November 21, 2024 4:09 am

HAHA SAD CLOWN STORIES (review)—“I advance masked”

Writer: W. Maxwell Prince Artists: Various Image Comics, 2021 IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE reading any one of the six issues of HAHA SAD CLOWN STORIES singly as originally published, and still manage to read the rest. One shot and a hapless reader is likely to drift off, only glimpses seen since: transformed, turned to something else, or somewhere else entirely. To stay on course, get the collected stories by writer W. Maxwell Prince and various collaborating artists, and brace for a gentle, maniacal feast of fun, haha, from the clown’s point of view. In these six stories, illustrated in succession by collaborating artists Vanesa del Rey, Zoe Thorogood, Roger Langridge, Patrick Horvath, Gabriel Hernández Walta, and Martín Morazzo, the motion of the twisting plots and art carry you unexpectedly somewhere beyond the laughable, beyond the grimaceable, something you might have wanted to disown if it had not already reached out

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BAND OF THE BLACK FIST (review)—“Discipline survives”

Writer: Chuck Cox Artist: Tera W. Royal House Comics / Black Astronaut ADVENTURE ABOUNDS in the premiere issue of BAND OF THE BLACK FIST, featuring elves and goblins, and a smattering of other talking creatures alongside a variety of human types in an “after the fall” world, where all dress in medieval attire, and clash and slash with swords, bows, and halberds, letting us see again what it looks like when someone tries to lift one of those ponderous weapons now stacked in museums. The prologue tells us this is the future after humanity has “faded” yet clearly resembles a mock-up gamesite playing out Lord of the whomever fantasies, rooted in the past. Suspension of disbelief, however, doesn’t really matter in the concoction of how we got here. Fantasy rules. Artwork by Tera W. picks you up right away. Several pages elapse before one notices it’s all in black and

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Nymphobots #1 (review)

Writer: Paul Venstra Artist: Breno Braga Independently published, April 2024 Nymphobots is a sci-fi/cyberpunk comic book mini-series written by Paul Veenstra and illustrated by Breno

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Aliens v Avengers #1 (review)

Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Esad Ribić Marvel Comics / 20th Century Studios, December 2024 How appropriate that we publish a review on a sci-fi /

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The Coffee Table (review)

Kieran Alexander – writer Christopher Wood – artist Independently published, 2023 When we write a review for this website, we think about the best way

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1949 (review)

Creator: Dustin Weaver ( @dustinweaver12 ) Image Comics, June 2024 We were delighted to have stumbled across this title in a book shop, and dismayed

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Absolute Batman #1 (review)

Writer: Scott Snyder Artist: Nick Dragotta DC Comics, October 2024 A hulking Batman, akin more to a ridiculous professional wrestler than the traditional gymnast’s physique,

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