomes one of them forever. If she isn't careful, the market might just end up claiming her too.'

I've seen a few reviews for Not Good For Maidens that calls it a retelling of the Christina Rosetti poem Goblin Market, and I don't really see it. Other than the fact that both stories feature a market where goblins gather and that they try to temp humans in, it's completely different. The characters, the setting, the plot, everything about it stands on its own; and I think it really does Not Good For Maidens justice to call it a retelling when it's very clearly its own entity. It would be like referring to Superman as a retelling of Moses; they may share some basic similarities, but they're clearly different things.

Not Good For Maidens tells the story of Lou, a teenage girl who's grown up living with her mother, Laura, and her aunt, May, in the US. Her mother and aunt moved to America almost two decades before, fleeing something in the UK; though they won't tell her what it was. When Lou gets a frantic voicemail from her teenage aunt, Neela, who lives in York, it becomes clear that something terrible has happened to her. When Laura heads to England to try and hep Neela, Lou is left questions as to what is going on.

Convincing May to take her to York after her mother, Lou discovers a world of magic and horror that she could never have imagines. York is home to the Goblin Market, a place that exists beneath the twisting city streets, where goblins tempt humans to enter. As long as you follow the rules you're safe, but if you don't you can end up hurt, or dead. A coven of witches, which May and Laura used to be part of, protect the people of York from the goblins; but Neela, who will one day become a witch, has been taken into the goblin market and hasn't returned. Now Lou must try to find a way to help save her family from the horrors beneath, even as family secrets reveal some shocking revelations.

Not Good For Maidens is a wonderful mixture of YA fantasy, with some very dark and twisted horror. The goblin market is a dangerous, twisted place that's filled with some pretty awful things; and if you're something of a squeamish reader this might not be the best book for you. From jewellery made from human teeth, to eyeballs in jars, to rooms where the bodies of those people who didn't follow the rules are butchered to feed the goblins, there are a fair few moments that will make you pause and question how the visiting humans don't flee the market the second they see these things.

But despite the gore and body horror, this book doesn't revel in the moments that make your skin crawl. Instead, its a story about this family and the things that happen to them over two different periods. The narrative is split across two different times, with the main bulk of the book following Lou in the modern day as she tries to save her family, and the secondary narrative going back in time eighteen years to show us what happened to May, and the reason why she and Laura were banished from York.

The dual narratives work well together, and whilst we only occasionally dip in and out of May's story, it adds more flavour to the main narrative. Lou arrives in York and thinks about how overwhelming it feels, how the streets confuse her; so we get a flashback to May, who grew up there, and see how easily she navigated that life. Lou questions how anyone could possibly be tempted to go into the goblin market, especially if they knew the dangers; so we go back and see the reason why May entered it, even after growing up knowing what happens to humans there. May's story adds details that we'd otherwise lose out on in the main narrative; and it saves Tori Bovalino having to add chunks of exposition or have characters explain stuff. We get to experience it instead, and it makes the experience much more enjoyable.

The incorporation of May's narrative also means that when certain things happen in the present day we, the reader, get to understand their significance, we get to be excited, or shocked, when Lou has no idea what the things happening around her mean. There are some points in the modern timeline where you learn things that reveal some of what is going to happen in the flashbacks too, and whilst it means that you're not left wondering if a character survives, or if something terrible will happen to someone you care about, it just adds more tension because now you know what's coming, and you start to dread waiting for it to happen.

Both of the narratives have strong, young female leads, both of whom feel distinct and separate from the other. They're capable young women who both feel like there's something missing in their lives, or who want something different to what's been planned out for them, and we get to see them both grow, make mistakes, and forge a new path for themselves; even when those around them are telling them not to. It's also wonderful that both of them are queer, and that we get two LGBTQ+ leads in two different times. May is bi, and Lou is ace, and we also get other queer characters that feature around them too. There's also a queer star-crossed lovers narrative that weaves throughout the book that's a joy to read. So if you're looking for some good LGBTQ+ rep in a YA novel, this is one to certainly pay attention to.

Not Good For Maidens is very dark at ties, and isn't afraid to shock its reader with something twisted and gruesome; but it's also a wonderfully written story about very believable young women in these fantastical situations. The book has some great characters, and some super interesting world-building that happens that made it a delight to read. I hope that this isn't the last we see of these characters and this world, but if it is, it was a brilliant time all on its own.

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Black Adam #3 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

So, things are starting to make a bit more sense with this issue of Black Adam as we learn that Adam never actually fought against Desaad, and is instead being put through some kind of trial from a bunch of gods.

Whilst this reveal makes a bit more sense, and brings Adam back into his more closely related realms of magic and gods, rather than space gods, it does feel a bit off that two issues ago we thought he was fighting Darkseid, only for it to be revealed it was a fake Darkseid made by Desaad; which has now been revealed to be a fake Desaad made by an ancient god. Are we supposed to be able to trust anything we're seeing?

I don't know if I'm supposed to be expecting everything that I'm seeing to be fake, or some kind of trick now, but thanks to these fake outs I'm left very sceptical of everything that's happening. If that's the goal, fair play, it certainly means that I'm going to be reading things very carefully and always going to be second guessing stuff from now on.

I liked the introduction of the Mesopotamian gods though, I think it's an interesting direction to take things; and as far as I'm aware we've not really had them appear before so it adds something new to the DC universe. However, it's still not clear why things are happening. Why did these gods infect Adam, why did they cause him to get sick and die, and what do they want with him? All still a mystery; but hopefully one that we'll start to get answers to soon.

Back in the real world, Malik seems a lot more in his element now that he's in a hospital working on a patient. He's less 'in your face' and more focused, and a lot of the issues that I had with him from the first two parts of the series don't really seem to be here now as he's less quipy, he's not leaving sentences half finished, and seems less of a dick about things.

I like that he's not willing to fail, that whilst those around him have shrugged their shoulders and said 'well, guess Black Adam's dead' he's refused to accept that and is fighting for his patient. He's showing a stubbornness that's perfect for a character wanting to be a doctor, and him using the magical lightning whilst shocking Adam back to life with a defibrillator is a pretty cool move.

This series seems to be getting stronger with each issue after a bit of a shaky start. I'm still not the biggest fan of the way the book is written, but I'm willing to see where it goes and what's going to happen to Adam over the course of the series.

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Shock Shop #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Fans of horror will certainly enjoy the new Dark Horse series Shock Shop, as the book brings to mind classic anthology story series like Tale From The Crypt and Creepshow in this new flip book comic.

Depending on which order you read the book, which side you go for, you’re going to get to the stories contained within these pages in a different order, but whichever one you start with, first you get to meet Desdaemonia Nimue Moreau, the proprietor of the Shock Shop. With deathly pale skin, dark hair, and an old fashioned ringmasters uniform, Desdaemonia cuts an interesting figure, especially when you notice that her right hand is simply bone, the flesh having been removed. Her shop is home to all kinds of weird and wonderful spooky things, with shelves filled with creepy masks, old bones, and eyeballs, whilst the undead wander around out front. Whichever way you enter this issue, she tells you about a spooky comic book that you should pay attention to.

The first of these stories (that I read) is ‘Something in the Woods, in the Dark’, written by Cullen Bunn, with art by Danny Luckert and Nate Piekos. This story follows a group of friends hiking out into the wilderness together, making their way deep into a remote woodland. Straight away you can tell that something isn’t quite right, and that this isn’t your average fun adventure, when a few members of the group don’t seem to get along.

As the group settles down to camp for the night we get the chance to get to know some of them a little better, and learn that the tension is because two of the group are trying to repair their failing marriage. When one of the group heads out into the woods to take a toilet break, something begins stalking him in the darkness.

I really liked this story, and found that the set-up was really well done. The story spends time letting you get a sense of the group of characters that you’re following in a relatively short number of pages. Whilst I couldn’t tell you all of the characters names, you do start to get an idea of who are the more hotheaded ones, who are the more thoughtful ones, and what each of them thinks about Willa and Clark and their marriage woes. It give us a good grounding for the awful things that are to come as the horror elements start to rear their head at the end of the issue.

There are hints at what this story might be about, about what might be in the forest, but not enough for you to form a decent opinion of it. It seems to have a connection to one of the members of the group, but then that could be a misdirection. At this stage, it’s simply a solid start to a story that still has a lot to reveal.

The art on this story is my favourite of the two art styles on offer here, with really nice, neat art. Every character looks unique and distinct, which makes it easier to tell everyone apart. Where the art really stands out is in the colours and lighting. The camp setting looks great, with the dark greens and blues of the night covered forest surrounding the bright yellows and oranges of the camp fire. The art adds a lot to the atmosphere of the story, and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of it.

The second story, ‘Familiars’, is also written by Bunn, but with art by Leila Leiz, Bill Crabtree, and Nate Piekos. This story follows a divorced father as he buys and moves into a new house. As he looks around the home some of the panels are coloured all in red, and a faint hissing noise occurs, and it looks like something is watching the man as he inspects his new home. After he moves in he wakes up to find that all of his boxes have been unpacked, the house is all set up, and there’s even a hot cup of coffee waiting for him.

When is kids come to stay with him for the weekend the man is thrilled to show off his magic house to them, as objects fly around the room when he asks, and the house even helps the three of them to bake cookies and play around. But then his kids mention how the house is haunted, something the man hasn’t considered. He tells them that it’s not a haunting, but good spirits like elves helping out. And then we get to see just what is in the house with the three of them.

This is a fairly simple set-up, and has a feel that reminds me of something like a Goosebumps story, where a couple of kids come to stay in the house of their family member and learn that something spooky is going on. Of the two stories on offer here this one feels the most ‘family-friendly’ of the two, and the inclusion of the children has me wondering if perhaps this will be less focused on the overt horror elements, or could perhaps subvert expectations entirely.

The artwork on this story adds to this feel, with a big rougher art that has big, bold lines at times, and a much brighter colour palette to work with. Where the art in the first story was a part of the horror and helped to build atmosphere, here it almost seems to be doing the opposite, and it feels like a very normal, everyday home apart from a handful of panels. I suspect this is part of the plan, that you’re going to be lulled into a false sense of security before the more overt horror elements come into play in the next issue.

The first issue of Shock Shop features two very different, but entertaining first parts of two distinct stories. They both have good set-up, and some interesting ideas in them. Here’s hoping that issue two continues to be as entertaining, and the we perhaps get some more of the horror elements that are fairly light here.

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Star Wars: The Mandalorian #2 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The Mandalorian was a great TV show. The first live action Star Wars series, it had a lot riding on it, and expectations were high; and it managed to not only meet those expectations, but went above and beyond. Sadly, the comic never feels like it's doing that as we get instead a decent, but safe retelling of the first season of the show.

I know that there were some fans hoping that this series would do different things when it was announced, that perhaps we could get some stories set between episodes, or maybe even a prequel exploring the life of Din Djarin. And whilst I would have liked to have seen that, I wasn't against it being an adaptation of the show. Other comic adaptations have proven to be entertaining retellings, especially when they include new material or cut scenes.

But two issues into this series it doesn't look like we'll be getting anything like that, as there is nothing here that fans haven't already seen before, with this being an incredibly faithful copy of the show. 

Now, there's nothing wrong with that, and the story is still entertaining and is presented well with some good art; but the story being presented in this way does kind of highlight how magical the show was, and how a lot of that is missing.

The story still works, the characters are still interesting, and the action is still good, but it's never really more than good. You don't have the actors bringing nuance and subtle performances to the lines, and if you don't remember how it was presented in the show exactly certain scenes can feel a little 'less' because of that. The music that made the scenes with little to no dialogue work much better isn't here, and we don't have epic, sweeping shots with the camera because we have static panels. And whilst that doesn't matter most of the time you really feel the absence here in the second issue, where there are huge amounts of the story presented with no dialogue.

Perhaps the comic could have benefited a little with narration, with getting to hear what's going on in Din's head so that we don't have a dozen pages of him silently doing things. I don't know if that'd worked or not. But when it's just pages of art telling the story (a story we already know) it fell kind of flat to me.

With this series putting one episode of the show into each issue I know that things are going to kick-off next issue, and that there'll be more action and more character stuff coming, so perhaps these things won't bother me as much then.

Star Wars: The Mandalorian isn't a bad comic, but it's not as good as the show. And whilst it's fine to sit and read these once a month I know that once this book is finish I'm likely to never pick it up again, because if I want to experience The Mandarlorian again, I'll just watch the show.

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Dark Crisis: Young Justice #3 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I really thought that this issue was going to give us the big reveal, that by the last page we'd know who was behind all of this; but it absolutely tricked me and kept that information just out of reach. Fair play.

This issue sees our displaced trio coming face to face with the men who hurt them most in their pasts, and having to fight them. However, during the fight Cassie keeps encouraging the young heroes to kill the villains, and Bart keeps seeing strange things when he uses his speed; things that make him believe that he's in some kind of simulation or false reality.

The situation brings out some strong emotions in the group, and it ends up devolving into a fight that sees them split up; though it's probably fair to assume that this is somehow part of the manipulations going on.

When they're alone each of them gets visited by Cassie, who tries one last time to get them to accept that world that they're in and to give themselves over to it. Each of them refuse (though Conner comes the closest to saying yes) and they find themselves back on the Watchtower, where Cassie admonishes them, telling them they should have taken the easy option, and that 'he' will be angry with them now. She then unleashes a horde of angry heroes upon the trio.

So, with all the talk of the person behind this, of 'him' being angry and the boys needing to just accept this new reality I was convinced that we were going to get the reveal here, but the book holds it back. And it's kind of frustrating but in one of those fun ways.

I honestly have no idea who this is or why they're doing it. Whilst Pariah seems to be the most obvious suspect it just doesn't feel right compared to what's happening with the League. They're all in individual dream worlds, these three are all together. Those worlds seem to have an effect on those inside it, forcing them to believe that it's real, whilst Tim, Bart, and Conner seem well aware that this is fake and are able to fight against it. Plus, I don't see a reason why Pariah would target these three and pull them out of reality.

I'm hoping that we get the reveal of what's going on next issue, and that it's not something that's going to be held back until the final issue. I think we can get these answers and still have a lot of story to tell; so hopefully these revelations will come soon.

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Dark Horse – New Releases!

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Dark Horse have a lot of new books out this week, with a variety of titles on offer. And if you’re looking for something a bit dark, a bit violent, and with a slight horror bent, these titles might just pique your interest.

Apache Delivery Service

Written by Matt Kindt, with art by Tyler Jenkins and Hilary Jenkins, Apache Delivery Service is a dark story about a young soldier in the Vietnam War, who stumbles across something dark waiting for him in the jungle. The soldier, who spends most of his time out in the jungle alone, uses his tracking skills to find enemy combatants, before calling in air strikes against them. Despite being great at his job he still receives scorn from his fellow soldiers for being Native American, with them nicknaming him the Apache Delivery Service, despite the fact that he’s Navajo, not Apache.

When he discovers grizzly remains in the jungle, bodies stuck on spikes as some kind of twisted warning, he gets caught in a trap and wakes up in the home of a man who’s searching the jungle for fabled Nazi gold that was supposedly stashed there decades before. Now the young soldier has a choice: he can either return to his base, continue killing, or he can team up with the man to find the gold in order to gain a new life for himself.

Apache Delivery Service is a tonally dark book, one that puts some of the horrors of war at the forefront. Kindt doesn’t try to paint one side in the conflict as better than the other, and shows that the US troops were just as capable of awful acts as their enemies. The book focuses on these themes, and sets its lead character on a path where he has to confront some of the things he’s done, and makes him question what kind of atrocities he’s okay with going along with and excusing. The artwork reflects this, and has a wonderfully dark colour palette, and the art choices really help to bring certain scenes, and certain feelings to life. Whilst the story itself is engaging, the art is probably the biggest draw for this book.

Kali

Kali is a book that will appeal to fans of Mad Max: Fury Road and gritty, violent war stories, as writer Daniel Freedman crafts a story that exists in a nebulous time and place that dystopia lovers will enjoy. Kali is the leader of The Matrikas, a gang of touch biker women who rove the desert, drinking, fighting, and causing trouble. But as the book begins Kali is a prisoner of The Machine, a huge army that controls most of the desert. She’s been stabbed in the back by her former gang (quite literally) and left for dead. However, Kali isn’t prepared to go quietly into the night, and instead sets out on a bloody and violent path of revenge.

Kali is a revenge story, pure and simple. There’s nothing really beyond that single character motivation, and it dictates the story, everything we learn about this setting, and the characters. But you really don’t need much more than that as, despite the story being light on lore and giving readers relatively little information, you never feel like you’re lacking anything. Freedman has crafted a pretty tight story where you get to know the central character well, and where you never really feel like you get the chance to slow down and breathe as her quest for revenge takes her across the desert landscape.

The books artwork is provided by Robert Sammelin, and it’s incredibly beautiful in a worn down, lived in way. This is a world where everything feels old, where the weapons, vehicles, and clothing could come from any period from the 1940s onwards, and has this strange timeless feel to it. But it also feels old in the book, with small details of wear and tear on everything, making every panel a piece of art where you can stop and take in the tiny hints at what this world is like. The characters all look fantastic too, especially the women. Kali and her gang look sexy, but they’re not sexualised. Their outfits drip with personality, showing off what they’re like and how they navigate this world. And I love how natural they look. They slouch when sitting, their body shapes are real, they have folds and rolls when in certain poses. It feels so far removed from the super thin tones and often sexualised superhero women, and it just feels like normal women. It is incredibly refreshing.

Kali is an action packed revenge romp through a dystopian setting that features tough, beautiful women tearing their way through men to get what they want. A revenge story with a female twist, that will appeal to a lot of people.

We Have Demons

Scott Snyder is a name that some comic fans will be familiar with, thanks in part to his work with DC Comics, where he spent a long time on titles like Batman, and Justice League, as well as writing big events like Dark Nights Metal. We Have Demons is the first of his new creator owned projects, and much like his big DC event books, it feels clustered, overly complex, and ends up being pretty un-engaging.

The story follows Lam Lyle, a young woman who grew up with her priest father after her mother died in a car crash. When she was a little girl Lam was bitten by a venomous snake, and her father cut her arm off to save her life. She now has a high tech prosthesis in place of her arm. After her father dies, Lam learns of a secret that he’s been hiding her entire life, that demons are real, and that he and a group of secret global warriors have been fighting them. And now that fight has been passed on to her.

Whilst the plot for We Have Demons sounds simple enough it gets bogged down in overly complex concepts and ideas that make the plot pretty muddled. There are two opposing elements that came to Earth at the dawn of time, one good, one evil, and the evil one makes demons whilst the good one is used in weapons to fight them. Demons are also twisted humans, who can be anywhere and anyone, and the evil element is inside everyone on Earth and so anyone can become demons. And the demons wiped out advanced, ancient humans that we know nothing about.

It reminds me of elements of Dark Nights Metal, but in all the bad ways. Snyder seems to like his weirdly magic metals and elements. The plot begins slow enough, but moves at a very quick pace, throwing huge concepts around with multiple narrators that sometimes makes reading the story a bit of a chore. The fact that we only really get to know two of the characters, yet are given close to a dozen to follow and care for, hurts the book a bit too, and it feels like it could have used a tighter focus.

The artwork, provided by Greg Capullo and Dave McCaig is decent enough for the most part, and the early parts of the book are decent enough. However, once the demons start showing up the art begins to feel very messy and busy, and when there are multiple creatures on the page at once their shifting, twisted bodies all start to become a jumbled mess. The superhero outfits also feel pretty weirdly designed, and stand out against the rest of the book in an odd way.

We Have Demons feels like a throwback to the ‘gritty’ and ‘extreme’ days of 90s and 2000s Image and Wildstorm comics. Everything here feels like it’s being done for style over substance, and the result is a book that feels pretty shallow. The fact that the lead character is disabled, yet gets a magical high-tech prosthesis that just doesn’t seem to fit with the regular world setting also feels weird. Her mechanical arm works no differently to her regular one, and it erases her disability completely to the point where you begin to question why you’d have a disabled character if you’re going to do nothing with them. I really wanted to find something to like in this book, but it feels like an example of everything that’s bad about Snyder’s writing pushed to the max.

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DC vs. Vampires: All Out War #2 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

Man, do things keep going from ad to worse in the DC vs Vampires universe. Last issue we saw one of the last havens of humanity come under attack by the vampires, and here we find out that it resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, including some of our favourite heroes and villains. 

With the survivors split up and head off in different directions (with one of these groups transporting a hidden Supergirl to the last city) we follow one particular group consisting of Deathstroke, Booster Gold, Azrael, Bane, Midnighter, and Mary Marvel.

I really like this group, and the combination of personalities that we see play out across the course of this issue is quite good. Deathstroke is great in an almost heroic, leader-like role, it's fun to see Bane and Jean Paul getting along considering their history, and this more grizzled Booster is great. But the best is by far Mary, who doesn't seem to have let the end of the world dampen her spirits. She's delightfully cheery and chipper, even when people are dying around her, and it makes her one of the more stand-out characters in the entire series.

The down side of this is that I'm now going to be absolutely devastated if she ends up getting killed; which considering what this series is like is a distinct possibility. We ended up meeting a vampire hunting Jimmy Olsen this issue, who was actually pretty cool, and then lost him in the same story. But this is the way that DC vs. Vampires goes. You can't get attached to anyone.

We also find out what this little band of heroes (and I will use that term even though some were villains, as they're all heroes here) are planning. They're going to be travelling down to Florida in order to capture Weather Wizard in the hopes of taking him to one of the Lazarus Pits so that his vampirism can be reversed. All this so that he can change the weather, part the clouds, and bring sunlight back to Earth. It's a decent plan, but the downside is that the vamps know they're coming thanks to Billy Batson giving prophecies to what appears to be a vampire Lex Luthor (his face isn't clear, but it certainly looks like his armour at least).

The Back-up feature might be one of the most interesting and important ones that we've gotten so far in this series, as we get the first part of the story of how Dick Grayson becomes a vampire. Considering that Dick is behind all of this, that he's the man responsible for the destruction of Earth as we know it, this is a hugely important story. 

We don't get a huge amount of stuff happen with it here, as this first part is lying the groundwork, but because we know how it's ultimately going to end and what's going to become of Dick it's an incredibly tense read because you know something terrible is coming and you're afraid to see it, as much as you really want to know how it happens.

I wasn't entirely sure about this spin-off title from the first issue, but issue two shows that it has its own fun and interesting stories to tell in this universe.

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All or Nothing: A Zombicide: Novel by Josh Reynolds - Book Review

 

'Caught between murderous humans and hungry undead, a newly resurrected thief must survive a casino-turned-gladiatorial arena and his own growing blood-lust in this dark, yet vibrant splatter-fest from Zombicide

'When former career criminal Westlake finds himself semi-zombified and shuffling towards Atlantic City, he freaks out. He’s supposed to be dead, after all. Kidnapped, he becomes part of a savage gladiator-styled show for the amusement of a heartless overlord. Lucky for him, ex-cop Estela Ramirez and her crew of mishap heroes are already on their way to save him and stop the horrors being inflicted on the humans in good ol’ AC… if they can figure out a way to fly a plane there, that is. While trying to stay “alive” and resist the urge to gnaw human flesh, Westlake realises that while the zombies are pretty bad, the worst thing in this apocalypse is definitely the people.'

The previous entry in the modern day Zombicide series introduced us to Westlake, a career criminal who finds his life thrown completely off-kilter when the world comes to an end, and the dead begin to rise. And whilst the dead rising did help him out of a tough spot to begin with, the world coming to an end did kind of send his life in a direction he wasn't expecting. Having teamed up with a group of survivors to take over a remote compound, Westlake ended up being bitten and infected; and the last we saw of him was him driving a car away to lure the undead away from his new friends.

But if you thought that that was the end for Westlake, think again! Picking up a few months after the first book in the series, All or Nothing takes us to Atlantic City, where Westlake seems to come to from a weird, confused state. Was he suffering from a head injury, was it some kind of memory loss? Worse, he comes to consciousness to discover that he's long since dead, and has turned into a zombie. What does this mean or him, will he be able to keep him mind intact, how long will his undead body last? These are all questions that will have to go on pause when Westlake finds himself getting dragged into a war in Atlantic City.

A casino has been transformed into a haven from the zombies, but the man who runs it does so with an iron fist, and dreams of conquest. Worse still, a twisted scientist is experimenting on the zombies in the basement, and those captured by the casino forces are made to fight for their lives in an arena for the amusement of the casino residents. Westlake must try to do his best to stay alive (ish), and to help the innocents caught up in these evil schemes. Meanwhile, his friends at the Villa hear the call for help from Atlantic City, and set out on a rescue mission of their own.

All or Nothing does what the first book did, it gives readers great zombie action, interesting characters, and a fun story, but it also does what every good sequel needs to do, and ups the ante and gives us some cool new things too. The first, and most obvious, is that Westlake has become a zombie. It's hard to talk about this book and not address that fact. Westlake having become the undead alters his story in about the biggest way possible, and gives him something super interesting. Whilst his role as the reluctant hero, a shady character who's trying to do the right thing but doesn't want to look too good, was fine for one story, but couldn't really last for long. This new development gives the perfect excuse for him to change, to be a bit different. He seems much more willing to throw himself into danger this time round, to put himself at risk to help others; due in large part to him technically already being dead.

It makes things more interesting because it raises questions about what makes him so special, what led him to become this unique form of zombie. Is it something unique to Westlake, or are there others out there like this? I think it's fascinating how much this opens the world up, and it means that all kind of things could be possible in future books. Could another member of the group end up becoming a zombie? Could they discover a whole community of sentient zombies? And the questions that are at the forefront of my mind, will this last? Are we going to get to a point where Westlake rots away too much and falls apart, or could he lose his mind and end up becoming a monster? These are all things that make this series much more interesting than just another zombie survival story, and give it something a little extra exciting.

But, the book isn't just about Westlake. All of the survivors at the Villa make a return, and we get to see them go on a whole new adventure with them as they head off to Atlantic City to answer a distress call. This mission involves them having to break into an airport and steal a plane; something that's incredibly balls, but isn't even the wildest thing that happens to them in this book. It's great to see this group back, as they're a bunch of characters that were an absolute joy to spend time with last time, and getting to see them go off on an adventure that's even bigger and more dangerous than the last is a lot of fun; even if there are certain parts of it where you end up reading on thinking 'why would you do that!?'.

There are also some new characters introduced in this book, both allies and villains; and it's not always clear who's going to be which. The story that Reynolds crafts in Atlantic City is a really interesting one, and it feels a lot more dynamic and engaging than the first book, which was a very simple story of trying to capture one location. Here, it's not always clear who to trust, there are double dealings, and there's a sense that we've stumbled into the middle of a story that's been going on for a while. It makes the world of Zombicide feel bigger, more lived in, and more realistic.

If you're a fan of zombie horror this book has a ton of stuff in it that you're going to like. It has masses of zombies, corrupt humans out to better themselves, brave survivors going up against overwhelming odds, and weird, twisted new types of zombies. Whether you've ever played Zombicide or not, this book is sure to keep you thrilled throughout.

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The Flash #785 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The search for Barry Allen comes to a close in the latest Dark Crisis tie-in issue of The Flash.

The bulk of this issue is split between two of the three parallel worlds, with Wally and his kids being the main focus here. Which considering this series has been about the West family for a while now, feels kind of fitting.

On the Mad Max style world Max Murcury and Jesse Quick help to hold off the marauder forces whilst that worlds Barry takes a magical pearl inside a huge tower structure and smashes; doing...something? It's not really clear what this is going to do; and honestly, it doesn't really matter as this is all just stuff to keep two of the speedsters busy whilst other things happen.

On the dark world inhabited by Night-Flash, the twins learn about this worlds Flash from a kid they encounter, who tells that of how this version of Barry Allen got his powers, and how he has become a merciless dictator. Convinced that this Flash is evil, and that beating him will prove to their family that they have what it takes to be heroes, the kids set out to find him and stop his evil reign.

The only issue with this plan, it turns out that despite the frightening appearance and the way he was acting, Night-Flash isn't a villain; but the kid the twins are with is. Thanks to some help from Jay Garrick, who finally arrives in time, the twins are able to stop themselves from doing anything particularly bad, and help the Night-Flash in time.

I kind of like how this section subverted expectations, as I was convinced that this was going to be an evil Batman/Flash mash-up, but I was wrong. It's also a really good lesson for the kids, to not judge by appearances, to not trust so readily, and to be prepared to think on your feet and change in a moment's notice on the battlefield.

Now, for the important stuff. Barry (our Barry) is continuing to beat the shit out of Wally, thinking that he's the Reverse Flash there to hurt his family. And there's a moment when it seems like Wally is going to get through to him, but it's fleeting, as Pariah's prison world exerts its control over him and puts him back under its spell. Luckily, help comes in a surprising form, as Linda follows her family into the portal thanks to her new speedster abilities; and she knocks Barry off her husband.

This is the shock needed to break Barry out of things, and he gets brought up to speed by the others; and reveals to the Flashes that the League aren't dead, but trapped in fake worlds just like him. So, the Flash family heads back to Earth-0 to try and help against the villains there, whilst Barry heads off to find a way to free the League.

So, it looks like this has become a very important part of the Dark Crisis event, and that people who haven't read it could end up being surprised when Barry shows up out of nowhere in the next issue of the main series. Thankfully, I've been reading this, as it's been absolutely fantastic.

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