New Comic Review - Venom #20

Name: Venom #20

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Al Ewing 

Artists: Cafu

Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles  

Every time that I think that maybe this time Ewing will let the ball drop, making the pace too slow to make it drag or make the story too convoluted to make me decide it's just too difficult to follow each month, he delivers such a brilliant piece of curveball to keep me interested in the future of his characters. 

This time the story focuses on Eddie Brock as he returns to wreck havoc in a new style. He goes on a road trip to restart the battle he left off. The unique way of storytelling by Al Ewing once again keeps the readers guessing what to expect in the future while keeping the angles fresh for the future of the series. 

The art and coloring seems a notch higher in quality compared to the past few issues this time. The characters are drawn quite detailed and the action scenes seem to jump out of the pages. This really added much to the overall quality of the end product as well as the level of entertainment . 

A near perfect issue in terms of enjoyment, this gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Cyborg #1

Name: Cyborg #1

Published by: DC comics

Writer: Morgan Hampton

Artist: Tom Raney

Colorist: Michael Atiyeh

Letterer: Rob Leigh

Like most people out there, my introduction to Cyborg's backstory was mainly through the 'Justice League' movie. And my exposure to him was through that and the 'Doom Patrol' show and part of events or team comics that I read. But I am sure glad that I decided to check out this new ongoing featuring Victor as it seems like the start of something quite promising. 

The story in itself is a great place for new readers to jump into the story of Cyborg. It uses various ways to inform readers the origin of Victor Stone, of his relation with his father and the Titans. While the author also establishes the upcoming threats and plot devices for our protagonist mostly sacrificing action bits rather focusing on establishing the plot threads. 

In the beginning I was quite sceptical about the drawing of the issue, but Raney with his unorthodox art style seems to work quite interestingly with Atiyeh's colorful expressiveness. The drawing is quite attractive overall with its unique nuances. 

I do wish more action in the future, but the execution so far with the interesting twist on the last page left me genuinely intrigued and hopeful for the future. 

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. 

Short Story Review - Death of a Silversmith by Graham McNeill

Short Story - Death of a Silversmith 

Writer - Graham McNeill

Series - Horus Heresy

Published By - Games Warkshop / Black Library

This is a very simplistic short story set in the early days of the Horus Heresy, the events set even before the fall of the Warmaster even truly began. The style was quite unique by the virtue of being narrated by a regular human, but it does shine light on a very important object/artifact from the age of the great crusade. 

The story happens aboard of the 'Vengeful Spirit' and includes a brief yet interesting cameo by Sejanus which is always something to enjoy. Most of the story deals with the silversmith remembering his past life and wondering about the true reasons behind his current predicament. The hints about the things to come regarding the grand scheme of things were the actual enjoyable aspect of the story. 

As with any Horus Heresy story, this will cater to the taste of the fans of the series who understand the context of the event and characters. I as a fan of the series liked the little tidbits of information that were on offer here. 

3.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Venom #17

Name: Venom #17

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Al Ewing 

Artists: Cafu

Colorist: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles 

After the events of 'Dark Web', Eddie Brock is left as a shadow of his former self with his memories in a jumble and his rage prevailing as he is stuck as Bedlam after being used as a pawn in the scheme by Madelyne Pryor and Ben Reilly. 

This issue tells a somewhat convoluted tale of Eddie's struggles both physical and psychological, and does it with some style. The fight scene with Darkoth was quite viscerally enjoyable and brilliantly drawn by Cafu. Despite being at times confusing, this type of storytelling by Ewing is really appreciated if the readers are already invested in the main character. 

To be honest, I was a bit sceptical with Venom's integration into the 'Dark Web' event but Ewing really did use the opportunity quite ingeniously leaving me quite optimistic as a reader for the future of the series. 

4 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: The High Republic #2

Name: Star Wars: The High Republic #2

Published by: Marvel comics

Writer: Cavan Scott

Artists: Ario Anindito, Mark Morales

Colorist: Frank William

Letterer: VC's Ariana Maher

The pace slows down quite significantly in the second issue of the new High Republic series, as the author tries to set up his team of heroes while introducing readers to some cameos by other characters featured in the works of the other creators. 

Vildar Mac continues his search for his mysterious assailant along with his companion and we get to learn more about the assailant this time. While this issue lacks action compared to the last one, it does end with a cliffhanger that is sure to keep fans of the franchise for the future of the series. 

The art is as strong as last time and it was great to see the landscapes of the fabled Jedha and the various species and races represented on the moon. The depiction of the characters from other creators as cameos was a fine additional enjoyment factor as well. 

All in all, this one lacked the spark and pace of the first issue, but still was certainly enjoyable. I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Comic Review - Predator #4

Name: Predator #4

Published by: Marvel comics

Writter: Ed Brisson

Artists: Kev Walker

Colorists: Frank D'Armata

Letterer: Clayton Cowles 

The new Predator mini-series have gone past its halfway mark, but the author managed to keep the story flowing despite it starting to become a bit predictable. The beautiful drawing also emphasizes this action packed issue to keep fans of the franchise enticed enough for the future. 

This issue focuses more on action compared to the past few, but tries to show more flashy armors and designs rather than focus on visceral battle scene which is saved for the last few pages and tries to introduce a new angle close to the end. 

We get to learn more about the situation Theta is in as our protagonist tries to survive being pursued by more than one Predators. The battle gets brutal pretty soon and readers are kept wondering how this confrontation might resolve. 

The drawing by Kev Walker seems to very well suited for the futuristic action scenes and his take on the beloved Predator armors are very eye catching and detailed.

Despite having quite a few positive, some of its issues do hold this issue back somewhat. All in all, this one gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me. 

New Comic Review - Batman #129

Name: Batman #129

Published by: DC comics

Writter: Chip Zdarsky

Artists: Jorge Jimenez, Leonardo Romero 

Colorists: Tomeu Morey, Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Zdarsky keeps his Batman run as tight and entertaining as ever in this issue, as we experience the mental and physical chase game that continues between Batman and his creation. The tension keeps building throughout the issue and culminates in an ending, that is sure to keep readers shivering with chills (pun intended) till the next outing. 

It begins with Failsafe figuring out the hiding place of Bruce and then the rest of the issue deals with the two of them trying to outmaneuver each other as Failsafe continues his relentless pursuit to kill Batman. And the ending once again will leave readers in a quite a predicament as it did to our hero. 

The art team once again delivered some fascinating action scenes. I really loved Jimenez's drawings of Aquaman in this one and his facial expressions seem to be getting better as well. 

The side story featuring the Joker detailing the adventures of the early days of Zurr-En-Arrh gets more interesting this time with duality and moral struggles of being a vigilante who has to deal with psychopathic killers and once more I was left wondering how this might tie into the main story in the future. 

Overall, another great issue, another 4.5 stars out of 5 from me.