Review: The Gravediggers Union Vol. 1 by Wes Craig

I saw this book come up as a suggested read on Goodreads, and I'll admit that the title had me intrigued. I wasn't exactly sure what this book was about but I had my suspicions that this was a supernatural book just by the title alone.

Right from the start, we see the action and what the Gravediggers Union's main purpose is....to protect the living from the undead! We see them fight back hordes of zombies and vampires. We later learn just what kind of sinister world this is which is overseen by the rich who are in league with an evil cult called the Black Temple(sounds like the Illuminati, right?). These people hope to bring the dark gods back to earth so that they may reap their rewards. Typical selfish rich people...ya know. We also see the origins of the supernatural in this world which features Lovecraftian creatures...Cthulu anyone? Kinda like 2001 Space Odyssey with the monkeys and aliens...just plain weird and fun shit going on in these panels. 

It's kinda obvious that this is a horror comedy and not a super serious plot....if compared to a tv series I would compare it to Ash vs  Evil Dead. This book is kinda campy. If you are looking for a more serious horror/supernatural title I would check out Nailbiter or Harrow County. 

First off I was super impressed by the artwork of this and the use of color. Toby Cypress is the artist for this series. I kinda liked the sketchy way the figures are drawn and really liked the splash of color randomly placed on certain scenes which kinda gave this a 60's/70's horror vibe. To be honest that was the strong point of liking this book...that and it's campy horror vibe. Now I know that this is not a series for everyone. The ratings for this are not too high and I hope they do not cancel it before it really gets going. I myself rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and am looking forward to reading more of this series. 

Review: Injection by Warren Ellis Volumes 1- 3

I recently finished reading the third volume of this series which is weird, different and kinda great. In the words of Image comics taken from their site - "...there were five crazy people, and they poisoned the 21st Century. Now they have to deal with the corrosion to try and save us all from a world becoming too weird to support human life. It is science fiction, tales of horror, strange crime fiction, techno-thriller, and ghost story all at the same time." So yeah it's quite the mix of genres. 

The first volume introduces the concept of the Artificial Intelligence and how it is manipulating the world to create paranormal events, and we meet part of the team responsible for its creation. This was a great start for the series. I thought it was okay but it had enough to keep me interested and wanting to continue on with the series. The second volume introduces yet another member of this team and one who is kind of Hannibal Lector meets Sherlock Holmes kinda vibe. 

This story was way better than the first but left me feeling that the story did not live up to its expectations. The third and I'm assuming final volume (I assume final because the last issue was released in Nov. 2017 and there is no news about a follow up). Was very intense and I felt the story had finally reached its potential. Of course, the third volume ended on a cliffhanger, and I do not know if Ellis will ever finish this story. This last volume had the perfect blend of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, and a nice nod to Dr. Who with a comment from a student about it not really being bigger inside.

I rated the first volume 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads and the other 2 both 4 stars. I really hope that Warren Ellis picks this back up and continues on with this story because it would be bad to end this series just as it started to get good. I also called a few comics shops and there was no word of this very infrequent book coming back.  Below is the complete hardcover edition which features 3 volumes. 


International shoppers click here to get your copy - http://www.bookdepository.com/?a_aid=geekpron

Review: Paper Girls Vol 4

I have to say I loved the first few volumes of this series as I really enjoy time travel stories. This is the 4th volume in the series, and things started to slow down momentum-wise in the last volume. I do know a lot of people have hopped on the hype train regarding this series just because the first 2 volumes feature 80's nostalgia. (To be honest, I don't understand why people who were not alive in the 80's are so obsessed with this time period as it wasn't the best in regards to fashion and music, etc. ) So for those people, the series may be a disappointment for them as this volume takes place in the year 2000. Which discusses the whole Y2K issues.

This volume did reveal more about the time traveler war such as their background and just how they influence the world. I do not care if they ever venture back to the 80's, and I am still interested in this series because it is about time travel and features big fucking robots fighting! Although I still enjoyed this I didn't feel it was a strong volume as the last few ones. I rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I will continue to read this series as I feel it has great potential and I have always enjoyed Vaughan's writing.

 

Review: Red Thorn Vol. 2 Mad Gods and Scotsmen

First off I have to say I absolutely loved the first volume of this series. I was super impressed as it seemed original and pulled some fascinating folklore into it. This was the first book of 2017 that I gave 5 stars to on Goodreads. So, of course, I really wanted to read more in this series. I have included the review I did of the first volume just so you get an idea of how much I enjoyed it.

I know that the second volume has been available for quite awhile now, but I decided to read other stories so that I may savor the anticipation of reading this series. I finally got around to reading this recently, and I felt very let down. Not only was this nowhere near as good as the prior volume, but apparently this is the end of the series??? Or at least that was the impression the ending of this volume gave me. If that was not the only gripe I had it would be fine, but events in this book seemed to jump scenes with no real explanation or reason for why whole scenes seemed to fast forward at times leaving me confused and thinking how did that happen. This read as if they decided to end the series before this was even written and fuddled through writing this that they made for awkward progression through the finishing of it. I decided to rate this 3 out of 5 stars only because I really enjoyed the first volume, but this was not what I had hoped for in a conclusion.

Outcast Vol. 2 Review

So I just finished this trade last night. I had a digital copy of this so that is why I decided to feature it here instead of on my Youtube channel. I have to say that I found this volume to be much better than the first volume. This volume reveals a little more of the mystery just enough to keep you wanting more. We learn the theory behind why some people seem to be fine after an exorcism and why some seem to go into a comatose state. Just what does it mean to be an "Outcast"? I will admit I was kinda angry that it ended rather abruptly on a cliff hanger, and I wonder(as I have yet to see the Cinemax show) if the TV series is a literal translation. I am still kinda creeped out by the man in the business suit who threatens the reverend and I have an idea of who he is, but I can wait to see if it is revealed further in the series. I rated this volume 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, and I am excited to keep reading this series.

Here are the first 2 volumes of this series.

Here is the pilot!

Orphan Black Comics(Media Tie Ins)

I'm assuming you have discovered this post because you are a fan of the Orphan Black TV series. Most fans of the BBC America show are unaware of the media tie in comic book series. I too did not know about these comics until I got the chance to read and review Orphan Black: Helsinki from Netgalley. This volume helped to flesh out the characters that were recently introduced in this past season of the show.  I enjoyed learning about Mika, and her involvement in discovering the clone conspiracy.
These comics help to fill in some of the gaps in the TV show. It's not required reading but if you want to learn more about the characters I would suggest reading these books. Below I have included links to where they can be purchased.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I have, and thank you for reading this brief post. Please feel free to subscribe to see more geeky posts.