|
|
Want your comic book reviewed on Project Fanboy? Email a PDF file of your comic book to reviews@projectfanboy.com or alternatively you can snail mail it to us at:
Project Fanboy Reviews Dept.
1192 Everwood Dr.
Ashland City, TN 37015
|
|
Die Hard: Year One #5
|
|
Jan 30, 2010 - 8:28 AM - by NateSutton
|
Title: Die Hard: Year One #5
Rating: 
Publisher Website: BOOM!
Writer: Howard Chaykin
Pencils: Gabriel Andrade Jr.
Inks: Gabriel Andrade Jr.
Colors: Stephen Downer
Number of pages: 24
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP - Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.
Publishers Blurb:
"A new detective has hit the New York City streets… John McClane! He’s got a new rank, a new partner and a new pain in the ass to deal with! A major crime is about to reveal itself. It all starts in a massage parlor then things just get seedier from there. Join legendary industry creator Howard Chaykin on a thrill ride that’s rung up over $1 billion in box office worldwide and become the gold standard for classic action! Yippee Ki Yay!"
Reviewer Comments:
Here we are in the second arc of Die Hard: Year one, by Howard Chaykin, and John McClane is now a detective and hittin' the streets of New York with a new partner, and a new assignment.
I enjoyed this issue, Chaykins pace although slower than a Die Hard movie, is careful and meticulous. He introduces a bunch of new and interesting characters, including John McClanes new partner Olga Cruces. He writes there interactions well and there exchanges are thoroughly enjoyable. I think what I like about this issue is that it really gives the characters space and lets them breathe. Chaykin gets out a lot details and set up but it doesn't feel like the exposition is being smashed into your brain, it feels like a walk down a couple of different streets with a couple of different people. Another interesting aspect is adding the "Son of Sam" killer to the mix, which gives the comic a real time-stamp and a general feeling to the city and the people and there anxieties.
My only criticism with Chaykins writing in this issue is the same issue Ive had with previous issues of Die Hard: Year One, and that is the dual narration. He uses a third person narration technique as well as having John McClane do some narrating, which works in some comics, but in this one it just feels clunky. I would prefer it if he just stuck with one, both of the narration techniques are good, but one cancels the other one out and makes it unnecessary.
Gabriel Andrade Jr. is the new artist for this new arc and he doesn't miss a step. His art is just as good if not better than the previous artist on Die Hard: Year One. It is very high caliber. His art has a great cinematic quality to it and he really has a feel for the New York setting. One thing particularly impressive is his backgrounds, everything is there on the page and its gorgeous. He uses some really neat foreground/background techniques to put things in focus or out of focus that really gives it that movie-like quality. This technique is no doubt helped immensely by the colors of Stephen Downer, who makes this book gorgeous. His colors make Andrade's art clearer and crisper, and together they make a powerhouse of an art team.
If you haven't been reading Die Hard: Year One, this is a new arc, and a good jumping on point. Its a good read, its meticulous, detailed, and everyone on the book is working together to make a satisfying comic.
-Nate
|
0 Comments | 132 Views
|
|
|
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 8
|
|
Jan 29, 2010 - 2:30 AM - by ChrisLawson
|
Title: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 8
Rating: 
Publisher Website: Boom! Studios
Writer: Philip K. Dick
Pencils: Tony Parker
Inks:
Colors:
Number of pages: 32
Price: 3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP - Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.
Publishers Blurb:
From the bestselling book that inspired the film Blade Runner! Things heat up in this issue of Philip K. Dick’s masterpiece as Deckard’s tireless hunt for the Nexus-6 androids continues. Although they are not easy to identify, staying alive may prove to be the hardest part of Deckard’s quest!
Reviewer Comments:
I hadn’t read anything from this series prior to this issue. I’d heard about it and thought it was a cheap gimmick. The thought of jamming a novel into a comic book struck me as a Bad Idea. But then I read this issue.
Then I read the other 7.
Do yourself a favor and read this book.
If you’ve never read the original Philip K. Dick novel, and you care at all about what you put in your brain, you must read this comic. If you want to know why science fiction, and frighteningly, science fact, are both the way they are today, you must read this comic. If you want to see art that does more than just illustrate the prose, art that creates something unique in the synergy between words and pictures, you must read this comic. If you want an intelligent, entertaining master class in science fiction by some of the comic book industry’s greatest minds, you must read this comics (specifically the back matter).
/gushing.
Although this series isn’t original, it isn’t a rip off. It’s a tribute. It’s an education. It’s more: it’s something you can only get with comic books. That said, the art in this series overall is hit and miss. It’s technically adequate but sometimes a wonky perspective or pose can be found. That said, it's thematic contribution, especially in this particular issue, shines.
Well done.
(The book gets a 5 star rating not because it's a mind-blowing issue, though it is quite good, but because this whole series deserves it.)
|
|
1 Comment | 195 Views
|
|
|
The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh #4 (of 4)
|
|
Jan 27, 2010 - 9:20 PM - by MichaelRoberts
|
Title: The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh #4 (of 4)
Rating:
Publisher Website: Boom! Studios
Writer: Mark Waid
Pencils: Minck Oosterveer
Inks:
Colors: Andres Lozano
Number of pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP - Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.
Publishers Blurb:
Mark Waid’s hit new original series comes to it’s final conclusion as Catherine’s terminal condition finally reaches critical mass! With the clock ticking down to the inevitable, what sort of deal with the devil will Doyle have to make for Catherine’s soul? Find out in this thrilling end to the critically acclaimed series!
Reviewer Comments:
Wow. I haven’t known how to handle this “Devil Made Flesh” mini-series. I felt like I wasn’t really getting the whole picture, and I just wasn’t enjoying it as much as the first mini. I didn’t know if I had just gotten too used to the concept or what the problem was. But, the payoff in this issue reminded me why I enjoyed this series so much in the first place, and this storyline will be amazing in trade.
If you’re not familiar with the series, Catherine Allington is a super intelligent investigator who is seeking the answers to the afterlife. We’ve seen her get entangled in some pretty heavy stuff so far, but this issue raised the stakes both in her long-term quest and in her need to survive the present! With demons breaking into our existence and a small town stuck in some kind of crazy reincarnation loop, this issue grabs you and never lets go.
I definitely want to recognize the art team who handled some very existential concepts and made them easy to recognize and follow on the page. The creatures from beyond were creepy as hell, and the art didn’t get too murky even during some very dark scenes. And most of the time, I don’t have much to say about letterers, but Marshall Dillon made the final few panels of the villain terrifying. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I felt this character’s pain.
Hands down, best issue of the series. 5 stars.
|
|
0 Comments | 148 Views
|
|
|
LEGENDS: THE ENCHANTED 0
|
|
Jan 27, 2010 - 3:27 AM - by SebastianPiccione
|
Title: LEGENDS: THE ENCHANTED 0
Rating:
Publisher Website: Radical Comics
Writer: Nick Percival
Pencils: Nick Percival
Inks:
Colors: Nick Percival
Number of pages: 28
Price: 1.00
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: PARENTAL ADVISORY - 15 years and older. Similiar to T+ but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery.
Publishers Blurb:
Following the same standard for our debut miniseries Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Caliber: First Canon of Justice, Radical Publishing presents a special $1 introductory issue for the upcoming hardcover graphic novel by award-winning illustrator Nick Percival (Dead of Night).
You think you know them… Think again!
Violently ripped from the pages of folklore emerge the Enchanted, supernatural immortals living in a dark, steampunk, creature-infested world where nature, technology and foul magic are in constant conflict. When the twisted, burnt remains of the half-wooden, half-mechanical warrior, Pinocchio are discovered, wolf-hunter Red Hood and giant-killer Jack realize the fragile rules of their existence have been shattered. With the help of the other Enchanted (the mercenary Goldilocks and psychic exterminators Hansel and Gretel), Jack and Red team up on an adventure to stop whatever, or whoever, is destroying their powers and murdering their kind.
The last time Radical debuted their $1 books, they quickly sold out and had to go to a second printing. Don’t miss out again on this limited, one-time-only event!
Reviewer Comments:
Nick Percival's virtual one-man show (he DID have help with the letters from Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt) LEGENDS: THE ENCHANTED is fantastic. And, by that I don't simply mean 'really good', though it certainly is that. But, I mean it is FANTASTIC, in the original dictionary sense of the word. In fact, my handy-dandy WEBSTER'S NEW WORLD DICTIONARY gives three definitions for FANTASTIC.
- Imaginary; unreal
- Grotesque; odd
- Extravagant
I can't think of a more apt way to describe this book. Dealing with some of the most imaginary and unreal creatures and characters, those of fairy tales and folk lore; this book has its share of odd creatures and grotesque imagery. But overall, the dark, cyber-fantasy world Percival has created is extravagant. The beautifully crafted horror is extravagant. The magic and cinematic world is extravagant. The heroes in their ruthless efficiency are extravagant.
The book is fantastic.
This issue sets up the upcoming Graphic Novel. Jack, the magic bean popping, Giant Killer discovers that Pinocchio has been killed. Pinocchio, like Jack, is one of the Enchanted, and therefore should have been immortal. Jack is obviously concerned. Red (as in Riding Hood) kicks werewolf ass in a fashion that reminded me a little of Kate Beckinsale in UNDERWORLD. This is NEVER a bad thing.
The story nicely introduces you to this dark world, where the old magic and the post-apocalyptic future seem to have melded into something both new and familiar. Percival's artwork is incredible, as ever, and I'm instantly taken back to my misspent youth, reading SLAINE graphic novels and Judge Dredd comics.
And as if all of THAT wasn't enough, you get these 28 FANTASTIC pages for only $1.00. Now THAT is fantastic!
|
|
1 Comment | 168 Views
|
|
|
FARSCAPE #3
|
|
Jan 24, 2010 - 7:16 AM - by GregEales
|
Title: FARSCAPE #3
Rating:
Publisher Website: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Rockne S. O’Bannon, Keith DeCandido
Pencils: Will Sliney
Inks:
Colors:
Number of pages: 24
Price: $3.99
Color: Color
Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP - Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.
Publishers Blurb:
Chiana will do anything for her friends and on this mission to find Crichton’s pursuer that “anything” might include sleeping with the enemy! This Nebari will find out how far she’ll go for her companions in the third issue of the new ongoing FARSCAPE series written by the show creator Rockne S. O’Bannon!
Reviewer Comments:
HOLY BANANA...this issue was good! Nice way to start out a review, eh? But it's the truth, issue 3 of the FARSCAPE title has kicked it up a notch. This kind of action is what makes FARSCAPE good....
Let's talk comic shop a little first...the cover art is pretty good. Cover A is my favorite as it has Chiana in a sexy pose and really nails what's going on in the issue. 
Interior art is good as well. The characters are captured and continued to be translated from the TV to comic quite well. Not a lot of crazy sci fi special effects, but the colors are nice and the lines are solid.
Now let's talk about story. FINALLY they spill the beans on what exactly was the "mutation" of Crichton and Aeryn's baby! Apparently the little dude has a strange gland on his spine that allows him to manipulate time. What a BADNESS mutation! So this issue dives further into Aeryn's mission of finding out why this mutation has occurred. And this journey to the truth has led her to Prybella where she's about to whoop some Sorrent ass. ...Let's hope that she gets to strike before them!
Now to the second part of the story. I had to talk about it last because it kicks some ass. Chiana is sleeping with the enemy! That's right, not only is she shagging him, but she's totally falling for him too! At first I really thought she was just playing along...but I'm thinking maybe NO now. Although I could be wrong and this could be a setup. Either way, it kicks ass! 
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Sexy Chiana pose on Cover A! WOOP!
- Chiana shags Roiin...AND FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIM? ..WTF?! 
- Aeryn's about sick of Prybella and the peaceful way of doing things...who does she solve it? BLAST THE ENEMY! 
DOWNERS:
- Ya know, nothing jumped out at me.
|
|
1 Comment | 192 Views
|
|
|
