Deadshirt

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!

Mulan Revelations #1

Created by Robert Alter

Written by Marc Andreyko

Art by Micah Kaneshiro

Lettered by Nate Piekos

Dark Horse

$3.99

There’s been a fun trend with comics recently that blends mythology and futurism and, I’m fairly positive, panders directly to people like yours truly. As a nerdy type who boasts a Classics minor, I’m always up for a fractured fairytale or a retelling with a twist. Titles like The Wicked + The Divine and even Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona take ancient characters and throw them into modern settings and add a dash of modern technology to Arthurian times, respectively. Likewise in Mulan Revelations, some mystical spirits yank Mulan (yes that Mulan) off a B.C. battlefield in China where she is fighting the hordes of hell, and toss her straight past modern times into the year A.D. 2125. Demons are still around, only instead of swinging axes at mortals like in times of old, they’re infecting people with some kind of techno-virus, and Mulan is set to face a new version of the destiny she should have met thousands of years ago.

Micah Kaneshiro’s artwork lacks fine detail but creates beautiful set pieces on either side of Mulan’s timeline. By infusing realistic elements of light into panels, via torches on an ancient Chinese battlefield and flashing neon signs in a cyberpunk future, Kaneshiro makes this comic feel alive. This element of light is just as prevalent in the story as well; some anthropomorphic animal spirits refer to Mulan as the “Light Warrior” just before pulling her spirit off of the mortal plane. The comic’s energy seems to vibrate with all of this light and fast-paced storytelling.

With Marc Andreyko at the helm, it’s safe to assume that this Mulan is a strong female protagonist type, but so far her character remains shrouded in mystery. There was a lot of story to pack into this first issue (a few thousand years’ worth) and the plot didn’t escape without a few holes. Luckily, this comic will sell readers on its strong concept and fresh world-building within the first few pages.

– Sarah Register

(Click thumbnails to enlarge)

Uncle Grandpa: Pizza Steve Special #1

Written and Illustrated by: David DeGrand, Laura Howell, Brian Jones & George Mager, Brad McGinty, Andreas Schuster, Jeremy Hansen, Lee Tatlock, J. Hansen, Nichol Ashworth, Philip Murphy, and Alex Chu

Colored by Whitney Cogar

BOOM! Studios

$4.99

Spinning out of BOOM!’s Uncle Grandpa comic series, this special gives the walking, talking slice Pizza Steve a spotlight, and it’s fun as heck. The stories all run between one and four pages, and you sure get a whole bag of craziness for your five dollars here.The strips run the gamut from stuff that seems straight from the TV show to more stylized indie comix drug trips (not that the show doesn’t feel like a drug trip at times). Standouts include Jeremy Hansen’s tale of Pizza Steve succumbing to peer pressure and getting sucked into a body horror pizza Voltron that is bent on destroying Uncle Grandpa. Also Uncle Grandpa’s mirror universe duplicate, Grandpa Uncle, trades places with him, depleting the world of all its fun, with only Pizza Steve to put things right.

As I said, the art, while uniformly strong, varies wildly in style which works well in the anthology makeup of the comic and keeps it from being homogeneous. Lee Tatlock’s funky, Tony Millionaire-esque work on a story involves Uncle Grandpa’s fanny pack coming down with the hiccups and the team having to fan out across the globe for a cure. His art is weird and gross in all the right ways, but while it pushes the limit, it’s still an all ages book. On top of the comics there are some fun activities (you know, for the kids) in the back, including a foldout board game and a guide on how to draw the cast using your fingerprints.

This Pizza Steve Special is a treasure trove of craziness that is well worth your money and time. I guarantee you it is the only comic coming out this week that features a universal grandfather avatar that turns into a weretaco and whose only salvation lies in a talking piece of pizza. Good Christ, I hope it is.

– Jason Urbanciz

(Click thumbnails to enlarge)

Southern Cross #4

Written by Becky Cloonan

Art by Andy Belanger

Colored by Lee Loughridge

Lettered by Serge LaPointe

Image

$2.99

Southern Cross never ceases to impress me with how understated it is. Despite being a story about cosmic horror, Cloonan and Belanger are always committed more than anything to a tight, almost noirish atmosphere, with an undercurrent of dread. Even now, as they begin to pull the ripcord on the psychedelic visions and nightmare imagery, the issue focuses mostly on real threats at hand, from the dirty dealings among the crew to the doctor’s dark, scary secrets. Braith remains as unflappable as ever, and while it’s a relief to get some background on her and her sister, she’s still the bedrock that keeps the madness of this issue grounded.

And when that ripcord is pulled? It’s gorgeous, thanks to a bold palette by Loughridge and some great repeated imagery by Belanger. We know the gravity drive has something sinister going on, and the use of triangles in composition, not just as objects but as panel outlines, helps to easily signal its involvement. It’s trippy and pretty, even as we’re seeing twisted wraiths and corpses and the like. Juxtaposition is key, and the build-up with a drab palette and designs is paying off.

– Joe Stando

(Click thumbnails to enlarge)

Transformers: Windblade #4

Written by Mairghread Scott

Art by Corin Howell

Colored by Thomas Deer

Lettered by Tom B. Long

IDW

$3.99

Transformers: Windblade #4 is the first installment of this new ongoing series to not be a part of the “Combiner Wars” crossover storyline. For this reason, it is in some ways the first “true” issue of Windblade, as new regular artist Corin Howell steps onto the title and Mairghread Scott resumes solo writing duties. The book wastes no time at all hanging a lampshade on the influence of the crossover and those before it, with the cast celebrating “Not The End of the World Party Part 4.”

This issue is a solid start that lets us know what kind of experience we are in for in this ongoing. Windblade is still on Cybertron and still being a Neutral Good counterbalance to Starscream’s Selfish Evil. As foreshadowed in both the earlier Windblade miniseries and in “Combiner Wars,” there is now a space bridge network (think Stargate) connecting Cybertron with eleven of its own lost colonies. Windblade has managed to ally Cybertron and her own world of Caminus, and to establish a council where every colony will be able to send one representative.

The latest potential allies to step through the gate are Moonracer and Knock Out of Velocitron. Moonracer is an obscure female Autobot from the original cartoon, and Knock Out is a delightful reuse of the breakout character of Transformers Prime. Unfortunately, there are issues with incorporating Velocitron into the council. And just to remind us that beneath all the politicking this is a toy robot book, these issues are a) tied into the lore of the franchise and b) deeply silly.

Scott delivers one of her stronger issues to date with careful attention to characterization and a knack for fun interactions between characters from different backgrounds and areas of the franchise. Howell proves himself an able storyteller, but for my taste, his characters are under-detailed and a few of his panels are cluttered. A few carefully chosen splash panels deliver the wow factor, though, and I look forward to seeing how the book grows and develops under this team.

– Patrick Stinson

(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!