The TALKING COMICS REVIEW ROUND-UP

Every week, the Talking Comics collective posts a mega-list of the comics they’re most excited to pull off the shelves that week. Check back here to see if the comics on the Pull List met the team’s expectations with reviews and quippy quotables!!! Click the links to go to full reviews and reflections!!!

Reviews for New Comics – April 27th, 2016

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BOOM! STUDIOS

Weavers #1 – By Simon Spurrier & Dylan Burnett 

• Verdict: BUY, especially if you’ve been digging Si Spurrier’s work on books like Spire and Cry Havoc. Here, Spurrier mixes supernatural horror with gangland mafioso noir as he introduces us to new Weavers “recruit,” Sid Thyme. Of course, given the nature of the genre, all may not be as it seems as Thyme and his partner Frankie Harvest (also the daughter of gang leader Don Harvest) investigate the hit on her aunt that has sent the Weavers into turmoil and gave Thyme himself the powers of the spider. Gritty and weird, Weavers #1 is sure to be another hit for Spurrier, Burnett, and BOOM! – Joey

DC COMICS

Gotham Central Omnibus (Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark)

• Verdict- Worth a look/ buy. I can’t deny that I was a little disappointed with the plain black cover and spine and a significantly shallow supplemental offering. DC has done so well with their archival releases lately, that anything this straightforward is going to feel like a missed opportunity. That being said, it is still every issue of Gotham Central collected in an affordable, well-bound package with oversized art. That in itself is pretty hard to turn you nose up toward. – Matt

IDW PUBLISHING

Drive (TPB) – By Michael Benedetto, Antonio Fuso, and Jason Lewis, Adapted from James Sallis’ noir novel, Drive

• Verdict – Worth a look, especially for fans of that specific sun-drenched, neon subset of LA noir. Collected together, IDW’s Drive adaptation tells the intimate story of a job-gone-wrong at even more of a breakneck pace than the individual issues did last year. In that regard, the trade paperback is a more effective mode of telling the story of the Driver. The real draw here is the dynamic, vibrant visual experience from Fuso and Lewis, whose stark linework and fiery pinks and yellows capture the tone and mood of Drive’s superficial Los Angeles expertly. Check it! – Joey

IMAGE COMICS

The Discipline #3 – By Peter Milligan & Leandro Fernandez & Cris Peter

• Verdict – Buy! The Discipline is a brutal, provocative horror story that mixes the supernatural with creature fantasy and carnal sexuality. Milligan, Fernandez, and Peter are telling a uniquely strange and fascinating story here–one that takes some shocking turns in issue #3. We’re still early in this dynamic new series, so jump on while you can! – Joey 

  

The Wicked + The Divine #19 – By Kieron Gillen, Jame McKelvie, and Matthew Wilson

• Verdict – BUY THIS BOOK!!! Twists abound in this issue as alliances are tested, gods are manipulated, and birds attack!!! Wicked + Divine is barreling faster and faster toward its inevitable climax, so jump on the train while you can!!! – Joey

MARVEL COMICS

Amazing Spider-Man #12 – By Dan Slott & Giuseppe Camuncoli

• Verdict: Buy it – This issue is downright hilarious. Setting up a new arc it’s pretty much all about Peter Parker and Tony Stark trying to outdo each other. Peter’s trying to give a speech at a charity function and things go south when a dude with less than friendly intentions arrives. The pages that follow made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion and they do a good job of establishing where the threat lies for this arc. Only problem I have is that the cover gives the impression that the whole of the All-New All-Different Avengers team show up, but only Tony Stark does, they will be in following issues as there’s a direct threat to them. Jump on, great fun! – Huw

Poe Dameron #2 – By Charles Soule & Phil Noto

• Verdict: Wait and see – I really enjoyed the first issue of this series and the second was another fun one with plenty of cool action involving Poe’s squad in their X-wings. That being said I am starting to fall on the side of maybe this could well read better in trade as a full arc. I didn’t feel like the story was pushed forward quite enough and although it ended on an interesting cliffhanger I’m not certain that it grabbed me enough to fully recall what happened a month from now. If you haven’t yet started this series I’d recommend waiting to see how people feel about the third issue and how the story plays out. Which I’ll do when I pick it up! This is shaping up to be an enjoyable series about a character I love, it just remains to be seen if it clicks as a month-to-month read. – Huw 

  

PUNISHER #1 – By Becky Cloonan & Steve Dillon

• Verdict: BUY IT – I can’t claim to be an authority on Punisher but I’ve read enough to know how I feel the character is best used. This issue certainly feels like the series is setting up to err more on the side of a Garth Ennis style Frank Castle as opposed to more like Greg Rucka’s recent run. Violent and relentless as you’d expect a Punisher to be, although Frank isn’t in this issue a whole lot! I don’t know if it’s just for this issue but I got a bit of a Gotham Central type vibe from this, where it shows how the cops react to The Punisher and his impact on their work. Fingers crossed that remains as I think it’ll make for some interesting stories. Cloonan and Dillon are shaping up to be a great team, I’ll definitely be checking out the next few issues and hoping it builds on a promising start. – Huw

• Verdict – Buy it! Are you someone who feels like they could use a little more Frank Castle in their lives? Do you maybe want to take a break from all the world-ending events and in-fighting among super teammates? If what you like is a comic that chews bubble gum and kicks ass … rest assured, this book is all out of bubble gum. – Steve

[Editor’s Note: For more of Steve’s action-packed review of The Punisher #1, click here!!!]

Thunderbolts #1 

• Verdict: Skip It. This latest incarnation of the Thunderbolts isn’t a bad read, it’s just not a necessarily interesting one. The team is comprised of mostly forgettable characters who aren’t particularly discernible in this first issue. It also revolves heavily around what happened in the recent Avengers: Standoff event, so readers that didn’t bother with that storyline may find it hard to get their bearings here. Writer Jim Zub does an admirable job at compacting that event through constant narration from The Winter Soldier, but it ultimately bogs the book down in an overwhelming amount of exposition at the expense of character and plot development. Jon Malin’s art is every bit as over-the-top as the cover depicts, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the reader’s inclination toward a more 90s comic feel. Personally, I grew pretty tired of seeing everyone’s 8-pack abs by the end of it all.-John D.

VALIANT COMICS

4001 AD #1 – Matt Kindt & Clayton Crain 

• Verdict: Give it a look. 4001 AD is continuing the main story that was taking place in Rai. If you are a new reader you should be okay jumping in, and the story isn’t bogged down with an overwhelming amount of exposition. The art from Crain is stunning as it always is. If you are looking to get into the Valiant universe, and want something different, the tales of Rai and company in 4001 AD would be a good place to start. A quick side note, the main Rai series will be giving long time readers a look in the origin of the Rais. This is similar to what Valiant did with Armor Hunters. – Adam

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And that’s our Pull List for this week!!! If you happen to pick up any of these books, please join the conversation here or on twitter and let us know what you think! As we update the site with reviews and verdicts on these comics, we’d love to include your input!

#READCOMICS