‘Indie Comics’ Archives
Violent Cases
This is the first collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. It's a short GN that stands the test of time. I've always liked stories that deal with the power of dreams/memories (something Gaiman explored in depth with Sandman), as long as they're not too confusing or without emotions. The narrator in this story resembles Gaiman himself, [...]
Asterios Polyp
This is the most buzzed about GN of the year, I'm glad I got to read it before the end of the year. There are many other more intelligent and articulate reviews out there, so I urge you to read them after you finish this book. Before I started reading this, I thought it would be a philosophical/psychological essay more than a story. A little [...]
Incognito
Brubaker and Phillips take a break from their Criminal series to bring us something closer to their previous collaboration on Wildstorm's Sleeper. This is a noir story in a universe populated with superheroes. A killer of the super-villain society was presumed dead, but in reality he was in a witness protection program. However he hates his new [...]
Back to Brooklyn
This is a pretty typical mob story about a mob guy betraying his "family" and going to the police looking for a new life. Predictably he goes against the whole organization by himself, trying to save his family from his evil brother. It's nothing new but it's done well. This being written by Garth Ennis, it's very violent and it's supported [...]
Pyongyang
This is a great travelog in comic form by Guy Delisle. It tells of his unique experience in North Korea, an experience that's worth telling and worth reading about. Since this is a recounting of his stay in Korea, there isn't a plot to this story, it's more a series of interesting scenes about the Guy's life in a foreign country. There [...]
Locke & Key: Head Games
It's been more than a year since I last read the first Locke & Key mini-series. While the first mini was a prologue, this mini starts the story proper, already giving us a lot of back-story into the character of Dodge. My memory is very short, so I must admit I forgot about many of the details of the first story. So when I started to read this [...]
I Kill Giants
I've been meaning to read this story for a long time, but I never had the time, and although it seemed like a story I enjoyed, I didn't think it'd be that good. How wrong I was!! This is a great story about a young girl who's lost in her own fantasy world. She is a Giant killer, and she is preparing to fight them with her weapon. That makes [...]
Essex County vol 3: The Country Nurse
The first two volumes of this series introduced two different stories, but the characters were related. In this final volume Lemire tied up all the characters and we finally have a clearer picture of the history of these families. The character that connects the others is nurse Annie, who was a secondary character in the second volume. As she [...]
Essex County vol 2: Ghost Stories
This is the second volume of Essex County, and while it's clear that it is connected to the first volume, it's not clear exactly how until later in the book. This story is more complex and it spans many years in the characters's lives. At the center of it is Lou Lebeuf, a deaf old man who's taken care by nurse Annie. In the present we see him [...]
Essex County vol 1: Tales from the Farm
I've heard so many good things about this series that I couldn't wait to check it out. I'm very glad I did. This story is all about Lester, a kid who needs to adjust to life with his uncle Ken, after his mother died. Both he and Ken are trying their best, though things are not going too well. Lester is often lost in his comic book world, he [...]
Planetary 27
After 3 years, the final issue of the series is out. It's an epilogue issue, and it's all about Ambrose. In typical Ellis style, there's lots of pseudo-science talk, and I mean a LOT! Even more than usual. It's all about time-travel and saving Ambrose from death. The time travel concept is nice, one I hadn't read about before. The moment you [...]
Filthy Rich
This is the first GN in the new Vertigo Crime line, and it makes sense that the writer is acclaimed 100 Bullets writer Brian Azzarello. Here he is joined by Victor Santos, an artist I'm not familiar with. His style seems to fit well with the noir genre, with good use of black in dark scenes. The story is very typically noir, with the "hero" [...]
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas
After a great debut last year, I was eagerly anticipating the continued adventures of the Umbrella Academy. The creators are the same and the quality is also very high. We start by checking in with all siblings, clearly all desperate after the events of the first mini. There's also a flashback to the Monocle talking to JFK, which is a great [...]
Buffy #21-25: Predators and Prey
Here are my notes for this arc: SPOILERS!! 21) Jane Espenson. Harmony gets a reality show on MTV. Ratings are soft. An isolated slayer from a street gang gets out of the gang, is contacted by Buffy's man, but refuses to join. Instead she wants to slay by herself. She sees Harmony and joins her party (shown on TV). Tries to slay her, but [...]
Too Cool To Be Forgotten
Alex Robinson is a favorite of mine, so it's not a surprise that I enjoyed this latest story. This is actually a bit different from his previous work, because it's a much shorter story and it's much more direct. I enjoyed the quick pacing of the book, but even in such a short story Robinson manages to write a fully developed character and a [...]
2 Guns
This is a nice little crime story that balances action with twists and turns. It's a clever one off story that would probably fit very well a movie screenplay. Not that it doesn't work as a comic, it does thanks also to Santalouco's art. The cover is a little too colorful for a crime story. But it's Grant's story that shines here. Highly [...]
Kabuki vol9: The Alchemy
I've been waiting for this volume almost 10 years, but it's finally here. The continuation of Kabuki's life, after she left the Noh. She has to build a new life for her, totally different and independent from anything she's ever known in her life. It's a scary thought, but luckily she has friends helping her out. David Mack has always used [...]
100 Bullets v13: Wilt
HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!! It only took me a little more than 2 weeks, but here's the final volume of one of the best and most ambitious crime series. These last 12 issues are not exactly an arc, they're just ongoing stories that build to the big finale. So I'll discuss them separately. 89) Flashback to 1961, Graves kills Javier's father, which [...]
100 Bullets v12: Dirty
SPOILERS WARNING!! This penultimate volume contains 5 single issue stories that lead us to the final volume. Issue 84 is about Sigmar Rhone, a powerful member of the Trust. He seemingly is a family man, has a beautiful wife and kids, but he obviously likes other women. He has sex with Megan's assistant who tells him that Graves, Javier and [...]
100 Bullets v11: Once Upon a Crime
SPOILERS!! Things are really heating up among the Minutemen. We now have 3 distinct groups: 1) Graves, Burns and Remi. Burns seems to be very loyal to Graves. Remi is a bit crazy and seems more like a hired gun. 2) Wylie and Dizzy. Wylie was the "field leader", he's smarter and the others would listen to him. But he's also conflicted about [...]