Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.
COFFIN HILL 1
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| Coffin Hill #1 |
Great first issue, though I do particularly enjoy non-sequential storytelling. We're presented with Eve Coffin, daughter of a powerful family she doesn't want any part of, yet can't manage to escape. Events unfold in both 2003 and 2013, with a page filled with hints and glimpses of what happens in between. In one era, she's a rebellious youth that gets into more trouble than she was expecting. In the other, she's a rookie cop that solves a major crime, garnering unwanted attention from press and co-workers alike. I'll definitely be picking up more of this.
ZERO 2
This issue is creepy. Taking an early look at Zero's training as a child, we're shown some disturbing events in his early life. While each issue is supposed to be stand-alone, the final page actually follows up on the fallout from last issue. The writing remains top-notch and the art from Tradd Moore is just as good as his work on Luther Strode. Recommended.
SIX-GUN GORILLA 5
Trippy and amazing, this issue changes everything you thought you knew about the series. The bulk takes place in our antagonist's head, but a crucial scene is happening simultaneously back on Earth. While I still recommend the series, at this point you'd be better off waiting for the trade so you can hold the entire story in your hands. With only one issue to go, I expect things will go out with a bang.
INVINCIBLE 106
Battle Beast! Battle Beast remains one of my favorite characters, and it's always good to see him again. From the final pages, it appears we should be seeing more of him in the near future. What seems like a relatively quiet issue dinner with Mark, Eve, and his parents, is actually filled with future plot threads. What's Robot really up to? Is Mark stronger than Nolan? A villain we haven't seen in awhile returns! And, of course, the aforementioned Battle Beast is given a mission. There's quite a lot going on here.
100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO 5
This issue made me realize I had chosen a similar setting for a personal project, and I now have a hard time looking at it without thinking about my own story. Anyway, people do bad things while Lono tries to remain good. That's about all the summary I can give you. The dialogue, if possible, is even better here than in previous issues. The art from Risso is similarly fantastic. While I have a hard time calling calling anything _100 Bullets_ without Agent Graves, this is Azzarello and Risso playing to their strengths, and I love it.
SHELTERED 4
Each issue, I find myself wondering about the long-term prospects of this series, with the cast ever-dwindling. I'd say, "things aren't going well" but at this point that should be a given. Lucas deals with another member of the group that has questions, while the girls in the bunker mull over what to do next. The drama and characterization remain very good, but the constant question in the back of my mind is, "where is all this going?" Lucas has an idea, one that necessitated his actions in the first issue, and as crazy as it sounds, I'm wondering if that's exactly what's going to happen.
ROCKET GIRL 1
I can't tell if I like this book or not. It's interesting, and I'll probably pick up the second issue... but I'm not convinced it's good. The main character, Dayoung Johanssson is a 15-year-old cop from the future (2013) that's gone to 1986 to fix time. The thing that bugs me is the reaction other characters, especially the 80s police officers have to her. The scientists she first appears to are justifiably surprised, but the police seem to take her at her word despite her age and strange attire.
LETTER 44 1
Good first issue, not great, but I'm interested enough to keep purchasing. An unpopular outgoing president leaves a letter for his replacement that tells of something, not of human origin, being constructed within our solar system. We secretly scramble a mission to investigate, and the new president is sworn in just as the crew in space approach the object. Most of the issue is spent introducing the cast, setting the stage, and scenes of politicians talking to one another. I'll probably pick up through issue three to see where this is going.
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