It’s Wednesday and that means new comics. Let Deadshirt steer your wallet in the right direction with reviews (and preview pages) of titles out today from Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Boom! Studios, Archie, MonkeyBrain, Oni, Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, Action Lab, and more!
Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive #1
Written by Scott Tipton & David Tipton
Art by Rachael Stott
Colored by Charlie Kirchoff
Lettered by Tom B. Long
IDW Publishing/Boom! Studios
Star Trek and Planet of the Apes are two franchises that were started just before I was born, but were omnipresent on the UHF channels of my youth. To a kid who was four when Star Wars came out they seemed like throwbacks to a time much further back in time, despite being barely a decade old at the time. Appropriately, IDW’s crossover between the two franchises goes back to their sixties roots and spins a fun adventure tale.
Sometime after the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Errand of Mercy”, Kirk and company are tasked to sneak onto the Klingon homeworld and investigate the rumors they are looking to invade Earth. After stealing some data, they follow it to a spot in space where the Klingons have seemingly punched a hole through space/time into another universe. From the title of the series you can probably guess which one.
Though we don’t spend a lot of time with the apes here, the book does a great job and getting the feel and characters of Star Trek right. Artist Rachael Stott is good at keeping the characters on-model to the original actors without coming across as stiff. With Transformers Vs. GI Joe and now Star Trek/Planet of the Apes, IDW (and BOOM!) are really upping their crossover game.
– Jason Urbanciz
(Click thumbnails to enlarge)
Abigail and the Snowman #1 (of 4)
Written, Illustrated, and Lettered by Roger Langridge
Colored by Fred Stresing
kaBOOM!
$3.99
Specimen 486, a yeti who is invisible to adults, escapes a secret lab and must be stopped before he reaches a playground full of children. What could be the plot of some B horror movie is actually a delightful tale of friendship amidst the awkward bumps of adolescence. Roger Langridge’s often adaptive artwork settles on a classic cartoon style for this comic; characters are beady-eyed but expressive, and circular panels within the larger spaces harkens back to the nostalgia of dailies like The Family Circus and Nancy. That nostalgia contrasts nicely with all the weirdness surrounding the main character, Abigail, a girl with a habit of conversing with imaginary invisible creatures who happens to meet a real invisible creature.
This limited series is written for for all ages, but it doesn’t shy away from life’s issues. Abigail’s social struggles, messy family life, and “new kid” status are immediately accessible to any reader. Within the first week of moving to a new town, her dad loses his job and she becomes the stinky weirdo of her school. She and Specimen 486 take to each other quickly because of their shared pariah status, but since all children can see this magical yeti, Abigail may finally find a common bond with her peers.
– Sarah Register
(Click thumbnails to enlarge)
Be sure to let us know what you picked up this week in the comments below, on Twitter or on our Facebook Page!
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