Comic Review Bites: The Great Comixology Raid

I hopped on Comixology to pick up this month’s read for my ladies comic book club and ended up finding a few other gems.

LAZARUS: Greg Rucka’s creator-owned title is being heavily pumped by Image and for good reason. Well, Rucka is good enough reason for me, actually.

Money is power and those without it are Waste. The Families are the ones with power and Forever Carlyle is a Lazarus, a Family member trained and augmented to serve and protect the family’s needs. As the codename implies, there is a lot of death involved in her life, but we quickly learn that, because of how much she understands physical death, there are a lot of unresolved emotions connected to killing that Forever should not be having. For now, she does her job to protect the Family, but her increasing empathy is probably going to be problematic.

The cold-hearted killer with a warming heart is not an unusual, nor is the powerful few lording over the poor. But I’m confident that Rucka will bring in the heavy emotional content that will make everything worthwhile.

PETER PANZERFAUST: This is a unique retelling of the Peter Pan legend that transposes the story into World War II. Peter is an American soldier who seems to just appear to a bunch of French orphans one day and drags them along on his quest to find the missing and mysterious Belle. Peter is the same confident boy we know, but without the magic – only, the story and art does a great job of making you wonder if there is a bit of magic going on, or is it really just Peter’s exuberance and utter belief that he can and will achieve anything he sets out to do?

X-MEN #2: I am collecting this on the principal that comic companies need to have more females and PoCs front and centre and this book truly fills that need.

Unfortunately, the story is falling flat. It’s a typical bigger bad than the last time story, with the twist being that she’s stolen the body of a former teammate who may or may not be dead. There’s no issue with the characters because I know and love them all and love seeing them. Last issue had them interacting more and it was a great insight into their personalities and friendships, but this issue, they really aren’t doing anything.

There are some very small moments of intrigue, such as the continued existence of the mysterious baby. But otherwise, I’m not blown away yet.

CYBERFORCE: I read the original Cyberforce during Image Comics’ Shiny Age and have been very curious about this reboot, available free thanks to a Kickstarter. This is a much grittier story where the heroes aren’t as obvious, nor is their fate. The “team” is still comprised of genetically altered former Cyber Data shock troopers, but I really like the emphasis on the different models of augmentations. Some are weaker, obsolete models and all require Serum to prevent their bodies from rejecting the technological grafts.

There is a big political plot going on involving Carin Taylor, whose parents are both political powers and are hunting her down after she runs away. She has learned of the great big apocalypse plot that also fuels the story and requires the aid of the missing and presumed dead Morgan Stryker.

Other than a few cringe moments of dialogue trying a bit too hard to be trendy and/or crude, I definitely approve of the new, more mature Cyberforce.

BATMAN & SUPERMAN: I’m a big fan of Jae Lee’s art. I love the sharp edges he uses and I love the way those edges are muted and the colours flow like they are being brushed by the wind in this particular book. I also like Greg Pak, after reading his Phoenix: Endsong that finally let Jean Grey rest in peace. But this book is about, obviously, Batman and Superman. Their relationship has always been an interesting blend of loyalty and contempt for each other because of their completely differing views and upbringings, but ultimately similar goals. I don’t much care for Superman as a character, and I think I would have written him off completely if not for having a counterpoint in Batman and Lex Luthor. Here, the story quickly grabbed me during the opening scene where Clark and Bruce first meet. Their personalities and the conflicts of their relationship are spelled out in pithy perfection through their reactions to a brawl between some kids, and again when they meet as Batman and Superman.

I’m not entirely certain about the plot, though. Or rather, the time difference aspect of it. I’m fine with the strange creature possession, but I got a bit lost when first-time-meeting Superman and Batman suddenly turned into well-established-relationship Batman and Superman. I guess that just means I’ll have to read on to find out more!

GIRLS: The first issue of this was free and the covers for the series caught my eye and the mystery within has definitely gotten my interest.  The main character, a young man in a small town, ends up meeting and eventually calling out and offending every possible female stereotype that appears in the book – from brow beating wife to cocktease.

Then this naked girl from the cover shows up in front of him on the road…

DEMETER: This is the third and final book in a trilogy by Becky Cloonan. A self-published labour of love that depicts three different stories that share the similar themes of love and loss.

Black and white comics can be so haunting and Cloonan uses the art and minimal words well to shape her stories. I can see the influence of familiar fairy tales woven into each tale, but the stories are still unique, emotional, beautiful, painful and memorable all on their own.