the fix | Geekscape

Geekscape Comics: Best Bets for 9/14/16

by KarsonSeptember 13, 2016

Best Bet

The Fix Vol. 1 TP
$7.99
Story: Nick Spencer
Art: Steve Lieber

THE FIX is a story of the crooked cops, scheming mobsters, and corrupt politicians that run Los Angeles-and the sex toy that can bring them all down. Oh, and the hero is a drug-sniffing beagle named Pretzels. Collects THE FIX #1-4.

I’ve been raving about The Fix on Weekly Reads since issue #1. From the guy who made Captain America say “Hail Hydra,” this is one of the funniest comics you’ll read this year. From funny one-liners, to unbelievable situational humor, I’ve laughed out loud many times throughout the series. To contrast the book’s humor, the villain, which we’ve barely learned anything about, is down right sadistic. The Fix is unlike anything I’ve read before and I can’t wait to read more.

Most Excited For

The Fix #5
$3.99
Story: Nick Spencer
Art: Steve Lieber

Roy meets The Mayor.

… Like I said, I can’t wait to read more.

Honorable Mentions

Doom Patrol #1
$3.99
Story: Gerard Way
Art: Nick Derington

The atoms are buzzing. The daydreams crowd sentient streets, and the creative team has been warned, “Turn back now or suffer the mighty consequence of sheer, psycho-maniacal mayhem.” Generation-arsonists unite—this is DOOM PATROL, and the God of the Super Heroes is bleeding on the floor.

A blenderized reimagining of the ultimate series of the strange, DOOM PATROL combines elements from classic runs, new directions, and things that could not be. Our entry point is Casey Brinke, a young EMT on the graveyard shift to abstract enlightenment, with a past so odd that she’s not entirely sure what is real and what is not. Along with her partner, Sam Reynolds, the pair blaze a path through the city and its denizens, finding the only quiet that exists at 3am is the chaos of the brain. When the pair answer a hit-and-run call, they find themselves face to face with a familiar figure: Cliff Steele, AKA Robotman.

“It gets weirder from here,” writer Gerard Way had to say about the book, with artist Nick Derington gripping tightly on the wheel of the ambulance. The pair’s only communication? Shouting out of the open windows while at high velocity. Who needs a new roommate? Who names a cat “Lotion”? And when do we get to see all those muscles?

All week I thought this was going to be the title I looked forward to most, but it was edged out by The Fix. Being a My Chemical Romance fan way back in the day, I picked up Umbrella Academy and was blown away by how damn good it was (it would go on to win an Eisner Award). I don’t know much about Doom Patrol, but I’m excited to get another taste of a Gerard Way written comic.

The Black Monday Murders #2
$4.99
Story: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Tomm Coker

A SPIRIT OF COOPERATION In the world of high finance, solving one murder leads the police to the location where all the bodies have been buried. The time is nigh to invest in the coolest new comic of the year!

All-Star Batman #2
$4.99
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: John Romita Jr.

“My Own Worst Enemy” part 2! All aboard the train ride from hell! Batman and Two-Face continue their journey to Harvey Dent’s cure through an assassin-infested landscape. But can the Dark Knight continue his crusade across the countryside when Two Face turns one of his greatest allies against him?

Geekscape Comics: Weekly Reads!

by KarsonJune 15, 2016

Welcome to Weekly Reads! It’s your little dose of comic book goodness that discusses comic books from the week that was!

How about we take a break from all the video games news to discuss comics! 📚 > 🕹

Ongoing Reads

It’s been awhile since we discussed X-Men and with the release All-New X-Men #10 this past week, what better time than now? The whole is NOT greater than the sum of its parts when it comes to the current arc going on in the X-Men books, Apocalypse Wars. There doesn’t seem to be any continuity between the titles, each storyline seems to be it’s own entity involving Apocalypse but they don’t feel like a part of the same narrative so reading All-New X-Men isn’t going to make your reading of Uncanny X-Men any better. This means you can read as few or as many of the X-Men books as you want and not have to worry about missing out on anything. Currently, I’d say All-New is the strongest of the X-Men titles, with this week’s issue being particularly fascinating. We see Evan, Kid Apocalypse, interact with an Apocalypse who is in his early teens (before becoming one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Universe). I find it fascinating to see noble and pure intentions from a character who grows up to become bent on wiping out entire races of people. I hope we get to find out what caused him to snap, although I’m not sure what it’ll be since he doesn’t appear to have anything that means too much to him.

Finally, a new issue to one of my favourite ongoing series, The Fix #3! I wouldn’t say it’s a slip-up, but the third issue of The Fix isn’t on the same level as the first two. I didn’t enjoy this issue as much for two reasons. First, the humour was noticeably lacking. The first two issues had me laughing every other page, this issue barely got a smile out of me. Second, our two main characters aren’t together. It became obvious to me that a lot of the laughs and zany moments in this book were a result of the chemistry between Roy and Mac. I’m sure this book will get back on track in the next issue or two. It’s sort of a stretch to say it’s offtrack, it just wasn’t what I have come to expect from this book and therefore I didn’t enjoy it as much. It is still probably my favourite read of the week!

New Reads

I have mixed feelings about Civil War II – Amazing Spider-Man #1. I like Spider-Man, Gage and Foreman put together a nice Spider-Man feeling story that feels like an authentic extension of Slott and Camuncoli’s current Amazing Spider-Man books. My problem is it’s Civil War II branding, which to me is nothing but a money grab play by Marvel. I feel like this book (and probably many others) isn’t going to offer any substantial story elements to Civil War II, yet they clearly market you to buy it to so you can be in the know. These excessively large story arcs complicate the buying decisions of most comic book readers and put a pretty big barrier to entry up to new readers. If you loved the Civil War movie and walk into the comic book shop to read this Civil War II you’ve been hearing about, you aren’t going to be excited by the endless list of books you’re supposed to read, you just aren’t going to bother with it at all. I wish we could trim the fat on these crossover events and keep the number of titles you need to purchase to a minimum.

If you like Spider-Man and want more of him, you’ll enjoy this book. If you just want to read it because it’s a Civil War II tie-in, don’t bother.

DC’s Rebirth continues with The Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman this week. All these titles have felt solid so far. As far as a recommendation goes, I’d say go with your gut. No book is noticeably better or way worse than any other book right now, pick a character that interests you and start reading them.

Action Comics and Detective Comics also saw releases this week, 957 and 934 respectively. Yep, these books have been around for awhile. In case you aren’t in the know, Action Comics is Super-Man and Detective Comics is Batman. What’s the difference between them and their solo titles? Well, it would seem to me that Detective Comics will focus the attention on Batman and his team, while his book will be just centred around Batman. The lines between Action Comics and Superman felt a bit more blurred. For someone new to DC, these books feel like they carry a little more baggage than what we are seeing from the Rebirth titles but are accessible none the less.

Next Time

Another week in the books! Come back next time for, you guessed it, more Civil War! More Rebirth! And who knows what else!

Geekscape Comics: Weekly Reads

by KarsonMay 18, 2016

Welcome to Weekly Reads! It’s your little dose of comic book goodness that focuses on some aspect of my comic book reading!

Oh boy, oh boy, a ton of books we are reading came out this week. Let’s jump into them!

Ongoing Reads

Black Panther #2 hit shelves, and I think I’m in a minority in thinking that this series is nothing special so far. Perhaps all the hype of Ta-Nehisi Coates penning it caused me to set some high expectations for the series that it just isn’t living up to for me. It seems the series is going to focus on a few characters; T’Challa of course, as well Shuri (his sister), Ayo (member of T’Challa’s royal guard) and probably a couple more. The problem in these first two issues is that the book jumps from setting to setting without giving us a chance to connect with the characters, after two issues I am invested in no one. I’m not jumping ship yet, but this is a tough book for me to recommend. Now, onto a book that I can’t recommend enough!

The Fix #2 is out and it picks up right where #1 left off. This series is just so damn entertaining. If you weren’t around when we discussed the first issue, the series is basically about two robbers who have a day job being cops, and you won’t believe the ways they use that to their advantage. The situations and character interactions that writer Nick Spencer has come up with are laugh-out-loud funny throughout the second issue. On the opposite side of the spectrum, he continues to build up how sadistic and unstable the series’ villain is shaping up to be. Guys. Gals. This is a must-read series!

I am so into this Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series. It’s so damn good. I grew up with the show, so I’m probably a little biased but this book holds up in ways the show doesn’t anymore. Prasetya’s art is phenomenal. His panels are so clean and the characters borderline on being manga-like but not? His work with the mystical elements (Rita’s henchmen, the zords) is where he really shines. The only downside is this green ranger story is starting to drag. We aren’t getting a new villain issue to issue, and the action is starting to wane.

Archie continues to be phenomenal with its eighth issue. If you aren’t a fan of high school stories, maybe this won’t be up your alley, but you might be surprised. We are living in a world where if Mark Millar’s name is on a comic it is probably worth reading. Don’t worry if you haven’t read an Archie book before (I hadn’t) you can still connect with this book and these characters. Millar offers a little Archie history lesson at the end of every issue. I’m not sure if he actually loves the original source material or not, but damn he has me convinced that he does.

New Reads

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” When it comes to comics, I break this rule regularly and I did it again this week when I decided to check out House of Penance.

The book’s description reads:

“The Winchester House—famous for its original owner’s bizarre compulsion to incorporate a multitude of architectural curiosities. But as the bereaved Sarah Winchester’s workers toil on stairways to nothing and doors to nowhere, a mysterious stranger arrives… and he could make Sarah’s demons all too real.”

Basically, after two issues, it’s a whole lot of “WTF?” but in all the right ways. I think? I still don’t really know what’s going on other than it’s really, really, creepy and I’d really, really, like to find out.

I love the style of Bertram’s art, I had reservations about how it would work in a horror story but it’s great. This story isn’t on the same level as the first two arcs of Harrow County or what I’ve read of Outcast so far, but if you’re looking for horror comics this needs to be on your pull list.

Next Time

You guys want DC? I got DC! Future Quest #1
Then Civil War, Spider-Man, and Surfer!

Geekscape Comics: Weekly Reads!

by KarsonApril 13, 2016

Welcome to Weekly Reads! It’s your little, weekly dose of comic book goodness that focuses on some aspect of my comic book reading!

Two big #1’s I want to discuss from last week, but first, an update on some ongoing series. Spider-Man #3 is a slow read. Miles gets grounded and not a whole lot goes on. Black Widow #2 doesn’t have the breakneck pace of the previous issue but it’s still a top-notch book, filled with bad ass moments.

Black Panther #1

Black Panther is not your typical superhero book. There’s a lot to wrap your head around in this book. Outside of the book’s deeper cultural themes, there is a lot to pick up on if you aren’t familiar with the character. This is going to be a popular book and probably talked about it a lot. If you are interested in the character because of Captain America: Civil War, you might want to wait for the book in trade or prepare to do some extra reading.

The Fix #1

This is hands down last week’s must-read book. The creative team behind The Superior Foes of Spider-Man joins forces again in this crooked cop comedy. This book is for a mature audience but damn is it hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading it. The book runs a few pages longer than most books and has a bit more dialogue but I didn’t mind in the slightest because it’s so funny. Spencer creates some unreal situational comedy moments and then turns on a dime to deliver us some sadistic characters. This series is going to have some dark, dark moments. It’s going to be a roller coaster ride, get on board now!

What are you reading? Comment or tweet!