Indie Corner - 10/15/2014

Each week I'll spotlight a couple independent books I've read and may have flown under people's radar.

 

PEEPO CHOO vol. 3

I read volumes one and two of this series years back but Felipe's current stint on Ghost Rider reminded me I'd never finished the series.  So I corrected that.  For those unfamiliar, Felipe's art and writing blend serious and comedic, realistic and absurd.  The story of Peepo Choo, and his earlier series MBQ, are too much to summarize here, but I recommend them for anyone currently enjoying his writing on Ghost Rider.  Both series are relatively cheap on Amazon, and Comixology has MBQ.  They're both excellent.

Trees 6

TREES 6

Very little tends to happen in Trees, but it's the best book in which very little happens.  The trees go on treeing while some long, well-written conversations take place and some ominous new elements are introduced.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 39

Mutant mayhem!  And not a single X-Man in sight.  Since it's right on the cover, I don't think I'll be spoiling anything by saying Bebop and Rocksteady run into Hob's growing gang.  The Turtles are on hand as well, minus Donatello, whom has "more important things to do."  Oh snap.  Literally nothing gets resolved, so next issue should feature a serious throwdown.  I eagerly look forward to it.

THE LIFE AFTER 4

I'm at a loss for words in how to describe this series.  Things get worse, pretty consistently, for our troop of characters.  Even the ones where you think, "But what about -- "  Nope.  As you'll learn here, not even them.  And next issue?  Pretty sure things are going to get worse.  Again.  I'll be there.  Will you?

SOUTHERN BASTARDS vol. 1

What an ending.  Ordinarily, I'm a fan of Jason Aaron, but the preview for issue one came out in the lead-up to the series launch... and it did nothing for me.  Weeks go by, and the manager at my comic shop mentions how crazy the book has gotten.  This is top notch Aaron and LaTour is equally brilliant on art.  But man, that ending.  I don't know where this series is going, but I'll be along for the ride.

THE UNWRITTEN vol. 10

There are times I think I know what's going on in this book.  And there are times when I'm utterly confused.  At this point, so near the end, I'm just hoping it makes sense once complete.  The last volume (Fables crossover) was fun and all, but it broke from the narrative at a rather critical time.  Now, we've come back, and have to remember what was going on before that.  As I said, I'm just hoping it makes sense in the end.

BLACKSAD: AMARILLO

I've been trying to figure out what to say about this for a while.  The story is literally all over the place - there's a stolen car, a motorcycle gang, a circus, a few deaths... and did that guy really just let a stranger drive off in his car?  Really?!  Even mediocre Blacksad is still pretty good, but if you haven't had the pleasure yet, skip this and get the earlier work.