Various Recent Single Issues by Image Comics

Sweets #1 by Kody Chamberlain.

Chamberlain did everything in this issue. Pencil, ink, color, letter and write. It shows how much he cares about this project. His artwork is quite good and the story is also shaping up nicely. I am a little thrown off by the pacing as sometimes the panel transitions seemed weird, but overall I am happy with this issue and I'll stick with the miniseries.

The story is about a serial killer in New Orleans. A serial killer who has just killed a high profile priest. The best detective has been having marital and drinking problems (going through a divorce). A solid first issue.

Codebreakers #4 by Ross Richie, Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.

This is the last issue in the miniseries. I was confused at first because I didn't remember how the last issue ended, but once I got into the rhythm I enjoyed the issue. It has a nice ending and overall it was an okay series. I can't recommend it because I don't think it was that great. The title led me to believe that codebreaking would have a bigger impact in the story and that the characters would use their intelligence to solve crimes. This wasn't exactly the case and if I had known in advance that this wouldn't be the focus of the comic, I wouldn't have bought it.

Despite my disappointment with the series, I should point out that I thought the artwork by Godlewski was very good. He did a great job.

Turf #2 by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards.

This series is quite interesting. The creators have managed to make a fun, compelling story with vampires, aliens and 1920s gangsters. I liked this issue a lot. The artwork is fantastic and I like that the comic is not afraid of throwing caution to the wind with a fun unusual story.

In this issue, a mobster fights with vampires, an alien allies himself with a mobster, there is a vote of no confidence for the vampire leader and a crooked cop betrays the cops to the vampires. Lots of cool things happen and I can't wait to read what will happen next.

Chew #12 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.

Chew is possibly my favorite ongoing series right now. It is full of creativity, humor and just plain old fun. Layman is not afraid to do strange things, such as placing the 18th page at the beginning and joking about it with the audience and the art has maintained itself as a true gem in comic books. Guillory is a master of drawing action with humor.

In this issue, Tony Chu teams up with a chicken dealer to catch a bad guy that killed another man to get Poyo, the ultimate rooster. Guillory does a great job of drawing Poyo, showing us why Poyo is so awesome. Overall, the issue is great and this series keeps making it worth to buy the issues instead of waiting for the trade. Each issue has its own story and we still get an overall arc. Great job by Layman and Guillory.

More Single Issues

Shield #2 by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver.

I love this comic. The first issue was awesome, but this might be even better. The story is just so interesting. This comic has made me interested in reading other stuff by Hickman. I have read the first two issues of Secret Warriors because of this and I am planning on getting his first Fantastic Four trade paperback soon. This series is the reason I try out new series. Every once in a while you discover a series that makes you realize why comics are so good.

The art is incredible, I have become a fan of Dustin Weaver with this series. There is outstanding detail in the pencils, there are creative panels and the storytelling is great. I can't ask for more from Dustin Weaver.

Codebreakers #3 by Ross Richie, Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.

I am starting to lose interest in this series. However, the series ends next issue, so it comes at the right time. The issue ends with a big cliffhanger making me want to see what happens in the final issue of the series, but I have to say that I am not that impressed with the story so far. I was expecting more mathematics in a series about codebreaking. I guess I was spoiled with the terrific book "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson.

Irredeemable #14 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.

This series is very good and this issue is great. I really like the direction the series is taking and how Waid has made me feel like I know these characters. The last panel makes for a great cliffhanger for the next issue. I can't wait to find out what Modeus is up to.

The comic book started being about a hero gone wrong, but it keeps getting deeper and deeper as the series goes on. I really like this series.

Chew #11 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.

I love Chew. I think Shield was better this month, but Chew was a close second. The series is just hilarious while at the same time having an interesting plot behind it. I love it.

This issue has Tony Chu have his first date. The date goes exactly like one would expect in this comic. The date has danger, gore and jokes. I get excited every time I get a new issue in this series.

Chip #2 by Richard Moore.

The 2-issue miniseries ends in this issue. The story is quite simple, but it is humorous and it has a nice feel. I like it. The art is very good. It is a nice comic book for kids.

Recent Single Issues from Image Comics

Haunt #6 by Robert Kirkman, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane.
I liked this issue. It takes a detour from the main story, by giving us background information on the woman introduced in the last issue. She was Kurt's lover. The issue is pretty good.

Turf #1 by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards.
This issue came out in a very strong week for new comics with Shield and Codebreakers coming out. I liked this more than Codebreakers but Shield was my favorite by far. This issue has a lot of potential, because I really liked Eddie and since it seems that Eddie will be the main character, it seems like I will enjoy this comic. I am not enthused about aliens, but I am digging the beautiful artwork, the noir feel and the vampires. It seems like aliens, detectives, vampires and 1930s won't mix that well, but since the first issue was so good, I have high expectations for the rest of the series. This is one of those stories that have to be told in comic book form.

Chew #10 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
Chew is a hilarious comic book and I have been loving it. This issue wraps up the second story arc and the issue is strong, however it isn't as funny as usual. I have high hopes for the next arc because now we know more about the main villain.
It was interesting for me to find that the tiny governor had good intentions and wasn't bad as I thought he was. He was just trying to make his island wealthier.
Once more, I should point out that the artist is fantastic. Guillory is the perfect fit for this comic.

Recent Single Issues

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #32 by Brad Meltzer and Georges Jeanty.

After a year long of mediocre stories, Buffy got back on track last month with issue #31 and this issue is also great. I liked this issue even more, mainly because I am emotionally invested on the characters. Issue #31 made me laugh a lot and it was great, but this issue was so good, I flew past it and then read it again to see if I missed anything. Angel is my favorite characters in the Buffy Verse, so having him back was awesome.
A very good issue, I am looking forward to getting more Buffy comics.

Chew #9 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.

This series is just great. Each issue is fun, works as a solo issue and works as a part for a bigger story. I love that Layman and Guillory do that. I also like how they play with form. Every issue has a prologue, but issue 8 had more than one (it had three if I remember correctly), and not this issue has more than one cliffhanger, in fact it has three. The issue is packed with jokes. I can't say enough about how much I like Guillory's art, without his art I don't think I would love this book. The art makes the jokes funnier. It is nice to see a comic not go for ultra realistic, but use the comic form to enhance the stories with good visual storytelling.
Chew is a fantastic ongoing series. I highly recommend it.

Obamouse by Joe Dunn and Ben Dunn.

When I read the solicits for Obamouse, solicits which talked about Hen Beck, Sarah Penguin, Joe Bison, John McCrane, Steven Colbear, etc. I decided I had to buy the comic. The comic is an independent, it is in black and white and has simple lettering, however the art is pretty good. The issue contains three stories. One is Obamouse as a spy trying to stop Owl Caida and the Fat Cat. He succeeds somehow, I think this was poorly written. The second story is where all the funny animal versions of famous political figures come into play. It has Obamouse watching the jokes about him on TV, then has him talk to John McCrane about the economy among other things. It wasn't great, but it has some funny moments and it was closer to what I imagined the comic would be. This was the longest story. The third story has Obamouse in another planet. Asrah Naplin (note that it is an anagram of Sarah Palin) explains to him how the culture in the planet was destroyed by the partisands. It was interesting reading how polarization can hurt the country, but overall there wasn't much weight behind the words. A simple story that led nowhere.
The issue wasn't good, but the penciling was well done and it had some funny moments.

Nemesis: The Impostors #1 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.

I think the issue was great. I think it is a great first issue because it generated a lot of questions and it makes me want to read more to find out what is going on. The narrative structure is weird as at times it is unclear whether what is on the panel is what is happening now or someone telling a story. Also, it seems that the issue begins midway through the story and later one we find out how we got to where the issue starts. It is confusing, however, it intrigued me.
The art in this comic was very good. I am surprised because I wasn't in love with Cliff Richards when he drew in the Buffy comic, but here I think he does a great job. Maybe he just does better with darker tones in the colors, but I liked his artwork.
A great first issue, we'll have to wait to see how good the miniseries is.

Amazing Spider-Man #621 by Dan Slott and Michael Lark.

I liked this issue. The issue was a good one shot, with a fun adventure. It is always good to see Black Cat and I am interested on seeing when Aunt May will go back to being nice. The art was great. Michael Lark, one of my favorite artists for noir stories, worked before on Daredevil, a great run with Ed Brubaker. His style translated well for Spider-Man, although it is good that is only for one issue, as his style is not optimistic enough for a long run with Spidey. I here he will be back for a four issue story by Joe Kelly around issue #634. It should be cool, I love his art.

Various Single Issues

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #31 by Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty.

The latest issue of Buffy gives hope about the future of the series. 2009 was a bad year for the comic as the quality of the stories went way down from the first two years. This issue was very good, the art was good for the most part and the dialogue was funny and interesting. An issue that gives me hope about the future of this series.

Dingo #1 by Michael Alan Nelson and Francesco Biagini.

The comic book owner at the place I buy comics convinced me to read this comic. The comic is great. The comic creates some suspense about the characters, making me want to know about their backstory. This is something that comics I love have in common. They make me want to know something that they don't reveal right away, but at the same time, it feels natural not to reveal it. In other words, I like stories that start in the middle, that is, you start reading as if you knew the characters already and then things start making sense little by little the more you read.
I should point out that I liked the art in the comic and that the issue has an awesome dog as a character. We need more awesome dogs in comic books.

Amazing Spider-Man #617 by Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara.

I liked this issue a lot. The Spider-Man comic keeps delivering great stuff. I like how Joe Kelly treats the Rhino. The Rhino had already had a really good origin story recently in Web of Spider-Man, and now we get a very good "ending" story for the Rhino.
The comic also has a back up story drawn by Javier Pulido. In the back up, we get to see a little bit more of Rhino, explaining how he fell in love. I liked the back story a lot. Well done.
Spider-Man is my favorite superhero and the issues haven't disappointed me in a long time.

Chew #8 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.

Chew is one of my favorite comics now and I get excited every time I get a new issue. It is the first issue I read whenever I get it. Issue 7 wasn't great so I was hoping this would be better. The issue is much better. We have an interesting adventure following Chu on his quest to find Poyo (a cockfighter) and we get a lot of laughs a long the way. The comic has started every issue with a short prologue and in this issue we don't get one but three prologues, another funny bit that gives the comic a world of its own. I like how the comic has a very clear identity, by having this sort of form play and by having unique art, by the hands of Rob Guillory. Guillory draws perfectly for this offbeat, funny comic. His art is instantly recognizable, I love that.
Chew is fantastic.

Irredeemable #10 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.

I like this series a lot. This issue wasn't as interesting as others, mainly because it departs a lot from understanding Plutonian, however I can see that some things are developing. First we get to see a villain that was hinted at in the last issue and we get to see how powerful and menacing he is. Secondly, we get to see how much the Plutonian cares for Samsara, which is interesting because it seems that the comic might be shifting into going from hate to Plutonian into pity. The key thing about making Plutonian pitiable is how he was defeated recently in such a convincing manner. I don't understand why weakness can make someone more likeable, but I know it has that effect on us and I am glad that the comic seems to explore that.
I am excited about the next issue.

Amazing Spider-Man #618 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin.

I like this issue a lot. I am always happy to be surprised in an issue and to have the surprise seem plausible (obviously in a superhero comic book, I have to stretch my imagination when considering something plausible). I like that the comic has a very Spidey feel to it and that it can be read without needing previous issues to enjoy. I also love the art. Martin makes the comic very dynamic.
This issue also got me more interested in reading Web of Spider-Man #4, as it will have the origin story for Mysterio who plays a role in this issue.
Amazing Spider-Man is a really good comic and I am glad that I get to enjoy it three times a week.