REVIEW: Man-Thing #1

Writer: R.L. Stine
Artist: German Peralta
Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Review: Madman

I was so looking forward to a Man-Thing book starting…and then…R.L. Stine…    
I have specific tastes, things I need, as a superhero fan boy AND a giant-sized swampy Man-Thing is in the top of 10 fantasy wish list…no regrets.    
In my world Man-Thing is in this weird little family that I can’t really explain.  You see, for some strange reason, I have this weird little trinity that lives deep inside my inner comicdom… In my world, Man-Thing, Swamp Thing, and the one and only Toxic Avenger are the best of friends. It’s permanently carved into my brain, and it won’t go away. They get their own category in the card catalog of my think organ. No clue, I don’t know why, so stop asking me… Over here that’s the “radioactive spider” drawer, that’s the “tabletop gaming” file. Over there, that’s the “things necessary to survive” section... Oh, there are the guys sitting on a muddy swamp island. I know. Weird.        

REVIEW: Manifest Destiny #26

Writer: Chris Dingess
Pencils: Matthew Roberts
Inks: Tony Akins & Stefano Gaudiano
Colors: Owen Gieni
Review: Art Bee

To all of our HCB readers, we apologize. For the past couple years Manifest Destiny has made it on the list of Hammy Award winners, but none of us have had the balls to write a review of this amazing series. This trend ends today.

The first issue of Manifest Destiny hit comic book store shelves November 13, 2013. When it came out, it did not even register on my radar. My LCBS owner told me about it and convinced me to give it a read with the promise of a refund if I didn’t like it. It was love at first read. Chris Dingess has cleverly used a real historical event as the muse for this epic fantastical story of a cross-continental journey.

Since the start of the series, Lewis, Clark, and their ragtag group of “soldiers” have faced demon-like frogs, hostile natives, infectious plant life, and many other dangers. Some time ago Sacagawea joined the band as a guide and is currently pregnant. The last story arc was entitled “Sasquatch”; it was quite the event. The entire six issue arc was filled with large cycloptic beasts, insanity, cannibalism, and so much more. What really makes the series so addicting is the delicate blend of adventure and horror.      

HCB Two-in-One

Reviews: Madman

Rat Queens #1

Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe
Artist: Owen Gieni
Letterer: Ryan Ferrier

Rat Queens is back! Happy day, clowns, wizbangs, and stuff! I honestly can’t remember when the last issue of the first volume came out off hand, but it’s been a long damn time. So long that we questioned if our beloved band of riffraff were gone for good.

A few things have changed in Rat Queen Land; one being the obvious reboot back to #1 and the other being the fact we’ve another new artist on the book, one Mr. Owen Gieni. I have no clue who he is, but after reading his first issue behind the scribbles, I’m not going to complain. Gieni will be the fourth artist on this book and it just might be a cursed gig. Original artist Ron Upchurch got himself arrested for domestic violence. Stjepan Sejic took over but soon had to quit because of health reasons, and Tess Fowler took point. I’ve no clue why Fowler was replaced but was saddened to hear of her departure, because her issues were pure eye candy. Gieni will do though.      

The Shotgun Blast!

(Apologies, McGirk...)
Reviews: Will Dubbeld

Doctor Strange #1.MU

Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Julian Lopez

So the Monsters Unleashed event isn't quite what I expected. Rather than Mole Man rallying a horde of 1950s monsters to conquer the surface world, apparently giant critters called Leviathons are wreaking havoc and heroes and good-guy monsters team up for the fight.
This particular tie-in focused on Dr. Strange and Googam, Son of Goom, and their fight against an escaped Leviathon. Strange is low on magic due to events transporting in his solo book and Googam is low on smarts, but high on moxie.
The art is phenomenal, and the story is much better than expected. Cameos from Spidey and a My Little Pony reference add to the chuckles and distract the reader from the unoriginal Leviathon premise, which seems pretty similar to Pacific Rim's Kaiju or the MUTOs from Gareth Edward's Godzilla flick.

REVIEW: WWE #1

Writer: Dennis Hopeless
Illustrator: Serg Acuña
Colorist: Doug Garbark
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Review: Art Bee

When I was a child and my family moved back to the United States in 1985, WWF wrestling on Saturdays quickly became one of my favorite shows. I have been hooked on the dramatic violence paraded before me on each of their programs ever since. Granted, the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) eventually had to change their moniker to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) to appease the World Wide Fund for Nature.
This did not affect their fan base at all.

What makes professional wrestling so much fun to watch is all of the drama that happens and needs to be settled inside the ring. In addition, many of the wrestlers portray such colorful and charismatic personalities; people have a hard time avoiding becoming attached to at least one.

Boom! Studios just produced a new ongoing series called WWE.
Guess what it is about?

Grabbing this comic book was a no-brainer for me. It needed to be given a chance and honestly this was worth the time. It was very entertaining and felt just like watching an episode of Raw or Smackdown. This issue focused mostly on Seth Rollins and his climb to attaining the WWE World Heavy Weight Champion title. This actually happened last year at Wrestlmania and the comic book was very accurate.      

REVIEW: Humalien #4

Created, written, and illustrated by J. Adam Farster
Review: Will Dubbeld

Nearly a year ago, I looked at the first 3 issues of J. Adam Farster’s Humalien and after much anticipation no. 4 is all up in my business.  I took a quick refresher on the first three parts and then it was off to the races.

The book picks up with electro kinetic hero Ed and his sidekick Kulh shortly after their kidnapping by The Executioner.  This bounty hunting baddie and his henchmen are carting our heroes off to face The Trinity who, if you recall, are a trio of squid-headed ne’er do wells responsible for cloning Ed in the first place.
Although things look bleak for Kulh and Ed, have no fear.  The remaining members of a rag-tag resistance are hot on the trail and geared up for a rescue mission.
Without delving too deeply into plot details, it’s revealed The Trinity have conquered Earth and the power that lies within Ed is instrumental in their world-subjugating scheme.

Humalien #4 is a great addition to this series.  The style, in both writing and art, has remained consistent throughout and the feeling of a Saturday morning romp still runs strong through the pages.
The only critique I have is the tail end seemed to be a bit scattered or rushed, leaving the fate of certain characters and the motivations of others a bit unclear. Given the pacing and tone of the comic these are easily forgivable foibles.

REVIEW: Curse Words #1

By: Charles Soule and Ryan Browne
Colors:  Ryan Browne, Jordan Boyd, and Michael Parkinson
Letters: Chris Crank, Ryan Browne, and Shawn DePasquale
Review: Art Bee

When I was brought onboard HCB the guys here told me, “try reading God Hates Astronauts; it’s worth it.” They were right. It did not disappoint. That comic brought tears to my eyes from laughing so hard. Later that year, Ryan Browne shook my hand at Appleseed Comic Con in Ft. Wayne and signed some stuff for me. Poof! Instantly I was morphed into a Ryan Browne fan. When I heard about Curse Words #1 being published by Image, my pull list enlarged just a bit.

Curse Words brings Browne’s unique style of drawing to a new venue. The best quality of Browne’s work is his attention to detail. Whether in God Hates Astronauts or Curse Words, clothing seems to be in as much detail as the character’s features and backgrounds. Every page delivers a high amount of color, nuance, and quality stimulating your eyes with pleasure.

The story starts out with the central character, Wizord, sitting in a meeting with an obvious pop-star named Johnny One (seriously resembles Justin Beiber in attitude and looks). Johnny One is asking to be made platinum…not gaining a platinum album. There is no trickery here. This dude is asking to be “platinum, like…for real.” Then this dude gets upset when he can’t feel anything. Does anyone truly know what they want? Not really.