The Realm #11 Review

Writer: Seth M. Peck

Artist: Jeremy Haun

Rating: 7 out of 8

The Realm #11 Review

The apocalypse is meant to be the end of the world, yet many stories are more interested in what comes after. Films and TV aren't the only ones exploring a post-apocalyptic world, as comics like The Walking Dead and Y: The Last Man readily show. The Realm is just one of the more recent examples, thankfully putting a fairly refreshing spin on the genre.

Instead of the world being without electricity, or infested by zombies, Peck mixes a modern world with the fantastical; a sorcerer, orcs, faeries, dragons, you'll find them all here. Seeing something as simple as a road really stands out here, as I wouldn't expect it with such fantastical creatures around.

The issue mainly focuses on two groups, one a band of warriors trying to take back their world from the monsters, while the other look human, but whose actions are far more vicious. Indeed, the issue doesn't shy away from graphic imagery, as early on, an orc tears into one of the group, seemingly tiring of them questioning his capabilities. Haun doesn't hide just how bloody this gets, highlighting the savagery of the world and ruthlessness of this particular orc.

We don't seem to get many names for the warrior group, though previous issues might've named other members. There's a brief interlude with a blood red woman, with the ending suggesting more to come, though I'm not sure is she new to the title, or was she established in previous issues?

The art is smooth and though mostly muted in colour, there are moments where it's really vivid, like the blood red woman, or a shining, naked fairy. In the earlier scene with the orc, the dashes of red really stand out. Ultimately, The Realm's worth checking out and I say this as someone new to it. One of the only criticisms I have is the lack of a recap for past issues, which would really help new readers like me get up to speed, especially in a world rife with life and stories.

Incursion #1 Review

Writers: Andy Diggle + Alex Paknadel

Artist: Doug Braithwaite

Rating: 8 out of 8

Incursion #1 Review

They say you're as young as you feel. It seems no one told Imperatrix Virago that, as in order to stay young, she goes from world to world, killing people by turning them into necromantic energy. This is a kind of magic relating to the dead. 

Despite the amount of worlds she's already been to and people she's killed, her mission to remain youthful isn't done yet, as her next destination is Earth. Imperatrix isn't the only character we focus on, as we also get some fairly interesting ones on Earth.

 One of these is a tall, long haired man named Gilad, whose face looks a bit like Game of Thrones' Jaqen H'ghar. He looks after Tama, a young Geomancer, meaning she has earth magic. His role's been to protect the Geomancer, so everytime he dies, he's brought back. Similarly to DC's Hawkman, when he's reincarnated, his garb and face change, though something about him remains the same.   

 Ultimately, one of my favourite parts of the issue is the fantastical feel it gives me and how it feels like a true escape into another world. There isn't too much action, though Gilad does get caught up in some later on, while things take a worrying turn for another. I'm intrigued to see where things go in the next issue, especially with the note Diggle and Paknadel leave it on.

Towards the end, I also get the sense that there's more to Virago's companion Syntilla and I'm curious whether that'll be explored in future issues. Brathwaite's art has a kind of painterly feel to it, which works well enough, though I feel a bit more inking would've been good. Overall, I enjoyed the issue and I'll definitely be sticking around for future Incursions.

Goliath Girls #1 Review

Writer: Sam Humphries

Artist: Alti Firmansyah

Rating: 7 out of 8

Goliath Girls #1 Review

In most stories with a giant monster, they're the threat, something for people to run from, screaming in terror. Or, as in the Pacific Rim films, something for people to fight and, with luck, survive. Goliath Girls twists things around a bit, with the kaiju (giant monsters) acting as both friend and foe.

Goliath  Girls was made for comixology, a site where you can buy and read comics. A central part of the book are the Goliath Girls themselves, who have really vibrant, colourful personalities. Some of the best comedy comes from the pink haired Juliet, most notably when fellow GG Eunice needs her to make a call to someone she really doesn't want to talk to.

The two girls conflict over this results in a dust cloud brawl, with their teeth drawn pointier, their eyes without pupils and a bunch of stars across the panel. Indeed, a lot of the comic reminds me of an anime, with how OTT Juliet's face gets when she's angry, or how her and Eunice look when their pet kaiju bursts from the water.

Alti's art is very successful particularly when it comes to the kaiju on display, with the girl's pet resembling in parts resembling an octopus, their face reminding me of Lovecraft's Cthulu. We briefly see another kaiju, known as the King of All Goliaths, a massive creature which resembles a huge crocodile. Interestingly, there seem to be two other groups involved, though taking decidedly different stances on kaiju compared to Goliath Girls.

The issue zips along at a good pace, never dragging and with the aforementioned groups sets up an enticing conflict for future issues. The next 3 are on comixology now, so I recommend giving this issue and series a go - like me, you'll likely be in for a good time.

Electric Warriors #1 Review

Rating: 7 out of 8

Writer: Steve Orlando

Artist: Travel Foreman

Note: This review was done shortly after release. I hope to read the following issues soon as I can.

Electric Warriors #1

Jack Kirby was a visionary. I wouldn’t ascribe that word to everyone, but he’s a writer and artist who truly earned it. To this day, many of his creations and co-creations continue to be used through both Marvel and DC, including Mr Miracle, notably having his own comic by Tom King; Darkseid, popping up in Justice League Odyssey under Joshua Williamson, and many more.

It’s not solely his characters that continue to be used, but also his settings, namely the Great Disaster. This setting was the backdrop for another Kirby creation, Kamandi, Last Boy on Earth. In it, the world became ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals, while humans dropped to the bottom rung of the power rung. Many devolved into a primal state humans hadn’t been in for many years.

Here, it’s a very similar situation, except humans have a bit more potential than they previously did, with some, even one of the Octopus Tribe, fighting for human rights. There’s an interesting conflict between two human brothers this issue, the outspoken Ian Navarro and Oscar Navarro, who’s been chosen as one of Earth’s heroes to join the group Electric Warriors.

Their mother wants Ian to recognize his brother as hero and, if not, to at least wear the Seal of Freedom to support him and humanity. All Ian really wants is for his brother to survive and given the death he’d seen an Electric Warrior suffer on black market footage, you can see why he’d be worried about his brother. Aside from Ian, the issue also focuses on Kana of the aforementioned Octopus Tribe.

So far, Kana seems a bit calmer, more contemplative comparatively. She seems to be lacking pupils from what I can see, but has a fair few tendrils at the end of her body. Kana has a purple face and gains an interesting new look later on, as does Earth’s other chosen Electric Warrior. Underwater, the art seems to have an otherworldly feel to it, almost like when someone’s eyes just haven’t adjusted. Above ground, it has more of a sketchy style, though nicely polished. One of the coolest little nods to the larger DC is what looks like Joker’s smiling fish from Batman The Animated Series.

Overall, a fairly enjoyable and very, very good 1^st issue, which I definitely recommend. As someone who isn’t really familiar with the Great Disaster, I understood this very easily and look forward to future issues, especially to see that ending followed up, which really excited me.

Uncanny X-Men (2018) #1 Review

Rating: 7 out of 8

Writers: Kelly Thompson, Matthew Rosenberg, Ed Brisson

Artists: Mahamud Asrar, Mark Bagley + more

Reviewer Note: This review was written shortly after the issue released. I’ve read each Uncanny since then.

Uncanny X-Men #1 Review

You often want to help people, don’t you? It might not always seem worth it; maybe they’re ungrateful, or you realize they wouldn’t do the same. I’d say the X-Men often feel similarly, especially as their ethos is to protect those who fear and hate them. How often can you go on knowing a lot of the people you’re helping and saving are afraid of you, or hate you so much they’d rather see you dead?

The conflict over this is touched on with the younger X-Men, particularly between Armor, a teen who can create a pink, non-metallic armour around herself, and Glob, a fellow who’s got a partial skeleton inside a pink glob. The two teens’ uncertainty revolves around an earlier conflict with a group of Mutant criminals, who had sought to destroy a facility creating a vaccine that would be used to prevent anyone becoming Mutants.

There was a similar story in the film X-Men 3 and in the comics not so many years ago, but it was about ‘curing’ Mutants of being Mutants. Key to the ongoing story is a Senator named Ashton Allen, who Multiple Man gets involved with in a major way. My question as to what Jamie/MM was doing is why – and another question I won’t mention so to avoid spoiling the story. There’s a very exciting cliff-hanger to the main story, one which really excites and intrigues me, especially due to one character and what’s happened to them.

A welcome addition to the issue is the humour provided from people like Iceman and Glob, who gets a nice few good jokes in thanks to a guy named Forearm. Something else I really welcomed was the English feeling I got at times when Psylocke spoke. Interestingly, she has ties to two different comic worlds, being a Mutant and Captain Britain’s sister.

Alongside the main story, there’re three more, set before it. The first centres around the time travelling Lucas Bishop, who’s seemingly in search of Dark Beast, an evil alternate reality Beast from a reality that no longer exists. Bishop comes across a rather interesting fellow during this search, though it’s not entirely fruitful. While the green skinned Oya and Armour are on a sewers mission, they unfortunately do come across Dark Beast and I’m not entirely sure what he meant by what he said to them.

In a story between Bishop’s and the young X-Men’s, there’s one focusing on Jean Grey. While waiting for Storm, she comes across an older woman, who has some very sobering things to say. I get the feeling from later in the issue that this woman will prove important in some way, but I’m not sure how. Some of the more welcome parts of these stories was the inclusion of a rarely character with Dark Beast, while Armor and Oya feeling like the more experienced X-Men are sending them on less important missions. I find this aspect interesting, that younger X-Men feel disregarded by the veterans.

Interestingly, those veterans, like Jean or Storm, might have felt the same way at their age. I’m curious will this be a major part of future Uncanny issues? One of the best aspects of the new series is that it’ll be weekly for the next 9 weeks or so, something which is very welcome when you’re really getting into a story. Overall, a very good first issue, with a mix of art styles and a refreshingly large roster of X-Men. I look forward to seeing what happens next week and seeing just how many more characters become involved.