**AS ALWAYS BE MINDFUL THAT THERE WILL BE SLIGHT SPOILERS, READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL!!**

And bear with us!! We got a crap load of reviews this week!!!

Chew #40

Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Reviewer:  Aitch Cee

Well here we are 2/3rds of the way to the end and while I am somewhat sad by that it’s still almost done but we at least we still have another 2 years of the craziness from the mind of John and Rob.   After reading through this arc finale, the first thing that flashed in my mind was “Ooooo lookit all da purty colors!” because Rob managed to really bring that high Tony and Colby were on, real.  But bigger than that it was also good to see them really team up to foil another heist unknowingly and save their own jobs in goofy ways that only Layman can cook up.   This issue was almost reminiscent to the early books when the duo went out on missions and it was good to see a return of that. And then at the end, Olive learns a new secret from her aunt using a method that will make your stomach churn!   I don’t know what other insanity and new powers John can cook up but I am anxiously waiting for the next issue!

Tomb Raider #1

Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Nicolás Daniel Selma
Reviewer:  Aitch Cee

Somewhere out there, someone is probably saying, “Yay, another Tomb Raider comic.” and of course we know that Top Cow has had the license for years. But now we have had a great game that came out last year and now we get a great comic follow up by Gail Simone in this issue.  Considering where this picks up post video game, this first issue is appropriately named as the first 1/2 of the book deals with the survivors of the Yamatai Island debacle trying to cope with life after their harrowing adventures.  Some of them have nightmares with Lara being one, hallucinations and other PTSD signs.  Things gets really crazy near the end as Lara visits Jonah out in the middle of the desert and almost drowns.  Yeah, drowns.  Read it and see.

While I DID enjoy Gail’s writing, I was not all that crazy with Nicolas’ art as it was a bit middling and possibly not as gritty as it could be.   A lot of the artwork was a bit standard and plain and it didn’t have that ‘pop’ that it could have with Gail writing this book and as others have said, 100% isn’t all his fault considering the inker and colorist working on this too.  Maybe I am just spoiled with how Red Sonja has been handled, who knows?  However, because Gail really knows how to craft a story and because I was a fan of the last game, I will stick with this to see if Lara’s adventures can be as harrowing and white-knuckled as her last game offering.

3 out of 5 stars

Black Science #4

Writer: Rick Remender
Artists: Matteo Scalera, and Dean White
Reviewer: Lee Gordon

Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, and Dean Whiteare putting together an amazing story that’s part Swiss Family Robinson, part Quantum Leap, and part Indiana Jones meets Time Cop. But if that description is too much for you, please join Grant as he and his “family” are searching for the center of the “onion”. The onion is how they describe the center of the universe, or maybe more accurately describable as where the answers are to everything.

Science Fiction is great for stories, and instead of a super hero story, we’re getting human beings with their own agenda, dimension hoping through the universe. The panels jump around in a fluid motion showing Ward, Shawn, and Kadir kidnapping the local Shaman to help Grant, who was mortally injured in issue three. He is the one scientist who could get them home.

The Pillar was the could-not-go-wrong tech, which went wrong after being sabotaged rendering military, science, and business partners to become lost in parallel realities. The tech counts down the time until the next jump. Will they survive? What will win out in the end?  Greed? Love? Maybe it will be regret that will get the best of them.

The story points are basic, but it’s the characters I’m either loving or hating. They make me want to spend the $3.50, month after month. And as each issue should end with a cliff hanger, this is no different. Who is he? What does he want? And how is he going to achieve it?

It’s hard to get a perfect five, and this book came dangerously close.

4.5 out of five stars

Judge Dredd #16

Writer: Duane Swierczynski
Artist: Nelson Daniel
Reviewer: Ray Willis

This issue picks where the last issue was left off with Judge Anderson being captured and killed by former Judge Tarjay meanwhile Judge Dredd being interrogated by Judge Cal. After the beating from the SJS, Dredd tries to to get Judge Cal to send a squad to help Judge Anderson but to no avail but Dredd had to do something Cal wouldn’t expect from him and incriminates himself by saying Tarjay and himself are partners. With a good story, Dredd manages to get the squad there to help but to late and after a deliberation from the chief judges Dredd is guilty of his crimes and is sentenced to life on the penal colony of Titan. I could tell you the rest but reading what happens next would be best because of who shows up at the end of the issue.

Its alluded to a few times in the issue and near the end of last issue. I really have been enjoying Judge Dredd and the story has been getting better and better.

Duane Swierczynski has really been solid on delivering the stories from the Circuit court all the way up until now. All the characters have been really good even Judge Cal who is a prick and wanting to take Dredd down after he has been suspected during the Judge murders.

I have no complaints on the art and has been solid every issue. The uniforms and the gear of the judges are really clean. I really enjoyed this issue and seeing who appears at the end of the issue makes me anxious to see what happens next for Dredd and the judges.

5 out of 5 stars

The Wake #6

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Sean Murphy
Reviewer: Oz Longworth Jr.

This is a title that consistently stood alongside Saga and Hawkeye, receiving my highest praise thoughout 2013 in my weekly blog. The taut, eerie survival horror series has maintained a “holy shit” factor rivaled only by television shows like The Walking Dead and (as of late) True Detective right up to the “OMGAREYOUFUCKINGKIDDINGME” ending in issue 5. We were left with the realization that the halfway point of the book was, in fact, merely the prologue to a larger story and a whole new world.

Finally, Scott Snyder gets to throw us face-first into the bleak, post-apocalyptic future we were teased with at the beginning of the series. The plucky, optimistic Leeward is our guide through this waterlogged wasteland, searching for the key to humanity’s survival. Leeward serves as an excellent female lead just as Dr. Lee Archer, the Ripley-esque protagonist before her did. Without giving us too much of what’s to come, Snyder manages to give us a nice teaser as he shows us what Earth has become as a result of the killer mermaids, now referred to as “Mers”, also giving us a taste of a new threat looming just beneath the surface. It seems, as is the case in The Walking Dead, Hell is indeed other people.

Sean Murphy’s vivid color palette is a key factor in bringing Snyder’s future vision to stark clarity. Where the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere of the present day setting once took center stage, now we see a brighter, appropriately water themed palette that, in a couple of panels, is no less creepy than before. All in all, this book doesn’t seem to have lost any of the momentum it’s had for its first five issues and doesn’t seem to show any sign of losing it any time soon.

4.75 out of 5 stars