5 posts tagged “comics”

The Complete Zombies Vs. Robots by Chris Ryall

 

My review

  rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this collection.  It's not Sandman in terms of story telling - there aren't many layers of subtext or interweaving plot lines.  What we get is pulp action at its finest.  Humans are cleverly used to set the stage and help get the story moving, but once it does there's no mistaking they play second (or even third) string in this cast.  The robots (well, one main robot) effectively carry the story, and we get a lot of fun robot v. zombie carnage that actually makes sense and is fun to see. 

And do we see it!  The art grabbed me immediately (I'd never heard of the book before, so it was the first impression of the art that caused me to pick it up).  It's unpolished, kinetic, and integral to the post-apocalyptic tone of the story.  As you might guess in a story with a robot protagonist and a cast full of zombies, the story hinges less on dialog and more on action.  What the illustrations lack in intricate detail they more than make up for in camera angles and fine use of sequential panels to render the action from a variety of perspectives.  The art also helps establish the character of the non-humans and gives them depth and personality.  The zombies reminded me a lot of those in Thirty Days of Night - incomplete, decaying, terrifying, something less than human.  It's all about brains, and they rip and shred the page trying to get them.  The robots are unique, solid but not indestructible, and when their parts fly, they fly.

Ryall's Warbot carries the story as any pulp hero would, and the limited use of humans* reinforces that this is a robot and zombie world and humans are merely trying to survive.  Wood's art reinforces that notion, and brings the battle between the zombies and the robots alive.  I've heard people complain that Aliens vs. Predator didn't need humans in it to be the sort of story fans want to see, and I think Ryall and Wood have created exactly the sort of story that zombie fans and robot fans will really enjoy.

*Yeah, I know there are Amazons in it, but that's all I'm going to say about them.  Go read the book and find out about them yourself!
 

Today was free comic book day.  Rae and M went to a birthday party for one of M's classmates, so I took the opportunity to head up to Star Clipper and see if there was anything interesting worth picking up.  They had a three-book limit, and I managed to find three that looked interesting.

The first one I picked up was the Dark Horse book.  Any time I've managed to get to Free Comic Book Day, I pick up the Dark Horse book.  This one featured The Umbrella Academy, and included sneak peeks at Zero Killer (from the writer of Rex Mundi) and Pantheon City.

The second was The Train Was Bang On time - An Episode From The Black Diamond Detective Agency by Mr. Eddie Campbell (from publisher First Second).  Looked like a fun read, and was in a small press format, which always catches my eye.

Then finally  I picked up the Virgin Comics Sampler.  I'd read a bit about the comic book venture that Virgin embarked on, and it looked pretty, so I thought I'd give it a try.

As I'm wont to do at times, I've been surfing when I should be working.  As I mentioned below, I've been reading through Warren Ellis' blog and clicking links.  One thing led to another and I found something I'd totally forgotten about but was excited about when I first saw it.  Needless to say I'm happy I found it again, and I'm just as excited. 

That thing is Fell, by Ellis and Ben Templesmith.  I'll let you click on the links below and find out more about it for yourself.  This isn't a book review (I haven't read it yet), but I am willing to throw it out there now and tell you you should be getting this book.  If you like Ellis' writing, I hear he's in top form.  And who hasnt' seen and enjoyed Templesmith's art in 30 Days of Night?  Besides, each issue is self-contained, and the pricetag comes in at two bills, so what's not to love.  Pick it up anywhere and you're in for a good read.

Here's an interview with Warren at Newsarama with some preview pages.  But don't bother with those prievews (do bother with the interview), as the whole first issue is available to read online (here).

I just called my local comic book shop and they said that the Fell TPB was coming out early April.  I had them hold it for me *smile*

 

Bone, the omnibus edition.  I got it Tuesday night.  It's been on my MUST HAVE list since the holidays, but I was waiting for things to settle down before I threw some Xma$ money at it.  Then on Tuesday my comic shop sent out one of their "members only exclusive e-mails" announcing a spur of the moment sale, everything in the store 25% off, Tuesday only, if you mentioned the e-mail.  So, since my folks were already watching M because I had an early evening meeting, I ran over afterwards and picked it up.  Started reading it that night, have read a bit each night this week, and am really enjoying the hell out of it.  It's already so much fun and I can't wait to see what different directions it goes as the story unfolds.  I've heard so many great things about it that I hope it lives up to the hype, and so far, early on in the game, it is.  I expect it to continue and finish strong as well.  I'll let you know.

Decided to make a quick trip to my comic book shop.  Took a Wizard from a couple of issues back, one with an Edge suppliment in the back, outlining the indie books that would hit the shelves this year.  Used that to help guide my purusing.  Had Dead@17 vol. 3 in my hands for a while, but then found this - The Surrogates.  Didn't know anything about it when I picked it up, it was just an ad in the mag.  Flipped through it and it looked very very cool, and while I still don't know too much about it, I'm quite keen on reading it.

On a comic book side note, I just won vols. 1-3 of Fables from a friend at the World's End.  Dianne has been on me for a long while to check them out, as it's one of her favorite comic book reads, but I've just never gotten around to it.  Well, in a few weeks, whenever the books arrive, I'll be getting around to it.  It'll be some nice holiday downtime reading.