Graphic Novel Review - Bowling with Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown

Name: Bowling with Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown

Published by: Dark Horse Book

Writer & Artist: Mike Mignola

Colorist: Dave Stewart 

Letterer: Clem Robins

My experience with Mike Mignola is quite limited, as I have only read the first volume of Hellboy and a few other works from him here and there. So, it was quite a lot of fun to be acquainted with his unique style of storytelling and unorthodox art. And the concept of building a new world also resonated with me, satisfying an older craving.

Bowling with Corpses features the titular story along with a bunch of short stories telling some simplistic yet brilliantly depicted tales while introducing the boundaries of the setting. The storytelling technique is quite engrossing; often using the art and the overall setting reminded me of 'The Gods of Pegana', which is a book I still remember quite fondly.

What more can I say about Mignola's art that hasn't always been said. It creates a vivid sense of otherworldly sensation and dark brooding atmosphere that acts as the main force driving the story. My only gripe is that somehow I feel the art would have worked even better in black and white.

Hoping to see more from this world and quite eager to find out what happens to these characters in the future. I will give this 4 out of 5 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon

Name: Star Wars Hyperspace Stories: Qui-Gon 

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: George Mann

Artists: Andrea Mutti, Gigi Baldassini

Colorist: Vladimir Popov

Letterer: Comicraft's Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt

The new line of character centric 'Hyperspace Stories' initiative truly seems like a promising initiative. It is a great scope to tell fun stories featuring these beloved characters occurring throughout the vast timespan of the franchise. And the first entry is quite enjoyable in a simplistic yet poignant way.

The story is placed sometime before 'The Phantom Menace', while also incorporating a glimpse into Qui-Gon Jinn's time as a Padawan. The characterization was spot on and the cameo by Dooku was a nice delight.

It was nice to have the story focus on the greyer side of the force rather than a straightforward concept of light vs dark. I really liked the interesting yet less known cult that was a part of the story. The interesting story did make up for the relative scarcity of action.

The art was okay, but nothing extraordinary barring a few detailed backgrounds. I would have liked if the art was a bit more eye-catching.

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me mostly based on the interesting story.

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 3

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 3

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman, Ryan Kaufman, The Fillbach Brothers, Tim Mucci

Artists: The Fillbach Brothers

Colorist: Sigmund Torre, Pamela Rambo, Sno Cone Studios

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

It's been a while since I read the first two volumes of this series, but after starting this third one I was instantly transported into the world this series was inspired by. 

The first story 'Rogue's Gallery' features some of the fan favorite villains of the prequel era fighting between themselves, which was quite fun, but somehow seemed like a missed opportunity.

'The Package' is clearly the best story in this volume (maybe the best is the series so far) and the twist at the ending is such an enjoyable gut punch reminding us of the overall grimness of the situation.

The third story named 'A Stranger in Town' is kind of like a wild west story featuring Yoda and a bit weird with its action scenes.

'One Battle' is a Plo Koon story which is quite mediocre except for the interesting last line.

Overall score - 3.5 out of 4 stars.

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 2

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 2

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman, Welles Hartley 

Artists: The Fillbach Brothers, Welles Hartley 

Colorist: Wil Glass, Sno Cone Studios

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

The second volume continues with the style established by the animated series and the first volume, focusing on specific characters in separate events of the ongoing war. 

'Skywalker' is the first story featuring Obi-Wan telling Luke a tell of the heroics of his father during the height of the clone wars. Anakin does some pretty cool force hijinks and it as a cool ending foreshadowing the future. 

'Hide in plain sight' follows the duo of Luminara and Bariss, as the attempt to stop an invading force of General Grievous's army while also trying to save the civilians. There are some interesting messages and a short little cameo by Grievous. 

The third story is 'Run Mace run', which is a story of the one and only Mace Windu and has another cameo, this time featuring Count Dooku. Windu's drop ship gets destroyed, and he is the only survivor and has to fight through an army of droids to destroy a powerful weapon. Nice little story with an interesting concept. 

This one might be slightly better than the first volume but gets 4 out of 5 stars from me like the first one. 

Graphic Novel Review - Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 1

Name: Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Vol. 1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Haden Blackman

Artists: Ben Caldwell, The Fillbach Brothers

Colorist: Ben Caldwell, Sno Cone Studios, Ltd. 

Letterer: Michael David Thomas 

I started reading this just after watching the Volume One of the 'Clone Wars (2003)' series, maybe that's why I enjoyed reading this quite a lot. The simplistic nature of storytelling in short form with drawings similar to the show and enjoyable dialogue make this a fun read for any Star Wars fan. 

The first story is 'Blind Force' which features Obi-Wan and Anakin on the planet Nivek on a special mission. The story has enjoyable banter between the master and padawan duo, an interesting new species of alien enemies and some unique action sequences. 

The second story titled 'Heavy Metal Jedi' has Mace Windu and Saesee Tiin battling against the droid army in Iktotch. Both tries to establish the superiority of their own fighting style which creates an interesting scenario. 

'Fierce Currents' is the third story which despite featuring Kit Fisto is rather weaker compared to the other two. It tells of Fisto's encounter with an unorthodox enemy, but the ending was a bit too philosophical for my taste. 

This was a fun little graphic novel and gets 4 out of 5 stars from me for its nostalgic style. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #2

Name: Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #2

Published by: Dark Horse Comics 

Writer: Cecil Castellucci

Artist: Megan Huang

Letters: Comicraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt

Despite not being as good as the first issue, Hyperspace Stories continue to provide fun little one issue stories set in different time periods in the rich history of Star Wars. This time the story focuses on the legendary twin of Luke and Leia as they search for a safe haven for the Rebel Alliance after the destruction of the first Death Star. 

The duo reaches a seemingly harmless planet called Banas, but finds out that this little planet might not be as inconsequential as they first thought it to be and gets embroiled in a new battle for survival against the forces of the Galactic Empire. 

The story, while not adding much to the canon of the overall plot, does provide an all ages adventure introducing a new planet, a new sentient species and some interesting dialogue between Luke and Leia. 

The art was quite unorthodox and definitely not for people who like their characters to look like the live-action counterparts. I myself enjoyed this new look at the familiar characters. The environment and vehicles were done in a unique style also, giving a charming edge to the story. 

Overall an enjoyable experience, despite the low stakes of the battle, I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

Graphic Novel Review - Predator Omnibus Vol. 1

Name: Predator Omnibus Vol. 1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics 

Written by: Mark Verheiden, Ian Edginton, Chuck Dixon, Dan Barry, Mike Richardson, Neil Barrett, Jr. 

Penciled by: Chris Warner, Ron Randall, Rick Leonardi, Enrique Alcatena, Dan Barry, Leo Duranona

Inked by: Sam De La Rosa, Chris Warner, Randy Emberlain, Steve Mitchell, Rick Magyar, Dan Panosian, Enrique Alcatena, Dan Barry, Leo Duranona

Colorer by: Chris Chalenor, Rachelle Menashe, David Nastelle, Steve Mattson, John Hannan III, Greg Wright, Gail Beckett, Eric Vincent 

Lettering by: Jim Massara, David Jackson, Clem Robins, Steve Dutro, Gail Beckett, Ellie De Ville

Well, this one is certainly not for everyone, but for the fans of Predator and of 80's action movies this is definitely going to be something of pure joy and nostalgia. Don't come here looking for artistic writing or groundbreaking mystery or finesse, but if you just came to enjoy mindless action and cheesy dialogue filled with varied and interesting drawings featuring the iconic Predators you have reached the right place indeed. 

This omnibus contains some of the earliest comic issues published by Dark Horse and you can clearly feel the influence of the first movie of the franchise in these stories. I would now write a few lines expressing my feelings about each of the story on offer. 

'Concrete Jungle' is the first ever original Predator comic series. It deals with the brother of Dutch, John Schaefer, who is an NYPD detective. It is clearly apparent that this has heavily influenced the second movie. While the author did some things better than the movie, but some things were just better done on big screen. 

'Cold War' once again features John Schaefer, but this time he goes to Siberia and teams up with a Russian woman named Lt. Ligachev to deal with another party of Predators. I liked this one most of the trilogy featuring Schaefer, the setting is quite promising for a movie in my opinion, the drawing was very good and Ligachev was a great addition too. 

'Dark River' is definitely the weakest of Schaefer trilogy, despite having some delightful art. The story is just too similar in essence and execution of the previous two and the dialogue was a bit too cheesy even for the 80's action movies feel it was trying to achieve. 

'Rite of Passage' was the first of the two short pieces based in Africa. I really liked this silent short. It reminded me a bit of 'Prey', the latest movie in the franchise. 

'The Pride at Nghasa' was another enjoyable story, reminding of the hunting stories I used to love in my childhood, with a twist of the hunters being massacred by a Predator. 

'The Bloody Sands of Time' was a mixed bag. While I really loved the characters of Griggs and Gwen, the story relied too much on the horrors of war and mindless slaughter instead of focusing on the characters for my liking. 

'Blood Feud' was another story that had a promising beginning, focusing on a blind Samurai but rather failed to deliver later on. Despite being a short story this one seemed to drag a bit and lacked the action that I hoped for. 

All in all, a fine example of the early days of Predator comics that is essential reading for any fans of the franchise and anyone who likes cheesy action movies. 

My score - 4 out of 5 stars. 

New Comic Review - Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #1

Name: Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #1

Published by: Dark Horse Comics 

Writer: Amanda Deibert

Artist: Lucas Marangon

Colorist: Michael Atiyah

Letters: Comicraft’s Tyler Smith and Jimmy Betancourt

Well, I didn't know this was coming out this week. Before yesterday I wasn't even aware that 'Dark Horse' has gained the rights to publish Star Wars comics again. Although I was a bit sceptical before picking this up, the first issue of this new series turned out to be quite a pleasant surprise.

This story takes place sometime during the Clone Wars and features all the main trio of characters from the prequel trilogy as they are one rescue mission. Amanda Deibert seems to have a good understanding of these characters and she even includes some cameos and one of the fan favorite villain from the era.

The most interesting part is that this is 'done in one' all-ages adventure. In this age of multi issue and multi series stories, this feels quite refreshing. And the author manages to flesh out the story quite well in just one issue. I really loved the emotional side story of the Wookiee family.

Lucas has quite a unique style in his art. The drawing seems like a mash up between 2D cartoons and mangas. His unique take on this iconic characters were quite eye catching, although it took out some of the characteristic flashiness out of the action sequences at times.

I wish this issue had at least a small paragraph on the credits page detailing when it takes place regarding the Star Wars timeline. That would have made this a bit more newbie friendly, then again, not many people who is not an invested Star Wars fan will pick this up.

All in all, this gets 4 out of 5 stars from me. 

Graphic Novel Review - Tarzan: The New Adventures Vol. 1

Name: Tarzan: The New Adventures Vol. 1

Written by: Roy Thomas

Illustrated by: Thomas Grindberg, Benito Gallego

I wasn't particularly sure about how I was gonna feel about this collection when I picked up. I was quite sure I would like the story written by the legendary Roy Thomas, but I didn't really know about the illustrators and as I wasn't really caught up in Burroughs' Tarzan mythos so I wasn't really whether this would hamper my understanding or enjoyment. I was also a bit sceptic about the format (Sunday newspaper landscape format) because I have almost no experience with it. 

Fortunately, despite my minimal  recollection of Burroughs' Tarzan mythos and the supporting characters I was easily able to follow the  story. There are two stories on offer in this collection, both of them building upon previous Tarzan story threads. Both had enough action sequences and twists and turns to keep me thoroughly entertained, but I liked the first one more due to its settings. 

The art was quite engrossing and the details of the jungle were depicted very exquisitely. I liked Grindberg's illustrations a bit more, most probably due to his coloring choices. The captions at the end of each page and the different styles used for lettering also complemented the fast paced nature of storytelling. 

Despite my unfamiliarity with the newspaper landscape format and my reservations with cliffhangers on almost every page, I really loved the plot and art. 

This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.