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: 

DEVIL WITHIN #1 & 2 (Black Mask)

Greetings again Comic Book Junkies. It's the frog queen here and today I'm reviewing DEVIL WITHIN issues #1 and 2 from Black Mask Studios. This is written by Stephanie Phillips and illustrated by Maan House with colors by Dee Cunniffe. Letters by Troy Peteri.

Maan House is a name you certainly may be familiar with. House has been a comic artist on such titles as Witchblade and Cutter, Krampus, Hipnorama and more. Stephanie Phillips was selected as the Top Cow Talent Hunt runner-up winner for writing. Stephanie's previous titles include Butcher of Paris and Kicking Ice.

This is a horror comic that debuted in the month of horror October with issue #2 having just been released on November 21st. Yours truly was late getting this comic as sometimes happens but I knew I'd get to it eventually. So the story begins with two newly engaged love birds entering their brand new home. Samantha and Michelle immediately start to have experiences in the home, well in particular, Michelle starts to have experiences while Samantha lives in a world of doubt and denial.

How do I put this, Sam is basically an asshole. She's an un-supportive partner who doesn't even recommend to her fiance that MAYBE she see a healthcare professional (which in my opinion, would be the obvious choice if you didn't believe in ghosts and your fiance was going on about seeing them AND being possessed by one). But no, Sam continues to tell her girlfriend that she's overreacting, imagining things and being dramatic. She's not a far jump away from gaslighting. She'd get along great with my ex boyfriend.

Sam antagonizes her partner at every turn, especially in issue 2. I don't even think this can be taken as joking around at this point. On pg 13 she's making fun of her for tripping and hurting herself and pg 14 she's making her sound irresponsible by telling her she can't take care of herself. And on pg 16 she's making fun of her in her head. WHY IS SAM EVEN MARRYING THIS WOMAN? She clearly doesn't think much Michelle.

All things considered, for another haunting possession story, DEVIL WITHIN is really engaging story. I actually felt myself sympathizing with Michelle more so for having to deal with asshole Sam than the possession but right there, that kept me reading. I love a good possession story, I love creepy ghost kids, let me correct that, I love creepy ghost kids in my comics. But I think I would be remiss without saying that we've seen all these things before. Something this story has that many possession stories do not have is a homosexual relationship. It's nice to have that diversity there although it doesn't really add anything to the story thus far. Yet as I said, despite this story not containing any ground breaking horror elements, it remains engaging.

Well I think that does it for this review. Devil Within is a 4 issue mini series and you can get issue #3 on January 2nd. Thank you so much for watching, don't forget to subscribe to my channel and check me out on facebook, instagram and twitter and as always until next time, read something good.

CHECKOUT MY VIDEO REVIEW TO SEE MORE OF THE ART:

Middlewest #1 (Image Comics)

Writer: Skottie Young
Artist: Jorge Corona
Cover: Mike Huddleston
Variant Cover: Skottie Young, Jorge Corona
Published: November 21, 2018
Diamond ID: SEP180050
Age Rating: M

Hello Comic Book Junkies, it's the frog queen here and today I'm talking about Middlewest #1 by  Skottie Young and Jorge Corona which just came out from Image Comics.

I have actually been sharing images of this on Facebook for quite some time. So this is a pretty important comic for me in the sense that I've been really looking forward to it. I got my review copy this week and had to take the dive.

I do not think that I have ever read a comic that was written, but not illustrated, by Skottie Young. Yet having read I HATE FAIRY LAND, I know that we are in for something far from average. I don't think anyone more perfect could illustrate a story for Skottie Young. Jorge Corona's style is so perfect for anything whimsical. If you've been reading my blog for a few years you likely remember me gushing over Jorge Corona's comic series FEATHERS which was published by Archaia back in late 2015. You'll find that his art style has taken on a maturity to speak to an older audience than FEATHERS and the coloring will get to you.... right in the feels. Those gorgeous blues and purples makes my pupils dilate.


The story appears to take place in a kind of dimension similar to our Earth but with some eerie differences. For instance, everything appears to be powered by this glowing pink substance which is attached to motor vehicles, homes, etc. It almost resembles an IV drip and so I keep thinking that here's a child who's in a coma attached to some I.V. drip and talking to his spirit guide. Yes that cute little Fox on the cover is actually talking to our main character. Of course being a bit of symbolism junkie, I would assume from the cover that he is a terminal heart patient. But hey I could be entirely wrong and I'm just having fun making my own narrative. My whole made up synopsis works well with the fact that we are introduced to the main character Abel from the beginning of the comic, within his own nightmare. Or maybe the nightmare is just how he views his environment, the Middlewest. Hostile, uncontrollable and oppressive.

Abel has an abusive father whom he tries to please until he doesn't when his Fox friend urges him to neglect his responsibilities in favor of having some fun with his friends. And that's when the storm comes. This is a very mysterious story and I can't wait to see more.

MIDDLEWEST is an all new, on-going series with Image Comics and you can get issue #1 at your local comic book shop! You can get your copy of issue #2 on December 19th!

WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO TO SEE MORE OF THE ART:

Comics I'm Currently Reading November Edition

Hello Comic Book Junkies! Welcome back to TheFrogQueen.com ! Here's an update on what comics and books I'm currently reading. I give a little synopsis of each one and tell you a few things that I really like about them. Again, this is just a rundown of SOME of the comics I've been reading. It in no way encompasses them all as I am constantly staring at comics for work and trying to keep up with the industry! These are just a few that have really spoken to me in one way or another. 

ANDROMEDA OR THE LONG WAY HOME

Welcome back comic book junkies! It's the frog queen here and today I'm talking about a brand new graphic novel campaign on indiegogo called ANDROMEDA OR THE LONG WAY HOME by Ze Burnay. Full disclosure, Ze is a client of mine and I am currently promoting this kickstarter which is why I really wanted to share it with you. Not only do I love this book but I want it to see all the success it deserves!

At its core, Andromeda follows the journey of a man as he struggles to understand, thrive and conquer the landscape that surrounds him. His journey is imparted in a collection of three separate stories. Rich in symbolism and mythological influence, Andromeda is a sophisticated graphic novel that ensnares imagination and excites the spirit.

ANDROMEDA launched on Nov 15th and runs until Dec 15th. The book will be released in hardcover and includes an ambient music soundtrack and a selection of illustrations, sketches and an all-star guest pin-up gallery provided by Mike Mignola, Artyom Trakhanov, Frans Boukas, John Kenn Mortensen, Matt Smith, Simon Roy, and Aaron Conley.

Within the book you'll find three separate stories and they all link together. Our main character who essentially remains nameless, encounters many monsters of myth and legend on his journey and must combat tricks and dangers to find his way home. As this comic is not yet released I'm just showing you artwork that has been shared via social media by myself and the author Ze. I really love Ze's work because it has such a classical illustration feel while also being extremely badass. Ze has done many covers for metal bands and it's totally obvious in a rock and roll way. 

2018 is almost at an end and you do not want it to slip by without taking a look at this amazing, limited run comic. 

Please use the following link to support ANDROMEDA:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/andromeda-or-the-long-way-home#/

HEROES INTERNATIONAL! “A comic book featuring a superhero team just like any other popular superhero team from Marvel or DC with one exception...They Suck!”

HEROES INTERNATIONAL is an ongoing comic book series about an unconventional band of superheroes! Short Fuse Media launched a new Kickstarter and have gained a staggering $4100 CAD already! With flexible reward tiers, the team has made it possible for anyone to get in on the action! Their rewards range from digital to printed media, t-shirts, posters, action figures and more! With only nine days left to be apart of this campaign, you don't want to wait! PLEDGE TODAY!

Here's the skinny:
Years after a tragic event that the media dubbed “The Zero Event” where all of the superhero population disappeared, new powered superheroes begin to emerge around the world to fill the void left by the missing heroes. Even though most of these heroes lack training and experience, a division of the government called the Extra Human Division (EHD) begins to ban a few of these heroes together as the new generation of the super team called Heroes International. Can this diverse cast of characters find a way to work together and save the world…or will they die trying?!

NEWS: LIFE IS STRANGE COMIC

LIFE IS STRANGE #1 (of 4)
Writer: Emma Vieceli
Artist: Claudia Leonardi
Colorist: Andrea Izzo
Publisher: Titan Comics
On sale: November 14, 2018
 

This all-new emotional rollercoaster stars fan-favorites Max and Chloe, and picks up after one heart-breaking ending of the critically-acclaimed game! One year after Max fatefully chose Chloe over Arcadia Bay, timelines tangle around the pair in a literal fight against time!

Yes I, just like so many others, played LIFE IS STRANGE and now there's a great new comic coming out written by the amazing Emma Vieceli whom I actually had the privilege of meeting at the 2018 Toronto Comic Arts Festival. The team for the 4 part mini series is immensely talented and you just gotta check out this trailer to view the beautiful artwork!! 

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: SUGAR Vol 1 (Image Comics)

Writer: Matt Hawkins, Jenni Cheung
Artist: Yishan Li
Published: August 29, 2018
Diamond ID: MAY180085
Age Rating: M

I'm trying to diversify my comic book reading. It truly is very easy for me to stick to my natural comfort zone in comics: horror, sci fi, post apocalyptic devastation and mayhem. Anything to satisfy my bloodlust. So I this week I started picking up books that look like something I would never read or enjoy. That's when I saw SUGAR. I didn't really like the cover, it screamed of romance novel and I typically despise everything romance related because I have such a hate on for cliches. SUGAR is 100% everything I would not buy or bother reading so... I read it. I actually liked it despite all it's problems. Let me tell you why but first, here's the skinny on SUGAR:

SUGAR is an original graphic novel that was published on August 9th 2018 by Image Comics. It's co-written by Matt Hawkins and Jenni Cheung and fully illustrated by Yishan Li. The book is appropriately named for two reasons 1) Sugar for sugar baby, a name given to generally young women who provide a gf experience to a man in exchange for a monetary allowance and gifts. 2) Sugar for the pet name used as a term of endearment to strangers, for instance something a waitress might say to a customer. 

When I said I don't like to read romance books for the most part because of cliches let me not mislead you into thinking that SUGAR is free of cliche. It's totally a cliche. The book follows a beautiful young girl, struggling to make enough money to pay her tuition and help her family who are down on their luck because of a horrible car accident. She ends up being a sugar baby in a very round about way and falling for the man who's paying for her companionship. It's Pretty Women for struggling, 23 year old white college girls everywhere... I guess. 

The whole book is problematic from the start because it gives the impression that we can only accept a woman being a sugar baby if she is 100% innocent, a hard worker, and through no fault of her own, in financial distress. The book tells us this in a number of ways while constantly playing up the righteousness of our main character Julia. For instance she repeatedly explains she is taking the money from sugar daddy John as a loan... that she will pay back.... right. This allows her to what? Keep her dignity and righteousness in the readers eyes? Does anyone else think that maybe the authors don't consider sex workers or sugar babies (if they can also be considered sex workers?) to be good people? Like maybe they look down on sex work? That's so forward thinking of them right? ugh.. let's continue.

Right in the beginning we meet the main characters roommate who apparently regularly brings different men home for sex. Although the main character isn't slut shaming her and almost admires her apparent sexual freedom, you still get the impression that we are suppose to see the roommate as a dirty, dirty whore (in comparison to Julia, the beacon of righteousness covering her face with a pillow on the couch). So the slut vs virgin type cliche? 

Let's continue to pile up the cliches then, Julia also tends bar at a club where the owner is known to grab and touch the female staff inappropriately and GUESS WHO jumps in to defend Julia when the owner smacks her butt behind the bar? YUP our love interest millionaire John. Okay so we got the White Knight cliche... 

It's not long before we find out that John is in emotional recovery from a rocky divorce. His mean, mean ex wife had an affair. She's awful isn't she? Just no one in this book who has a vagina is anywhere near as amazing and honest as Julia is. Don't you just relate to her? Anyway, Johns ex wife finds out about Julia who's FAR younger than she is and suddenly decides to come back into Johns life. Okay so we have the pitting women against each other cliche. To make it REALLY awesome the evil older woman against the sweet and demure, submissive 23 year old. 

So these are just a few cliches and despite these I don't actually think that the authors really look down on sex work but they aren't doing much to mitigate that view in the book. Despite this, I did enjoy reading the book. It was well written despite the cliches and bad political views... and despite even though I hated all the characters except the very practical roommate character. In the end they make her look "better" by showing her actually committing to someone because I guess that makes you a better person? There's so much to unpack in this graphic novel that I dunno if I even did it justice. I get that possibly super sexually oppressed people might like this story as a fantasy but the reality is lots of people do sex work and it doesn't make them bad people and WHY does Julia repeatedly yell at John that she's not a prostitute? That's just UGH. There's nothing wrong with being a sex worker. It's TWO THOUSAND AND BLOODY EIGHTEEN. 

Anyway I think that about wraps it up for this review. The only other item I can really say is that despite most of the art being quite polished (although it's really not my cup of tea), many of the characters suffer from some serious dead-eyedness. Lacking emotion at many points.. and it's mostly Julia just looking like she's had a lobotomy. 

ADVANCED COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Man Eaters #1 (Image Comics)

            I thought it was about time I started writing review articles again and why not start with something deviously named MAN EATERS. This is a new on-going series from New York Times bestselling thriller writer Chelsea Cain. This creator owned series is published by Image Comics and complete with expert interior illustration by artist Kate Niemczyk who has worked for everyone from Marvel to Dark Horse and yes even the game giant Blizzard. All the gutsy and glitsy cover art is by Lia Miternique who is a bit of newcomer to comics but not to design. 

So I bet you're wondering what a book about man eaters could be about. Well it's not about cannibals...exactly. Essentially in this story, the world is rocked by a new plague. In fact a mutation in Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is something cat owners these days don't really concern themselves with. It is a disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which can be found in garden soil and raw meat. Cats can get toxoplasma infection by killing and eating infected prey. The disease can also be passed on from cats to humans. However in MAN EATERS the mutation causes menstruating women to turn into ferocious, killer wildcats. It has caused more than a few deaths. So many in fact that the government had to create a new task force to deal with the devastation. 

So what do I think about this debut killer issue? I think the idea is pretty fun and although it did remind me a bit of Cat People with Malcolm McDowell at first, it's a pretty far cry from the 80's thriller. It also doesn't seem to take itself too seriously which is a major pitfall of most thriller and horror stories lately. Without spoiling much of the story I have to ask however, why tampons?  Allow me to just go on a bloody tangent here. I totally get that tampons are a big symbol in this book because we're dealing with menstruating women who turn into human eating cats but WHY tampons? Is it because it's penetrative? Is it because pads and diva cups will confuse male readers? That seems a bit unlikely. 

So why tampons? I hate tampons. I could never get them to work, leaking little turds that were uncomfortable and prone to infecting a gal. Not to mention that the whole history of the tampon is still accredited to a man. The whole idea of plugging up your vagina was not invented by the guy who first patented the tampon. (Dr. Earle Haas Women have been sticking things up there to soak up blood since ancient Egypt but still a man gets credit for inventing the tampon... the world is really confusing.) Regardless I am left assuming that penetration is the point here not to mention the control a tampon (is suppose to lend). The whole story is pretty much society trying to control the sexual maturity of women... you know, exactly like society in real life. I'm not being sarcastic. That's how I actually look at the world and what I believe to be true. I think a lot of us see that as truth. Okay let's move away from tampons and deeply depressing reality faced by women during puberty. 

As for interior art, I think you're going to be pretty at home with this book if you're a Marvel comics fan. Niemczyk & Cain were responsible for the very celebrated and also very much attacked MOCKINGBIRD: My Feminist Agenda. Here like the artwork in Mockingbird, we have panels that are straight forward in their intention. It's easy to grasp what's happening in every panel, emotions are precise and clear. You don't have to guess who characters are half the time because they are easily distinguished from each other. Of course if you've read many of my reviews or watched my videos you know that one of my major pet peeves in the comic world is a book with a bunch of characters who all look the same.

MAN EATERS #1 is available in stores September 26th and I completely recommend you putting it on your pull list because it's quite a bit of fun. 

Comics I'm Currently Reading (September Edition)

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Death of Love trade (Image Comics)

 Hello Comic book junkies it's the frog queen here back from a little summer break. Today I'm talking about DEATH OF LOVE by Justin Jordan and illustrated by Donal Delay. The collected trade edition was just released this Wednesday. Death of Love was originally serialized as a 5 part mini series with Image Comics.

BACK TO BACK Comic Book Review: Bone Parish & The New World #1

This is a double feature... well a double review. On July 25th 2018 we say the debut of two new comic book series: BONE PARISH #1 and THE NEW WORLD #1. Here's what I thought!

Advanced Comic Book Review: BRITANNIA LOST EAGLES OF ROME #1

This is an advanced review of the 3rd story arc of the Valiant Comic series BRITANNIA. Issue 1 will be available in stores on July 25th 2018! So make sure you've ordered a copy!

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Ice Cream Man Vol 1 (Image Comics)

Hey Comic Book Junkies, please watch my latest video review below!

Writer: W. Maxwell Prince
Artist / Cover: Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran
Variant Cover: Mike Shea - See more at: https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/ice-cream-man-3#sthash.SaGPd5aN.dpuf

Kickstarter Support: ALL WE EVER WANTED (A Wave Blue World Comics)

NEW ANTHOLOGY DARES TO IMAGINE A BRIGHTER FUTURE

(June 4, 2018) A Wave Blue World announces the launch of the Kickstarter campaign for its latest anthology, ALL WE EVER WANTED: Stories of a Better World. This full color collection features a cover by Ariela Kristantina (Insexts, Mata Hari) and contains over 25 stories meant to inspire us and restore the belief that a brighter future is possible.

The anthology is edited by Matt Miner (Gwar, Poser) and Erik Palicki (No Angel, Orphans), who, alongside A Wave Blue World, have spearheaded a combined 12 successful kickstarter campaigns, delivering four previous anthologies. Together they’ve gathered an impressive list on contributors, ranging from experienced veterans to some of the most ambitious new voices working in comics. All of them are eager to share their hopeful visions of the future.

Publisher Tyler Chin-Tanner explains, “Popular fiction moves in cycles. Recently, it’s mostly been stories of dystopian futures, which serve as a warning of what might come. But now I think we’re past the point of warnings. People are starting to get depressed. We need to show them a light at the end of the tunnel. That’s our motivation for creating this anthology.”

You can find out more about the project and back the campaign at www.AWBWKickstarter.com

Full list of contributors:

Matt Horak, Eryk Donovan, Robbi Rodriguez, Tess Fowler, Lucia Fasano, Toby Cypress, Eliot Rahal, Jason Copland, Jennie Wood, Jeff McComsey, Vasilis Pozios, Ryan Cody, Chris Visions, Lela Gwen, Tony Gregori, Alex Paknadel, Chris Peterson, Alisa Kwitney, Alain Mauricet, Matt LeJeune, Josh Gorfain, Howard Mackie, Ryan Lee, Dean Trippe, Justin Zimmerman, Ethan Claunch, Paul Allor, Juan Romera, Jarrett Melendez, Danica Brine, Taylor Hoffman, Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, Rich Douek, David Stoll, James Maddox, Gavin Smith, Nadia Shammas, Jude Vigants, Erik Burnham, Anthony Marques, Kay Honda, Liana Kangas, Maria Fröhlich, Matt Miner, Eric Palicki, Tyler & Wendy Chin-Tanner, Josh Jensen and Nick Wentland.

More about the Publisher:

Founded in 2005 by Tyler & Wendy Chin-Tanner, AWBW is and independent publisher of high quality graphic novels, anthologies and art books with a focus on originality and cultural relevance.

Comic Book Sneak Peek: DEADHORSE Vol 2 #3 Available Today!

Hello Comic Book Junkies, it's the frog queen here and today I'm giving you a sneak peek at the DEADHORSE series available now through Deadhorsecomic.com and on comixology : http://bit.ly/2k38dE2

From writer Eric Grissom (Gregory Suicide, Dark Horse Comics), illustrator Phil Sloan (War of the Dead, Weird NJ, IDW), and colorist Marissa Louise (Galaktikon, The Wilds, Spell on Wheels) comes the return of the critically acclaimed series Deadhorse with VOL 2: The Ballad of the Two Headed Dog #3.

Come Into Me #1 & 2 (Black Mask Studios)

My first thought was eXistenZ, that great Cronenburg movie (who am I kidding, they're all great) from 1999. The umbilical-like chord is of course what did it. But COME INTO ME isn't anything like eXistenZ except for the fact that we're dealing with crazy cranial technology that affects people's perception. In this case we have INBEING, a new technology that allows two people to share the same body. But what was originally developed to help patients with various challenges, is now being considered as a new form of entertainment... A new kind of escapism. You can see a few similarities here.

COME INTO ME is written by Lonnie Nadler & Zac Thompson of Marvel Comics CABLE, and Black Mask THE DREGGS. Illustrated by Piotr Kowalski who’s work I know best from Clive Barkers NIGHTBREED released in 2015. I'm extremely pleased with the artwork here and totally in love with the color job done by Niko Guardia. The vibrant pinks and purples are giving my Moebius flashbacks. That's fairly normal for me though, I mean I'm always having flashbacks about comics and Moebius is often on the brain. Regardless, I do get a very retro feel from this artwork. I was a huge fan of Kowalski's work on NIGHTBREED. His panels feel very uncluttered and straight to the point while also always imparting the appropriate mood to help me grasp the emotions of the moment. A lot of the story focus is on alienation and loneliness. The panels capture this distance between characters I would say, even with their inability to make eye contact.

The opening scene for one is simply amazing. What a wicked start to a comic. It's more of an introduction than an annoying ploy to thrust us into the action of a story like so many books these days. I really appreciated that we get a little glimpse into what INBEING can do and just how dangerous it can be. I'm sure you can imagine how awful things could get should the device failed to work properly during the transferring consciousness or if something else were to happen...

Of course things go horribly wrong for our main character but in the most interesting way. I can't spoil it. The story progresses with an even flow and allows you to actually get to know your main characters. I feel like this rarely happens anymore in serialized comics. Bad pacing, pointless cliff hangers, too many characters so that we don't get enough info about one or it's a superficial overview. I should just write a list of problems with modern serialized comics. Another major problem with modern comics is that some of them just should not be serialized. They would make amazing graphic novels but cutting them up in little pieces loses the reader and the story suffers as a result. COME INTO ME doesn't have the problem. It's a serialized comic which has logical conclusions to each issue (so far) that also manage to keep you interested and craving another issue. It's so refreshing to see someone actually get it right for a change and I can't wait for more.

Interview with Jeremy Holt on SKIP TO THE END (Insight Comics)

Hello Comic Book Junkies, it's the frog queen here and today I had the pleasure to interview Jeremy Holt about the release of the collected edition of his comic book SKIP TO THE END. This will be available in Hardcover format from INSIGHT COMICS on June 12th 2018.

Interview with Peter Milligan on THE PRISONER & BRITANNIA

Hello comic book junkies, here is my latest comic book creator interview. This one is with the amazing Peter Milligan where we discuss the upcoming 3rd story arc of Britannia (Valiant Comics) as well as the new series The Prisoner (Titan Comics).

For audio only podcast, please use the following link:
https://soundcloud.com/amy-b-9/the-frog-queen-podcast-interview-with-peter-milligan-on-britannia-the-prisoner

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!

Check out what I'm currently reading and what I did for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! 

Comic Book Creator Interview: KATIE SKELLY (MY PRETTY VAMPIRE, Fantagraphics Books)

Hello Comic Book Junkies and thank you for watching another awesome comic book creator interview. Today's interview is with Katie Skelly where she makes a special announcement, the first announcement ever about her upcoming book! Please check out the video to hear all about it! Katie's Website & Social Media: http://www.katieskellycomics.com http://www.instagram.com/skellyskelly... https://twitter.com/nurse_nurse

The Prisoner #1

Another Wednesday, another new comic book series hits the stands. Today marks the release of a new comic book series released by Titan Comics in celebrations of the 50 year anniversary of the British television show THE PRISONER co-created, written and directed by Patrick McGoohan of Scanners and Braveheart. The television show first aired 50 years ago today in 1968. This series is brought to us in a modern light by non other than Peter Milligan (X-Statix, The Mummy) and illustrated by Colin Lorimer (The Hunt, Harvest). Titan Comics also presents us with an amazing cover from Mike and Laura Allred, what better way to celebrate?

Naturally as this is written by Peter Milligan, I'm reading it so that means you better keep your eyes peeled for an interview with Mr Milligan on my Youtube Channel next week. For now you all will have to be content to watch the series trailer released by Titan until you hit your local comic book shop.

The original television series was sold and marketed as a spy thriller but was heralded for it's counter-cultural themes and surrealist setting. The physiological drama which combined elements of science fiction focused on a spy's imprisonment within a small village resort where people were known only as numbers. Milligan's story takes an updated approach and launches us further into the future rather than the past. How far into the future we cannot be sure as we follow an operative named Breen in the 21st Century, where global currency is no longer oil or gold. Information is now the source of all power.

Issue one of THE PRISONER is in stores today so don't think I'm going to be including any spoilers in this article! I feel I've already told you too much!! You're going to have to hit your local store to see what direction this story goes but I know you will not be disappointed. 

COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Lucy Dreaming #1 & 2 (Boom Studios)

First Look at PERSEPHONE from Archaia & Boom Studios

In stores this May is a graphic novel I've been greatly anticipating called PERSEPHONE by Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky from Boom Studios & Archaia. The story "follows a young girl whose search for truth about her identity leads her on a journey deep into the Underworld". Here is your first look at the inside art. 

The Crow Memento Mori #1 & 2 (IDW Publishing)

CREATORS:
Roberto Recchioni (Author) • Moreno Dinisio (Colorist) • Werther Dell’Edera (Artist, Cover Artist) • Giovanna Niro (Colorist) • Matteo Scalera (Author, Artist) •Davide Furno (Cover Artist)

There's nothing quite like beginning a story by quoting the Old Testament. I quite enjoy Exodus myself but mostly because I do think that god is a more probably god, I mean a definite complete sadist. I'm of course an atheist if you have never picked that up from my articles. If I was a Christian I would be very much an Old Testament, god fearing lady because that is the most realistic version of god (Yahweh) unfortunately.

I have been a fan of The Crow series for well over two decades. It was one of the first comics I read, my grandmother had got a giant box of comics at a local garage sale and I would sit and read them. The first Spawn books were among them along with a lot of Conan, my parents didn't realize that comics weren't all for children. I was thrilled. So this is a new Crow story which revolves around a dead alter boy so at least the intro of bible quotes is appropriate and not just there for pretentious  drama. 

So if you've read the original Crow comic or even watched one of the many movies, then you already know the format. Man dies, man comes back to reap vengeance against those who have murdered him and his loved ones. Unfortunately there's no deviation here, a man is dead and so is his lover. Another story with women as plot devices rather than characters. Yay. 

Throughout the book however there are copious panels which both make you feel the distance the narrator feels from the living world, a constant observer but also mixed with panels that feel very intimate. You look at the narrator as if looking into a mirror. I can't help but feel an affinity and emotional understand of him despite his situation having NO possible resemblance to my own. I really enjoyed the artwork, the coloring was appropriate and the characters were distinguishable. 

However, politically I do not like this comic. The first moment of vengeance is reaped in issue one by a white Christian onto an Islamic seventeen year old who is of course one of the people involved in the bombing. Anything that vilifies Islam in favor of Christianity tends to turn my stomach. I really hoped this would be a vendetta against the Churches of Rome, not another religion. I was more impressed with issue two where Christianity isn't looking so hot and the father of the church is looking a very likely target for vengeance. 

I also want to mention that these issues felt short. VERY short in fact. I counted both issue one at 20 pages and issue two at 18 of actual content. Each issue has a preview of an upcoming IDW comic which takes up a significant page count. 

Interview with Sloane Leong on PRISM STALKER

Today I'm talking to Sloane Leong about her new Image Comic book series PRISM STALKER. You can get both issue 1 & 2 in stores today. Issue 3 is available May 9th.

If you haven't, please check out my review of issues 1 & 2 here:

Punks Not Dead #1 & 2 (BLACK CROWN)

(W) David Barnett (A) Martin Simmonds (CA) Annie Wu

Gotta love a title that throws in a nice Spinal Tap Reference. The title of the first story arc in this new series is Turn It Up To Eleven. BLACK CROWN editor Shelly Bond has been making all the right choices. PUNKS NOT DEAD is a unique new series on the imprint where David Barnett mixes reality with the supernatural. The story centers on  bullied youth "Fergie" who realizes he can see things other people cannot. He finds a new friend in the ghost of punk rock legend Sid Vicious. If that wasn't enough supernatural musings for you, we're also introduced to an eccentric lady who is head of the Department for Extra-Usual Affairs. That's a fictitious British department for taking care of haunting and dealing with things such as the occult. I actually wish it was real because I would be doing everything in my power to work there.

I have not previously seen any work from artist Martin Simmonds so this is my first time experiencing his talent. His work feels very fresh and modern. That's actually nearly the opposite of what typically catches my eye however I found myself becoming enamored with it as the pages carried me on. I will say that Sid looks exactly like the Sandman and he even has lovely black speech bubbles with white lettering. Familiar? Of course it feels familiar The Sandman can't claim ownership of this type of speech bubble. We've seen lots of supernatural characters being expressed this way. I suppose it's not of any real consequence. I can say that without the amazing coloring of Annie Wu, I likely wouldn't be nearly as enamored. I really hope Simmonds and Wu continue to work together for some time.

I'm curious as to why Sid Vicious was chosen as the ghostly companion. Of course a terrible role model and an awkward, trouble teen are a fun combo to witness. After only two issues however, Sid has actually made a somewhat positive impact. Although I can assume that the future of this story has some kerfuffle about to be unleashed involving Sid and the Department of Extra-Unusual Affairs, I wonder how it will all go down. It's a somewhat unusual story in general and none of the characters are particularly endearing or good in any way. Our main character Fergie is simply depressed and submissive to everyone around him which is the opposite of Vicious' care free, "fuck-it" attitude. I expect that their relationship will blossom with Fergie lashing out at the urging of Sid, but perhaps that all just too predictable. Regardless I will be reading on perhaps not so much for the story but for the art which has captured my attention so covertly. When you start out looking at page one thinking "this isn't really for me" and then manage to make it through two issues only to realize you've fallen in love with a new artist... that's a very silent take-over. That deserves everybody's attention.

PUNKS NOT DEAD hits a comic book shelf near you APRIL 18th.

THE REALM Vol 1 (Image Comics)

Hello! Today I'm reviewing Image Comics' THE REALM VOL 1 by Jeremy Haun and Seth M. Peck. Also, I've been streaming on Twitch so check me out over there!

Follow me on Twitch! http://www.twitch.tv/thefrogqueen

Interview with Mike Carey on THE HIGHEST HOUSE (IDW Publishing)

 

Today I'm talking to Mike Carey about his latest comic book series THE HIGHEST HOUSE from IDW. I'm so excited I get to share this interview with you! Please feel free to post comments and questions in the comment section below.

Why Should You Read ROYAL CITY by Jeff Lemire

It's no real surprise for long time readers, that I'm a fan of Jeff Lemire. It may be a surprise that he's one busy dude who is writing multiple comic book series as I write this one little article. He's been very busy all over the world of comics. He writes for the big 2 here and there as well as providing Valiant Comics with some of the best superhero genre comics of modern times. Of course, he somehow manages to both writer and illustrate his creator owned comics published by Image Comics on top of it all. He must be a superhero himself.

ROYAL CITY is one of those creator owned comics that is currently ongoing with Image Comics. Not to mention his latest debut series there GIDEON FALLS.

Volume 2 of Royal City comes out April 18th and if you haven't been paying this series any attention, I suggest you do now. Get volume 1 just like I did and BINGE this now. I wrongly ignored this series because I was busy with all the Jeff Lemire going on everywhere all over the comic book world. So it wasn't until a week ago that I decided it was time to pay some attention to his latest creator owned series. I couldn't have been more wrong to have ignored it although, it is an amazing binge read. I can't speak to how I would feel about this series if I had read it monthly. Binge reading this had me reeling. I COULD NOT STOP READING. In fact, with issue #10 finishing in February, I'm in shock. I need more. I need it now but I don't get more until issue #11 on frick'n May 30th!!!

So, why should you read ROYAL CITY? Firstly, the plot itself. This is about a family dealing with trauma and it is presented in a unique way that actually tackles how different family members deal differently with the same trauma. In this case, it is dealing with a possibly suicide. Throughout the series, the deceased person appears to each member of the family in a different way. Some family members see the deceased as they were when they died. Others imagine them as grown up who has been with them in all the absent years progressing with them as if they were alive.

It's not clear right away whether they see the deceased purely in their own mind or by some supernatural intervention. It's a huge mystery and it does keep you reading. You continue to learn about each character and not only how they feel about the deceased but how they feel about each other as the history of their lives unfolds throughout the story. Of course, they are all dealing with another family member facing a death sentence.

What is interesting to me about this particular Lemire book, is not only the realism of how a person's brain deals with grief, but the effect the art itself. It imparts a significant loneliness throughout the entirety of the series to date. This feels very real and you actually feel the loneliness and struggle of each character in a very emotional way without even having to consider their actions and words. You will quickly find sympathy with each of the characters despite their flaws. You will just FALL IN LOVE.

So my question to you is: WHY AREN'T YOU READING ROYAL CITY?!

Interview with Sarah Horrocks on GORO, Twisted Romance & Politics

MANGA REVIEW: TO YOUR ETERNITY Vol 1&2 (Kodansha Comics)

INTERVIEW with SEBASTIAN GIRNER on SCALES AND SCOUNDRELS (Image Comics)

Quantum Teens Are Go! (BLACK MASK STUDIOS)

(W) Magdalene Visaggio, Eryk Donovan (CA) Eryk Donovan

So here's something you might not be expecting. A series that really came out of left field. As in, I wasn't expecting this. Sure, it's impossible to expect anything specifically from BLACK MASK STUDIOS. They keep me on my toes when it comes to original content. Are you ready for this review? You're probably going to get mad.

So I was initially pretty excited to read this book. I liked the covers. Yes that is often how I judge a series. When you get a press release from a publisher it generally only has a couple cover images of the series. Occasionally, you'll get some preview pages but generally it's just the covers so I make a lot of assumptions RIGHT THERE and then I read the synopsis.

The synopsis of QUANTUM TEENS ARE GO is explained in a two pager at the beginning of the book which also gives two creatively written bio's on the creators. At any rate this is what Black Mask Studios had to say:

"Mad science is the punkest s*** there is. Teenage sweethearts Nat & Sumesh spend their nights breaking into abandoned superlabs to steal the parts they need to build a time machine - and they've just found the most important part. But mysterious entities keep trying to stop them turning it on. Now all they've gotta do is hang on long enough to figure out why. Magdalene Visaggio (Kim & Kim) and Eryk Donovan (Memetic) bring you a high-octane adventure full of robots, muscle cars, and queer-a** skater punks."
So I'm reading through the first issue and then I hit my ---first issue with the book. The main character is apparently trans which is great, at least I thought so because hey, diversity in comics is still a thing that needs to be addressed. In my opinion there isn't much diversity in comics at all. Sure we're starting to get characters who are people of color, gay, trans and other marginalized people but they're generally written by white men. At least this has been the current trend with the BIG TWO. I wanna see more diverse characters written by people who actually come from those diverse backgrounds. I wanna see more writers of color in comics, more gay people of comics, more trans people in comics, more women in comics. That to me is true diversity.

Anyway I got a little off track so lets get back to the review shall we? Here's my beef: There is absolutely no reason that the main character being trans in this story even matters. Maybe that's on purpose. Maybe merely throwing in there that she's trans is fine. Yet the way it's thrown in the first issue makes it feel horribly token-esque. It almost made me a little angry. It goes down like this:

There is this awkward exchange between the main character and her mother where he mother gives her some shit for being a rebellious teen. The mother uses her dead name and blames the rebellious behavior on being trans - she's obviously not winning the mom of the year award. Let's be frank here, I'm not saying that the fact that the character is trans is wrong, it's just that this is pretty much the only time it comes up and it's pretty damn stereotypical. I had this discussion with one of my friends the other day about how the focus on trans characters is so blatantly always about transitioning which is basically a very small part of ones life as a trans person. That being said I'm sure there are people out there that want to know a character is trans so they can feel some sort camaraderie with the character yet also not make the fact that someone is trans, the main plot line.

I'm not purposely trying to be nit-picky about how one fights for diversity in comics, but as a journalist I do think that it is within my right to address certain grievances. That's the point of reviews right? I dunno if Mags is a trans woman. It's really none of my business whether she is or not. It's not anyone's business but she does seem passionate about the rights of trans people which is a solid plus.

In fact her twitter is full of retweets making fun of SJW and referring to something off-putting about how trans women can not be lesbians because they don't date other trans women... which I know for a fact is just a sad and erroneous opinion since my ex is a trans woman who identifies as a lesbian and I have trans lesbian friends that are currently in long term relationships with other trans women. Perhaps Mags is retweeting these things to call attention to the silliness. I can only make assumptions and that's not something I like to do because you know what they say about assumptions...

So now that all that stuff, I actually got pretty bored throughout the book. Although I felt the ending of the trade as a whole was very good, I found myself rushing through the book because I wasn't really enjoying it. I didn't find the actual action and events of the story were terribly interesting and perhaps that's because I expected something else in a science fiction type book. I felt the world itself was too close to our current world to incorporate the time machine technology. It just didn't make a lot of sense. I'm generally the last person to have a problem suspending my disbelief but I just didn't there in this book.

That all said, I think it's definitely worth a read and I would like to hear what you thought of this book! 

Interview with RICH TOMMASO on DRY COUNTY (Image Comics)

  Today I'm talking to Comic Book Creator Rich Tommaso on his upcoming Image Comics Series DRY COUNTY out March 14th. You can pre-order using Diamond ID: JAN180605. Don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel!

Amazon Wish List

AMAZON WISHLIST

Occasionally people ask me if I have an amazon wishlist because they want to send me books. Well in fact I do but it's never been made public until now. If you are itching to send me books, here's how you can do it. Got a review request? Feel free to send the book my way and I'll review it for YouTube.

How Boring was SEX CRIMINALS?

So I do this thing from time to time where I completely ignore books that have too much hype. That's what I did Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky's SEX CRIMINALS. When the series initially debuted, I completely ignored it. I saw the hype of course, that was difficult to ignore. I saw the very special amounts of money Image Comics was dedicating to advertising and special edition floppies. I saw rave review after rave review. So here we are 21 issues later and I still haven't read a single issue...

Until the other day I found a copy of the first trade for 5 Canadian dollars at my local comic book shop and said "Okay, let's do this". "DO THIS" I tried.... and failed. I didn't completely finish the first trade. I was so..... BORED! I WAS FUCKING BORED! I sat down looking for a time travelling, sex fueled heist and got a stereotypical take on a teenage girl discovering her body (in a bathtub) written by a dude and a lot of really boring exchange between two people talking about masturbating and sex. By boring I mean, there wasn't one line that made me laugh.

I heard the book was clever and funny. I am the type of person who laughs out loud while reading comedic stories. You can ask my fiance about that one because he makes fun of me on the regular about it. Not once, in fact while laying next to him in bed I slammed the book down and looked over at him and said, "this book is totally overrated". I immediately went on facebook and asked everybody about what they thought of the book and then I picked up volume 1 of Ranma 1/2 and began giggling. Mood improved 100%.

So after a day I got a shitload of replies about SEX CRIMINALS. I wasn't the only one who thought it was boring or mediocre. In fact, a bunch of other comic book Youtubers, reviewers and journalist replied with the same reaction. I had several comic book creators chime in with their two cents agreeing and comic shop owners also confused about how the book gained so much hype. So WHY did it get so popular? My immediate thought is that after the success of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye run  in 2012 (which I really did enjoy btw), apparently Fraction was the golden boy and everything that spun out from under him was a golden egg rather than a golden shit. I think they might have been wrong about this one... I'm really leaning toward a rather mediocre, plain egg. I can't really call the book shit, it's not. It is in my opinion, just so mediocre that if anyone else had conceived it, I believe it would be universally ignored.

But I'm not trying to make a big dig at the writing. I have opinions on the artwork as well. I would have been very happy if the entire book looked like that cover. See that cover I posted at the beginning of this article!? THAT ONE. That cover is brilliant. The inside of the comic, not so much.

I really didn't like the artwork. I tried to envision it without color and thought "Oh there it is. There is Chip doing that thing I've appreciated in him, in the past". But why does this particular book look so awful? I remember looking at the artwork when issue one dropped and my instinct said: NOT THIS BOOK. (I feel like I'm using a lot of capitals in this article which isn't terribly typical of me but lets just go with it shall we?)

So what is it that I don't like about the artwork in this book? The coloring. I am still NOT a huge fan of the way the book is drawn. I've seen Chips work other places and really enjoyed it but not here. I went to the inside cover of the book. I saw two credits, Becka Kinzie and Christopher Sebela (side note: Christopher being a writer I've enjoyed many books from in the past) are credited with Color Flatting. That doesn't really explain the issue here.

Flatting, if you're unfamiliar, is a job to speed up the coloring process by separating the elements on the pages into colors. The colorist can then select those colors with the Magic Wand Tool in Photoshop to quickly change and edit the colors. This suggests of course that Chip colored the book himself. So another strike against Chip I guess. Damn, I love supporting Canadian Comic Artists but damn. I've never had a fondness for the Photoshop look  anyway, which is screaming from the pages of this book. If only this book was colored in a moebie-esque pallet but not everything can look so lovely.

So I attempted to do a bit of research about this series and all I could really find was a lot of rave reviews from comic book media sites and a lot of mediocre reviews from actual readers on Amazon and some bizarrely 4 star rated reviews that were actually just full of criticism.

Yes I did find a couple pleased people and of course, people are more likely to write a review about a book if they had an extreme reaction to it one way or the other. I wouldn't normally post other peoples reviews in a way to back up my own but I really find this interesting. For an Image series, I normally don't see this sort of anomaly which leads me to wonder...why is Image backing this series so hard? Yes I realize that favoritism happens at the publishers house, but without an insider view I can't accuse them of blind favoritism. I don't see the sales stats so I can't see how well the book is selling. It could be selling very well and therefore Image sees fit to back the series harder. 

At any rate the series continues to be published leaving many of us apparently, very confused. I dunno know about you but I'm going to go read some more comedic manga.