Hi Everyone.

This'll be the first runner-up review for October, where I look at a comic that wasn't quite the lowest seller, but cam pretty close.

The 428th best selling comic of October 2013(according to Comichron.com) with 2,832 issues sold was Death Sentence #2, from Titan Comics.

I usually don't do any research on a comic before reading it, but I saw an advert for this issue in A1 #5, which I reviewed as the lowest seller this month. It only gives away the basic premise, but it showed some high praise. I don't know if this counts as research, but I felt I should mention it.

Anyway, let's start with the cover.

Cover:

There's not too much to say about the cover in general, as it's pretty much just these two characters against a coloured background. I'd say that individually these are pretty well drawn characters, but there's a bit of inconsistency between them, particularly in the eyes. They're just drawn in such a different style. I can't tell if there's an actual reason for this. The guitar look a little oddly positioned too.

Also, it's clear that the character on the right is Weasel, as that's pretty much exactly what he looks like in the comic, but this other character is a little less obvious. There are 3 protagonists in this issue, only one of which is female, and she doesn't dress like this. It seems like she would be dressed like this considering that the cutesy hat/exposed bra and chest tattoo look seems to be a symbol of the series, appearing on the first 3 issues. Maybe it's someone else who isn't in this issue or something.

Art:

The art by Michael Dowling is fairly decent in general. It's nothing unusual, and can be a bit angular in places, but it's mostly alright. It has its high and low points, but it's fairly consistent.

The colouring, is mostly good. The colours chosen go with the art pretty well, and the panels with Verity turning invisible are well coloured, showing the combination of her colour and her surroundings.

However, whilst the colour choices are good, some of the application of the colours isn't quite as good. It's a bit blotchy in places, and has some textures and patterns that don't seem to go with the the art.

Story/Writing:

The first page gives us a quick recap of the first issue, and tells us that our 3 protagonists have been infected with G-Plus, a sexually transmitted disease that gives you superpowers, but only 6 months to live. It doesn't say where they got it from though. Upon being diagnosed, Weasel went back to recording music, Monty has "played up to the media" and had sex with a nun, and Verity is wandering depressed in the West End of London.

The issue starts with Weasel playing a gig from his window to a crowd of fans. He takes a phone call, learning that he can't see his son any more, and he angrily throws his guitar into the crowd, injuring a fan. Meanwhile, Verity is shown turning invisible and dripping acid, before being pursued and captured by what I assume is the army. Monty is questioned by the police about his whereabouts on a recent Saturday night, to which he responds with boasts about his sexual encounter with the nun, which is said by the police to be an alleged sexual assault. He "Jedi Mind Tricks" them into letting him go, he urinates in their teapot, and leaves, whilst they pour themselves a cup. Weasel wakes up naked on the floor with a girl who was seen earlier, and they are shown sinking through the floor, one of his powers. When the girl lets go of him, the power is interrupted and she is violently torn in half. Weasel calls a friend for help. Verity is shown waking up an island, and is told by an old woman to come for dinner at a nearby outpost. Weasels' friend Russ arrives, bringing the police with him, forcing Weasel to attack him, and flee.

The dialogue is mostly O.K., but there's a bit too much swearing and vulgar sexual remarks, mostly on the part of Monty and Weasel. I can't tell if we're supposed to like these characters, but for me, Monty and Weasel come across as almost completely unlikeable. Verity seems alright, but there isn't much of her to base an opinion on.

Other Things Worth Mentioning:

22 Pages of comic content for £3.99, with no advertising apart from on the back page.

There is a 1 page fictional magazine interview with Weasel. Seems like an O.K. thing to include if you wanted a little more back story on him.

There is a 5 page guide to making comic books by the writer Monty Nero. It seems kind of odd to me that someone, who according to the Comicvine wiki, has only had 2 full comics, and 2 2000AD stories published, would be in a position to write such a guide. It seems like that kind of thing would be better left to someone with more experience in the comic book industry. It suggests you drink a large whiskey before reading the guide to make it seem more entertaining. For the sake of giving the issue a fair review, I had vodka, as I don't have any whiskey. The guide wasn't entertaining for me, so either he was wrong, or it just specifically has to be whiskey to be entertaining.

Overall:

Overall, I didn't like it. The dialogue is kind of, maybe disgusting is too strong a word, but pretty much that. I found 2 of the protagonists unlikeable, and the third wasn't featured as much. The art was O.K., but not enough that I would buy a comic for it. The inclusion of the cutesy-hatted character on the cover but not in the interior is strange, and the comic making guide wasn't particularly interesting. This isn't a series I'm interested in reading more of, and it didn't live up to the reviews I saw. I have no idea what "Like the best parts of Watchmen" is supposed to mean in relation to this series. I think I'd have to give it a 2/5, but a low 2 (so 4/15).

So has anyone on here read this issue? What did you think of it?

I have one more runner-up review scheduled for this month. For the main October review, see here, and for a list of all the comics I've reviewed, see here.

Scarlotte.

Hi Everyone.

The sales figures came in, I ordered my review comics, and they arrived today, so let's start looking at them.

The lowest selling comic of October 2013(according to Comichron.com) was A1 #5, from Titan Comics.

As usual, I'm not familiar with the series, and didn't do any research into it before reading this issue, just to see if it's new reader friendly. There may be small spoilers, but I'llblockthem just in case. Let's start with the cover.

Cover:

I should mention that this is an anthology comic featuring 3 separate stories, and there is a cover available for each one. This cover is the Carpe Diem cover, and is the one that I got. It's quite nicely drawn and coloured, and represents the Carpe Diem story pretty well. I like that it mentions the other stories too, as with 3 covers available, it seems like they could easily have dedicated the whole thing to a particular story, but mentioning the others does make it clear that it's an anthology.

Art:

In Weirding Willows, the art by Barnaby Bagenda, is kind of sketchy, but not too bad to look at. It works O.K. with the fantasy style of the story. The colours used by Ifansyah Noor and Y2Laud work with the art in but are a little odd looking in places, looking a bit smudged in some places, and too blocky in others.

The art in

Carpe Diem by Rhoald Marcellius, has a sort of cartoony way to it, but still with the main kind of look of a comic book. It's exaggerated designs capture the spirit of the slightly humourous way the story seems to be going for, and the characters are all very distinctive. The colours by Sakti Yuwono fit the art pretty well.

As for Odyssey, drawn by Garrie M. Gastonny, it's more the sort of thing you'd expect to see in a comic book. It's nicely drawn, and the colours, again by Sakti Yuwono look quite natural. It seems like the kind of art that could be seen in a comic from a bigger publisher. I don't know for sure if the main character is supposed to be like a Captain America copy, but if that's what they were going for, I think they did a pretty good job, as to me, it does look like an alternate universe version, or even the kind of thing he could wear in the 616 universe.

Story/Writing:

In Weirding Willows by David Elliott, the characters from The Wind In The Willows, all with human names for some reason, hear a gunshot and go to investigate, only to find that a dinosaur called Rozalind has been shot by a farmer. This greatly annoys Frankensteins' Monster, as he knew Rozalinds grandmother, so Alice Liddel gets revenge on the farmer by taking magic mushrooms that make her grow, and puts him on top of a tree. The animals apparently were able to hear the gunshot and come to investigate it, because they have magic glowing crystals. The issue ends with a scene of Mowgli discovering that his cellmate is a werewolf called Kamaria. She hasn't been restrained, and it's a full moon...

Carpe Diem by W.H. Rauf, begins with a koala called Jude finding the new Monday of a group of people named after the days of the week, dead in some kind of submarine hangar. It turns out he's a mole in their organisation, and was actually a pirate. The team assembles to go after some pirates, who they believe have captured their boss, Sir 8th Day. It turns out he's really being held by Sansama, and the team goes to fight his hordes. Some of Sansamas people sacrifice Sir 8th Day to a volcano, and a giant fiery beast rises from it.

In Odyssey, also by David Elliot, Blazing Glory is attending an Occupy Wall Street protest in order to protect innocent protesters. A man who works with the riot police, possibly a policeman or government agent called Patrick(or Sharky, who is apparently the son of a god), Hulks up in front of him, and they begin to fight. He sends the riot police into the crowd, as they appear to be after one person in particuar, or possibly his child.

I felt kind of lost with these stories, the first one in particular. There wasn't much I could pick up about the characters or previous stories in general, so I don;t think this is a very good jumping on point for the series. Perhaps because of them being 10 page stories there isn't as much chance to put in hints for new readers, so maybe these stories are the sort of thing that are best read from the start.

Other Things Worth Mentioning:

30 Pages of comic content for $3.99, which is pretty good.

All the advertising is left to the end, so there's none to interrupt the stories.

I think the 3 covers are available in equal numbers, so you can just choose whichever you prefer.

I can't figure out why it's called A1

Overall:

Overall I feel kind of indifferent about this issue. I didn't really like or dislike it, and it had good and bad points. I think the fact that I didn't feel this works having not read other issues lowers it's score a bit, so I think I'd have to give it a 2/5, but a high 2(which is like 6/15 to me). I feel like other people might like this more than I did, especially with prior reading.

So has anyone on here read this issue? What did you think of it?

By the way, I have 2 more October comics to review that weren't quite the lowest seller, and their reviews should be up some time in the next couple of weeks. :)

Scarlotte.

Hi Everyone.

So this'll be the third and last September review, the second Runners-Up Review for this month.

The 403rd best selling comic of September 2013(according to Comichron.com) with 2,526 issues sold was Homecoming #4, from Aspen MLT.

As usual, I'm not familiar with the series, and didn't do any research into it before reading this issue, just to see if it's new reader friendly. There may be small spoilers, but I'llblockthem just in case. Let's start with the cover.

Cover:

I couldn't get the A cover, so I had to get this B cover(by Khary Randolph and Emilio Lopez). I think it makes sense for me to review the one I actually have, so that's what I'll do. There's not much to say about it really. It's nicely drawn, and coloured in a nice selection of purples. It almost gives off the feeling of a supernatural series, rather than the alien based one it seems to be.

The character portrayed here doesn't seem to match any of the characters in the comic. She looks most like the character Cole, but the outfit and hair look quite different. Maybe this is because it's basically a variant, and the artists have taken the opportunity to try something a little different.

Art:

The art byEmilio Laiso, is great throughout, and I think it wouldn't look out of place in a comic from one of the bigger publishers. The alien designs, and the use of powers are drawn well, and makes the story come to life.

The colours by Andrew Crossley are really rather good too, fitting the drawing well. Lighting seems to be a specialty of this colourist, as spotlights and headlights really shine, and throughout the issue, the sky gets gradually darker as it gets later into the night, and it's handled very subtley and shows the passing of time very well.

Story/Writing:

The thought bubbles of Jay Anne tell us that the group of characters(also including Cole, Paul and Hunter) in the issue have recently had an encounter with aliens, and their friend Celeste has been taken by them. During them setting up a party for "Homecoming Night"(is that a thing), Celeste returns, and transforms into an alien, and the team activate their powers, apparently gained from the previous alien encounter, and begin a fight with her. She eventually reverts back to human form, but Celestes Mother arrives on a spaceship leading a horde of aliens, and the team then battle them.

It ends with Celeste defeating her mother, or so she thought, as it turns out an alien was masquerading as her, whilst her real mothers whereabouts are unknown. The final shots show what looks like an alien lab somewhere, possibly implying that that's where Celeste real mother is?

By David Wohl, it's written and paced well, and does a pretty good job of explaining what has happened previously, making it quite new reader friendly. The ending work well, as I think having a climax with a hint at a future story is a good way to do things.

Other Thing Worth Mentioning:

Not much. There isn't any bonus content, unless you count a screenshot of a fictional U.F.O. website at the start. I can't quite tell if it's meant to be describing the events of previous issues.

20 pages of comic content for $3.99, with a few adverts throughout, much like any comic.

Apparently recent issues are celebrating 10 years of Aspen Comics, so happy birthday/anniversary Aspen. :)

Overall:

I liked it. It was well drawn, well coloured and well written, and I didn't feel too lost reading. I'm thinking of maybe catching up with the series, so I think it would be fair to give this issue a 4/5, and that's a strong 4.

So has anyone on here read this issue? What did you think of it?

For this months main review, see here.

For the first runner-up this month, see here.

For the list of all the comics I've reviewed, see here.

Look out for my October reviews, which should be coming soon after the sales figures become available. :)

Scarlotte.

Hi Everyone.

So some months along with my review of the lowest selling comic of the month, I may get some other very low sellers to look at. This is one of those months.

The 408th best selling comic of September 2013(according to Comichron.com) with 2,315 issues sold was Liberator #3, from Black Mask Studios.

As usual, I'm not familiar with the series, and didn't do any research into it before reading this issue, just to see if it's new reader friendly. There may be small spoilers, but I'llblockthem just in case. Let's start with the cover.

Cover:

The cover(by Ben Templesmith) gives the impression that the subject matter will be fairly dark in tone with it's dark tones and cracked look(that almost looks like leather to me, which I can't work out whether that would make sense for this series, given the contents), and the tools hovering ominously. It looks pretty good.

The stencilled style of the logo and the words of the subtitle seems to suggest that the heroes of this title are street level and independent. Having read the issue, this is true, so that works.

Art:

The art is handled by a different artist than the cover(Javier Aranda), and while it doesn't look the same, it's not so different that it's a problem. It's generally good, and is quite consistent throughout. The choices and handling of colours(by Joaquin Pereyra)is mostly good, but perhaps uses the old style pointillism colouring a little often. I'm O.K. with this technique generally, but it looks a bit out of place in parts of this. Also, there's tartan on bags near the start that appears to have been pasted in, as it remains perfectly square and level despite the appearance of the object it's on. Not a big problem, but I'd prefer to see hand drawn colours in this situation.

The art sort of reminds me of Trevor McCarthys work(on Batwoman at least, the only thing I've read of his). It's not exactly the same, but it has a kind of similar way about it. Some of it may be the colour palette, and the use of pointillism, though Guy Major uses it a little more sparingly.

Story/Writing:

The issue follows a pair of animal rights activists called Jeanette(from the cover) and Damon, and starts out with them stealing(or should I say Liberating) rabbits from a laboratory, and after a close call with the police, Damon smashes a window of the lab, which Jeanette objects to. The issue shows their fight against those who harm animals, with Jeanette taking on a more peaceful route, whilst Damon takes a more hands on approach, damaging the property and shops of a mink farmer called Trapper McMartin.

The issue ends with what is presented as a startling discovery, showing a picture of McMartin with his nephew Randy Miller. I don't know who this is, so perhaps it was explained in a previous issue, or maybe the problem is that he's a policeman?

The dialogue is generally good, and the way it's written shows the contrast between Jeanette and Damon well, showing their different methods in working towards the same goal. There's some swearing in the issue despite not mentioning a "parental advisory" or "mature content", which I think applies to swearing, right? There's what I would say is a medium amount, though it's a little overused on the first page.

Other Things Worth Mentioning:

There is very little advertising in the issue, limited to the back cover, inside and out, so no interruption to the story. 24 Pages of comic content for $3.50.

There's a one page Lil' Liberator by Sean Von Gorman, which is kind of cute. Is it just me, or is there a lot of cutesy versions of comic characters about at the moment?

There's also a pin-up of Jeanette by Megan Hutchison, and a one page prose account of an anti-whaling mission with the Sea Shepherd by Laura Dakin. It's an interesting story actually.

This comic series was apparently funded via Kickstarter.

Overall:

I thought it was pretty good. I didn't know comics about animal rights activism were a thing, but I suppose they can be about anything really. As a new reader, I understood what was going on, though it does seem like previous reading could have been helpful. I would maybe consider reading more. I think I'd give it a 3/5, but a high 3.

So has anyone on here read this issue? What did you think of it?

For this months main review, see here.

For the list of all the comics I've reviewed, see here.

Look out for part 2 for another runner up for this month, Homecoming #4, in maybe a week. :)

Scarlotte.

Hi Everyone.

Well after receiving some positive comments on my first review, I've decided to continue, so I ordered some comics as soon as I saw the sales figures for September, and today they arrived.

The lowest selling comic of September 2013(according to Comichron.com) was Gold Digger #203, from Antarctic Press.

As before, I'm not familiar with the series, and didn't do any research into it before reading this issue, just to see if it's new reader friendly. There may be small spoilers, but I'll block them just in case. Let's start with the cover.

Cover:

The cover is quite nicely drawn in what looks like a manga inspired style to me. It depicts what looks like two giant cats being set on this blonde woman by a giant with her much smaller love interest. This turns out to be a pretty good representation of the issue, and sums of the basics.

The placement of the creators name looks kind of in the wrong place, like it almost looks like a subtitle. If the name had to be so close the title, perhaps putting it above with an 's' on the end would have been better. Not a big deal, but I thought I should mention it.

Art:

Considering the manga looking cover, I sort of thought the issue would be in black and white like most manga I'm aware of, but it turns out to be in colour, which is nice. The art is good throughout, and the colouring is nicely done.

It suits the tone well as the story has a fairly light hearted but mature enough feel to it. The kind of thing that most ages could probably appreciate, but isn't a childrens comic.

The designs for the giant creatures in the issue are good and almost look to me like the kind of things that could be types of Pokemon, though I'm not exactly up to date on Pokemon nowadays.

Story/Writing:

If I've understood correctly, Portia(the giant from the cover) is returning home to her tribe on Ooshoosh island after a trip to Georgia to study science with Gina and Nez(the other two characters from the cover). Portia has fallen in love with Nez, who is Ginas' boyfriend, and intends to keep him on the island for herself. This leads to her kidnapping him, leaving Gina to have to find a way to rescue him. Portia explains how she could never have a mate/boyfriend due to her being the weakling of the tribe, and that she believed an outsider could accept her better than an Ooshoosh.

Gina eventually finds them and saves the day by showing she has gained power over the giant cats through cunning use of a laser pointer. realising that the cats could as easily be set on her, Portia gives up her plan. After promising not to pursue Nez, him and Gina agree to take Portia back to Georgia to follow her dreams to be a scientist, as she has few prospects on the island.

The dialogue is good, well paced and fitting. The emotions shown between characters are shown quite clearly, and flow well. There is a reference to Ooshoosh Island being about the size of England, which is "Large enough to accommodate a million human-sized islanders...". I don't quite understand this as there are apparently 53 million people in England.

There is a conversation between Nez and Gina that includes references to Star Wars scripts, the first reference being perfectly accurate. However, the second reference doesn't seem to make sense, as Nez says, "Do you have any idea how much seratonin floods my neurotransmitters when you're that romantic? Even now I fight the urge to eagerly reenact Empire's one hundred and forty eighth scene with you!" I looked this up on a script for The Empire Strikes Back and found:

148	INT ZEV'S SNOWSPEEDER - ROGUE TWO	148

	SIDE CLOSE-UP ANGLE on Rogue Two. Luke's speeder can	be seen in the background. The speeders are moving	left to right. Rogue Two is wounded in the face.

	ROGUE TWO (ZEV)	It's no good, I can't see.

	LUKE (VO)	Steady, just keep it steady.

	The ship bounces under the constant impact of flack.

I'm not sure what's so romantic about this. Maybe that's just me.

Other Things Worth Mentioning.

There is advertising in this issue, but it's all left to the end, so there are no interruptions in the story, which is always a nice thing to see. 24 Pages of comic content for $3.99, which I think is a little more than you can often expect.

It's perhaps not unique to this issue, but there is a note advertising a site where you can catch up with the series, as the first 199 issues are available to read online for free. I imagine this could be quite useful for some people.

Overall.

Overall I liked it. Nicely drawn and written, and I didn't feel too lost as someone who hasn't read the series before. It's maybe the sort of thing that I'd consider reading more of. I think a 4/5 would be fair for this issue. Not necessarily a high or low 4, just somewhere in the middle.

So has anyone on here read this issue? What did you think of it?

By the way, I actually ordered a couple of extra low sellers to review, so look out for my reviews of them, coming probably sometime in the next couple of weeks. I feel like I should space them out you see. :)

Scarlotte.

Hi Everyone.

J.H. Williams III is my favourite comic book artist, and as I've collected and read a few of his works, I've noticed a few things that I find interesting that may have been overlooked. I'm making this blog as I posted a thread before pointing out a couple of my findings, and a couple of people found them interesting, so I'm doing this to expand upon that.

I don't own everything that J.H. Williams has drawn, so all of the pictures I'm using are from things that I own. If this blog proves popular, I may do a follow up when I buy more of his works. I'm also not necessarily claiming to be the first person to have spotted some of these things, it's just things that I've found interesting.

Anyway, let's get started.

This is what J.H. Williams looks like:

You may or may not have spotted him in Batwoman #2 in this picture:

I don't know if it's common for artists to draw themselves into their work, but it seems like a cool thing to do. I'm not totally sure, but I think the guy in the blue shirt may be co-writer Haden Blackman

Also in the same scene:

Does the guy standing behind Kate look familiar? That's because it's Michael Jones , from Desolation Jones , by Warren Ellis , which was drawn by Williams:

I think this is a bit more well known, but still interesting. Williams appeared in Promethea #30 , along with writer Alan Moore

This might be my imagination, but as I know Williams is a fellow Fields Of The Nephilim fan, I think his design for Felix Faust in Justice Riders may be inspired by singer Carl McCoy. What do you think?:

Fish seem to be a slightly recurring theme, appearing in Desolation Jones #3 on Nicoles' T-shirt:

In Detective Comics #821 on this sign:

And several times in Batwoman . I'll just put this one picture up, but there's quite a few fish appearances. Look out for them. :)

Remember the pool themed villians, Q-Ball And The Pool Hall Gang from Batwoman #1 and Batwoman #0 ?

Despite what the internet might tell you, this isn't the first appearance of their leader, Q-Ball. He actually appeared thirteen years earlier in Chase #6 (as in Cameron Chase from Batwoman) as an enemy of The Acro-Bat:

As far as I'm aware, these are his only appearances, so he seems to be exclusive to J.H. Williams' works.

Graffiti can be a good place to sneak things in, especially references to music. Let's look at some.

You'll notice in this picture the I 'heart' Wendy. A nice touch as Wendy is the name of Williams' wife. Trust Obey could be a reference to the band of the same name, formed by The Crow creator James O'Barr.

Another I 'heart' Wendy, plus, the number 242 is most likely a reference to Belgian EBM band, Front 242. March Of The Pigs is the name of a song by Nine Inch Nails.

Rock 'N' Roll Suicide is a song by David Bowie.

Another Front 242 tag.

'Sisters rule' is probably a reference to The Sisters Of Mercy, who Williams is a fan of. Plus, Front 242 and March Of The Pigs again.

This poster is the cover for Danzigs first album.

'A Slight Case Of Over Bombing' is the name of The Sisters Of Mercys' greatest hits album. Plus Front 242 again. He must really like them. They are pretty good I suppose.

The Nefilim was a metal band formed by Fields Of The Nephilim singer Carl McCoy(see above). I 'heart' Wendy again.

KMFDM are an industrial band. March Of The Pigs Again.

Bands that Williams likes also appear on T-Shirts on people in his work. Such as.

The 69 Eyes:

H.I.M.:

And of course:

And Kate Kane had Sisters Of Mercy and Blondie posters on her wall as a child:

The Sisters Of Mercy logo is seen on the left. It looks like this:

Speaking of bands, there's a fictional band worth mentioning.

In this picture from Detective Comics #854 Kate has a poster on her wall of a band called Darkseids Witch:

I thought I'd spotted their poster in Batwoman #3 , at a gig that her and Maggie Sawyer were supposed to attend:

Similar font, but why is there an 'F' instead of an 'S'?

Because they seem to have changed their name to:

I wonder why they changed it. Maybe Darkseid threatened to sue them. :P

This last section is just about things in Batwoman and doesn't cross into other series'. Some of this might count as spoilers if you don't know anything about Batwoman. If you've read Batwoman: Elegy , Batwoman: Hydrology or the second #0, you'll be alright.

Have you noticed that Kate and Beth as children are presented in similar colours to what they wear when they grow up:

Pastel colours with swirly patterns for Beth, bold red and black for Kate:

Bold red and black for Kate, Batwoman.

Pastel colours with swirly patterns for Beth, Alice.

Also, as Alice Beth has coloured and styled her hair to match her mothers':

And finally. In the second #0 when Kate mentions that her being out of control gave Jake Kane a reason to look after her, this shot references Detective Comics #858 when Jacob took her from the scene of her mother and sisters murder, when he was the only one left to look after her:

Well that's all I've got for now, apart from a few tiny things that aren't really worth mentioning. Hope you enjoyed this blog, and found at least some of it informative or interesting. Any questions, feel free to ask. :)

My J.H. Williams collection consists of:

Batman: Conspiracy

Batwoman #0-17

Batwoman: Elegy

Chase

Desolation Jones: Made In England

Justice Riders

Promethea #5-7, #30

Seven Soldiers Of Victory #0-1

And I highly recommend them all. :)

Scarlotte