COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Snap Flash Hustle

Hello Comic Book Junkies and welcome back. It's the Frog Queen here and today I'm reviewing SNAP FLASH HUSTLE written by Pat Shand and illustrated by Emily Pearson and published by Black Mask Studios. Issue one hit comic book stores on November 28th and I'm already hooked so let me tell you a bit about this 4 issue mini series.

Ahh the dangers of social media. I feel like this is a timely graphic novel and actually I couldn't think a comic I read that resembled it in any way. With social media apps like Snap Chat and Instagram, models have a whole new way to reach people and for alternative models especially. One can be an amateur and have zero industry connections but with a little know how and the right look they can become what's known as an "influencer" garnering massive followings!

SNAP FLASH HUSTLE focuses on the life of  Haley Mori, an independent alternative model who is in financial trouble. Mori is attempting to make some cash before she has to break it to her bf and gf that she can't pay the bills. Yes you heard right, this character is in a trupple, just like the tv show SHAMELESS. Now if you know anything about amateur modelling, then you know it's no easy gig. Often times you are contacted by loads of photographers and they keep photos, don't pay you even though they tell you they're going to and of course, try to get you as nude as possible. I've seen this happen to loads of my friends who do this as a gig. So this book is VERY true to the perils of such a gig. There are also a lot of scam artists out there and Mori seems a bit green to this very real truth. However this is a work of fiction and the plot twist here is a lot more towards the true crime angle than just the dangers of being ripped off. I won't spoil the plot for you.

The dialogue in this comic is very realistic and believable even if the situations are a bit far fetched and out there. I got a very real sense of who all the characters were from issue 1 and I feel like that is something that just doesn't happen very often at all in comics. Each character has a very distinct personality and we get a clear sense of how our main character views each character and their relationships. This is good character development 101. If you can't tell, I'm super impressed with Pat Shand right now.

Let talk about artwork. I must say right away that I think I'm not in love Emily Pearson. I really enjoyed her artwork in this book. I think you likely recall my criticism of THE WILDS which she illustrated earlier this year. I had mentioned that many panels looked and felt incomplete. Well this comic does not have that feeling. In fact, some of the less detailed panels really fit the tone of the story as they feel just like the model photos one sees on Instagram for example. The minimalist backgrounds and fashion. I feel as though Pearson has really won me over with this issue.

Well I think that does it for this review. Thanks so much for watching please don't forget to check out my other videos, leave a like or a comment and subscribe to my channel for more comic book review. Until next time, read something good.

Wanna check out the art? Watch my video:

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Bitter Root #1 (Image Comics)

Welcome back Comic Book Junkies. It's the Frog Queen here and today I'm reviewing BITTER ROOT #1 which is published by Image Comics. BITTER ROOT is written by David F. Walker of POWER MAN and IRON FIST  with Chuck Brown of TRENCH COATS, CIGARETTES AND SHOTGUNS. The comic is illustrated by Sanford Greene who is also from POWER MAN and IRON FIST. I actually really like it when creative teams who work together in the big two successfully, actually branch out to creator owned comics and bring us something that's all their own. There are also a series of variant covers by Brittney Williams, Denys Cowan and Mike Mignola.

Bitter Root #1 was published November 14th and it's intended for a mature audience. The story takes place in the 1920's and centers on the Sangerye Family who are trying to save the world from the supernatural terror which threatens to consume New York first. The reader knows this threat only as the Jinoo. Although Google tells me Jinoo is a made up word, I dunno if google is being willfully ignorant here, one can draw the conclusion that Jinoo is another word for Djinn that date back to pre-Islamic mythologies.

From what the Image website tells me, the first story arc of BITTER ROOT is slated to be 4 issues in length. They refer to this as the first story arc which generally means the series will continue depending on sales.

As far as first issues go, not a whole lot is given to us. It appears our focus is on a female character who's got her heart set on physically fighting the Jinoo while her family pushes her into a less violent role. She's given the task of grinding a special root which is administered to the Jinoo. We don't get to know much else about the characters as they have a brief interaction of just a few pages and then some action. We are also introduced to another more mysterious set of characters with even less insight into who they are or exactly their motives.

From the cover, one would assume that the Jinoo are vampires and although some are vampyric in appearance on the cover, reading further into issue 1 will have you feeling otherwise. I'm honestly not sure at all how I feel about this series. I do feel overwhelmed by the introduction of so many characters despite the fact that there was SOME meaningful interaction and the main characters are pretty cool. The headstrong female lead is a bit tiresome but I like the rest of her family. As for the art, I'm really into the coloring of the entire comic although the characters do feel a bit goofy most of the time and that so far doesn't make this feel like a horror comic but maybe it's not supposed to be?

Well I think that's it for this review, something fun I wanted to start doing was to tell you what music I listened to while reading the comic and  for this one I listened Samavaya- Vatan (2018)  which seemed to actually go quite well with this one. Warning if you don't like Maynard from Tool you're not likely to enjoy this because the lead singer very much sounds like him.

Check out my video review to see some of the artwork: