Rocket Girl #5

The cops are closing in on Dayoung Johansson, but the citizens of 1986 New York help hide her by disguising her with contemporary fashions. Meanwhile, one of the ’86 cops meets up with one of the 2013 Quintum Mechanics security goons — and they’re exactly the same person. But why can’t the future version remember ever meeting himself in the past? Meanwhile, in the futuristic 2013, Quintum Mechanics is making its bid to take over everything by dispanding the Teen Police and ordering a city-wide curfew. Is there going to be a way to disrupt the power play from the past? And what will it mean for the future?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Beautiful art by Amy Reeder and a cool ending (or maybe a sorta-maybe ending) from Brandon Montclare. I absolutely love Reeder’s facial expressions and body language, and I really hope this series will continue.

American Vampire: Second Cycle #3

Pearl’s new refugee recruit, May, is a vampire who’s been vampirized by the Gray Trader, and it’s turned her into a gigantic monster with vampiric mouths opening up all over her body. Pearl and the kids are rescued, barely, by Skinner Sweet, who’s had his own harrowing close encounter with the Trader. And Pearl also encounters her late beloved Henry — but of course, it’s not really Henry — it’s the Trader himself. What does he want? Can anything stop him?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Deeply nerve-wracking horror coupled with Rafael Albuquerque’s always-amazing art. Anything that scares the crap out of Skinner Sweet has got to be uncommonly bad news.

Ghosted #10

Nina Blood Crow has been taken over by a monstrous bird spirit and is gonna kill the heck out of everyone except Jackson and Trick, who are going to sneak out — until Trick shames Jackson into trying to make things right. He releases the other possessed women from their prisons and throws the mad cult leader into the fire — but can he stop Nina from killing him? What kind of sacrifice will be made to see everything made right? And what new band of villains has Jackson in their sights now?

Verdict: Thumbs up. A nice ending to this storyarc — maybe not as much spooky stuff, but plenty of action and betrayals and revelations. And the cliffhanger promises some more wonderful ghosty stuff to come.

Today’s Cool Links:

• This is a very long article, but it’s definitely worth reading. And fer cry-eye, actually read it — don’t assume you know what it’s about, because you don’t — and you’ll learn a lot of stuff you need to know. Quite frankly, Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national treasure.
• David Goyer needs someone to bash his face in with rocks.
• Everything you need to know about the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
• Here’s a really interesting piece on research into how and why dogs play.
• Ed Piskor draws the infamous Rob Liefeld Levis commercial in the style of Rob Liefeld.

Rocket Girl #4

A couple of Quintum Mechanics enforcers from the future, riding jetcycles, have traveled back to 1986 to kill teen future-cop Dayoung Johansson. This kicks off a desperate chase — Dayoung’s technology isn’t as good as Quintum’s, and in an attempt to take them away from civilians who could be harmed by the battle, she leads them into the subway. Of course, the problem with flying rockets in the subway is that eventually, you’re going to be facing a head-on collision with a train. Can Dayoung survive?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s not quite nonstop action, since we make a few side visits to the future and to present-day Quintum Mechanics, and those are a bit more talky — but beyond that, the chase scene is absolutely thrilling and amazing. Spectacular storytelling here from Brandon Montclare and Amy Reeder.

Lazarus #7

While Forever continues her investigation into the thefts of her family’s holdings and a possible upcoming terror attack, the Barret family — classified as Waste by the Carlyles — are on their way to Denver for the Lift Selection, hoping they can be picked to work for the Carlyles, giving them a chance to survive into the future. But the way is treacherous, and an encounter with bandits goes disastrously.

Verdict: Thumbs up. A heartbreaking but beautiful story — and not just for what happens to the Barrets, but also the glimpse we get into Forever’s punishing, lonely childhood.

A Voice in the Dark #5

In the aftermath of the disastrous sorority party, two of Zoey’s roommates have suffered some unfortunate consequences. Krista had deeply upsetting contacts with some frat boys, and Ashley has gotten an ethics sanction because sorority queen-bee Mandy told the university that Ash had slept with a professor during her freshman year. And Zoey later overhears Mandy and her boyfriend talking about how their plot to charge her with assault fell through because her uncle was a cop. Speaking of her uncle, Zoey has a talk with him about the current serial killer case in the community — and unbeknownst to her, she also has a brief run-in with the killer herself. And all of this has Zoey’s murderous instincts flaring up more than ever…

Verdict: Thumbs up. As always, fantastic artwork and a very brainy story. There’s fantastic character work going on here — and while there’s not a lot that’s really frightening here, it’s all getting things set up for the horror to come — and we’re getting to know these characters very well, so it’s really gonna hurt when they get it in the neck. Y’all need to be picking this comic up.

Rocket Girl #3

Teenaged police officer Dayoung Johansson has been arrested by the NYPD of 1986, and they’ve given her high-tech equipment to Quintum Mechanics — the company she’s been trying to keep from getting them in the first place. She manages a spectacular escape from custody, only to learn that the evil Quintum Mechanics security forces from the future have chased her back in time. Is there any way she can escape and complete her mission?

Verdict: Thumbs up. It’s worth the price of admission just for Dayoung’s amazing escape from police custody. It’s got great action, great art — and it looks like we’re working our way toward even bigger stuff in the coming issues, so jump on board now…

Atomic Robo and the Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur #4

While Atomic Robo and his Action Scientists battle Dr. Dinosaur’s rockman minions underground, the rest of Tesladyne are busy fighting off Majestic 12 as they try to take over the company. And even the mighty Jenkins has some serious trouble — they sent multiple guys in powerful mech-armor to fight him! But can crystal armor, machine guns, brilliant science, and blatant asswhuppery stop the mad dinosaur from activating his Time Bomb and erasing history?

Verdict: Thumbs up. So much wondrous goodness. We all love Atomic Robo, we all love Dr. Dinosaur, we all love Action Science, and if you know what’s good for you, we all love this series.

Today’s Cool Links:

• An excellent interview with G. Willow Wilson, the writer of the upcoming “Ms. Marvel” series.
• A nice long article about creepypasta and how it fits into modern horror.
• Patrick Stewart can moo, can you?
• This is an excellent design for a Satanic memorial — although I’d also accept statues of Oklahoma politicians and preachers as similarly appropriate.

Rocket Girl #2

DaYoung Johansson, teenaged supercop from the future, is stuck in 1986 trying to prevent Quintum Mechanics from using the invention of time travel — which she just provided them with — to commit crimes in the future. Needless to say, this is going to be a tall order. She’s being watched over by a couple of friendly Quintum employees who nevertheless don’t want her roaming around New York City stirring up trouble. But, well, DaYoung is an extremely dedicated police officer, no matter what jurisdiction she’s in, even if it’s going to get her in trouble with the local cops…

Verdict: Thumbs up. Beautiful art by Amy Reeder and a dementedly convoluted plot by Brandon Montclare. This is simultaneously thrilling and hilarious.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #8

Bruce Wayne is under strict orders to take a vacation, so he and Selina Kyle set sail on a relaxing tropical yacht trip — only to run into the Joker and Harley Quinn — and a Pirate Joker and Pirate Harley, too! Meanwhile, in Gotham City, the rest of the Bat-Family and their allies are working overtime to keep Gotham City safe from the criminal element.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Excellent storytelling, a wonderful sense of humor, grand adventuring, and awesome art by Dustin Nguyen. It’s great all-ages reading, so go enjoy it.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Holy cow! Tiny Titans is coming back!
• Batkid saved us all!
• Just in time for your Christmas cards — there are going to be Harry Potter stamps.

Rocket Girl #1

Here’s a brand new series, funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign, written by Brandon Montclare and illustrated by Amy Reeder. Our main character is Dayoung Johansson, a 15-year-old rocket-pack-wearing cop from the far-future world of 2013 who has travelled to the distant past of 1986 to save the world from a timepocalypse. The problem is that the crime being investigated was apparently committed by Quintum Mechanics, the company that invented time travel and saved New York City from financial ruin. Can Dayoung survive the high-crime world of 1986 armed with just her rocket-suit and a head full of moxie?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Beautiful art by Amy Reeder, which is a good reason to buy the comic all by itself. The story is very cool, too — the weird time travel, along with the bizarre alternate-future/present Dayoung comes from, are both a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to seeing what other badassery she’s going to get into.

Astro City #5

I don’t know why you — yes, you. You specifically! — are working with the Broken Man. He doesn’t seem at all stable. He collects all these strange storytelling artifacts, and then he gets mad when you watch the stories that unfold. The monster-fighting G-men and their battles against the eldritch horrors all around us? He gets mad at you right when you get to the good bit. The strange tale of Lord Saampa, the Serpent’s Tongue? He gets mad at you right when you get to the good bit. He finally allows you to watch Dame Progress, steampunk crimefighter, as she pursues the terribly nimble Mister Cakewalk in pursuit of a stolen jewel. What does the Broken Man want with you anyway?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Excellently weird story, great art, fun characters. I’m really not sure I like the Broken Man at all, but his artifacts are a great way to tell a bunch of different stories. It’ll be fun to see how they all connect.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #7

Aquaman is in trouble. Oh, of course he is. And he asks Batman for help. So Batman gets a fancy wetsuit, Damian gets an underwater mecha. And Oracle gets an even bigger underwater mecha. In our second story, it’s the Fourth of July, and the Joker is organizing a party for all of Gotham’s villains. All they have to do is steal all the fireworks they can, and they’ll make the biggest boom ever. Can Batman, Robin, and Nightwing extinguish the party in time?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Very cute and quite funny. Babs Gordon driving a giant mech is muy cool.

Worlds’ Finest #16

Huntress is stuck doing a lot of crimefighting solo, because since her run-in with Desaad, Power Girl’s powers have been extremely unreliable. Who’s the mysterious energy-wielding acrobat who keeps setting fires at high-fashion events? What’s wrong with Karen’s powers?

Verdict: Ehh, I dunno. The art is pretty darn nice, but for the most part, this is just very by-the-numbers, uninspiring stuff. The series needs a lot more WOW moments, or a return to the fun character interaction, which has fallen off a lot in recent issues.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Meet the dad behind BatDad.
• The Oatmeal points out that Christopher Columbus was just a terrible, terrible person.
• ROCKET ATTACK! SHOOT DOWN MARAUDING INFIDEL!
• You gotta admit — he makes a lot more sense than Ted Cruz.