Once & Future (#1-2) by Kieron Gillen,
Dan Mora & Tamra Bonvillain (Illustrators)
Synopsis (via Goodreads): When a group of Nationalists use an ancient artifact to bring a villain from Arthurian myth back from the dead to gain power, ex-monster hunter Bridgette McGuire escapes her retirement home and pulls her unsuspecting grandson Duncan, a museum curator, into a world of magic and mysticism to defeat a legendary threat.
Bestselling writer Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + The Divine, Star Wars) and Russ Manning Award-winning artist Dan Mora (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Klaus) explore the mysteries of the past, the complicated truths of our history and the power of family to save the day…especially if that family has secret bunkers of ancient weapons and decades of experience hunting the greatest monsters in Britain’s history!
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I am loving this series -- hooked from the very first page! The first issue sold out waaaay before it's release date, and they ended up doing three or four additional printings (which also sold out). This all happened before the first issue was actually published! I was fortunate enough to snag a first printing, but only because I pre-ordered this one in advance (yay newsletters!). After reading the synopsis, how could I not? However, all of the other covers are amazing, and I was tempted to buy one of each!
If you like fantasy or retellings, Once & Future is definitely worth reading! There's also a badass grandma barely blinking at monsters, which I thought was a wonderful addition to the story. Her grandson, Duncan, has no idea what's happening, or who his grandmother really is. Their relationship is realistic and also hilarious. She has no problem tossing a spear at him, or telling him to run and run fast, while she looks for something. I really like this duo, and I'm so happy they decided to make this an ongoing series instead of a mini. I cannot wait to see what adventures they go on!
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New Mutants: War Children (#1)
by Chris Claremont,
Bill Sienkiewicz (Illustrator)
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I hate to say it, but The New Mutants: War Children was bad. The author assumed a lot of the reader, so the circumstances of the story were poorly explained. Additionally, the characters were familiar but also unrecognizable. If I hadn't read a similar series previously, I wouldn't have known who they were or what they were doing. A new reader will likely have a difficult time with this one, and it's not fair to assume everyone will have a base knowledge of the world being written about. There has to be some context and background information.
The story was all over the place and I felt like it went on forever. They're trying to find their friend and prevent him from doing something bad (needed more details), but there was nothing leading up to that moment. We go from one thing to the next with very little explanation, and then the story ends. I wish I could say the illustrations saved this one for me, because I typically enjoy Sienkiewicz's style, but this was just terrible. Everything was blurred and out of focus, or scratchy and unidentifiable, and there was a lot going on. If The New Mutants: War Children hadn't been a comic, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
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Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Age of
Resistance (#1) by Nicole Andelfinger,
Mona Finden, Matias Basla, &
Miquel Muerto (Illustrators)
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Based on a story by Jim Henson’s Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance series writers, Will Matthews & Jeffery Addiss, Nicole Andelfinger (Lumberjanes) and Matias Basla (Sparrowhawk) present an official prequel to the next chapter of the pop culture phenomenon, streaming on Netflix this August.
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I thought this was a wonderful first issue for Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. I haven't watched the new Netflix series yet, but The Dark Crystal is one of my favorite childhood movies. I recently watched it with my son and realized I'd forgotten about some of the darker aspects of the story -- whoops! He said it wasn't too scary, but that he didn't want to watch it again, haha.
New Gelflings are introduced, familiar creatures make an appearance, and we see a world that existed before the destruction that led to The Dark Crystal. Skeksis are portrayed as protectors, although I suspect they have ulterior motives based on what I already know about them. Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance was a solid first issue that has me looking forward to the next one!
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Spider-Man (#1) by J.J. Abrams,
Henry Adams, Olivier Coipel
& Sara Pichelli (Illustrators)
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First of all, WHAT THE FUCK J.J. ABRAMS? HOW COULD YOU? Second, that was one hell of a first issue! I was definitely not expecting that particular twist, but I can see how it impacts the rest of the story. That doesn't mean I have to like it!
This new Spider-Man is likely going to be about Peter and MJ's son, Ben. I love it when we see what our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is like with kids, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows so much (they had a daughter in that one). Ben is an emotional teenager that doesn't get a long with his father, which is plenty interesting on its own since Peter Parker is the father in this scenario. Aunt May is also alive and kicking, and she's one of my all-time favorite comic book characters!
I'm not sure how this story is going to play out, since things have already happened very differently from what I was expecting, so this should be interesting! If you like Spider-Man, be sure check this one out!
At least you had some good mixed in with the bad right?
ReplyDeleteIt was mostly good! I only disliked The New Mutants: War Children. Once & Future is fantastic, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is based on one of my favorite movies, and I'm enjoyed the flashback to how things were before the movie, and the new Spider-Man has already surprised me a few times! :)
DeleteI watched The New Mutants tv show when it was on but I haven't read any of these.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen it! Was it good?
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